From now on, taking a page out of other author's methods:
** means thoughts
"" means dialogue
Krios was feeling hungry.
Scratch that, he was absolutely starving.
Immediately after earning the skill from Ironhand, Krios tried to go and buy more food to fill his stomach only to realize, HE WAS BROKE!
"SHIIIIIIIIT!" Krios screamed, attracting the gazes and pity of people passing by.
"How could this happen to me, I'm gonna be one of those total noobs that ends up dying from hunger. NONONONONONONONO... I have to fix this."
Krios stormed off down the street looking for quests, jobs, anything that would put food in his stomach in the near future. He had heard rumors online about the Lord Weed forming intimate relationships with NPC's in order to mooch food off of them but he had no idea how to do that himself. He could always go back and work for Ironhand but he didn't want to pressure the dwarf into helping him (that and his pride wouldn't allow him to go back after proclaiming he would become a grand adventurer to the dwarf's face). The dwarf may have a backhanded way of complimenting his workers but that didn't mean he didn't care about them. Still relying on Ironhand would be a last resort Krios decided. His satiety was still full so he still had some time left before he needed to eat. In the meantime he would just have to find a job of some kind that would earn him a bit of money or at least some food. Krios searched up and down craftsman lane, he figured that if he was going to get a job he might as well get one that gave him a skill, preferably a lucrative skill since he didn't want to spend all his time working as a craftsman just to get a few gold. Krios wandered the streets looking for an opportunity to get a new job. Unfortunately it seemed that a lot of people had the same idea and most of the shops had huge lines out the door. Most of those people had to be customers but he knew that at the same time he couldn't afford to stand around in line just to ask if there was any work for him. The shops with shorter lines all turned him away stating that they didn't have any open positions and to try his luck elsewhere. Tired and grumpy, Krios continued to search for a job. His stomach growled at him but he had nothing to fill it with.
Eventually his gaze was attracted to a tiny hole in the wall shop with dusty windows. As he approached a player burst out from the front door muttering obscenities. He turned around and shouted into the shop.
"Screw you old man, your shit isn't worth the price of the labels you put on them."
A potion bottle flew out of the store to smash into the chest of the obnoxious player in front of Krios. As the bottle broke, a noxious green cloud was released that covered the player's body. A shout issued from the cloud and arms could be seen waving around trying to clear the air around the man. As the disgusting green cloud cleared Krios couldn't help but stare. The player's face was now warped into a pig-like visage complete with an upturned nose, beady little eyes, and a thick brow, giving Krios the impression of a rather ugly caveman type creature with a pig face. Noticing his staring, the now transformed woman turned to face him and demanded:
"What's the matter with you? You never seen a girl before piggy?"
Krios's face immediately darkened, but he held in his anger and just pointed to the glass of a nearby window. The woman turned towards where Krios was pointing and let out a shriek that made his ears ring afterwards. Sobbing, the woman ran away into the darkness of a nearby alleyway. With a grim smile, Krios gulped down any inhibitions he had and walked into the store before he could over think this possibly disastrous choice.
"Hello? Is anyone in here?"
"What do you want sonny, can't you see I'm busy?"
An old wrinkled little man with leathery tanned skin emerged from behind the curtain leading to the rear of the shop. The man moved with surprising vigor given his apparent age Krios thought judging from the shock of wispy white hair that crowned the shopkeeper's head.
"So what do you want? I haven't got all day. If your just here to look and not buy anything then get out, I have no time to coddle you idiots that can't tell the difference between quality goods and junk.
"Actually sir, I'm here to ask if you have need of an apprentice even if it's just to clean the shop or something. I don't mind working hard. All I ask is that you provide meals and maybe a small stipend for living expenses."
"Oho! so you think you have what it takes to be my apprentice eh boy? Well then don't come crying to me later when you can't do the job. Being an alchemy apprentice is far more dangerous than being a blacksmith boy, so if you don't want to end up..."
"Wait! How did you know I was a blacksmith?"
"It's obvious boy. Your clothes are smudged with soot and you absolutely reek of iron and rust, the logical conclusion is that you have been to the forges recently. And judging by the lack of hair on your arms, I suspected you were a smith or a smith's apprentice of some kind rather than just a passing adventurer."
"Impressive, anyways can I have the job?"
"Before that, a little test is called for to see if you have the aptitude for alchemy work. Now then, thoroughly describe the effects of the potion that I used on that bitch and name at least one compound I used in the potion to create such a unique effect."
"Ummmm, Gimme a moment..."
Krios racked his brains to come up with an answer, this was his last chance afterall so he couldn't afford to blow it.
