Teacher and Student

Perhaps Felina's original life trajectory was simply to grade sorcery assignments at the academy, record students' sorcery practice reports with a runic pen, and find a desirable young nobleman to marry, eventually settling down to support her husband and raise their children.

And Lizer, after graduation, would have reluctantly inherited his father's blacksmith shop, forging farming tools embedded with basic runes, eventually becoming Old Li the Blacksmith of Gray Mist Mountain.

However, fate works in mysterious ways. The appearance of Rice and the phantom attack on Felina seemed to have unlocked an entirely different life for both Lizer and Felina.

His and Felina's lives abruptly veered onto an unknown path, leaving their future shrouded in heavy mist.

From the perspective of Divination Wizards interpreting destiny:

They used astromantic runic disks for their calculations, believing that the fate of the world and individuals was merely a resultant function of countless variables. If the original variables remained unchanged, destiny was predetermined.

But if a little white rabbit bearing a wind rune in the forests of the Red Soul Principality accidentally fell into a rushing river, a terrifying beast horde might erupt on the Feiting Steppe tens of thousands of miles away.

This was the variable effect.

By the time Lizer returned to the academy, the sorcery streetlamps at the entrance were emitting a soft runic glow. Felina had already signed the order contract, which was stamped with a runic seal bearing the academy's crest.

Thanks to Felina's efforts, an advance deposit of 20 gold coins was paid alongside the contract. It was evident that Felina was trying hard to compensate Lizer.

Carrying such a vast sum of money, Lizer was both excited and fearful. He tightly gripped the coin purse, his fingers trembling slightly.

He silently calculated in his mind:

Deducting the initial land costs, labor fees, raw material expenses, and partial equipment costs...

After some thought, he placed 5 gold coins in his palm. He activated the [Top-Up] ability in his mind and silently commanded the conversion. The 5 gold coins instantly transformed into 250 energy points that surged into his body.

Unable to wait, he immediately allocated 200 of those energy points to enhance his spiritual power:

[Consumed 200 energy points. Spiritual power increased by 0.1.]

The effect was instantaneous. After a brief wave of dizziness in his brain, he felt the world become much clearer. The knowledge he had learned in the past vividly resurfaced in his mind.

This was the result of enhanced spiritual power!

Spiritual power not only determined the strength of one's sorcery but also influenced a person's wisdom, cognitive thinking, and neural reflexes.

With 50 energy points remaining, he did not hesitate at all, directly directing his [Top-Up] ability toward the Minor Healing Powder formula.

The moment the energy points were quietly consumed, a steady stream of information poured into his mind without any obstruction, as if a sorcery channel had been pre-opened.

The previously vague material ratios, refinement steps, and precautions instantly became crystal clear. It felt less like learning and more like awakening a memory that had always existed deep within his consciousness.

Every detail was firmly imprinted in his mind. He could clearly feel that he had completely mastered all the key elements of this formula, without a single omission or ambiguity.

[Consumed 40 energy points. Analyzed the Minor Healing Powder formula.]

[Unlocked Potioneering: Current status: Apprentice Initiation 0/100]

Note: You have learned the basic knowledge of refining sorcery potions, but due to your limited knowledge and experience, the potions you refine will be unremarkable and of ordinary quality.

To refine higher-quality potions, you must practice more and increase your proficiency.

Minor Healing Powder

Ingredients: 50g of foxtail grass gathered during a full moon, 25g of daisy roots, 15g of king rat snake eggshells, 10g of a one-year-old frog's brain, 5g of hornet stingers...

Refinement Process: Omitted.

A stream of sorcery information directly merged into the memory sector of Lizer's brain. This knowledge was now firmly engraved in his mind, making him eager to try it out.

He massaged his throbbing temples. Seeing that there was no one else in the office, he asked Felina:

Instructor Felina, does the academy have foxtail grass gathered during a full moon, king rat snake eggshells...?

Felina raised an eyebrow, tapping her fingers against the sorcery manual on the desk. She looked surprised.

Minor Healing Powder was one of the most widespread pieces of knowledge among wizard apprentices, yet very few students in a low-level academy actually knew how to make it.

Have you really learned this formula?

Lizer touched the gold coins in his pocket and nodded:

I feel like ever since the phantom attack, my spiritual power has been getting higher these past few days. Understanding this knowledge seems much easier.

