This wizard only wishes to be a teacher

"Strength?" Carly murmured softly, but as she thought too deeply, her head accidentally bumped into a pillar.

Lucien slightly turned his head, somewhat embarrassed by Carly’s awkward appearance at the moment.

The sights within Blackstone City could only be considered average, or even a bit rundown, but the interior of the Earl of Blackstone’s family castle was lavishly decorated, filled with the opulence and extravagance of the nobility.

Not to mention, in order to entertain a "big shot" like Lucien, Earl Arsen of Blackstone had indeed pulled out all the stops.

The family crest-etched silver goblets brimmed with fragrant fruit wine, and the table was covered with a variety of exquisite foods, while a maid who had undergone stringent training and was quite attractive stood ready to attend and serve at any moment.

Carly held silver cutlery in her hands, her expression somewhat absent-minded.

The last time her Talent as a wizard had been tested, she had been banqueted here by Earl Arsen of Blackstone along with several other new recruits and then, still bewildered, had left Blackstone City with the Level 3 Wizard Apprentice who had come to test the children’s potential.

And now, she had returned to Blackstone City with her mentor, Lucien, seated in this banquet hall, yet her strength had already surpassed that of the Level 3 Wizard Apprentice who had come to recruit new blood back then.

However, Earl of Blackstone, who had smiled and encouraged her and her peers to keep progressing on the path of a wizard, did not recognize her, once a servant of his manor.

With that thought, Carly glanced towards the portly middle-aged noble who was currently fawning over Lucien, saying something with a sycophantic face.

The latter, noticing Carly’s gaze, turned his head and nodded politely towards her with a certain eagerness to please.

But when Arsen noticed Carly’s countenance, he couldn’t help but pause, then his expression grew astonished and somewhat incredulous.

"Ca... Carly, my lady?" Earl Arsen looked at Carly with disbelief, but soon, the smile on his face grew even brighter and more attentive.

...

"Mentor Lucien, let’s go back to the academy soon," Carly said to Lucien the next morning.

After the initial nostalgia wore off, Carly suddenly felt everything in Blackstone City become strangely unfamiliar.

The lord who once stood high above now appeared somewhat eager to please before her, the few maids of her age who she could communicate with now acted very cautiously, and those who had once scolded her or whom she believed had offended her were now trembling in fear...

Even Grandpa Simon, who had initially offered her candied fruits, now spoke with a hint of strangeness and caution after learning of her status as a Third-level Wizard Apprentice. The memories in Blackstone City, whether good or bad, could ultimately never be revisited.

These changes made Carly feel somewhat lost and as if they were persistently urging her to flee quickly.

Lucien said nothing but simply rubbed Carly’s small head.

"Are you okay?" On the carriage, Lucien asked softly, looking at Carly who was now fidgeting with a Blackstone pendant.

"I’m fine, Mentor Lucien!" Carly raised her head, but suddenly removed her witchcraft disguise, her human form quickly morphing as her silver hair fluttered in the wind.

However, having spoken, Carly still couldn’t resist looking back at Blackstone City, now at some distance away.

In the sunlight, the dusky walls of Blackstone City seemed to be painted with a layer of gold.

"Goodbye, Blackstone Ridge," Carly murmured silently in her heart, then straightened up, taking out her notebook and delving back into her research to improve the physical potion formula.

Lucien looked at Carly, who was engrossed in her work; somehow, he felt that she had changed in some way from before.

Three days passed in a blink of an eye.

At night, within the temporary campsite.

Carly took a fermented Blood Qi Fruit from a clay jar that had become slightly soft.

After fermentation, the poisonous part of the Blood Qi Fruit had faded significantly in color, and even the fruit itself had a faint fragrance of wine.

"After fermentation, the skin of the Blood Qi Fruit turns from hard to soft, so it’s not suitable to use the excision method for detoxification, but it’s possible to use a blending technique to adjust the toxin after the diminishing toxicity from fermentation..."

Carly quickly chopped the softened Blood Qi Fruit into small pieces. The flesh, which had been as hard as stone, had become somewhat soft after undergoing a special fermentation catalyzed by witchcraft, resembling semi-dehydrated cheese in texture.

Soon, these chunks, which seemed like they could be squeezed for juice with just a strong press, were put by Carly into a bubbling crucible; as she stirred with a glass rod, her spiritual power also seeped through the rod into the potion, beginning a more refined adjustment process.

As the color of the potion continued to change, a subtle sweetness emerged in the steam rising off the crucible.

