Today, the Mage’s Guild had returned to its usual tranquility, not nearly as crowded as it had been at the beginning of the month.

As Zelir made his way along the guild’s tree-lined path, he only saw the occasional Mage passing by.

He navigated the familiar path through the Silver Blaze Tree Cluster, entered the small building, and knocked on the door to Instructor Manlin’s office.

Manlin’s voice came from inside almost immediately.

"Come in."

Zelir pushed the door open.

Instructor Manlin was in her usual state, sipping tea while studying ancient texts.

Today, however, she wore a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, giving her an even more scholarly and intellectual air.

"What is it, Zelir?" Instructor Manlin lifted her gaze to look at him.

"Instructor Manlin, I found a number of interesting plants while I was out on a mission and was hoping you could identify them for me." Zelir hefted the cloth bag in his hand.

"Is that so? Take them out and let me have a look." Manlin’s interest was piqued.

Zelir opened the cloth bag, placing the plants he had collected one by one onto the white cloth covering the table.

Manlin casually picked up a stalk and began to identify it.

"Hmm... this is a pansy. It has no magical properties. At most, you could grind its petals into a powder to make dye."

"This is cat’s claw vine. It’s mildly toxic, so only hunters really use it to coat their arrowheads."

"This is warm sun grass. It absorbs the sun’s heat during the day and slowly releases it at night. Many people gather it for warmth in the winter, but that’s about all it’s good for..."

After examining several useless plants in a row, Manlin found the situation rather amusing.

"Zelir, you’re like a little puppy, bringing back everything you find for me to look at."

"Because I’m afraid of missing something valuable..." Zelir scratched his head.

"There aren’t that many valuable things out there. Even professional herbalists have to be incredibly Lucky to make a find."

Manlin continued her examination for a while longer, but most of them were just common, worthless plants.

However, as she pushed aside the top layer of plants, a vibrant crimson cluster underneath immediately caught Manlin’s attention.

The lighthearted smile on her face slowly faded, replaced by astonishment.

Manlin carefully pinched it between her fingers, bringing it close to her eyes for a detailed inspection. She even held it to the tip of her nose and sniffed.

Upon smelling the faint, coppery scent, Manlin finally confirmed her suspicions.

"This is actually a Bloodroot Wei..."

Seeing that Instructor Manlin was finally interested in one of the plants he had collected, Zelir’s curiosity was piqued as well.

"Bloodroot Wei? Is it valuable?"

"I need to make an assessment..."

With that, Instructor Manlin began to study the flower in greater detail.

She pulled a thick tome from her bookshelf, flipped to the relevant page, and began meticulously comparing every part of the Bloodroot Wei to the description in the book.

She checked everything from the luster of its petals and the richness of its scent to its overall growth condition.

After pondering for a good while, Instructor Manlin nodded thoughtfully.

"Your luck is quite good. This stalk of Bloodroot Wei meets the standards for a primary Magic Potion ingredient."

Manlin closed the tome. "An Overclocking Potion, which uses Bloodroot Wei as its primary ingredient, can unlock the drinker’s potential for a short time. However, this exertion comes at a price. Once the effects wear off, the user will become extremely weak."

"The higher the quality of the Bloodroot Wei, the longer the potential is unlocked, and the milder the side effects."

"Conversely, if the Bloodroot Wei’s quality is too poor, the resulting Magic Potion might not unlock any potential at all, and instead send the user straight into the debilitating side effects."

"It has such an incredible effect..." Zelir said in amazement.

’A Magic Potion that forcibly unlocks your potential to boost your power... in a critical moment, this could turn the tide of a battle. Used correctly, you could catch an enemy completely off guard.’

"Where did you find it?" Manlin asked.

"A graveyard," Zelir said.

"A graveyard?"

"That’s right. I accepted a request to eliminate Skeleton Soldiers in a graveyard at midnight. I found it then," Zelir answered honestly.

"The lives of you Adventurers are certainly eventful, aren’t they."

Manlin adjusted her glasses. "That explains it. A Bloodroot Wei could only grow in a place like a graveyard, which is saturated with negative energy."

"Instructor Manlin, please, take this Bloodroot Wei. You’ve already given me two Healing Potions."

Zelir said sincerely, "Please consider it a small token of my gratitude for all your help."

’Although Zelir really wanted to ask Instructor Manlin to concoct the Magic Potion for him, the one that could grant a temporary boost of Power...’

’...he also understood that constantly asking for things would only breed resentment.’

’Manlin was an Upper Level Mage, and a highly sought-after Empowerment Mage at that.’

’Her willingness to help and guide him was already a massive opportunity. He couldn’t afford to make her dislike him.’

Hearing Zelir’s words, Manlin was taken aback for a moment.

She looked into Zelir’s clear, sincere eyes, and her expression gradually softened into a gratified chuckle.

"Heh... You’re a clever one. You seem to understand a thing or two about social graces."

Manlin’s expression turned focused once more. Just as she had before, she retrieved several supplementary ingredients from the depths of her apothecary cabinet.

Zelir watched carefully, but with his limited knowledge, he couldn’t identify any of the items.

He could only tell that one looked like glowing moss and another resembled a Crystal formed from a solidified tear. The others were even more bizarre.

After arranging all the ingredients neatly, Manlin once again raised her ancient Magic Wand.

The pale green Crystal at the wand’s tip began to glow, its light enveloping all the ingredients as it began to extract their essences.

However, Zelir could clearly feel that something was different this time.

The last time Manlin had used the Extraction Skill, the nature of her Magic Power had been very gentle.

This time, however, Manlin’s Magic Power was aggressive. The hazy mist of light was no longer gentle, and several fine filaments extended from the wand’s tip, connecting to each of the ingredients.

The petals of the Bloodroot Wei began to tremble as the essence hidden within was forcibly extracted. It then mixed with the essences of the other ingredients, slowly fusing together under the power of the Extraction Skill.

Zelir was astounded.

’To think the same Magic could produce such drastically different effects! Instructor Manlin’s understanding and application of Spell Structure was truly eye-opening.’

Finally, all the essences finished merging, converging in mid-air into a small glob of viscous, red liquid.

After sealing it within a Crystal Bottle, Manlin nodded in satisfaction.

’My skills are still as sharp as ever.’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Then, she handed the bottle of Magic Potion to Zelir.

Zelir froze.

"Instructor Manlin, this is..."

"Take it, little one."

Manlin pressed the Crystal Bottle directly into Zelir’s hand.

"I’m not a Combat Mage who needs to fight for my life against Demons. An Overclocking Potion would just collect dust with me, but in your hands, it might just save your life when you need it most."

Seeing Zelir’s touched expression, she smiled gently and added,

"If you really want to thank me, there will be plenty of opportunities later. For now, just focus on getting stronger."