Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 452 The Heavenly Ladder Test of the Feathered Serpent Pavilion

Feathered Serpent Pavilion.

Locke and Alicia arrived at the Feathered Serpent Pavilion, where the half-dragon wizard had been replaced.

Locke looked at the unfamiliar red dragon half-dragon wizard with suspicion and said, "Was the previous shopkeeper a blue dragon half-dragon?"

The red dragon half-dragon wizard was detached, his crawler blood suppressing his emotions. "Yes, he has been promoted because he has accumulated a sufficient number of C-level members. Now, I am in charge here. Augustine, the potion master, I have reviewed your test contract. You are currently in the first round of testing on the Heavenly Ladder."

Locke asked doubtfully, "The Heavenly Ladder?"

The red dragon half-dragon opened his mouth, revealing traces of sulfur between his teeth, and emitted a distinctive sulfurous odor when he spoke. "It's a special test from the Feathered Serpent Pavilion. Countless potion masters around the world are participating in the Feathered Serpent Pavilion's tests."

"You will receive some rewards for each round you pass. The more tests you pass, the more rewards you will receive."

"A potion master will only have one chance in his/her life to participate in the Feathered Serpent Pavilion's Ladder of Heaven. Once he/she fails, he/she will never be able to participate again."

"Regardless of what level of wizard he is."

The red dragon half-dragon extended his right hand, "Please let me see the mastermind control potion you have prepared."

Locke retrieved twenty-four vials of the Mind Control Potion from the Astral Plane.

The red dragon half-dragon glanced at it with surprise. "Can the success rate of concocting the Brain Control potion be this high without using the Primal Flame?"

"Out of thirty ingredients, you managed to successfully concoct twenty-four, failing only six. Even potion makers who can concoct master-controlled potions typically only have a success rate of around 60%."

The red dragon half-dragon placed the twenty-four bottles of potions on the counter and took out a dried maple leaf.

Next, he placed the maple leaf under his nose, sneezed slightly, and released a spark from his nostril, igniting the red, dried maple leaf.

The maple leaves immediately burst into flames, billowing thick smoke.

Then, a faint red magical glow appeared in all twenty-four doses of the Mastermind Control Potion.

Locke then realized that the materials for the Brain Control potion that the Feathered Serpent Pavilion had given him contained specific fluorescent components.

The red maple leaf is called the "Visible Maple Leaf," a common tool in potion-making used to make a target visible after applying a specific fluorescent mark.

It's a bit complicated to make, and requires a relatively large personal pharmaceutical lab.

The red-dragon half-dragon checked the concentration of light in each dose of the Brain Control potion and nodded. "No problems."

"The ingredients for these Brain Control potions were all given to you by the Feathered Serpent Pavilion. Moreover, there is no trace of primal power in them, and you personally refined these ingredients; otherwise, there would be no special magical fluorescent markings."

Locke was not surprised by this.

He had long suspected that the materials given to him by the Feathered Serpent Pavilion had been marked with a special magic seal, making it absolutely impossible for him to find other potion makers to refine them and then submit them himself.

The red dragon half-dragon took out a black iron magic box with a question mark pattern on the front from his astral ring. "This is the reward for the first round of the Heavenly Ladder. It's a black iron magic box. After opening it, you can get any reward, all of which are related to potion-making."

"Wizard Augustine, this is the special potion key to open the Question Mark Box. Here you go."

Locke glanced at the red dragon half-dragon, took the magic box and key, and inserted the key into the lock on the side of the magic box with the question mark pattern. He gently turned it, and the entire black iron magic box vanished on its own. Locke noticed that the black iron magic box had evaporated and sublimated like water.

Or rather, this black iron magic box is itself a special solid of water created using alchemical magic; once opened with a key, the box will instantly sublimate and disappear.

After the box disappeared, a paper recipe appeared on the table. Locke picked it up and glanced at it, only to see the name written on it: [Laughing Potion].

The user will laugh uncontrollably and will laugh until they die; it is a first-stage poison in the field of toxicology.

Locke glanced at the recipe, memorized it, and then put it into his astral ring.

The red dragon half-dragon said, "The quality of the rewards you can get in the first round of the ladder is limited, but the Laughing Potion recipe is indeed a very interesting potion. In the hands of a capable potion master, it can be used in many different ways."

"Apothecary Augustine, this is the second round of the Heavenly Ladder test."

Locke took the document from the red dragon half-dragon, and Alicia also leaned over to look. The document read: 'Within one year, using ten ingredients, concoct one dose of the Glass Aging Potion. Five doses must be successful, and the Primal Flame must not be used.'

Alicia's expression changed slightly. "The Glacial Aging Potion? That's only slightly easier than the Sun Potion. Is the second round of the Heavenly Ladder really that difficult?"

Before entering the Heavenly Ladder, the three potion configurations used to test whether a potion master is qualified to enter the Heavenly Ladder already indicate that the potion master needs to have sufficient experience in the first stage.

Those three potions are extremely demanding tests of a potion master's overall abilities.

The first round of the Heavenly Ladder, the Mind Control Potion, is considered a difficult potion among the potions in the first round.

The second round of this Heavenly Ladder, the Age-Aging Potion of Geras, is so complex and difficult to refine that it's practically hellish.

Alicia seemed to realize something and looked at the red dragon half-dragon, saying, "Could it be that the third round of the Heavenly Ladder requires refining a first-level potion of the same difficulty as the Sun Potion? Without using the Primal Flame, who can refine a potion of that difficulty?"

The red-dragon half-dragon said coldly, "No comment. Wizard Alicia, do you have any intention of participating in the Heavenly Ladder Test?"

Alicia's expression shifted slightly, but she still shook her head and said, "No, I've been very busy lately. I don't have time to participate in this kind of test."

After receiving a clear rejection, the red dragon half-dragon did not dwell on it, but instead looked at Locke and handed him the two medals.

One is the Feathered Serpent Badge, which represents passing the first round of the Heavenly Ladder and has a number 1 on it. The second one is actually the official Potions Master certification badge.

The red dragon half-dragon explained to Locke, "The Quetzalcoatl Ladder Test is recognized by the White Wizarding Association. Wizards who pass the first round of the test can be directly awarded a formal Potions Master badge if they do not already have one."

Locke nodded in surprise. "So, a first-ring wizard can completely bypass the formal potion master exam and directly obtain the formal potion master certification badge using the Heavenly Ladder?"

The red dragon half-dragon said, "You can understand it that way."

Alicia laughed and whispered to Locke, "No one would normally choose this, let alone concoct a complex potion like the Mastermind Control Potion. Even the three potions you concocted before participating in the Ladder of Gods are more difficult than the regular formal potion master certification exam."

"No one would abandon the easy way and choose the difficult way."

Locke nodded. "Then I'll accept the second round of the Heavenly Ladder test. Give me the materials."

Out of the corner of his eye, Locke saw an unfamiliar old wizard enter the shop, his eyes remaining alert, as if he were ready to flee at the slightest sign of trouble.

(End of this chapter)