- Day 16 -

Work in Earnest

I return directly to my room from the Catacombs and collapse onto the bed. I’m not sure how late it is, but I can’t see any light peering in from the window, so I at least know it’s not approaching dawn just yet.

In all honesty, I could do with a bath to wash off all this dried blood, but that would require making a lot of noise and potentially waking everyone up. Instead, I just strip off and clamour under the covers, making a mess of the white sheets.

As I begin to drift, my mind wanders off to the library before my consciousness completely fades into sleep. Something about that name hangs on me...

Morning comes and goes before Hannah wakes me up with successive prods.

“Kate sent me to check on you… You’ve been sleeping all day Master.”

I rub my eyes while indeed hearing the city outside alive and in full swing of its day.

“...What time is it?”

“After midday.”

Hannah continues to watch me intensely as I sit up yawning, just standing there without expression. I realise as I throw my legs out of bed that I’m naked and pull the covers over my lap before trunky gets to say ‘hi’.

“Is something--”

“Will you teach me?...”

My expression must have shown my bewilderment as she immediately explains while pointing to her collar.

“Alchemy. This will be gone one day… Right? I want a skill of my own. Will you teach me?”

Huh, so Hannah will be the first bird to leave my nest and is planning for that future? I can’t help but chuckle and smile to hearing it--

“Emily can fight, Millie can cook, and Kate is... Kate. I want something of my own too.”

A fierce determination in her eyes worries me a little, but there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with a strong desire for learning… Hmm, fine.

“Then I’ll take you on as an apprentice--”

“T-thank you! I won’t let you down Master... I’ll… I’ll give it everything I have!”

“Good. This won't be easy Hannah, but I’ll teach you everything I know.”

Though, if honest, I genuinely wonder how far we can get without gaining EXP...

She continues to stand there, wearing a grin from ear to ear without saying a word...

“...Will you let me get dressed first though?”

She nods, still smiling and heads to the door.

“I’ll run you a bath Master. You kinda stink...”

Well, she’s not wrong.

“...Thanks Hannah.”

She leaves the room, and I hop out of bed, immediately regretting it like an old man with joint problems. I feel stiff as a post for some reason; must be because I overslept.

HP: 5440 / 5440 MP: 31,279 / 31,279 ST: 3626 / 3626

Hunger: 21% Thirst: 48%

Blood State: Greater

I pick out a clean pair of clothes and stand over them while peeling and rubbing at some of the dried blood on my skin...

Wearing clean clothes while filthy would be silly so I guess I’ll wear the robe to the bath.

I head downstairs and towards the bathroom when I spot Emily outside shooting arrows with Sybil. As I didn’t allow it, Kate must have… Which means Emily decided chores were an acceptable loss to be able to return to training... Knowing Emily’s character, I have to say her dedication to getting stronger is admirable.

My time in the bath of dreams was short. I would have liked to laze about in it for a while, but Hannah kept coming back to check on me every few minutes. I understand a desire to learn, more than most I would argue, but this isn’t normal. Curiosity driving me, I gave in and rushed my bath, got dressed and stole something from the Kitchen while Hannah kept watch before setting up in the main room with a batch of basic tools. I then proceeded to show Hannah how to make the most straightforward tonic I know, [Alrist Antidote].

The basics of alchemy are simple. Crush plants, add water, mix, strain and leave to oxidise. More advanced potions do require reduction, induction, sublimation and desublimation, etc. but baby steps yeah. There’s nothing too hard in the [Alrist Antidote], and Hannah doesn’t take more than a few minutes before she has her own simple [Very Weak Alrist Antidote].

“Okay, not bad for your very first potion, but you need more care with the straining process, and be more consistent with the crushing of the plants too. Go clean the tools and go again.”

Hannah nods silently with scholarly intent and with her now preoccupied with her tasks, I decide that as I’m already here, I should make some new potions as well. I need to increase my wares for the shop after all.

*blink*

I pull out all the ingredients I have and lay them into various groups around the room. I have enough parts here to make many of the recipes listed in the books Daven bought, with plenty of options to improvise and potentially upgrade them!

...I nearly let myself fall into that trap. Today we’re sticking to the books!

[ Simple Health Potion ]

Six Litres

I’m assuming this is because of my skill level… Thirty per cent heal with a slow recovery rate.

[ Rite Antidote ]

Three Litres.

A simple spider venom antidote with antibiotic properties added for subsequent infection of the bite.

[ Monsterdote ]

Two Litres.

A mainly useless antidote for a poison that’s only effective against certain types of monsters. Seems I added twenty per cent increase to DEF for six hours on the said creature. No effects on humans though I think I may have uses for it with summoned creatures.

[ Blue Antidotal Tonic ]

Three Litres.

