Furan returned to the single dormitory assigned to each apprentice by Cuilan Academy, and eagerly took out the silver paper of the Harmony Method.
After a quick read, she saw a new entry in the'Skills' section of her panel.
Harmony Method (Not Started) (Proficiency: 0/10): Do you know it? No, you don't.
At the same time, another prompt appeared.
Herbal Identification and Medicinal Material Processing can be fused with Harmony Method to form a new skill.
Seeing this prompt, Furan's eyes lit up. It can fuse to create something new?
Generally speaking, fused items are definitely stronger than their constituent materials, so Furan didn't stop and took out the materials needed for practice.
These were the materials she had acquired after spending all of the original body's silver coins.
She was really going all out to level up her herbal skills.
She discovered while grinding proficiency that if a single herb was divided into two halves, and she identified and processed each half separately, she would gain two increments of proficiency.
Although a single identification for one portion gave relatively high proficiency, two identifications mysteriously gave a little more.
She closed her eyes and cut each herb into small pieces, then took them out to identify and process them against the compendium of basic medicinal materials.
Using this extremely economical method, she successfully raised both skills to mastery.
So now her herbs were almost shattered into dregs, their original appearance completely unrecognizable.
Place two materials into the designated solution, cast Spiritual Power into the solution, attach Spiritual Power to the materials, imagine the two materials mixing within...
Following the tutorial, she carefully placed a small amount of grey tree root and soul-entwining vine into it, sinking her Spiritual Power... but after a few seconds, she awkwardly realized there was too little material; she couldn't find it in the aqueous solution.
She could only add more materials and poured them in, trying again... You have made a preliminary attempt at the Harmony Method, gained some experience, Proficiency +2.
You tried the Harmony Method again, failing to fuse the two materials, but gained some lessons, Proficiency +1.
You successfully harmonized a liquid of unknown effect. Why don't you first check the book for potion combinations before trying again? Proficiency +3.
...After Furan made this solution, she reached into the material box and realized there were no materials left.
There was nothing she could do; the Harmony Method required a sufficient quantity of materials to be used.
Her economical approach wouldn't work for this technique.
As for why she didn't actually make a potion, it was purely an economic issue.
These two materials couldn't be made into a potion, but that was the magic of the Harmony Method.
It was a purely magical technique; as long as there was enough Spiritual Power, let alone making a potion, even combining two people was possible.
The two materials she used were extremely abundant and cheap, which allowed her to buy enough for practice with very little money.
"No money left. The time should be right, so I'll go out now."
---
Furan walked to the academy's Point Exchange Hall, which was specifically for apprentices to exchange points earned in classes.
However, Furan wasn't here to exchange points for herself, but to sell them.
For Furan, the knowledge gained from points was too profound, something she, a novice who hadn't even learned a Spell, couldn't understand. It was better to just sell them for money.
She saw a tall male apprentice in uniform leaning against the agreed-upon pillar, and she immediately approached him.
The apprentice noticed her arrival and was the first to step forward and speak to her.
"Hello, you're the one selling points, right?" She nodded.
"Alright... I'm High-level Apprentice Milanke... How many points do you have?"
High-level Apprentice... Furan's mouth twitched. Cuilan Academy didn't have a 'High-level Apprentice' distinction; all apprentices were just apprentices.
Milanke called himself that because he had joined a club affiliated with a certain School.
The conditions for joining these clubs were having the potential to advance to Formal Mage and having learned Spells that met the requirements of their School.
These clubs essentially screened candidates for these Schools, and upon joining, one could obtain Spells that were difficult to find elsewhere.
Some apprentices would remain apprentices their entire lives, and even most teachers at Cuilan Academy were specialized teachers who were still at the apprentice rank.
These apprentices who joined clubs developed a different sense of superiority, beginning to call themselves 'High-level Apprentices' within their circles to distinguish themselves from other apprentices.
However, if one wanted to become a Formal Mage, joining those clubs was necessary, but Furan didn't need to consider that for now.
"Furan, I have 4 points."
"Oh..." Hearing this, he was a little disappointed. High-level Apprentices calling each other that was not only for their own sense of superiority but also to distinguish potential allies among apprentices.
Milanke often bought points and met many High-level Apprentices selling their points. This time, he saw someone he had never seen before and wondered if he could make an acquaintance, but the result disappointed him; she was just an apprentice.
He no longer had any intention of chatting and directly stated his needs.
"I want one month's reading access to the first floor of the library, and two books: 'The Composition of the Soul' and 'Astrology and the Sea.'"
The former required two points, and each of the latter required one point, perfectly using up Furan's points.
Cuilan Academy's points were directly credited to a list in the Point Exchange Hall, and apprentices could redeem them after verifying their identity.
There was no function to transfer one's points to another person's account, so every sale took place in this exchange hall.
The buyer would simply state what they wanted, and the person selling the points would redeem them directly.
What this High-level Apprentice wanted to learn was none of Furan's business; she just wanted to get the money.
"Then let's discuss the reward. How many silver coins are you willing to offer?"
"I can offer 48... no, let's say 50 silver coins."
Milanke was the son of a merchant, and his father had taught him from a young age to make connections with apprentices in the academy, so he was keen on befriending other apprentices and had gained many benefits from his social network.
According to recent prices, one point was 12 silver coins, but he deliberately added a bit more to show his sincerity and friendliness.
The other party could get 4 points, which meant she had achieved excellent grades in two courses. Such a person would eventually rise to be a High-level Apprentice, and should not be underestimated just because she wasn't one now.
An apprentice's monthly stipend was 5 silver coins, and even that had to be used to buy some course materials and tools. These 50 silver coins were a huge sum for her, and this price was very favorable to her, so there was no reason not to accept.
"Thank you for your generosity. I'll go redeem them now."