Wizards: Starting as a Potions Master!

Chapter 7: Obtain Two New Potion Recipes

Maple Leaf Town, the seat of the town council.

Old Baron Peter obtained a loan of 30,000 gold coins from the royal family to build this town, so the entire town's architecture was specially planned.

It's all red bricks and white walls.

On this ancient land stands a town with red bricks and white walls, hence the town was named Maple Leaf Town.

Baron Peter could not have imagined that, as the King of Storm Kingdom faced the conscription of the Bulgarian Butchers of the North, he would die in that war, and with his death, Maple Leaf Town would also become independent.

At this moment, Mayor Shawkat of Maple Leaf Town looked at the two corpses being carried in on stretchers with a grim face.

One of them was his son's.

One of them belonged to the law-abiding knight squire who was also the bandit leader.

Donette, the captain of the town council's militia, said with regret, "Mayor, when we arrived, the entire bandit stronghold had been burned to the ground. That's the situation. Please accept my condolences. May the Storm God protect you... I..."

He couldn't continue speaking.

Because Mayor Shockart was staring at him with intense hatred. "This is my only son, and I'm almost fifty. How can I possibly grieve?"

"If I pray to the god of storms, will my son come back to life?"

Mayor Shockart realized his slip of the tongue, and although there weren't many people in the town council hall at the moment, the town's church priest was still there, so he coughed, suppressed his grief, and offered an explanation.

"I don't mean any disrespect to the God of Storms. I mean, I want to know who killed my son?"

"What weapons are they using?"

"Are all those bandits dead?"

The militia captain forced a smile and said, "The situation is strange too. Your son...the bodies of the robbers all had marks from some kind of animal's claws."

"There are also signs of tearing."

"They look like wolf claws and teeth, but if you compare the size of the claw marks and teeth marks, then these wolves seem too big."

"Furthermore, is a pack of wolves really capable of wiping out a bandit stronghold?"

Mayor Shockart's eyes widened in disbelief, his muscles tense. "You mean, the one who killed my only son wasn't even human, but just a bunch of animals that came from who-knows-where?"

"I can't even find someone to take revenge on?"

"team leader."

The town priest walked up to the two corpses, looking at the wounds on them with a puzzled expression. "If you're saying wolves can kill ordinary people, I'll believe you."

"But you say the wolf can kill this law-abiding knight's squire. I don't believe it."

The militia captain said, "Then, Father, could you tell me who did it?"

The priest pursed his lips; he had no clue either.

Mayor Shockart's mind worked quickly. "It's also possible that someone used a weapon similar to a wolf's claw."

"Working back from the outcome, who would kill those bandits?"

"Who would intentionally kill my son?"

"Those who are enemies with us will not be enemies with those robbers, and those who are enemies with those robbers will not be enemies with us."

"The only one who is simultaneously at odds with both the bandits and us... is that young Baron Peter?"

Upon hearing the mayor's speculation, both the priest and the militia captain rolled their eyes.

Mayor Shockart also took a half step back, quickly dismissing his own idea. "But that doesn't make sense either. Where did that boy get such great abilities?"

"No, I don't care. Anyone connected to my son's death, even in the slightest way, must pay the price."

"Regardless of whether the Baron is innocent or not, I will take my revenge on him."

"Just you wait! I'll find the murderer who killed my son sooner or later!"

The militia captain and the priest exchanged a glance. Both remained rational and did not try to remind the irrational mayor at this moment.

Maple Leaf Town belongs to the town council, but the town council is not a one-man show by the mayor.

Previously, in order to fight against the young baron and the three knights, everyone elected the mayor. However, if it is for the mayor's personal revenge, then it is uncertain whether the guild leaders of Maple Leaf Town will continue to support him.

But neither of them tacitly revealed the matter.

If the mayor is so stupid that he can't even see this kind of thing, then Maple Leaf Town really needs a new mayor.

The militia captain glanced at the two corpses again. He saw the gruesome claw marks on them and the terrified expressions on their faces, and his shoulders trembled involuntarily.

Is this really the result of a normal battle?

What did these two see before they died?

By the god of storms, he must be daydreaming. Besides, there are many churches in the town.

There is even a district church here, led by a high priest, which can radiate outwards to the surrounding scattered human settlements and churches in some backward villages.

With the chief priest present, there shouldn't be any supernatural or bizarre things happening.

……

In the highest attic of Baron Peter's castle, Su Nan was quite satisfied. His mental strength had now reached 8.8 after taking the mental strength enhancement potion.

