Chapter 100: Chapter 95 The Source
The extraction process of a Magic Potion is, in essence, the refinement of a complete âOrigin Structureâ from these extraordinary organs of Magical Beasts. No wonder Teacher Hiliad said no amount of material is ever too much, for the larger the Magical Medicine Ingredients, the more complete the model is, and the less one has to supplement afterward.
"It looks like liquid gold, but in reality, itâs more expensive than gold."
Gazing at the golden crystalline fluid in the bottle, Ian couldnât help but feel emotional, "No... How could gold compare to it?"
A First Power Level Magic Potion requires at least two to three Demonic Beast Materials, and one Demonic Beast Material costs over a hundred, or even over two hundred Talle.
In other words, aside from the lowest level inheritance like âWave Breakerâ, the ingredients for a regular Magic Potion come to about four to six hundred Talle in total.
As a Sand Armor Apprentice of the highest inheritance level, only two Magical Medicine Ingredients are needed, but only because Ian used Totem Master materials from the Peak of the Second Energy Level.
If the materials are from normal First Energy Level Magical Beasts, five types are generally needed. In other words, just the âraw materialsâ alone start at eight hundred Talle and can go up to over one thousand five hundred Talle, twice that of ordinary inheritances.
Not to mention that the potion recipes from the Unyielding Fortress series are priceless treasures, and the Alchemists who can concoct such complex Magic Potions are similarly costly.
A regular fisherman from Harrison Port, counting the fish that come for free, earns about ten or so Talle a year, and my uncle Ossenna, including subsidies, just over twenty Talle.
Itâs by colluding with the Natives, smuggling goods, and taking kickbacks that one can save up so much money and Sleep Powder.
While this is certainly because Harrison Port is located in a frontier region, where the value of the Talle is somewhat distorted... But as Teacher said, even in the Capital Region of a central province in The Empire, a decent officerâs job yields only around ninety to a hundred Talle a year, and workers earn even less, just over sixty Talle.
Just the Magical Medicine Ingredients cost almost a decadeâs entire salary of an ordinary workerânot to mention the even more expensive correct Magic Potion recipe, the Alchemistâs concocting fee which is nearly the same as the price of the ingredients, the cost of prior adaptation training for accommodating the Magic Potion, the price of endowing a Virtual Primordial Seed, Teacherâs wages, and the potential for failure.
To train a Sublimator at the First Power Level, the cost starts at at least four thousand five hundred Talle!
This is assuming no failure; with failure, accounting for recovery and new Magic Potions, the expenses could approach seven thousand Talle.
The more failures, the higher the costs.
But even four thousand five hundred Talle is already heavier than him!
"This little vial of potion is made up of a pile of Taler Silver Coins heavier than myself... And since itâs for a top-tier Sand Armor Apprentice inheritance, it may be several times heavier!"
Letâs not discuss Ianâs current emotions.
At this moment, Hiliad had begun extracting the Origin Structure from the crystal bone of a Reef-eater Otter.
The elder knightâs eyes once again lit up with silver luminescence, and his hands were illuminated with a faint golden glow of Origin Quality. This glow interwove with the silver-blue electrical arcs of the surrounding Spirit Energy Field, forming a ball-shaped halo of light at the edge of his palms.
Strands of silver-white Origin Structure seeped out from the crystal bone at the center of the halo, condensing into a spirit material similar to the Origin Quality crystalline fluid in the crystal bottle.
Within Foresight View, pure blue Origin Quality was refined out, the originally deep blue crystal bone turned pure white, no longer a Sublimation Material, but a plain metal spine.
This made Ian take noteâthis technique, it was very much like what Elder Prude once referred to as âUninstrumented Refinementâ.
Theoretically, this was a skill that could only be used by a powerful individual who was both an Alchemy Master and a Sublimator above the Third Energy Level... but the problem was, Hiliadâs original strength was certainly above the Third Energy Level, yet he was not very proficient in Alchemy... Well, it could basically be said to be of middle school level.
However, now Hiliadâs technique for controlling Origin Quality to perform Uninstrumented Refinement was incredibly adept, unbelievably skilled!
"Kept a trick up your sleeve, huh... Or perhaps youâve been an assistant before but never learned the proper alchemy?"
He muttered softly to himself, and Ian also came to understand why Hiliard would choose Sigh Cliff.
The Spirit Energy Field in this place was vast yet remarkably stable, such that even Hiliard, a Sublimator not adept at channeling thunder, could leverage the stable power of the field to summon lightning, assisting in the refinement of the Magical Beast Materials.
"Well, the Magic Potion for the Sand Armor Apprentice is almost complete. Itâs not difficult to make, you could actually do it yourself. Itâs just the ordinary extraction process, but since we donât have professional alchemical equipment at the moment, I have to do it myself for the sake of quality."
Having placed the silvery Origin Quality fluid into the crystal bottle, Hiliard used his own Origin Quality to drive the fluid in the bottle to merge and flow. He nodded seriously to Ian, "Get ready and remember to absorb it with your âEssence Springâ, donât actually drink it."
"I understand," Ian nodded slightly.
The ingredients for the Magic Potion, apart from the Origin Structure, usually contain a vast array of both toxic and non-toxic inorganic materialsâfrom heavy metals to various types of stones, which are all foundational. Not to mention all kinds of strange herbs and assorted materials that ordinary humansâ stomachs could never possibly absorb.
Therefore, to safely consume Magic Potions, one must activate the âmuscle stomachâ that all Terra People have.
Or in other words, âEssence Springâ.
Having eaten so much Magical Beast Materials lately, Ian had long since activated his muscle stomach and opened his so-called âEssence Springâ, making him ready at any time to take a Magic Potion.
At this moment, the Magic Potion in the crystal bottle held by Hiliard was fully refined.
The gold and silver Origin Qualities merged to finally become a light-white translucent crystal fluid. Hiliard had already added Pure Silicon and Verdant Soil Leaf powder as additives, giving the Magic Potion an even more peculiar inorganic appearance.
Yet, faint golden inscriptions appeared over the light-white crystal fluid. In Ianâs Foresight View, he could see a multitude of Origin Quality Crystal Chips floating and settling in the liquid, coalescing into one inscription after another, linking together into a vast Sublimation Structure.
Like an unyielding hill in a storm.
And that was the core of the âSand Armor Apprenticeâ Magic Potion!
"Drink it,"
Hiliard handed the bottle of light-white, gold-patterned Magic Potion to Ian, looking somewhat tired but with an eager, bright-eyed gaze fixed on Ian. "This is the best Magic Potion that can be made under the current circumstances. There are not many masterpieces like this in my life."
"Ian, my apprentice, itâs definitely worthy of your talent."
"Teacher, I will do the best I can,"
Ian, too, earnestly extended his hands to receive the crystal bottle from his teacher. He gazed at the strange Magic Potion within the bottle, with inscriptions rising and rotating, then displayed a smile, "Truly fascinating."
Ian always said that, always feeling a genuine longing and curiosity for everything.
Thus, with a heart full of anticipation, he raised the bottle to his lips and drank.
The cold and heavy liquid poured into his throat, like ice entering a second stomach.
Immediately after, a scorching flow of molten rock ignited within Ian!