Relieves the effects of Darkness taint. What ‘Darkness taint’ refers to, I currently have no idea… But I made it anyway. Added effect, additional twenty-five per cent effectiveness. I swear I’m not experimenting!

It may be because I followed the recipes to the letter without swapping any ingredients or perhaps because my [Alchemy] skill is twenty, but I think I genuinely could make any of these blindfolded. Whichever the reason, I didn’t really need to concentrate at all on the process, and it just felt like I went on autopilot the entire time.

“You’re doing well, just watch your measurements.”

“S-sorry--”

“There’s no need to apologise Hannah, we’ve plenty of base materials prepared, and more will arrive in a few days...”

Sensing an opportunity to talk directly, I take a small vial and pour a little of the blue liquid into it before raising it to the light, looking at it for clarity.

“...Hannah...I get the feeling something's troubling you.”

She stumbles, knocking the vial she's holding into another with a clank.

“N-no…Master.”

“...That so…”

Hmm, so I guessed right. The sudden desire to learn, a seemingly urgent need and fierce determination. I would have had to be blind to have missed it. So the question becomes, what happened yesterday while I was away? ...You can’t press matters like this as that usually makes things worse, I’ll just have to be patient.

I had started by making the previous tonics because the ingredients were simple and the method for creation was the same as what Hannah was doing beside me. I had hoped she could watch me if she got stuck and improve her technique a little by seeing me produce similar potions in bulk. She did stop from time to time to watch me before returning to her own work, so it was a good idea indeed. With Hannah now wholly unable to look me in the eye though, I guess it's time to move on to something more demanding.

[ Sian Burn Cream ]

One-half Jug, It was too thick to make more in one go.

A cream for burns. Its antibacterial properties have been massively enhanced through...

[ Becka Therma Cream ]

One-half Jug.

For treating freeze burns. Mine seems to help heal surface tissue as well.

The process for both of these required first boiling the solution in a Florence flask over a naked flame, filtering the solution twice before adding crushed [Desert Heat] or [Frost Root] respectively, reheating, filtering once more before condensing through something akin to a condenser.

The burner I used to heat the flask looks just like a bunsen burner and runs on only a few grains of essence stone dust instead of gas. I was somewhat worried at one point that the flame wouldn’t be hot enough to adequately heat the solution quickly enough as the burner only had one setting and doesn’t produce a blue flame, but it seemed to all work just fine.

Although following recipes here, I’m still having to employ a large amount of guesswork. No precision is being used in any of the recipes with measurements like ‘A bunch of’, ‘A handful’ and so forth. I won’t even talk about the descriptions for temperature measurement... What the hell is 'Jeltic'?

[ Monstion ]

Two Litres

Debuffs DEF on certain types of monsters. Mine debuffs DEF by forty per cent. I think I could probably aerosolise this...

[ Heckadote ]

Three Litres.

Cures ‘Thunder Blight’ which I assume is some kind of paralysis. Plus thirty per cent additional resistance for two hours.

Pretty straightforward; crush, combine with water, strain, oxidise, reduce with heat to powder, add to second solution and heat once more until colour changes… I’m going to need more jugs.

Hmm, there’s a few combat enhancers listed here that I really want to make, but we’re missing a number of ingredients for them.

Feeling rather impatient about the whole thing while spotting Millie and Gruff heading out for cooking supplies. I decided to try my luck and ask her to visit Samuel and the various other Alchemists to purchase whatever fresh ingredients she can find while handing her ten gold and a letter from me.

She rather formally promised to do her best and headed out with Gruff beside her… Not sure what that’s all about, but I’m grateful for her assistance nonetheless.

- Purple Coin Chest

--

Gold King Coins x129 -> x119

--

Hannah looks to have recovered slightly and presents her latest creation.

[Weak Alrist Potion]

“The colours better on this one than the last few... Still, a lot of room for improvement Hannah, but you definitely have the talent for this.”

She gives me a bright, child-like smile, causing me to chuckle while patting her on the head.

With nothing to do but wait on Millie and Gruff returning, I decided to spend the next couple of hours talking to Hannah about each ingredient she just used, how she can identify where they grow, their shelf life and so forth. I’m hoping this knowledge will help her obtain her own plants for experimentation while I’m not around.

Sometime during my lecture, Millie and Gruff returned with a small bag for me, leaving it on the side. I paused at the time to tell Millie to keep the change for shopping funds.

With the lecture over, I peruse the goods. With what they’ve managed to obtain, I can make a few of the tonics I wanted.

Although lost in my own thoughts while perusing away, I did manage to overhear Gruff offering to take Hannah to some of the closest locations tomorrow by carriage so she can try gathering her own ingredients. He really does dote on the girls. Apparently, Emily said she would help Hannah learn to read and write at breakfast as well. The girls' enthusiasm for this impresses me immensely, but my curiosity to what bought all this about is killing me!

