Chapter Seventy-Four: Preparation

The progress on the basic defensive sorcery template hadn’t increased by much, which left Hughes feeling a bit disappointed. Still, it wasn’t without benefit—at the very least, the chip now had more reference data during its simulation process.

“I hope the analysis works,” Hughes murmured, pinning his hopes on the chip. If not, he really would have to sign a contract with the Academy.

The Shadow Ring had also entered a period of stability. The Academy’s lockdown made everyone inside work even harder than usual—the busiest places every day were the library and the spell testing area, with crowds flocking to borrow books or conduct spell experiments.

Hughes, too, had been focusing on assimilating his mental runes. The tenth rune had been fully absorbed, and his mental strength had grown significantly as a result.

A month flew swiftly by. Despite enlisting Lindsay, Billy, and Milan to help search, Hughes still hadn’t managed to gather all the necessary materials, so he had to delay the crafting of enchanted items for now.

“Hughes, be careful of Encore and his lot,” Milan said as she came to pick up her potions, leaving Hughes with that cryptic warning before departing.

Hughes was still puzzling over her words when Billy came rushing in.

“Hughes! Have you done something lately? That third-level apprentice Encore—I heard he’s been asking around about you!” Billy blurted out anxiously the moment he arrived.

“It’s nothing! Don’t worry, he just wants to talk about potions,” Hughes replied dismissively, though he already had a fair idea of what was going on.

“Is that really all?” Billy was skeptical.

“Really. Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen,” Hughes reassured him.

“Alright then. If anything comes up, let me know. My family has some ties with Encore’s—they’re both Shadow Ring affiliates, so we have some connections,” Billy said, then hurried off, caught up in his own spell template at a critical juncture.

“Is it revenge for the secret realm, or has he found out I have the Vitality Potion?” Hughes wondered. The only grudge between him and Encore was what happened in the secret realm, but it wouldn’t have taken a month for that to come up.

“It must be the Vitality Potion,” Hughes decided. He didn’t know how Encore had gotten wind of it, but that seemed most likely.

Hughes wasn’t too worried about Encore causing him trouble, not inside the Academy where no one dared make a big scene.

That night, after finishing his meditation, Hughes continued refining potions. His technique was becoming more and more skillful, and even without the chip’s assistance, his success rate was shockingly high.

“Knock, knock!” A crisp knocking sounded at the door, unusually clear in the stillness of the night.

“Hm?” Hughes checked the time—half past eleven. Who could it be at this hour?

He set down his work and walked slowly to the door, suddenly struck by a chill, as if he were in a horror film.

The knocking stopped as soon as the dormitory door opened.

“You?” Hughes opened the door to find Encore standing there.

“What? I can’t come?” Encore replied, striding into Hughes’s room without waiting for an invitation.

“You’re quite something,” Encore remarked as soon as he entered, his eyes falling on the half-finished potion on the table, the air thick with the scent of herbs.

“What do you want?” Hughes shut the door, watching as Encore made himself at home.

“What could I want? I just came to get to know you,” Encore said, drumming his fingers on the tabletop as he surveyed the room.

Hughes let out a short laugh; he’d never heard of someone seeking acquaintances in the middle of the night.

Seeing that Encore wasn’t speaking, Hughes didn’t press him. Instead, he brewed two cups of coffee—one for himself, one for Encore.

As Encore remained silent, Hughes picked up a book and began reading, sipping his coffee, curious how long Encore could stay quiet.

“Ahem!” At last, Encore couldn’t sit still seeing Hughes so calm and unhurried.

“You should have a Vitality Potion, right?” Encore lifted his coffee to his lips.

“Why do you think so?” Hughes wanted to know how Encore had figured it out.

“You took my medal. It had four points. Even if you did terribly, you’d have at least one point. With mine, that’s five points,” Encore explained, his face contorting with pain at the memory of his hard-won points being snatched away.

“Over the past month I’ve been asking around—the people who got Vitality Potions didn’t have particularly high scores. And someone saw you were the first to leave. With your strength, you wouldn’t have left so soon unless your score was secure,” Encore went on, handing Hughes his empty cup, signaling for a refill.

Hughes took the cup and went to make another.

“So what? Are you here to reclaim the Vitality Potion you think is rightfully yours?” Hughes mused, considering whether to slip something into the coffee he was preparing for Encore.

“That was my original plan, but I’ve changed my mind,” Encore replied, taking the hot cup from Hughes and almost dropping it from the heat, barely managing to set it down on the table.

“This time, I want to ask you for a favor. If you agree, we’ll call the matter of the Vitality Potion even, and wipe the slate clean between us. What do you say?” Encore offered.

“Are you threatening me?” Hughes narrowed his eyes at Encore.

Encore was visibly uneasy under Hughes’s gaze. “How could it be a threat? I know your strength. I wouldn’t dare try anything. But with so many people in the Academy, I’m not the only one interested in your Vitality Potion—don’t you agree?” Encore replied, feigning meekness.

“What do you want me to do?” Hughes had no wish to escalate things inside the Academy, with all its rules. Outside, he wouldn’t have let Encore finish his sentence.

“He wants to kill me,” Hughes read that much in Encore’s eyes.

“It’s nothing troublesome for you. I want you to make a potion for me. How about it—is that so difficult?” Encore quickly got to the point.

“What kind of potion?” Hughes’s eyes lit up with interest—potion formulas were rare and precious, each one hard-won.

“A potion that increases mental strength,” Encore replied, noticing Hughes’s eagerness and marveling at how quickly a potion formula could change a potion maker’s attitude—from murderous intent to rapt attention.

“A potion to increase mental strength? The Focus Potion?” As far as Hughes knew, the only such potion was the Focus Potion in his possession.

“Not the Focus Potion. It’s much better,” Encore said, shaking his head and pulling a scroll from his cloak, handing it to Hughes.

“Basic Mental Potion,” Hughes read the title on the scroll. That was all he could see—the rest of the text was hidden by some means.

“What’s this about?” Hughes asked, curious about Encore’s intentions.

“It’s simple. You help me make this potion. I’ll provide the ingredients, but once you’ve made it, I’ll handle the selling. Of course, we’ll split the magic stones fifty-fifty. How about it?” Encore proposed earnestly.

“How effective is this potion?” Hughes was more interested in its effect than the profit.

“Uh…” Encore looked a bit embarrassed at being asked the key question so directly.

“From what I know, you can only use this potion once. After that, your body develops resistance and it no longer increases mental strength. Plus, the increase varies from person to person—it’s different for everyone.” Encore explained the potion’s effects in detail.

“But even though you can only use it once, there’s no shortage of people who want this Basic Mental Potion.”