A Crown of Shadows and Starlight

Chapter 7

Meilin speculated that the deceased sorcerer had most likely perished because of that treasure. For her own safety, she decided not to be overly curious and to remain low-key and disciplined. Her focus should be on using the two high-quality Concentration Potions to break through.

As for the purpose of the nebula and the glowing dots, she would have to analyze them slowly. She had already read through most of the free books available in the academy, but none of them seemed to explain the origin of that nebula-like mist. Asking others was simply courting death—sorcerers in the academy were like sharks, and if they caught wind of her secret, they would devour her completely, leaving not even bones behind.

To avoid detection, Meilin sewed the storage pouch inside the inner pocket of her clothing. While it made retrieving items more troublesome, it was far safer than leaving it in her room. As long as no one discovered it, she had nothing to worry about.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but over the past few days, she had been able to enter a meditative state much faster. Previously, meditation would exhaust her, but now she could meditate for twice the usual duration and only feel slightly fatigued. Most surprisingly, another glowing dot had appeared in the nebula. Meilin suddenly understood—this nebula was nurturing those dots.

A magical artifact’s effects generally fell into three categories: offensive, defensive, and supportive—or, of course, useless.

The first possibility, “useless,” was immediately ruled out. Given how valuable this nebula seemed, it was impossible that it served no purpose.

Next, she had tested the glowing dots by cutting them with a sword, smashing them with stones, and burning them with fire. While they remained intact, they offered no defensive properties either.

That left only one possibility: a supportive function. This was already evident. Over the past two weeks, Meilin’s individual training sessions had significantly increased in length without causing excessive fatigue. Moreover, she sensed a slight improvement in her physique. Techniques that had previously been difficult for her to execute were now performed with ease, and her strength had increased.

“Perhaps I should explore its uses further,” Meilin murmured to herself in her room.

Since fire couldn’t destroy the glowing dots, what about water? Or even a corrosive potion? Would that make them dissolve?

By now, twelve glowing dots had emerged. If the nebula continued producing them at a rate of one per week, then even if she wasted a few, it wouldn’t be an unbearable loss.

With this thought in mind, she immediately began experimenting. Among her collected loot, she did have a vial of corrosive potion, but she was reluctant to waste it. Fortunately, since she worked in the herbal garden, acquiring materials wasn’t difficult. With some additional components, she managed to create a makeshift corrosive liquid—though it was far inferior to true magical potions and was more accurately called a corrosive solution.

As Meilin used her mental power to extract a glowing dot from her sea of consciousness, she hesitated. She had previously noticed that whenever she let go of her control, the dots would automatically return to her consciousness. If the dot remained intact but absorbed the corrosive solution, would it bring unintended consequences when it returned?

“No risk, no reward!”

After much deliberation, she gritted her teeth and guided the dot into the test tube containing the pale green liquid.

“Gurgle…”

The moment the dot entered the test tube, the once-still liquid suddenly began to boil violently, releasing a pungent odor.

The unexpected reaction startled Meilin, causing her to leap back instinctively. In a fluster, she pulled out a spell scroll—the only defensive scroll she had acquired, which contained the spell Mage Armor. She was reluctant to use it unless absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, although the liquid in the test tube continued to churn and emit fumes, it did not pose any immediate danger. After about fifteen minutes, the reaction subsided, and the liquid returned to a calm state. The room still reeked of the pungent odor, but the immediate threat had passed.

“It smells like a corrosive potion…” Meilin frowned slightly, debating whether to take a closer look.

Corrosive potions were essentially refined versions of corrosive solutions. Since she was not yet an official apprentice, she couldn’t create true potions, but she had memorized the formula while assisting other sorcerers in gathering alchemical materials. Of course, those sorcerers never realized that a non-apprentice had managed to retain their recipe—something Meilin owed to her exceptional memory.

After some time, as the sharp smell in the air faded, Meilin cautiously approached the table, gripping her spell scroll tightly. The glowing dot had not returned to her consciousness, and the liquid inside the test tube had changed from pale green to deep green—the color of a true corrosive potion.

“This is insane. Did the dot actually refine the potion for me?” Meilin examined the test tube in astonishment.

If this was all the nebula could do, it was certainly useful but far below her expectations. However, the quality of the resulting potion was undeniable—it was a low-grade potion, but still functional.

After some thought, an idea struck Meilin. If the glowing dots could refine raw materials into potions, what effect would they have on failed potions?

Excited, she hurriedly dragged out a cloth sack from beneath her bed. The old man in charge of distributing supplies had tried to mess with her by giving her sixteen bottles of failed potions. Fortunately, she had been too occupied with studying the nebula and the glowing dots to dispose of them yet.

Opening one of the failed potions, she examined its contents—pale gray liquid.

Generally, magical potions were classified into four grades: low, medium, high, and supreme. The higher the grade, the better the effects.

For example, Concentration Potions followed a clear quality scale—low-grade potions were silver, mid-grade had a brilliant silver hue, high-grade resembled liquid mercury, and supreme-grade potions shimmered with a radiant glow.

From her sea of consciousness, Meilin noted that she now had eleven remaining glowing dots. Controlling her mental energy, she summoned another one.

If anyone had seen what she was doing, even if they didn’t covet the nebula itself, they would at least be in awe of her skill.

Engraving Will Sigils in one’s consciousness was already a form of mental energy manipulation, but what Meilin was unknowingly doing was an even more advanced application. Thanks to her strong mental power and the nebula’s peculiar effects, she had unknowingly developed a unique method of manipulating her spiritual energy—something she wouldn’t fully realize until a future battle.

Guiding the dot into the failed potion, she braced herself. Even though she had already witnessed one transformation, she still instinctively leaned back when the liquid began bubbling.

“Gurgle…”

The reaction grew more intense, and the gray liquid gradually became lighter in color.

“A miracle…”

Meilin, staring in shock at the undeniable transformation unfolding before her eyes, was utterly amazed.