“Alright, done with 50 potions.” Leon gave a content sigh as he just finished the last batch of health potions. It had taken him nearly four hours, but he was finally done. I’m less tired than I thought. Leon didn’t feel sluggish even after 4 hours of work.

That was to be expected when one could find immense joy in their work. Leon quickly learned he loved doing alchemy. He had also gained 2 levels during this crafting session, making him go to level 13.

First things first, let’s sell these potions. Leon was about to sell his potions when a thought occurred to him. Are Luna and sis even using these? He wanted to help his friends and family, so shouldn’t he give a few to them?

Leon nodded and decided to give a few to them. Using his friend’s list, he sent a message and three potions to each person. After that was done, he looked at the price and threw 40 potions on the marketplace for 85 copper a piece.

That should still double my investment. Now time for the real fun. Leon got a giddy look and took out the serpent’s corpse from his inventory. The first thing he did was drain and collect all of its blood.

[Mossback Serpent blood] (Green)

Blood from a Mossback Serpent. Has a decent amount of life energy. Can be used in Alchemy.

Upon draining the snake, he proceeded with caution to create a tiny opening beneath its eyes, taking care to make a superficial cut on the skin. Leon was very careful, as he didn’t want to puncture what he was looking for. He was in immense focus and even Beans kept quiet during this time.

Peeling back layer after layer, he soon found a small sac inside its mouth. There you are. Leon had found the serpent’s venom glands and was ready to extract the toxin. Grabbing a syringe that was in the room, he poked the gland and sucked up an opaque, colourless liquid.

He then carefully poured it into a small bottle of his own, and soon the item was created.

[Mossback Serpent venom] (Green)

Venom extracted from a Mossback Serpent, has a paralysing effect. Can be used in alchemy.

Leon felt exhilarated as he looked at the bottle with a smile. He felt like an actual researcher exploring the unknown world that was alchemy. He also got the serpent’s meat, which was going to be sold for some money or given to Beans.

Before Leon could experiment with the items, he got a message from Luna, {Thanks for the potions, they’ll absolutely come in handy! I still haven’t chosen a profession yet.}

Ever the fighting lover, with a suitable profession, she could get even stronger. Leon shook his head. He thought about a suitable profession for Luna and soon the answer hit him, in shows of his past life characters that fought often also ate a ton.

Now it could just be a gag, or even nonsense, but food built the body. Leon had first-hand experience with that, as body got stronger with better food. He sent Luna another message advising her about the cooking profession and explained his reasoning.

{You know Tempest, if I didn’t know you better I would think you’re making a woman in the kitchen joke. Thanks for the advice, I’ll keep it in mind!} Her reaction made Leon sigh in defeat. He wasn’t making a joke.

Focusing back on the materials and alchemy, Leon thought about what he wanted to create. I could try to create a tranquillizing poison with the venom, or I could go the opposite route and craft, maybe some resistance to poison. Leon weighed his options.

He had previously already written off poisons as Leon didn’t like them, so poison resistance it was. Having thought of an end goal, it was time to think about the process. Previously, Leon used an established recipe, but this time he was going to use no recipe.

Snake blood should have some anti-bodies for its venom, but too much venom and it will overpower the antibodies. A plan slowly formed in Leon’s mind by theorising and shutting down thoughts and didn’t seem likely.

Alright, let’s try this. Leon had an idea and carefully mixed one drop of venom and three drops of snake blood into a small bottle. After that, he threw some water into the cauldron and brought it to a boil.

Leon added the mixture and was prepared to stir it when a smelly black smoke quickly erupted from the cauldron. Oh no. He got a bad feeling and activated the defence mechanism of the room. One moment later, the cauldron erupted and spewed a massive billow of smelly, black smoke.

Luckily, Leon was behind a safe screen. Unfortunately, it didn’t protect him from the smell as a foul burning odour quickly filled the room, making him gag as he struggled for air.

