This was Charlie's first time entering Anthony's laboratory.
The laboratory, spanning nearly two hundred square meters, was filled with all sorts of glassware - bottled, long-necked, square-shaped, big and small, lined up in rows. The air was filled with a smell akin to formaldehyde, and through the old stains one could see various strange and bizarre things:hearts the size of a head, eyes with tentacles, giant insects with slender metal scythes, rodents with their skin peeled off, and venomous snakes with green wings.
Talking about his collection, Anthony couldn't help but show a somewhat smug expression.
"It took me more than twenty years to build up this laboratory, and only in the Arcane Circle can one collect so many things."
Following Charlie's gaze, Anthony saw a purple-red heart.
"That's the heart of a mountain giant, a juvenile heart. Adult mountain giants are so powerful that even great mages can't handle them. There are less than ten experts in the whole Arcane Circle who can hunt adult mountain giants alone."
As Charlie's gaze moved, Anthony kept explaining.
"This is a mutated insect that only appears in the depths of the Void Storm. It feeds on crystal shards. We call it the 'Void Predator'. It's a rare item outside, but common in the Arcane Circle. When you become a Moonlight-level mage, you'll be able to hunt them. A complete corpse is worth 10 points from the academy, and if you catch one alive, the price can triple, but not many are willing to do it."
"Why?"
Anthony ruefully smiled, "Too hard to kill! For a potion master like me, the cost of hunting one is much higher than the harvest."
Charlie nodded, "Strange beasts come from desolate mountains and filthy waters."
"Your words are quite insightful!" Anthony looked at him with surprise, "Things like venomous snakes, fire salamanders, shadow leopards, and tomb spiders are common goods. Large quantities of live ones are shipped to the Horizon Seaport every week. Not only are the quality excellent, the prices are also quite affordable. The things that can be bought with gold coins are all cheap goods."
Charlie couldn't help but smack his lips. The magic beast market is a thriving market in every city. The few species Anthony just mentioned are all rare items, with prices basically over 100,000 gold coins, not to mention the enormous mature specimens displayed here, which are probably the rulers of their groups, and the prices would not be cheap.
This huge laboratory contained specimens of not less than thousands of species, which fully demonstrated Anthony's wealth, and also indirectly proved Master Noel's words - how could someone who became an Arcane Circle instructor be simple?
"Hey! Don't touch this casually!" Anthony grabbed Charlie's arm and pushed him aside, then lifted the thick black curtain.
Under the curtain was the head of a long-jawed creature. The most eye-catching feature of the whole head was a yellowish-brown eyeball that was bulging out of the eye socket. The moment the curtain was lifted, a yellow light beam shot out of the eyeball, enveloping Anthony's upper body.
Charlie turned his head and saw a deep gray color slowly emerging on Anthony's face, almost like stone.
Anthony lowered the curtain and exhaled a turbid breath, his complexion gradually returning to ruddy. "That's a one-eyed crystallized monitor lizard king. Its innate petrifying ability can cost you half your life if you look into its eye."
He then turned around and gestured around the room, "Don't touch the things in this room, especially when I'm not here, or it may lead to fatal danger."
Charlie nodded repeatedly.
"The whole laboratory has 2793 specimens of magical beasts, 924 plant specimens. I've spent a lifetime's savings on these things, and some of them have lost their greatest value after being made into specimens. I don't know if it's worth it?"
Charlie asked, "Teacher, what is the purpose of turning them into specimens?"
"Of course, it's for the dream I've been pursuing all my life." Anthony led Charlie to the old desk in the corner of the hall, which was covered with a thick layer of handwritten manuscripts filled with various symbols, and the bookshelves behind the chair were piled high with thick handwritten leather manuals, some of which bore the marks of age.
Anthony spoke eloquently, "Currently, the potions on the market that can fundamentally improve the human body are extremely expensive. For example, the 'Flame Demon Potion' can give one the talent of fire, but to brew a bottle of Flame Demon Potion, it requires at least one Flame Demon Heart. How many Flame Demons are there in the Wuggalan Continent? How many will be discovered? And how many can be killed?
This has created a phenomenon where only a small portion of people can have the opportunity to change their destiny, while people like you and me, whose talents are not outstanding, can only succumb to the arrangement of fate.
I refuse to accept this! I must find a relatively inexpensive potion that can improve the physique and talents of the human body!"
No wonder all his apprentices have run away, this is a great yet illusory dream. A similar subject on Earth is called genetic technology, a discipline that has been studied for six centuries, and it is only with the power of artificial intelligence that there has been some small progress. But here, Master Anthony is fighting alone, and it is unknown whether his research direction and methods are correct.
Charlie sighed softly, "Teacher, you are truly admirable!"
