Time flew by, and before I knew it, a week had passed since I attempted to create a new potion. Thanks to that, the calendar turned to a new page, and it had been a month since I arrived in this world.

'Experiment number 1495, failure.'

Another note was added to the notebook I brought along.

It had been a week since I made up my mind to create it, but the recovery and regeneration potions showed no signs of success. It seemed that the difficulty had multiplied, probably because the ingredients required were more than the stamina potion I initially made.

'I can't afford to waste any more time.'

Impatience filled my mind.

If Lucía had been with me, we might have been able to create one by now, but I couldn't rely on her help every time. However, seeing the experiment number exceed 1,000 made me realize that impatience was getting the better of me.

In the end, I decided to use my hidden ace.

[Adrias Cromwell: Potion Crafting Buff Evolution Potential 89%]

[Would you like to proceed with evolution?]

Since there was a possibility, I wanted to aim for 100% as much as possible, but I couldn't wait any longer.

Of course, just because my talent evolved didn't mean I could immediately create the potion, but I was hopeful for what was to come.

"Let's do it."

I mentally prepared myself and chose evolution.

[Adrias Cromwell: Potion Crafting Buff Evolution]

[In progress...]

[Time remaining: 21 hours, 1 minute, 46 seconds]

Is it working? Nothing seems to be happening.

I looked around but found nothing unusual.

When I first used it, I thought it would be painful since Angela screamed so loudly, but it wasn't the case.

"I feel a slight fever."

When I touched my forehead, it was slightly warm. It felt like I was getting a cold, and I gradually started to feel body aches. Of course, I could endure this level of discomfort without any problems. Moreover, it would be over by tomorrow afternoon when the lecture ends, just 21 hours from now.

Not a big deal!

"Alright. Let's start again."

Time was more important to me than anything else.

A little cold couldn't stop me.

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In the October Academy, a significant event was being prepared. It was none other than the mid-term evaluation at the end of the month. Although it had a similar feel to the mid-term exams in the previous world, it wasn't simply about solving problems on paper.

Since the content of the evaluation was different every year, no one knew what to expect. I just hoped it would be a task that I could handle decently.

"Alright, let's end today's class here. Now, let me talk a bit about the content of the mid-term evaluation that will take place at the end of the month."

Even though I didn't want to listen, I had to attend the mandatory 3rd-year major course, Intermediate Battle Magic. It was a detailed lecture that taught the analysis and action required for offensive magic, from the basics to combat.

The professor's name was Tolmon Venuel, a retired battle mage who had worked at the Northern Mountain Range border for over 10 years.

It was said that soldiers were transferred in and out of that place every day, so if he had worked there for over 10 years, he must be truly remarkable.

Even though I had been in the special forces for over 10 years myself, I didn't perform missions every day, so his greatness was even more apparent.

He was also an influential figure who provided a lot of help and guidance to playable characters, so I tried to pay attention to him as much as possible.

"I'm not sure if the results of the other classes' evaluations have been announced, but for Intermediate Battle Magic, we will be going on a field trip to the Knightly Order during the mid-term evaluation period."

"The Knightly Order?"

"A field trip? What's that? Just for observation?"

Unexpectedly, the topic caught the students off guard. And I could see one person's eyes shining brightly when the Knightly Order was mentioned.

"The Knightly Order!"

It was none other than Dianne Alven.

She was a huge fan of knights despite being a mage. It was just a setting in the game, so I didn't pay much attention to it while playing. Of course, thanks to that setting, she even became the heroine of the first playable character. "I'll stop here with the information. I'll explain the details on the day of the evaluation."

Professor Tolmon finished his words and left the classroom.

After that, the students started speculating about the evaluation.

"Maybe we'll have a match with Knightly Order students?"

"Hey, isn't that too much? How could we defeat knights in one-on-one combat?"

"Maybe we'll be paired with lower-ranked students?"

"That hurts our pride!"

"What do you think then?"

"Hmm? Yeah, you're right. What can we do at the Knightly Order?"

I was also curious.

Since I aimed to graduate, I wanted good grades, but if the evaluation turned out to be a match, I had no confidence in winning without using my hands.

I had experienced playing as Dianne, a 3rd-year student, in evaluations and exams that would take place from next year, so I was familiar with the situation. But this year, I could only rely on luck.

'Maybe I should just give up until this year.'

With the evolution I brought, the potential for growth was abundant.

However, because my current abilities were significantly lacking, it was difficult for me to show a good performance in the upcoming evaluations.

'Alright, let's take it slowly, one step at a time.'

Soon, it will be time for the evolution of my talent in potion brewing.

Of course, it's not 100%, but if it's 89%, it should be sufficient for evolution.

With that, I needed to make potions and improve my swordsmanship, utilizing my special attribute, the Dual Core.