Carly sniffed gently.

She had a premonition that her attempt this time might have actually succeeded.

[Your student Carly has successfully improved the physical potion, and the system is currently integrating the scheme...]

[The {Physical Potion · Large} formula has been updated. Congratulations to your student Carly for gaining 5 Pharmacy Talent points, and congratulations to you for gaining 1 Pharmacy Talent point.]

When Lucien saw this system message, he was slightly startled.

But soon, the updated formula for the physical potion appeared in his mind, and a peculiar sensation arose within him.

This feeling was hard to describe, but as Lucien understood the potion formula, he felt as though his comprehension abilities had slightly improved compared to before.

"It seems... Carly has come up with something quite remarkable," Lucien opened his eyes and looked towards Carly, who had just moved the crucible away from the alchemy wizard formation. The path she had researched on her own seemed to differ from the upgraded system’s path, yet it was equally excellent.

On the other side, after carefully storing the finished potion in a test tube, Carly’s body swayed slightly, and she blinked her eyes in confusion. Then she looked down at the potion she had just created with pride.

Knowledge of pharmacy and various magical plant information involuntarily surged through Carly’s mind, seeming to be sparked by a flash of inspiration.

Did the new potion she’d researched still have flaws?

This abrupt thought popped into Carly’s mind.

However, she suppressed this idea and proceeded to test the effects of the new potion.

"The energy concentration is 132% of the original physical potion, the cost has increased by 8%, and taking everything into account, the overall effect of the potion has seen a significant enhancement."

Carly revealed a slight smile, which then became an uncontrollable cheer.

"Lucien, Instructor, I’ve done it!"

"You’ve done it?!!" Gagarin, upon hearing Carly’s cheer, was shocked and opened his eyes wide, diverting his attention temporarily away from the practice exercises in front of him.

Although he had noticed Carly’s diligent attempts to complete Lucien’s "homework" every night during their camp rest these past few days, Gagarin really did not expect Carly to actually succeed.

He looked at Carly, who was jumping for joy, and then glanced at the thick stack of exercise books in front of himself.

"Knowledge is quantity..." Gagarin murmured a quote he had heard from Carly, feeling his entire body filled with a mysterious power.

Scribble scribble scribble...

He rapidly worked through formulas on scratch paper, feeling as if the tedious knowledge had suddenly become captivating.

Through these exercises, even if he couldn’t match Carly’s rate of progress, his foundational knowledge would be more solid, and his strength would also see a clear improvement, right? Gagarin psyched himself up, feeling his motivation surge.

"Very good, truly excellent," Lucien, looking at Carly, who now wore a confident smile, did not skimp on his praise this time.

"I hadn’t thought of fermentation as a method; my previous idea was to crush the Blood Qi Fruit directly and use the ashes of Keterland water grass along with Milan dew to neutralize toxins... However, looking at the results, your idea is simpler and more creative."

Feeling embarrassed by Lucien’s compliment, Carly tucked her hands behind her back and angled her head slightly to one side, as if something in the distance was attracting her attention. But when she heard Lucien’s explanation, her eyes lit up.

"Instructor Lucien, I think we can combine our ideas to further improve the potion’s effect!" Carly looked up at Lucien with sparkling eyes.

Lucien was taken aback, feeling that Carly had preempted what he had been about to say, which made him blink.

Carly, realizing this, covered her mouth and giggled.

"You..." Lucien pointed at Carly with his finger but eventually, somewhat helplessly, drew his hand back. Then after a moment’s thought, Lucien began to share the improved formula of the {Physical Potion · Large} with Carly.

Carly initially grinned at Lucien’s words, but as she heard a very complete and clear formula from Lucien, her smile faded, replaced by a look of admiration.

"Instructor Lucien... I feel I might have some minor cleverness on the path of potions, but your talent in this area is definitely much greater than mine." Carly looked at Lucien, her tone utterly serious.

After all, Lucien had just said he hadn’t thought of fermenting the Blood Qi Fruit, but in the blink of an eye, he had fully integrated his own ideas into hers. If it had been Carly, she felt she couldn’t have done it in such a short time; at least it would require some experimentation.

All Lucien could do was smile and then encouraged her, "You’re going to be even more impressive in pharmacy in the future."

Carly didn’t respond, but her eyes became incredibly determined. "I will work even harder, Instructor Lucien."

Lucien, looking at Carly, who seemed to have completely ignited her passion, always felt the young girl might have developed some delightful misunderstandings about him.