Wizarding Age: I can analyze everything

Chapter 22 Senior, I Want to Study Pharmaceutical Engineering

The unexpected little incident did not affect Pei Ze's plans.

After parting ways with the members of the Celestial Spirit Society, he went straight to the No. 8 Herb Garden.

I did a routine check on the plants in my assigned area and watered all the plants that needed watering.

After finishing his work, he went to the small house where Yin Xue usually stayed and gently knocked on the door.

A short while later, the door creaked open, revealing Yin Xue's delicate and beautiful face.

Upon seeing Pei Ze, Yin Xue smiled.

"Oh, it's a junior. What can I do for you?"

"I have some questions for you, Senior Sister."

Yin Xue nodded slightly, stepped aside, and said, "Come in first."

Upon entering the cabin, Pei Ze immediately smelled a mixture of spicy and sweet odors, along with a scent similar to disinfectant, but thankfully it wasn't too unpleasant.

In the very center was a huge table, which occupied almost half of the room. On it were glass bottles, test tubes, beakers and other tools that Pei Ze did not recognize.

It was obvious that this was where Yin Xue usually brewed potions.

Just as Pei Ze had guessed, she was indeed a pharmacist, or rather, a pharmacy apprentice.

Seeing Pei Ze curiously examining the utensils on the lab table, Yin Xue smiled and said, "Interested in potion making? Wait until you advance to the second-level wizard apprentice level, eh?"

Halfway through her sentence, Yin Xue suddenly realized something was wrong. Her silvery-jewel-like eyes stared at Pei Ze for a moment, a look of surprise on her face.

"You've advanced to the second-level wizard apprenticeship?"

Pei Ze nodded: "I just broke through yesterday."

Yin Xue gave him a deep look and said with admiration, "Junior, you really do surprise me every time."

As someone who had been through it all, she naturally understood what Pei Ze's promotion to a second-level wizard apprentice meant at this time.

What surprised her even more was that Pei Ze's family was not well-off—otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to take on the task of tending the herb garden—and that he could still break through so quickly without sufficient resources was simply astonishing!

Pei Ze, unaware of Yin Xue's inner thoughts, went straight to the point: "Senior, I've come to ask you about magical pets."

"I'm planning to contract a magical pet, but I don't know which animal to choose. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Yin Xue snapped out of her daze, pursed her lips, and said, "That mainly depends on what your requirements are for your magical pet."

"Different kinds of animals possess different abilities after being transformed into magical pets."

"For example, cats, after being transformed into magical pets, will generally awaken the ability to stealth, moving silently and making them good helpers as scouts. If they are raised well, they can even awaken the ability to stealth in shadows."

"Toads, when transformed into magical pets, usually awaken highly poisonous abilities."

"Bats, on the other hand, have an extremely wide range of sound wave localization capabilities."

Frogs are generally large in size.

Yin Xue gave examples of more than ten kinds of animals in one go.

"Of course, this is just the general case. Depending on the physical condition of the contract partner and the level of the wizard's mental strength, the abilities that the magical pet will eventually awaken will also vary. In very rare cases, it may even awaken a very rare ability."

"In a sense, contracting a magical pet is also a gamble, and the outcome largely depends on personal luck."

Pei Ze nodded to indicate that he understood.

Simply put, the process of transforming a pet is actually a bit like drawing cards in a mobile game; you never know whether you'll draw an SSR or an NR until the very end.

Suddenly, Pei Ze remembered the flock of crows he had seen that morning and asked, "Senior, what abilities do crows typically have when they are transformed into magical pets?"

"crow?"

Yin Xue extended her slender, fair index finger and gently tapped her chin, a gesture that was inexplicably playful and cute.

"I don't recommend you choose a crow as your pet."

Pei Ze was taken aback: "Why?"

"Because the common awakened ability of crows is to command flocks of crows."

"Commanding a flock of crows?" Pei Ze paused, a bad feeling creeping over him. "This flock of crows, does it refer to ordinary crows?"

Yin Xue nodded with a smile.

Really

Pei Ze's lips twitched.

This ability seems to be of little use, at least for wizards.

You can't expect a flock of ordinary crows to play any role in a wizard's battle, can you?

"Doesn't the Raven Familiar have any other more useful abilities?"

"That's not entirely true."

Pei Ze's spirits lifted, and he quickly asked, "What kind of ability is it?"

"For example, creating mist, releasing attacks similar to spell missiles, and shadow stealth are all collectively referred to by wizards as spell-like abilities."

"A raven that has awakened a spell-like ability is considered an excellent magical pet, and it also has great potential."

"However, the chance of a raven pet awakening a magical ability is very low, less than one in a thousand."

"Considering that each contract with a magical pet consumes the maximum amount of one's mental energy, wizards are generally unwilling to take the gamble, and very few people choose ravens as their magical pets."

Pei Ze was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this.

So, crows really aren't a good choice.

At this moment, Yin Xue flipped her wrist, and a book instantly appeared in her palm.

On the jet-black leather cover, numerous animals surround four bold black characters like stars around the moon.

The Complete Guide to Pets!

"Don't rush into the matter of magical pets. Go back and read this book carefully. It's not too late to make a decision after you've learned more about this topic." Yin Xue handed the book to Pei Ze.

"Thank you, senior." Pei Ze accepted the gift without any hesitation or formality.

After putting away his books, Pei Ze glanced at the glassware on the lab table and asked earnestly, "Senior, if I want to learn how to make potions, what do I need to do?"

Yin Xue thought for a moment, then flicked her finger, and a piece of paper floated out of thin air from the table not far away and landed in her palm.

A glint of silver light appeared on her fingertips as she wrote and drew on the paper.

A moment later, she handed the paper to Pei Ze.

"This is a list of knowledge you need to know to learn how to make potions. You'd better thoroughly understand and master these before you try making potions."

Pei Ze took the paper and saw that it was covered with densely packed book titles, including Elementary Pharmacology, Medicinal Botany, Advanced Identification of Extraordinary Materials, Pharmaceutical Identification, and so on. He estimated that there were at least fifty different subjects.

Pei Ze was secretly astonished.

No wonder pharmacists are so rare.

If you have to learn so much just to get started, how amazing will the breadth and depth of knowledge you need to encounter later on be?

"Besides learning a lot of knowledge, brewing potions also requires a lot of resources. Every qualified pharmacist is built up from a huge amount of resources. You should be prepared for that."

Pei Ze nodded solemnly.

As everyone knows, each of the four side professions of a wizard is a money-devouring black hole.

Among these, refining medicines is the most expensive.

The resources consumed in a single failed potion-making attempt are often worth tens or even hundreds of gold coins.

A novice potion apprentice often needs to fail more than ten times before he can successfully brew a potion.

Even for certified pharmacists, the success rate of concocting potions is not very high.

A score exceeding 40% already qualifies you as one of the best among pharmacists of the same rank.

This has also led to persistently high drug prices.

However, Pei Ze is different. He has an omniscient eye, which allows him to analyze potion formulas and accurately grasp the medicinal components, thereby greatly reducing errors in the potion refining process and increasing the success rate of refining.

(End of this chapter)