Chapter 496: Felix Felicis Analysis
Chapter 496: Felix Felicis Analysis
As Liam and Hermione were about to leave the Common Room, they noticed many of their classmates were diligently working on their homework. This was far from the relaxed break between classes that Ron had envisioned. Except for a few students who might come from wealthy families and had only chosen one or two advanced courses, most students were busy completing the assignments their teachers had given them.
These assignments were only slightly less challenging than the ones they had during last year's exams. Liam observed that every classmate he knew was hard at work.
“Liam, Hermione, where are you two headed?” Ron, who had just finished brewing a pot of pitch in Potions, was struggling with today's Potions homework. He looked up, hoping for help, only to see his potential rescuers about to leave. Harry also raised his head, his eyes filled with hope.
“We need to work on an important project,” Hermione explained. “Liam got access to the School Alchemy Lab from Professor Dumbledore this year, so he can use it to conduct some research. I’m his research assistant because some projects require a helping hand.”
“Ah, looks like I’ll be spending all my time before dinner on homework. I was hoping to practice Quidditch,” Ron said dejectedly, while Harry nodded in agreement.
“You need to learn to study independently and not always rely on others. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve the grades you want in future exams,” Hermione said, raising her eyebrows and speaking more firmly. She then pulled Liam out of the Common Room, leaving Harry and Ron with hopeful, yet disappointed looks.
They followed the familiar path to the Alchemy Lab on the fifth floor, opened the door, and entered. As soon as the door closed, Hermione turned to Liam, her eyes wide with excitement. “I can hardly believe it. Just some ordinary materials, mixed in a conventional way, can create an Elixir that can change a person’s fate. The entire process doesn’t touch any fundamental rules of the world, yet the final product can influence them. It’s simply incredible.”
“Indeed, that’s why we’re here to study it,” Liam replied, pulling out the bottle of Felix Felicis and placing it on the Alchemy Table. He then asked Little Qing to bring out the Alchemy Equipment he had stored in the Multiverse General Store.
Much of this equipment had been crafted by Liam, guided by Teacher Luo Zhen, using rare materials gathered from multiple worlds. If one used magic to inspect them, they would find that these pieces of equipment were all high-grade Alchemy Artifacts. After arranging these specialized tools, Liam began his magical research.
He nodded at Hermione, who understood and waved her hands, releasing a layer of black shadow. The shadow quickly spread, enveloping the entire Alchemy Lab, carrying a faint Death Aura. This shadow, imbued with the Law of Magic, isolated the lab from the outside world, preventing any accidents inside from causing harm to others and also blocking any external interference. Most importantly, it would help to isolate the influence of the outside world, which was crucial for studying an Elixir that could affect fate.
Once the shadow with the Death Aura had completely sealed the lab, Liam took out a Fluorite Orb the size of a marble and placed it on the energy node of the Alchemical Array. He then touched each Fluorite Orb, and each one began to emit a pale blue light, illuminating the shadow-covered laboratory.
“Let’s begin,” Liam said, directing the bottle of Felix Felicis to hover over the Alchemical Array surrounded by the instruments. He quickly activated the Alchemy instruments in sequence.
The instruments started to rotate, glow, and hum, their parts moving and emitting a variety of colors and runes, encircling the small amount of Felix Felicis. Soon, a large amount of data flowed over a silver mirror placed in front of Liam, indicating that the first round of analysis was complete.
“That was fast,” Liam murmured, then examined the data. The analysis showed that this Elixir was a special Neuroinhibitor, capable of suppressing emotions to the maximum extent, allowing a person to face any situation with the utmost calm. It was similar to the Mechanized Mind Magic that Liam had learned from Rogen.
“Wait—Felix Felicis shouldn’t be this simple, right?” Hermione said after looking at the analyzed data. “If it were, Felix Felicis wouldn’t be such a highly prized elixir.”
“Of course not,” Liam replied. “I’m only analyzing the basic effects of these elixirs, not the rules they involve. But I must admit, this base elixir is quite helpful in achieving the desired outcome.”
Seeing Hermione’s eager expression, Liam paused for a moment before explaining, “Felix Felicis is believed to be effective when taken in small doses, but an overdose can lead to dizziness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence. In large quantities, it can be highly toxic. Additionally, it doesn’t allow you to overcome powerful magic; it only ensures that you succeed within the limits of your own abilities. In other words, this elixir helps you maximize your potential, but it won’t enable you to do anything beyond your capabilities. What does this imply?”
Liam deliberately left a pause, but Hermione, her curiosity piqued, smacked him on the arm. “Just get on with it.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll continue,” Liam said, rubbing his arm. “This implies that Felix Felicis reduces the user’s ability to regulate emotions, placing them in a state where they are not controlled by their emotions. In extreme cases, this allows them to take precise actions.”
“So, it actually affects the brain?” Hermione squinted at the golden liquid floating in mid-air.
“Of course. The professor mentioned that an overdose can lead to dizziness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence, and in large doses, it can be highly toxic,” Liam shrugged. “From what I know, there are similar methods in the ordinary world. It’s called transcranial magnetic stimulation, which has been used in the treatment of mental illnesses for the past couple of years. It uses magnetic signals to stimulate different regions of the brain without any loss of strength through the skull, affecting the brain in various ways depending on the frequency.”
“According to user feedback, when certain areas of the brain are stimulated, psychological depression mysteriously disappears, moral judgments become shaky, and an absolute confidence takes over all actions. In such a state, a person can complete tasks with extremely high efficiency, and their success rate far exceeds their usual performance. Doesn’t this sound like the state Professor Slughorn described after drinking Felix Felicis, just that the potion’s effects are stronger and more perfect?”
“Don’t tell me Felix Felicis is just a brain-altering psychotropic drug,” Hermione said, looking a bit dejected. She couldn’t believe that the principle behind this legendary potion was so simple.
“Of course not,” Liam said, activating the red light orb in his mind. He then used countless runes to create an alchemy field that enveloped the liquid. Once the field was sealed, intricate patterns of the same color appeared on the golden liquid.
“This is part of the Power of Fate,” Liam said after carefully inspecting the patterns. “Although only a small part of the elixir touches the rules, when combined with the elixir’s intended use, the luck effect is amplified to an extreme. No wonder this elixir is called the Luck Potion.”
“However, this means the success rate of making Felix Felicis can’t be very high, as the final step involves obtaining the luck rule, which is random. Or, to put it another way, the elixir that passes the luck selection in the final step is the true Felix Felicis.”
“During the production process, only a few half-finished elixirs successfully complete the six-month brewing. Then, they must pass the Fate Selection. Each successful elixir is a miracle, and the Felix Felicis born from these miracles can bring miraculous effects.”
From his analysis of Felix Felicis, Liam gained a deeper understanding of the rules related to fate and the Transformation Law he possessed. He also realized that in this world, lower-level powers could sometimes be used to leverage higher-level powers under certain conditions. This opened a new door for his research and mastery of magic.
Meanwhile, Hermione used the Shadow Barrier to isolate the laboratory, preventing any external interference. This helped her advance in her control of Shadow Magic and the Death Law, which was a valuable gain for her.
After finishing their research, they tidied up and left the Alchemy Lab. It was dinner time, so they went downstairs to eat.
(End of Chapter)
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