Durin couldn’t just outright ask for the recipe for the magical potion.

  If he did, his identity as an imposter would be exposed on the spot.

  Moreover, using an arcane cauldron required the ability to channel mana to awaken it.

  But Durin had no mana at all. Even when he tried using the Guidance Spell, the trace amount of mana it gathered wasn’t nearly enough to support potion-making.

  It felt like participating in a fishing competition but being unable to lift the fishing rod.

  Durin coughed awkwardly several times, inwardly overwhelmed with embarrassment.

  The surrounding elixirists were equally confused.

  From their perspective, His Majesty, the Emperor, sat before the cauldron with a solemn expression, yet he had yet to make a move.

  "What is His Majesty doing?"

  "I’m not sure. Maybe this is a necessary preparation step before crafting a high-level potion?"

  "But… Marthion never did anything like this before."

  "Keep your voice down! His Majesty’s methods are beyond our understanding. We should simply observe in silence and not disturb him!"

  Marthion’s expression, however, grew increasingly grim.

  His suspicions were growing stronger, making him even more determined to confirm them.

  Durin gritted his teeth—he knew he couldn’t keep stalling like this.

  If he delayed any longer, the elixirists would begin to grow suspicious, and his identity could eventually be exposed.

  "Forget it! It’s just potion-making, right? It’s probably not that different from cooking. You just light a fire and throw in the ingredients!"

  Cursing Marthion in his mind, Durin took a deep breath—then, with a grand gesture, he dumped all the high-grade magical ingredients into the cauldron at once.

  …???

  Every single elixirist in the room froze in utter shock.

  None of them had expected His Majesty, the Emperor, to refine potions like this.

  This method completely contradicted everything they had learned!

  In potion-making, the precise measurement of ingredients was crucial. A deviation of even 0.1 grams could lead to a catastrophic failure and uncontrollable consequences.

  Yet His Majesty had just thrown everything in at once—this recipe was outright terrifying!

  And with such overwhelming potency, how would he even balance the ingredients?!

  Anyone with even basic knowledge of potion-making could tell—this was doomed to fail.

  "As expected of His Majesty! This is only the first step, yet we already can’t understand it at all!"

  The elixirists lowered their heads in shame.

  Only now did they realize just how vast the gap was between themselves and a true master.

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  Their usual careful and meticulous potion-making was like a child learning to walk—

  Whereas His Majesty strode forward boldly and effortlessly!

  The elixirists felt as though they had just been introduced to an entirely new world.

  "What do you think His Majesty’s deeper meaning is? Could he be trying to teach us that extreme precision isn’t always necessary?"

  "Perhaps, if we have enough raw power, we can forcibly manipulate the properties of the ingredients to create brand-new potions?"

  After all, they had spent their entire lives relying on handed-down recipes without ever creating anything original.

  "His Majesty has truly given us a valuable lesson!"

  "Indeed! Now I’m even more excited to see what kind of potion he’ll craft!"

  The elixirists whispered among themselves, completely abandoning their earlier silence.

  His Majesty’s actions had shattered their understanding of potion-making—they couldn’t remain calm at all.

  Marthion, too, had his own theories but chose not to interfere.

  But then… another problem arose for Durin.

  How was he supposed to light the fire?

  He couldn’t just dump the ingredients in and leave them there, right?

  That would completely expose him!

  At this point, Durin decided to just go all-in.

  Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to suppress his growing panic and began frantically channeling the Guidance Spell.

  He could feel a faint trickle of mana flowing within him—barely perceptible, but it was all he had.

  "Come on, ignite!"

  Durin shouted inwardly, sweat forming on his forehead.

  He locked his gaze onto the magma cauldron, trying to will it into action.

  Suddenly—

  A burning heat surged through his palm, as if he had grabbed a scorching-hot branding iron!

  He instinctively tried to let go—only to find his hand stuck to the cauldron.

  "What’s going on?!"

  Before Durin could react, an explosive surge of energy erupted from the cauldron!

  In an instant, the entire hall was engulfed in blazing firelight.

  Molten-red magma elements surged like an awakened dragon, roaring within the cauldron.

  "T-This… is magma element!"

  Marthion’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  Never before had he seen such pure, ferocious magma element—it felt as if it could incinerate everything.

  The flames grew stronger, the heat intensifying—

  Durin felt as though he was standing at the mouth of a volcano, moments away from being consumed by lava.

  "Thank god I reacted fast!"

  He stumbled back instinctively, narrowly avoiding being burned to ashes.

  But the ordeal wasn’t over yet.

  Without Durin’s control, the magma element went wild—

  It rampaged within the cauldron, trying to break free from its confines.

  BOOM!

  A deafening explosion rocked the entire hall—

  The demigod rank Magma Cauldron shattered instantly, exploding into countless fragments!

  …

  The Emperor himself… had just blown up an arcane cauldron.

  "W-What…?"

  One elixirist stammered, his voice trembling.

  "His Majesty actually directly harnessed the magma element within the cauldron?!"

  "Oh my god, I’ve never seen anyone do that before!"

  "Yeah! We always thought cauldrons were just tools for potion-making…"

  "But it turns out—they themselves hold immense power!"

  Another apprentice exclaimed excitedly:

  "His Majesty’s control over magical elements has reached godlike levels!"

  "We’re so lucky to witness such a historic moment!"

  The surrounding elixirists nodded fervently, their gazes toward Durin filled with awe and reverence.

  Meanwhile, Marthion’s mind went completely blank.

  He could not comprehend what had just happened.

  Why had His Majesty done this?

  Blowing up the Magma Cauldron—what could possibly be the deeper meaning behind this?

  Could this be yet another layer of His Majesty’s grand strategy?

  But… wasn’t the commotion a bit too much?!

  A demigod rank Magma Cauldron was extremely rare—there were only a handful in the entire Ilan Kingdom.

  And now…

  It was gone.

  Durin, on the other hand, let out a long sigh of relief.

  At least… he had successfully bluffed his way through.

  Sure, things got a bit intense—but the end result was what mattered.

  Most importantly—his secret as a fraud remained safe.

  The explosion alone was proof enough of his "power."

  But…

  Maybe he should be more careful next time.

  This whole "winging it" strategy might work for now,

  But if he ever truly slipped up, the consequences wouldn’t be as funny.

  Just as Durin started worrying about whether the elixirists would resent him for destroying the cauldron,

  He heard them exclaiming in admiration instead:

  "This cauldron simply wasn’t worthy of His Majesty’s power!"

  "We should find a stronger cauldron!"

  "Yes! Only the finest materials can match His Majesty’s prowess!"

  "His Majesty is simply too powerful! Even a demigod rank cauldron couldn’t withstand him!"

  Hearing this, Durin felt numb.

  He didn’t even need to make excuses—

  They had already made them for him.

  And beside him, Marthion could only go along with the crowd's interpretation. Clearing his throat, he spoke up:

  "In that case, let’s put the potion-making on hold for now."

  "We’ll resume once we find a more suitable cauldron."

  "Now, may His Majesty, the Emperor, withdraw the magma element!"

  …???