The room was originally empty, so Helag used the Cleansing Ear to clean it up since it was quite dusty.
He took out the equipment he had bought and organized the room into different sections: an area for processing herbs, a potion brewing area, and a potion reaction area. He strictly followed the experimental protocols taught by Larry.
Setting up took four hours, and Helag eagerly took out a set of ingredients for the Dittany Healing Potion, ready to start brewing.
"Deep Blue, begin the process of brewing Dittany Healing Potion. Provide steps, temperatures, times, and other relevant assistance."
[Potion brewing assistance activated.]
Deep Blue had recorded the brewing processes for each potion from the "Introduction to Potionology" book and combined them with Larry's protocols to create a comprehensive brewing assistance system.
In Helag's field of vision, a series of flowcharts appeared. Deep Blue's current prompt was: [Step one, wash the Dittany leaves and soak them in alkaline water for thirty minutes.]
Recalling the process from the book and following Deep Blue's prompts, Helag began methodically processing the potion ingredients.
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[The temperature of the golden bellflower juice is approaching 75 degrees Celsius. Add it to the beaker in thirty seconds.]
[The Dittany leaf juice and beetroot concentrate have been reacting for fifteen minutes. One minute remaining. Remember to remove it on time.
Countdown: 59 seconds.]
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.
Helag held a test tube containing a milky white solution, gently shaking it while chanting a dozen strange syllables.
A surge of magic flowed from him into the test tube, causing the solution to emit white smoke, which eventually formed the shape of a plant.
[Dittany Healing Potion successfully brewed,] Deep Blue confirmed.
Helag sighed in relief. The potion brewing process was more challenging than he had anticipated, requiring intense concentration throughout. A slight delay in any step could result in failure.
This was just the basic Dittany Healing Potion. He could only imagine how difficult brewing the Dawn Potion would be.
"Good thing I have Deep Blue to assist. The temperature and timing were precise."
Helag poured the potion into a specialized bottle, sealed it with a cork, and completed a basic potion.
"Two magic stones earned," Helag felt a sense of accomplishment.
"Let's continue!"
With nine more sets of ingredients left, Helag cleaned up the lab according to standard procedures and started the next round of brewing.
He brewed potions until midnight, stopping not from exhaustion but to complete his meditation practice.
He successfully brewed four bottles of Dittany Healing Potion, with one failure that wasted a set of ingredients, causing him to feel the loss of two magic stones keenly.
Sighing, Helag made himself a cup of coffee and began his meditation practice.
The fifth star was nearly solidified, and he felt he could complete it tonight.
He boiled a pot of Meteor Grass, the water bubbling green.
"After becoming a second-class apprentice, this stuff will be useless. The body develops resistance, and meditation speed slows down."
Helag had a love-hate relationship with Meteor Grass, a common potion ingredient used mainly in potions for stabilizing the mind.
A few hours later, at dawn, Helag opened his eyes, looking deep and exhaling heavily.
[Helag Merlin: Strength 2.5, Agility 2.4, Constitution 3.6, Spirit 8.5, Magic 100%.]
This meditation session brought significant improvements, not only in spirit but also in physical stats.
With his spirit surpassing 8, Helag felt more sensitive to the ambient energy particles, even distinguishing between different types.
"Could these be particles of different elements?" Helag speculated, based on his limited knowledge of elemental spells.
"Luckily, my aptitude is decent. Otherwise, who knows when I'd complete the meditation for these stars."
Helag's aptitude was 75, considered good among wizard apprentices. Larry's interest in him was largely due to his promising potential.
Aptitude affected sensitivity to ambient energy particles. The more sensitive one was, the easier it was to sense and absorb these particles during meditation, leading to faster progress and advancement.
In Helag's mind, the dot matrix lit up the fifth star, with five more stars awaiting illumination.
"Deep Blue, what happens when the entire dot matrix is lit?" Helag asked curiously.
[No data available.]
Deep Blue had optimized the meditation technique based on its principles, but without anyone having completed it, there was no data on the outcome.
After his daily practice, Helag dove back into the lab to continue brewing Dittany Healing Potions.
He worked through the day, satisfied with the nine bottles of potion he had brewed by nightfall.
He had no further mistakes, and his increased spirit had improved his focus.
"Nine bottles total forty-five magic stones. After deducting costs, I can earn twenty-five magic stones. I'll buy more ingredients, brew more potions, and sell them," Helag planned his money-making strategy.
When it was time for meditation, Helag stored the potions in his space ring and began his nightly practice.
He was one star away from the spirit requirement for a second-class apprentice. Once he completed this star's meditation, he could start preparing the materials for the Dawn Potion.
Looking up at the starry sky, Helag began meditating.
"Why was the sky I saw that day so different…"
During meditation, he recalled the night he encountered Shivara, noticing the stars were completely different from those here.
"Deep Blue, did you record the data of that starry sky?" Helag asked.
[Based on visual records, the star map is as follows,] Deep Blue displayed a star map.
Helag examined it closely, finding no resemblance to the current sky.
"Deep Blue, compare this star map with the current sky. Search for similarities."
[Comparison complete. No similarities found.]
Reflecting on that day's events, Helag felt something was off.
He reviewed every detail but couldn't figure out how he had ended up in that strange space or what it was.
"And that toad… it swallowed Shivara whole before the space shattered…" Helag pondered these questions during his meditation.
***
In Moonlight Woodland, there were two ways to buy potions: from the official potion shop, where quality was guaranteed but prices were higher, or from other wizards.
For example, the market price for Dittany Healing Potion was five magic stones, but the potion shop charged six.
Buying from other wizards was the alternative.