novellaaa Chapter 30 Leaving the Tower
Chapter 30 Leaving the Tower
The next morning, Lottie arrived as promised, and she knocked softly on Leon's door, sounding somewhat hesitant.
Hearing the knock, Li Ang put down his quill and got up to open the door. Lotte, who was outside, must have had a sleepless night, as she had faint dark circles under her eyes.
"Good morning, Mr. Li Ang." Even with dark circles under her eyes, the girl's manners were still impeccable.
"Good morning, Lottie, let's go get something to eat first." Li Ang nodded and led her towards the cafeteria.
After finishing breakfast, Li Ang said directly, "Lotte, go out of the tower today to buy some things."
"Out of the tower?" Lottie was a little surprised, but she obediently followed without asking any questions.
Relying on their memory of where they came from, the two walked through several streets and arrived at a public carriage stop.
Several carriages pulled by ordinary horses were waiting there. Li Ang chose a carriage marked with the route from Wizard's Tower to Port Commercial Street and paid a fare of 1 copper coin per person.
Once inside, there were already several passengers. The interior was much simpler than the carriage used to welcome new apprentices at the Wizard's Tower, and the ride was much more bumpy.
Leon wasn't wearing the grey robe that symbolized a wizard's apprentice today, while Lottie had no choice but to wear her own clothes.
Lottie sat in the car looking somewhat preoccupied, while Leon chatted with her only intermittently…
Time passed, and just as Li Ang was feeling dizzy and nauseous from the bumpy ride and was about to vomit...
"We've arrived. Get off at the port commercial street," the driver shouted gruffly.
Suppressing his nausea, Li Ang leaped out of the car, leaning against a wall and panting heavily. His heavy breathing caused his lungs to ache again, while Lottie worriedly patted his back, hoping to ease his pain.
After a while, Li Ang finally got rid of the nausea and felt better. In front of him was the street lined with shops that they had seen when they came.
After some searching, Li Ang avoided the prominently displayed Cuiyu Herbs shop, which seemed to have some connection to the Wizard's Tower.
In the end, they chose a shop that looked small and had a sign that read "Old Peter's Herbal Shop".
Upon entering the shop, Li Ang saw a variety of medicinal herbs neatly arranged. He went straight to the counter and spoke to an elderly man dozing behind it:
"Boss, I need the ingredients for two doses of calming medicine."
The old man opened his sleepy eyes, glanced at Li Ang, and then got up to slowly begin packing the goods.
In the end, Li Ang spent 2 silver coins to obtain two sets of materials of far inferior quality to those provided in the workshop.
The quality was poor and the price was much higher, which made Li Ang a little angry, but he had no choice but to accept it just to be on the safe side.
"Mr. Leon, is this...is this to help me refine a calming potion?" Lottie asked uncertainly.
After receiving Li Ang's affirmative reply, he said with a trembling voice, "I'm so excited!"
"Thank you, thank you so much. I will definitely pay you back later."
Leon nodded and said to the excited Lottie, "We need to go somewhere else. I want to buy a lamp; the oil lamp in the house is too hard on the eyes."
Upon hearing this, Lottie's eyes lit up, and she gave him a "Leave it to me" look.
Li Ang, carrying the herbs, followed Lotte and strolled into a prop shop called "Morning Light".
This place sells all sorts of everyday witchcraft items. As expected of someone from a wizarding family, Lottie, despite not being particularly talented, certainly has far more knowledge than Leon.
She carefully selected items, comparing prices and performance, while Li Ang was drawn to the various unusual gadgets in the store.
Self-cleaning brooms, mood-affecting jars, quill pens that never run out of ink… they all have one thing in common: they're expensive.
Lottie ultimately chose a small, 'magic lamp' for Leon that used basic light element runes to emit light continuously.
"Although this kind of magic lamp is only moderately bright, it consumes very little energy. A single low-quality magic crystal can last for a month," Lottie explained in a low voice, her expression serious.
Li Ang glanced at the price—only 60 copper coins, plus a free low-quality magic crystal—and nodded: "Then I'll take this one."
After finishing his shopping, it was almost noon. Li Ang smelled the aroma of roasted meat wafting through the air and was immediately tempted. He pointed to the "Giant Claw Restaurant" that had attracted everyone when he entered the city: "Let's have lunch here."
The restaurant was very popular, and the two waited for a while before they could find a seat.
Li Ang took the menu and ordered two signature dishes, grilled giant tongs, each costing only 5 copper coins. The two ate with gusto, their mouths greasy, temporarily forgetting their troubles.
Back in Leon's dormitory in the tower, Leon first shared with her his insights when he was condensing star particles without reservation.
"Don't rush things. Feel the flow of magic, like feeling the water and the breeze, and find that feeling of 'traction'."
As Li Ang spoke, he began refining a calming potion. After he finished sharing his insights, he let Lottie try to understand it on her own while he quickly finished refining the potion.
Limited by materials and facilities, a high-quality tranquilizer was finally produced.
Since they were going to drink it soon, Li Ang didn't pour it into the crystal bottle, but instead poured it into a glass and handed it to Lottie.
"Drink it, then begin to meditate. Don't feel pressured, just try to feel it."
Lottie held the warm medicine cup, her hands trembling slightly.
The golden liquid swayed gently in the cup, its magical specks of light swirling like countless stars – a characteristic of high-quality tranquilizers.
She looked up at Li Ang, her eyes filled with disbelief and shock:
"Mr. Li Ang...you...you just used these ordinary materials bought from outside...and this..."
Her gaze swept over the rough ceramic practice crucible on the table.
"...and you've successfully created a high-quality potion?"
This completely overturned her understanding.
From the family knowledge she absorbed from a young age, she learned that the quality of medicines largely depends on the quality of the medicinal materials and the precision of the refining equipment.
Even his own grandfather, the pride of the Polk family who transformed the Polk family into a wizarding lineage, needed a crystal cauldron purchased with the family fortune and high-quality herbs to brew potions, and even then, there was no guarantee that he could brew potions of excellent quality.
And Li Ang actually managed to forge it using a practice crucible and ordinary materials bought from the market? This is no longer a simple technical issue, but rather something akin to... a magical talent?
Li Ang simply smiled faintly upon hearing this: "Just a bit of luck and a little bit of technique. Alright, don't waste time, drink it and start meditating."
Upon hearing this, Lottie forcibly suppressed the turmoil in her heart and nodded solemnly. She picked up the cup with both hands and drank the potion in one gulp.
She then sat cross-legged on Li Ang's bed and began to meditate.
Seeing that Lottie's breathing gradually stabilized and a focused and serene expression appeared on her face, Li Ang knew that the potion was beginning to take effect.
He let out a soft breath, walked to the desk, and picked up the old notebook that Lottie had left behind.
The notebook's cover had no words on it, only signs of wear from frequent handling.
He turned to the first page, where neat handwriting in dark brown ink recorded comparative data on the efficacy of the calming flower stamen at different water temperatures.
These are indeed valuable insights, Li Ang nodded as he read.
He took out the [inferior gray quill pen] that had been upgraded to Lv2, spread out a new sheet of parchment, and began to dip it in ink and copy.