For magic, I have been studying basic textbooks in my spare time, so I believed that I would gradually improve through evolution, and my strategy was sufficient for now, as I had Nickels for military tactics.

The plan was quite ideal.

'The problem is whether I can hold on without revealing my true identity. If it weren't for that damn Charon, everything would be fine.'

Come to think of it, Charon wasn't the only problem.

Inside this academy, there were villains other than Charon.

Notable examples were other dark wizards, followers of the Jephar sect, and one enchantress hiding somewhere.

The probability that the dark wizards were somehow related to Charon seemed high.

Although I wasn't immediately worried about the followers of the Jephar sect and the enchantress, I was concerned that I might encounter other dark wizards.

'That dark wizard also keeps a student like me as a subordinate. Were there three of them, perhaps?'

By the way, it was the fellow's mistake to have three students as subordinates.

Soon after the game started, he was caught off guard because of the students he had as subordinates.

After that, his identity was exposed to people even before Adrias, and he faced counterattacks.

In terms of game time, it was a story where a player who hadn't grown much fought with the help of surrounding characters but ended up losing him.

As I walked while thinking, I found myself in the research lab, which had become more familiar than the dormitory.

I immediately filled in the visitor log and loan log and headed to the innermost research lab in the research building.

[Evolution in progress...]

[Remaining time: 3 minutes 43 seconds]

The timing is perfect.

As the time ticked away, I tried to suppress my excitement while observing the diminishing time.

[Remaining time: 00 seconds]

[Adrias Cromwell: The potion brewing buff skill tree has evolved.]

[Talent 'Potion Brewing Buff (General)' has evolved into 'Potion Brewing Buff (Expert).']

"Great."

Finally, I have stepped out of mediocrity.

Although potion brewing, which may not be of great help in magic itself, gave me a glimpse of potential.

The fact that this worked means that at any time, other talents can surpass from being 'general' and become 'prodigy'. "To commemorate becoming an expert, I will definitely succeed today."

Coincidentally, the evolution has ended, and the feeling of being unwell has disappeared.

With my condition at its best, I felt like something great would happen today.

I immediately took out the materials I had prepared and started experimenting.

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[Created Lesser Regeneration Potion.]

[Created Lesser Healing Potion.]

The growth of my talent was astonishing.

Honestly, I didn't expect much from talents since they are not something visible, but it far exceeded my expectations.

"I didn't even imagine I would be able to make them right away..."

Talent was a sensation that couldn't be expressed in words; it was the essence itself.

Although it was just a talent that went from 'general' to 'expert', when I held the materials and entered the experiment, my mind showed calculations and senses like a computer running.

"If I'm at this level, what about Lucia and Dianne..."

Not only Lucia, but Dianne also had talents labelled as "prodigy."

With the types of talents being average, general, expert, prodigy, and genius, I couldn't even imagine what kind of monsters they were.

"Well, Lucia is a slacker who gets perfect scores."

According to the setting, Dianne was a character who even put effort into it.

In the game, there were limits to growth because it was just graphics, but I became curious about how much stronger the characters who made judgments and breathed would become.

Perhaps they would become stronger than when I raised them...

Anyway, now is the time to celebrate with the created potions.

Actually, regeneration and healing potions already existed in this world.

However, the ones that followed were labelled as "lesser" and had side effects.

What I made was a "lesser" potion that had the same efficacy but no side effects.

"Intermediate or advanced potions are beyond my level."

With the evolution of my talent, I felt it even more keenly.

Before, I vaguely expected that maybe it could work, but now I clearly realized that I couldn't make them.

Even for just the lesser regeneration potion, it required more than twenty ingredients, and I couldn't even guess how long it would take to find the right combination.

For now, I could only be satisfied with the lesser ones.

Since I succeeded, I continued making potions one after another, as if they were being produced in a factory.

Even if I used one per day, I would need 365 potions in a year.

And since each potion was only one, I had to multiply it by three for the three types.

Moreover, unlike other potions, the more healing potions I had, the more beneficial it would be for fatigue recovery.

"Lord Bahart, I will have a feast with these potions!"

Since it wasn't my money, I had no hesitation in using the materials.

It was truly the optimal condition and environment.

Because I didn't expect to succeed so quickly, I made potions in large quantities with the materials I bought for experimentation.

I didn't even go out for lunch and devoted four hours to the production.

"Time is always the problem."

While I was in the middle of making them, an alarm went off inside the research lab. It was the alarm for leaving.

Before I knew it, it was time to leave, so I reluctantly tidied up.

Still, I felt relieved because I had made a total of ten regeneration and healing potions each.

"I feel full just by looking at them, haha."

I let out a slightly unpleasant laughter and looked at the potions in my backpack.

Even though I didn't eat, looking at the potions gave me a feeling of being full.

Now, it's the real beginning.

The first step of infinite power training has finally begun.