He quickly activated the ventilation system in the room and the smell disappeared and he could breathe again. That didn’t work. Was the heat too high? The burnt smell was a good sign it was too hot.

After cleaning everything up, Leon gave it another try on a lower heat this time. Soon he went through 5 failed batches, getting closer and closer each time. This one has to work. Leon thought as he had little poison left, he likely had three tries left.

The first thing Leon did was dry the blood grass. Once it was dried, he could grind it up in a powder rather than a paste. This was easier to dissolve and wouldn’t clump together. He created another venom mixture and poured some water into the cauldron.

He activated the cauldron’s flames and put it on a low flame, only heating it slightly and not boiling it. Once the blood grass powder was poured in and thoroughly stirred, he slowly added the venom mixture and continued mixing until it was completely incorporated.

Leon kept stirring and keeping the cauldron on a low flame for over 5 minutes, making sure it didn’t boil. Soon a pleasant aroma came from the cauldron, and he knew he had succeeded. He removed the flame, letting the cauldron cool down normally to room temperature, and sealed the mixture into a glass bottle.

[Congratulations on being the first player to brew a potion without a recipe! Awarding title Pioneer Alchemist! Would you like to announce your achievement?] Leon still didn’t want to attract any attention to himself because of anxiety, so the game gave the same announcement to the players as before with an anonymous alchemist this time.

[You’ve successfully learned a basic anti-paralysis potion on your own. Obtained 500 EXP.] [You’ve successfully created a basic anti-paralysis potion (White). Obtained 80 EXP.] With the messages out of the way, Leon could finally look at the item.

[Basic anti-paralysis potion] (White)

Cures minor adverse effects of paralysis poisons. Gives a minor resistance to paralysis poisons for 3 minutes.

It’s good, but using all those green items only created a white? Leon was happy, but it felt like he had wasted some of the potion’s properties. Could it be the base? Water as a base was very safe, but it did little for the quality.

Leon looked around and noticed the midnight dew. What if I use that and create a more powerful mixture? Leon had enough poison for two more tries normally, but if he dumped all of it with the midnight dew as a base, wouldn’t that create a better potion?

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Midnight dew was more stable and harmonious than water, so in theory, this should work. After having his theory set, he cleaned everything up and decided on one last try. He did the same procedure but instead of water; he used midnight dew and a more powerful mixture.

The result nearly took 10 minutes of brewing as it was slower to mix, but a more powerful aroma came from the cauldron once it was done. [You’ve successfully created a basic anti-paralysis potion (Green). Obtained 120 EXP.]

[Basic anti-paralysis potion] (Green)

Cures adverse effects of paralysis. Gives resistance to paralysis for 11 minutes.

A content smile came from Leon as he finally crafted his very first green-quality item. Finally, I’ve done it! He also noticed the odd minutes for resistance and looked at the title that he had obtained earlier.

Pioneer Alchemist: (+10% to the potion’s effect at green quality or lower.) That’s incredible! Leon knew that with this buff he could make health potions that restored 22% health instead of 20%. Although it might not be grand, it would make his potions more valuable than others.

Sadly, Leon was out of materials and out of time. He could buy some again as all his other potions had sold, giving him 33 silver and 66 copper. However, Beans was fidgeting because he wanted to go out there and fight.

Cleaning the room one last time, he left and exited the Alchemists’ Guild. However, instead of going straight to the Adventurers’ Guild, he first took a stop at a skill book shop. Beans needs some more skills, If we run into a big group we’re in trouble. Leon realised a hole in his fighting strategy.

So far, Leon has only fought one on one, but that wouldn’t last forever as on the previous quest he had noticed the goblins moved in groups. Other monsters also group up not only goblins. If Leon wanted Beans to grow into a good support, he needed more CC skills.

Entering the skill shop was like walking into a library of sorts. Books filled the shelves and were behind glass containers. Of course, all of these books were protected by magic circles that would stop any attempt at thieving.

“Hello there, sir! How can I help you?” Asked a perky female worker who was standing behind the counter.