"I'm waiting."
"Wait! I got it, you used pig's blood in the potion to change her face so the nose looked like a pig-nose."
"Well, you got the ingredient right but are you sure about the physical differences? The potion is supposed to make the target turn into a dog beast man character. I invented it for when men need a comedic punchline to comment on their wife cheating on them. You know when you think "what a bitch!' this was supposed to actually turn them into a bitch."
"No, sorry. All I saw was the pig-nose."
"Haaaaaaahhhhh, I guess I used to much pigs-blood. I would normally use human blood to attach a human transformation element to the mix but human blood always locks the potion to react to specific individuals according to the blood you use. That means the potion is useless since it can only be made with the target's blood which would tip off the victim to the user's intentions."
"So did I pass the test?"
"Fine you can start here as a temporary worker boy. You better not let me catch you slacking off. Got it?"
Learning to make Medicine
The apothecary shopkeeper has asked you to turn the raw herbs he has in storage into usable potion compounds. Prove to the old man you have the skills of a true alchemist!
Difficulty Level: E
Rewards: Learn Alchemy Skill
Quest Restrictions:
Failure of quest will negatively affect relationship with shopkeeper.
"Yessir!"
Quest Accepted!
"In the meantime go over to the table and grind up a bunch of those red herbs. Don't touch the blue or yellow herbs, those are far more expensive and require more skill than your ham hands are capable of. And take this so you don't mess it up"
Items received: Health potion compounding instructions
Krios made his way over to the small worktable beneath a dusty window in the corner. There was a huge sack full of red tinted leaves sitting next to the table along with several other herbs attached to the ceiling and in pots to dry or preserve in alcohol. The strong medicinal smell that came from the jars suggested the herbs were all very potent in comparison to the wilted reddish leaves he was supposed to take charge of. Krios ignored the smell and got to work right away. He couldn't afford to mess up this job since if he did, he would starve to death and lose some of his precious levels that he gained after Ironhand's hellish trial. He picked up the huge bag of herbs and set it down on the work bench next to a large stone mortar.
"Identify!"
Red Herbs: medicinal plant species that can be used in potion creation. Grants 1% health generation upon consumption. Alchemical refining can improve the effects of the herb.
Mortar and Pestle: basic tools of the alchemy trade necessary for compounding...
Shoveling a few handfuls of red leaves into the stone bowl, Krios moved to pick up the large stone pestle that lay next to the bowl, only to lose his grip on the damned thing and drop it on his foot.
You have been hit! Lose 10% HP.
"FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH!" he cursed as he hopped up and down trying to alleviate the pain in his foot. The damn pestle weighed a frickin' ton! No wonder that old man was so fit if he had to lift this everyday. Regaining his composure, Krios crouched down to examine the heavy stone pestle. The actual item wasn't all that huge, about the size of a police baton or nightstick with a rounded head to pulverize the ingredients in the bowl. The grip was wrapped with some leather scraps to protect the users hands from the rough texture of the stone. Krios tried to identify the object again to see if he had missed sometihng.
"Identify!"
Item identification failed
Frustrated, Krios tried again.
"Identify!"
Altheazar's Granite mortar and pestle: Specialized stone compounding tools used by Master Alchemist Altheazar to create large quantities of medicine. The stone hand tool has a gravity enchantment on it to add weight to the pestle.
+25% Potion creation success
+5% Potion effectiveness.
"Holy shit! that shabby old man is actually a master alchemist, and what a monster to make an already heavy item even heavier!"
"What was that boy!"
"Nothing master!"
*Crap I said that out loud. Still, the old man is a lot more impressive than I originally thought to have such specialized equipment. He must be really dedicated to become a master alchemist.*
Krios began to grind up the herb leaves; he carefully followed the recipe for the potion he was supposed to be making. He meticulously pounded and ground up the red herbs, then he added in a little salt, some numbweed, and water to help extract all the medicinal compounds from the leaves. The ingredients slowly turned into a red-brown mud paste at the bottom of the bowl as Krios continued to pulverize the mixture. He was careful not to add in any ingredients not on the list as well as wash each container out to prevent cross contamination from old potions.
Several hours later, Krios was sweating heavily, his muscles felt like jelly and his compounding speed was starting to slow down dramatically.
*Almost finished, just have to make this last batch. Fuck this hurts! Why aren't my stats going up? This sucks!*
Krios continued to grind the herbs down into a paste, careful not to add too much water all while bitterly complaining in his mind about the unfairness of the situation.
You are starving!
