The morning after Spring Awakening Festival, Leon returned to Linden Pine Valley to feed the cow, tossing it a handful of beans to supplement its diet. The animal was still thin, even after a month of grazing on Green Net Grass.
The festival had come and gone, and Im had resumed classes. Leon's magic hadn't made any breakthroughs—his attempt to "program" runes like code had stalled, but he'd gained a deeper understanding of rune structures, a silver lining. He still hadn't heard from Valoka Merchant Guild—Serena's promise to "consider his proposal" felt like a distant memory. Money wasn't tight if he avoided experiments, but he couldn't help worrying.
After breakfast, Leon followed Im to the laboratory—built by the lord's men, since Im's architectural skills were non-existent. The cottage they lived in only stood thanks to magic reinforcement.
The laboratory was a plain, boxy structure with ventilation slits near the ceiling. Inside, four magic lamps glowed with soft white light—powered by sun fluorite, enchanted to emit cold light that wouldn't react with sensitive magical materials. Some potions or herbs deteriorated, turned toxic, or even exploded when exposed to sunlight; once dismissed as "evil" by the church, they were now recognized as just another quirk of magical chemistry.
Im's ice crystal grass had matured, and Leon's task was to clean and process it for Focus Potion. Unlike mana or mental energy restoration potions, Focus Potion calmed the mind, helping mages cast spells faster, reduce failure rates, and stay focused during experiments or negotiations. It was more expensive and in higher demand than mental energy potions, though Im's lack of reputation meant he'd likely be undercut by other alchemists.
Leon carefully washed the ice crystal grass at the stone sink, being careful not to break the roots—sap loss would weaken the potion's effect. He'd dug up the grass whole, and now patted it dry in a stone bowl, waiting for Im to begin.
The workbench was lined with crystal glassware—beakers, flasks, test tubes—similar to Earth's lab equipment but made of crystal, which trapped mana. Glass would leach mana, reducing potion potency. Leon had once dreamed of selling glass to mages, only to learn crystal was the standard. "Crystal's crystalline structure interacts with mana differently," he thought, recalling Earth's chemistry lessons. "Like graphite and diamond—same element, different properties."
Once the grass was dry, Im chopped it into sections, separating roots and leaves. Roots were more potent but contained more impurities; leaves were milder and cleaner. He placed the roots in a large crystal bowl, poured in an extractant, and sealed it. He repeated the process with the leaves—though softer, they extracted faster.
While the leaves steeped, Leon filtered and settled the root extract, then Im activated his Purification Spell to remove impurities—no need for charcoal anymore. The root extract took longer, but by noon, both batches were ready. Im ground the leftover grass and roots into a paste, extracting a third batch—less potent and more impure, but purified to match the others with magic.
He mixed the three extracts in a crystal flask, heating it with a fire rune circle. He added mana dust and an inert reagent to extend the potion's shelf life, then lowered the temperature to 70 degrees Celsius, evaporating excess water to concentrate the potion. The laboratory's heating circle allowed precise temperature control, ranging from 30 to 1000 degrees.
After a final purification, the Focus Potion was done—clear, pale blue, and shimmering with faint mana. Leon watched, fascinated. Magic and science weren't so different—both required precision, observation, and patience. As Im bottled the potion, Leon thought of Eldrin's journal, of the ruin, of Valoka's silence.
Progress was slow, but steady. One potion, one experiment, one step closer to his goals. And in the quiet of the laboratory, surrounded by crystal glassware and the scent of herbs, Leon felt at peace—exactly where he was meant to be.