Ren hadn't even started brewing intermediate potions yet, but Yukino was already eyeing them. In her eyes, Ren's learning talent would easily make him a top-tier pharmacist.
Naturally, Yukino didn't mind continuing to order from him. She could even buy all her future potions directly from him—it would be far cheaper than market price!
"That's right. Please let us know when you start making intermediate potions," Asuna said with a giggle. She knew exactly what Yukino was thinking and fully supported the idea.
Megumi Kato didn't say anything from the sidelines, but her gaze said it all: *Me too!*
"Let's talk about that later," Ren replied. "We don't need those right now anyway, and intermediate potions are a completely different beast from beginner ones. Let me do some research first." Naturally, he intended to continue down the pharmacist path.
There were also Array Masters and the like. With his monstrous learning talent, Ren was bound to learn many different professions in the future, so there was no rush. He would learn whatever was currently useful to him.
Make him spend money? Impossible. He would rather listen to a tutorial all night and figure it out himself. It wasn't like he couldn't make these things, so why pay someone else?
"Just don't forget about it. Anyway, it's getting late, so we should head back," Yukino nodded, taking her leave.
"Alright, I won't see you out. I still need to research some other flavors," Ren nodded. He planned to continue his research and add a few more flavor profiles to his repertoire.
Hearing this, the corners of the three girls' mouths twitched slightly. *This guy still hasn't given up on that idea?* Judging by his expression, he was dead set on it.
Thinking of this, they sighed inwardly. They couldn't really say much to stop him. If he wanted to research it, let him research it.
Who knows, maybe he really could brew some special flavored potions. If so, it would at least be an improvement to their diet, right?
After seeing the three girls off, Ren began searching for information online. After a quick search, he discovered that he wasn't the first person to research special flavored beginner potions.
However, the resulting potions either had poor efficacy or exorbitant costs, ultimately making them more trouble than they were worth.
Selling overpriced beginner potions? Just to fix a minor taste issue, people would be better off buying intermediate potions instead. Because of this, very few people bothered researching how to alter the flavor.
Ren glanced at the published formulas. *So many additives.* No wonder no one researched this; the cost was simply absurd.
After pondering for a moment, Ren decided to start from the original beginner potion formula. Couldn't he just alter the base formula directly to change the flavor?
He began studying the pharmacological effects of various low-level herbs to see if there were any substitutes that wouldn't affect the medicinal efficacy but could change the taste.
For the next few hours, Ren immersed himself in researching the principles of these herbs. His learning speed was incredibly fast; in just over two hours, he had finished reading an entire pharmacology book.
Organizing the information in his head alongside the beginner potion formulas, Ren quickly formulated an idea. Sitting on his living room sofa, he stroked his chin.
"Inula flowers are the key to the taste. So, to substitute them, I could use clover? But clover's medicinal properties aren't as potent as Inula flowers, so I'd need to add something else," Ren muttered to himself.
Clover tasted sour, and its medicinal properties were similar to Inula flowers, just weaker. So, he needed to add another herb to reach the efficacy of the Inula flowers? And the taste still needed to be distinct.
Information on various herbs flashed through Ren's mind. Soon, he locked onto an herb called Evening Primrose. This thing had some medicinal properties, but not much.
In fact, in this world, it was generally used as a seasoning because of its unique, refreshing fragrance. Clover combined with Evening Primrose could achieve the exact same effect as Inula flowers without interfering with the other ingredients!
At this thought, Ren immediately perked up. Because Evening Primrose was rarely used in medicine, few people paid attention to it. It was mostly just crushed up as a spice, making it incredibly cheap.
"I'll go buy some tomorrow to test it out!" Ren made up his mind on the spot. He would use this combination to see if he could brew up some uniquely flavored potions.
With that settled, Ren moved on to brainstorming substitutes for the blue Magic Power potions. He absolutely had to change their flavor too. Once he had a clear train of thought, the rest was easy.
It didn't take long for Ren to modify the blue potion's formula as well. After writing down the materials he needed to buy, he finally washed up. Just like always, he set his phone aside to play tutorials and began his meditation.
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived. The first thing Ren did upon waking was organize the knowledge in his head. At that moment, all sorts of whimsical ideas sprang forth.
He had even better ideas for the formulas he had brainstormed last night, and he even found new insights into the martial arts techniques he practiced daily.
*Strange... my comprehension of the things I've learned has deepened? Wait... did my Magic Power break through?* Amidst the flurry of strange and brilliant ideas, Ren suddenly realized that his Magic Power had successfully broken through to Tier 4!
Tier 4. At this level, one could easily project Magic Power or True Qi outward. Realizing his breakthrough, Ren raised his hand and gathered his Magic Power.
In an instant, a surge of pale blue Magic Power coalesced around his fist. This made Ren's eyes shine even brighter, and he finally understood why so many incredible ideas were popping into his head.
Just like Megumi Kato, whose talent grew stronger when her strength broke through, affecting those around her. Ren's talent worked on the same principle.
His talent had evolved. Ren could now learn, surpass... and become even more powerful. Figuring all this out, Ren felt a surge of exhilaration.
He had never even considered that his talent could grow stronger. Did this mean that as his strength continued to grow, his talent would become even more terrifying? Just like Nanami-san?
Nanami Yasuri was born overwhelmingly strong, but Ren wasn't. As long as he grew stronger bit by bit, his talent would slowly unseal and grow alongside him. Eventually...
Ren quickly figured it all out. Nanami-san possessed [Jianjigu] in an attempt to become weaker, while Ren possessed [Jianjigu] to become stronger.
As his strength increased, his talent would slowly unseal. Once Ren grew to a certain level in the future, he could essentially be considered a Nanami Yasuri without the torment of a terminal illness!
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