Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 194 Knowledge and Action

The consecutive days of sunny weather in the City of Burning Blood made everyone feel comfortable.

The continuous sunny days further swept away the musty feeling from every corner, including the little corner in people's hearts. However, Ruger noticed that more and more people were now occasionally stopping on the street, subconsciously looking up as they paused. The feeling was different from the awe people once felt towards the blood sun; it was more of an undisguised questioning and inquiry, because the blood sun was no longer, in their eyes, a luminous, magical sphere.

In three days, or rather two and a half days to be precise, Ruger successfully mastered the Spirit Hair Nourishment Technique.

He began his fur nourishment program, and also tested it on Aiskin and Big Shaheng, receiving unanimous praise from the two kobolds.

"Where are today's ingredients, my Uncle Lenser?"

Ruger leaned out from the stairwell and looked at old Lenser behind the counter.

“That’s enough. I’m not talking about the potion, I’m saying you’re ready. I’m not the kind of person who exploits loopholes in contracts. I think you’re ready to learn the new potion,” Old Lenser, who was doing his accounts, looked up from a moment of pause. “Remember the Painless Body Potion I mentioned? I’ve restructured your learning process. I’ll teach you four recipes in turn. The forced mastery of the Purification Potion was to let you experience the process of potion making. This time it’s different. I want you to understand them. The materials used in these four recipes cover most of what’s needed for the Painless Body Potion.”

"Understand?" Ruger asked.

“Yes, just like you think. The pharmacology and the characteristics of extraordinary plants, what their effects are, whether they explode into mutual insults when they meet, or eagerly embrace each other to sleep, or have no reaction at all, in all these situations, and in the refining process, they also undergo different changes…” Old Lunser said, shaking his head as he did his calculations.

“Are you ready, my nephew?” old Lenser said.

"Of course, my handsome and wise uncle."

Ruger knew that this went far beyond the agreement in the contract. It was the old dog Lunser's gratitude to his "nephew," and it also made his nephew more realistic. After all, he was a young junior being trained, so how could he be stingy with his teachings?

It's truly a case of "you're good, I'm good, everyone's good."

The two arrived at the small refining room. This time, it wasn't a simple demonstration before they turned and left, leaving him free to do as he pleased.

Based on his original method of refining purification potions, Ruger further learned a way of using mental power to more closely observe and sense the changes in these potion materials during the refining process.

At Old Renser's instruction, Ruger first used this method to concoct a familiar purification potion.

Comparing the two, I indeed had more to say.

At the same time, he compared and contrasted the contents of the illustrated guides he had been looking at these days.

"Do you feel the difference? Do you have a new understanding of this potion that you have refined thousands of times?" Old Lunser said from the side.

“There are some really grumpy little things in this bottle,” Ruger said, mimicking his tone.

The finished purification agent is transparent, but it is not like that in the early stages of refining; changes occur continuously during the process.

The two began learning what they were going to master this time: a bubble potion that was slightly more complex than the purification potion.

Ruger was very puzzled when he first heard the name.

It wasn't until old Lenser gave him a sip of the potion he was demonstrating how to make that a lot of bubbles started to come out from his mouth, nose, hands, feet, and even the gaps between his scales. Some small impurities were also cleaned out, and it took quite a while for the process to end.

"This is... a bath potion?" Ruger suddenly realized.

Old Lenser rolled his eyes.

“Fool, this is an antidote, different from common antidotes. Although its detoxifying effect isn't strong on its own, it's a supplement in another form,” Old Lunser said irritably. “Of course, there are indeed some fools like you who will waste this potion on bathing in the wild, or in some emergencies, such as needing to sneak into a place without carrying an odor-removing potion, they'll use this potion as a temporary fix,” Old Lunser said reluctantly.

This earned him a disdainful look from Ruger. In the eyes of a wizard with ample funds, this might just be a holy bathing potion, used to detoxify.

Old Renser began to explain the uses and properties of each material used, the reactions during the refining process, the order of materials and refining methods, and why the potion materials should be used in this order. Ruger wrote them all down, intending to verify them one by one when he refined the potion himself later.

This time, the bathing elixir took a very long time to prepare.

If he simply memorized the methods and order of the refining process, even if the potion was quite complex, he believed he could master it in less than half the time, and at most succeed after failing two bottles.

But this time it's different; the fundamental purpose is different.

"Alright, that should be about right. Since this is a learning process, there must be a test. I can tell you in advance so you can think about it carefully and pay attention," Old Lunser said. "After you have learned all four types of potions, come and tell me the answer. Among these four types of potions, there is one material that can be replaced, and the material that can be replaced is also among these four types of potions you are about to learn. Your basic knowledge is very poor, so I don't expect you to optimize the potions. Just find and replace it successfully without weakening the potion's effect, and that will be enough for you to truly master the basics."

After Old Lunser finished speaking, he left behind ten portions of ingredients for making bubble potions and turned to leave.

Looking at the closed door of the small refining room, Ruger confidently began to refine.

He soon discovered a problem.

If he were to forcibly refine the ingredients according to his memory, with the materials that Old Lunser had handled so well, it would be very easy to succeed. However, this time, five out of the ten ingredients were not handled well. He knew that this was a test from Old Lunser, or rather, a training environment that he deliberately created, so that he could observe and adjust according to his own understanding, and even change the refining method and timing.

"Old Dog Head has certainly put in a lot of effort."

After a flurry of activity, Ruger looked at his finished product while muttering to himself.

Ten sets of materials yielded four finished products. Three of these were made from properly processed materials, while the last one was something he figured out on his own. This was also the first time he felt a little tired from making potions.

Ruger had finished refining the potions a long time ago and had been standing there examining the four bubble potions.

He turned his head and glanced again at the purification potion that had initially been used for comparison in the refining process.

This potion-making experience gave him a lot of insights and sparked many associations.

This might be a good approach; he felt that with his stable and solid mental strength, he might be able to try to do more.

For example, research the differences and similarities between hair removal and hair nourishment techniques.

He had been eyeing the modification spells of those fifth-level wizard apprentices for a long time.

These are things that most of the time are only done by fifth-level wizard apprentices who have reached the limit of their mental strength but have not yet advanced. However, the constant stream of thoughts that have been surging through him all day today has made him extremely restless.

A small attempt is not out of the question.

He took the four vials of medicine and went downstairs.

Since he started potion making, he had never had such a high failure rate, wasting six sets of materials. However, they were not wasted in vain; rather, they made an outstanding contribution to his path as a wizard, Ruger thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)