For all of Theo’s fear of the initial assault of the plant monster, its roots dug deep into the ground, rooting it there. The monster howled with rage, flailing razor-sharp limbs in the air to little effect. Once he caught his breath, the alchemist was on his feet, dusting the dirt from his backside and letting out a low chuckle.

“That was close,” Theo said, observing the monster for a few moments.

While the one that received the growth potion had turned monstrous, the other plants were fine. They showed no sign of monstrous tendencies, simply swaying with the gentle breeze. Perg poked her head around the corner of the Newt and Demon, laughing as she watched the monster.

“We’re making monsters, now?” Perg asked.

Theo turned his gaze to the Half-Ogre woman, smiling despite his fear. “I didn’t mean to. I was trying to cultivate my own reagents.”

“Well, you’ve cultivated something. Is it immobile?” Perg asked, moving toward the monster with a stick in her hand. She poked at it, the creature slicing the piece of wood clear in half. “Guess so.”

They stood there for some time, watching as the monster did its best to uproot itself. The implications of creating monsters were vast, but no practical applications came to Theo’s mind. Lining the walls outside with monstrous plants might seem good on the surface, but if the constant shrieking impacted the lives of the citizens, it wouldn’t be worth it. Several minutes passed by before a shrill voice sounded from nowhere, cutting through the monster’s protests.

“Die fiend!” Tresk bellowed, emerging from the shadow of the building and leading with both of her wicked daggers.

Theo could barely keep up with the fight. The Marshling moved in a blur, popping up behind the plant monster only to vanish a moment later. She ended the fight as quickly as it started, leaping over the monster, vanishing from sight, and appearing as a thin white line that split it in half. Each side of the creature fell away, soaking the ground in a vile green ichor.

Tresk rushed over, patting Theo down with a concerned look on her face. “Are you alright?”

Perg laughed.

“I’m fine,” Theo said, patting the Marshling on the head. “I was just experimenting.”

“With monsters?” Tresk asked, heaving a breath. “I ran all the way here from the dungeon.”

“Wow,” Perg said. “How did you do that?”

Tresk perked up, puffing her chest out and grinning. “I have secret assassin powers.”

“She burned her cooldowns,” Perg said, nodding.

Theo laughed, shaking his head and approaching the monster. He inspected the corpse, pushing away the dirt and pressing his hand against the roots. They looked different, swollen with that same green, sticky material. He was shocked when the system produced an item description.

[Immature Monsterized Spiny Swamp Thistle Root]

[Junk]

Rare

The root of an immature monsterized spiny swamp thistle plant. This item has no practical use. If left to mature, this monster will produce a reagent.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Theo said, explaining what the description said.

“I’m not saying you should start a monster farm,” Tresk said, dancing in place. “But I got experience for killing that thing.”

Theo ran his fingers along the line of his jaw, falling into thought. That was an interesting thing to consider. The [Lesser Potion of Growth] was easy enough to make, and he could create an enclosure for the monsters to keep everyone safe. He shook his head, banishing the thoughts from his mind. For the time being, this was another distraction that took away from his immediate goals. He filed it away in his mind and set his gaze on Tresk.

“Another time, I think,” Theo said. “We’ve got a few too many projects going on.”

Tresk nodded. “I heard you were going to tax the adventurers.”

“How did you hear that?” Theo asked, knitting his brow. “You keep saying word travels fast, but this is ridiculous.”

“I saw Zan’kir earlier,” Tresk said, shrugging. “He knew.”

“Taxing the adventurers?” Perg said, moving closer to inspect the monster. “Is that smart?”

“We want to be taxed,” Tresk said, shrugging. “Everyone thought it was a good idea, since we pull so much money out of the dungeon. None of that goes back to Broken Tusk. Only those dirty Qavelli fat-cats get any of it.”

“Speaking of fat-cats,” Perg said, withdrawing a single gold coin from a satchel at her hip. She handed it over to Theo with a smile. “Your take of a few sales.”

Theo took the coin graciously, stuffing it in his inventory. The deal he made with Perg granted him 10 percent of all her sales. Forever. As long as he provided her with the tanning potions, he got a cut. Although he didn’t care to say it out loud, he considered this money a fund for the town, not that he distinguished between his purse and the town’s.

“Thank you,” Theo said. “Aarok is still working on tallying the money from the monster wave.”

