"Success!"
Pei Ze's eyes lit up.
To succeed on his very first attempt at potion crafting was far beyond his expectations.
Overjoyed, Pei Ze grabbed a glass test tube, carefully poured the red liquid from the beaker into it, then sealed it with an oak stopper.
And just like that, one bottle of Ferocity Potion was complete.
"Eye of Omniscience, analyze this potion."
[Analysis requires 0.1 Spiritual Power. Proceed with analysis?]
"Analyze!" Pei Ze commanded without hesitation.
In the next instant, the Eye of Omniscience returned the analysis.
[Ferocity Potion. After consumption, it is estimated to increase strength by 25%–30%. Duration: 23 minutes. Only effective on lifeforms with a physique attribute below 30. Shelf life: 185 days.]
The corner of Pei Ze's mouth lifted into a slight smile.
A Ferocity Potion was considered standard if it provided a strength boost of at least 20% for over 20 minutes.
The Ferocity Potion he crafted, however, far surpassed the standard requirements. It had already reached the level of a Top-Grade potion.
'One step higher and it would have been a supreme-grade.'
Elated, Pei Ze rode the wave of his success and continued crafting potions.
However, the next attempts didn't go as smoothly.
He failed several times, and by the time all ten sets of materials were gone, he had only managed to craft five bottles of Ferocity Potion.
This included two Top-Grade, two Mid-Grade, and one Low-Grade potion that just barely met the standard.
'Looks like making a Top-Grade potion on my first try was mostly beginner's luck.'
Looking at the Ferocity Potions lined up on the table, Pei Ze let out a long sigh of relief.
'Still, this is a pretty good outcome.'
Beginners just starting out were considered decent if they succeeded even once in ten attempts.
Most had to waste dozens of sets of materials just to successfully craft a single standard potion, and even then, it would only be Low-Grade.
A 50% success rate like Pei Ze's was an absolutely terrifying figure for a beginner.
Even among veteran Potion Apprentices, it was an incredible achievement.
According to the standards for Alchemist ranks, anyone who could achieve a success rate of over 30% for crafting a non-tiered potion was considered a qualified Potion Apprentice.
At his current level, Pei Ze could already be called one of the best among the Potion Apprentices!
And this was only the beginning.
With the Eye of Omniscience, he could master any potion recipe he acquired almost instantly, without wasting vast amounts of time and resources on practice.
The only things limiting his growth on the path of an Alchemist were potion recipes and the analytical power of his Eye of Omniscience, which depended on his Spirit attribute.
Shaking off his excitement, Pei Ze began to consider what to do with the Ferocity Potions.
Ferocity Potions increased strength, so their primary users were Knights.
These potions were very popular in the Knight Academy.
Wizards, on the other hand, rarely used them.
The academy's logistics department also sold and purchased Ferocity Potions, of course.
They sold Ferocity Potions for 100 contribution points but only offered 90 to buy them back.
The prices in the potion shops outside were about the same.
Even at just 90 contribution points, however, Potion Apprentices could still turn a profit.
The average Potion Apprentice spent about 60 to 70 contribution points to craft one Ferocity Potion, meaning they could earn a profit of at least 20 contribution points per bottle.
As long as one could craft three bottles of Ferocity Potion a day, one could earn 1,800 contribution points in a month, which was far more profitable than any mission!
This was also the main reason why so many people wanted to become Alchemists.
It was just too profitable!
And this was with a success rate of only 30%.
A higher success rate meant even more profit.
'My cost to craft one bottle of Ferocity Potion is about 40 contribution points, way less than other Potion Apprentices. I can make 50 contribution points of profit on a single bottle!'
Pei Ze couldn't contain the excitement surging within him.
'At a minimum production rate of five Ferocity Potions a day, I'll have no problem earning six or seven thousand contribution points a month!'
'Maybe even more!'
'After all, 90 contribution points is just the price for a Low-Grade Ferocity Potion.'
'Mid- and Top-Grade Ferocity Potions will sell for even more!'
'I'm going to make a fortune!'
Pei Ze took a deep breath to calm the surging emotions inside him.
'If I'm going to sell these Ferocity Potions, I definitely can't do it through the academy's logistics department.'
'I've been studying alchemy for less than half a month and only just bought the materials today. If I suddenly pull out multiple Ferocity Potions, I'll definitely attract unwanted attention.'
'After all, no matter how much of a genius a Potion Apprentice is, it's impossible to go from zero to crafting potions in just half a month.'
'The same goes for the potion shops outside.'
'The risk is low, but if I attract the attention of the wrong person, it could still be a huge pain.'
After weighing his options, only one solution came to mind.
'The Black Market!'
Where there is light, there is darkness.
Especially in the fringe areas of the Outer City, where Wizard influence was relatively weak, many dark corners were allowed to fester.
Pei Ze had once heard someone from the Star Spirit Society mention a Black Market on the fringes of the Outer City.
At the time, he'd only listened to it as an interesting rumor, never expecting he would one day have a use for it himself.
'If I'm going to the Black Market, I should probably stock up on more potions first. It'll save me multiple trips.'
Pei Ze quickly formed a plan.
Afterwards, he began to consider another matter.
"Eye of Omniscience, improve the Ferocity Potion recipe."
[Task created. Beginning improvement of Ferocity Potion recipe. Estimated time required: 153 days.]
"That long?"
Pei Ze's brow furrowed slightly.
'But on second thought, that makes sense.'
'The Ferocity Potion recipe has surely been optimized countless times over the years. Improving it any further must be incredibly difficult.'
'In fact, the very possibility of improving it at all is a testament to the power of the Eye of Omniscience.'
Pei Ze checked the effects of the improvement and found that the improved Ferocity Potion's strength boost was increased to 26%–52%. The duration and shelf life also had varying degrees of improvement based on the potion's quality.
Overall, the potion's effects were improved by about thirty percent compared to the original.
The required materials were mostly the same; only a few steps in the crafting process were different.
'Only thirty percent...?'
Pei Ze shook his head, giving up the idea of improving the Ferocity Potion recipe.
'A thirty percent boost in effectiveness would only increase the price by half, at most.'
'It's not worth wasting more than a hundred and fifty days of task time for that.'
'I'd be better off finding a way to get my hands on a High-tier Potion recipe.'
'A non-tiered potion like the Ferocity Potion is just a stepping stone. If I really want to earn big money, I need to focus on High-tier Potions.'
The profits from those were far beyond what a non-tiered potion could offer.
'Now *that's* where the real money is!'
When he emerged from the potion lab, night had already fallen.
The Ash Stone Lamps lining the academy's paths were lit, casting a yellowish glow that blanketed the road in a thin, pale-yellow fleece.
Pei Ze hurried over to the logistics department and bought another eighty sets of materials for Ferocity Potions.
The skinny apprentice at the logistics department assumed Pei Ze had already wasted all his previous materials on failures. He wore an "I knew it" expression and even offered a few words of consolation.
"It's common for beginners to fail. Don't take it to heart."
"Once you become an Alchemist, you'll earn back all the money you've lost."
He said as much, but inwardly, the skinny apprentice was quite dismissive.
There were plenty of apprentices who wanted to be Alchemists, but not even one in a hundred ultimately succeeded.
Most of them just wasted their time and money for nothing.
'This profession is all about talent.'
Good thing he didn't know Pei Ze had five self-crafted Ferocity Potions in his pocket at that very moment. If he had, his eyes probably would have popped out of their sockets.