I finished the circuit drafting and stored the magic-stone substrate in a safe case.Click-.The heat, steam, and mana reactions from potion-making could affect the magic-stone substrate.Think of it like a semiconductor—where even a speck of dust must be avoided.Having stored the substrate well, I immediately began the potion-making work.'Let’s see.'I lined up the glass bottles containing the potion’s raw ingredients in order on the opposite workbench.'Troll oil, Malbec wine, Moon Salt, Mugwort of the Void, green turtle carapace, pearl blister drops, foam of refined blood, sleep moss, Arte’s leaf, lightning firefly, fly agaric mushroom….'Seventeen kinds of fresh base ingredients sourced from across the continent beyond those.Compared to when I processed the mana orb imbued with Bell’s Extreme Flame, the ingredient variety was far greater.Which means the work required would be that much more complex and precise.I arranged the glass bottles in the order of addition and set a large mana brazier at the center of the lab.Thump-.Then I placed a big iron cauldron on top.A cauldron up to nearly my hip. It was so heavy I almost threw out my back lifting it.I tapped my tingling lower back and looked at the big cauldron.Paracelsus said that alchemical operations include various processes such as distillation, dissolution, calcination, sublimation, coagulation, and reduction.This time, my process would be the dissolution of various ingredients.Simply put, dump the ingredients in and boil them vigorously.Once the brazier and cauldron were in place, I opened the system encyclopedia.Ting-.I flipped through the pages and stopped at the bookmarked spot.The potion I would make for advancement was—[Fierabras’s Blessing]This item is a type of enhancement potion.For the duration of its efficacy, it increases the effect and duration of all consumable items by 100 percent.For example, if you drink this potion and use a Strength Enhancement Stone, the stone’s effect and duration both double.The supplementary armor-penetration effect granted by the trait [Alchemy] also doubles.Not only that—if you use multiple consumables at once, the 100 percent increase applies to all of them.It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say your combat power temporarily more than doubles.'Truly superb in effect.'But at the intermediate alchemy stage, there’s no way you can make a potion with such broken performance without any meaningful penalty.All things in the world are equivalent exchange.This Fierabras’s Blessing, boasting tremendous performance, also carries a fatal drawback.'After drinking it… you can’t use magic.'Literally, magic is sealed for the duration of the potion’s effect.The potion’s nature—activating the body’s mana functions—supposedly interferes with fine magic control; but really, it’s so overpowered they must have slapped on a penalty.Anyway, because of this massive penalty, the potion is completely dead on the market.Knights—those who could gain the most—won’t use such potions out of pride and honor.Mages have no reason to drink it while accepting the magic-seal penalty.At best, only wealthy mercenaries used it, so by now no one makes or sells it.There’s no money in it.However.'…For me, magic seal isn’t much of a penalty.'I can’t use magic right now anyway.Though I’m getting closer to using magic by continuously assimilating Bell’s mana orb into my body, for now the efficiency is so bad it’s practically the same as being unable to use magic.For me, this “Fierabras’s Blessing” is the optimal potion.'When I face a powerful opponent that’s hard to deal with, or when too many eyes prevent me from properly wielding demonic power, this potion will be useful.'Ssshhk-.I turned on the lab’s temperature-humidity regulator, mana circulation unit, and ventilator to keep the lab environment stable.Potion-making reacts extremely sensitively to external conditions.Since the system won’t even assist for this advancement quest, I must be all the more cautious.After finishing the environmental setup in the lab, I completed the prep work in one go.Then, exactly as written in the encyclopedia, I matched quantities, time, and order perfectly and added the ingredients.Bubble bubble-.The cauldron’s contents boiled with a peculiar aroma.Sniff-.The smell was similar to what the system encyclopedia described. It said it would be like melting wax—a strangely stuffy odor.I watched the contents briefly, then covered the lid.'It says to simmer like this for about 48 hours.'With that, the preparation phase of potion-making was also complete.Time to wrap up my morning routine and head out.Today is the midterm for Elementary Spirit Studies Made Easy.I checked that the ventilator, mana circulation unit, and temperature-humidity regulator were all operating normally, then stepped out.***Arriving in Voltimir’s territory, I went straight to the classroom as usual.While I waited, skimming the textbook to do a final review before the exam, Kiriel and her friends came in.“Hi~”“Hallo~”Lina and Silpi cheerfully greeted the other students, then, upon seeing me, dipped their heads.Since we’d become acquainted when I saved them before, I gave a slight nod in return.Meanwhile—“Uh.”Kiriel, who had been warmly greeting other students, flinched and froze when our eyes met.Then she started turning her head this way and that to avoid my gaze, and, unlike usual, went to sit a bit farther away from me.If she feels awkward sitting near me, I can’t allow that.“Where are you going? Sit nearby.”“W-why?”“Why else. Why are you sitting somewhere different from usual?”“You don’t need to know.”“……”When I stared at her instead of answering, Kiriel stammered,“I-I’m grateful you saved us last time, but I don’t owe you anything. I did what you asked.”As payment for saving Kiriel and her friends, I’d arranged to have one of the few jewelers capable of cutting the Stone of Truth—Uriel Silvawalker—do the cutting.In ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ other words, I asked Kiriel to deliver the Stone of Truth and my letter to Suhae.The Stone of Truth I sent via Kiriel to Suhae is [Unique] grade.A precious item, the only one in the world—if lost, it can never be replaced.