Three days had passed since Luciel last visited the Magic Pharmacy Store at the Shelley Chamber of Commerce. During these three days, he had kept himself quite busy.
Luciel didn't waste any time. He scoured the market, collecting a vast array of fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants, and animal blood. With the help of the chip, he began analyzing these materials, hoping to discover substances that could enhance his physical abilities. However, his efforts yielded no significant results.
This outcome wasn't surprising, though. The ingredients he gathered were common and inexpensive. If they had contained potent substances capable of improving one's physical fitness, they would have long been discovered by magic apothecaries and incorporated into potion formulas. It was clear that his decision to directly analyze finished magic potions for enhancement substances was a more efficient approach. Searching through raw ingredients was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.
In addition to analyzing substances and expanding his chip's database, Luciel continued his training in cross swordsmanship, a skill he had learned through the Swordsman Association Challenge Magic Puppet. Cross swordsmanship far exceeded the basic swordsmanship in terms of power, but it was also significantly more difficult to master.
After three days of intense practice, Luciel had managed to perfect the technique to 87%. However, to reach 100% perfection, he needed to perform the technique 2,039 more times. On the positive side, after practicing 2,450 times, Luciel's strength would increase by 0.1 points.
Business Success
Meanwhile, John, the clerk of the Shelley Chamber of Commerce, brought Luciel some good news. All five bottles of optimized power potions had been sold, netting Luciel a total of 250 gold coins. After deducting the cost, Luciel made a handsome profit of 236 gold coins. It was a significant amount of money.
Luciel was no longer burdened by the need to ask his family for money. He no longer had to worry about tuition fees, swordsmanship course fees, or training resources. With his growing success, he could even send some money back to Baron Ruf to help his genius sorcerer sister.
Potion Analysis and Optimization
Luciel wasted no time in furthering his progress. He decided to analyze the ingredients of the low-level speed potion and the low-level physique potion he had purchased. The analysis process was efficient, and he soon obtained the optimized versions of both formulas.
He then turned his focus to the ingredients used in the potions. The chip quickly identified key substances that could enhance speed and strength. Among them were the leaves of windweed grass and the liver of the wildebeest. Both had powerful enhancement properties—windweed grass could increase speed by up to 2 points, while the liver of the wildebeest could enhance physical strength by 2.5 points. However, some of the ingredients were too expensive to obtain in large quantities, so Luciel focused on these two.
Windweed grass was not cheap, costing 70 or 80 silver coins per plant, and was the primary ingredient in the speed potion. Interestingly, the leaves of the windweed grass proved to be even more effective in enhancing speed than the fruit. As for the wildebeest liver, although the meat was rarely eaten due to its sour and tough nature, the liver was more readily available in slaughter markets, making it an affordable and valuable ingredient.
Training Intensifies
After confirming these two ingredients, Luciel began a rigorous two-week training session. He locked himself away in his room, only leaving occasionally to purchase the necessary ingredients. Throughout this period, his commitment to his goal was unwavering. The path of the strong was often a lonely one, but Luciel knew that enduring solitude and hardship was essential if he wished to become someone admired by others.
His training was intense. As Luciel practiced, his sword became an extension of himself. His strikes sliced through the air with remarkable speed and precision, the long sword leaving a fierce trail of wind in its wake. Even though it was a wooden sword, its power and the intent behind each blow were undeniable.
"I hope I don't get caught by the Commission for Discipline and Discipline Inspection," Luciel mused, glancing at the cross-shaped sword mark on the trunk in front of him.
The cross swordsmanship, optimized by the chip, had become even more powerful. Luciel had perfected it to the point where it could be called "Super Cross Swordsmanship." This new and enhanced technique included a devastating move, which he had just unleashed—known as the "Cross Slash."
The perfected "Super Cross Swordsmanship" reached 100% mastery and had evolved into the second realm of swordsmanship, much like basic swordsmanship. Coupled with the enhancement from the wildebeest liver and windweed grass leaves, Luciel's physical attributes had been significantly boosted:
Strength: 3.5
Speed: 3.5
Constitution: 3.8
Will: 2.3
With these stats, Luciel had reached the level of a sixth-tier apprentice knight. His physical qualities were exceptional even among other sixth-tier knights, making him an undeniable prodigy.
The Mid-Term Assessment
"The mid-term assessment for the third grade will begin soon…" Luciel thought, a fiery determination in his eyes. "This is my chance to show everyone my strength. I'll make a real impact!"
Luciel was fully aware that his strength would eventually be exposed, and the mid-term assessment was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his abilities.
But before that, Luciel had one more task: he needed a real knight's sword. His wooden apprentice sword had become too light for him to wield effectively—it couldn't fully reflect his strength. A fine steel knight's sword was the next logical step.
During this time, Luciel had also managed to craft two optimized low-level strength potions. He had made ten bottles each time, quickly recovering the cost and ensuring that he had the funds to purchase a steel sword. His net worth had already surpassed 700 gold coins, more than enough to buy the weapon he needed.
As Luciel prepared to leave his dormitory, he encountered an unexpected person, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his journey.
End of Chapter 13