As the boy fell unconscious at his feet, Gii quickly rummaged through his clothes. What he had just done was deal a non-lethal blow to the NPC. It wasn't a widely known thing amongst the playerbase right now because of the generally low levels of the players but it was possible to knock out a lower level npc. The requirement was to hit a NPC character who was lower level than you in the back or side of the head with the blunt edge of a weapon and they would enter the "unconcious" state for a period of time.

Gii unwrapped the cloth that was surrounding the wodden box clutched in the boy's arms and noticed that he also was holding a letter sealed in wax with the holy symbol of Crassius. Although he wanted to open the letter, he had no way to reproduce the wax seal to make it look like it had not been tampered with. Fortunately, he really did not need to know the secrets of the church nor did he have any desire to interact with the higher ups in the church as the most likely result when he met them would be his death.

The box did not have any anti-tamper seal however, and it seemed to be more of a personal gift. It had a simple latch that did not have a locking mechanism and so Gii simply unhooked the latch and opened the box to look at what was inside. What he saw was a soft velvet interior that housed an ornate looking potion bottle which had a small blue rope tied around the top. Looking at the item description, Gii had a sharp intake of breath.

You have acquired 1x Uchronic Elixir (3 uses)

An Uchronic Elixir!?

Gii could hardly contain his excitement when he saw the potion bottle. An Uchronic Elixir was a tier 4 consumable! Truthfully this item was not really sought after that much in his previous life because it was more of a novelty item. However, it is actually a potion that manipulates time! The downside is that its effects were somewhat random unless it was crafted by a very skilled tier 4 alchemist. There would be varying effects, most of which would be detrimental or not really help in combat situations. For players, they would usually aim for the boost in attack speed in combat as the primary effect, but it also had the possiblity of reversing years or adding years to a character's lifespan.

The most likely scenario will be that it instantly ages him a few years and kills him, but i'd rather not risk it.

Gii quickly moved the unconcious boy to an area that was hidden and rushed off toward the apothecary, with his intention being to swap out the contents of the bottle. Eventually Gii came upon the entrance to the Unicorn's Apothecary and walked in like he had before. He was greeted with the smiling face of the shopkeep Mara behind the counter.

"Hey Mara! i'm actually looking for a strong poison to use today as I have a delivery that will take me into some dangerous territory. Do you have anything that would be difficult for beasts to notice?"

"Difficult for beasts to notice you say? hmmm..."

Mara seemed to think things over a little bit and then turned to head into the back room, emerging shortly afterward holding a case with 3 small vials. She placed the case on the counter and began to explain.

"These are Jasper poisons and they are probably the best things for beasts as they have no smell for them to pick up on. Each vial will have about 3 doses. If you want them all, I can give you a deal for them at Ð1500."

Gii smiled at her wink and salesmanship and immediately agreed to the deal. He placed the money on the table then picked up the vials and thanked her while exiting the building. He made a small detour and took a little bit of extra time to get back to the alley where the boy was so as try and throw off anyone who may have seen him. Eventually he was able to make it back to the alleyway and he immediately set to work to swap out the contents.

However it didn't take long before Gii realized he would not be able to completely swap the contents as there was a deep purple/blue hue to the elixir that he didnt have the means to reproduce. Instead what he did was empty one of the vials down a sewer drain that was located in the alleyway. He cleaned out the vial with the remnants of his waterskin and then carefully tilted the Uchronic elixir to fill the vial which was about half of its size. Although he spilled a small amount during the process he was satisfied when he looked at the small vial that was full.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

1x Glass Vial of Uchronic Elixir

The original elixir now only showed 2 uses left and he immediately opened one of the vials and poured its contents into the original Elixir bottle. After it had been completely emptied he swirled the contents around to make sure that everything was mixed really well and then analyzed the elixir once again.

1 x Poisoned Uchronic Elixir (2 uses)

The poison he had purchased was intended for use on large creatures like bears, so for a human to drink 3 doses of that he would most likely be dead before anyone had a chance to use any healing abilities or analyze the poison and develop an antidote. He quickly wrapped the elixir back up in it's packaging and placed the box next to the unconcious boy, then he searched the boy for his wallet and ran off with the funds he had just acquired.

