Looking at the Margaret flower seed glowing with silver luster before him, after a long moment, Ciel exhaled deeply. The original Margaret's reward orbs already had extremely significant diminishing effects on him. Previously, harvesting an entire greenhouse of Margarets couldn't even advance his Magic Intensity to Platinum level. He still relied on stacking several abilities like Water Enhancement and Shadow Mastery to temporarily reach Platinum-level Magic Intensity.
As for higher Diamond level, at this development speed, he probably couldn't achieve it even by graduation. And how important Magic Intensity was for wizards needed no further explanation. Many profound magics had extremely demanding Magic Intensity requirements. The Patronus Charm was a typical example—in the original story, Harry could learn it two years before Hermione and Ron precisely because he innately possessed far superior Magic Intensity than ordinary wizards due to Voldemort's soul fragment's influence.
If he remained constrained by Magic Intensity, however high his magical mastery, he couldn't unleash magic's true power—like a martial artist whose martial arts realm, however elevated, still required a strong body to manifest; otherwise the body became a weak link and burden.
Now, Margaret advancing from Black Iron to Silver level was absolutely a leap. Conservative estimates suggested enhancement effects on his Magic Intensity would be dozens of times stronger than currently!
The next harvest will be during the summer before third year. Then Magic Intensity will definitely steadily enter Platinum level, possibly even reaching the Platinum-to-Diamond advancement threshold. Counting other abilities' Magic Intensity amplifications, optimistically by third year, I'll possess Diamond-level Magic Intensity.
His eyes showed anticipation. By then, Magic Intensity constraints should greatly diminish. Though still far inferior to Snape, let alone Dumbledore, Voldemort, or Grindelwald-level prodigious talents, compared to ordinary people, he'd suffice to be called a genius in this aspect.
However, after the excitement faded, looking at the test tube that originally contained Edelyn's blood, he frowned. Finding conditions for directional Margaret seed mutation in such a short time came at a cost—the collected Edelyn blood was completely exhausted, not even a drop remaining. The "catalyst" was depleted, yet this was indispensable in the mutation induction process.
But moments later, his furrowed brow relaxed. Edelyn's blood being exhausted is fine—I never planned to continue using her blood as catalyst anyway. Though Edelyn's blood is certainly the optimal catalyst solution, actually using it for planting poses problems. Setting aside how to obtain her blood without entangling myself in her troubles, just my planting quantity requirements mean astronomical catalyst demands. If entirely supplied by Edelyn's blood, draining her dry couldn't suffice. This plan is inherently unrealistic, only suitable for small-scale laboratory use.
He'd already considered alternatives during previous experiments. My previously learned Severus's Potion Transfiguration concept involves different magical particle interactions manufacturing almost any magical property. Using this art, theoretically I could independently manufacture catalyst-property magic. This method has advantages—it's almost unrestricted by conditions, completely controlled by me. But disadvantages are obvious—my current Severus's Potion Transfiguration mastery is insufficient. Even manufacturing catalyst-property magic would consume extraordinary time and effort, unable to fully cover my planting needs short-term.
Another option: seeking ready-made materials with similar properties. Even if efficiency can't match Edelyn's blood, if a stable batch supply is achievable, that's actually optimal.
His thoughts gradually clarifying, the remaining question was where to find possibly similar-property materials. His eyes showed unusual interest. Speaking of who in the wizarding world collected the most rare materials and knew almost all magical properties thoroughly—naturally one person came to mind.
Moments later, at Hogwarts Castle in the Slytherin Head's office, Snape's expression was quite grim—clearly his mood wasn't good. The reason is related to today's Daily Prophet article. Is the Ministry mad? That old fool Fudge—investigating Dark Magic items, checking pureblood families, and Knockturn Alley wasn't enough? Now starting strict investigations of prohibited potions?
Snape ground his teeth hatefully. Though he had no extravagant lifestyle, his Potions Master identity meant monthly experimental expenses were astronomical. Relying on Hogwarts pitiful salary was obviously inadequate—Hogwarts teaching positions were more status symbols. Nobody got rich teaching here. Similarly, expecting Dumbledore to reimburse experimental costs was pure fantasy. That old bee wrote letters crying poverty for funding every year-end, even when toothaches occurred, begging Snape for tooth-protection potions. If he dared request expense reimbursement, Dumbledore would probably draw his wand immediately.
Precisely why Snape had his own wizarding world enterprises. Ciel initially requested Veritaserum batches from the Ministry—all produced by Snape's potion workshops. But these legitimate potions only earned shop rent and apprentice wages. Relying on them to maintain Snape's numerous experiments was unrealistic. Snape's main income came from prohibited potions eagerly purchased by pureblood nobles. With his Potions Master abilities, even deliberately concealing techniques, his potions were superb, long exported to international magical communities.
But now, Britain's Ministry, usually quite lenient about such matters, was actually starting strict prohibited potion investigations? Given the Ministry's intensity, Snape's workshop's prohibited potion output would plummet for quite some time. Calculating future expenses, Snape's expression grew increasingly grim.
Other projects are manageable. With my savings plus the workshop's normal income, maintaining until Ministry actions pass shouldn't be problematic. Just the project prepared for Ciel—Talent Enhancement Potion—that's troublesome.
