Chapter 243: Chapter 242: Potion Formulation and Pandora’s Mischief Chapter 243: Chapter 242: Potion Formulation and Pandora’s Mischief In the blink of an eye, many days had passed.
Richard’s life at the academy was monotonous, but in the courtyard he had purchased, he bit by bit constructed the rudiments of a laboratory—it couldn’t compare in scale to the one in the Blue Lion Kingdom’s palace, but it was already capable of a great deal of research.
Many days later, during the day, at Richard’s rented courtyard, which also served as his lab.
The weather was clear, and the warm sunlight streamed through the windows, casting beams that danced in the air filled with fine dust, glittering under the Tyndall effect, creating a spectacle of beauty.
In a corner of the lab rested a wooden bed, with a thick mattress atop which lay a soft woolen blanket, covered with a fluffy goose-down comforter. Sitting on it, the whole bed was as soft as a freshly baked, fermented Queen’s Bread.
Pandora was currently lying on it, sound asleep.
On one side, busy Richard was working at a long table, operating various instruments, using scientific methods to try to produce a special substance.
Continuous white vapor shot out of the exhaust pipe.
The solution in the beaker boiled.
Richard operated the equipment, casting glances at Pandora from time to time, pondering certain matters.
Pandora, from her initial deep sleep, had now been slumbering for several months, and it seemed there was no sign of awakening anytime soon. Perhaps she would need to sleep a few more months, even half a year.
And that… was rather convenient, at least she wouldn’t be causing any trouble or interfering with his experimentation.
Richard thought, turning his head to look at the instruments on the table, seeing that the reaction in the many devices was about complete, he reached out and opened a sealed valve.
Hot steam burst forth immediately from the sealed container, rapidly traveling through the condenser pipes, and beginning to liquify under the effect of cold water.
One drop at a time of golden liquid started to fill a glass tube from the spout at the end of the pipe, and before long, an entire glass tube was filled.
Richard, on the outside of the glass tube, affixed a label reading “Trial-made Spartan Heroic Potion,” and carefully picked it up to observe. After a moment, he flipped his hand and took out another tube of “Spartan Heroic Potion” from the Space Iron Ring for comparison.
The “Spartan Heroic Potion” he took out was given on the island of Lisben by Macbeth, as a reward ostensibly for helping with a task.
The value of the “Spartan Heroic Potion” was evidently high, capable of enhancing one’s physical fitness, allowing a burst of formidable combat strength in a short period of time. Prolonged use could also potentially activate hidden Bloodline Seeds within the body.
In a word, the “Spartan Heroic Potion” was the most excellent stimulant in the current world.
Though it could not enable a person to cast spells like a wizard, it could result in far beyond normal physical combat capabilities. Under extreme conditions, a person who had taken the potion, if they could get close enough to a wizard, would not be taken lightly by the wizard.
Therefore, whether for personal use, research, or to sell in exchange for other materials, there was no reason not to produce it.
Richard’s eyes sparkled faintly.
According to Macbeth’s original claims, the formula for this “Spartan Heroic Potion” had always been strictly confidential, making it difficult to learn the materials and process involved in its creation. But Richard had long since acquired the formula, and after getting the necessary materials through Alex, he had tried, and successfully produced it using scientific methods.
Now, comparing the newly mixed potion to the one originally given by Macbeth, he could see a great difference.
Though both potions were golden yellow, the newly formulated potion had a deeper color, purer, whereas the potion given by Macbeth appeared somewhat diluted and mixed with some impurities.
This was the advantage of using scientific methods.
Traditionally, ingredients were added by estimation, but scientific methods utilized precise measurements with a balance scale.
Traditionally, heating was done with flames, varying in temperature, while scientific methods employed precise control with alcohol lamps, Bunsen burners, and water baths to restrict temperature fluctuations within a narrow range. In addition, the heat was evenly distributed with the help of an asbestos net.
Traditionally, removing residuals was simply done by letting the sediment settle, discarding large solid particles, and keeping the supernatant that still contained small particles. Science, on the other hand, involved multiple filtrations and steps like distillation to remove more impurities.
Furthermore, scientific methods made use of centrifugation, shaking, drying, and other common laboratory techniques. Though these techniques were not considered technically advanced on modern Earth, they were extremely effective in a medieval Wizard World, producing a replica far superior in quality to the original.
Holding the newly created replica, Richard examined it closely, detecting a faint sweet scent. It was as if what was contained in the glass tube wasn’t the “Spartan Heroic Potion” capable of powerful effects, but just sugar water.
At this moment, Pandora, who was sleeping on the bed, twitched her nose slightly.
Richard continued his observations, pondering how best to test its specific effects.
After a while, Richard had a complete plan and was about to turn to execute it when he suddenly heard a whoosh, followed by a gust of wind sweeping through the laboratory.
Before Richard could react, he felt his hand lighten, the potion had disappeared without a trace.
When he turned around, he saw Pandora by his side, squinting as if still in a dream, holding the potion in her hand, and bringing it to her mouth.
“Don’t…” Richard managed to utter just a word before Pandora completed her series of actions, unstoppable.
Open mouth, close mouth.
The entire tube of potion was poured into Pandora’s mouth and swallowed in one gulp.
Richard’s eyes involuntarily widened, his heart ached for a moment, as if he had lost 33.333 high-grade Crystal Coins—in other words, a loss of a hundred million copper coins.
Could one still live life ? Causing trouble even while sleeping? Couldn’t she just sleep peacefully?
But soon, Richard controlled his emotions and narrowed his eyes to watch Pandora, to see if there were any reactions. The potion was consumed, and if it could provide some feedback data, so be it. It could be considered an extreme condition test—for instance, testing the effects of a young Giant Dragon consuming a large amount of “Spartan Heroic Potion.”
Looking over, Richard saw Pandora continuing to sleep, unchanged. Her body swayed slightly, and she carelessly tossed the glass tube aside, then climbed back onto the bed and continued sleeping.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
After a full three minutes, Pandora lay motionless in the bed, not even rolling over. It was as if for her, drinking a whole tube of “Spartan Heroic Potion” was truly like drinking a tube of sugar water.
A hundred million copper coins could crush a crowd of people, thrown into the sea would cause waves tens of meters high, yet when they reached Pandora’s mouth, not even a splash could be seen.
Richard felt that the hundred million was truly lost, lost completely. Irretrievable, irreparable.
After several breaths, Richard accepted this reality, then shook his head and turned to take various ingredients from the drug cabinet nearby, re-weighing and attempting to reformulate the potion.
After all, if life must go on…