I have already mastered the formula for the Minor Healing Powder, and I just want to give it a try.

Following that, Lizer closed his eyes and fluently recited the formula and refinement process for the Minor Healing Powder, his fingers tracing the runic gestures for potion refinement in the air.

The content was identical to the academy's records. It seemed he had indeed mastered this knowledge; all that remained was the need for practice.

However, every wizard apprentice was prone to making mistakes during their first potion refinement. Felina recalled her own first attempt, where the powder exploded into green magical smoke, dyeing her hair grass-green.

Felina thought for a moment and said:

These are the most common sorcery materials, and the academy purchases them regularly.

However, since you students generally cannot use them, they become a perk for us instructors.

There are refinement cauldrons in the laboratory, and the shelves are stocked with glass bottles containing various sorcery materials.

Since you want to try, come with me to the laboratory.

Looking at it this way, the profession of an instructor was quite nice:

The sorcery resources and materials that the students could not use all became perks for the academy instructors. There were also monthly basic sorcery material packages and the privilege of using the academy's advanced runic furnaces.

Felina stood up to lead Lizer to the laboratory. Seeing that no one was around, she lowered her voice, leaned close to Lizer, and pointed at the communication rune on the wall, warning him:

Although it is highly unlikely that Rice will appear at the academy, we still need to be careful. In private, we need to act like...

Sigh, you know what I mean.

Lizer spread his hands, let out a sigh, and teased:

Is Teacher trying to play a master-and-servant game with me? It is a pity it cannot be the other way around.

Hearing this, Felina's pretty face grew slightly hot. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, grinding her teeth in frustration. This kid was getting more and more out of line.

If she had not been in the wrong first, how could Felina have tolerated him so much?

However, she was now a special agent of the Internal Affairs Bureau. Whether it was for the mission or to save her sister, she had to complete this assignment flawlessly.

She put on a stern face and said:

You do not want Rice to remain at large forever, do you? With someone like him, we have no idea what he might do.

I know you hold a grudge against me, and as your teacher, I will compensate you to the best of my abilities. But I hope you think things through carefully. With your intelligence, I believe you know what you should do.

Lizer shrugged helplessly and, acting like an obedient little lamb, docilely followed behind Felina out of the classroom.

He deliberately slowed his pace a bit, which finally made Felina feel slightly satisfied.

In the laboratory, Felina had originally intended to properly instruct Lizer on how to refine potions—

The laboratory's temperature runic display was flashing glaring red numbers, and the runes along the edge of the cauldron occasionally flickered with an unstable dark purple light.

Refining sorcery potions was inherently a dangerous process of wrestling with magical energy...

Even a temperature deviation of 0.1 degrees or a 0.5-second delay in adding materials could lead to a magic energy backlash, turning the medicinal powder into a pile of useless ashes.

Lizer's hand, gripping the witchcraft tweezers, sweated slightly. To ensure a successful refinement, he secretly spent 1 energy point to activate the analytical function of his Top-Up ability.

At every crucial moment, the Top-Up ability immediately transmitted clear guidance:

[Current temperature is 372 degrees. Needs to be lowered by 5 degrees. Add daisy root in 3 seconds.]

[The rat snake eggshell must be dropped into the rune groove at a 45-degree angle to avoid magic energy conflict.]

...

Although his technique looked as clumsy as if he were touching a crucible for the first time, every step was as precise as if he were possessed by a top-tier apothecary:

The magic energy flame remained steadily within the safe zone, and the materials were added without a hair's breadth of error.

When the final step was completed and the runes on the crucible lit up with a soft green light, Lizer could not help but clench his fists, his heart pounding...

Top-Up actually allowed him to perfectly avoid all the traps, making his very first potion refinement a success!

Looking at the surprised expression of the beautiful teacher who had just scolded him, Lizer raised his chin and said with sparkling eyes:

"Haha, Teacher, how was my refinement?"

Felina looked at Lizer's smug eyes, still unable to believe it. She rolled her eyes, curled her lips, and said:

"Sometimes people just get lucky; even a blind cat can catch a dead mouse."

Lizer grinned inwardly:

The Top-Up ability was indeed powerful. Consuming energy points could be exchanged for absolutely correct guidance, allowing him to walk on flat ground through the bizarre and dangerous witchcraft refinement process.

