Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

Today was the day to find his mentor to concoct a magic potion, and Hughes arrived at Serafina's private botanical garden as promised.

Seraphia taught her a blood-restoring potion, one of the most common potions for beginner potions makers.

The purpose of blood tonics is to heal wounds. They can be taken orally or applied topically to the wound. They are one of the essential medicines for apprentices going on adventures.

After teaching Hughes the specific refining method, Serafina began to refine the blood-replenishing potion, a mandatory task assigned to her by the academy.

Hughes assisted from the side, constantly processing the blood-replenishing potion materials and observing Serafina's refining process.

Potions masters are extremely rare, not only because of the huge investment required in the early stages, but also because of their vast knowledge system and the subtle control of mental and magical power during the alchemy process.

Different methods of refining the same potion have been developed. The development of different methods is not only to reduce the consumption of materials and to replace some precious materials with common materials.

In order to better refine top-quality potions, the quality of potions is also divided into inferior, qualified, high-quality, and top-quality, from low to high.

Currently, there are fewer than 10 potion makers in Everfrost Spire. These fewer than 10 wizards and wizard apprentices are forced by the academy to be tasked with brewing low- or mid-level potions every year.

The forced production of large quantities of potions by potion makers was not only for the wizards' missions and daily meditation, but also for the needs of war.

The founder of Everfrost Spire led his men to sweep through the Iceridge Mountains in order to establish the academy, and even beheaded the Iceridge Mountains' overlord—a frost dragon with the strength of a second-level wizard.

After that, he led his men in a campaign against the Frostskin Dwarves, the dominant power in the Aes Basin.

After decapitating "Skullcrusher Tyrant" Mozambi, the remaining Frostskin Dwarves retreated to Frostbeard Cavern, home to the ancestral underground fortress of the Frozen Heart.

The fortress's internal mechanisms and runic arrays were extremely complex, so after confirming that the Frostskin Dwarves' high-end combat capabilities had been eliminated, the stalemate was broken, and the two sides remained in a state of equilibrium for thousands of years.

But ten years ago, a second-level wizard named Dulink emerged among the Frostskin Dwarves. He allied with the Frostbone Beasts, who also possessed an intelligent beast with the strength equivalent to a second-level wizard.

The two sides formed an alliance and successfully established a stronghold around Frostbeard Cave, specifically targeting wizards who raided Everfrost Spire.

The two sides soon engaged in a great battle, but the headmaster of Everfrost Spire was in seclusion at the time, and the two remaining second-level wizards were also responsible for the academy and could not frequently intervene.

After all, the surrounding colleges all came from different colleges in the Maranseur Center, and they were openly and secretly at odds with each other. Some even suspected that Dulink was supported by a nearby college.

Ultimately, after both sides' second-level wizards took action, they reached a tacit agreement that the second-level wizards would only remain at their headquarters, and the academy and the Frostskin dwarves would temporarily cease hostilities.

However, the conflicts continue, which is why the academy has applied to the headquarters for airships and even arranged for first-level wizards to escort new blood. In recent years, the academy has increased the amount of potion-making tasks, and it seems that a major battle is about to begin.

As for the main campus, the various academies are not a monolithic entity. The Myriad Peaks Tower is also unable to directly send high-level combat forces due to various factors. Providing airships and teleportation arrays is already a great help.

Getting back to the main point, after receiving the materials for ten blood-replenishing potions from his mentor, Hughes went to the academy's market area to buy a set of alchemy equipment.

This place is much larger than the central city of Corella. Various magical artifact shops and potion shops are located all around, and there are many small stalls on the spacious white stone brick ground, which are filled with various materials and all kinds of magical items.

Hughes wandered around for a while, and finally stopped in front of a potion shop called "Bohr's Potions Shop".

Upon entering, the air is still filled with the scent of potions, but unlike the cloying sweetness of "Sage Raven's Hut," this is a refreshing, cool minty aroma.

A short, stout wizard apprentice stood in front of the counter. Judging from the three-pointed star emblem (the one inside the Mercedes logo) on his left chest made up of three icicles, he was a third-class wizard apprentice.

What caught Hughes's attention even more was the concentric circle of three gold rings on the snakeskin glove on the left hand of the third-class wizard apprentice, the symbol of the Golden Ring Crown.

Families within a family alliance that have accumulated sufficient wealth and influence can apply to join the Golden Ring Crown. The more Golden Rings a family has, the higher its status.

The highest level is five gold rings, which are possessed by only five families in the entire Maransel—the five great wizarding families in the center of the continent.

"It seems this is a family business," Hughes thought.

The fact that this apprentice in front of me has gloves suggests that he holds a high position in the family.

"A new apprentice? You've come to the right place! All of Bohr's goods are of high quality or above standard," Bohr said with a smile.

"Give me a set of low-level potion-making equipment," Hughes said casually.

"Want to earn magic stones by brewing potions? Every year, many apprentices try to take this path, but most of the magic stones they spend go down the drain."

Bohr shook his head, but his hand deftly took out a set of alchemy tools from under the counter. Various knives and spoons gleamed with a bright silver light, and various glass products seemed to be under a spell, remaining spotless.

"A set costs 15 magic stones, no discount."

The prices were reasonable, and the quality of the alchemy equipment was also very good. This was the conclusion Hughes reached after shopping around for half a day and comparing prices from three different places.

Hughes took out 15 magic stones from his storage bag and placed them on the counter. His heart was bleeding at that moment.

"Do you want some potion ingredients?" Bohr asked with a grin, quickly taking the magic stones, counting them, and looking up.

"No need." Hughes took the alchemy equipment and walked out of the shop without looking back.

After dinner, Hughes rushed back to his dormitory. After thinking for a moment, he cleared out the only wooden table in the room and placed his newly bought alchemy equipment on it.

The wooden table was simply set up as a simple alchemy station, since only third-class wizard apprentices could apply for a dormitory with an alchemy room.

Hughes took out the ingredients for a blood-replenishing potion, crushed the red blood grass, extracted the juice, then took out the unicorn's saliva, diluted the mountain spirit's blood to 20%~30%, and then mixed them in a 1:2 ratio...

The process of making potions is very complicated, and the proportions and concentrations must be exactly the same. Skilled potion makers can adjust the parameters to their liking based on their experience.

But Hughes was clearly not at that level yet, and could only copy exactly what his teacher had taught him...

As expected, the originally bright red mixture suddenly turned black and a rotten egg smell spread. Fortunately, Hughes opened the window in advance and disposed of the waste. Then, Hughes took out another batch of materials to continue refining.