Stamina regeneration will be reduced -30%.
Stats will be penalized -10%.
If you don't eat within 2 hours you will die.
"Shit, not again. What's with this plot development. The hero of the story isn't supposed to be eternally scrounging for food. This sucks!"
Krios continued to persevere despite the stat reduction which slowed his pace to a crawl. Each time he lifted the pestle, his arms trembled and sweat poured from his brow. He had already come this far though so he couldn't afford to give up here and die! With renewed furor, he viciously ground the herbs into a paste, until finally.
"I'm finished!"
Quest Complete!
After persevering for many hours, you have successfully compounded the entire stock of herbs into usable medicinal compounds without making any mistakes!
+10 Strength
+15 Stamina
+5 Sustenance
+1 Luck
Rewards: Return to Altheazar to receive skill
New Stat: Concentration
Improves success rate of skills. Applies to magic casting and crafting abilities.
You may not distribute points to this stat.
Alright! Nice stat gain! It wasn't totally useless afterall!
For repeatedly choosing to make your task even more difficult than it should be...
New skill: Doing it the hard way
(Passive)
Why settle for doing things the normal way when you can make your task even more difficult?
5% chance of generating new skills
5% chance of increasing random stat
"Huh?"
Krios stared at the window with confusion. What did the system mean by that? He had only done what the old man asked of him so why the new skill? And what's with this description? Is the AI trying to make him mad? Is a computer even able to make fun of a person?
"Oh finally finished are you boy?"
"Yes, I did as you asked old man and compounded the red herbs like you asked."
"Lets see then how badly you messed things up boy. Where are you, I can't find you."
"Over here master."
"Oh there you are Kri...Pbfft. BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!"
The ancient old alchemist bent over laughing hysterically at Krios. This made Krios feel angry, he had done the best job he could so why was this stupid scruffy looking geezer laughing at his seriousness? As he stood there simmering, the old man noticed his silence and said:
"You.. pfft... really... hehe... don't realize it... hah... do you?"
"What old man, you're pissing me off so hurry up and tell me what you think is so funny?"
"Weeeeeellllll..."
"Just say it already!"
"Fine but don't be mad yeah? Anyways when I asked you to grind up the red herbs so I could use them in potions I was talking about this table over here."
Krios followed behind the old man as he shuffled over to a hidden alcove near the front of the shop. A small work table stood there with a much smaller mortar and pestle along with a handful red herbs and various other ingredients all laid out in order of the instructions Altheazar had given Krios before he started. As it dawned on him Krios couldn't help but stand there and stare at the table refusing to accept what he knew to be the truth.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Actually, I just wanted a small demonstration to see if you had any talent boy. You sure proved me wrong, not only did you compound my entire stock of red herbs for health potions, you also did it while using that old relic that I keep."
"What do you mean old man?"
"That there giant enchanted monstrosity is something I used back in my younger days as an army medic. Back then I was a young hot head like you and the armsmen all called me 'The Walking Refinery.' The reason they called me that was cause I could supply potions for an entire legion by myself! The bigger alchemy guilds have huge set ups that can be used to mass produce potions but I did the same amount of work with just be trusty mortar and pestle. Anyways, as I was saying I haven't used that old thing in years since there isn't much demand for quality potion work. Nowadays I spend my retirement experimenting with new recipes and doing the odd request here and there for small batches of potions."
"EEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Krios couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was absolutely fuming about the old man's ambiguous instructions. He had slaved over that damn mortar for nearly the entire day! The amount of work he did was even comparable to the slave labor shoveling quest Ironhand assigned him judging by the amount of stats he gained at the end. On top of that he had compounded the man's entire stock of herbs for free basically! The only extra reward he received from the whole ordeal was a troll skill he got from the AI that he was tempted to delete because it pissed him off so much.
*Calm down me, you can fix this. Just demand for extra compensation or something. It may be your own damn fault for not asking the old man for better directions but still, he wouldn't try to cheat me out of the labor I did would he?*
Despite his anger Krios couldn't help but respect the old man for his skill. Altheazar may have become a grumpy old man but it was clear that he knew his stuff when it came to alchemy. He wasn't like normal alchemists either so maybe he could cut the old man some slack (since he probably would get his ass kicked if he tried to fight the geezer).
"Right then you proved your worth as an apprentice, come here and I'll teach you the skill."
Quest Complete: Learning to make Medicine
After going above and beyond what the Master Alchemist Altheazar asked of you, he has agreed to teach you the skill and take you on as his apprentice.
