A guy with a goat on his arms, a man who had the demeanor and looks of a bandit, and a homeless kid. The people gave us some weird looks, but I ignored them and searched the market for what I had to buy.
After some looking around, I located a cauldron vendor and purchased the best one within my budget. Finding a herbalist was equally effortless, as the stench of sheep droppings led to a mingling aroma of perfumes near his stall.
The herbs proved to be expensive, and I had already spent over a quarter of my available funds. It was only the first day in this bustling city.
We made our way back to the tavern, permeated by the scent of cheap ale, and approached the woman behind the bar. "Do you have any place where we could burn something?"
“Burn what?” She narrowed her eyes.
"Just some dry wood for my cauldron. I'm a medicine maker," I explained.
She appeared skeptical but refrained from further questions, gesturing with her thumb toward a back exit. "Head to the backyard, just not too close to the clothes hanger or barn."
A barn in the heart of the city? Probably a space for visitors' animals. Or maybe they raised their own cattle, it wouldn’t be too surprising as I had seen a lot of people with cows, goats, a lot of sheep, and all that.
I glanced at Billy the goat. He happily nuzzled against my leg, making goat noises as he trotted about.
Leaving some bronze coins on the counter, I motioned towards the young girl we had brought along. "Can you get her some food? Maybe a good lamb stew? As many portions as she asks for."
The girl seemed taken aback when I addressed her as a ‘she’, but apart from a wary glance, she made no further response.
Wait, was I wrong? It would be pretty embarrassing if I called her a girl, but he was a boy. Oh well, it was already water under the bridge.
I entrusted Budas with the task of watching over the mischievous goat, and walked toward the deserted backyard. Crafting potions required solitude; I couldn't afford distractions.
The backyard had wooden fences, likely erected to deter thieves, and offered some seclusion from prying eyes. Placing the cauldron on the ground, I used a piece of chalk from my pocket to draw a transmutation circle on the metal, using Kar. The circle sizzled as the cauldron shrunk but sprouted four legs, securing a stable position.
Arranging some wood underneath, I sketched another transmutation circle on it to produce a spark that ignited the fuel. Adding the medicinal herbs and a cow horn, I boiled them all in a quarter bucket of bull's blood. After a few minutes, I put heartwood branch—a rare find in my village, though not so rare here—into the concoction.
There were numerous methods to concoct a potion, allowing for substitutions among ingredients. However, an intriguing equilibrium existed where the collective value of the potion ingredients remained roughly equal. Consequently, there was no straightforward means of creating the most inexpensive healing potion, for instance. This phenomenon resembled the principle of equivalent exchange, akin to the workings of my other class skill, Transmutation.
Usually, it took me about an hour to create five flasks of healing potions, but this time I was attempting to make a Minor Strength Potion, which should have been within the limits of my level 1 Brewing skill. Some might even consider it a level 2 potion.
…
After two hours of intense brewing and using nearly half of my Kar, the potion sizzled just as it was about to be finished. Suddenly, a small explosion erupted from the cauldron, and a puff of smoke with a wet dog odor blew into my face.
How did bull blood, cow horn, and herbs result in the smell of a wet dog? I had no idea! But the smell made me feel nauseous, and I almost threw up.
After coughing and splashing water on my face from a nearby barrel, my vision cleared, and I noticed a crack in the cauldron. However, that worry was short-lived when I remembered my ability to perform transmutation.
With a quick transmutation circle, the cauldron was repaired—good as new.
I sat on the ground, watching the fire under the cauldron slowly die out.
This was the first time I had failed at making a potion since acquiring my class. Normally, low-level healing potions had a 10-20% chance of failure, which dropped to 5% after making them frequently. A Lesser Strengthening Potion had at least a 75% chance of failure, considering it was technically a level 2 potion.
Though I had expected failure to occur eventually, it still left a sour feeling, or perhaps it was just the foul potion smog that had blown into my face.
Fuck it, I needed a break. I decided to return to the tavern, where I found the kid and Budas engaged in conversation. Budas wore a wide smile as he spoke, "Then, I just suddenly opened my eyes and I was back in perfect health! I felt even better than before!"
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What the fuck was that idiot telling these people?! I specifically warned him not to spread such bullshit!
As I approached the table, the kid regarded Budas with suspicion, clearly not believing a word. Before Budas could say anything, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Enough of your silly tales, mate."
He flinched at my touch and timidly turned to face me. "H-Hey, sorry, I kind of forgot-"
Whatever he was about to say was cut off when I slapped him on the back of his neck, a little too roughly. He had done enough for the day.
The young girl looked at me and asked, "Can you really bring people back to life?"
She was skeptical, and I almost sighed in relief before responding. "No, I'm just a meddling healer at best."
She nodded and returned to drinking water from a wooden mug. I sat down at their table and asked the girl, "By the way, what's your name, little girl? I can't keep thinking of you as that girl or street urchin."
"My name is Auto," she replied, giving me a pointed glare.
"How did a brat like you end up on the street?" I probed, trying to provoke a reaction. It was my instinct as an older sibling to tease and annoy the younger ones.
Only those who were older siblings themselves could truly understand the pure joy we derived from teasing and annoying our younger siblings. It was the best stress relief I knew, and I couldn't wait to see my younger brother grow up.
"My mother kicked me out after realizing that my father wouldn't pay her attention, even though she ended up having his child," she shrugged. But it was clear that she was more hurt by the situation than she let on.
Though I was curious about her father and whether she had ever accidentally shot lightning from her fingers, I kept my mouth shut. The poor kid seemed to have already suffered enough.
"So, who's your father?" Budas asked.
You fool, read the mood!
Auto looked at her cup and shrugged. "I have no idea. My mother never mentioned him, and she only prayed to the Gods in the hope that he would return one day."
Since the mood had turned somber, I returned to my attempt to finish the potion. I had bought ingredients for a second try, mostly to test whether the boosts would stack after drinking two Strength Potions.
I started another brewing process, being cautious enough to keep my head out of the cauldron. By the time the sun set, I had successfully finished brewing the potion.
The potion had a yellowish color and smelled like strawberries, despite not containing any strawberry ingredients. Alchemy was weird like that. It probably tasted like piss, though.
Without hesitation, I consumed the bottle of Strengthening Potion. A comfortable warmth spread through my body, but soon it became uncomfortable as every muscle felt like it was flexing painfully.
Opening my status page, my strength had increased by a whole one-point increase.
Class: Alchemist
Traits: [Transmigrator] [Talented Alchemist]
Level: 6
Strength: 2.2*
Agility: 1.1
Constitution: 1.1
Spirit: 5
Luck: 6
Skills Page ≫
There was a small star in the corner of the stat, indicating an artificial increase. I clicked on the skills page button.
-Active Skills:
Transmutation - Lvl 2/10
Brewing - Lvl 1→2/10
-Passive Skills:
Spear Mastery - Lvl 1/10
Bow Mastery - Lvl 1/10
≪ Status Page
As expected, my Brewing Skill had increased, and my knowledge of potion ingredients had expanded. I now had more advanced new formulas to work with.
I wanted to test the true strength of having the power of over two men condensed into a single body. In the corner of the yard, an axe for splitting wood caught my eye. With one hand, I effortlessly lifted it and positioned a piece of wood on a log.
Summoning all my strength, I swung the axe with full force. The wood split apart effortlessly, but to my surprise, the axe embedded itself into the log. With a firm tug, I managed to free the axe from the log’s tight hold.
It was an exhilarating experience, to say the least.
…
The potion effect lasted only a couple of minutes before wearing off. However, I was confident that with enough practice in brewing this potion, I could extend its duration to at least five or maybe even ten minutes.
As I lay on the rented room's bed, the girl rested on another bed while Budas slept on a mattress on the floor. The place below was noisy, and the walls offered little soundproofing. While waiting for the commotion to subside, thoughts of the future occupied my mind.
The funds I had wouldn't sustain me until I reached Athens. So I had to figure out some way to make money.
The most obvious solution was to sell magical potions, but that would likely result in becoming a potion-making slave for the king. However, such thoughts may have been influenced by excessive isekai manga revenge fantasies, but I wasn't willing to take that chance.
Instead, I needed to explore alternative means of generating capital...