The next morning, Ian once again ordered a batch of Rock Bear Essence Blood from Kenna's team.
He wanted to earn a large amount of Magic Stones. He couldn't count on Awakening Potions anymore; he would have to rely on this rare Rock Bear Potion.
Ian believed that this Potion would bring him immense wealth.
He just needed to carefully consider how to sell it safely.
Inside the Magic Potion Room.
Through numerous failed attempts at Refining and the gradual accumulation of feedback, Ian's Skill Level with the Rock Bear Potion was just shy of the Beginner level.
Ian slowly poured the juice of the Red Heart Grass into a red glass beaker, stirring it counterclockwise as he entered the final stages.
Just then, a flash of Spiritual Light struck his mind. He began to sprinkle in a tiny amount of Magic Powder for every two stirs to catalyze the reaction, then swirled the beaker evenly...
...
Finally, the red liquid in the beaker rapidly contracted, its color growing brighter and brighter until it stabilized.
"It's done!"
[Rock Bear Potion Skill Level +1]
[Rock Bear Potion: Beginner (0/400)]
Ian closed his eyes, digesting the torrent of insights flooding his mind.
After a moment, he brought the Potion close to his eyes. Within the Blood Crystal-like liquid, faint golden threads swam about ceaselessly.
These were not microorganisms, but the most precious essence of the Rock Bear's bloodline.
Seeing these threads, Ian felt an intense desire well up inside him.
'Drink it! Drink it now!'
Ian didn't hesitate, downing it in one gulp.
The moment the Potion slid down his throat, he regretted it!
It didn't feel like a liquid, but more like he had swallowed a hot, softened block of lead. A tangible weight dropped into and filled his stomach.
His stomach began to grow warm, then hot. Ian didn't feel pain, but a warmth like that from downing strong liquor. This quickly intensified into a fierce burning sensation that spread throughout his entire abdomen...
Ian leaned forward, propping himself up on the workbench with both hands, his breathing growing heavy.
Tiny red dots began to appear on the surface of his skin, slowly enlarging into dark red patches.
His mind drifted into a trance. The sounds from outside the room grew distant, replaced by the sound of his own blood surging—a deafening RUMBLE that filled his head.
He gritted his teeth and endured, looking down at his hands.
Sweat was seeping from his pores, leaving faint gray streaks on his skin.
His vision blurred and his breathing grew ragged. His exhaled breaths echoed in the room, which suddenly became stuffy and hot.
A bone-deep pain continued to spread through his muscles and skeleton.
Ian could faintly hear an extremely subtle CRACKING sound coming from deep within his bones. It was the sound of his bones breaking, of his internal structure slowly adjusting.
Fortunately, from deep within his body, strands of green Life Energy surged forth, constantly repairing the trauma.
Amidst the continuous cycle of his bones breaking and regrowing, he could no longer hold on and collapsed to the floor.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Ian, lying on the floor, gradually opened his eyes.
He touched his forehead. His temperature had returned to normal.
After climbing up from the floor, he looked around. The edges of the cracks in the wall, every flake of peeling paint, the tiny adjacent strands of spider silk, and even the irregular thickness of the accumulated dust—all were crystal clear.
He tried to clench his fist. With a BANG!, he crushed the air, creating a sonic boom.
He felt a tumultuous, violent Power flowing through his body, as if he could easily destroy anything in his sight.
Suddenly, a ravenous hunger struck him. Every cell in his body was screaming!
"Hungry! Hungry! Hungry..."
Ian rushed out of the Magic Potion Room and into the main hall, grabbing everything edible and stuffing it into his mouth.
Bread, sausages, fruit, Awakening Potions...
He ate for a full half-hour before the hunger finally began to subside.
Ian smacked his lips and patted his round belly, a look of satisfaction on his face.
Only then did it dawn on him that he had finally made it through. A look of lingering fear appeared in his eyes.
Ian hadn't expected that a mere Constitutional Potion would put him through such a terrifying experience.
