Lynn stared wide-eyed. Without saying a word, he quickly opened the counter and grabbed the high-quality enhancement potion his teacher had painstakingly researched.
"Try this one. This time, it will definitely satisfy you."
Lynn spoke seriously.
[Top-tier Berserk Potion]
[Effect]: Significantly boosts all-around abilities and induces a berserk state in the target.
He placed the blood-red potion on the table.
Without a doubt, this potion was the top-tier, secret weapon of the Blood-Saw Apothecary.
The Black Knight reached out, grabbed the bottle, and drank it in one go.
In an instant, a flash of red light illuminated his body, and his eyes briefly glowed with crimson, a clear sign that the potion was taking effect.
[Ding! Crisis Level 20]
"It’s ineffective."
The Black Knight casually tossed the empty bottle aside and rasped,
"This potion might work on weaker creatures, but on me, it’s almost negligible."
"..."
Lynn stared, his eyes widening, before quickly grabbing another high-quality potion from under the counter.
"Then try this!"
"Trash."
[Crisis Level 30]
"...What about this one?!"
"A hemorrhoid remedy."
[Crisis Level 40]
"...This one is definitely the best!"
"Expired."
[Crisis Level 60]
"..."
Several minutes passed, and Lynn stood grimly, looking at the empty bottles scattered across the counter, then glancing at the now visibly irritated Black Knight.
Clearly, none of the potions in the Apothecary could meet the Black Knight’s expectations.
[Crisis Level 91]
Lynn felt the anxiety creeping in.
What seemed like a simple task was actually far more dangerous than the others he had undertaken before.
"It seems you don’t have any better potions after all."
The Black Knight raised his head and cracked his neck. His voice rasped,
"You’re wasting my time."
[Crisis Level 95]
"Wait!"
With the crisis level dangerously close to peaking, Lynn quickly raised his hand, adjusted his monocle, and calmly said,
"We do have one last potion I’m confident will meet your requirements, but I don’t have it in stock. I’ll need to brew it on the spot! If you can wait, I promise it’ll be the best."
The Black Knight gave him a piercing look.
"Oh?"
Lynn remained calm.
"If you’re not satisfied with this potion, you can kill me on the spot."
[Ding! Crisis Level Reduced by 5]
The Black Knight’s glowing eyes revealed a hint of interest as he spoke indifferently,
"Is that so? Fine. I’ll give you half an hour to brew it. Like you said, if I’m not satisfied, I’ll kill you."
"Good!" Lynn nodded seriously.
...
Lynn rushed to the backyard without hesitation.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Without a second thought, he immediately retrieved the recipe he had earned as a reward for healing the Root-Level Monster from the system space.
[Critical Hit Potion]
[Quality]: Special
[Materials]: Root-level Creature Tissue x1, Explosion Fruit Pulp x1, Hell Three-leaf Grass x4, Black Bat Wings x1, etc.
[Description]: A potion that significantly increases critical hit rate, but may cause some minor, negligible side effects...
The reward from healing the Root-Level Monster.
This was undoubtedly the best potion he could offer.
"I’ll just have to bet on this. The system’s recipe should be far better than anything from this world!"
Lynn’s expression grew serious.
He quickly ran into the warehouse to gather the various materials needed for the potion.
Most of the materials were already in stock from his teacher’s warehouse, but the hardest to obtain—Root-level Creature Tissue—was also available.
Last night, while treating the Hunter’s teeth, he had obtained a large amount of tooth fragments and the creature’s oral mucus.
He had kept those.
The materials were of the highest quality.
Once everything was ready, Lynn rushed to the backyard’s alchemy room to begin the brewing process!
His alchemy skills weren’t the highest, but after two years of learning from his teacher, his craft had improved significantly.
"Start brewing!"
[Ding! You ground the ingredients into powder. Alchemy Experience +1]
[Ding! You extracted Explosion Fruit Pulp. Alchemy Experience +1]
[Ding! You purified Slime Mucus. Alchemy Experience +1]
Bubble, bubble—
Lynn stirred the viscous liquid in a large cauldron, watching strange bubbles rise as the flames burned fiercely.
He wore a mask, his expression serious.
"First, add the Black Bat Wings, then the Human-faced Wolf Spider’s fangs."
[Ding! You added ingredients to the potion. Alchemy Experience +1]
[Ding! You added ingredients to the potion. Alchemy Experience +1]
Boom—
The potion in the cauldron turned from white to purple, and skulls began popping up one by one from the bubbling mixture.
Lynn stood impassively in front of the cauldron, stirring continuously.
The potion shifted through various colors—red, blue, black, and purple—constantly changing.
Time passed quickly.
Before long, twenty minutes had gone by in the blink of an eye.
[Ding! You brewed Critical Hit Potion x1. Alchemy Experience +10]
[Ding! You brewed Critical Hit Potion x1. Alchemy Experience +10]
[Ding! You brewed Critical Hit Potion x1. Alchemy Experience +10]
With each system notification, Lynn quickly poured the potion into empty bottles, placing them on the counter with swift precision.
Ten bottles of Critical Hit Potion were now neatly arranged before him!
This also earned him an additional 100 Alchemy Experience.
[Critical Hit Potion]: For humanoid creatures only. Increases the target’s critical hit rate by 100, with some minor side effects...
"Whether I pass this test depends on how well this potion works!"
Lynn’s expression was tense.
...
In the hall, Lynn calmly pushed the black-red Critical Hit Potion toward the Black Knight.
He adjusted his monocle, his tone serious,
"This is the Critical Hit Potion, a newly launched high-quality potion at our shop. You’re the first customer to try it, so the effect is for you to judge!"
The Black Knight glanced at the plain bottle, his fingers tapping it lightly.
He picked it up, his voice neutral as he spoke,
"Are you sure this is your best potion? Think carefully, because if this doesn’t meet my standards, I’ll do as we agreed and kill you."
Lynn remained calm,
"I’m absolutely confident it’ll satisfy you!"
But deep inside, Lynn was anxious.
He had no way of knowing how well this potion would work.
At this point, though, he had no choice but to trust the system’s quality!
Pop—
The Black Knight uncorked the bottle.
Immediately, a faint but pungent odor wafted out, and upon inhaling it, the Black Knight froze for a moment.
The stench! Clearly, the potion didn’t smell pleasant.
But what was surprising was that, just from the scent alone, he could feel a tremendous surge of power stirring within him.
For someone like him, who had been using potions for years, this was a sensation he hadn’t felt in many years.
He became more serious.
Taking the potion in hand, he opened his mouth and drank it in one go.
Buzz—
In that instant, he felt an intensely bitter hot flow surge through his body.
"This... this power!"
He trembled, staring at his arms as he immediately stood up.