Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 99 Potions Master Assistant Certificate!
Locke snapped his fingers, and instantly, a wood elemental flame of 1400 degrees Celsius ignited on the support below the crucible, with the blue flame being the mildest.

Only simple potions can be made with ordinary fire; slightly more complex potions require magical flames.

Only magical flames can extract the natural magical components from those herbs, and by using the different properties of magical flames, these components can be altered to create the potion effects desired by the potion master.

It can be said that in the process of refining potions, the material formula is one aspect, and how to control the temperature of the magical flame is another.

To some extent, the heat control is just as important as the recipe.

Even if an ordinary wizard without the relevant qualifications knows the specific recipe and gathers all the materials, he will never be able to concoct a qualified potion because he cannot accurately control the heat and timing.

Locke first placed the honey and calf gel into the crucible and waited quietly for them to begin to boil.

Next, he poured in the blue butterfly cocoon powder and cat's eye stone powder, and then waited quietly.

Thirty seconds after the liquid in the crucible turned blue-green, Locke poured in the sap of the White Leaf Tree. Then, the magical flames at the bottom of the crucible suddenly turned red—fire elemental magic flames.

The liquid inside the crucible seemed to sense the ferocity of the fire elemental magic and began to boil violently as well.

Locke recalled the key points of making the Concentration Ointment in his mind.

The main ingredient in the Mind-Calming Ointment is actually silver leaf mint. Silver leaf mint contains several natural magical structures that have the effect of calming people and increasing concentration.

In other words, the magical plant Silverleaf Mint contains natural components with magical rune structures similar to the [Concentration] enchantment spell model.

In fact, many spell rune models were borrowed and optimized by wizards from the natural magical structures found in magical plants.

This is also one of the foundations of potion-making.

Potions masters can concoct various potions with different effects by blending, modifying, and extracting the natural magical components within different materials.

Locke is now transforming magical flames into fire elemental flames in order to better extract the different magical structures and natural components from the materials inside the crucible.

After waiting for a minute, Locke skillfully placed a silver mint leaf into the cauldron and then changed the magical flame from fire elemental flame to wood elemental flame.

In the potion-making process, the main role of fire elemental flames is to better force out the special natural magical structural components in the materials.

However, the natural magical structure of Silver Mint is easily destroyed by the excessively violent fire element flames, so Locke needed to change the magical flames to wood element magical flames.

The wood element magic fire, which forces out the natural magical structure of materials, is not as effective, but it is milder and has no extreme properties, making it compatible with almost all materials.

Locke waited another three minutes, until the liquid in the crucible turned silver-blue and emitted a captivating fragrance. Then, Locke changed the wood elemental magic flame into an earth elemental magic flame.

Under the influence of the yellowish-brown flame, the liquid inside the crucible gradually turned into a gel-like substance, similar to a plaster.

Locke waited for a little over five minutes, then immediately extinguished the earth elemental magic flames, since the refining work was already complete. He then replaced the magic flames on the stand with water elemental magic flames.

The water elemental magic flame has a very low temperature, only about 100 degrees Celsius. This allows the crucible to cool down slowly, reducing the impact of sudden temperature changes on the medicinal properties of the Concentration Ointment.

This is actually a little trick that Sophia the witch taught me. This little trick can slightly increase the potion's effectiveness. Although it's not much, it is indeed useful.

Many wizards don't pay much attention to this during the concoction process, and cool it down quickly after the concoction is finished, which has a slight impact on the potency of the medicine. However, the witch Sophia has a different understanding of this.

She believes that after most of the potion-making process is complete, the final stage should involve using water elemental magic flames to neutralize the potency.

This is a fine habit that many first-level potion masters retain. The three formal wizards nodded slightly upon seeing this.

Wizard Derek Jones praised, "Good habit. Although your theoretical foundation is not very solid, your practical skills are excellent."

"The process of 'concentrating the medicinal properties' is often overlooked by many potion-making assistants. Of course, without sufficient mana stability, this last step is quite tiring, which is why many potion-making assistants will voluntarily shirk their responsibilities."

Locke was able to maintain this little habit for so long because converting magical flames was too easy for him.

Otherwise, if each conversion requires concentration and would be exhausting, the potion-making assistants would indeed try to minimize the number of times the magical flames are converted during the refining process.

An hour later, all three of them had finished refining.

Wizard Derek Jones first examined the Concentration Ointment that Locke had concocted. He first observed the appearance of the concentration ointment, then smelled it, and said, "It is of very high quality."

"Your precise handling has brought this Concentration Ointment to a quality that is above average. This is a level that few wizarding apprentices who haven't yet passed the Potions Master exam can achieve," Wizard Derek Jones praised. "It seems that becoming a Potions Master is just a stepping stone for your future. I hope you will continue to work hard."

Wizard Derek Jones returned the Concentration Ointment to Locke, saying, "The Concentration Ointment distributed by the Academy to second-class wizarding apprentices is generally of below-average quality, and sometimes even lower."

"If you master the technique of mass-producing Concentration Ointment in the future, you may be able to earn a steady amount of magic stones by taking on the task of producing Concentration Ointment for the academy, or even receive contribution points as a reward from the academy."

Locke bowed to the wizard Derek Jones and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Jones."

"I will continue to work hard."

Wizard Derek Jones smiled and nodded, then walked up to Gogol and examined the quality of the hemostatic ointment.

"Mediocre."

Wizard Derek Jones couldn't help but remark, "The quality is a bit low."

Under Gogol's uneasy gaze, Wizard Derek Jones still said, "You pass."

Gogol breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with ecstasy. He quickly bowed to Wizard Derek Jones, "Thank you, Lord Jones."

"thanks, thanks."

Wizard Derek Jones coldly walked towards Bate, examined the night vision potion, and said sternly in Bate's trembling eyes, "Although it was successfully made, such a simple potion is of such low quality."

"Unqualified."

Bate looked miserable. He knew that the academy usually had higher expectations for its students than for wizard apprentices outside, but when it actually happened to him, he felt incredibly frustrated.

Lilith's Hut is, after all, the most powerful potion-making center in the southeastern region, so its requirements for its first-class wizard apprentices are definitely much higher than those outside.

Bette bowed to Wizard Derek Jones and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Jones. I...I...I will continue to work hard in the next exam."

Wizard Derek Jones turned and left. "The assessment is over. Locke Augustine and Gogor Harden, you two have passed the Potions Master Assistant assessment and become Potions Master Assistants."

Congratulations to you both.

"The field of potion-making is vast and boundless. I hope that you can hone your skills in this field, learn more, and make a name for yourselves in the future."

(End of this chapter)