“Do you have earth-elemental skills for beasts? Something with stunning properties or utility?” Leon’s tone flat as he wore his mental mask.

The woman put her index finger on her chin as she thought, “We do have a few books like that. Hold on one moment, please.” She said as she started to collect a few books from the shelves and glass containers.

She came back with a stack of five books. “Here are all the ones I could find!” She said with a smile as she spread out the book. Leon didn’t dare to even touch them unless he wanted to find out the worker’s power. Assessing them from a small distance was plenty fine.

[Quicksand Trap] (Active Spell)

Requirement: 20 Intelligence and an Earth elemental soul. Create a quicksand and drag down opponents in a 1x10 meter radius for up to 15 seconds. Cost 30 Mana. Cooldown 45 seconds.

Price: 30 silver

[Digging] (Active Skill)

Requirement: 10 Strength and an Earth elemental soul. Part the ground and dig through to create tunnels. Uses stamina.

Price: 5 silver

[Sandstorm Veil] (Active Spell)

Requirement: 15 Wisdom and an Earth elemental soul. Create a 2x10 meter veil of sand which decreases the opponent’s visibility and slows them down. Cost 10 Mana per second. Cooldown: 1 minute.

Price: 28 Silver

[Seismic Shock] (Active Spell)

Requirement: 20 Intelligence and an Earth elemental soul. Stomp on the ground and send a 3x10 meter wide shock through the ground stunning all enemies in the radius for up to 10 seconds. Cost 25 Mana. Cooldown 40 seconds.

Price: 25 silver

[Stone Dash] (Active Skill)

Requirement 30 Agility and an Earth elemental soul. Cover yourself in stones and tackle the opponent knocking them back a great deal. Cost 50 Mana. Cooldown 2 minutes.

Price: 40 silver

Plenty of options. Should I get one or two skills? Leon carefully weighed his options. Oddly enough, his eyes kept going back to the digging skill. It was a very broad skill that seemed useless at first sight due to a lack of effect, but Leon could see potential in it.

If I’m picking digging, then do I also pick up Seismic Shock or do I choose Sand Veil? Leon thought for a few minutes, but the worker didn’t mind it. Skills were a very important choice and not many customers would come by.

“I’ll pick Digging and Seismic Shock please,” Leon finally said, making his choices.

The woman smiled and nodded happily, as she knew being patient would be helpful, “Of course! That will be 30 silver, please.”

Leon paid the woman and called out to Beans to learn the book. She was a bit surprised to see a ferret, but then she started to gush over him. 2 skills were learned and five head pats later, Leon left the shop to go to the Adventurers’ Guild.

Name: Beans (Beast)

Affiliation: Tempest

Beast Soul: Earth Moving Ferret (Bronze)

Earth Moving Ferret (Bronze): Gain +5 stats per level up divided automatically to natural growth. Gain access to Earth elemental magic spells. Every 5 levels, select a new spell or skill from a choice of three. Can evolve.

Level: 13

HP: 660/660

Mana: 330/330

Physical Power: 26

Magical Power: 46

Physical Defence: 6%

Magical Defence: 14%

Strength: 13

Agility: 36

Intelligence: 23

Wisdom: 33

Vitality: 33

Skills:

Biting Assault: Active skill. Requirement: Sharp teeth. Lung at the opponent biting into them, dealing an additional 25 points of damage Cooldown: 10 seconds. Skill Level: 1 (Mastery 5/100)

Earth Snare: Active Spell. Requirement: 15 Intelligence and an Earth elemental soul. Stomp on the ground, erecting a small hill that grabs the opponent’s feet, binding them for up to 10 seconds. Cost 20 Mana. Cooldown 30 seconds. Skill Level: 1 (Mastery 7/100)

Digging: Active Skill. Requirement: 10 Strength and an Earth elemental soul. Part the ground and dig through to create tunnels. Uses stamina. Skill Level: 1 (Mastery 0/100)

Seismic Shock: Active Spell. Requirement: 20 Intelligence and an Earth elemental soul. Stomp on the ground and send a 3x10 meter wide shock through the ground, stunning all enemies in the radius for up to 10 seconds. Cost 25 Mana. Cooldown 40 seconds. Skill Level: 1 (Mastery 0/100)

Leon took a look at Beans’s statistics and nodded, as he knew Beans was one step closer to being a good support for Leon’s DPS role. Leon knew he would be the end DPS on the team. Now he only needed a tank, a healer, and a scout as well.

