Back in my room, I fell into a deep sleep quickly — which was a shame, because I had planned on drinking alcohol first.

  Now, I was training with a dummy at the back of the mansion around 4:00 AM. I threw my sword at it, hitting its weak spots gracefully. One might think I cheated my way to winning against Peter, but I assure you — it was genuine effort. I gripped the wooden sword in a bushido-like stance and started hitting the dummy more violently.

  In my past life, I liked kendo because it was more of a sport to me than a fighting style. Eventually I took it up as a hobby and even reached the rank of 5-dan officially.

  That's why, even though it's a martial art, I can handle the injustice fine. It was also thanks to Josephine's rigorous training that I won. If I didn't have the strength, I would have definitely lost — even with the skill. Josephine worked hard to get strong, but what she sorely lacked was "talent."

  That's not really needed for me, though.

  Even without talent, I'm competent enough to deal with them. I held a magic stone in my hand and continuously imbued it with mana until it pulverized into dust. In the novel, Adele used this technique to increase her mana reserves — it required significant mana consumption. I wiped off the sweat with a towel and began recreating what she always drank.

  In a flask, I mixed the magic stone powder with some healing potion. After thoroughly mixing, I added undiluted holy water and shook it well. Once done — a mana potion. This potion could restore a person's mana and was a monumental discovery for mages.

  But there was more. If ingested daily, it would turn a person's blood into mana blood, exponentially increasing their mana reserves and power. The higher the purity, the higher the effectiveness.

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  "Jane, ready my breakfast in my room. I'll just go down for something quick."

  "As you wish, my lady."

  I have to know if the author's knowledge is true.

  I rushed to the far side of the mansion where it was dusty. Josephine had intentionally kept this area off-limits and secret from Jane. I entered an old library — its interior grimy and long neglected. Near the shelf by the chimney, I pulled a book, and a hidden door revealed itself.

  As I entered, a second door appeared, its passcode one I clearly remembered.

  Adele had stalled here in the novel, unable to find the secret even after Josephine's death.

  This was her laboratory — adorned with all sorts of alchemical materials, books of dark origins, ritualistic items, and more.

  It was eerie. I rummaged through the diary Josephine had kept in a separate drawer. Most of it was sad. From her memories, I already knew the contents more or less:

  "Please notice me, please look my way..."

  I sighed. Maybe she shouldn't have clung to them to the point of obsession.

  "Found it." I said, relieved, as I read through the journal entry.

  [ Journal Entry #261 ]

  It was said there was a legendary gem that could turn metal into gold — "The Philosopher's Stone."

  It was the ultimate goal of alchemy. It could turn a mana-less person into an archmage and grant strength beyond even the great hero Ashkart. Luckily, while rummaging through my ancestor's records, I found the recipe for it!

  But unluckily, it was vague to the point of being nearly useless.

  "Mana potion? What the hell is that?" Whoever thought of this probably just wanted to prank me. I'll just think of other ways to get my family's attention.

  Despite the vague instructions, the Philosopher's Stone really did exist — and Josephine had been close to creating it.

  Adele had monopolized the mana potion for herself and never shared it with anyone else. It was also the only ingredient Josephine still needed to complete the Philosopher's Stone.

  I had at least one more day before their meeting. And luckily for me, everything else needed for the potion was abundant right here in this laboratory.