Mercenary Wars

Chapter 250 Large Alchemy Table

Gao Gano was taken aback when he saw the tonic and the secondary transformation potion in Professor Francis's hand.

His attitude was immediately distorted by the power of money; his cold expression gradually disappeared, and he once again showed the respect and courtesy due to a chair professor and a level twelve archmage.

He took the two bottles of medicine and drank the "Subordinate Transformation Potion" directly.

Regardless of whether it results in disfigurement, extensive loss of skin constitutes a disability that cannot be cured without a specific treatment.

Under the miraculous power of the remedy, Gaogano's missing skin began to regenerate and recover rapidly. Not only that, but all the scars, spots and blemishes left behind also disappeared completely. The new skin was flawless, smooth as silk, and his appearance improved slightly.

In fact, if he wanted, he could use this opportunity to change his appearance.

Although the Secondary Makeover Solution can only alter the appearance, its actual effect is no less than that of a cosmetic surgery. Some people with appearance anxiety will save up money to buy a bottle of the Secondary Makeover Solution, even if they have a meager income, just for this reason.

However, Gaucano did not have any appearance anxiety; he was quite satisfied with his looks and did not want to change them easily.

He's already very handsome.

Being too handsome is probably more of a curse than a blessing. Not only will it easily cause women to fight over him, but it could also attract the covetous eyes of powerful men, which would be troublesome.

Ferrari has quite a few weirdos.

After drinking the secondary transformation potion, there's no need to drink the tonic anymore.

Professor Francis's act of giving the tonic was completely unnecessary, but he didn't take it back afterward, probably as a form of emotional compensation.

Once Gao Jiano had fully recovered, Professor Francis asked hesitantly, "When the four elements were close to equilibrium just now, did you have any particular feeling?"

Gao Jiano thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No."

Professor Francis frowned in thought, muttering to himself, "Is this not working... or does it need further improvement..."

Listening to his mutterings, Gao Jiano couldn't help but ask, "Professor, what is the plan for this experiment?"

Professor Francis looked up: "You should already be familiar with several theories of elements, right?"

“The material theory, the kinetic theory.” Gauguin was deeply impressed by what Rogier said, “and the compromise theory.”

Professor Francis nodded: "According to the compromise theory, there exists a more essential element in the world—that is, the 'zero element' I told you about before. The four elements are its four forms of motion, and there are mutually exclusive relationships between the forms: circularity and linearity, divergence and condensation."

"Think about it, isn't this mutual exclusion also a kind of mutual cancellation?" His tone couldn't help but become excited. "In that case, as long as we make the four elements cancel each other out perfectly, can't we restore the 'zeroth element'?"

He continued, gesturing wildly, "According to general theory or conjecture, the original form of the zeroth element is unstable and can be assimilated by other forms of motion. If we successfully obtain a cluster of the zeroth element and bring it close to gold—no, I mean, Auchin—then can we replicate Auchin?"

After listening to Professor Francis's words, Gao Jiano couldn't help but have some thoughts.

The four elements balance and cancel each other out, restoring the initial form of the "zeroth element"... It sounds very interesting, and it seems quite reasonable.

If it really succeeds, what will the zeroth element look like?

Can it really achieve the "Midas touch" or even the "Olympic gold touch"?

“Unfortunately, this balance is extremely sensitive. As you just saw, the slightest disturbance could throw the experiment into complete chaos, and there’s even a… slight danger.” Professor Francis’s tone turned somewhat dejected again. He sighed, “Hopefully, this is just a technical problem…”

With a sigh, he waved to Tom: "Tom, go and organize the experimental records."

“Okay, mentor.” Tom turned and left.

Professor Francis was silent for a moment, then looked at Gao Jiano again: "Um, I'll be redesigning the experiment in a while, and I might need you to come over then..."

Gaucano: "Could you provide me with a magical shield?"

