Hypnotic Potion

Darian ran as fast as he could with his current stats, but he wasn't as quick as he had hoped. The limitation frustrated him, making him grit his teeth in annoyance.

Wayn followed behind him without asking too many questions. Eventually, they arrived at the classroom. Darian still remembered it vividly from his previous life.

Without knocking, he threw the door open, worried he might be too late and that the ingredients had already been mixed.

"Professor! Someone brought the wrong ingredient!"

Darian's voice rang out at the doorway, drawing shocked stares from the students and an irritated look from Professor Lysara, the alchemy instructor.

"I hope you have a good reason for barging into my class like this," Professor Lysara said coolly.

"I do, professor, and I apologize for the interruption." Darian pointed at one of the students who had arrived late. "What he brought isn't Ashvine Petals, it's Pyreblossom."

The entire class turned to stare at the student in question, including Professor Lysara. She walked over to the back of the room, examining the potted plant in front of the student.

At first glance, the plant's unassuming green leaves made it hard to distinguish from Ashvine. But as she studied it more closely, she realized the truth.

"You're right," she said. "This is Pyreblossom. You! get rid of this plant immediately before you kill us all."

"Y-Yes, professor! I'm so sorry... I didn't know..."

Under the weight of the entire class's stares and the professor's cold command, the student bolted out of the room, clutching the plant tightly.

Darian let out a sigh of relief, and beside him, Wayn did the same. He glanced at Darian, thinking to himself. "He was telling the truth. This class could have ended in disaster if he hadn't arrived and intervened in time."

"You, what's your name?" Professor Lysara asked.

"My name is Darian. From Class D."

"Thank you, Darian. This could have been a disaster. Some students might have lost their chance to continue their education, and I could have lost my license."

A small smile appeared on her otherwise cold face — the best one she could manage.

"You're welcome, professor," Darian replied. His gaze shifted inside the classroom, landing on a female student who had been the intended victim of the incident. In his past life, she had lost most of her talent due to this accident.

Now, she was completely unharmed.

She looked at him, her eyes widening slightly before she quickly averted her gaze, her face turning red.

With the crisis averted, Darian excused himself, allowing the class to proceed as usual.

"Your observation skills are getting sharp, Darian," Wayn remarked.

"It's not my observation skills," Darian smirked. "It's because I already knew what was going to happen in the future."

Wayn narrowed his eyes before shrugging. "Well, after seeing this, I won't doubt you again. Now, what exactly are we going to do with your ability to... see the future?"

"I already told you before, we're going to steal from the vault and the library."

"Wait, you were serious about that?"

"Of course."

Wayn studied Darian's face and saw the unwavering determination in his eyes.

And honestly, he liked the idea.

A wide grin spread across his face as he imagined the two of them robbing the nobles' precious vault.

---

The female student Darian had just saved, along with her classmates, began murmuring about him. They wondered who this random student was — someone they had never seen before — who had saved them from what could have been a major disaster. A disaster that, according to Professor Lysara, could have cost them their chance to continue their education.

The female student, Rosalind Elwis, also found herself curious about him. And why had he looked directly at her and smiled?

"Does he... have feelings for me?" Rosalind gulped, her cheeks turning red. But she quickly brushed off the thought and forced herself to focus on the lesson. "I don't have time for this. Focus, Rosalind! You need to concentrate on your studies and secure a place at the Magic Tower!"

---

Over the next three days, Darian and Wayn wandered around the institute instead of attending classes. Wayn liked the idea but was unsure if it was a good decision, considering they still needed to achieve the minimum passing grades for their tests.

"Don't worry. I've already mastered nearly all the subjects here, and I'm confident we'll pass every test with good results," Darian had said when Wayn voiced his concerns. Hearing that, Wayn felt reassured.

Since they were commoners, the professors didn't particularly care if they were absent.

Darian and Wayn visited the grand library. Darian knew that important tomes were stored here, but he wasn't sure exactly where. Even after searching every corner of the vast library, they still couldn't find them. That meant one thing, those valuable tomes had to be hidden away in a secret storage area, accessible only to the professors.

Asking the library staff was obviously not an option, they would never reveal the location to him.

So, Darian decided to take a different approach.

Late at night on the third day after his regression, Darian and Wayn sneaked into the garden to gather the plants he needed. With Wayn's agility and natural talent, stealing a small amount of those plants wasn't difficult. It would have been a different story if Darian had done it himself.

"What are you planning to do with these?" Wayn asked, handing over the ingredients Darian had requested.

"We're going to make a hypnotic potion," Darian replied.

"What? You can actually do that?"

"Of course. It's pretty simple, actually. Let me show you."

Darian and Wayn slipped into the alchemical room under the cover of darkness.

Moving quickly, Darian set out the stolen ingredients on a sturdy wooden table. The Moonshade Root, Dreamvine leaves, and a pinch of Emberdust – this one quiate rare but fortunately they only need a little. Plus the additional ingredients.

He filled a small cauldron with distilled water, lighting the burner beneath it. As the liquid began to simmer he carefully crushed the Moonshade Root and sprinkled it in.

A violet hue spread through the water. Next, he added Dreamvine leave which caused the mixture to swirl lazily, its surface rippling like a dream shifting between reality and illusion.

"Now for the tricky part," Darian muttered. He pinched the Emberdust between his fingers and let it fall in slowly but certain interval.

The potion sizzled, then settled into a dark blue liquid with a faint shimmer.

He stirred carefully, watching for the right consistency. After a few minutes, the mixture thickened slightly, releasing a sweet aroma.

"It's done," Darian whispered, pouring the potion into a small glass vial. He smirked. "This should work perfectly."

---

The next day, Darian and Wayn set their next plan into motion.

"Professor, could you give me some guidance on books about the history of the Labyrinth? I think I'll need it for the next test," Darian asked the librarian professor with a friendly expression.

The professor frowned. "It's rare for a student to want extra study. Usually, the lessons in class are enough."

"Well, I don't think there's any harm in learning more."

The professor nodded, stepped away from his desk, and led Darian toward the section where the books were located. Meanwhile, Wayn discreetly poured the hypnotic potion into his drink.

A few minutes later, Darian returned with a book in hand.

"Thank you, Professor." He gave a respectful bow before walking out.

Outside, Wayn grinned. "It's done. I poured everything into his drink."

"Good. We needed a strong enough dose for him."

They waited a few minutes before seeing the professor take a sip. Then, another minute passed, and the effects became visible. His gaze turned vacant, and his eyes took on a faint purple hue.

"It's working. Watch my back," Darian told Wayn.

Wayn nodded as Darian stepped closer to the professor and whispered, "Tell me where the most powerful tomes are kept."

---