Jasmine saw that Duke had successfully completed the refining and came over to take a look. With just a quick glance, she understood Duke's problem.

"You probably didn't heat the root of the purple sandalwood long enough, which left these impurities. Overall, it was a success though; it doesn't affect the efficacy, just the quality is a bit lacking," Jasmine commented.

"Thank you, Teacher Jasmine," Duke expressed his gratitude, understanding where he had gone wrong.

That bottle of Basic Magic Recovery Potion was definitely not going to be his; many others had refined potions of better quality than his.

Most of these people already had some basic knowledge and were not making a potion for the first time.

It was already quite an achievement for Duke to succeed on his first attempt, and he couldn't really strive for better quality.

There were many in the classroom who had failed in their refinement, which was quite normal as most were making a potion for the first time.

The magical potion industry is inherently one that requires a significant cost of trial and error, and the learning curve is steep.

Duke wasn't concerned with these failures; he was more interested in the changes occurring in his mind's Skill Tree.

A new branch had grown, sprouting a green bud.

[Basic Magic Recovery Potion: Level 1 (1/30)]

Upon seeing this information, Duke finally felt a sense of relief.

Just as he had predicted, specific magical potion refining indeed counted as a skill that appeared on the Skill Tree.

As long as it was solidified on the Skill Tree, Duke didn't have to worry too much and just needed to increase his proficiency.

When Duke was studying Herbalism and Magic Potion, he noticed that the Skill Tree didn't show branches for these subjects.

Probably because the knowledge systems of these disciplines were too vast, covering too wide a range.

After successfully refining the Basic Magic Recovery Potion, Duke confirmed this point.

He couldn't grind Magic Potion as a skill, but he could gain some knowledge and attribute points by focusing on specific magic potions.

By refining the Basic Magic Recovery Potion repeatedly, Duke could gradually increase his skill proficiency, enhance his refining techniques, and gain some knowledge.

The only issue was that Duke didn't have enough materials to support increasing his proficiency.

The material cost for a single Basic Magic Recovery Potion was seven to eight Level 1 Magic Stones; for thirty portions, that would be nearly three hundred Level 1 Magic Stones.

If Duke wanted to grind, he would have to refine while selling them.

He could sell them to the town's magic potion shop or in the market stall area.

However, people generally chose to sell to magic potion shops, as things like magic potions were not easy to sell in the market stall area.

Wizard Apprentices feared there might be issues with your magic potions and lacked the means to identify them properly.

So they preferred buying more expensive potions from magic shops rather than buying in the market stall area.

After all, you're supposed to drink these potions, and they are expensive. If you get a faulty one, you'll suffer a huge loss.

After the class, Jasmine rewarded the red-haired girl with the Basic Magic Recovery Potion she had refined.

Everyone was envious because, in addition to this potion, Jasmine asked for the girl's name.

The meaning behind this was not simple; the girl most likely had the hope of becoming Jasmine's experimental assistant.

...

After leaving, Duke went to the town's magic potion shop to purchase materials for ten Basic Magic Recovery Potions.

He spent seventy-five Level 1 Magic Stones on these materials, leaving him with only sixty Level 1 Magic Stones.

The failure rate for novice potion refining was high, and these seventy-five stones might result in a loss.

The market price for a Basic Magic Recovery Potion was twenty Level 1 Magic Stones, while selling to a magic potion shop would fetch even less.

Duke needed to be cautious with this batch of potions to maximize his success rate and, thus, increase his proficiency.

He had to at least ensure a forty percent success rate for this batch of potion materials not to lose money.

To refine the potions, Duke rented a laboratory on the island at a rate of fifty sub-Level 1 Magic Stones per hour.

Black Sail strictly prohibited Wizard Apprentices from refining potions in their dormitories, as many potions produced harmful substances like gases or vapors.

Given many Wizard Apprentices had low-level refining skills, they often could not adequately handle these harmful substances.

If they leaked, they could pose a threat to others in the residential area.

In the past, there had been numerous such incidents, prompting Black Sail to implement strict regulations, after which no one dared refine potions in their dorms.

Equipment in the laboratory was available for a fee; however, if you brought your equipment, you could save on these costs.

But Duke only had basic equipment, and in the future, he'd need special equipment for other potions.

Duke placed the materials on the laboratory bench and began processing them in preparation for refinement.

As time ticked away, ten minutes later, a light green solution appeared in Duke's hand.

Unlike his first attempt, this time the potion was very pure, free of impurities.

[You have completed a Basic Magic Recovery Potion refining, proficiency +1]

[Basic Magic Recovery Potion: Level 1 (2/30)]

...

Two hours later, Duke held a wooden box for storing reagents, peacefully containing six Basic Magic Recovery Potions.

All went smoothly; six out of ten Basic Magic Recovery Potion materials succeeded, while four failed due to various reasons.

Duke summarized these reasons to avoid repeating them in the future.

In reality, some reasons were hard to avoid, like minor quality issues with the potion materials themselves.

This slight quality difference was difficult to detect.

Failures caused by such reasons were unavoidable, even for a Magic Potion Master. They couldn't guarantee success every time.

Many factors were beyond individual control; even temperature and humidity during potion refining could have effects.

Holding these six potions, Duke approached the magic potion shop intending to sell them.

The shop assistant quickly checked the potions' quality, confirming they were acceptable for purchase.

Duke sold these six potions for one hundred eight Level 1 Magic Stones, at a rate of eighteen each.

This was the standard acquisition price; if Duke wanted to sell to other Wizard Apprentices, the price would have to be lower to attract buyers.

This batch of materials broke even, and Duke earned over thirty Level 1 Magic Stones.

Selling directly to the magic potion shop, they essentially made a simple profit of two Level 1 Magic Stones per potion without much effort.

Duke ran into someone familiar while selling the potions.

It was none other than the long-legged Reela, who had guided him when he first arrived on Academy Island.

"Duke, did you make all these?" Reela asked, surprised.

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