Whether Charlie's words were sincere or not, Anthony felt gratified. He said happily, "Fortunately, I have made some progress now. I have developed three formulas that can improve people's physique, and they have been included in the alchemy department of the academy as effective elixirs."
Charlie asked curiously, "What are their respective effects?"
"One is called the Basic Strength Tonic. I found a substance from the blood essence of a white-haired rhinoceros from the Snow Mountains. Drinking it can improve one's physique and increase strength. After drinking it, you will feel energetic in the short term, and about a week later, your strength can be increased by two to three levels. But the limit of its enhancement, I haven't really tested it yet."
As he spoke, Anthony took a bottle of pale yellow potion from a nearby cabinet and placed it in front of Charlie. "Do you want to try its effect?"
Charlie silently uncapped the bottle and drank it down. The potion was greasy and had a faint taste, not unpleasant. As it landed in the stomach, it felt like swallowing a pot of hot wine, warming the whole stomach, and invigorating the spirit.
Anthony was surprised and touched. "Aren't you afraid it's a poison?"
Charlie smiled calmly, "If the teacher wants to deal with me, he doesn't need to go to so much trouble."
"How do you feel?"
Charlie closed his eyes and focused, while the chip also began to scan his whole body. He felt a warm flow seeping out from the digestive system, gradually entering the bloodstream and permeating the entire body. The bone cells and muscle cells were revitalized under this warmth, their activity enhanced and their division accelerated. These microscopic changes could only be detected by the chip.
After a moment, he opened his eyes. "The changes are extremely subtle, the effect may not be as obvious as I imagined. But I have a suggestion."
"Go on."
"In my hometown, there is a method called dietary therapy, which is to add some medicinal ingredients to the daily diet to nourish the body, and combine it with some training, to achieve the effect of strengthening the physique and strength. The effect is very good. I think the teacher may be able to get some inspiration from it.
Logically speaking, the body's absorption of medicinal properties is a gradual process. You can't fatten up an obese person in one gulp. This must require a cycle. In addition, external stimuli are also necessary to promote this process, so exercise is an indispensable auxiliary means. Besides these, we also need to consider the appropriate dosage, frequency, and intake method. Some may need to be taken orally, some by inhalation, and some by injection.
Teacher, do you think it makes sense?"
Charlie tried to popularize some knowledge from Earth, for fear that this mad potion maker would take an extreme approach and neglect the basic laws of all things.
Anthony was stunned...
Suddenly, he slapped the table with one hand, scattering the manuscripts all over the floor, then vigorously tugged at his own hair, his crazed appearance startling Charlie.
Soon, Anthony showed a bitter expression, his spirit dejected. "Before this, I've been seeking breakthroughs in the effectiveness of potions, but I've always been at a loss. I never thought the problem was with my approach.
Charlie, you've woken me up, and I thank you for that!"
"Has the teacher found a solution?" Charlie was quite surprised, he had just casually reminded him, and didn't actually come up with a good solution himself.
Anthony shook his head and smiled bitterly, "The dietary therapy principle you mentioned may indeed improve the effect of the potions, and I still need to conduct multiple rounds of testing to prove it.
The reason I got so excited is that I realized the experimental method I've been sticking to for the past twenty years may have been a mistake!
The nearly four thousand specimens in the laboratory have all kinds of different properties. I've had countless inspirations in the past, and also tried many experiments, but they were abandoned because of 'poor drug efficacy'. Now I think about it, maybe it's because I didn't follow the principle of dietary therapy, and didn't persist to the end. I was too impatient!
I was eager to find a potion that could immediately change the current situation, but now I think about it, how could those potions that can instantly trigger a qualitative change be ordinary things? Isn't the Flame Demon Potion a living example? Why didn't I think of this at the beginning?!"
After the great awakening, came self-negation. Anthony fell into the habitual thinking of ordinary people.
Charlie comforted, "Teacher, it's not too late to find the problem now!"
"How is it not too late?!" Anthony glared at him, extremely regretful. "I'm already fifty-seven years old, my brain has rusted. Twenty years ago, when my thinking was still active, fate led me down a wrong path, and this detour lasted for twenty years! How many twenty years does a person's life have? It's a tragedy! A tragedy!"
"Teacher, maybe... I can help you."
"You? How can one person help me?"
Charlie pointed a finger and spoke seriously, "Teacher, look, this is the wealth of knowledge you've accumulated in your lifetime. Maybe the solution is hidden in this pile of information. Why don't we try to review it?
Teacher, you've been saying you were too impatient. I want to say, isn't the teacher's current state of mind also an expression of impatience?
When someone has fallen into a pit once, they shouldn't fall into it again, right?"
In Charlie's calm tone, Anthony felt as refreshed as drinking fine tea, suddenly enlightened.
"Wow, today you've educated your teacher a good lesson!"