After hearing Joron's explanation, Edwyn finally understood the value of secret dimensions.
But this kind of opportunity was clearly more useful to full-fledged Mages. They had the knowledge to identify what was valuable and what wasn't. As mere apprentices who hadn't even finished learning what their teachers taught, most of them would probably enter a treasure trove and leave empty-handed.
"Let's set aside the matter of secret dimensions for now, Edwyn. I actually summoned you for something else," Joron said.
He shot a glance at Chucks, who immediately understood and exited the lab.
Edwyn swallowed nervously, a little tense.
"Edwyn, you've been my student for ten years now. You passed the trial, and that proves you're not just a bookworm."
As he spoke, Joron took a crystal orb from a drawer.
"There are some things it's time I passed on to you."
Edwyn took the orb with both hands. The moment his mind touched it, a massive surge of information flooded into his brain.
"The stuff before this was just the basics. Every Alchemist teaches that, though maybe with different magical blueprints. But this, this is something entirely different."
Edwyn slowly regained his senses.
This knowledge was indeed unlike anything he'd received before.
Joron had passed him a complete alchemy spell.
Alchemy spells were different from elemental spells. They couldn't be drawn with just runes, frankly, they didn't even qualify as "spells." Words like "procedure" or "technique" were more accurate.
The spell Edwyn had just received was called [Body of Adaptation].
In short, it was a technique that increased one's resistance to all types of elemental and physical damage, while also helping to unlock the body's latent potential.
Joron led Edwyn to another lab filled with strange and terrifying equipment.
Iron maidens, nutrient tanks, pendulums like siege hammers, objects that looked wildly out of place in a research lab.
"You've chosen the path of bloodline alchemy. 'Body of Adaptation' is a perfect fit for you," Joron said, gesturing at the training devices. "But whether you can endure this spell's training, that's up to you."
Training for Body of Adaptation was simple: constant exposure to environmental stress so that the body could learn to resist it.
Want fire resistance? Burn yourself repeatedly.
Want cold resistance? Live in freezing temperatures.
Want to resist blunt force, piercing, or slashing? Use the appropriate torture device.
Edwyn's face twitched. The technique's effects were incredible. According to the orb, a fully trained Body of Adaptation could ignore thousands of levels of elemental damage and resist most physical harm.
It had incredible potential.
But the training process... was anything but humane.
Joron handed him a key.
"This training room is yours now. Everything you need to train for the spell is here."
With that, Joron left, letting Edwyn think it over alone.
…
Edwyn sat in the training room for a while before deciding to begin his training.
Gaining power has never been easy.
Training in Body of Adaptation had two steps: destruction and restoration.
Destruction was easy. The room was equipped with fire, ice, blunt instruments, piercing tools, you name it.
Restoration was the hard part. According to the orb, anyone training in Body of Adaptation had to first inject 100 milliliters of Adaptation Elixir, the core of the technique.
After destruction, the trainee must soak in a special recovery solution for one hour.
This cycle would repeat.
While Joron had saved him the trouble of building the equipment, Edwyn still had to concoct the recovery elixir himself, and the ingredients weren't cheap.
Right now, he could just about afford it. But as training progressed, the cost would rise. Eventually, he'd need specialized elixirs for each type of damage.
Edwyn pinched the bridge of his nose. After living comfortably for so long, this sudden expense was giving him a headache.
"Should I increase production? Or release a new product?"
Massaging his forehead, he returned to his room and started flipping through his notes.
He vaguely remembered there was still one potion formula he hadn't unlocked.
After searching for a while, Edwyn finally found the note.
"Constitution Enhancement Potion, Library Code: N7111."
Edwyn immediately headed to the library.
He located the notebook containing the recipe on the encrypted text shelf.
Source: Unknown Mage's notebook
Extractable info: Constitution Enhancement Potion formula
Spiritforce cost: 25
Extract?
"Why did I forget about this before?"
He slapped his forehead and borrowed the notebook.
Back in his room, he eagerly selected Extract.
25 points of Spiritforce wasn't much of an issue now, Edwyn had 32.
As his brain throbbed with pain, a white glow containing the formula appeared above the Infinite Forge.
After absorbing it, Edwyn frowned.
"Egla Grass... I remember this plant went extinct in the Magus world."
The formula's creator was a Mage from the Mage Wars era. The ingredients matched what was available back then.
But many species had gone extinct since. If it were just a minor component, Edwyn might've found a substitute. But Egla Grass was the main ingredient, changing it would be like rewriting the entire recipe.
"So I can only rely on the secret realm?"
Edwyn stared at the paper, looking conflicted.
After thinking for a while, he burned the page to ashes.
Secret dimensions were unstable. There was no guarantee he'd even find Egla Grass. And even if he did, the modern environment couldn't grow it.
"All that excitement for nothing."
Slumping in his chair, Edwyn began planning next steps.
He would need to revisit all the encrypted notebooks in the library and extract whatever knowledge he could. But after this experience, he suspected most of it would just be theoretical, useful for reference, but not directly applicable.
Besides that, he also needed to advance his understanding of elemental magic. Thanks to his profitable potion business, he'd already exchanged all of Joron's basic alchemy knowledge. The more advanced stuff was mostly about synthetic beasts.
Edwyn had tried that path years ago, but he clearly had no talent for it. He couldn't make anything decent. Even if he forced it, he wouldn't go far.
After a long contemplation, Edwyn set two short-term goals:
Train in Body of Adaptation
Catch up on elemental magic knowledge
As for his long-term path, he'd stick with bloodline alchemy for now. The spell Joron gave him was enough to last until he became a full Mage.
And once he became a Mage, he'd have all the time in the world to figure out his future.