Herag lay on the bed, the sixth star in his mind about to solidify and sparkle.
Just before sunrise, Herag opened his eyes.
"Shenlan, check the current state of the body."
"Herag Merlin: Power 2.8, Agility 2.9, Constitution 4.0, Spirit 10.5, Magic Power 100%.
The data in all aspects has reached the genetic limit."
Herag looked at the data, silently contemplating: "10.5 Spiritual Power, already surpassing the advancement requirements of most Second-Class Wizard Apprentices. Is it because of the Starry Sky Meditation Technique?"
Generally, a First-Class Wizard Apprentice’s Spiritual Power tops out at 8 or 9 at most; to increase further, one must advance to a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice.
Herag had not yet advanced but already had a Spiritual Power of 10.5. If word got out, people might slice him up for research.
The body’s data had also seen significant improvement, but it had already reached genetic limits.
Herag did not rush to advance but spent five days stabilizing his Spiritual Power, striving to keep his physical state steady.
"Next is alchemy." Herag prepared two sets of materials, and one extra set was borrowed from Larry.
If he succeeded on the first try, he could return the borrowed materials.
Herag heard that advancing to an Official Wizard requires multiple Magic Potions, drinking another if the first one isn’t enough. Failure to advance means death.
The advancement from a First-Class Wizard Apprentice isn’t as difficult or dangerous, requiring only one Magic Potion.
"Demon Flower Root, Ancient Tree Sap, 30 grams of Obsidian, Saturn Dust..."
In his laboratory, Herag counted the Magic Potion materials; the main challenge of the Dawn Potion lay in handling the Demon Flower Root and maintaining the activity of the Ancient Tree Sap.
The Ancient Tree Sap must be kept at a constant temperature of 83 degrees in a beaker, not a degree higher or lower, with constant monitoring.
The root of the Demon Flower is highly toxic and must be handled carefully, filtering out all toxins, as it’s the main component of the Dawn Potion’s efficacy.
The Dawn Potion is essentially a poison; an ordinary person would drop dead immediately after drinking it, and a First-Class Wizard Apprentice with insufficient Spiritual Power would find it hard to survive.
Herag took out a black sunflower-like plant from his Space Ring. Unlike a sunflower, the original head had turned into a human face.
From the features, it was a woman’s face, with tightly closed eyes and cute, sharp tiger fangs at the corners of her mouth.
"Rather cute..." Herag didn’t understand why the word ’cute’ crossed his mind.
Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes, looking at Herag with a bewitching expression.
"Dark Energy Shield! I almost forgot! Damn, nearly messed up the first step." Herag was filled with dread; the Demon Flower has an enchanting effect and absorbs emotional energy from animals.
If the Demon Flower absorbed emotions, its venom would mix with impurities, rendering the Magic Potion materials useless.
The Dark Energy Shield provides a certain defense against spells involving Dark Attribute Energy, easily blocking the minor magic of the Demon Flower.
Herag took a pair of scissors, placing them at the junction of the Demon Flower’s head and root. The Dawn Potion required only the root, and the head could be kept for other Magic Potions in the future.
"Shenlan, block hearing." Herag preemptively issued the command as a precaution.
The next moment, the Demon Flower sensed the cold scissors below, showing a human-like expression of terror.
Herag exerted force, swiftly severing the head while sealing the cut with Magic Power to prevent the sap inside from splattering.
"Ahhhh..." The Demon Flower opened its mouth and began to scream, but the Dark Energy within it was blocked by the Dark Energy Shield, rendering its sonic attack ineffective against Herag.
Given his current physique, this level of intensity was insufficient to harm his eardrums, as it was only a harvested Magic Potion material.
After about a minute of screaming, the Demon Flower’s expression weakened, looking tired, and soon closed its eyes.
Herag soaked it in a pre-prepared glass jar, then stored it in the Space Ring, as it might come in handy later.
The next step was pivotal and challenging. Herag placed the root of the Demon Flower sealed with Magic Power into a large beaker, then infused Magic Power to control the toxins inside, squeezing them out with Magic Power.
This process required extreme care. A slight mistake in breaking the internal structure of the root would render the subsequent experiment unnecessary. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt
The black-purple toxins slowly dripped into the large beaker, the lab silent except for the drip-drip sound of water, with time passing slowly.
Herag took eight hours to complete the preparation of the Dawn Potion, sealing the test tube with an oak stopper, containing a light purple solution.
"Phew... exhausted." Herag finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Remaining Magic Power: 11%."
Apart from numerous details to pay attention to, the alchemy of the Dawn Potion also consumed considerable Magic Power.
With both physical and mental exhaustion, Herag was extremely fatigued at this moment.
"Luckily, it succeeded; I don’t want to go through it again." That tightrope-walking-like tension where nothing could go wrong covered his mind; just recalling it made Herag break out in a cold sweat.
"The current Spiritual Power is still too much pressure for completing this potion; no wonder Mr. Larry insisted on lending a set to me, apparently doubting I could succeed on the first try."
Shenlan could only run simulations and calculations for each step and the timing of the next step, but every action needed his execution.
The normal human brain couldn’t manage such high-precision, high-intensity tasks; only Wizards, with spiritual strength far exceeding ordinary people, enough focus, and stamina, could accomplish it.
After completing everything, Herag went downstairs to shower, still meditating while soaking in the bathtub.
Although his Spiritual Power had reached its limit, it was already a formed habit, plus meditation could speed Magic Power recovery.
In his mind, six stars connected, and the Array Map had only four positions left to illuminate.
"The advancement of a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice to Third Class requires ten stars, matching the Array Map’s number exactly; maybe there’s a link between them."
Herag lay in the bathtub, the meditation making him oblivious to the passage of time, even the cooling bathwater unnoticed.
"Remaining Magic Power: 100%."
After a night, the Magic Power fully recovered, and as Herag opened his eyes, his body and spirit felt refreshed.
He still didn’t rush to drink the potion for advancement but intended to adjust his body state over a few days while reviewing the relevant knowledge of advancement.
"You succeeded on the first try?" Larry was very surprised to hear the news.
"Many times it almost ended in failure, so hard." Herag sighed.
Larry looked at Herag like a monster: "You know, I had already prepared the Dawn Potion for you because I never thought you could succeed."