“You handled it properly, yes? That item is so precious you couldn’t obtain it even if you sold yourself.”When I warned her firmly, Kiriel clicked her tongue.“Tch, what’s so important about a rock like that. Anyway, it was handled fine, so don’t worry. I even sent my own letter to my sister with it, asking her to do a good job with the cutting.”“Hm….”I wonder if that’s really what the letter said. Hopefully she didn’t badmouth me in it.Kiriel told me not to worry, but I didn’t quite believe her, so I silently looked at Silpi and Lina.They nodded with smiles.“We entrusted it to someone reliable. You needn’t worry.”“We’ll take responsibility~”I might doubt the scatterbrained Kiriel, but these two, I could trust.“Good. I’ll trust you.”“What’s with that response? Are you saying you don’t trust me?”“It’s a matter of reliability.”Trust the trustworthy. A line I’d heard often myself.After we chatted a bit, Professor Isley entered the classroom.The chatter between students died instantly, and all eyes focused on Isley.“Now then, it’s time for a delightful midterm. I trust you all studied hard?”Delightful, he says.“……”Normally, students would banter excitedly with Professor Isley, but today their eyes were grim.The midterm counts for 30 percent of the first-semester grade.Not a proportion to be taken lightly, so of course everyone was tense.Professor Isley received those flashing gazes and smiled slightly.“Good. Seeing such zeal even inspires me. I’ll distribute the papers—begin as soon as you receive them.”Shff—.At a tilt of Professor Isley’s chin, the test papers rode the wind spirits and were distributed in order to each student.Professor Isley looked at the pendulum clock hanging in the middle of the classroom and said,“The time limit is 120 minutes. I wish you all the best.”***Two suffocating hours later.“Good work, everyone.”With a ring of the bell on the lectern, Professor Isley collected the students’ papers.“Ah, I’m doomed.”“Ugh.”“It’s finally over.”The classroom filled at once with the students’ sighs as the exam ended.Whether relief that it was over, or anxiety that they did poorly—everyone chattered for their own reasons.I gauged their reactions and recalled the Spirit Studies problems I’d just solved.'Objectively, it wasn’t easy.'The midterm’s difficulty was a notch above the previous quiz.But perhaps because I’d studied in advance, it actually felt much easier this time.I won’t know the score until it’s out, but with this feeling I could expect a fairly high mark.I’ll do a provisional grading later.'So the only one left is Introduction to Intermediate Magic.'Only the magic course remains among my majors.I could feel the end of midterms approaching.No matter how thorough the preparation, taking exams consumes a lot of mental and physical energy.Once the midterms end, I’ll be able to breathe easier.Feeling good, I turned my head with a clear smile and looked to the side.“……”Kiriel’s haggard face, unlike mine.Looking at that listless, blank expression, I could more or less guess her exam results.At least lower than mine, that was certain.Silpi and Lina were patting her back, consoling her.“It’s all right, Lady Kiriel. You can do better next time.”“That’s right~ And it’s not your first time messing up an exam, so what’s there to worry about~”“…Hey.”“Hehe, sorry~”Not sure how comforting that really was.I approached Kiriel, who was glaring at Lina’s sheepish face, and spoke to her.“How was the exam? Manageable?”“…Can’t you tell by looking?”I answered Kiriel’s snappish tone calmly.“I actually know. I asked out of courtesy. You remember the bet we made before, yes?”“I know, but the grades aren’t finalized yet. Say it after they come out.”Kiriel glared at me so hard it was like lasers might shoot from her eyes.I shrugged and backed off.“Understood.”She didn’t seem to be in a great mood, so I wouldn’t provoke her further.She must have studied hard in her own way, but didn’t get the score she wanted.There’s nothing sadder than effort that goes unrewarded.Bringing up the bet and demanding payment now would be tone-deaf.“However, if you ever want to learn from me, you can come anytime.”At my sudden offer, Kiriel knit her brows in disbelief.“What? Why would I learn from you?”“Until just before winter break, your grades were similar to mine. In a short time, I achieved much higher marks. Did that not make you feel anything?”“…!”At those words, something changed in Kiriel’s eyes.After a moment’s hesitation, she cautiously asked,“…Do you have some kind of secret method?”“There’s no royal road to studying, but there are a few tricks. And I can teach you those tricks.”“……”Kiriel clenched her fist and pondered.I gave her time to think.“If you don’t like it, you can refuse. The choice is yours. But if you’re even a little interested, come to the Student Council Office anytime.”Originally, Kiriel had zero interest in studying.Normally she would have let such an offer go in one ear and out the other.But thanks to Professor Isley’s orders and our bet, she must have found some enjoyment in studying.And through this midterm, she also tasted the bitterness of failure.'When you’re not interested, failure doesn’t shake you much.'Seeing the disappointment on her face right after the exam, I glimpsed a kind of hope.To be sad about failure also means you have a desire for success. It means she has at least a minimal passion for studying.Also, she must have had a bit of a change of heart from fighting the demon during the Sports Festival.Having realized her own powerlessness, she surely now has the desire to hone herself and move forward.Given that, Kiriel might accept my offer.'If her innate talent and intuition for spirit arts are combined with systematized knowledge, Kiriel can grow even faster.'Strengthening allied forces helps me greatly as well.The enemies are revealing themselves sooner than expected and extending their claws over this continent.Helping Kiriel—the future contractor of the Spirit King—grow is absolutely necessary.“Then think it over.”Leaving her with that, I left the classroom.

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