Adopting a composed gaze, Victor sat at his desk as he awaited Elara’s arrival. Before visiting the Magic Botanical Garden, he had instructed Lizbeth to summon her, as he was eager to hear her progress with making the potions and elixirs, and needed her to prepare potions for the therianthropes’ cure.

  A knock on the door soon followed, and Victor called for her to enter. It creaked open slowly, revealing Elara, who had a tense expression, as if she had braved some great ordeal just to arrive here. She took a steadying breath and bowed briefly before stepping closer.

  “Master Victor,” she began with an overly subservient tone. “I have come as per your request.”

  Victor leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on his knuckles as he assessed the young woman standing before him. Her long, dark blue hair framed a face that betrayed no emotion—on the surface, at least. But beneath that impassive exterior lay hints of independent thought, an anomaly considering the {Mind Programming} spell woven into her psyche.

  Was her willpower developing a resistance? Or did the spell itself have inherent flaws? Either way, if he didn’t recast the spell soon, she might inadvertently free herself from its control. It was highly likely unintentional on her part, though.

  “Mm. Tell me about the Alchemical Hall’s progress,” Victor said authoritatively.

  “As per your previous instructions, I have been analyzing the recipes you entrusted to me and working diligently to concoct them…” Elara reported precisely. Her account mirrored Lizbeth’s earlier report, though her delivery was more elaborate.

  “Good,” Victor replied, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the desk. His lips curled into a smirk. “But tell me, Elara: Do you know the real reason I summoned you here?”

  “That’s…” Elara’s eyes flickered with a hint of clarity. As Victor had expected, she seemed to be able to think far more than he had intended under the spell. How interesting.

  Given that Victor hadn’t treated her cruelly—despite what she had done to him and after he had cast the mind-controlling spell on her as revenge—her partial autonomy likely stemmed from flaws in the spell model or the unique way he had applied it to her compared to the others. It was clear he needed to refine the magic spell, perhaps even upgrade it to a Bet-tier spell using the Spell Generator program.

  Putting that aside, Victor said, “Elara, I have a task for you.”

  She straightened immediately but did not dare to look him in the eyes. “What would you have me do, Master?”

  “It’s simple, but I think it’s best if I visit the Alchemical Hall too.” Rising from his chair, Victor glanced at the diminutive figure sitting on his desk. Lizbeth, the fairy, was happily munching on a sweet he had brought back from the city.

  “Liz, how about you tag along?” he asked.

  “Sure!” she answered, lifting the oversized sweet that was easily twice her size. Victor couldn’t help but find the sight amusing, like watching a cartoon character casually haul something absurdly large.

  Just as he had done with the Magic Botanical Garden, Victor upgraded the Alchemical Hall to level two.

  [Alchemical Hall has leveled up to level 2.]

  [Higher-grade potions and elixirs as well as their recipes are now available for purchase.]

  A familiar chime echoed as the hall underwent an immediate transformation, now apparently capable of producing higher-grade potions. The space expanded, featuring additional workstations and advanced alchemical apparatus. Shelves of ingredients shifted and reorganized seamlessly, making room for a wider variety of rare components.

  “Congratulations for upgrading the Alchemical Hall to level two, Master!” said Lizbeth.

  Victor nodded, and without further ado, he accessed the updated list of available potions and elixirs. To his surprise, the selection had expanded significantly, each item offering unique and practical uses for both players and himself. Many of the new recipes promised to be game-changers in various scenarios.

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  Eternal Ember Potion

  This elixir temporarily enhances a Magus’s Pyro elemental affinity, significantly increasing damage output and reducing the casting time of Pyro-elemental spells. It also provides resistance to extreme heat, making it invaluable for prolonged combat or exploration in volcanic regions.

  Cost: 40 AP

  Aqua Vitae Draught

  A potent restorative potion that not only heals severe injuries but also revitalizes depleted mana reserves. It provides a protective water barrier for the consumer, reducing damage from physical and magical attacks for a limited time.

  Cost: 20 AP

  Hrm, maybe in the next update, I can introduce a specialized alchemical store within the Alchemical Hall for players.

