Duke thought about it and agreed, after all, living in Azure Vault City, he would eventually have to deal with these people from the City Lordās Mansion.
Unexpectedly, the person came the next day, clearly eager to meet him.
Todd took this matter very seriously at first, but upon meeting Duke, he felt he had been a bit too serious.
Because Dukeās strength wasnāt particularly strong, just at the spiritual power level of a low-ranking mage.
Moreover, he was too young, how much experience in Magic Potion could such a young person accumulate? Most likely, not as much as him.
Additionally, the shop was too simple, and these so-called magic potions were just casually displayed, showing no real seriousness towards potion crafting, filled with a sense of randomness.
This made Todd think Duke wasnāt a meticulous researcher, and attitude determines many things.
Since he was already here, he at least had to see the level of the magic potions this person had refined.
Todd asked politely, "Mr. Duke, may I take a look at the magic potions youāve crafted?"
"Of course, go ahead," Duke replied with a smile, then continued sitting in his chair, quite leisurely.
Todd then walked to the wooden box and picked up a bottle labeled Basic Magic Recovery Potion.
He unplugged the cork, and an extremely pure magic power scent, without any impurities, instantly filled the air, carrying a faint fragrance of grass and wood.
Todd Mageās pupils suddenly contracted, and his faceās skepticism was instantly replaced by shock.
As someone who has long been in contact with potion materials, he had refined countless magic potions.
But the potions he usually crafted either had a mixed scent with a burnt smell, were murky in color, or had extremely unstable magic power fluctuations.
Yet, the potion before him was as clear as a mountain spring, with an aura so pure it made his heart tremble, and the magic power contained was gentle yet abundant, something he had never seen in his life.
He didnāt even dare to use his usual simplistic methods of testing, fearing contamination of this potion.
Todd carefully poured a tiny drop onto the magic testing crystal plate he carried, a tool often used to roughly reflect the energy purity and stability of potions.
The moment the crystal plate came into contact with the potion drop, a gentle and bright blue light steadily illuminated, uniformly pure, without the slightest flicker or colorful spots.
Todd Mage stared intensely at the glow, holding his breath.
The best potion heād ever refined had only ever made the crystal plate emit a weak, speckled light, often flickering erratically.
"This... how is this possible..." Todd Mageās voice quivered with disbelief as he looked sharply at Duke, "This purity and stability... Sir, did you really craft this yourself?"
He instinctively switched to using honorifics, all previous disdain vanished, leaving only a reverence for knowledge.
Duke yawned, as if the other was merely asking about todayās weather: "Yes, just crafted casually. The material processing wasnāt meticulous, and the purification technique was a bit crude, but itāll do."
He was speaking the truth; this was indeed crafted using the most basic technique with the most ordinary materials as practice batch.
The Wizard Planeās laboratories were far more advanced, unable to refine the highest quality potions, only able to produce above-average ones.
"Crafted casually? āItāll do?ā" Although Todd realized this bottle of Basic Magic Recovery Potion wouldnāt be very high grade, its purity was something heād never seen before.
He didnāt know how one could craft a solution with such high purity.
Duke found himself puzzled by Toddās excitement and finally sat up slightly straight from his chair, scratching his head, "This is just a plain secondary potion..."
"Mr. Duke... I... Todd Hoffman, as the Chief Alchemist of Azure Vault City, humbly request... that you allow me to observe your refining process in detail? Or even just give me some pointers..." Todd said respectfully.
He slightly bowed, lowering his posture greatly.
At this moment, he was no longer the Chief Alchemist from the City Lordās Mansion; in the path of Magic Potion, he forever held the heart of an apprentice.
Dukeās comment about the material processing not being meticulous felt like a thorn stuck in his heart. If such a crude technique could reach this level, what would true meticulousness be like?
He dared not imagine but was eager to know.
Duke shook his head, saying, "Sorry, I have no obligation to teach you anything. You know, the most expensive thing in the world is knowledge."
He was essentially using the advanced Magic Potion knowledge from the Wizard Plane to perform a dimensional reduction attack here, even if it was just the most basic refining process, it was inherited from countless generations.
Such profound heritage and accumulation were incomparable to Todd and their shallow alchemist practices.
Duke wasnāt going to easily impart any knowledge to them, as it was his skill for earning a living for the foreseeable future; rarity holds value, if abundant, it loses worth.
Moreover, he had no relationship with Todd to warrant doing favors.
Todd wasnāt surprised but felt somewhat disappointed upon hearing Dukeās words.
This was normal in the Oracle Plane, as Magic Potion is traditionally passed down through generations.
Todd was an outsider, and the techniques Duke held must be knowledge passed within their lineage, so naturally wouldnāt be easily taught to outsiders.
After thinking about it, he said, "Master Duke, how about this, if I have any questions in the future, can I come and consult you? For a fee!"
"Sure, but it depends on the question; Iām not omniscient," Duke said.
Todd was excited upon receiving a positive answer, then holding the Basic Magic Recovery Potion in his hand, asked, "Can I buy this potion?"
"Of course, you can take it away for three hundred Level 1 Magic Crystal Stones," Duke said casually.
In the Wizard Plane, such a potion would only cost around twenty to thirty Level 1 Magic Stones; he had directly marked it up by over ten times.
This price surely exceeded the potionās inherent value, but rarity adds value, and such a high-purity potion was research-worthy for Todd.
Todd agreed promptly, "Yes, and may I buy these too?"
Duke thought for a moment then said, "You can buy a maximum of ten potions; the others have slightly different prices."
He didnāt want his place to turn into a distribution center; if he didnāt limit quantities, Todd would likely buy as many as possible and resell them for a higher price.
Dukeās limitation on quantity was also to sell at higher prices in the future. He was, after all, only one person and couldnāt engage in mass production of Magic Stones, so he had to set the price higher.
To sell at high prices, the quantity couldnāt be too large; now it was just preparation for later, after all, whatās displayed in the shop were only secondary potions.