Sein’s assessment of the substance at the bite mark on the Golden Apple came from the fruit’s life essence depletion rate, which was far slower than normal.

At first, Sein had assumed his protective measures were exceptionally thorough.

But after bringing the Golden Apple back to the lab for analysis, he realized that was not the case.

This peculiar liquid had significantly slowed the depletion of the fruit’s life essence.

Sein’s further research suggested that this scarce fluid might possess other remarkable properties...

That was absolutely beyond the capabilities of a Rank Six being!

Recalling that fleeting sense of being watched before returning to Magus World, Sein wondered who it could have been.

His first thought was Hela, the Titan overlord he had encountered during the Magus Alliance Conference.

He remembered that she was Thor and Loki’s older sister.

Could it really have been her?

Glancing once more at the transparent liquid clinging to the tip of his tweezers, Sein carefully transferred it into a test tube, adding it to his collection of rare specimens.

***

“Right, right, right. Next, add the Blue Spirit Herb—remember, no more than three milligrams. Keep a close eye on the elemental reactions.”

Through the cross-star domain remote communication screen, Lorianne guided Sein as he prepared the Golden Apple Potions.

The core of the bitten Golden Apple had already been removed and preserved for Lorianne. The remaining flesh was now being refined into vials of life essence in Sein’s hands.

There was no other option. This Golden Apple could not be preserved, especially after Sein had collected every last drop of that overlord’s fluid.

Since it could not be delivered to Lorianne, Sein had no choice but to take on the task himself.

His apothecary skills were far inferior to Lorianne’s.

It was no wonder she was his mentor. In apothecary alone, he still had a long way to go.

Entrusting a treasure of such caliber to Sein for refinement was nothing short of wasting its true potential.

Fortunately, Sein was well aware of his limitations. What he was brewing right now would be more accurately described as a “potion base”.

In other words, his work amounted to little more than crude processing.

Once these potions were preliminarily refined and had better storage stability, he could send them to Lorianne on the frontlines. She would then handle the most critical steps.

Even so, Sein still made frequent mistakes while preparing the potion base, which led to some unavoidable waste.

It was no wonder apothecary and alchemy were such expensive professions.

Without substantial savings, no one could sustain this kind of production.

Still, Sein gained a great deal of experience through the process of crafting Golden Apple Potions.

Even with some losses along the way, it was worth it, considering the progress he had made in apothecary.

***

A single apothecary experiment drained Sein more than two body-tempering sessions and several pyro-elemental magic experiments combined!

After extracting and refining the final vial of Golden Apple Essence, Sein wiped the sweat from his brow. On the other side of the screen, Lorianne looked just as exhausted.

He accepted a glass of magic juice from the fox maiden to replenish his energy. After taking a sip, he glanced at Lorianne.

“Master Lorianne, have you ever heard of the Sacred Fruit?”

“Sacred Fruit? Where did you hear about that?” Lorianne asked, clearly surprised. She was clearly familiar with it.

“When I went to Portman World to report back, Sir Klopp mentioned it to me. It seems the Magus Civilization intends to reward me with a Sacred Fruit,” Sein replied honestly.

Lorianne’s eyes lit up for a brief moment, then her expression shifted, tinged with unmistakable envy.

“You really are something. Why does luck always seem to favor you?”

“The Sacred Fruit of Hundred-Mile Blossom World may not carry the same prestige as the Golden Apples of Titan World, but among dendromancers and apothecaries, it’s well known that in certain areas, its effectiveness actually surpasses that of a Golden Apple,” she explained.

“So it’s as precious as a Golden Apple?” Sein asked the obvious question.

“I’ve heard that the Sacred Fruit’s yield in Hundred-Mile Blossom World is far lower than the Golden Apple’s in Titan World. After all, it’s nurtured by a medium-sized plane. How could it possibly compare to the Golden Apple trees that directly absorb the nutrients of an entire large-sized plane?” Lorianne replied.

She continued, “In terms of value, both fruits have their own strengths. However, because the Sacred Fruit’s yield is so limited, it’s extremely rare within the Magus Civilization. Almost everyone has heard of the Golden Apple, but even some Rank Four or Rank Five mages may not even know the Sacred Fruit exists.”

As Lorianne spoke, a flicker of embarrassment crossed Sein’s face.

He was one of those Rank Five mages who had not even known about the Sacred Fruit at first. His knowledge was still too shallow.

Among mages, “ignorance” was the harshest insult of all.

With his mentor right in front of him, Sein took the opportunity to fire off question after question about the Sacred Fruit, along with various apothecary-related doubts he had accumulated.

When it came to her own field, Lorianne explained everything with effortless confidence.

It was far smoother than the times she had struggled to explain pyro-elemental theories to him!

It had been a long time since she had been able to display her authority and superiority as his mentor—so much so that after finishing her explanation and realizing Sein had no immediate follow-up questions, Lorianne found herself wishing he would ask just one more.

Of course, it was not as if Sein was an expert now. Progress came step by step. The apothecary knowledge he gained this time would be enough for him to consolidate and digest for quite a while.

Besides, he could always contact his mentor. She was not going anywhere.

Once he had fully absorbed these concepts, he could always return with new questions and explore new areas with her.

Before ending the communication, Sein asked, “If one were to combine the Golden Apple and the Sacred Fruit into a single potion, would it not be even more potent?”

“Probably... I’ve never tried it myself. I haven’t heard of anyone doing that before either,” Lorianne replied.

“Honestly, the most direct way to use such supreme treasures is to consume them as they are. At least that removes the risk of an inexperienced apothecary failing to unlock their full material value if they’re used in potion-making,” she added thoughtfully.

“Then, once the Sacred Fruit arrives, I’ll hand it over to you along with these Golden Apple Essences for you to decide how to use them!” Sein declared without hesitation.

“Your skill in apothecary far surpasses mine. Besides, instead of keeping the value of a single Sacred Fruit intact, I’d rather see it divided into multiple portions. That way, I could share it not only with you, but also with Grandmaster Feylis and the other elders,” he said with a smile.

Lorianne, on the other side of the magic screen, stared at him in stunned silence.