Chapter 102: Growth Elixir (Experimental Version)

The logs crackled warmly in the fireplace, bringing comfort to Su Miao as she read in the living room.

Previously, when concocting the highly toxic hallucinogenic potion, Su Miao had referred to the steps for making hallucinogenic potions but omitted several separation and extraction stages, thus creating the deadly poison she needed.

Because that toxic hallucinogenic potion had been such a success, now reversing the process to create a non-toxic hallucinogenic potion proved even more challenging.

Determined, Su Miao resolved to systematically study "Potionology" during this period.

The "Potionology" course was divided into three major sections: Principles of Magic and Magic Circles, Potion Research and Expansion, and Potion Analysis and Creation.

Su Miao had already mastered the knowledge related to the principles of magic and magic circles.

The magical spatial battle array she had formed in combat was her greatest proof of this mastery.

As for potion research and expansion, she had only scratched the surface, but a bit more in-depth study would suffice.

The key to potion analysis and creation lay in mastering magic arrays related to analysis, separation, extraction, and fusion.

If one could timely extract needed components, separate unwanted elements, and properly fuse them during potion-making, concocting magical potions would become remarkably simple.

After some time studying "Potionology," Su Miao added more logs to the fireplace and then returned to her room to sleep.

In the middle of the night, feeling thirsty, she got up to drink water and added more wood to the fire.

She couldn’t help but appreciate how wonderful it was to have heating.

The only downside was that heated rooms tended to make one thirsty.

In the morning, Su Miao replenished the fireplace, washed up, ate breakfast, watered the mushroom and vegetable rooms, then returned to the second floor by the fireplace to continue studying "Potionology."

As for Magpie, ever since settling in here, it had been sleeping longer and more frequently, an odd sight.

Seeing it so peacefully asleep, Su Miao did not disturb it.

When she grew tired of studying, she stood by the window, wiping away the condensation to gaze outside.

Everywhere she looked, vast expanses of snow stretched, where earth and sky met in a magnificent display.

However, in the flood zone, beneath the white snow lay flowing ice layers.

Most likely, the floodwaters beneath the ice had yet to freeze, but judging by the slow movement of the ice, it wouldn’t be long before the floodwaters ceased to flow.

The date, December 1, 2123, was drawing ever closer.

At noon, Su Miao had a serving of dry-fried chicken over rice.

In the afternoon, she took out the generator and pedaled the bike connected to it for some exercise.

She wondered if she could devise a magic array that would make the bicycle spin on its own to generate electricity.

Or perhaps capture some mutated squirrels or hamsters, getting them to help with power generation.

Quickly, she abandoned these dangerous ideas.

God only knew how large those mutated squirrels and hamsters had grown; capturing them could cost her life.

Habitually, she tossed a few small blue fireballs into the magic spatial array and resumed her study of "Potionology."

Days passed, and after nearly three days, Su Miao had thoroughly read through the entire course.

Now came the time for practical application.

Her first potion to brew would be a growth elixir.

This was both urgently needed and the only one for which she had the materials—mushrooms from the mushroom room.

According to potion theory, ingredients for growth potions could be extracted from rapidly growing flora and fauna or from minerals and organisms that promote swift growth.

In short, the key elements were either self-accelerated growth or the ability to stimulate rapid growth.

The mushrooms in the mushroom room fit this description perfectly.

Especially the beautiful mushrooms—just one watering, and overnight they would shoot up impressively, making them ideal.

However, using these beautiful mushrooms posed a significant problem: how to prevent their deadly toxins from contaminating the potion.

"Just brew it first. At worst, I’ll find some animals to test it on," Su Miao thought brightly.

With that, she went straight to the mushroom room and harvested the beautiful mushrooms that had grown over several nights.

She was surprised to find she had gathered a full three pounds—enough to brew one batch of growth elixir.

Considering the potential pollution and damage from potion-making, Su Miao decided to use the kitchen on the first floor, where any explosion would be less problematic.

There was a wood-fired stove there; she removed the iron pot and replaced it with a bronze cauldron.

Iron pots might corrode under the influence of the potion’s toxins.

The bronze cauldron, found along the road, was 65 centimeters in diameter—perfect for potion brewing.

First, Su Miao formed a water sphere to wash the bronze cauldron, then dried it with a fireball.

Next, she used chalk to sketch the magic circle inside the cauldron according to the book’s instructions.

Then, she controlled the blue fireballs to scorch the entire magic circle, engraving the basic magical pattern into the cauldron.

Afterward, she retrieved some silver blocks from the magic space.

She placed the silver in a small special graphite mold.