  Up until now, all physical items have been sold through the store operated by the mind-controlled Jared, located in one of the rooms on the ground floor of the Headmaster’s Building. However, creating a separate store in the future would help streamline operations and prevent overcrowding in the main store.

  Victor then searched for the elixirs that had been his main reason for upgrading the Alchemical Hall, and he soon located them.

  Elixir of Life

  This rare elixir extends the lifespan of any mortal or Magus by fifty years, slowing the aging process and enhancing vitality. Additionally, it fortifies the body’s resilience, reducing susceptibility to illness and mitigating mana depletion. However, subsequent consumption yields diminishing returns, providing only half the benefit with each use.

  Cost: 180 AP

  He then discovered another elixir that might be extra useful for him:

  High-Grade Mana Aptitude Enhancement Elixir

  An improved version of the normal Mana Aptitude Enhancement Elixir. It greatly improves the user’s mana aptitude until a certain level and can only be used once per individual (not counting the use of the lower grade one). It is useless for those who are above the superior bright grade.

  Cost: 250 AP

  Fuck! It’s even more expensive than the elixir to extend lifespan. What a total rip-off!

  Despite the high cost, it was extremely useful for Victor, whose mana aptitude was below the superior bright grade and above the glimmering grade.

  Although he wanted to just purchase the recipe, several key ingredients were unavailable. Not to mention the difficulty of concocting such an elixir would require an Elemental Adept Magus versed in alchemy. According to Elara, the Mana Aptitude Enhancement Elixir—or MAEE for short— wasn’t very potent, and it could only be used once to increase the mana aptitude for a level. For now, there was not much reason to purchase the recipe.

  “But in the long run, it’ll pay off,” Victor mused as he added the elixir for purchase. “Well, I will buy one for now and deal with the rest when the time comes.”

  Academy Points: 2680

  Overall, Victor expended a total of 4,080 AP. Of course, he didn’t forget to purchase the potion recipe for the therianthropes’ cure. Still, he felt a pang of regret after spending his hard-earned academy points on a couple of upgrades, seeds, and potion and elixir recipes. It had taken him a long time to gather this amount, after all.

  “Well, no use crying over spent points…” he muttered.

  After sighing internally, Victor turned to Elara, who stood silently by, awaiting instructions. “Elara, this is your new task.” He handed her the recipe labeled “Aetherite Expelling Potion” and continued, “Focus on crafting a few dozen of this potion. Failure is not an option.”

  Elara complied without a word of complaint. “Understood, Master. I will begin immediately.”

  The disease afflicting the therianthropes was known as aetherite disease and could be cured quite easily so long as one had money and connection—something they lacked. The Aetherite Expelling Potion worked by purging the harmful aetherite from the bloodstream, thereby restoring vitality to the afflicted.

  As for the weakening spell cast on Elara, Victor only made sure that she wouldn’t rebel against him, but didn’t do anything else to it. Considering that she had been useful and obedient so far, there was little reason to oppress her further. If anything, her usefulness thus far had more than justified his leniency.

  Since the players had logged out, none would notice the recent upgrades to the Magic Botanical Garden or the Alchemical Hall—except, perhaps, Thunder. The man was a peculiar case, as he had uploaded his consciousness permanently into this world. Now that I think about it, he’s been oddly restrained, hasn’t he?

  The likely explanation was simple: In his mind, this world was still a game. If he stumbled into a bugged-out area or made a fatal misstep, he’d have no way to respawn. Unlike the other players, whose in-game bodies could be recreated, Thunder had no such luxury. His consciousness was now tied to this world’s rules, and death would be permanent.

  In time, Victor intended to recruit Thunder as an undercover agent. Given their similar predicament—both truly living in this world—he was a perfect candidate. However, his current power level was too weak, and there hadn’t yet been a suitable opportunity to utilize his potential. Therefore, Victor planned to wait until Thunder was stronger and fully adapted to this world.

  Just as Victor was lost in these thoughts, something interrupted his reverie. From beneath his robe, a communication crystal hummed and let off a faint bluish glow.

  Victor’s eyes narrowed as he retrieved the crystal, mumbling, “So, the big fish is finally here…” as a smirk tugged at his lips. “Right on schedule; it’s time for dinner.”