Leaving the experimental area, Edwyn and Elia, this eye-catching pair, drew quite a bit of attention from the other apprentices.
Unlike the somewhat well-known Elia, Edwyn, a prodigy who became a full apprentice less than half a year after enrollment, remained mostly unknown.
That was partly because he avoided socializing, and partly because he chose to keep a low profile.
Edwyn's style was all about playing dumb, staying quiet, and making a fortune in silence.
But sometimes, hiding too well could cause unexpected trouble.
"Elia, long time no see. Are you here to practice spells again today?"
A handsome man in black robes stepped out from the crowd of apprentices, flashing a brilliant smile as he approached Elia.
Elia's smile disappeared, and her tone turned cold.
"Yeah. I'm done now."
Noticing her shift in mood, Edwyn leaned in and whispered,
"Who is this?"
"That's Joseph," Elia replied, her voice laced with annoyance.
Edwyn studied the Mage apprentice before him, Joseph had a tall, athletic build and sharp features, with thick, golden shoulder-length hair. Judging by his magical aura, his strength was impressive. He was a full apprentice and a Mage's descendant.
All things considered, if he were pursuing anyone else, he'd have succeeded already.
"Elia, aren't you going to introduce your friend?"
Joseph acted like he hadn't noticed Elia's coldness, his smile unwavering.
"Edwyn. Also in the Alchemy Faction."
Edwyn didn't wait for Elia to respond, he stepped forward and introduced himself directly.
"So you're Edwyn. Looks can be deceiving."
Joseph feigned surprise and extended his right hand.
"I'm Joseph, full apprentice under Master Ulrich. May I ask under which master you study?"
"Master Joron," Edwyn replied flatly, taking his hand.
"A disciple of Master Joron," Joseph said, flashing a fleeting sneer.
"So he's one of Joron's nobodies."
It was no secret among alchemists that Joron took on a lot of apprentices. But everyone knew the difference: apprentices were just workers or servants, only full apprentices inherited real knowledge.
Joseph had heard a rumor that Joron recently accepted a low-level apprentice as a full student. But he figured it must be a Mage's descendant.
Only those exposed to Magery since childhood could qualify so early.
He had, after all, and assumed others must be the same.
As they shook hands, a burst of mental energy transmitted directly into Edwyn's mind:
"500 Mana Stones. Leave Elia."
Edwyn blinked, then almost laughed.
Did I just meet one of those arrogant CEOs from a romance drama?
But come on, 500 stones? That's just cheap.
"At least offer 5,000 if you want to act rich," he thought.
"Friend, 500 stones won't cut it."
Joseph's confident smile froze instantly.
Edwyn let go of his hand and casually pulled Elia into his arms.
"For such a rare treasure, it'd take at least 50,000 stones for me to let go."
Elia had no idea what Edwyn was talking about. But being suddenly held like that made her heart race.
"What's going on, Edwyn?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just that this friend here offered me 500 stones to leave you." Edwyn beamed. "But I told him his offer was too low. You're worth at least 50,000."
Elia turned toward Joseph, her face full of contempt.
"So this is your tactic, Joseph?"
Joseph shook his head and sighed.
"You self-taught apprentices are so troublesome. Things would be much easier if you just knew your place."
He looked at Elia, tone grave.
"Elia, sweet talk won't bring real benefit. In the Magus world, only Mana Stones and knowledge matter. You're on the path of Evocation, a field that burns through stones, and your mentor, Susanna, has an inheritance that demands even more."
"In this entire academy, only I and Master Joron's official apprentices can afford to support you."
Then he gave Edwyn a long, pitying look.
"Friend, there's a world of difference between formal apprentices and people like you. My offer still stands. I hope you'll see reason soon, before you can't even afford basic materials."
With that, Joseph turned and left. Edwyn watched him go, then turned to Elia, looking puzzled.
"You didn't tell him I'm Joron's formal apprentice?"
"Nope. Didn't you tell me not to share your info with outsiders?"
