"I've been researching the Philosopher's Stone lately. I've finally made some headway, so I thought I'd come celebrate with you two," Leonard said with a cheerful smile.
"Oh?" Midgard asked, puzzled. "Isn't the Philosopher's Stone only used to make the Elixir of Immortality and turn things into gold?"
"I haven't looked into transmutation yet," Leonard said. "But I do have a theory about the Elixir of Immortality."
He continued, "I found that the Philosopher's Stone can warp a potion's effects and make it much stronger."
"So you think the Elixir of Immortality is basically the result of that?" Midgard said, understanding at once.
"Probably. I don't actually know how the Elixir of Immortality is made, so it's just a guess," Leonard said with a shrug. "But the important part is that warping effect. Maybe it could cause some kind of change in the Wolfsbane Potion '860'."
"Wolfsbane Potion!" Midgard sucked in a sharp breath.
Right. If the Philosopher's Stone's special effect could apply to potions, there was no reason it couldn't be used on the Wolfsbane Potion.
The improved formula already allowed her to keep her mind on the full moon while still gaining the strength of her peak state. If that improved potion was warped again… what would it become?
Midgard had never stopped trying to refine the Wolfsbane Potion. Damocles, the potions master, had practically become the dedicated potion-maker for werewolf wizards. His work at Metano was to keep improving the Wolfsbane Potion, pushing toward something that could truly affect the werewolf curse itself.
Midgard had always cared deeply about her identity as a werewolf. If she could completely escape the curse, maybe she could feel a little more confident in certain ways…
Her gaze flicked, complicated, to Claudia clinging to Leonard's chest, then back to Leonard. She took a deep breath. "Have you tried it yet?"
"Not yet. That's what I'm about to do," Leonard said. "I don't have the materials here. My aconite isn't mature yet. Send me two aconite plants…"
Mid-sentence, Leonard remembered that since his talent had gained its second enhancement, he still hadn't tried it on aconite. The second enhancement strengthened the traits gained from the first, and if his guess was right, aconite's potency would rise again.
And once potency changed, it meant exploring new potion formulas, which was still something he'd need Damocles for.
"Here's what we'll do," Leonard said, laying it out briskly. "Send me two aconite plants first. My ability's advanced. I can do a second enhancement on aconite now. Once I've enhanced them, I'll send the twice-enhanced aconite to Damocles so he can keep developing a new Wolfsbane Potion formula. We'll test what that formula does first, then we'll try the newest Wolfsbane Potion under the Philosopher's Stone's influence and see what changes it produces."
He summed the plan up in just a few sentences.
Midgard's breath hitched with excitement, and she forced herself to stay calm as she nodded. "All right. I understand. When I get back, I'll send you the aconite."
"Go now. The sooner, the better," Leonard said. "Actually, don't send it. I'll wait here. Once you get the aconite, Apparate straight over. I'll enhance it, and then you take it to Damocles so he can start immediately."
Leonard could see how badly Midgard wanted the newest Wolfsbane Potion, so of course he chose the fastest, most efficient approach.
It would save the time of an owl flying back and forth.
That amount of time might not matter much in the development of a new potion, but it would still make Midgard feel better.
"You're right," Midgard said, springing to her feet. "I'll do it now."
Midgard Apparated away in a rush. Barely five minutes later, she Apparated back, covered in dirt.
Mud clung to her clothes, leaving her looking thoroughly bedraggled. In her hands were two aconite plants, roots and all, each with small purple blossoms still on it.
Seeing Midgard like that, Leonard couldn't help laughing. "Where did you even get those? Why are you covered in mud? Don't tell me you dug them straight out of the ground."
"I did," Midgard said. "Where else was I going to find aconite right now? I went to the estate and dug up two plants. See if you can use them…"
"As long as they're mature, it'll work," Leonard said.
He took the two aconite plants, planted them in the soil, and immediately used Optimize Growth.
The aconite took root and shot up at a visible speed. Then the stems withered, the fine roots shrank away, and all of the medicinal properties condensed into an abnormally developed rootstock. In the end, the plants became two complete Aconite Fruits.
Leonard looked at the fruits and triggered the second enhancement again.
This time, there was no visible change on the surface, but Leonard knew their potency had reached a ridiculous level.
Based on Damocles's earlier hypothesis, Aconite Fruit carried stronger medicinal properties than aconite itself, while its toxicity was reduced by quite a bit. After a second enhancement, the toxicity would likely be weakened even further, and the potency would be even stronger.
But the detailed numbers would have to come from Damocles's own testing.
Leonard picked up the two Aconite Fruits from the ground, then slapped Midgard's hand away when she reached for them impatiently.
"Don't rush," Leonard said. "I need to process them first."
Even potion ingredients like this, once enhanced by Leonard, naturally picked up passives from the enhancement skill tree. That meant these ingredients would absorb magic when exposed to it. After absorbing it four times, they would Self-Destruct, and the blast would be especially damaging to shields.
And for a potion-maker, the changes in magical flow during brewing weren't all that different from casting magic. If Leonard didn't handle this in advance, any potion-maker could get killed halfway through brewing when the ingredient suddenly Self-Destructed. Even putting up a Shield Charm beforehand wouldn't help.
It would turn into a "potion ingredient murders someone" incident, and the victim would be the one person werewolf wizards needed most.
Damocles.
Leonard picked up a stone and Transfigured it into a fruit knife. In a few quick cuts, he split the two Aconite Fruits apart. As he worked, he interrupted every trace of magical flow related to Self-Destruct and magic absorption.
That way, when Damocles processed the ingredients, there wouldn't be any absurd situation like his magic being swallowed whole.
...
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