“Ah, well,” Perg said, shrugging. “We’re doing good, so whatever money it provides is good. I need to get back to work.”

Perg turned on the spot and left without another word. Theo was relieved as he withdrew Uharis’ early warning crystal from his inventory. He winced. It was glowing a strange brown color. The alchemist wished that he was left instructions for what the colors meant, other than red being the worst possible color.

“What does brown mean?” Tresk asked.

“Nothing good,” Theo said, returning the item to his inventory. “I think we’re going to have a monster wave, soon.”

“How many bombs have you made?” Tresk asked.

Theo winced again. As much as he promised himself not to get distracted, he’d done it again. “None. I need to work on that.”

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“None? At all?” Tresk asked. “How many healing potions have you made?”

Theo managed a weak smile. “A handful. Maybe 100.”

“You’re an idiot! What are you doing playing gardener? Get in there and make some potions!” Tresk shouted.

Theo’s shoulders slumped. “I know. I will.”

Tresk punched him playfully in the arm. “Perk up, Theo. You’re just getting distracted, but I know you can brew all that crap in a day.”

“What I really need are more [Fire Salamander Eggs],” Theo said. “I have a quest in at the adventurer’s guild, but it hasn’t been completed yet.”

“A chance to make money and bombs? Don’t mind if I do!” Tresk said, vanishing from sight.

Start making those healing potions, Tresk said.

I will, Theo said.

Theo went back into the lab, swapping his flasks out for fresh ones. This wouldn’t be an issue when Throk made his storage vessels, and it wasn’t time to focus on creating the best possible potions. He wasn’t familiar enough with the process to do it quickly, although whatever time he had left today would go to creating [Healing Potions], the 2nd tier of restoration potions he could make. Until then, he’d crank out as many [Lesser Stamina Potions] as he could.

Once his other 2 stills were free, producing 200 units of [Mana Essence] and [Stamina Essence], he set them all to produce [Healing Essence]. His stamina flagged somewhere near midday, forcing him to down one of the [Lesser Healing Potions] he made. The effects of the potions were immediate and invigorating, but they came with a downside. As he’d seen during the siege, the potions were simply borrowing time from the future. He’d feel the consequences of the stimulant in the morning.

Theo started his mass-production method for creating as many [Lesser Healing Potions] as he could, lining up as many vials as he could and kicking off the reaction in a large flask. The motions were like second nature, something embedded in his mind from creating so many in the past. Once the bulk of the [Lesser Healing Potions] were taken care of, he turned his attention to the [Healing Potions]. He lacked the volume required to create absurd quantities of this potion, even after the pressure vessel spat out more of the refined essence.

The alchemist mopped sweat from his brow as clouds moved in over Broken Tusk, startling slightly when a knock came from the door. Aarok marched in with Tresk close behind. They shut the door firmly behind them, grim looks on their faces. The Marshling waddled over to the [Dimensional Storage Crate] and deposited something Theo assumed to be his salamander eggs.

“Tresk said you have something to talk about,” Aarok said, folding his arms.

“A monster wave is coming,” Theo said, producing Uharis’ crystal from his inventory.

“How soon? Aarok asked.

“If this thing has a steady pace, maybe 2 days,” Theo said.

Aarok’s eyes went wide for the briefest of moments, his expression quickly returning to its normal, stoic state.

“Hopefully we have bombs ready this time,” Aarok said.

“We will,” Theo said, withdrawing the [Fire Salamander Eggs] from the crate and approaching his stills. Aarok and Tresk watched him as he cracked the eggs into a bowl, crushing the shells in his hands and depositing them straight into the still.

“Theo, it’s late,” Tresk said.

Theo cast her a sheepish grin. “The bombs will be ready. We’ll be prepared this time. How is the wall?”

“The wall is completely repaired,” Aarok said. “I have motes staged in dimensional crates near the weapons, so we won’t be caught with our pants down again.”

“Good,” Theo said, starting the [Flame Artifice] under his [Drogramath Still]. “I’ll have a few hundred standard bombs for the assault. And a handful of more potent stuff once this is done brewing.”

Theo repeated the process for his 2 other stills, filling them both with 200 units worth of salamander egg shells. He did not know how Tresk could collect so many of the rare eggs, but he didn’t care. The Marshling came up behind him and hugged his waist, making an angry, frustrated sound.