Elia tilted her head innocently.
They locked eyes, then burst out laughing.
After they'd calmed down, Edwyn let go of her.
"Let's go eat. I have potions to work on tonight, can't afford to fall behind, or I really won't be able to support Miss Disciple of Susanna."
"Support?! Excuse you!" Elia playfully waved her fists. "I can take care of myself!"
…
Evening – Dormitory Tower
An academy courier, an owl-sized creature with wings, hovered in front of Edwyn's balcony, clutching a box as big as a person.
"Apprentice Edwyn! Apprentice Edwyn! Your package is here!"
"CAAW!"
The Death Raven on the balcony shrieked. Though weaker than the courier, it still issued a warning cry.
"Coming!"
Edwyn opened the window and took the crate.
Most Mage-run shops in the academy used academy couriers for delivery. These creatures flew patrols year-round and were cheap to hire.
Their wages weren't in stones, they only wanted nuts and pretty (but useless) gems.
"Please sign."
The owl held out a parchment. Edwyn signed it, and the parchment burst into flame, signaling a completed transaction.
Back in his room, Edwyn unpacked the materials and lined them up on one side of the desk.
Various bizarre glass instruments sat on the other side, all necessary for potion-making.
Taking out the crystal orb with the potion formula, Edwyn reviewed it again. After confirming that everything matched his memory, he stepped outside and hung a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.
He didn't have many visitors, this was mostly to keep Elia away.
He put most of the materials back in the crate, keeping only enough for a single potion.
Focus Potion, its effect was physiological calm, preventing mistakes from pain or emotional distress during spellcasting.
Per the formula, Edwyn picked up a black plum-like fruit.
"Gastrodia Fruit. Has a numbing effect. Needs to be juiced and heated for about 10 minutes."
He crushed it in a ceramic mortar with a crystal pestle, filtered the juice, and heated it in a beaker.
"Next: White Rhino Horn. Must be ground into powder."
He grabbed a cracked rhino horn. It was tough to work with, Edwyn had to use a magical knife to cut it up before carefully grinding it down.
After processing other ingredients like Sunlime and Focus Grass according to the recipe, Edwyn was ready for synthesis.
Potion-making had one golden rule: order matters.
Change the order, and your miracle drug becomes lethal poison.
Potion-making also demanded the "three steadies":
Steady hand
Steady heart
Steady magic flow
Magic was often used as a catalyst, so the caster had to maintain a consistent output, no fluctuations allowed.
He pulled out a small ceramic cauldron etched with runes, an essential tool for potion-making.
Carefully, Edwyn added the ingredients one by one, using mana to catalyze each stage.
Unlike magic gear crafting, where a single mistake might not ruin the whole item, potion-making failed completely with just one misstep.
"Finally, add the Blackbone Stone powder. If the liquid turns deep blue and transparent, the potion is complete."
Holding his breath, Edwyn sprinkled in the powder.
The dark solution began to shift in color.
"Yes! It's working!" Edwyn's eyes lit up and he continued adding more.
Then suddenly, glug glug glug, bubbles began to form, and the liquid turned pitch black.
BOOM!
The cauldron exploded in a puff of black smoke that filled the entire room.
Wiping the soot off his face, Edwyn wore a deadpan expression.
Yep. That was a complete failure.
After cleaning up, he sat at his desk to reflect.
Experimentation was like this: fail, reflect, repeat, until you finally found a solution. And even then, it might not be the one you wanted.
"My steps were correct, and my mana output was steady. So that leaves either material processing or the exact mana quantity."
Joron's formula was filled with vague terms like "roughly" and "approximately."
Part of that was because Joron wasn't focused on potion-making, and partly because materials were inherently imprecise.
Different origins, growing conditions, processing methods, all affected their performance.
Mage wisdom had a simple response to this problem: "If you're bad at it, just practice more."
A true alchemist is forged through tens of thousands of failures.
But just then, Edwyn had another idea.
"Wait… potions should be able to yield technique extractions, too, right?"