A few minutes later, young Thomas awoke and immediately startled to his feet. He wasn't sure how long he had been knocked out but he frantically looked around until he spotted the box lying behind some garbage near him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that the important package that had been given to him by the head priest was still intact. He quickly opened it and confirmed that the bottle had not been taken out of it and the letter he had been given was not opened as well. He did notice that his money pouch had been stolen but that was not important to him right now.

The head priest had let him know that the contents of that elixir could very well save his master's life! So Thomas treated it as the most important thing in the world right now. He gathered everything up and rubbed the back of his head that was throbbing in pain right now, then he proceeded to follow the most direct route on the main roadways until he eventually reached his master's estate. He proceeded directly to his master's bed chamber and found his master sleeping peacefully in his bed.

Thomas placed the box with the elixir on the bedside table and left the letter on top of that so it would be easily noticeable. He then gently shook his the old man's shoulder and called out to him.

"Master Tiberius! Master Tiberius! I have returned with a gift from the head priest, he said to give it to you directly."

The old man furrowed his brows in his sleep and mumbled under his breath. He seemed to slightly crack his eyes open and looked around confused for a moment before he saw the small servant boy standing over him and shaking him awake. He went to smile but was suddenly violently shaken awake by an intense coughing fit. Thomas quickly went and got the personal physician that was in the other room and he had the old man drink some medicine that eased the coughing fit. After about 10 minutes or so he finally settled down enough to crack a smile.

Old man Tiberius looked warmly at the young boy who was tearing up while looking at him and forced out some words through gasping breaths.

"Young Thomas, I am sorry you have to see me like this. It seems I will not be able to share my stories with you much longer..."

"No! Master TIberius, there is hope! I've just returned from giving the head priest your letter like you asked. He asked that I bring this back to you and says it can help!"

Thomas then quickly handed over the letter that was on the desk while doing his best to keep a strong front. Tiberius looked genuinely surprised at the letter and took it from the outstreched arms of Thomas. As he opened the letter, Thomas watched as a myriad of different emotions seemed to flash over old Tiberius's face. There was surprise, then happiness, sadness, frustration...all of the spectrum of emotions passed over his face until eventually he smiled bitterly and looked at the box on the table next to him. A sigh escaped his mouth

~sigh~

"Thank you for trying your best for me old friend..."

As he quietly mumbled the words, Thomas was not sure what to make of the situation. The head priest had told him the potion would save his life! Surely he should be happier than this? Tiberius then changed his focus from his inward reflection back towards the young boy in from of him.

"Thomas."

The young servant boy stood up straight after being addressed in such a straight forward manner.

"This potion that you have brought me could very well save my life, however it could also be the last thing I ever drink."

There was a panic on the boys face but he quickly quieted down as Tiberius motioned his hand and continued speaking

"I want you to know that the head priest is a very old and close friend of mine. If anything is to happen to me, you are to immediately go to the head preist and report it. He will be your most trustworthy ally and can help you, understood?"

Thomas simply nodded in understanding but inwardly he was clenching his jaw at his inability to accept the current circumstances. However, he obediantly stood at the side of the bed and watched as old man Tiberius opened the box and uncorked the Elixir that had been given to him by his old friend. He once more looked at the ceiling in reflection.

"If only I was once more back in my youth, I'd be able to help in the coming storm..."

With those last words he brought the elixir to his mouth and gulped back large mouthfuls of the liquid. Thomas watched anxiously and waited for the effects of the potion to take place. However, almost immediately he realized that something was not right as Tiberius dropped the Elixir before he could even finish half of it. The contents of the bottle spilled onto the sheets of the bed and TIberius began to clutch and scratch at his throat. It looked like he tried to yell for help but the content of his words were trapped in his throat and the only thing that came up was a dark bile from his stomach. Thomas watched in horror as this scene unfolded before him. This old man he viewed as a grandfather clutched at anything nearby and squirmed in pain until Thomas finally snapped back to reality and rushed out to find the physician.

Unfortunately by the time the Physician was able to make it to the room, it was not even 10 minutes before the great Tiberius Atoll was pronounced dead. In another part of the city, currently in the middle of a courier quest, Gii smirked as he suddenly received a number of notifications in front of his face.