To understand why the augmentation phase was needed for rank 2+ potions, one needs to understand how rank 2 potions get concocted.

First, the catalyst gets thrown in the cauldron to get heated up. After it finishes, the mixed main ingredient and subsidiary ingredient follow it up.

Unlike rank 1 potions where the reaction always results in creating a useable concoction if the recipe was followed properly, the reaction in rank 2 would always end up failing.

Failure meant getting useless goo.

This would happen even if the microorganisms were taken care of.

That's due to the materials not being able to react to each other at all by nature itself...That's what most witches assume.

If supervised under a microscope, the only result would be the emergence of dark matter slowly creeping from the outside into the inside of the mixture.

The potioneer refer to this as the Dark Reaction.

It happens only with high-grade materials that were meant to concoct +2 rank potions.

Some witches considered this to be a failed reaction while others consider it to be a natural reaction that was simply meant to happen by the laws of the universe.

It was like the universe was forbidding them to merge the materials together.

Lady Sphinx being the founder of alchemy was the first to defy the universe's laws and attempt to merge those high-graded materials and turn them either into a potion or god knows what.

Lady Sphinx's entire existence was a rebel to the universe since she was one of the few beings still seeking its secrets.

Felix wasn't told by her how she defied the universe but a general concept was written in almost every potion-related book.

Hence, he knew that the potioneer role in this was to supervise the reaction on an atomic level then utilize her mental energy to manually save the reaction from going dark fully!

This phase was called Atomic Interference.

Naturally, it was impossible for the potioneer to allow every molecule to break apart and bond with others due to their immense numbers.

After all, just a drop of water has 1.67 sextillion water molecules. 

That's why potioneer never bother to manually save all of them but just what they could and use the mental energy to protect them from being reached by the dark reaction.

Since the dark reaction made it seem in the atomic world like a curse or a plague spreading throughout the two mixed ingredients, the potioneer would try his best to block it off from contaminating everything at once!

Let's say a potioneer had saved only 20% of the mixture while the remaining 80% had been ruined by the dark reaction.

It meant that the concoction had a 20% chance of turning into a useful concoction if the next phase had succeeded.

Obviously, this was The Augmentation Phase!

This phase was included to increase the chances of turning the saved portion into an actual effective potion.

It required the potioneer to add secondary positive materials that could help the portion grow extensively.

This step depends on luck and the amount of material that the potioneer had saved. 

If the potioneer saved 1%, it meant that he had only a 1% chance that the process would up successful.

Since most concoctions had from 30 seconds to 60 seconds window before the mixture gets melted into the catalyst, this meant that speed, high perspective, and extraordinary mental control were must-have tools for the potioneers.

That's why witches were practicing by eliminating microorganisms during concoction instead of simply eliminating them on the preparation table.

It might not have a fraction of the difficulty of dealing with molecules and atoms but it still was still a good practice.

This was also the reason why turning into an Expert Potioneer was the requirement of graduation in the academy while turning into an Apprentice Potioneer could be done just in the first semester.

Concocting the 1st rank 2 potion was a major milestone for each witch! Since it represents turning into a senior witch!

In the case of Felix...A senior witcher!

Speaking about witches, Felix had to change his hiding spot since he saw two humanoid auras stepping onto his floor and approaching him rapidly.

Currently, he was in the library toilet, reading about the reviews for the Duskwraith potion and also if there were many witches concocting it and selling it.

If he planned on mass-producing it anytime soon, he needs to figure out if it was worth the time and effort or not.

Thankfully, the reviews were beyond positive.

Almost all of them spoke highly about its effect that allows them to harness an astronomical level of energy.

This could be life-saving in many situations since energy was literally the source of life for fighters around the universe.

Although its half-billion price was a little steep, many rich lords were buying one or two for emergencies.

As for Felix's future competitors, they weren't that many since the recipe was owned by the Academy!

This meant, only the students and alumnus had a monopoly over it since the licenses were given as rewards in exams or competitions.

Felix had counted 10 of them on that website where he contacted Witch Hala.

'I can't possibly keep hiding in the toilet forever.' Felix waved the holograms away from his face while looking with his infrared vision at the library that was being filled slowly.

'After the exams, we get a month as a holiday. So, I think it's best that I return to the castle and remain there for the duration until the situation cools down.' Felix decided.

This was the best move currently to avoid trouble. Soon, he called Sage Dalilia, informing her about his decision so she could send protection to escort him back.

After he received her agreement, he put on his hat and went outside of the bathroom. Then, he avoided the witches on the floors quite easily with his vision.

When he reached the entrance, he beamed his hover platform and swiftly left towards the main gate of the campus.

....

15 minutes later...

Felix was back in his castle's room without any hiccups again. The ten silver tanks platoon was a massive deterrence to anyone with ill intentions towards him.

'Right now, Naima and Karry must be losing their minds.' Felix grinned wickedly, 'I should call them later to honor their bet. It's has been more than half a year of abstaining from sex and my desires can't be suppressed forever.' 

'There are people abstaining for years!' Asna cursed with an annoyed look, 'You just don't want to admit that you are a pervert.'

"Don't compare me to them." Felix said casually, "Life forced them to abstain from it. It wasn't by choice."

Seeing Asna getting irritated after hearing so, Lady Sphinx chuckled and said, "Only five months are left little Asna."

Asna tilted her head in confusion at the start but soon her eyes widened in disbelief and shame?

She instantly closed the connection between them and Felix and exploded on Lady Sphinx, "Big sis! How could you think like that!"

She crossed her arms with her cheeks slightly reddened and stressed, "I would rather hang myself in a burning house than ever do it with this asshole! Ever!!"

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Jörmungandr pointed at Felix and said with an honest expression, "I think he is a great fit for you."

"Me too." Lady Sphinx nodded her head, "Where can you find a partner with the same mental age as you and have a good chance to reach the peak these days? Only old fogies are left in your race by the way."

"True." Jörmungandr supported, "You should really take advantage of the fact that you are still free from the constraints of the universe and get some romance in your life. Who knows how it will turn to be?"

Upon hearing so, Asna's anger got subside a little bit. She was always seeking freedom from either her shackles or Felix's soul.

However, she always knew that she could never be free since the moment her soul get separated, she would be forced by the laws imposed on her to carry on her duties just like her race members.

So the only difference between now and then would be the type of freedom she would possess.

Now, she was free mentality but not physically...Vice versa.

'In five months, I will connect to the UVR and have a virtual form. It might not be the same as having a true physical form but the 100% realism would make it up for it.'

Asna tightened her lips while staring at Felix who was preparing to call Malak, 'Maybe old snake is right. I should have as much fun as possible before my soul gets freed...But no romance with this perverted asshole!'