Although he didn't have the orthodox methods of wizards to enhance his mental power, he forged his own path by administering drugs to himself, thus creating a wicked way out.

Su Nan said, "AI, check why my mental strength is increasing at such a rapid pace. Is it because the potion is enhancing my abilities?"

[An unexpected situation arose when designing the potion recipe: the werewolves seem to be able to slightly increase their power through killing. Through the pack effect, you have shared the magical power they use to enhance their abilities when they kill, thus also increasing your mental strength.]

[Based on speculation, the problem likely stems from the use of full moon light as the final ingredient in the potion's design. This linked werewolves to the full moon light, leading to the unusual situation.]

[Currently, there is insufficient information to determine the upper limit of how much a werewolf can improve their abilities through killing. However, the improvement is very slight, and there are signs of speed decay, so the impact is not significant.]

Su Nan nodded.

However, as the final stage of the wolf pack effect, he benefited from the shared magical power that the entire wolf pack received when it enhanced its abilities. Therefore, in just one night, his mental strength increased by 0.1.

The AI ​​estimated that the wizards' mental strength was at least 10 or higher, while its own was already 8.8.

Su Nan asked, "How's the progress of the task I gave you before—to accelerate the deduction of the potion formula that could further enhance my mental power—going down?"

[Mental Strength Enhancement Potion Recipe Upgrade (+1) Project, Progress: 97%]

[My progress was originally only 40%, but last night I obtained important information from the books and materials I collected, leading to a rapid breakthrough.]

Su Nan raised an eyebrow.

Last night, they retrieved a large amount of grain that had been looted from the villagers by the bandits, and also ransacked the bandits' inventory.

The harvest alone amounted to 300 gold coins, which made the old steward and head maid extremely happy.

At the same time, he also obtained a batch of ancient books that the bandits had looted from an old church.

These ancient books were not written in common language, but in some kind of ancient script.

However, the AI ​​had already deciphered similar ancient texts, so it quickly deciphered the contents of these books and scanned them.

But unexpectedly, the contents of these books turned out to be so useful.

Su Nan said, "Besides that, what other information did we obtain related to wizards?"

From those ancient books, some information that seemed to be related to wizards was obtained. From those books (a total of seventy-three), two complete and usable potions were deciphered and pieced together, and seven trap-type potion recipes were eliminated.

[Meanwhile, after eliminating a large amount of useless and misleading information, a hidden diary, resembling that written by a wizard, was discovered. From this, it was deduced that even wizards have varying levels of strength.]

Based on currently available information, it can be inferred that there are different ranks among wizards. Before becoming a formal wizard, there are third-class wizard apprentices, second-class wizard apprentices, and first-class wizard apprentices.

Furthermore, it seems that a special potion is required between a first-class wizard apprentice and a full-fledged wizard apprentice, and this ritual is speculated to be a very rare resource in the wizarding world.

Su Nan raised an eyebrow. "So, a mental strength of 10 or higher is equivalent to a third-tier wizard apprentice, or a full-fledged wizard?"

[It is currently impossible to speculate. Due to a severe lack of relevant data, any deductions would be inaccurate. Under the most ideal circumstances, a mental strength of 10 is likely only the minimum standard for a third-tier wizard apprentice.]

Considering all factors, this analysis is likely completely wrong, overestimating the wizards' mental strength.

Su Nan understood.

However, it seems that I can no longer judge whether I am stronger or weaker than a real wizard.

Unexpectedly, wiping out a bandit stronghold would yield such a great reward.

That makes sense.

Those bandits travel far and wide, and during their long periods of robbery, they may very well steal something related to wizards.

But they lacked both the knowledge and the ability to interpret those books.

From millions of words, find one or two truly useful things.

Su Nan asked, "What are the two potion recipes obtained from the analysis?"

[1. Sleep-inducing Potion.]

[2. The Potion of the Sacrificial Hand.]

[1. The Sleepy Potion only yielded about half of the original potion's content. Due to its extreme incompleteness, the remaining half could only be deduced from the context and related information. Because of the experimental records related to the Sleepy Potion, the original potion recipe was quickly deduced, and some effects were optimized.]

The intended effect of this potion is that throwing the potion bottle creates a swarm of insect-like mist that enters the enemy's nose, inducing a moderate sleep for approximately five minutes.

The ingredients are only five simple things: 10 grams of kudzu root, 5 grams of lavender, 3 grams of willow leaves, one silver coin, and one cricket.

