The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

The apothecary workshop is located in the upper part of the castle, a stark contrast to the dark and damp material processing area below. The corridors here are spacious and bright, with walls inlaid with fluorite that emits a soft white light. The air is filled with a complex yet pleasant fragrance, a blend of dozens of magical plants and alchemical reagents, as if every breath is nourishing the spirit.

Tina led Rowe through several corridors to a large bronze door engraved with intricate patterns of vines and medicine bottles. Two guards in standard leather armor, with sharp eyes, stood on either side. Their mental energy fluctuations were clearly at the **intermediate apprentice** level, indicating they were apprentices specifically responsible for the workshop's security.

"Senior Tina." The guard clearly recognized Tina, nodding slightly in greeting, his gaze sweeping over Luo Wei with a scrutinizing look.

"This is the new apprentice, Rowe, personally recruited by Master Field," Tina explained simply, and the guards no longer stopped them, pushing open the heavy bronze door.

The scene behind the door caught Luo Wei's eye.

This was an extremely spacious hall with a soaring dome constructed of transparent magical crystal, allowing the morning sunlight to stream in unobstructed. The hall was divided into dozens of independent, semi-open work areas, each equipped with complete utensils, heating devices, and material cabinets. Dozens of figures dressed in blue or gray apprentice robes busied themselves within, grinding, distilling, extracting, and blending... The air was filled with active energy fluctuations and subtle ripples of mental power.

This is one of the true core production and research areas of the Darkmoon Academy.

"The workshop is divided into several areas. This is the public operating area, mainly used for processing routine materials and preparing basic reagents," Tina explained as she walked, speaking quickly. "Over there is the drying room and the temperature-controlled room. Inside is the advanced experimental area, which is off-limits without permission. Your activities are currently limited to the public operating area and the designated material preparation room."

He led Rowe to a worktable in the corner of the hall, a relatively secluded but still tidy spot.

"Your first task is to process this batch of 'Dragon Blood Moss'." Tina pointed to a sealed metal box on the workbench, radiating a faint heat. "Dragon Blood Moss contains violent fire attributes and dragon vein energy. Direct contact will burn the skin. Its internal fibrous structure is exceptionally tough, and its energy nodes are fragile. Traditional grinding or cutting can easily cause an instantaneous energy burst, ruining all your efforts. The workshop's standard method is to use a 'Cold Iron Carving Knife' in conjunction with 'Tranquility Spell' to slowly peel it off, but this is extremely inefficient and has a high loss rate."

He opened the metal box, and a scorching heat wafted out. Inside were several palm-sized pieces of moss, dark red like congealed blood, with natural scaly patterns on their surface—Dragon Blood Moss. They seemed to possess life, undulating slightly and radiating unstable energy.

"Master Fields' requirement is to grind it into a uniform powder with a particle size lower than 'micro-dust' without damaging its core dragon vein energy, for use in making 'Dragon Skin Potion'." Tina looked at Rowe, a hint of testing in her eyes. "The master said he'll give you three days. Whether you use your 'traditional methods' or anything else, we don't care about the process, we only care about the result. You can apply for tools, but you need to record the consumption."

After saying that, Tina turned and left, leaving Rowe alone in this challenging new environment.

Luo Wei could sense that many busy apprentices around him were casting curious, scrutinizing, or even slightly contemptuous glances at him. A newly arrived apprentice, supposedly promoted from the material processing area below, had been directly assigned such a troublesome task as Dragon Blood Moss; clearly, many were waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

Lowe ignored the stares. His attention was completely drawn to the dragon's blood moss on the workbench.

He did not act rashly, but observed carefully first. At the same time, his consciousness sank into his sea of ​​knowledge.

"Analysis target: Dragon's Blood Moss".

**[Analysis Target: Dragon's Blood Moss (A magical plant associated with the Wyvern's habitat)]**

**[Energy Attributes: Raging Fire, Trace Amount of Dragon Vein Energy (Inert).]**

**[Structural Analysis: The outer scaly structure is a high-strength energy insulation layer, the interior is a mesh-like energy fiber bundle, and the core contains 37 unstable energy nodes.]**

**[Traditional methods have drawbacks: Physical cutting can easily trigger a chain reaction of energy node collapses; low-temperature spells can easily cause the dragon vein's energy to become inert.]**

**【Optimized Processing Solution (Based on Existing Database and Fragment Information of 'Basic Rune Type 17'):】**

**【Option 1: High-Frequency Resonance Stripping Method. This method utilizes specific frequency mental vibrations to disintegrate the external scaly structure, then separates the fiber bundles using a microscopic force field, avoiding energy nodes. (Estimated success rate: 68%)**

**【Option Two: Energy-Induced Decay Method. Construct a miniature energy field to guide the slow decay of the internal fire-attribute energy, reducing its activity, before further processing. (Estimated success rate: 55%, time-consuming)】**

**[Recommended Option 1. Requires combining 'water flow manipulation' (creating a conductive medium) with precise mental frequency output.]**

The Book of Truth once again provides a solution that transcends convention! Moreover, Luo Wei noticed that during the deduction process, it seemed that some fragmented concepts about the "Seventeen Basic Runes" and "Energy Tracking" that had just been deciphered from the stone tablet were incorporated, making the solution even more optimized.

He felt much more at ease. Instead of applying for the cumbersome and inefficient cold iron carving knife, he closed his eyes and carefully sensed the unique energy flow frequency within the dragon blood moss.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and placed his hands lightly on top of the metal box. His mental energy, like invisible tentacles, probed into the box. At the same time, he manipulated the moisture in the air to cover the surface of the dragon blood moss with an extremely thin film of water, serving as a medium for energy conduction and buffering.

