Handing over my last five copper coins at the receptionist, I'm led to an available alchemy room.
Inside sits a chair, desk with attached faucet, shelves containing mortars and pestles, speaking tubes, and a hearth-like area for handling fire.
The lower shelf with mortars has a flip-open disposal chute – apparently items dropped here get collected in an underground receiving area later.
The clever design makes potions roll slowly to prevent breakage.
Though with my Spatial Magic leveling plan and Hayato's magic bag, I might not even use it.
Sitting down, I place my bucket of medicinal herbs and iron ore on the desk.
From the shelves I retrieve a mortar and pestle, flasks and test tubes.
「Now then… where to begin…」
Should I practice the newly-learned health potion first?
Or tackle the heavy, cumbersome iron ore cluttering my space?
「Hmm… better handle manual labor while I still have stamina」
Crushing herbs in the mortar produces a green paste.
Adding water and further grinding extracts the essence.
When poured into a test tube, miraculously the emerald liquid instantly turns pale blue.
「This is… proper fantasy stuff」
Why would green paste suddenly turn light blue?
It's like turning blue〇 into Aquari〇s.
Truly fantastical.
「Let's see… Minor Health Potion (Inferior), right?」
Obviously, I wasn't getting a Small-grade on first try.
Next, as instructed, I attempt potion-making using skills.
The key difference? No tools needed – just clear visualization and MP.
I'll need to test MP consumption per attempt!
Gripping herbs in my right hand and test tube in left,
I mentally run through the process and chant "Alchemy!"
Ta-dah! The herbs disappear and the test tube contains…
'Health Potion (Crude)'
Crude!? There's worse than minor!?
[-Health Potion (Crude)-Makes you feel like you recovered HP]
Feel like!? It doesn't actually heal!
This isn't crude – it's fraudulent!
Not even worth 100 Nohl.
「I see. So repetition is the key… At the very least, I won't be able to mass-produce (Inferior) potions until I can manually craft (Minor) ones.」
Checking my MP on my guild card, the cost is 5 per use.
Looks like I'll be doing this manually for a while.
At the very least, I need to make nine more by hand.
Considering the possibility that a no-name alchemist's potions might not sell well, I should aim for twelve.
Better start working before I begin thinking 「This is tedious」.
As I continued, I noticed that alongside (Inferior), the occasional (Minor) potion started appearing.
Using my Appraisal skill, it seems the effectiveness decreases in this order: (Minor), (Minor), (Inferior), (Crude).
There are probably more grades beyond these, but for now, I've only seen these four.
Still, how do I make something better than (Minor)?
Maybe by using a special liquid or adding something to the process?
Ah, so this is what Reinrich meant by "original" being the next step.
At any rate, it's clear I need to master manually crafting (Minor) potions first.
I, who aimed to live without working, have somehow gotten absorbed in potion-making.
It's fine. No problem.
This is necessary work for my future comfort.
Yes. That must be it.
-0-
And finally, the potions I've managed to produce:
Potion (Inferior) – 9
Potion (Minor) – 3
This should at least cover the costs, barely.
Now, the fun part begins—trial and error!
Honestly, the work itself hasn't changed, but it's a matter of mindset now.
Failure doesn't matter. Experimentation is important!
For now, I'll try whatever comes to mind.
First, I make two Recovery Potions (Inferior).
I considered simply mixing them, but that would just increase the volume, so I decided to use my Alchemy skill instead.
The skill I'll use is Alchemy's 「Synthesis」.
What happens if I spend MP to synthesize two Recovery Potions (Inferior)?
The result:
[-Recovery Potion (Inferior +1)-
Restores HP slightly less than (Minor). +1]
Hmm… I expected it to become (Minor), but it just got a + instead.
So, synthesizing the same grade only adds a +?
Well, it's probably rare for people to have magic pouches, so reducing bulk might have its own demand.
A Recovery Potion (Minor +1) might even sell for over 2000 Nohl.
But that leaves a mystery.
Two (Inferior) potions cost 1000 Nohl in materials, but the result doesn't match a (Minor) potion's recovery.
Which makes me think—if I refine the method, I might be able to make even better potions this way.
Either way, after repeated trial and error, I ran out of Medicinal Herbs.
But in the end, I managed to produce ten Recovery Potions (Minor).
-0-
In any case, after repeated trial and error, I ran out of medicinal herb.
And somehow I managed to make 10 bottles of recovery potion(small).
-0-
First, the simplest method is to use a Recovery Potion (Inferior) as the base liquid when crafting from Medicinal Herbs.
This likely works because it increases the purity and concentration.
Next, when synthesizing a Recovery Potion (Minor) and (Inferior), I tried pouring in extra MP.
When using two (Inferior) potions, the + value increased based on the amount of MP added.
However, there seems to be a limit—no matter how much MP I poured in beyond +2, nothing changed.
This is probably due to my Alchemy skill level.
To make potions stronger than (Minor), I'll either need better materials or a higher skill level.
Conclusion!
Even (Inferior) and (Minor) potions can become stronger by increasing their concentration.
With the Alchemy skill, adding more MP boosts the effect.
After that, just level up! ☆
That about sums it up.
In the end, I produced:
Recovery Potion (Inferior) —— 10
Recovery Potion (Inferior +1) —— 4
Recovery Potion (Inferior +2) —— 2
Recovery Potion (Minor) —— 5
Recovery Potion (Minor +1) —— 3
Recovery Potion (Minor +2) —— 1
Recovery Potion (Small) —— 10
And my Alchemy level rose to 2.
Honestly, I didn't notice while I was focused, but now I'm exhausted.
Still, I should at least break even on costs.
The downside is that I've run out of Medicinal Herbs, but that was bound to happen sooner or later.
Besides, I still have plenty of Magic Herbs and Iron Ore left.
But I think I'll call it a day—my MP is nearly drained.
Next time, I'll try 「Decomposing」 the Iron Ore.
...Wait, I chose 「Pocket Money」 skill, and here I am working?
W-Well, it's not like I'm ungrateful! I'm not some heartless guy who only feels indebted when his life is saved, then forgets about it later, right?
Plus, Hayato's a good guy. Yeah. A wealthy noble, and someone reliable in a pinch.
Meeting his expectations now will pay off later, won't it?
Hayato said he'd check in on me soon, so leveling up beforehand should leave a good impression.
Yep. This definitely isn't just me falling into that typical Japanese habit of working without thinking.
Right. This isn't work. It's just a hobby. Yeah. That's it.
「Just one today. Only one.」
Saying that, I spread out the pile of Iron Ore on the desk, picked up one piece, and chanted, 「Alchemy」.
I guess I shouldn't worry too much—I'm actually enjoying this deep, grindy alchemy system.
Then, my vision suddenly darkened, and I collapsed right into the pile of Iron Ore.