[By adding it to water and controlling the heat to a specific level, its magical power can be extracted and transformed into a drowsy potion using your magic and a specific incantation.]

[This potion requires a base of mana to brew, estimated to require one unit of mana, but you currently have three units of mana.]

Su Nan raised his eyebrows. Collecting the other materials was just a little more troublesome. Things like willow leaves, kudzu root, and crickets could be found by wandering around the woods in this rural area.

No wonder in fairy tales, wizards like to wander around in desolate wilderness.

That silver coin, however, was something they were actually using to make potions.

It seems that making potions really does require a lot of resources.

I really need to take over Maple Leaf Town.

Su Nan asked curiously, "Neither the mental enhancement potion nor the werewolf curse potion requires mana, so why does this drowsy potion?"

[The data is severely insufficient, the reason for which is unknown, but based on the available information, this is necessary.]

[Speculation 1: The previous two were not instant-effect potions.]

[Speculation 2: The Sleepy Potion is a negative status potion, completely opposite to the previous two types of potions.]

After thinking about it, Su Nan stopped dwelling on the issue.

He is currently severely lacking in information. In any case, he already knows that by refining certain powerful magical potions, he will also be able to convert his spiritual power into magical power.

Although I don't have any meditation techniques or spell models, I can still see the wizard's door through this unorthodox method.

[The second potion, the Sacrificial Hand. The recipe for this potion is well-preserved, but the brewing method was too difficult. Therefore, after extensive deduction, the brewing method was simplified, and the necessity of a child sacrifice was removed.]

[With proper optimization, it can be predicted that the drug itself will be enhanced.]

[The reason you were able to deduce this so quickly is because the books you obtained from the bandits also contained experimental data on this potion. Strangely, the formula you obtained through reverse engineering seems to be closer to the original potion recipe. This potion recipe appears to have been modified, but its power hasn't increased; instead, it has weakened during the modification, its functions have become strange, and the difficulty and cost of its preparation have increased.]

You can soak three bottles of the sacrificial hand in your left hand, and repeat this process for three nights.

You will gain a left hand capable of using telekinesis.

The more severe your injury, the stronger this mental power will become.

There are nine types of materials required.

[A group of herbs: 1. Belladonna; 2. Foxglove; 3. Elderberry powder; 4. Mistletoe.]

[A group of ores: 1. Malachite; 2. Lapis lazuli; 3. Hematite; 4. Labradorite.]

Ten gold coins.

Seeing that it required ten gold coins, Su Nan was taken aback. "Why does the Sacrificial Hand potion require so many gold coins?"

Based on current information and circumstances, the amount of gold coins used is unrelated to the potion's potion strength.

This is related to the design of the potion itself, as well as the function it is meant to perform.

Su Nan nodded.

Both of these potions are extremely useful, and it's best to make them yourself as soon as possible.

However, these materials are too varied, and the people in his own castle and that village may not be able to collect them all.

With so many materials, we must send someone to the market in Maple Leaf Town, a nearby commercial hub, to buy them all at once.

The Sleepy Potion can serve as an alternative attack method for himself and his wolf pack, and should be very useful; it's a necessity.

The Sacrifice Hand potion can enhance one's single-target combat ability. Although one has not found sorcery, one can use the potion as a temporary substitute.

Meanwhile, the AI ​​is currently using most of its computing power to upgrade the Mental Enhancement Potion, the Steel Claw Potion, and the Wolfsbane Potion.

Su Nan planned to wait for the AI ​​to finish deducing the formula before going to the Maple Leaf Town market to collect all the potions at once.

Furthermore, since mental enhancement potions can upgrade (+1) the recipe, and there are level distinctions among wizards, it's likely that potions must also have level distinctions.

The Werewolf Curse Potion series will likely need an upgrade in the future.

Su Nan looked at the two hunting dogs that were sleeping next to the attic, whistled, and then ordered, "You two will head to the trade route near Maple Leaf Town tonight and attack all the caravans from Maple Leaf Town."

"The primary goal is to protect oneself and avoid being seen by others."

I don't have the energy to directly manage Maple Leaf Town for the time being, but as the price they paid for letting the bandits attack my village, I'll let the two werewolf messengers teach them a lesson first.

At the same time, Su Nan looked out the window and asked, "AI, what is that wizard's diary we obtained? Can we find out from it whether there are still wizards in this world?"

"Are all those wizards dead, have they left, or are they hiding somewhere in this world?!"

(End of this chapter)