Rewards: New Skill Alchemy learned
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
New Skill: Alchemy
+10 Wisdom
+10 Dexterity
Tiredly Krios accepted the new skill.
"Show skill Alchemy!"
* Herbology (Lv. 1 18%): Ability to identify additional details about plants as well as increase potion effectiveness
* Herb Gathering (Lv. 1 0%): Increased harvest of ingredient materials in the wild, increased chance of finding rare herbs
* Potion Creation (Lv. 3 47%) Ability to refine ingredients into potions with varying effects
"Finally, I got something good." Krios muttered to himself darkly.
"What's that sonny?"
"Nothing old man Altheazar."
"Good then come with me. Since you used up all my herb stock, I'll show you a few tricks I picked up over the years. Bring the herb paste with you, you haven't finished creating the potion just yet."
"I haven't?"
"No ya moron, does that look like something you can put in a bottle and drink?"
"Ohhhhhh..."
You are Starving!
Stamina regeneration will be reduced -30%.
Stats will be penalized -10%.
If you don't eat within 1 hour you will die.
"Um old man can I have something to eat first?"
"Hmmm, oh right here swallow this."
Before Krios could react, the alchemist pulled out a black ball from his pocket and shoved it in Krios's mouth. On reflex Krios swallowed the black ball. Strangely enough immediately after he swallowed it his satiety filled up.
"What was that thing you gave me?"
Altheazar ignored this though and kept walking.
"Right here we are."
At the back of the shop behind the curtain, Krios saw a complex network of glass-work and gas burners all positioned in such a way that he couldn't help but feel like he was standing in the middle a of a mad scientist's laboratory. However the old alchemist walked past the whole thing over to a much simpler set up on a spotless table top off to the side. On the work bench Krios spotted a simple gas burner, a stand, a few beakers, and some odd looking flasks.
"Come here boy! Now put that down and watch."
Altheazar proceeded to scoop out a ball of herb paste with a shiny metal spoon. Then he added it to a beaker half full of water and mixed the whole thing up.
"Here boy identify this."
"Okay. Identify!"
Normal Health Potion
Effects: Restores up to 4000 HP for 5 minutes
"Now observe what I do carefully now."
After the paste was evenly diffused into the solution, he poured the mixture through a fine cloth strainer. The cloth filtered out all the particulate matter and let a stream of dark red liquid fill up another clean beaker. Altheazar carefully squeezed out the remaining liquid from the cloth and then set the leftover substrate to the side. He picked up the beaker and waved it in front of Krios.
"This right here is also a Health Potion. The Basic recipe can be altered to give different effects but the one you learned was the recipe to make a basic potion. By straining out the impurities you get a stronger potion effect afterwards. Here look at it carefully."
Krios took the offered potion and examined the beaker.
"Identify!"
Fine Health Potion
Effects: Restores up to 5000 HP for 5 minutes.
"Now that you know what that does, hand it back to me. Now pay attention here, this is a delicate process unlike what you were doing before. Now the real reason they called me "The Walking Refinery" is because of a trick I developed to save space on potions in the army. Watch closely."
Altheazar put the beaker onto the fire and proceeded to carefully reduce the liquid, stirring the mixture occasionally. As the liquid in the flask simmered, it grew thicker and gained a much greater depth of color.
"This process is called reduction and it's very easy to mess up the whole thing, so you have to pay constant attention to the mixture got it?"
"Uh yes?"
"Good, I discovered this technique while I was hungover and watching the cooks make breakfast. It seems that the army cooks have developed a peculiar technique that allows them to reduce a liquid until it grows so thick that it can be dried and turned into tablets which they pack into sealed boxes and take with them on campaign. Usually the cooks boil down beef stock or herb stock into a slurry which they spread out on a sheet to further bake in the sun and they break the resulting solidified product into cubes to take with them. One tablet or stock cube is enough to make a very basic soup for 100 men. They add other stuff in when reconstituting the cubes of course to give the soup more body but that's a different matter. The things that are most important when reducing the liquid is careful moderation of the fire so the solution doesn't burn, and thoroughly stirring the mixture to make sure the edges don't burn as it reduces. This only works cause we strained out the impurities at the beginning of the process. You probably were thinking that it wasn't worth the trouble since we lose a small quantity of potion when straining it and it only gives a small boost to the potion quality."
Krios couldn't help but agree with this statement since he felt it was rather wasteful.
"Well it is true that you lose some of the potion when processing it so many times but you haven't seen the full effect of this here secret process. Look at the mixture now and tell me what you see."
Krios was still skeptical, but he was also intrigued by the mysterious process before him so he did as the alchemist asked him.
