Luciel's name was now circulating quietly within the Swordsmanship Association, and it wasn't for nothing. After completing his challenge in just one minute and three seconds, his performance had impressed not only the crowd but also the association's higher-ups. Luciel hadn't expected this attention, but it came with a certain level of recognition that was impossible to ignore.
Bourne, the president of the Swordsmanship Association, was in a state of disbelief after hearing the report from Cook, the freckled boy who had been in charge of timing the challenge.
"A third-year student?!" Bourne exclaimed, his voice full of disbelief. He turned to Cook, looking for confirmation.
"Yes, his name is Luciel Lanster, a third-year student," Cook answered, visibly in awe. "After receiving the challenge reward, he left directly."
Bourne paused, processing the information. "How long did it take him to complete the challenge?"
"One minute and three seconds," Cook responded promptly.
"Has he ever attempted this challenge before?" Bourne asked, still trying to grasp the implications.
"No," Cook answered firmly. "I've never met him before. He even asked me several questions about the challenge rules before he attempted it, acting like a complete rookie."
Bourne let out a long breath, his shock clearly showing. "A third-year student... with micro-level swordsmanship? In just a minute, he managed to see through the magic puppet's attack and accurately strike the magic circle inside... This Luciel is incredible."
It was hard for him to wrap his mind around it—this wasn't something a third-year student should be able to do, let alone achieve so effortlessly.
Others who had witnessed Luciel's feat were equally stunned. The seemingly ordinary third-year student had pulled off something extraordinary. His ability to take on the magic puppet and defeat it with such precision left everyone in awe.
Maris, in particular, found his own thoughts a bit more complicated. He had managed to last for two minutes under the magic puppet's assault, and he'd been proud of his achievement. But Luciel's performance? It was on another level entirely. Maris couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration. Luciel had achieved something truly remarkable, and on top of that, he was much younger than Maris.
"Unexpectedly, there's such a genius hidden among the third graders," Bourne said, his voice filled with a new respect as he turned to the others around him. "Get in touch with Luciel as soon as possible. We need to get him into our association."
"Understood," the others responded quickly.
---
Meanwhile, Luciel was unaware that his name had made its way to the association. He was busy with his own endeavors. With the thirty gold coins he had earned from the challenge, he finally had enough to purchase the necessary materials and equipment to make magic potions. This was a step toward his goal of mastering potion-making, something he had been eager to dive into.
Luciel ran to the library again, this time to gather all the knowledge he could about magic potion-making. He was determined to equip himself with the best information available. His small room was transformed into a makeshift laboratory, with all the ingredients and tools laid out before him.
"The blood of the first-order advanced demon bear, five grams..." Luciel read from his notes as he began the potion-making process. He carefully poured the blood into a crystal test bottle.
"Next, two grams of magic vine flower juice..."
Luciel added the flower juice, but in his excitement, he added too much. A strange sound filled the room as the mixture began to bubble and emit a faint, fishy smoke, signaling the failure of the potion.
"Ugh... I was too hasty," Luciel muttered, his face flushed with embarrassment. "It's just the first try. I'll get it right next time."
He rinsed out the test bottle and tried again. This time, Luciel had learned from his mistake and used only the correct amount of ingredients. He had purchased enough materials to attempt the process twenty times, and he was mentally prepared for failure. But with the chip's real-time data monitoring and analysis, Luciel had a significant advantage.
The first few attempts didn't go well, but Luciel remained focused. By the ninth attempt, he finally succeeded. The result was a clear, lavender-colored liquid that shimmered beautifully inside the test tube.
"It's a success!" Luciel exclaimed with a grin, tasting a tiny amount of the potion. The moment the liquid hit his tongue, he felt a surge of warmth spread through his body. His strength increased, and he could feel the difference almost immediately.
The potion had worked perfectly, and the effects were as expected—far superior to the usual low-level potions. Luciel immediately began preparing the remaining ingredients into finished potions. After a few more attempts, he successfully created five bottles of optimized low-level strength potions.
"Novice... A quarter of the success rate," Luciel mused as he looked at his work. "Still, I'm happy with this. It's a start."
Despite the failures, Luciel couldn't help but feel proud of his progress. He knew that he could sell these potions for a decent price—perhaps sixty or seventy gold coins each. The optimized version was stronger than standard low-level potions, but still not as powerful as intermediate ones. He had to find the right market, though, and figure out how to sell them.
"The price of a bottle of intermediate strength potions is about sixty or seventy gold coins, and the effect is five times that of the low-level ones... My potions are about three times as effective. So, sixty to seventy gold coins should be reasonable..." Luciel murmured to himself, deep in thought. "The real question is, how do I sell them? And who will buy them?"
Luciel rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looking at the finished potions. He knew he was at the beginning of something important, but the next steps would be critical.
For now, though, he felt a sense of accomplishment. His hard work and determination were starting to pay off.
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To be continued...
(Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for the next chapter!)