“You can do it,” Tresk said. “We have another day—don’t take another potion.”

Theo let out a frustrated sigh. She was right. He needed to be conscious when the attack happened, even if he was worthless in combat. He could let the stills do their work when he slept after swapping out the flasks once. After that, he could spend the next morning distilling the remainder of the eggs. If he did a full run, he’d have an obscene amount of [Flame Essence]. The alchemist looked at an eggshell on his hand, shrugging and popping it into his mouth. The spice spread across his tongue instantly, bringing tears to his eyes.

[Properties Discovery!]

You’ve discovered an additional effect from the [Fire Salamander Egg] by eating it.

[Force] discovered.

“I should have done that earlier,” Theo said.

But it wasn’t a safe bet to make a large run of a newly discovered property. It didn’t help that [Force] was not a good descriptor, and he didn’t remember it appearing in the bomb section of Basic Drogramath Alchemy. Instead of departing from his current path, he stuck to it.

As he continued his work, Aarok made himself at home. Tresk and him were conspiring near the window, whispering between themselves before setting up the Marshling’s copper skillet on a free [Flame Artifice]. They cooked the meal as the alchemist worked the stills, setting them up for the last run of the day. By the time each of the 3 stills was running, the wolf steaks were done cooking. Theo had to push the scent away as he worked, his stomach grumbling its objections by the time he sat down near the window.

“I’m surprised we don’t have visitors,” Aarok said, gesturing to the door.

“Perg and Luras must be busy,” Tresk said, tearing a chunk of steak off with her teeth.

The group settled into their meal. Theo had grown accustomed to eating steak for every meal, even when it got repetitive. It was hard to argue against having steak every morning and night, but he dreamed of a day when a ranch would produce other things. There was a lot of work to be done on that front, and something the alchemist would prefer to keep in the back of his mind for now.

“Now, I have a very loose plan,” Aarok said, cutting a small chunk of his steak. “During the last assault, we were surprised. Now that we know when they’ll come, even if it’s not exact, we’ll be ready.”

“I saw some guys digging pits outside of the walls,” Tresk said, laughing. “Is that part of your plan?”

“Part of it. To slow the monsters down, we really just needed to focus our ranged attackers last time,” Aarok said, shrugging. “Combined with Theo’s bombs, that would have taken care of them.”

Theo craned his neck, looking to see his filling flasks near the still. With his current run of [Fire Essence], he could make enough bombs to catch the swamp on fire. He didn’t want to fool with his improvised bombs, as they seemed more likely to explode in someone’s hands than on an enemy. He regretted making one in the first place, kicking himself for the needless show of force. The alchemist withdrew a [Manashroom] from his inventory, setting it down on the table and thinking out loud.

“I want to make more than the one bomb type this time,” Theo said. “Perhaps a bomb to freeze the monsters in place.”

“Maybe more artifice weapons,” Tresk said.

“Hard to get those on short notice,” Aarok said.

“We’re filling gaps before they appear,” Theo said, nodding to himself. “That’s the important part. To stay proactive. One of those gaps is the adventurers. We’re getting more as the days roll on.”

“I met the three brothers,” Aarok said. “They’re strange.”

“Well, they bought two plots of land,” Theo said with a shrug. “I also have a few people to run the mine.”

“The mine?” Aarok asked, raising a single brow.

“Apparently, the new people don’t gab as much as Broken Tuskers,” Theo said, grinning. “I think there is ore in the southern hills. I’ve set the new settlers on finding it.”

“Smart,” Tresk said, nodding.

“What can we really do with more metal?” Aarok asked.

“Exporting,” Theo said. “We can process the ore and I can treat it alchemically. My intuition says it’ll make us some money. Also, the town can use more metal.”

“Even though it repaired itself with stone and wood,” Aarok said, grinning.

“Planning for the future, my friend.”

Theo felt exhaustion rolling through his body like an upcoming storm. He forced himself to stay awake long enough to talk with his friends. Tresk’s suggestion to take it easy for the evening was a good idea. That kind of exhaustion caught up with a person quickly, he knew all too well. The conversation among his friends gathered to small things, the way it always did. The alchemist zoned out as they talked about the people in the town, nodding off several times.

Tresk cleared everyone out, pressing her forehead against Theo’s and leading him to the impossibly soft bed. The world swirled around him as sleep took over, pushing away all the concerns he had for the future of his town.