“I’m afraid that won’t work.” Professor Francis said somewhat awkwardly, “Considering that this experiment requires extremely high precision and the entire process is exceptionally sensitive, any additional magical shield would greatly increase the difficulty of control and could even directly lead to the failure of the experiment. You’d better only use your Blessed Stone Skin spell and not introduce any other magical interference.”

Gao Jiano was speechless for a moment.

If we can't use other magical protection, wouldn't we be hit hard every time something unexpected happens?
Taking the Lesser Transformation Elixir every day isn't a sustainable solution.

Overuse of drugs can lead to drug resistance. What if he needs to repair skin damage or suddenly decides to change his appearance? If the secondary face-changing agent doesn't work, will he have to use the extremely expensive standard face-changing agent?

Professor Francis was clearly aware of the problem: "I'll try to design a physical armor that won't affect the experiment, and I'll improve the magic circle to restrain the destructive force as much as possible... Anyway, don't worry, this serious situation will never happen again!"

At the end, he patted his chest, brimming with confidence.

Gaucano held reservations about this.

But considering the tempting compensation for the potion and the precious right to use the Golden Plains ten times, he reluctantly agreed: "Okay, I will cooperate with your subsequent experiments."

The two talked for a while longer.

Finally, Professor Francis took out a slip of paper, waved his finger at it, and the words immediately appeared on the paper: Please grant Gaugano Laziville the right to use the Golden Plains at any time for ten times - Francis Mecatock.

"Take this to the Gate of the Plains, and you can use the Golden Plains directly without having to wait in line!" Professor Francis handed the note to Gaucano.

Is that all?

Gaucano was a little surprised.

After all, this note didn't even have any magical fluctuations; it just looked like an ordinary note with writing on it.

But judging from Professor Francis's nonchalant manner, it seems that this is how he usually operates.

Gaucano took the note, bid farewell to Professor Francis, and headed back to the Gate of the Plains.

Upon reaching the gates of the plains, he handed the note to the presiding monk.

The deacon remained expressionless, casually asking, "Are you working on a project with Professor Francis?"

"Yes." Gao Jiano nodded.

The deacon said nothing more, put away the note, and made the registration.

Half a minute later, he asked, "You now have eleven uses of the Golden Plains, ten of which can be used at any time, and one will expire in eight minutes. Do you need to use it immediately?"

The one that was about to expire was, of course, reserved by Gaucano himself. Although he had been granted ten uses at any time, Gaucano certainly didn't want to waste this one, so he said, "Use it now."

After the deacon completed the registration, they were soon arranged to enter the Golden Plains.

Having already experienced this once, Gaugano proceeded smoothly, quickly gathering a sufficient amount of various herbs and materials. He then hurried to the alchemy table to begin simulating the creation of a Lesser Enlightenment Elixir. The alchemy table in the mithril room of the Golden Plains emitted a faint magical glow, the mithril patterns on its surface shimmering under the magical light. Gaugano skillfully arranged the various herbs in a predetermined order, the position of each herb meticulously calculated.

In the beginning, including the last practice in the Golden Plains, his success rate in making secondary enlightenment elixirs was probably only a pitiful one percent.

In the real world, such a success rate would likely lead to financial ruin.

Fortunately, the Golden Plains, being an illusionary realm, has all kinds of materials, so there's no need to worry about failure.

After dozens of attempts, Gaucano gradually became familiar with the techniques for making secondary enlightenment remedies, and his success rate gradually improved.

From one percent to one-twentieth, and then from one-twentieth to one-quarter.

Once the success rate reaches one-quarter, the session ends.

Instead of staying on the Golden Plains, Gao Jiano returned to reality to review the process and adjust his mindset. He meticulously recalled each step of the creation process, recording the details of both successes and failures in his notebook. He analyzed every subtle difference in technique, the variations in the incantation's tone, and even the impact of breathing rhythm.

Several days later, after he had fully digested what he had learned from the last practice, resolved all the questions in his mind, and rested and adjusted to his best condition, he returned to the Golden Plains to continue focusing on simulating the creation of the Secondary Enlightenment Elixir.

The success rate continues to improve.

One-third, one-half, two-thirds...