All in the future, for now, let’s build up Beans a bit more. Leon focused on the here and now as he walked to the Adventurers’ Guild. The sun was starting to go down, which meant that as the streets started to slow down, nighttime quickly became Leon’s favourite time.

Leon also remembered that he had 15 free points to spend. His soul gave him +1 Intelligence and Wisdom for free. Using his previous spread, he added 8 Intelligence, 5 Wisdom and 2 Vitality, still focusing on damage and MP.

Name: Tempest (Human)

Affiliation: None

Titles: Pioneer Summoner (+1 stat per level up for all familiars.) Pioneer Alchemist (+10% to the potion’s effect at green quality or lower.

Class Soul: Summoner (Beginner)

Summoner Soul (Beginner): Gain +1 Intelligence and +1 Wisdom each level. Gain 5 free attribute points per level up. Access to the Summoner skill tree, every 5 levels gain one skill from a choice of three.

Profession Soul: Alchemist’s Soul (Beginner)

Alchemist’s Soul (Beginner): Gain the ability to create up to blue-quality items through alchemy

Ability Soul: None

Transfigure Soul: None

Enchantment Soul: None

Level: 13

HP: 180/180

Mana: 330/330

Physical Power: 9

Magical Power: 147

Physical Defence: 3%

Magical Defence: 11%

Strength: 3

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 62

Wisdom: 33

Vitality: 9

Free Attribute Points 0

Skills:

Stab: Active skill. Requirement: Dagger. Additional 6 points of damage. Cooldown: 3 seconds. Skill Level: 1 (Mastery 18/100)

Arcane Missile: Active Spell. Requirement: 20 Intelligence. Condense a mass of mana into a missile to fire at the opponent for an additional 25% more damage. Cost 15 mana. Cooldown 2 seconds. Skill Level: 2 (Mastery 12/200)

Contract: Active Spell. Form a bond with a sentient being at Bronze level or below, making them your familiar. (Note familiar’s stats change when converted.) Cost: 15 Mana. Cooldown: 1 hour. Mastery 5/10.

Meditation: Active Skill. Requirement: 10 Wisdom. Draw in the ambient mana, helping to recover your own. Recover 1MP per second. Skill Level: 1 (Mastery 4/100)

Gathering Skills

Skinning: Skin and process killed beast-like monsters under Bronze rank for materials. Mastery 31/100.

Equipment:

[Arcane Gathering Pendant] (Blue)

Equipment Level 10

Intelligence +10, Wisdom +5

Durability 30/30

Passive Skill: Recover 5 points of mana every second.

A pendant meticulously crafted to increase the wielder’s magic focus and gathering abilities.

[Celestial Robes] (Green)

Equipment Level: 7

Requirement: Intelligence 10

Wisdom +4

Physical Defence: +2%

Magical Defence: +7%

Durability: 20/20

Additional Skill: Protective Shield - Create a shield that blocks the next incoming attack. Cooldown: 1 minute.

[Arcane Strider Boots] (Green)

Equipment Level: 8

Requirement: Intelligence 10

Intelligence +4

Physical Defence: +1%

Magical Defence: +4%

Durability: 20/20

Additional Skill: Arcane Step - Blink forward a short distance, leaving behind an illusion. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

[Venomous Staff] (Green)

Equipment Level 11

Requirement: Intelligence 18

Intelligence: +6

Magical Power: +23

Durability: 20/20

With one final look at his own status screen, he felt ready and confident as he stepped into the Adventurers’ Guild to take on another job.