Chapter 398 - Master is sus... Liam tucked away all the other thoughts from his mind and called out the system interface to check out the two new recipes he had learned. His next steps would heavily depend on how things progress in this. [Basic Healing Potion] [Basic Mana Potion] [Basic Stamina Potion] [Basic Strength Potion] [Basic Agility Potion] [Basic Fire Resistance Potion] [Basic Anti Venom Potion] [Low Grade Body Cleansing Potion] [Low Grade Stealth potion] [Low Grade Anti Venom Potion] [Low Grade Water Breathing] [Low Grade Rage Potion] [High Grade Healing Potion] [High Grade Mana Potion] [Chrysanthemum Lethal Poison] [Nine-Color Paralyzing Poison] "Alright, done with the basic potions and the low grade potions, now it is time to try the high grade potions. This should definitely get me the master promotion." Liam thoroughly looked at the ingredients and concoction process of the two high potion recipes he had learned. He only had two, high grade mana potion and high grade healing potion. Just like their name suggested, these were far more efficient than their lower grade counterparts. Especially after reaching Level 50, Liam would need these immediately. After Level 50, there would be a huge jump in both the quality and quantity of his mana, and also his health would receive a significant buff. At that time the low grade mana potions and low grade health potions would only be capable of regenerating a small chunk of his needs. In fact, even now before he is yet to cross the Level 50 threshold, these potions are already insufficient. So it was about time to upgrade these inferior potions.𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞 Besides, there was also another reason that Liam needed the supply of these two potions. Not only were they more effective but they also contained far fewer impurities. So using these instead of the inferior potions would be less detrimental to his growth once the Level 50 milestone is reached and he forms a mana core. In his previous life, several people had fallen into this pit and were forced to use these lesser regeneration potions because they did not have the better ones in hand. At this point, mana potions and health potions were extremely essential to the game. One would simply find it difficult to survive without these. If they did not have enough stock of these potions and be able to use these potions during a fight, then killing Elites and other stronger monsters would become impossible. Their movements would become restricted. They would have to go out of their way to avoid PVP or other dead-end situations. The entire game would suddenly become filled with death traps without the regeneration potions. Liam had already been through this once before so he knew the importance of these potions. This was precisely why he was focusing on alchemy right now. Before he touched Level 50, he absolutely needed to concoct a big batch of these potions. If he fails and doesn't manage to do it before he hits Level 50, it still doesn't matter. He simply cannot go out without these potions in hand. Otherwise, he would be forced to use the inferior lesser potions and only be undoing all the hard work he did so far and start ruining his body's constitution little by little. "Ok, between these two, I have the ingredients I need for the mana potion, so I will start with that first." After studying the ingredients and the concoction process, Liam made up his mind and started working out the details. He also shared with his fox and his fox's assistant the herbs and the other items that he would be needing. The two busied themselves setting up everything. "Master, shall I add the water and activate the cauldron?" Seeka asked as Liam seemed to be waiting for the two of them to finish up. But surprisingly, Liam shook his head. Only a fool would underestimate the difficulty in concocting high grade potions and he was not going to do that. Before even touching the cauldron, he first started mentally going over the entire process from start to finish. He did this several times, paying full attention to all the details, even the smallest ones. Both Luna and Seeka waited for him patiently. Only after about half an hour, Liam opened his eyes. He looked at the two who were staring at him in a daze and smiled. "Well, we have about 90% chance of success I think. Let's start." After all, there was only so much thinking and mental preparation one could do. Everything boiled down to the actual execution. Seeka filled in the water for the cauldron and Liam relaxedly raised his hand to activate the mechanism. The huge vessel thrummed alive and he started pumping in more and more mana for it to achieve the optimal state. As the first water bubble appeared with the temperature of the cauldron high enough, Liam immediately commanded the fox. "Luna, now." The fox as well quickly tossed in the first set of ingredients. Their coordination was very strong and the herbs started dissolving immediately giving the required light green color to the boiling water in the cauldron. Just as the first signs of white foam started appearing in this light green solution, Liam instantly gave the next command. "Now." Luna quickly tossed in the next batch of herbs as well. The color once again started changing and Liam began turning up the heat in the cauldron. Just like this, the group continued diligently working. Unlike the low grade mana potion, the high grade mana potion did not take a long time to concoct. The process was in fact a lot faster. One batch only required ten minutes of brewing. But every minute of those ten minutes was extremely crucial. Even the slightest mistake could make the whole thing burn out. Liam took a deep breath and started churning out huge quantities of mana. He was now almost at the end. However, he was still not over the finish line. This was one of the more difficult steps. This step in particular was very challenging because this required mana control when dealing with huge quantities. Mana control when dealing with a medium amount of mana was the easiest to handle. When the mana amount became too low or too high, controlling it became exponentially difficult. Liam already knew that he did not yet have the required control to achieve this part easily but he couldn't give up just like that. He had to at least try a few times. Otherwise, he was never going to improve. So he was now basically dealing with high stakes and high heat. If his mana manipulation was successful, the potion would form to conclusion and if not, then everything would blow up in his face, with the mana and the heat getting out of control. 1 second passed… 2 seconds passed… 3 seconds passed. Beads of sweat trickled down Liam's forehead and his entire body was stinging with the sensation of the mana coursing through his veins. It was as if his blood and mana mixed together to form a highly chaotic turbulent stream that cut through his body, scraping him ruthlessly wherever they came in contact with his flesh. Liam clenched his fists, bore the internal pain, and continued churning out more and more amounts of mana. Whatever he had put out was definitely not nearly enough. The color of the potion was not budging from the pale green. It did not change to the bright crystalline blue that he wanted. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." Liam bit down and churned out even more mana when abruptly everything colluded together and combusted right in his face. BOOOM! A loud explosion rocked the alchemy room on the top floor, the noise echoing loudly in the empty corridors and the gas and smoke leaking out of the open window. And inside the room, the three blackened beings stared at each other. Liam's eyebrows and the front half of his head were burnt, leaving him half-bald and Luna's pearly white flawless fur was now covered in soot and dirt, making her look like a dirty black cat. Seeka's condition was also no better. Her clothes became burnt and her upper body was now exposed. Liam looked at the two of them who were once again staring at him in a daze, a slight fear, and anxiety mixed in their eyes. He let out a small sigh and then broke into a laugh. "You two, stop spacing out. Time to start the next batch." Kyuuuuu! Luna's mood became better on seeing Liam smile and Seeka as well quickly started preparing everything again from the scratch after changing into a new set of clothes. In a couple of minutes, the trio once again settled in front of the cauldron to start the process all over again. Kyuuuu… This time the fox apprehensively stepped near the vessel and Liam gave her a warm encouraging smile. "A couple of explosions are completely normal during pill concoctions. Ok?" Kyuuu… the fox nodded, scrunching her nose. She did not know why but she felt as if her master's smile was a bit suspicious.