Then, he began.

His mental energy output was not brute force, but rather adjusted to an extremely subtle fluctuation with a specific resonant frequency, which, through the water film, precisely acted on the scaly structure of the dragon's blood moss.

hum-

With a barely audible sound, the scale-like patterns on the surface of the dark red dragon blood moss began to dim and loosen at a visible speed, as if it had lost all vitality. Immediately afterwards, Luo Wei's mental power, like the most skillful scalpel, gently separated it along the natural texture of the internal fiber bundles, perfectly avoiding all unstable energy nodes.

The entire process was smooth and seamless, without any trace of human intervention or energy disturbance.

In less than ten minutes, the first piece of dragon blood moss had turned into a small pile of dark red, fine and even powder, lying quietly at the bottom of the box. The dragon vein energy within it was well preserved, and the fire attribute energy had become gentle and stable.

The occasional glances from those around them, initially tinged with curiosity, gradually turned into astonishment and disbelief. They had never seen anyone handle dragon's blood moss so easily and efficiently! This completely overturned their understanding!

Without pausing, Lowe continued processing the remaining dragon blood moss. As his skill improved, his speed increased.

When Tina came back to check on the progress in the afternoon, she saw that the dragon's blood moss powder, which had been completely processed, was in a sealed box, and that Lovi was quietly wiping the worktable.

For the first time, a look of obvious astonishment appeared on Tina's face. He quickly stepped forward, picked up a bit of powder with his finger, and examined it carefully, his shock deepening. The particle size, uniformity, and well-preserved energy activity of the powder far exceeded the workshop's standards, even surpassing the work of several senior potion apprentices he had seen!

"How...how did you do that?" Tina couldn't help but ask, her tone losing its usual coldness.

"A little trick to using mental power, plus an understanding of the energy structure of the materials themselves," Luo Wei replied ambiguously, a response he had prepared long ago.

Tina gave Rowe a deep look, but didn't press further. Everyone has their secrets, and in the wizarding world, prying into someone else's unique skills is taboo. He carefully sealed the box, saying in a complex tone, "The mission was completed very well, far exceeding expectations. I will report to Master Field. You can familiarize yourself with the environment today, and I will assign you a new task tomorrow."

Filled with astonishment and with the perfect box of dragon blood moss powder, Tina hurriedly left.

Luo Wei knew that he had passed the first hurdle beautifully. He had initially established himself in the potion workshop.

For the next half day, Luo Wei didn't rest. Under the guise of familiarizing himself with the environment, he slowly strolled around the public operating area, quietly activating his [Low-Level Energy Vision] to observe the operations of other potion apprentices and the various materials being processed.

He saw more strange magical plants and minerals, as well as various unfinished potions being prepared. The database of the Book of Truth quietly underwent another round of expansion. In particular, the energy properties of several materials commonly used as stabilizers and catalysts gave him a more intuitive understanding of the principles of potion-making.

In the evening, Rowe returned to the single room assigned to the apprentice, which was far better than the dormitory of the Seventh Laboratory. He couldn't wait to take out the gray stone slab.

After being promoted to **Intermediate Apprentice**, the qualitative change in his mental strength gave him greater confidence in deciphering the stone slab. He once again probed with his mental strength, delving deeper along those subtle energy patterns.

**[Synchronization rate improved to 8%...]**

**[Information Flow: '...The construction of energy channels lies in resonance, not forced connection...', '...Runes are not fixed forms, but rather the instantaneous trajectory of energy flow...', '...The seventeenth type of rune is suitable for energy stabilization and structural reinforcement...']**

More fragmented information flooded in, and although it was still unsystematic, the ideas it contained deeply shocked Rowe. "Energy channels lie in resonance" and "Runes are the instantaneous trajectories of energy flow"—these views were completely different from the traditional concept taught at the academy, which regarded runes as fixed and unchanging energy nodes.

This is more like a dynamic philosophy of energy manipulation based on deep understanding!

He tried to understand and apply these concepts. He mobilized his mental energy, no longer simply constructing tricks according to the optimized model as before, but trying to "feel" the natural flow of energy, to "guide" rather than "command".

He cast the [Miniature Blazing Flame] spell again. This time, the pale flames dancing at his fingertips seemed more agile, and the energy consumption was subtly reduced, albeit by a tiny margin. This undoubtedly proved that he was on the right track!

The knowledge of the ancient wizard, the analytical abilities of the Book of Truth, and his scientific thinking from Earth are undergoing a wondrous chemical reaction.

Lowe immersed himself in absorbing and digesting the new knowledge until late at night.

After he finished exploring the stone slab and fine-tuning his abilities, as he prepared to begin his daily meditation, his gaze inadvertently swept across the room's window. Outside, the silhouettes of the castle's other towers appeared serene and mysterious under the twin moons.

However, in the midst of this tranquility, his [Low-Level Vision] once again detected something unusual.

In a window on the top floor of a distant tower, a faint, extremely subtle, and chilling dark energy fluctuation, of the same origin as the one he had previously discovered at the entrance of the Seventh Laboratory, flashed by!

Although the distance was great and the fluctuations were very weak, he would never mistake that unique energy quality!

Luo Wei's heart tightened suddenly.

That shadow... wasn't just focused on the lower levels. Its tentacles seemed to extend into the core area of ​​the academy, and perhaps... even into the tower of some official wizard?

A chill crept in.