'The Life Potion before was so gentle. How could the Rock Bear Potion nearly kill me!'
If he hadn't just recently consumed the Water of Life, he wasn't sure if he would have survived.
'This is the consequence of a lack of knowledge. It seems I'll have to attend more lectures at the High Tower to broaden my horizons in the future.'
'The panel only shortens the time it takes for me to learn knowledge and Witchcraft; it can't conjure brand-new, additional knowledge out of thin air.'
He took a quick shower and stood in front of the mirror, looking at his transformed self.
His face shape hadn't changed, and no fur had sprouted on his body. He sighed in relief.
He tried moving around. His body felt slightly heavier, likely a change brought by the Rock Bear genes.
The lines of his neck and shoulders had become thicker and more continuous, and a layer of muscle now covered his collarbones.
The muscles all over his body were fuller than before, as if each one had been inflated, slightly bulging, firm but not stiff.
His complexion was also a healthy, ruddy color. A thin layer of tough tissue lay beneath his skin, which could effectively protect against external impacts. Unfortunately, it seemed to be effective only against physical attacks.
Most importantly, when he stared, his pupils seemed to be able to change size. His gaze had become steady, no longer having that flighty quality.
Ian twitched his nose slightly and caught a very faint scent of rock and soil.
This was the residue of the Rock Bear bloodline from the Potion. It would be expelled from his body after some time, and he would return to normal.
He went to the main hall and did a few simple stretches. Lacking any testing equipment, he couldn't gauge the limits of his Power.
'What a terrifying improvement. Just how strong am I now?'
In terms of speed, although his body was heavier, the huge increase in his Power made him faster than before, albeit with a steadier, more grounded style.
As for how much his Physique had improved, he felt that he could go ten days without sleep and not feel the slightest bit tired.
Now, with his robes on, the change in Ian's build wasn't obvious, but his aura no longer had that previous frailness.
'Next, I need to quickly refine more potions and convert them into Magic Stones for my Cultivation.'
For the source of the Essence Blood and a sales channel, he felt that cooperating with Malena was the safest and most reliable option.
Now that his strength had greatly increased, he planned to find some time to have a proper talk with her.
After partnering with the Magic Pharmacy, he couldn't give up on Kenna's team. They could continue to help him collect Essence Blood.
As for whether the Potion would sell, he wasn't worried. This type of Potion was a favorite among Wizards who modified their bloodlines; there would be no trouble finding buyers.
In the future, as long as he had other bloodline-related formulas, he could rely on his powerful Bloodline Purification Technique to refine enhanced versions of the potions!
The next morning, Ian had someone summon Kenna's team, and they discussed their future cooperation.
He planned to stop mass-producing Awakening Potions. First, Malena had already given him a warning, and it was best not to go against her.
Second, the profit margin for Awakening Potions was too low and it was a waste of time. With that free time, wouldn't it be better to refine more Rock Bear Potions or practice Witchcraft?
Ian then asked about the Shadow Society's recent activities. Too much time had passed with absolutely no news, and he felt something was off.
"You don't know? It's been the talk of the academy lately! The Shadow Society discovered the Magic Potion Garden and Inheritance of some ancient Wizard in a ruin. After a huge struggle, they came out as the biggest winners."
"What?" Ian was stunned. 'So that's it, they were tied up with the ruin. No wonder there hasn't been any news.'
"What was inside? Besides the Shadow Society, who else went to the ruin?"
Kenna's face lit up with excitement as he talked about it.
"Besides the Shadow Society, the Golden Cottage, the White Bear Order, the Spiritual Light Witchcraft Party, and about six or seven other big-name organizations all went in. I heard a lot of people died, even a good number of High Level Apprentices."
"So it's not going to be over anytime soon?" Ian wished it would drag on for as long as possible.
"No, it's over. But there will definitely be fallout. The Shadow Society killed a lot of people in the ruin and took all the spoils. The others will definitely retaliate!"