He looked at Felina's shocked expression, his heart full of surprise and awe: so this ability could not only analyze formulas but also guide operations in real time!

How could she know that he had Top-Up to analyze everything? With its assistance, as long as he had the formula, there was absolutely no possibility of failure.

He leaned closer to Felina and smiled mysteriously:

"Teacher, do you want to make a bet? If I succeed in refining it again, you have to kiss me as encouragement!"

Felina felt secretly annoyed. She crossed her arms over her chest, intending to refuse, but then remembered the various entanglements with the young man over the past few days. There was clearly too deep of a karmic connection between them.

She smiled indifferently:

"I really do not believe it! No apprentice has ever succeeded consecutively on their first time learning to refine potions."

Lizer smiled and shook his head without arguing. Somewhat clumsily, he followed the operating procedures to clean and sterilize the corresponding equipment, then picked up the witchcraft tweezers and fiddled with the crucible.

A dozen minutes later, he smiled confidently at Felina:

"Teacher, I am starting. Do not back out later."

His movements were still unpracticed. When he picked up the one-year-old frog brain, his hand trembled slightly. Felina subconsciously held her breath—this step was the most prone to triggering magic energy turbulence.

But Lizer immediately consumed 1 energy point, and a prompt instantly appeared in his mind:

[Place the frog brain 3 millimeters to the left of the rune groove, wait 0.8 seconds, and then inject magic energy.]

He did as he was told, and the previously restless magic energy instantly calmed down.

Felina's eyes widened. She watched him, clearly clumsy in his movements, yet always able to make precise adjustments at the most dangerous moments:

For example, when adding the hornet stinger, she thought the crucible would explode. Instead, Lizer suddenly paused for half a second and dropped the stinger in with a spinning motion, perfectly neutralizing the violent magic energy in the medicinal powder.

This clumsy yet absolutely correct operation made her scalp tingle, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes.

Time quietly passed...

Fifteen minutes later, the potion refinement runes on the crucible suddenly lit up with a pale blue light, and a magic energy aura with the fresh scent of vegetation spread out.

Felina's mouth parted slightly, and she even forgot to close the witchcraft manual in her hand.

She had seen countless apprentices refine potions, but no one had ever been like Lizer, able to succeed consecutively twice on their first try, and hitting the most precise nodes at every step.

Her clenched fists relaxed, and she had only one thought in her mind:

This was not luck; this was true talent!

Felina's heart beat wildly. She stared fixedly at Lizer's profile, her mind churning:

How was this a blind cat catching a dead mouse?

This was a potion-making talent rarely seen in a century!

His perception of magic energy and his control over details meant he was simply born for witchcraft potions!

If he could become a wizard apprentice, relying solely on this talent for precisely controlling magic energy injection, his future achievements in potion-making would undoubtedly be limitless.

Felina's fingertips unconsciously traced the rune patterns on the edge of the crucible. If he could truly grow to that level...

Given his appearance and talent, if I were to study witchcraft potions together with him, it seemed it wouldn't be out of the question?

Sigh!

It was a pity that when he used the spiritual power testing crystal last time, his attribute was only 1.7, far from the minimum requirement of 3 points for a wizard apprentice.

Unable to learn meditation techniques and unable to become a wizard apprentice, no matter how good his potion-making talent was, he could only refine inferior potions and at most become a wealthy man.

Sigh...

This kind of talent would probably be wasted in an ordinary blacksmith shop.

Lizer picked up the glass bottle containing the medicinal powder and shook it. The runes on the bottle flashed as he looked at his beautiful mentor with a wicked smile:

"Mentor, do not back out."

Felina gazed at Lizer for a moment, her fingers gently brushing the stray hairs by her ear, as the thoughts from just now seemed to surface again...

She smiled slightly, as beautiful as a blooming flower. Her thin lips carried the faint scent of magic herbs. They touched and parted in an instant, leaving only a slight coolness and an enticing fragrance that left one with endless aftertastes.

Lizer touched his cheek where she had kissed him, feeling a secret thrill in his heart:

She was a beauty and could be a good friend. As for the past ghost attacks and contract disputes, since she had made amends, he would just let them go with the wind.