Chapter 186 The Efficacy of Light Anise

Kei placed the small cauldron onto the stove, carefully weighing out the Blood Leaf and Caspin root in exact accordance with the recipe proportions. Even though he had successfully brewed it once already, Kei always maintained extreme meticulousness when fabricating Potions.

He had read and re-read the instructions over and over throughout the entire morning.

Last time, he had merely managed to amplify the therapeutic efficacy of the Healing Potion by a little over twofold. If his goal was to split a single bottle of medicine into multiple doses while preserving the original utility, that margin remained insufficient.

Light Anise could very well serve as the decisive pivot to elevate the potency of the Healing Potion.

Kei pulverized the Blood Leaf into a fine powder, while simmering the Caspin root slowly to extract its active essence completely. Filtering the herbal broth, he set the residue aside and blended the two raw components in precise chronological order. The moment the mixture began thickening into a syrup, Kei pipetted in a measured drop of refined Light Anise essence.

A single stalk of Light Anise yielded merely 1ml of essence, precisely enough to service a single bottle of Healing Potion formulated under the baseline recipe.

The medicinal broth roiled slightly. A delicate, faintly pungent aroma diffused through the atmosphere, cutting right through the intrinsic bitterness of the herbs. Kei kept his eyes locked firmly on the cauldron, waiting for the coloration to stabilize before extinguishing the flame.

The second bottle of Healing Potion was successfully completed without running into any hitfalls. Evidently, even if Light Anise failed to deliver optimal enhancements, it at least lacked the destructive capacity to corrupt the structural integrity of the Healing Potion forged by the two primary herbal pillars.

Fortunately, Kei hadn’t wasted any raw materials. Given the Zootopia Guild’s current precarious circumstances, he didn’t dare squander even a single sprig of herbs.

He positioned the Potion vial dead center within the magic array, ignited the manastones, and channeled the spell [Efficiency Enhancement]. A veil of magical radiance washed over the glassware of the Healing Potion vial. The pale crimson fluid rippled, gradually clarifying and deepening in hue, clear proof that the therapeutic yield of this Potion had undergone a dramatic upgrade.

Noticing the deepened coloration, Kei exhaled a quiet sigh of relief; at the very least, this Healing Potion was guaranteed to outperform his initial enhanced batch.

Kei maintained steady mana control, letting the magic array route surplus energy straight into the vial. When the final lingering glow flickered out, he waited a brief moment before extracting a tiny droplet to test against a minor abrasion.

The minor scratch across his hand closed up rapidly.

Kei furrowed his brow, testing a second time against a deeper laceration along his forearm. The medicinal energy seeped straight into skin and flesh, its healing speed visibly outstripping the previous batch.

The efficacy had surged threefold!

“Alright.”

He breathed out a sigh.

Given his current operational limits, this likely represented the most potent Healing Potion he could possibly mass-produce. Kei lacked the luxury to casually throw around high-tier magic like he used to, but combining the [Efficiency Enhancement], a spell with a magic array allowed him to squeeze the absolute maximum yield out of the active herbal compounds.

Retrieving an empty vial, he divided the medicinal fluid equally across three separate containers, introducing supporting solvents into each respective vial. The pale crimson fluid diluted slightly, yet Kei inspected each bottle individually, confirming that the medicinal potency remained distributed with absolute uniformity.

From an amount of raw herbs that traditionally yielded a single bottle, he had successfully synthesized three distinct vials of Healing Potion, ensuring that the Zootopia Guild’s remaining herbal reserves would be utilized to absolute perfection.

Kei strode out of the alchemy laboratory, gripping all three vials in hand. He located Clark and Helen stationed in the supply sector, where they were auditing remaining inventory stock and assigning duties to the supporting Craftsmen.

“Clark, Helen-nim. I’ve finished test-brewing the second batch of Healing Potions.”

He laid the three vials flat upon the table.

Clark picked up a single vial, inspecting its coloration before dispensing a droplet onto the pad of his finger. Brandishing a utility blade, he carved a shallow slice across the back of his hand, smeared the Potion over it, and observed the results.

The wound stitched itself closed rapidly.

He proceeded to test the second vial, followed closely by the third. The outcomes displayed virtually zero deviation.

Clark lifted his gaze, staring at Kei in stunned disbelief.

“The efficacy is every bit as potent as standard Healing Potions,” Clark set the vial down. “How on earth did you pull this off?”

Kei smiled faintly.

“The fundamental workflow remains unchanged. I introduced Light Anise to optimize medicinal absorption rates, then applied my personal abilities to fortify the final yield.”

Helen surveyed the three vials, her expression an admixture of elation and lingering apprehension.

“Yet our storage reserves only hold ten stalks of Light Anise. You’ve already consumed one.”

“Don’t worry,” Kei stated. “I have a way to source more Light Anise. But for the immediate moment, I need you to hand over the remaining nine stalks.”

Helen hesitated for a fraction of a second, casting a sideways glance at Clark. The veteran Craftsman gave a firm nod; Clark trusted that a talented artisan like Kei wouldn’t fabricate claims regarding such a critical matter.

Kei turned his attention back to Clark:

“Could you select a handful of Craftsmen skilled in herbal brewing? I’ll take charge of supplying the Light Anise and handling the potency enchantments. As for the actual Potion manufacturing, I want to delegate that to a dedicated team following the new protocol.”

Clark grasped his intent instantly. Kei couldn’t brew enough Potions single-handedly to sustain the entire Guild, even with an optimized recipe. What he needed to do was lock down the specialized tasks only he was capable of executing.

No mass release, New book is coming.

1 castle – 5 chapters bonus