Chapter 55: Lan Qingyou's Hypothesis

A bizarre potion?

Lan Qingyou never in a million years expected that the product of fifteen painstaking hours would be labeled "bizarre" by the Small Screen's appraisal.

What was that supposed to mean?

That everyone on the old Kalim Continent had been some kind of bird person who could fly?

Lan Qingyou grumbled internally.

After all, she'd created this potion as her ultimate failsafe — her last line of defense. She really didn't appreciate having her trump card roasted like this.

Ten minutes was a bit short, though.

Looking at the number 013 written on the enamel mug, Lan Qingyou found the corresponding entry and formula in her notebook, then copied it into a separate one.

With the formula in hand, future batches brewed in the Deep Sea Meteoric Iron Cauldron should have considerably longer durations.

But even though her body was drained, her mind was buzzing with an almost manic energy.

Succeeding on her very first attempt at drug development was a massive milestone for a novice alchemist like her.

With zero desire to sleep, a thought struck her: since she was on such a hot streak tonight and not the least bit tired, why not use this momentum to expand her product line?

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.

She started brainstorming which potion to develop next.

It had to be something she didn't already produce — that eliminated mana, healing, and attribute potions right off the bat.

It also needed to have guaranteed demand.

Ideally, it should become her absolute flagship product.

Scanning her personal status panel back and forth, Lan Qingyou's gaze finally locked onto one thing: her talent.

She didn't have any complaints about her own talent, per se.

But surely plenty of people had awakened E-rank talents just like hers?

After all, she'd barely seen any A-rank or S-rank talent holders even on the World Channel.

Think about it — who wouldn't want a higher-ranked talent?

If a potion existed that could upgrade talents, wouldn't countless people be willing to trade their most precious possessions for it?

And if that happened, wouldn't her high-grade materials problem be solved overnight?

'Incredible!'

'Absolutely incredible!'

'That would be an instant liftoff!'

Visions of a beautiful future dancing in her head, Lan Qingyou rubbed her hands together eagerly and began pondering how to approach the creation of such a potion.

At its core, how did talents work? How were they awakened?

She remembered the Small Screen displaying a passage when she'd awakened hers.

What had it said again? Let her think...

After twenty-plus hours of continuous labor, Lan Qingyou's brain wasn't quite firing on all cylinders anymore.

She cradled her head in both hands, staring blankly at the green-glowing runes pulsing across the ceiling.

"Right! It was something about a reflection of the soul — about thinking of what you truly desired?"

After sitting in a daze for several minutes, she finally recalled the text that had appeared on the Small Screen during talent awakening.

A reflection of the soul. Thinking about what you truly desired...

'Come to think of it, what I wanted at the time was freedom of movement. That's why I got a talent that reduced body weight.'

'But because I'd been on the verge of dying from thirst and hunger, that desire wasn't particularly strong — which is why I only got an E-rank talent?'

There was zero evidence for this. It was pure speculation on Lan Qingyou's part. But she had a strong feeling it was right.

Her mental state at the time had been incredibly conflicted.

She'd wanted to live, but her body had been at its breaking point.

The desire to live and the certainty of death had intertwined, leaving her mind profoundly unstable.

So could it be that talents were born from the spirit?

She had another piece of supporting evidence for this theory.

The word "talent" might sound grand and impressive, but at its most fundamental level, it was nothing more than magic born from "desire."

Otherwise, why did talents come in ranks like E, B, and so on?

Simply put, those ranks were just magic spell ranks.

And upgrading a talent could be seen as upgrading the magic spell.

Talent equaled magic.

Plug that into the equation, and didn't everything suddenly seem a lot simpler?

Lan Qingyou: "You there?"

Lan Qingyou: "Are you awake?"

Lan Qingyou: "I've got a question for you."

Li Huai had just finished topping off his shield and was drifting off into drowsy half-sleep. There were still roughly twenty-some hours until the Mana Tide ended.

He'd been planning to tough it out through sheer willpower and his maxed-out spirit stat.

Then Lan Qingyou's messages popped up.

And they seemed... urgent?

So Li Huai, who'd had zero intention of moving, reluctantly dragged his hands onto the desk and started typing.

Li Huai: "What?"

Lan Qingyou: "Is your talent rank A or S?"

...

Li Huai rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was starting to wonder if the sleep deprivation these past few days had finally made him hallucinate.

A survivor's talent was critically important. Even just asking about its rank wasn't something anyone would do so bluntly, right?

Especially since they were merely unspoken business partners.

And was Lan Qingyou really the type of person to ask something like this?

After nearly a month of interaction, he couldn't claim to know her intimately, but he was quite certain she wasn't the kind who'd disregard others' boundaries like this.

No — more accurately, she just had zero interest in other people.

He rubbed his eyes, looked again carefully. The username wasn't some knockoff like "Lan Qingyou," "Lan Qingyou," or "Lan Qingyou" with a different character. It was the real deal.

Had she lost her mind?

Lan Qingyou: "No, sorry, that came out wrong. What I wanted to ask was — when you use your talent, do you feel any limitations? Like, are you unable to fully unleash its potential?"

Just as Li Huai was starting to question reality, Lan Qingyou sent another message.

'There we go — that's the Lan Qingyou I know.'

Li Huai relaxed.

But what was she asking this for?

It seemed almost... "professional?"

Forgive him — Li Huai genuinely couldn't find a better word for the current version of Lan Qingyou. It was just a gut feeling he couldn't quite articulate.

Li Huai: "Why are you asking this?"

When in doubt, just ask directly. Lan Qingyou wouldn't care either way.

Lan Qingyou: "I'm working on a research project and wanted to consult someone like you — someone who can use their talent in the most straightforward way."

Research project?

'You may be an alchemist with a passion for this world's books and knowledge, but isn't your progress a little too fast?'

'It's only been a month since arriving in this world, hasn't it?'

'Oh wait — it won't officially be a month until the Mana Tide ends.'

Li Huai's head was full of question marks.

He had no idea what Lan Qingyou was up to, but he decided to give her a brief explanation anyway.

Li Huai: "I don't know what you're researching, but I can tell you with certainty — you guessed right. There are limitations, and they're significant."

Lan Qingyou: "Elaborate."

The moment she read that, Lan Qingyou's interest skyrocketed.