"Identify!"
Concentrated Refined Health Syrup
This item is a special medicinal ingredient that was produced through the secret refining process created by Master Alchemist Altheazar.
Use 1 drop of Refined Health Syrup in water to produce a Normal Health Potion.
Use 2 drops of Refined Health Syrup in water to produce a Fine Health Potion
Item Restrictions;
Overdose of health syrup will result in severe poisoned status.
"WOW! That is amazing!"
Krios understood immediately the power of this secret method. The biggest challenge for players when soloing dungeons is running out of potions and items. Usually a player takes as many as 10 health and mana potions with him with additional antidotes and stamina potions depending on the class when exploring a dungeon. This however limits the available space in the inventory. Reducing the potion means each bottle of health syrup equates to around 100 normal health potions. This would lighten the player's inventory considerably since this game had a weight system that affected a player's movement speed.
"That's not all either."
"What there's more?"
"Yes, there is. Part 2 of my secret method involves using the Health syrup and the leftover paste though so bring it with you."
Altheazar shifted over to a different work bench with a flat board, several glass containers, and a small mana-forge strangely enough.
"Right give me the health syrup and the paste."
"Why do I smell bacon?"
"All in good time."
Altheazar then took the substrate he had strained out earlier and molded it into a flat layer on the board. Then he reached into the different containers and pulled out a variety of strange materials that all suspiciously smelled like normal food. Then the alchemist combined all the ingredients on the board and began to knead it with his hands. After he was satisfied with the thoroughly mixed paste, he pulled off small balls of the material and placed them on a stone plate spaced apart by a few centimeters. A few he also added some of the health syrup to a few of the balls. The alchemist picked up the now full tray and placed it in the forge. After waiting a few minutes, Altheazar reached back into the forge with a pair of tongs and removed the stone plate. He waved Krios over.
"Here boy it's finished now. Try examining the balls."
"Identify!"
Altheazar's secret food pills
By combining a variety of highly nutritious ingredients and baking them dry, the result is a concentrated energy supplement pill. Its effectiveness is limited though and repeated usage reduces the satiety it fills.
"I'm impressed old man."
"That's not all, look at these ones. There a bit special."
"Identify!"
Altheazar's Medicinal food pills
By combining nutritious ingredients and medicinal ingredients, the result is a pill with the same effects as medicinal cooking. Its effectiveness is limited though and repeated usage reduces the satiety it fills.
+10% health regeneration for 1 hour
You have seen the secret refining method created by the Master Alchemist Altheazar.
For being the first to discover this new method
+100 fame
+5 Wisdom
You have learned new subskills:
* Reduction (Lv. MAX): Allows a skilled alchemist to reduce potions increasing their effectiveness.
* Pill Creation (Lv. MAX): Allows a skilled alchemist to create pills with various effects
Krios was astounded by the secret medicines Altheazar showed him one after another. Why wasn't the old man filthy rich then if he had all these great medicines? Did he want to keep it secret for some reason? Krios couldn't figure out why the alchemist chose to work in this dingy little shop when he could be working for kings and queens with his skills.
"I don't know what to say old man... Thank you for showing me all this."
"You're a good boy Krios. I know you're an adventurer so this knowledge will serve you well. Maybe when you get famous you'll remember old Altheazar and come back to visit eh? HAHAHAH!"
"Thanks old man."
"Now judging by the state of your clothes, you are probably homeless right now. I would offer you a place to stay but it's rather cramped here. I'll make you a deal though. I'll pay you 1 gold for every 10 potions you make. Start with basic mana potions then work your way up as you practice more and become more proficient at it. I hear that the Lord Weed has recently built many shacks for adventurers like yourself to purchase. The price for one was around 25 gold I think. If you make enough, you can even upgrade your shack to a house."
"Thank you old man I'll take you up on that offer."
"Alright I'm going upstairs to rest these old bones now, the shop will take care of itself since hardly anyone ever comes here."
Altheazar began to walk upstairs seeing as night was closing fast. Krios also decided to take a nap in the shop in a comfy looking armchair that the old alchemist probably sat in while he rested downstairs.
"Today was quite productive. I learned a few hidden skills and got a job, a place to crash for now, and a steady source of income. Tomorrow I will go train some combat skills. Blacksmithing and Alchemy are all well and good, but you can't kill monsters as a craftsman..."
As Krios drifted off to sleep, somewhere in the city discontent brewed. A group of shadowy figures met and held a whispered conversation, then quickly moved on. Morata's night while lit by the amazing sculptures of her lord Weed, still held an intangible darkness to it...