Capítulo 13: Chapter 13: Talent Evolution, End-of-Month Evaluation, and Infinite Power Training
Time flew by, and before I knew it, a week had passed since I attempted to create a new potion.
Thanks to that, the calendar turned to a new page, and it had been a month since I arrived in this world.
"Experiment 1495, failure."
Another note was added to the notebook I brought.
It had been a week since I made up my mind to create them, but the recovery and regeneration potions showed no signs of success.
It seemed that the difficulty had doubled since the ingredients needed were more than those used in the initial health potion.
"It's taking too long like this."
Impatience grew within me.
If Lucia had been with me, by now, one of us might have succeeded, but I couldn't rely on her help every time.
However, seeing the experiment number exceed 1,000, impatience was beginning to take its toll.
I finally decided to use the hidden card up my sleeve.
[Adrias Cromwell: Potion Crafting Buff Evolution Potential 89%]
[Would you like to proceed with the evolution?]
If there was a possibility, I wanted to aim for 100%, but I couldn't wait any longer.
Of course, evolving my talent wouldn't immediately enable me to create potions, but I had high hopes for it.
"Let's do it."
I prepared myself mentally and chose to evolve.
[Adrias Cromwell: Potion Crafting Buff Evolution]
[In progress...]
[Time remaining: 21 hours, 1 minute, 46 seconds]
Did it work? Nothing seems to be happening.
I looked around my body, but there was no abnormality.
When I first used it, I thought I would scream in pain like Angela, but that didn't happen.
"I feel slightly feverish."
When I touched my forehead, it felt slightly warm.
Gradually, I began to feel the onset of a cold, with body aches.
Of course, this level of discomfort was manageable.
Moreover, it was only about 21 hours, so it would be over by tomorrow afternoon when the lectures ended.
Nothing special!
"Alright, let's try again."
Time was more valuable to me than gold.
A little cold wouldn't stop me.
The October Academy had a significant event planned.
It was none other than the mid-month evaluation at the end of the month.
It had a similar feeling to the midterms in the previous world, but it wasn't just about solving problems on paper.
Since the content of the evaluation varied every year and every time, I had no idea what would be asked.
I just hoped it would be an assignment I could handle easily.
"Alright, let's finish the class here for today. And now, let's talk a little about the mid-month evaluation that will take place soon."
Even if we didn't want to listen, we had to attend the mandatory 3rd-year major course, Intermediate Combat Magic. It was a detailed lecture that covered not only the theory and description of offensive magic but also the basic mindset and behavior in combat.
The professor's name was Tolman Venuel.
He was a retired battle mage who had worked for over 10 years on the northern mountain range border.
I heard that soldiers left by the dozens every day in that place, so if he had worked there for over 10 years, it was truly remarkable.
Even though I had been in a special forces unit for over 10 years, I didn't perform missions every day, so his greatness resonated with me even more.
Additionally, he was a significant figure who provided a lot of help and guidance to playable characters, so I tried to pay attention to him as much as possible.
"I'm not sure if the evaluations for other courses have been announced, but for Intermediate Combat Magic, we have decided to go on a field trip to the Knight Department during this mid-month evaluation period."
"The Knight Department?"
"A field trip? What's that supposed to mean? Are we just going to watch?"
Unexpectedly, the topic caused a commotion among the students.
And I could see a person whose eyes sparkled at the mention of the Knight Department.
"The Knight Department!"
She was none other than Dianne Alben.
An enormous fan of knights, despite being a mage.
It was just a setting in the game, so I didn't pay much attention to it while playing.
Of course, thanks to that setting, she became the heroine of the first playable character.
By the way, the first playable character would be a freshman in the Knight Department next year.
"I'm glad."
I was worried that such an event might occur before starting school.
Three of the incoming freshmen next year were playable characters.
And all three were characters belonging to the Knight Department and would end up killing Adrias.
"That's all the information I have. I will explain the details on the day of the evaluation."
With that, Professor Tolman left the classroom.
Afterward, the students speculated and discussed the evaluation among themselves.
"Could it be a sparring session with the Knight Department students?"
"Hey, isn't that going too far? How can we win against knights one-on-one?"
"Yeah, maybe we'll face the lower-ranking students rather than the same grade."
"But that hurts our pride!"
"Well, what do you think?"
"Huh? Yeah, right. What can we do in the Knight Department?"
I was curious too.
Since I aimed to graduate, I wanted to achieve good grades, but if the evaluation turned out to be a duel, I had no confidence in winning without using my hands.
I had played as Dianne, a 3rd-year student like us, in the game, so I had knowledge about her, but this year, I had to leave it up to luck since I hadn't played with her.
"Okay. Let's take it one step at a time."
Soon, it would be time for my talent in potion crafting to evolve.
Although it wasn't 100%, 89% was enough for evolution.
