"It’s a breakthrough! I just needed to replace the Crystal Flower with Enchanted Vale Tree Root!"
Dun practically shouted from the other end of the phone, barely able to contain his excitement.
Kael frowned slightly.
"So replacing the crystal flower with some roots or whatever fixed everything?" he asked. "What exactly does it do?"
"Oh!"
Dun immediately slipped into explanation mode.
"The Crystal Flower naturally contains a volatile form of energy that repels other energies. When I originally designed the potion, my idea was to use that volatile energy to forcefully push out the mana causing the sickness."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Since the Crystal Flower releases its energy in a short but powerful burst, it was perfect for that purpose. The energy would surge through the body, clear away the harmful mana, then disperse before causing any lasting damage."
Kael listened quietly.
At first glance, it sounded reasonable.
"So where’s the problem?" he asked.
"The problem is that the burst is too violent."
Dun sighed.
"Remember, mana sickness primarily affects ordinary people. Their bodies are already weakened from prolonged exposure to ambient mana. Their organs are under constant stress."
His voice became more serious.
"When that burst of energy tears through the body, it doesn’t just purge the mana. It also damages the patient."
Kael’s brows knitted together.
"Even after the mana is removed?"
"Exactly."
Dun sounded frustrated even now.
"The patient’s body is already weakened. Their organs are already deteriorating. Using such a violent method might cure the mana sickness, but there’s a good chance the treatment itself ends up causing fatal damage."
Kael nodded slowly.
Now he understood.
The cure had been too effective.
A cure that killed the patient wasn’t much of a cure.
"So I spent years trying to figure out how to weaken the reaction," Dun continued.
"I tried different ratios. Different stabilizers. Different catalysts. Nothing worked."
A hint of excitement returned to his voice.
"Then I had an idea."
"What idea?"
Dun laughed.
"I started wondering why I was trying to purge the mana in the first place."
Kael blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"The mana causing mana sickness comes from the environment, doesn’t it?"
"It does."
"Exactly!"
Dun sounded delighted that Kael was following his train of thought.
"The ambient mana is constantly leaking from rifts into the real world. Even if I successfully purge it today, more will eventually enter the body tomorrow."
"If my calculations are correct, the concentration of ambient mana in the world is only going to increase in the future."
That immediately caught Kael’s attention.
Increase?
That wasn’t exactly surprising considering the increasing number of rifts appearing every year, but hearing it from Dun still made him frown.
"So using a potion that forcefully expels mana doesn’t really solve the root problem," Dun continued.
"More mana will simply enter the body later. Repeated treatments could even weaken the body over time."
"I see."
"That’s why I started thinking differently."
Dun’s voice grew increasingly excited.
"If the mana is never going away, why am I treating it like a temporary problem?"
Kael remained silent.
He could already sense where this was heading.
"That’s why I replaced the Crystal Flower with Enchanted Vale Tree Root."
Dun chuckled.
"The root is normally used in mana recovery potions because of its natural mana-refining properties."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Refining mana?"
"I know, I know," Dun said with a laugh. "It sounds ridiculous when you first hear it."
"It does."
"Just hear me out."
Kael leaned back against his bed.
"Go on."
Dun took a deep breath and started explaining.
"Awakeners possess mana cores."
Kael nodded.
The mana core was one of the most important components of an awakened individual.
Mana was everything to an Awakener.
It fueled their abilities.
Strengthened their bodies.
Allowed them to use their powers.
Without mana, an Awakener was like a machine without fuel.
But ordinary humans didn’t possess mana cores.
That was the problem.
When ambient mana entered their bodies, there was nowhere for it to go.
No system to process it.
No structure to store it.
The mana simply accumulated.
And over time, that accumulation slowly destroyed them from within.
Organs began to fail.
The body deteriorated.
Eventually, death followed.
His mother’s condition had already reached that stage.
Which was why Kael found it difficult to imagine how refining the mana could possibly solve the issue.
Dun seemed to anticipate his confusion.
"Ever since I started researching mana sickness, something has been bothering me."
"What?"
"Awakeners use mana cores to distribute mana throughout their bodies."
"Right."
"But who says that’s the only way?"
Kael fell silent.
Dun continued.
"If ordinary humans can absorb mana, then theoretically there should be another method to process it."
His voice became increasingly excited.
"I’ve been thinking about that possibility for years, but I never had the funding necessary to pursue such experiments."
Then he laughed.
"But after you invested in my research, I decided to take the risk."
Kael could already guess the result.
"And?"
"It worked."
Dun’s voice practically trembled with excitement.
"It actually worked."
The researcher took a deep breath.
"The new potion doesn’t use violent energy to expel mana."
"Instead, the Enchanted Vale Tree Root slowly refines the ambient mana and integrates it into the body."
Kael’s eyes widened.
"It what?"
"It refines it."
Dun laughed.
"The mana is no longer treated as a poison."
"It becomes nourishment."
For a moment, Kael was speechless.
This wasn’t just an improvement.
It was an entirely different path.
A completely different concept.
The original cure merely removed the problem.
This one transformed the problem into a benefit.
Not only curing the illness but strengthening the patient in the process.
The difference was enormous.
In fact, it was difficult to even compare the two.
After all, in this era, awakening was everyone’s dream.
Young or old.
Rich or poor.
Everyone wanted to become an Awakener.
The benefits were simply too great.
Awakeners possessed power beyond ordinary humans.
Longer lifespans.
Greater vitality.
The ability to stand above countless others.
Naturally, countless people dreamed of achieving it.
Yet the harsh reality remained.
Most people would never awaken.
Most would spend their entire lives as ordinary civilians.
Now imagine a potion that not only cured a deadly illness but also allowed the ambient mana entering the body to strengthen it.
How could people not go crazy for something like that?
Even Kael felt his heartbeat quicken.
Just then Dun spoke again.
"Of course, the refinement rate is still very low."