A month later.
Helag lay in bed, the sixth star in his mind almost fully formed and shining brightly.
As dawn approached, Helag opened his eyes.
"Deep Blue, check my current physical state."
[Helag Merlin: Strength 2.8, Agility 2.9, Constitution 4.0, Spirit 10.5, Mana 100%.]
[All stats have reached the genetic limit.]
Helag pondered the data silently. "A spirit power of 10.5, already exceeding the requirements for most second-class apprentices. Is it because of the Starry Sky Meditation Technique?"
Typically, first-class apprentices max out their spirit power at 8 or 9. To increase further, they must advance to second-class.
Helag hadn't advanced yet but already had a spirit power of 10.5, which would likely make him a subject of study.
His physical stats had also improved significantly, but they had reached the genetic limit.
Helag didn't rush to advance. Instead, he spent five days stabilizing his spirit power, ensuring his body was in peak condition.
"Next is potion-making." Helag had prepared two sets of materials, with one borrowed from Larry.
If he succeeded on the first try, he could return the borrowed materials.
Helag had heard that advancing to an official wizard required multiple potions. If one didn't work, another was needed, and failure meant death.
Advancing from a first-class apprentice wasn't as difficult or dangerous; one potion was usually enough.
"Demon Flower root, Ancient Tree sap, 30 grams of Obsidian, Saturn Dust…"
In his lab, Helag checked the potion materials. The main challenges of the Dawn Potion were handling the Demon Flower root and maintaining the Ancient Tree sap's activity.
The Ancient Tree sap needed to be kept at 83 degrees Celsius, not higher or lower, requiring constant monitoring.
The Demon Flower root was highly toxic and needed careful handling to filter out all toxins, which were crucial for the potion's effectiveness.
The Dawn Potion was essentially a poison. Ordinary people would die instantly after drinking it, and first-class apprentices with insufficient spirit power wouldn't survive either.
Helag took out a black sunflower-like plant from his space ring. Unlike a sunflower, its center was a human face.
The face, with closed eyes and sharp, cute fangs at the corners of its mouth, resembled a woman's.
"Cute, I guess…" Helag wondered why he thought of the word "cute."
Suddenly, the woman's eyes opened, filled with seductive charm, staring at Helag.
"Dark Energy Shield! Almost forgot! Damn, I nearly messed up the first step." Helag felt a chill. The Demon Flower had a charm effect, absorbing emotions.
If it absorbed emotions, its venom would mix with impurities, rendering the potion materials useless.
The Dark Energy Shield provided defense against dark energy spells, easily blocking the Demon Flower's minor magic.
Helag took scissors and placed them where the flower head connected to the root. The Dawn Potion only needed the root; the flower head could be used for other potions later.
"Deep Blue, mute sound." Helag preemptively issued the command.
The next moment, the Demon Flower sensed the cold scissors and showed a human-like expression of fear.
Helag swiftly cut off the flower head and sealed the cut with magic to prevent the sap from spilling.
"Ahhh…" The Demon Flower screamed, but its dark energy was blocked by the Dark Energy Shield, and the sound waves were ineffective against Helag.
Given his current physique, the scream couldn't harm his eardrums. After all, it was just a harvested potion material.
The Demon Flower screamed for about a minute before looking weak and sleepy, soon closing its eyes.
Helag placed it in a prepared glass jar and stored it in his space ring for future use.
Next came the critical and challenging step. Helag placed the sealed Demon Flower root in a large beaker and used magic to control and extract the toxins.
This process required extreme caution. Any mistake could damage the root's internal structure, halting the experiment.
Black-purple toxins slowly dripped into the beaker. The lab was silent except for the dripping sound, with time passing slowly.
.
.
.
After eight hours, Helag completed the Dawn Potion. He corked a test tube containing a light purple liquid.
"Phew… exhausted." Helag finally relaxed, wiping sweat from his forehead.
[Remaining mana: 11%.]
Making the Dawn Potion consumed a lot of mana and required attention to numerous details.
Helag was physically and mentally drained.
"Good thing it succeeded. I don't want to do this again." The tension of walking a tightrope, where every step had to be perfect, made Helag break into a cold sweat just thinking about it.
"With my current spirit power, making this potion was still very taxing. No wonder Larry insisted on lending me a set of materials. He didn't expect me to succeed on the first try."
Deep Blue could simulate each step and the timing for the next, but Helag had to perform each step himself.
A normal human brain couldn't handle such high-precision, high-intensity tasks. Only wizards, with their extraordinary spirit power, focus, and endurance, could manage it.
After finishing, Helag went downstairs to take a bath. Even in the tub, he continued meditating.
Though his spirit power had reached its limit, meditation had become a habit, and it also sped up mana recovery.
In his mind, six stars were connected, with only four spots left unlit on the dot matrix.
"Advancing from a second-class apprentice to a third-class requires ten stars, matching the number of dots. There might be a connection."
Helag lay in the tub, losing track of time while meditating, not noticing the water cooling.
[Remaining mana: 100%.]
After a night, his mana was fully restored. Helag felt refreshed and re-energized.
He didn't rush to drink the potion. Instead, he planned to adjust his body for a few days and review the advancement knowledge.
"You succeeded on the first try?" Larry was surprised when he heard the news.
"I almost failed many times. It was tough," Helag sighed.
Larry looked at Helag like he was a monster. "You know, I had already prepared the Dawn Potion for you because I never thought you'd succeed."