Instead, it is an introductory book on how to directly use mental power to distinguish the ‘energy characteristics’ contained in herbs. His method of classifying herbs is also based on the energy properties they contain, teaching from the very beginning how to use mental power to determine what effects a particular herb can have and what kind of potion it is suitable for making.

　　As for appearance and color, there is actually no fixed introduction. According to the classification in the book, as long as a herb contains effects like stopping bleeding or stimulating wound recovery, it can serve as the main ingredient for making a red potion. There are even cases where two herbs look completely different, but since the same properties can be extracted from them to make the same potion, they are grouped together in this book.

　　“So that’s how it is!”

　　This book is actually an introductory herbalism guide suitable only for mages. It points directly to the essence of potion-making—extracting the properties from plants to amplify their effects and accelerate their action. So, there’s no such thing as this book becoming completely useless after leaving the Dark World.

　　In fact, the ability to make magical potions is even more important than Ethan had imagined.

　　Realizing the immense value of this book, Ethan completely changed his previous disinterested attitude, clutching the book and poring over it all night. When he finally came to his senses, it was only because Agatha had sent a nun to call him over for help that he realized it was already morning.

　　“I actually don’t feel tired at all!”

　　Aside from his body feeling a bit stiff and uncomfortable after sitting all night, Ethan felt not the slightest bit of mental fatigue, which was simply unimaginable in his previous life. Even at his healthiest, after a long day’s work followed by an all-nighter, he would be utterly exhausted.

　　“Is this because my mental power has improved?”

　　Mental power comes from both the body and the soul, and both aspects are indispensable.

　　Ethan’s body is still developing rapidly, and there are no hidden worries. While not particularly strong, it is above the passing line.

　　His mental power was originally just average, but due to the time-space pointer, he had practiced controlling his mental power for several years, giving him a solid foundation.

　　On top of that, after transmigrating, besides the mental power carried by his own soul, there were still remnants of the original owner’s mental power left in this body. Normally, these would gradually dissipate over time, but Ethan happened to acquire a method for training mental power just in time. After persisting in cultivation for a while, he began to automatically absorb any energy in his body that could enhance his mental power, thus naturally entering a period of rapid improvement.

　　The improvement of mental power, in turn, stimulates the enhancement of physical fitness—though this increase is actually quite small. Simply put, strong mental power makes the body’s cells more active, allowing Ethan to develop faster and recover better. Normally, this change would be barely noticeable, and if one wanted to see dramatic changes in a short time, much more advanced and powerful magic would be required.

　　It’s just that Ethan himself is already in a period of rapid development, and after suddenly absorbing a lot of residual mental power, the change became quite noticeable.

　　“From this perspective, mages aren’t fragile at all!”

　　Come to think of it, mages in the Marvel universe are all close-combat maniacs, flipping pancakes with one hand and making it look easy.

　　In the Lord of the Rings world, that white-bearded old man wielding a longsword in one hand and a staff in the other is the very model of a close-combat mage.

　　It’s said that even the famous mage in the Arthurian legends was actually a close-combat maniac, preferring to use the holy sword to cut people down rather than cast spells.

　　Yet in many games and novels Ethan had played or read before, mages were always depicted as especially frail, as if their bodies were their greatest weakness. But if you think about it carefully, that just doesn’t make sense.

　　In many adventure stories, mages travel long distances with their teammates, crossing mountains and rivers as if it’s nothing. Try having a frail person do that for a month! Not to mention, mages can enter combat at any time and fight fierce battles with enemies.

　　It can’t be that after a day’s journey, when they finally encounter an enemy, the mage is already so exhausted that he collapses on the ground, right? That would be a ridiculous sight.

　　Even aside from that, mages often stay in their laboratories for long periods without rest to conduct various experiments. If their bodies weren’t strong, they would have died from exhaustion long ago—at least, Ethan has never seen a story where a mage dies of overwork. At most, they die from uncontrollable accidents during experiments.

　　“So, does an excellent mage necessarily have a body of steel? Or is having a good body the foundation for becoming a mage in the first place?”

　　Ethan walked out of the tent, stretching and moving around while lost in thought. As he turned his head to loosen his neck, he saw a familiar face emerge from a nearby tent—it was the female mage Isabella whom he had met just yesterday. It seemed she had already gained Katherine’s approval and was now staying in the camp as well.

　　Isabella also saw him and walked over with her staff.

　　“Hello, Ethan, thank you for showing me the way yesterday.”