Adrian stopped and held the bridge of his nose. "No. That’s not happening. I’m about to sleep, and you should too."
"Sleep?!" Karl’s voice rose. "Bro, it’s still morning!"
Adrian ignored him, taking off his footwear and collapsing onto his bed. He pulled the sheets over himself, shutting out Karl’s complaints.
With a mental command, he activated the [System Factory] and the world began to dissolve, leaving Karl’s voice fading.
Karl, seeing no response, sighed dramatically.
"Fine! I’ll go to sleep. Hmph."
He flopped onto his own bed, muttering under his breath, but exhaustion soon overtook him. Within moments, he was snoring softly, the dorm falling into a rare, peaceful quiet.
Adrian stood before his workshop table in the [System Factory] and before him lay a half-assembled device, its sleek, metallic form glinting under the workshop’s bright lights.
It wasn’t a traditional cauldron, though its rounded base gave it a similar aesthetic.
This was his heater upgrade project, a device he had decided to dub seperately as a Magic Cauldron.
"I should be done if I work through today."
His mind drifted to the Corrupted Lands for a while. "I might as well start making grenades after this."
He couldn’t pause the assembly line yet, not when he needed to stockpile inventions for sales. The TP and EXP from mass adoption were too crucial, especially with his plans for the Triple Production Line.
"Time to get to work," he said, picking up a tool from the desk.
The next day, Adrian staggered out of Master Von’s training session, his muscles aching as usual.
The grueling drills had pushed his Phantom Flow Technique closer to mastery, though the many sets of movements still eluded him.
Master Von, his stern gaze softened by approval, clapped a hand on Adrian’s shoulder.
"You’re improving, boy. Your body’s adapting to the strain."
Adrian nodded, catching his breath, but Master Von’s next words came like a bomb. "We’ll meet again after the Electives."
Adrian knew better than to complain. The Exchange was just three days away, and the extra session made sense. Time was running out to learn the technique.
"Okay, Master Von," he said, keeping his tone steady despite the fatigue.
Dismissed, Adrian headed to the cafeteria. He hadn’t been able to cultivate, so he felt hunger normally now.
"I wonder how long this would go on."
He grabbed a quick meal, devouring it before heading to the Alchemy Hall.
He made sure to slip into an alley and retrieve the Magic Cauldron just before he entered the hall.
Inside, Serena waved him over and they chatted briefly before at exactly 12:30 PM Instructor Lira strode in with a commanding presence.
The students stood and greeted her in unison.
"Today, we’ll discuss pills," Lira announced and Adrian’s focused immediately, as he had been waiting for this lesson.
Lira began, explaining the distinction between pills and potions.
"... Pills are superior in potency amongst their other strengths. Their compact, stable form requires immense precision to craft, condensing ingredients into a single capsule."
She continued, detailing the risks.
"Pills can be exceptional or disastrous, with failure far more likely. Their quality is measured by purity... A perfect pill is said to be 100% pure, though such are exceedingly rare."
"In the entire kingdom, fewer than ten 100% pure pills exist, all safeguarded in the royal palace."
Gasps rippled through the room and some students whispered, "What makes them so special?" Lira, anticipating the question, smiled faintly.
"A 100% pure pill takes effect instantly, with no delay. More remarkably, they can jump stages. A 1-Star pure Recovery Pill, for instance, can heal a 2-Star Knight’s injuries in moments, leaving no trace of harm and no side effects, unlike impure pills, which often carry risks."
Adrian’s mind raced. Were the system’s pills 100% pure? The Recovery Pills he had used matched Lira’s description perfectly. Immediate effects without drawbacks.
The stage jumping aspect was new, but it seemed plausible; he just hadn’t tested it. He mentally queried Tech Core, "Are your pills 100% pure?"
Silence greeted him, as expected. With a mental shrug, he refocused on Lira.
"Some of you may wonder what determines a pill’s purity," Lira said, pacing before the class. "It’s a matter of perfection. Perfect temperature, perfect timing, perfect materials, and a perfect environment.
Unlike potions, pills cannot be crafted in an open cauldron. The vessel must be sealed to maintain constant internal conditions and must be free from external interference."
She gestured toward a sealed cauldron on her desk.
"High-ranking mages can monitor their conditions even while sealed, so that isn’t much of an issue, but other factors such as material quality and precise measurements are harder to master. This is why pill-making is so challenging."
The students nodded, the complexity dawning on them.
Adrian internally considered. All these conditions could be easily fixed by him, so he wondered if he would be able to make 100% pure pills when the time comes.
Professor Lira’s voice broke his thoughts as she continued. "Now that you understand the principles, let’s explore the process of pill-making. Even though you may never be able to craft one yourselves," her gaze lingered on Adrian, "but observe and learn."
"Before we start, we must select the ingredients just like when making potions," she said, her voice cutting through the students’ murmurs.
"I’ll handle the preparation myself today. We’ll be crafting a Recovery Pill, a basic but vital formula."
She listed the ingredients for them: "Bloodroot Sap, Moonwort Leaf, Mana Crystal Dust, Clotvine Extract, Starbloom Petal, Ironwood Resin, and Dawncap Spore."
A ripple of whispers spread through the class, and several students shifted, eager to speak. Lira raised a hand, silencing them.
"Yes, you’ve noticed some overlap with the Healing Potion’s ingredients, but there are more here, and for good reason. I’ll explain why after we’re done."
She moved to a side table laden with vials and jars, her movements swift yet deliberate.
"Like potions, ingredients requiring preparation must be used immediately, or they lose potency," she explained.
For the next one hour, she prepared each of the ingredients, using her magic to hasten some of the processes.
By the time she was all done with them, she threw all the prepared ingredients into the cauldron .
"Here comes the most difficult stage," she said, her voice lowering as she sealed the cauldron. "Making the pill itself."