Once set, she melted the silver into liquid using the fireballs.

Though mithril would have been ideal for drawing the magic circle, she didn’t have any.

Carefully, she painted the molten silver along the scorched magic circle lines—a delicate task requiring utmost precision.

"Done!" she exclaimed.

Six hours later, Su Miao smiled as she gazed at the magic circle patterns in the bronze cauldron.

She infused the magic circle with mana, causing the composite array to glow beautifully.

Mana flowed smoothly through the array without a hint of delay.

Success!

At moments like this, Su Miao often thought of witches in anime.

They could draw magic circles with a flick of their hands, wave their wands, and materials would move on their own—so enviable.

Moreover, she didn’t even need to craft this bronze cauldron herself; similar ones could be bought in specialty shops or custom-made by dwarves, using materials like mithril for the magic circle.

"In the future, I can do that too!"

"Let’s start brewing the growth elixir."

She placed firewood under the stove, doused it with a bit of diesel, and ignited a blazing flame.

She added a large water sphere into the bronze cauldron.

Minutes later, the water boiled, and she poured magic energy into the cauldron; the magic circle lit up.

She then threw in all the beautiful mushrooms.

Under the magic circle’s influence, the mushrooms decomposed visibly.

The dark, toxic parts sank and separated, while the growth-promoting elements floated upward for extraction.

It was time for the sacred sword to make its appearance.

Su Miao took out a paulownia wood stick with a "hilt" from her magic space and began stirring the liquid, accelerating decomposition and the separation of medicinal components.

She had to admit, this sacred sword was excellent for stirring potions.

She silently thanked the child who had lost this sword.

The stirring speed needn’t be fast.

Twelve clockwise rotations, wait three minutes, then twelve counterclockwise rotations.

The rest was waiting.

Gradually, the liquid at the bottom turned pitch black, while the potion on top began to turn green.

After fifteen minutes, Su Miao observed distinct layers forming in the cauldron’s liquid—the crucial moment had arrived.

She added some fine powdered bamboo charcoal from her magic space into the cauldron and stirred three clockwise turns.

The charcoal would absorb impurities and toxic compounds that had been separated out.

Twelve minutes later, the potion became a clear, translucent green.

On close inspection, special magical light shimmered within.

This indicated the potion was successfully brewed.

Su Miao extinguished the fire in the stove and bottled the entire potion into crystal vials.

Throughout the entire brewing process, she had used fifteen pounds of water, three pounds of beautiful mushrooms, and one pound of bamboo charcoal, yielding six hundred grams of potion.

In theory, the potion’s concentration could be further compressed, but as this was an experimental batch, she chose not to.

[Growth Elixir (Experimental)]

Looking at the row of vials on the table, Su Miao felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

Now, it was time to begin testing.

Also...

She glanced at the toxic potion residue in the bronze cauldron.

The residue was highly poisonous and could not be discarded carelessly; it required careful disposal.

Su Miao collected all the residue and went outside the villa.

She looked around cautiously, then stepped through the snow to an area suspected to be a flower bed and dumped the residue there.

This would be the designated spot for all future potion waste.

After discarding the residue, Su Miao shivered in the biting cold and quickly returned inside.

No need to venture out unnecessarily; it was truly too cold.

What she failed to notice was that the discarded potion residue, upon contact with the snow, quickly corroded the surrounding ice and snow into water.

With a soft plop, the residue mingled intimately with the damp earth.

Within minutes, a faint verdant green sprouted from the soil...

...

Su Miao took the experimental growth elixir to the vegetable room.

Uncertain if the new potion was toxic, she prepared a new hydroponic cultivation setup, added a large water sphere, and some compound fertilizer.

On the shelf nearest the water, she placed a sponge with a single soybean seed atop it.

"The moment to witness a miracle," she murmured.

Holding the crystal vial, Su Miao carefully poured some growth elixir onto the soybean.

"Soybeans are quite large; they might grow slowly. Let’s add some vegetable seeds too."

She retrieved several hydroponic units from her magic space, each filled with a large water sphere, sponge, vegetable seeds, and a bit of growth elixir.

Each hydroponic unit measured 60 cm long, 35 cm wide, and 105 cm high—very convenient to place.

She noted the time and set up a camera on recording mode nearby.

The experiment officially began.

Fifteen minutes later, not a single seed had sprouted.

Su Miao blinked; the miraculous instant growth seen in games, where a seedling became a towering tree in seconds after a sprinkle of potion, had not occurred.

"I’ll check again tomorrow."

She set aside the experiment logbook and returned upstairs—still plenty to prepare.

The day after tomorrow—it would be December 1.