This time, instead of going out, he stayed on the Golden Plains for twenty-four hours straight. With each practice session, his skills became increasingly refined, and he handled various unexpected situations with ease. Even in dire circumstances, he was able to adjust in time and minimize losses.

He finally left satisfied when his success rate stabilized at over 90%.

Shortly afterward, it was his turn to book the alchemy table at the Mithril Chamber.

Although he had his own alchemy table, it was obviously too rudimentary compared to the Mithril Room. In order to maximize the success rate of making the Lesser Enlightenment Elixir, he should of course prioritize using the large alchemy table here.

The alchemy table looked exactly the same as the one in the Golden Plains. The temperature was constant, the humidity was just right, and even the concentration of magical elements in the air was precisely controlled. The magical runes on the walls flowed slowly, providing a stable magical environment for the entire room. Everything was exactly the same as what Gaugano had seen in the Golden Plains.

The only difference is that what's in the golden plains is an illusion, while this is reality.

When it was his first time doing hands-on practice, Gao Jiano couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

After all, what he needs to consume now are materials he obtained through adventure and real money.

To be on the safe side, he did not start making the secondary enlightenment potion directly, but instead used the secondary stabilizing potion to get a feel for it first.

Even the most realistic illusion is still an illusion, and it will always be different from the real world. For a delicate art like alchemy, no subtle difference should be overlooked.

After a period of preparation.

With the aid of the large alchemy table, the eight sets of materials were finally used to create six bottles of secondary stabilizing potion.

Gaucano drank it on the spot.

[Spirit +2] [Spirit: 46/53]

[Constitution +2] [Constitution: 46/53]

[Spirit +1] [Spirit: 47/53]

[Constitution +1] [Constitution: 47/53]

……

After consuming six bottles of secondary stabilizing potions, Gaogano's mental and physical attributes improved significantly.

At the same time, drug resistance has also become quite significant.

From the third bottle onwards, no secondary stabilizing potion could bring him more than one point of benefit.

After completing the preparation and consumption of the Secondary Stabilizing Agent, Gaucano took a deep breath to adjust his state and began preparing to create the real challenge—the Secondary Enlightenment Agent.

He took out a set of materials for a secondary enlightenment mixture and focused intently.

The material has already undergone some processing.

Now you can place it directly on a large alchemy table to carry out the most crucial magical synthesis step.

Gaucano chanted incantations, and with the aid of a large alchemy table, slowly guided the synthesis.

The magical synthesis scene of the large alchemy table in operation is indeed quite spectacular. Under the brilliant magical light, various colored liquids flow gracefully and slowly between the precise mithril grooves that are several meters long and wide. The whole process is like a carefully choreographed dance drama, and every step is full of mysterious and elegant beauty.

After a while.

After a complex process of convergence, separation, and reconvergence, the various medicinal liquids underwent multiple precise blending processes, eventually transforming into a white liquid that resembled an emulsion, which slowly flowed into the collection bottle.

Gao Jiano picked up the bottle and examined it closely, then sighed in disappointment.

Failed.

The seemingly pure white liquid was not perfect; it had slight impurities, like mottled silk threads floating in it. This was a characteristic of a failed attempt to make the Enlightenment Mixture.

However, due to the preciousness of the materials, including the four attributes of the Forget-Me-Not Moss, these waste liquids also have some value, and can recover about one-tenth of the cost.

One-tenth is not a small amount, after all, the material cost of secondary enlightenment potion is usually between three and five hundred gold coins, and one-tenth is equivalent to several tens of gold coins.

Gaucano was not surprised by the failure of his first attempt.

He didn't believe that the 90% success rate in the illusion would translate to the same 90% in the real world. After all, there's always a gap between theory and practice. The naked eye can't distinguish between the golden plain and reality, but the laws governing illusion and reality can never be exactly the same.

There are three more sets of materials left. Let's continue.

He briefly reviewed the details of the production process, identified potential areas for improvement, and then rallied his spirits to begin his second attempt.

(End of this chapter)