Chapter 293: Wound Healing Alchemy Potion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 293: Wound Healing Alchemy Potion
"Alright! Focus, will you?"
After giving Betty a proper talking-to, Xiao Han finally got her to snap out of her daze.
It seemed that even Senior Sisters at the Witch Academy faced immense academic pressure. Many might have reached the age where others called them "Senior Sister," yet they still felt like there was so much they didn't know.
This was actually quite normal. The academy system built into the phones provided by the school had an overwhelming number of functions. Most of the apps on the phone were related to it, and the "Academy System" icon itself couldn't even be deleted.
Even Xiao Han knew there were plenty of features she hadn't fully explored. For instance, if it hadn't been for Sister Bai, she wouldn't have known she could use the app to enroll in elective courses—like her Alchemy and Rune classes, which required extra fees. Though they cost money, they were another vital channel for acquiring knowledge.
"This is great... I can just read books on my phone instead of taking the bus all the way there... But if my Mentor finds out, I won't have an excuse to use the library to dodge her anymore!"
Betty let out a sigh of admiration as she opened the Online Library on her phone, only to realize the downside a moment later.
"Look on the bright side. With this, you can look up the detailed steps for the potion directly. You won't have to waste a fortune on materials through constant trial and error. It'll save you a lot of money," Xiao Han offered, unable to watch Betty's internal conflict any longer.
"I guess you're right... Whatever, let's just start trying this potion recipe."
"Mm."
Xiao Han nodded. During the time Betty had been dawdling, Xiao Han had already memorized the procedure for the Wound Healing Potion. Now, she was looking at a second set of materials that provided a detailed explanation of the principles behind each step.
"By the way, Betty, where are you getting the materials? Or do you have them ready?" Xiao Han looked up from her data. She didn't see any materials around, and there didn't seem to be a storage area for them here.
However... if Betty hadn't bought them yet, Xiao Han was going to suggest she buy some pre-processed materials.
In alchemy, "fresher is better" wasn't always the rule for potions; the goal was effectiveness. Many alchemists who prioritized efficiency used "pre-fabricated materials" as their starting point—materials that had already undergone rough processing. This method saved a significant amount of time and didn't cost much more than raw ingredients.
But for beginners like them, pre-fabs weren't strictly necessary. They needed to practice their techniques and way of thinking, not just aim for speed.
Perhaps that was the intention behind Betty's Mentor giving her such a simplified recipe—she wanted Betty to figure things out on her own and get more hands-on practice.
"Oh, those... I remembered and bought them yesterday. I got several sets. Since I'm a bit short on cash, I only got... about six sets. So, um... we'd better not waste them."
"Six sets? That's not much." Xiao Han nodded. Doing six sets individually would take a lot of time, but most of that time was actually spent on processing the materials.
You couldn't just use things as they were. Since alchemy potions were distinct from ordinary commercial drugs, they naturally possessed Transcendent properties.
If ordinary medicine relied on chemical reactions, extraction, and distillation, then alchemy potions relied on the art of Transmutation.
Betty pulled a pile of materials from her storage equipment, most of which were sealed using special methods. Once everything was out, Betty thoughtfully divided them into six portions.
"How about we don't divide them so strictly? We're collaborating, after all. If we work separately, what's the point of doing this together?"
"I suppose you're right..."
Taking Xiao Han's advice, Betty nodded and began their first alchemy attempt together.
However, because it was their first time and they were far from proficient, they ran into several blunders. They stumbled through the process until they finally managed to set up the necessary Refining Array.
When processing certain materials, they also had to coordinate with specific incantations.
In the end, after much toil and wasting more than one set of materials, they finally obtained a complete set of "pre-fabricated" auxiliary and primary ingredients.
"Finally reached this step. We wasted so much... Why is this so hard? The next step is the final fusion and the Refining Ritual, right?"
"Mm."
Xiao Han nodded while cross-referencing the information on the data sheet. However, her eyes remained fixed on the semi-finished products. The "purity" mentioned in the data didn't just refer to physical impurities; it referred to the purity of the specific Transcendent energy contained within the materials after transmutation.
Before filtration, this purity was statistically proportional to the impurity content. Thus, before filtering, checking for visible impurities was indeed the easiest way to judge purity with the naked eye.
