"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
"I did it!!!"
Harper jumped up with joy at the scene before him, dancing around like an excited child.
Ron walked over from the entrance, curiously approaching the scorched scarecrow.
Before Harper used the explosive potion, the Intermediate Fireball Spell had only caused some light burns on the scarecrows—nothing compared to this charcoal-black wreck.
To be able to reduce a scarecrow in the High-Tier Puppet Testing Grounds to ashes like this said everything about how powerful Harper's potion was.
This was practically the power of an advanced-tier spell!
After his burst of excitement, Harper rushed over to the target to calculate the damage output of the fireball spell.
The results were excellent.
Aside from the spell's area of effect not changing much, the overall power of the Intermediate Fireball Spell had basically reached the threshold of an advanced spell.
In other words, with Harper's explosive potion, even an intermediate-level mage could unleash magic that rivaled high-tier spells!
For many who were stuck at the intermediate tier, this would be an enormous breakthrough.
And for the military mage corps, this kind of potion would be a strategic-grade asset.
Just imagine—a squad of fifty fire-type intermediate mages, all taking Harper's explosive potion and casting Intermediate Fireball at once.
Suddenly, those fifty fireballs become advanced-tier fireballs, and the destructive power multiplies instantly.
Used in the right situation, this could be a secret weapon capable of instantly flipping the battlefield.
Harper, riding high on excitement, continued testing his potion with other fire spells—and most results were very promising.
Even the Flame Palm, the spell with the smallest improvement, had its damage output doubled.
"This is the most perfect potion I've ever made in my life!" Harper said, elated. "It's all thanks to your Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum, Ron! You're my lucky star!"
"Uh…" Ron took half a step back, smiling awkwardly. "Glad I could help."
"I plan to invite more fire-type mages tomorrow to test it again. I'll need more comparison data to finalize the potion's effectiveness," Harper muttered to himself. Then he turned to Ron and asked, "Can your flower shop supply Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums in bulk? The five I bought before won't be enough for all the tests."
Ron's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected this visit to the Magic Academy to bring such a pleasant surprise. "Of course! How many do you need?"
"About 100 per month?" Harper estimated. "But this involves a large sum of money, so I'll have to get approval from Professor Hicks first. I can't give you a final answer yet."
"That's no problem. The shop's stock of Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums is stable—we can supply you anytime," Ron replied with a smile.
The contract with the Radiant Mercenary Corps was already enough to complete his mission, but selling an extra hundred Chrysanthemums a month? That was definitely a profit.
And the sooner he completed his main quest, the sooner he could unlock the third plant from the system.
After finalizing their verbal agreement, Harper rushed back to his lab to continue refining his explosive potion.
Ron, meanwhile, followed Harper's directions to find the lab Edith was working in, where she was continuing his magic training in Tier-1 water and earth magic.
Edith was stationed in a lab led by Professor Hicks, working alongside a few other assistants and alchemists to test and refine a meditation-enhancing potion.
Much like Harper's explosive potion, the basic formula was complete, but it still required numerous trials and ingredient adjustments to develop a more effective and user-friendly commercial version.
It would still be a long while before it was ready for mass production.
When Edith saw Ron, she politely greeted her colleagues and took him back to the same training field they had used yesterday.
Improving the meditation potion wasn't something that could be done in one afternoon anyway, so taking a few hours off didn't hurt.
Besides, Edith didn't mind strengthening her connection with Ron.
After all, he was the Seventh Prince of the Human Empire—and good-looking, too. Edith had a favorable impression of Ron, unlike how she usually treated those eager, clingy magic apprentices, with cold indifference.
Ron also had access to the rare Nether Orchid, clearly showing he was no ordinary person.
As the Holy Maiden of the Elves, maintaining a good relationship with someone like him was definitely in her best interest.
Under Edith's patient instruction, Ron learned several more Tier-1 spells that afternoon.
At one point, Mason arrived at the training ground with some students, and Ron took the opportunity to hand over the elemental cards he had crafted the night before.
Mason accepted them with great delight, sincerely thanking Ron.
He had been telling his coworkers about the elemental card game for days, and everyone was curious.
Now that he had the cards, Mason could finally start dueling magic-style at the academy.
With all the strategies he had "borrowed" from card king Harper, he was confident he'd soon dominate the assistant instructor ranks.
Mason had been crushed by Harper's decks so many times that he just wanted to regain some dignity.
Otherwise, every night at the barbecue spot, he'd get demolished by Harper in cards—playing just wasn't fun anymore.
If not for Ron occasionally coming to the table as the sacrificial lamb, Mason would've had a mental breakdown by now.
As the afternoon passed, Ron said goodbye to Edith and left the Magic Academy.
He headed to the Gold Reserve Bank located in the Ruby District on Aikley Street.
Thanks to notifying the front desk and guards in advance, the moment Ron entered the main lobby, the goblin manager, Guy, rushed out of his office.
"Your Highness Ron, we meet again," Guy greeted him with a flattering smile, rubbing his hands together. "What kind of service can I provide for you today?"
"Please deposit this promissory note into my account," Ron said, handing over the note worth 10,500 gold coins along with his Black Gold Card.
Guy received them respectfully. When he saw the amount, his expression flickered slightly—but he quickly composed himself and smiled again. "Understood, Your Highness. I'll take care of it immediately."
He passed the promissory note, Ron's card, and his own manager ID card to the elven receptionist and instructed her to handle the transaction.
Then he invited Ron to sit in the waiting area and began chatting with him to pass the time.
But inwardly, he was filled with surprise.
This Seventh Prince didn't seem anything like the rumors said.
With the Gold Reserve Bank's connections, it wasn't hard to uncover information about Ron.
That included the news of Emperor André III sending him away from the palace.
As someone removed from the heart of the empire's political center, Ron had seemingly been cut off from all power and opportunity.
But now, just a few days later?
Was he already receiving large transfers from both the Magic Academy and the Radiant Mercenary Corps?
This Prince Ron… really isn't simple.