A single Chirping Fruit, about the size of a longan, could only produce a tiny cup of juice through dissolution and fermentation.
The juice was a deep blue, not looking like something a person should drink.
Fortunately, DemiDevimon wasn't human.
Dark couldn't help but feel a sliver of relief.
Forced to fly back, DemiDevimon lowered its head and cautiously took a sip of the juice in the small cup.
Hmm, a hint of sweetness.
With that thought, DemiDevimon unconsciously drank the entire cup of Chirping Fruit juice down to the last drop.
"How do you feel?"
Dark's belated concern deeply moved DemiDevimon. It turned back, trying to speak, but only managed a series of strained noises. "—..."
Dark asked, perplexed, "What are you saying?"
DemiDevimon: "—..."
Dark: "?"
DemiDevimon: "—..."
Dark: "Just say it!"
DemiDevimon: "—!!"
Dark: "How am I supposed to know what you want to say if you don't say it?"
DemiDevimon: "—!!"
In short, DemiDevimon couldn't make a sound.
Dark, of course, realized the problem immediately. He glanced at the clock and noted the time.
Without DemiDevimon, Dark naturally wouldn't conduct experiments haphazardly.
He picked out a book and read for a while, only getting up to record the time when DemiDevimon suddenly let out a hoarse "Ah—".
"So, it lasts for about 8 minutes?"
"Just as expected from one of the ingredients for Silence Cards, huh?"
"Hmm... If I used this juice following the method for creating Potion Cards, could I find a new path, create an alternative kind of Silence Card?"
Among the first-year students, there wasn't a single one who didn't envy Professor Sylph's [Silence Card].
That commanding presence, silencing everyone with a wave of her hand—it was just too cool.
Unfortunately, crafting the [Silence Card] was a technique learned only by upperclassmen; the requirements, whether for technical difficulty or material quality, were extremely high.
Among the first-years, even Dark knew his limits and hadn't even considered attempting that level of refinement.
However, now... it seemed he might have a chance?
At this thought, Dark carefully stored away the remaining two Chirping Fruits.
While Chirping Fruits weren't expensive, most available on Traveler Street were processed dried fruits. Finding fresh ones meant trying his luck again at the Plant Shop.
Next, Dark luxuriously took out a Spiral Fruit—worth 30 credits each—to experiment with.
The fermentation of the Spiral Fruit also took about 15 minutes.
Luckily, Dark possessed refined mana restoration methods; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to brew it.
The Spiral Fruit juice displayed a strange black-and-white mottled hue. When stirred gently, it would begin to swirl.
A single Spiral Fruit ultimately fermented into a full cup of juice.
Looking at the single cup of black-and-white juice, Dark thought for a moment, then still decided to scoop up a bit with a silver spoon and offer it to DemiDevimon.
Dark: "Say ah."
DemiDevimon: "Ah."
Down went the spoonful.
With a stretch of its claws, DemiDevimon spiraled towards the ceiling.
Dark reached out and poked its belly, and it started giggling.
Relieved, Dark asked, "How is it? Anything unusual?"
DemiDevimon: "Hee hee hee."
Dark: "Hm?"
DemiDevimon: "Hee hee hee."
Alright, this time, it was the ears.
Dark felt like he had probably discovered the secret of the Spiral Fruit.
DemiDevimon's hearing impairment lasted for about two minutes before improving.
Dark confirmed the effects of the two fruit juices, writing in his notebook:
Chirping Fruit Juice: Unable to speak.
Spiral Fruit Juice: Hearing impairment.
Drinking both juices together would make one deaf and mute.
Dark looked at the cup of Spiral Fruit juice, wondering how best to preserve this stuff.
Beyond that, he couldn't help but wonder: if these two juices were mixed, would the effects cancel each other out, or would they combine?
"Should I... try it again?"
He acted on the thought immediately.
Dark once again took out a Chirping Fruit and had Huhu dissolve and ferment it into juice.
Then, he took a spoonful from each juice, placed them into another small cup, and carefully mixed them.
After the black-and-white juice merged with the deep blue juice, they surprisingly didn't blend colors, instead forming a wondrous tri-color liquid of black, white, and blue.
DemiDevimon, forced to taste a mouthful, truly became a deaf and mute creature.
The effect even seemed somewhat enhanced, lasting for a full five minutes.
Understanding dawned on Dark.
Afterward, looking at the remaining amounts of the two juices, he fermented the last Chirping Fruit into juice as well, so he could achieve a roughly 1:1 ratio.
Then, he mixed these two juices thoroughly, sealed the container with a lid, and set it aside for the time being.
It was already 8:30 PM.
Dark knew it was time to put his knowledge into practice.
Without a suitable preservation method, neither juice would last long. The best approach was to strike while the iron was hot—turn them directly into Potion Cards!
Of course, he wasn't bold enough to use them for his very first Potion Card creation experiment.
With White Dried Fruit and Lanlan Fruit on hand, it wasn't their turn yet.
Anyway, the first step was to place either a White Dried Fruit or a Lanlan Fruit into Huhu's shell...
But just then, Dark, having just completed a small fusion, suddenly had another idea.
Into Huhu's shell, he placed one White Dried Fruit and one Lanlan Fruit together.
These two fruits dissolved and fermented simultaneously within the shell, ultimately forming a mixed liquid.
First, he used [Pride I] to induce pride in DemiDevimon, making it expend its mana by firing [Small Darts].
Only then did he scoop out a spoonful of the mixed juice and feed it to DemiDevimon.
After consuming this spoonful of mixed juice, DemiDevimon indeed felt its mana rapidly recovering.
As for the other half, the healing effect, it didn't manifest for the time being.
However, this was already enough for Dark.
He never expected to achieve everything in one go.
Afterward, he took out A Personal Explanation by Pierre and opened it. Following the methods recorded in the book, he began the experiment step by step.
There were numerous methods for refining potions into Potion Cards. Strictly speaking, each type of potion had its own distinct refinement method.
What Dark was attempting was, naturally, the general method described within.
To be more precise, it was the general method for refining a [Mana Recovery Potion] into a Potion Card.
Mimicking this method, substituting the mixed fruit juice for the [Mana Recovery Potion]—that was Dark's current plan.
The creation of Potion Cards was completely different from that of Magical Spirit Cards.
From the very beginning, it didn't require vitality culture mediums like Spirit Nectar or Mind Essence Solution.
Its core lay in a No. 3 Alchemy Array known as the "Dalton Alchemy Array."
Dalton was a great Archmage, second only to Merlin, who ushered in a new era of transforming potions into Potion Cards.