Subsequent filtration removed unnecessary physical impurities, but that didn't mean the Transcendent purity of the liquid increased. To think otherwise was self-deception, and it was also the area where "faked purity" in commercial pre-fabricated materials was most rampant.
This was why master alchemists and master pharmacists generally disdained buying pre-fabs; they only trusted what they made themselves.
The materials they had just finished were clearly inconsistent. Although they looked clear after filtration, Xiao Han's Spirit Vision could clearly distinguish the purity of the Transcendent energy. The chaotic mixing and conflict of that energy might be invisible to Betty, but to Xiao Han, it was "plain as day."
Even her own portion wasn't particularly pure. It was her first time, after all; a lack of finesse was inevitable.
Xiao Han had also personally witnessed Betty shatter a beaker earlier. She finally understood why Betty had so many lab accidents—it was because she was "blind." Spirit Vision gave Xiao Han a perspective that allowed her to cut her losses in time, which was why any mistakes she had made so far were mostly salvageable.
The next step was to mix them in the established order.
"Um... Xiao Han, why don't you go first this time? I feel like you're better at alchemy than I am."
"This task was assigned to you by your Mentor, and you bought the materials. It's only right that you go first," Xiao Han said.
Of course, she wasn't just being humble—though that was part of it. She was more concerned with the data regarding the final fusion. She needed to observe the specific phenomena to match them against the correct procedure. If she operated it herself, she might not be able to cross-reference the data as smoothly.
"Alright then, I'll get started." Betty didn't push back further and began immediately. Xiao Han watched the step with intense focus.
"Right... first the base liquid... heat it to this temperature and maintain..." Betty was also fully concentrated. The final step required a single, continuous motion; she couldn't stop to check the notes, so she had to have the steps memorized perfectly.
Meanwhile, Xiao Han used her Spirit Vision to observe the underlying principles of the data. For example, why this specific temperature? Why maintain it for this long? What was the relationship between the base liquid concentration, the Transcendent energy purity, and the volume?
She rapidly recorded this information on her Memory Bookshelf—a method far more convenient than taking handwritten notes. Some data was so fleeting that if she got distracted by writing, she might miss the next crucial moment.
The potion came together bit by bit in Betty's hands, and Xiao Han collected a wealth of data.
That was, until Betty made a mistake—one she didn't seem to notice herself.
Xiao Han didn't warn her. This was a calculated decision. They didn't have many materials, so they needed multiple experiments to gather enough information. If she interrupted, it would undoubtedly end the attempt immediately. Even if this one resulted in a mistake, they could at least see how much of a flaw that mistake would cause in the final product.
But when Betty reached the very last step, Xiao Han realized she might have been wrong. This could no longer be described as a mere "flaw."
In that instant, she felt the energy conflict within the semi-finished potion. This omen on the energy level was far more direct than any physical phenomenon.
By the time the potion began to vibrate strangely on its own, it was too late for Betty to throw the container away.
Boom!
"Ah!"
A muffled bang, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, echoed through the laboratory, followed immediately by Betty's piercing scream.
Fortunately, a reverse shield had already enveloped Betty's hand, the potion bottle, the flying glass shards, and the liquid. Otherwise, the explosion would have likely affected a much larger area.
"Uh... huff... huff..." Betty, still shaken, panted heavily. Only when she saw the shield protecting her did she truly breathe a sigh of relief.
The moment the explosion happened, she knew she had messed up. Even if the blast wasn't powerful, the waste liquid would have contaminated the instruments. If her Mentor found out about that, she'd really get her ears boxed!
"Thank... thank goodness... No! Thank you, Xiao Han! Your reflexes are insane!"
"It's nothing. Since I was observing from the side, I had to take care of other things. Is your hand okay?" Xiao Han looked at Betty's hands, which were covered in waste liquid and glass shards. The explosion had been quite forceful; blood was trickling from the wounds, yet Betty wasn't crying from the pain yet.
"My... my hand... hiss... It hurts... It hurts so much! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!"
Seeing Betty's violent reaction, Xiao Han sighed. She had overestimated her; Betty just had a very long reaction time.
"Let me heal you," Xiao Han said with a sigh.
"Xiao Han, you know healing spells too? Oh... right... I remember now. Thank you, Xiao Han, you're the best."
"It's a small thing."
Xiao Han reached out and cast a Flesh Healing spell. The spell purged the waste liquid from the wounds and caused the glass shards to fall out. The healing process was indeed grueling; the pain of the wounds combined with the regeneration of nerves created an extreme itch. The combination of pain and itching was pure torture, and she couldn't even scratch it.
After a bout of screaming from Betty, the process finally ended.
"Ugh... that healing process is seriously painful..."
"Let's tidy up a bit. We'll review what happened in a moment. I think I know what the cause was," Xiao Han said.
Betty's accident had taught Xiao Han one thing: alchemy was different from biochemistry. Even if you were just mixing a potion and there were no violent chemical conflicts, it could still explode. Just like what had happened—it was a conflict on the Transcendent energy level. The potion was merely the medium for the explosive force.
Xiao Han watched the waste liquid. The energy conflict had accelerated particle motion, causing the temperature to spike. The boiling waste liquid was still bubbling, sending up clouds of steam.
"Eh? You already know the cause? You were just watching! You're that amazing?!"
"It's just easier to see things clearly from an observer's perspective."
Xiao Han organized the data she had just gathered. It was all on her Memory Bookshelf, but to present it to Betty, she needed to arrange it properly.
"Still, it's incredible." Betty sighed as she cleaned up the mess. The fact that they had failed right at the start was a blow to her confidence.
Xiao Han, however, felt it was fine. It was just a failure. A failure only became a true failure if you couldn't extract the key to success from it.
Once everything was tidied up, Xiao Han was ready.
"Now then, I'll summarize what just happened." Xiao Han activated the local Ley Line System. Such things were standard equipment in laboratories, and she knew how to operate it.
Then, she took out the glasses Teacher Ji Niang had given her—the ones meant to relieve eye strain. She felt that wearing glasses would give her more of a "teaching" vibe.
Betty watched intently. She was certain she had followed the steps perfectly; why it had exploded was still a mystery to her.
"I've recorded the experiment through the Ley Line System. Let's play it back. The beginning was fine. Let's fast-forward to just before the explosion. The problem is here."
"Huh? At this point? Wasn't the potion fusing perfectly then?"
"Indeed, from the outside, everything looked normal." Xiao Han watched the recording. Unfortunately, it was just a visual recording. Earlier, she had seen the Transcendent energy within the potion begin to conflict at this exact moment.
"Look at the temperature monitor next to it. See how it's clearly rising? At this stage, there's no need to actively maintain the temperature, so you ignored the anomaly. The temperature rose abnormally, but the liquid didn't react physically. This could only be an energy conflict. If we had noticed it then, adding this ingredient might have saved it, but neither of us had the experience to react in time..."
After the explanation, Betty's confidence surged again, and she wanted to try once more.
Xiao Han didn't turn down Betty's enthusiasm. She realized that her observations might be even more useful than her own practice.
On the second attempt, Betty finally tasted success.
Betty stared at the tube of clear, transparent liquid in her hand, her excitement so great that words seemed to fail her.
Xiao Han silently recorded everything. After all, this was just a simple Wound Healing Potion.
However, even now, Xiao Han harbored doubts about the potion Betty had brewed. She offered a tactful suggestion.
"Maybe we should find something to test it on first? Like a lab mouse or something."
"You're right! I remember my Mentor has a breeding chamber specifically for lab mice! I'll go borrow a few!"
"She has one of those too?"
Xiao Han watched the energetic Betty dash out. It seemed the joy of success had completely overridden her composure. Xiao Han felt a bit of pity for Betty's Mentor; this girl was quite the handful...
Or was that Mentor only strict and prone to hitting on the surface, while actually doting on Betty deep down? Otherwise, Betty wouldn't have developed the habit of squandering her Mentor's resources like this. Without a Mentor's indulgence, how would she dare?
Of course, the main reason was that Xiao Han was curious about the potion's effects. Through her Spirit Vision, she felt something wasn't quite right, but she had no proof.
It was better to let the facts speak. Rather than Xiao Han questioning Betty, it was better to let Betty prove herself—or find her own mistakes.
Of course, if there were no problems, then everyone would be happy.