He frowned tightly. Though Ciel's current performance far exceeded his peers, Snape knew this contained countless efforts and blood from him. But effort ultimately had limits. Without Talent Enhancement Potion, talent constraints were ultimately unbreakable, making his every future magical step more difficult.
But Talent Enhancement Potion required impossibly rare materials. Even with Professor Sprout's full collection efforts, Snape doubted complete assembly was possible. For this, he had his own plan—if only one or two were missing, preparing in advance, perhaps Severus's Potion Transfiguration could compensate. This required purchasing massive precious materials for attempts. Just at this time, the Ministry created trouble.
Snape shook his head. If absolutely necessary, temporarily halt other projects.
Just then, knocking sounded on Snape's office door. He raised his eyebrows—seeing Ciel, his cold, troubled expression slightly relaxed. After hearing Ciel's purpose, Snape pondered briefly, "You need materials accelerating reaction activity, catalyst-like?"
His wand waved repeatedly, and different magical properties appeared before Ciel in succession. "Among the magical properties I've encountered so far, approximately twenty-three have catalytic activity. Feel them and see if any match what you're looking for."
Ciel took a deep breath. Snape truly deserved his reputation as the creator of Severus's Potion Transfiguration—his mastery was profound. Creating new magical properties from existing magic seemed effortless for him. If I had even one-fifth of Snape's skill, I wouldn't need material substitutes—Severus's Potion Transfiguration would solve everything directly.
When Snape's wand emitted another magical property, Ciel's eyes lit up. "Professor, this one!"
Snape nodded**, then** turned to his storage cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pale green mucus. "Horned Tree Toad mucus. It's an unmatched natural catalyst for potions. High-level potions that originally took years to brew can be accelerated several times—even tenfold—with just a few drops. Potions like Felix Felicis that once required Potions Masters over a decade are much faster now."
Ciel took the small bottle of Horned Tree Toad mucus carefully. As he sensed its magical properties, his excitement grew—they were remarkably similar to Edelyn's blood's magical properties. This should work as a substitute.
"Professor, how much does this Horned Tree Toad mucus cost?"
Snape shook his head. "Very expensive—this small bottle costs nearly one hundred Galleons. But one potion experiment generally doesn't use much. I have some stock here—how much do you need—"
He estimated—just planting Margaret requirements, plus later possibly improving Goldfish Chlorophytum. "Required quantity... start with a hundred bottles?"
Hearing the required quantity, Snape first froze, momentarily doubting his ears. "How much?! A hundred bottles?!"
Ciel smiled awkwardly. "Usage is a bit much. Professor, could you—"
The next moment, Snape stated decisively, "No!" He directly slammed the storage cabinet shut with a bang, adding three more locks. "Try this scheme on someone else. I'm a Potions Master, not a Galleon printer!"
He inhaled deeply, looking at Ciel with a "you must be joking" expression. "What on earth are you planting? Do they eat Galleons to grow? At your usage rate, writing to the Ministry, even Fudge would probably squat in your fields watching what devours so much money."
Ciel sighed, brow furrowing with worry. "Professor, truly no solution?"
Snape chuckled coldly, responding irritably, "Not entirely hopeless. Didn't you plant Alihotsy? If you could develop Alihotsy purification processes, forget using hundreds of bottles of Horned Tree Toad mucus for farming—bathing in it wouldn't be impossible."
Snape's words carried his personal style's rich mockery and sarcasm. But hearing this, Ciel's eyes brightened. "Alihotsy purification process?"
After previously harvesting Alihotsy, besides drastically enhanced mental power, he'd indeed gained massive knowledge about Alihotsy purification processes. The system panel even displayed Platinum luster—just that recently he hadn't had time researching this area.
Now Snape's words truly reminded him—his resource needs were increasingly massive; relying entirely on Ministry contracts for supply was unrealistic. He needed his own enterprises for support. Alihotsy, especially purified Alihotsy, as the wizarding world's most lucrative commodity, was extraordinarily profitable—simply perfect.
"I understand—Professor, thank you for the reminder."
Then he eagerly left Snape's office. Snape stared bewilderedly at his retreating back, momentarily doubting whether his sarcasm skills had declined. Did this badger not understand my words? Understood? What did he understand? Alihotsy purification processes?
Stable, mass-production-applicable processes were completely different difficulty from academic research. Academic research only required producing results—even if costs skyrocketed and output rates were pitifully low, articles could still be published. But actually applying such academic methods—investing ten thousand Galleons—might not yield one thousand returns. Such losses would bankrupt even the Ministry.
Even estates planting Alihotsy possessed few purification processes—all developed through generations of massive funding and time investments, with countless Herbology Masters and Potions Masters participating. Innumerable details required polishing. Snape himself found this daunting. Yet Ciel seemed eager?
Moments later, Snape slightly shook his head. Seems he's still too young—though more mature than peers in some aspects, still too idealistic.
Forget it. Once he tries researching, he'll understand this difficulty. Then Snape's attention returned to upcoming research funding shortages. Besides materials needed for Talent Enhancement Potion research, allocate some more—give this badger ten-plus bottles of Horned Tree Toad mucus. Where to get money?
Snape rubbed his temples, momentarily aching with a headache.
Meanwhile, Ciel had already returned to Sprout Island, his gaze falling on bundled Alihotsy, then viewing his Platinum-level Alihotsy purification processes. A fervent gleam immediately emerged in his eyes.