With that, I would make potions and increase my swordsmanship, utilizing the Dual Core attribute.
For magic, I had been studying basic textbooks diligently, so I believed that gradual improvement through evolution would suffice for now.
The plan was quite ideal.
"The problem is whether I can hold on without revealing my identity. If only it weren't for Caron, it would be fine."
Come to think of it, it wasn't just Caron who was a problem.
There were other villains within this academy besides Caron.
Notably, there were other dark mages associated with Caron, followers of the Jephar Order, and one madwoman.
Regarding the dark mages, there was a high probability that they were connected to Caron.
I wasn't worried about the followers of the Jephar Order and the madwoman for the time being, but I was concerned about encountering other dark mages.
"That dark mage also had students under him. Were there three of them?"
By the way, it was a flaw on his part to have so many students under his command.
Because of the students he gathered, he ended up being exposed shortly after the game started.
After that, his identity was revealed before Adrias and he faced the retaliation of the people.
In terms of game time, the player who hadn't grown much fought with the help of those around them, but in the end, they missed him, creating that kind of story.
[Time remaining: 3 minutes, 43 seconds]
The timing is perfect.
I watched as the time ticked down, trying to calm my excitement about the impending results.
[Time remaining: 00 seconds]
[Adrias Cromwell: Potion Crafting Buff Evolution]
[Talent 'Potion Crafting Buff (General)' has evolved into 'Potion Crafting Buff (Expert)'.]
"Great."
Finally, I had stepped out of the ordinary.
Although it might not be very helpful in terms of magic itself, I felt a glimpse of potential in potion crafting.
If this worked, it meant that any other talent could surpass being 'General' and potentially become a prodigy.
"To celebrate becoming an 'Expert,' I will succeed today for sure."
Coincidentally, after the evolution was complete, the feeling of being unwell disappeared as well.
With my condition at its best, I felt like something great would happen today.
I immediately took out the materials I had prepared and started the experiment.
[Potion of Regeneration (Low-grade) successfully crafted.]
[Potion of Recovery (Low-grade) successfully crafted.]
The growth of my talent was astonishing.
Honestly, I hadn't expected much since talent wasn't something tangible, but it surpassed my expectations.
"I never imagined I could create them right away..."
Talent was a sensation that couldn't be expressed in words. It was an innate feeling.
Although it was just a talent that had gone from 'General' to 'Expert,' when I held the ingredients and started the experiment, my mind exhibited calculations and instincts like a computer running.
"If I'm like this, then Lucia and Dianne... What on earth..."
Not only Lucia but even Dianne had talents described as 'Prodigy.'
Considering the categories of talents: Average, General, Expert, Gifted, and Prodigy, I couldn't even begin to imagine how exceptional those two were.
"Well, it makes sense that Lucia is a slacker with perfect scores."
Dianne, according to the setting, was a character who even put in effort.
Although in the game, she was just a collection of pixels with limited growth, I was suddenly curious about how strong living, breathing characters like her would become.
Maybe they would become stronger than when I raised them...
Anyway, now was the time to celebrate with the potions I had created.
In truth, potions of recovery and regeneration already existed in this world.
However, the modifiers attached to them were 'Low-grade,' and they had side effects.
The ones I made were 'Low-grade' potions without any side effects, even if their efficacy was the same.
"Intermediate or High-grade potions are beyond my level."
The evolution of my talent felt even more vivid.
Previously, I had vaguely hoped that I might be able to create them, but now I clearly realized that I couldn't.
Just the ingredients for a Low-grade Potion of Regeneration involved over twenty components, and I couldn't even imagine how long it would take to find the right combination.
For now, I had to be satisfied with Low-grade.
Since I had succeeded, I continued to create potions one after another as if they were coming out of a factory.
Even if I used one per day, I would need 365 potions in a year.
And that was for each type, so I had to multiply it by 3 for the three different potions.
Moreover, unlike other potions, having more potions of recovery was beneficial as they helped with fatigue recovery.
"Bahart Inspiration, I'll make good use of them!"
Since it wasn't my money, I had no hesitation in using the materials.
It was truly the optimal conditions and environment.
As I succeeded so quickly, I started creating potions in large quantities using the materials I had purchased for experimentation.
I didn't even take a break to eat and focused on crafting for four hours.
"Time is always an issue."
While I was in the middle of making them, an alarm sounded inside the laboratory. It was the notification for leaving.
Before I knew it, it was time to go out, so I reluctantly tidied up.
Still, I felt relieved since I had made a total of 10 potions each of regeneration and recovery.
"I feel full even without eating."
I let out a bitter laugh and looked at the potions in my backpack.
Even though I hadn't eaten anything, just looking at the potions made me feel satisfied.
Now, the real journey begins.
I had finally taken the first step in infinite power training.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder