“What do you mean you only got the ingredients?” Rex asked. He couldn’t hold back his growing irritation. All he wanted was a remedy for his injury. After all, the arrow wouldn’t remove itself from his leg. He needed some sort of professional to properly take it out or at least a potion to repair him if the procedure was done haphazardly. Anything to help him out of his current crippled state. That was the sole reason Eins was sent into town to find something. Unfortunately, the task proved to be significantly more difficult than anticipated.

“All the shops were out of potions. The doctors were busy as well.” Eins said. It was hard to admit that the city had no help for the heroes, not that it wasn’t clear as to why. The team’s very presence within the city attracted many other adventurers and prospective heroes. As a result, the demand for certain items skyrocketed. The supply of merchants and doctors crumbled underneath the overwhelming demand. Plus, the team’s recent antics left both themselves and others in harm’s way, leading to an even bigger demand. Eventually, the market would stabilize, but that still left The Unnamed Team in their current precarious situation.

“We don’t have any alchemy skills,” Xander said. He pinched his brow in regret. Eins’s efforts were wasted on them. Xander felt sorry for the Demon Slime’s attempt to collect all of the resources needed to make a potion of their own. The team had no way to make use of anything presented to them. They had never tried their hand at alchemy because it always seemed like a waste of time. Who needs to make potions when they are always for sale and relatively cheap? It was that line of thinking that left The Unnamed Team lazy.

“Nor do we know anything about alchemy,” Robyn said. Mashing different ingredients together was the best they could do at the moment, but that wouldn’t turn out well for anyone involved. Inappropriate combinations could react violently, and any ill-prepared product could become an intense poison for anyone that consumed it. There was little to do without the proper knowledge. It was practically impossible. Except for when a certain omnipotent voice got involved…

“Well, it’s not impossible for the skill tree to open up once we start,” Nicholas said. What he implied was fairly common knowledge. Most repetitive actions turned into skills, but certain subsets of actions were held behind skill trees. These trees were typically reserved for crafting skills and only displayed when specific conditions were met. The only reason no one else thought about it was that it had been a long time since the last skill tree appeared, and Xander and Robyn weren’t around to see the celebration.

“Oh yeah. That happened when I started smithing.” Rex said. He fondly remembered the first day he made a weapon. Of course, it was nothing more than a [Crude Iron Rod]. His experience was one to be laughed at, to the point that even he chuckled at the memory. The Unnamed Team knew next to nothing back then. Although, that fact hadn’t changed much. Anything they discovered was either exploited beyond belief or immediately forgotten with no room for in-betweens. Rex may have still used his [Smithing] tree nowadays, but he rarely thought about it. It was why the idea of a new skill tree popping up eluded him.

Nicholas, Robyn, and Xander sat around the array of items on the floor. Rex was relegated to the task of simply monitoring the rest of his team. He wouldn’t be much help because an arrow still impaled him. The three mobile team members inspected the ingredients they were given. Herbs from the various local flora that surrounded the city had been gathered. Some minerals had been collected from the local mine, though no one could identify them by sight alone. Spices, oils, and extracts had also been procured, but their true purpose or usage was lost on everyone in the room. Lastly, there were ceramic bowls and pestles for grinding, crushing, and mixing.

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“THE SKILL TREE [ALCHEMY] HAS BEEN UNLOCKED.”

Genesis’s voice rang out. A small translucent panel appeared before the three who were about to start practicing alchemy. Several branching paths were connected with titled boxes that represent different stages of mastery and specializations. The possibilities were remarkable, and it would take significant dedication to unlock all of them. Given how most skills acted when they reached a high level, it was safe to say that anyone who maxed this skill tree would be immensely powerful. Poisons, health potions, stamina potions, mana potions, various resistance potions, various strengthening potions, and even a potion that leveled up the person that consumed it. The choices and their effects were baffling to see displayed all at once.

“Seems like you were right,” Xander said. He was haphazardly scrolling through the panel. It seemed like the list of items an alchemist could make was limitless. Unlocking the skill tree came with the basic crafting skill, but most of the items presented were locked behind level requirements or rare ingredients. Most of the variety came from the slightly different effects between potions. One example was the lowest leveled health potion. It could either be made to instantly restore health, gradually restore health over some time, or a hybrid of the two. Each variation required different preparation methods and ingredients. Altogether, it was hard to understand for a novice that was just starting.

“I’m always right,” Nicholas said with a smile. Such overbearing confidence could only come from being proven right. The only people that could put him down were Genesis and Eins, but one was watching the team in silence while the other was waiting to broadcast their next inevitable mistake. It was hard not to be eager in this scenario. If all went well, The Unnamed team could start making their own potions for cheaper than it’d be to buy them. Plus, they could start a small business that would only get better as their skills increased in level. There was already a clear demand. Why not join the market?

“Uh-huh. We still have to make sure everything works out.” Robyn said. She was quick to ground the team in reality. The four rarely got their way. In the few cases they did, it came with several stipulations. There was always a chance for things to go wrong, especially when utilizing a new skill.

Nicholas, Robyn, and Xander fell to relative silence as they steeled themselves. They quietly worked in tandem to combine the proper ingredients and prepare the medicine. It was as if something clicked in their minds. Everything made sense once the skill [Novice Alchemy] was activated. They knew what ingredients were helpful and what wasn’t. They knew to grind certain items while leaving others whole. They even recognized that Eins accidentally brought Blast Rock into the room and quickly, yet safely, disposed of it.

“NOTICE. COOPERATION BETWEEN THREE SKILLS HAS RESULTED IN THE UTILIZATION OF A SUPERIOR SKILL. SKILL [GREATER ALCHEMY] ACTIVATED. NOW CONSTRUCTING NEW ITEM.”

The three stood back as light enveloped the room. It was blinding. The ingredients and tools that they had used fused together while everyone looked away. This was it. This was the moment The Unnamed Team could take the next step onto their path of self-reliance. The age of relying on others for health potions was over. Gone were the days of hoping merchants had refilled their stock. Everything was about to change. And with a bit of luck, the team could make potions even more powerful than normally thought possible.

Genesis announced the fruits of their labor with glee.

“[DEMON’S POISON] CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE.”