20: Chapter 20 Choosing Potions

The first-floor hall of the Experimental Spire.

At this moment, Isolde sat casually on the sofa, her long, slender legs crossed.

Byron sat upright opposite her, his back straight, his gaze lowered.

"You should have finished reading that book, 'Fundamentals of Potions', right?" Isolde's cold, slightly magnetic voice echoed slowly through the empty hall.

"Yes, Mentor." Byron nodded respectfully. "I have memorized everything recorded in the book."

Isolde raised her eyebrows slightly and remarked with a light sound of surprise, "Oh, I didn't expect your memory to be quite this good, to be able to find the time to memorize all of it while putting your full effort into advancing to a Wizard Apprentice."

Isolde leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Byron. "Then let me test you."

"What is the essence of a potion?"

Facing Isolde's question, Byron was not nervous; his expression remained calm, and he answered without hesitation.

"The essence of a potion is to extract, fuse, and stabilize the effective medicinal properties within the Materials, forming an energy potion that can be absorbed by the human body."

Faced with Byron's answer, Isolde offered no evaluation but continued to ask.

"Then what are the three core elements?"

"Medicinal properties, energy, and stability. Medicinal properties refer to the special effects carried by the Materials themselves, while energy refers to the guidance and solidification of magic power or Mental Energy..."

"Then what about the three basic laws?"

"The Law of Compatibility, the Law of Energy Dominance, and the Law of Stability Priority. The Law of Compatibility refers to..."

"..."

Isolde and Byron went back and forth with questions and answers. As time passed, Isolde's questioning speed grew faster and faster, leaving Byron almost no time to think.

With the help of the Eye of Omniscience, Byron was adept at handling Isolde's questions, answering everything she posed almost without a moment's thought.

When Byron finished answering the steps for Potion Making, Isolde stopped asking questions.

In her eyes, which were originally as cold as water, a rare glimmer of appreciation appeared.

Isolde nodded slightly. "Not bad. It seems you didn't lie to me; you really did memorize everything in the book."

"Such memory and comprehension are truly outstanding, and they will be of great help to your future path as a wizard."

Byron said modestly, "Thank you for your praise, Mentor. It is all thanks to Mentor..."

Isolde waved her hand, appearing unimpressed by Byron's flattery.

"Since you have now become a Wizard Apprentice and your Mental Energy can interfere with reality, you are qualified to engage in Potion Making."

Hearing this, Byron suddenly looked up at Isolde, his eyes filled with endless joy and a touch of disbelief.

"Mentor, I would like to learn how to refine potions. I wonder how many magic stones I need to pay?"

To think he could learn how to refine potions just like that—it was so simple that Byron could hardly believe it.

Isolde seemed accustomed to Byron's shock, her voice remaining calm.

"You do not need to pay extra magic stones; the academy has already paid for you. Do not forget the agreement you signed."

Hearing this, Byron suddenly realized that the agreement had already covered learning in this area.

No wonder he had wondered why the academy would let every student choose a mentor when there were already mentors offering basic courses.

"However, I will only teach you how to refine one type of potion, and only for this specific potion will you not need to pay for the knowledge."

"If you need my guidance later, or for other high-level knowledge or formulas regarding potions, then you must pay the corresponding magic stones."

"Of course, if your Aptitude is good enough, it's not impossible for me to offer a few pointers, free of charge."

Byron had no objections to this. "Thank you, Mentor."

"Alright, go ahead and choose the first potion you want to learn."

As Isolde spoke, a piece of parchment appeared abruptly in her hand, filled with the names of potions.

"These are some potions that apprentices can refine. I assume you know the uses of these potions by now, so I won't explain them further."

Byron nodded, took the parchment from Isolde, and began to read.

The parchment was densely packed with potion names, and Byron had heard of most of them.

Most of the potions on it could be roughly divided into five types: mental-type, restorative-type, auxiliary-type, daily-use-type, and emergency-type.

However, although there were many types of potions, most of them were of little use to Byron right now and had little value.

They were of little use because Byron would not be leaving the academy, so he wouldn't need them.

They had little value because they could not be sold for a high price, making them not very cost-effective.

But do not forget, Byron could only choose one potion to learn, so naturally, he had to choose the most cost-effective one.

Moreover, he only had an annual allowance of two hundred magic stones, which not only had to be used to purchase potion Materials but also to buy other knowledge and conduct experiments... If he used it all up, he would have to rely on himself to earn more.

Therefore, he needed potions that could be sold for a high price to support his studies.

Thus, Byron gave up on the latter two categories of potions and focused on choosing from the first three.

"Eye of Omniscience, help me list the few potions currently most cost-effective for me."

[Analysis complete. Recommended choices: deep meditation potion, magic affinity potion, elemental perception potion, mental soothing potion, mental clarity potion.]

[deep meditation potion: Improves the quality of Meditation, doubling Cultivation efficiency.]

[Magic affinity potion: Makes it easier to absorb free-floating magic power from the outside world.]

[Elemental perception potion: Clearly perceive elements such as fire, water, wind, and earth.]

[...]

Soon, the Eye of Omniscience provided the corresponding analysis and suggestions.

Looking at the information displayed before him, even Byron could not make a choice for a moment.

In truth, these five potions were not only of great help to him, but they were also very popular among other students and could be sold for a high price.

After much deliberation, Byron sighed in his heart and made his decision.

Byron looked up at Mentor Isolde again and respectfully handed back the parchment.

Isolde took the parchment. "Have you chosen the potion you want to learn?"

Byron nodded. "Mentor, I would like to learn the 'deep meditation potion'."

This potion was not only of great help to him, but it was also a hard currency in the apprentice Market, possessing extremely high room for price premiums.

Hearing Byron's choice, a glimmer of appreciation appeared in Isolde's eyes once again.

"Not bad. You have made a correct choice. This potion is indeed of great help to you."

"You didn't do like Colin, choosing those potions that look impressive but are actually flashy and without substance. You didn't waste this opportunity."

As she spoke, a new piece of parchment appeared in Isolde's hand, which she handed to Byron.

"This is the formula. You can go to the Market now to purchase the Materials. This afternoon, I will teach you how to refine this potion."

Byron took the parchment, said goodbye, and walked outside.

Isolde, sitting on the sofa, watched Byron's retreating figure, a smile curling at the corners of her lips. A very interesting little guy; I truly wonder how far he will be able to go in the end.

The appearance of this smile was like a bright rose blooming on an ice field, full of contrast and charm. However, this smile vanished as soon as it appeared, seen by no one.