*Sigh* I’ll throw myself back into potion creation for now.

[ Redus Potion ]

Two Litres

A combat enhancer that increases STR stat transfer to a weapon, increasing ATK by around twenty per cent… Normally anyway, these increase by forty-five per cent for one hour. No nasty after effects.

[ Jota Potion ]

Two Litres

Another combat enhancer that increases RFX, which I assume to be reflexes. There are no numbers on this one, so I believe I’d need to use it to see the effects, but they last for an hour.

[ Hunters’ Delight ]

Eight Litres

A potion that allows you to see in the dark which generally last an hour. This one lasts seven.

[ Tracer ]

Eight Litres

A potion that enhances PER by ten per cent and makes creatures more visible. I desperately wanted this and was tempted to experiment but managed to resist my urges. Added operating time of eight hours total.

Same process as the creams, just without the condensing. Tracer proved challenging as it needed to be heated and cooled multiple times before filtered and it could never be allowed to boil. In my first two attempts, I failed to keep the temperature below a boil as Emily distracted me and the solution turned yellow, catching me by surprise both times and forcing me to start over. Annoying but for some reason, I found myself laughing with each failure...

With the majority of the ingredients used up, I have my new apprentice fill out vials from the newly made stock, label them and put them on the shelves. I keep a number of each potion in two small bags and store them in inventory. No point keeping the simple health potions though when I have stronger ones with me, I mainly made them as a cheaper option and to expand my wares and for the support team on the Aslogia expedition.

Inventory: 57 / 99

- Hunters’ Delight x20 -

- Tracer x10 -

- Small Bag x2 -

I had considered putting all the potions into the bags but if I need at them in an emergency, doing so will slow me down. Better to keep the more important ones handy.

With this done, all that’s left to do is price them, so I get some charcoal and paper.

I have no idea what other shops are charging for most of these, so I’m trusting AE on this one and adding a small markup to get the ball rolling. Mine have added effects or potencies so I’ll put up the price more once they build a little renown.

Simple Health Potion Eight Silver Rite Antidote Ten Copper Monsterdote One Copper Blue Antidotal Tonic One Silver, Ten Copper Sian Burn Cream Ten Silver Becka Therma Cream Nine Silver, Twelve Copper Monstion Five Copper Heckadote One Silver Redus Potion One Silver, Five Coper Jota Potion Two Silver Hunters’ Delight One Silver Tracer Five Silver

Phew. My shop is actually starting to look like a shop… It could still use a lot more wares, but I think I have enough to actually open the doors at least--

“Then it’s time to hang this then Master?”

As if reading my mind, or more likely, my triumphant expression, Emily appears from the kitchen holding a heavy board of shaped wood with the word “Alchemy” stylishly written in yellow paint.

It attaches to a horizontal metal pole on the outside of the building near the front door and was left with the supplies Graham procured when I first moved in. It had sat in the basement until now, but since I’ve brewed enough potions, I guess we should open up.

“Indeed, get Gruff to give you a hand.”

I doubt we’ll have many customers to start off with. Things won’t really pick up until Aslogia’s dungeon is reopened to adventures… Opening the shop does leave me with a bit of a problem though.

“Hannah, you’ll be in charge of the shop with Kate, Millie and Gruff.”

“M-me?”

“Yes, you’re my apprentice after all, and I can’t run the shop while completing my various other commitments. There’s the expedition coming up, and I'll need to prepare for that. I’ll have to leave the day to day running of the shop to you Hannah. Pull on the others and me for help as you need it.”

The colour drains from her face as the realisation of responsibility hits her. I do feel bad putting pressure on her like this but I need someone to run things after all, and I think Hannah may have a strong ability to read situations and people. Time will tell if this is a mistake, but I can’t run this place and travel, so someone needs do it, and Emily will be with me most of the time, so she's the logical choice.

Eventually, she meekly nods to me and starts picking up the tools I left on the counter without a word, taking them towards the kitchen to be cleaned.

“Are you…”

Kate, who appeared from the kitchen just prior to my revelation, began to speak before stopping herself and starting over. The concern of my choice seems to be on her mind--

“I’ll do my best to support her Master.”

I just nod to her with a faint smile before heading outside to find Emily and Sybil back practising.

“No. Lower. Breathe, hold, release. Again… Again… Again… No, again.”

I stand and watch for a while as Sybil continues to tutor Emily’s shots and technique. They’re not standing too far from the target yet Emily’s shots are all over the place and none have hit the centre of her mark. Despite moving into the [Archer] class, it seems she has a long way to go before she is adept at this… though I guess I could help her out? ...No. I’ll wait for her EXP to be processed entirely first. Plus it may interfere with LP gains.

Sybil notices me and leaves Emily’s side to stand in front of me, starring up with her usual expressionless face… After a few twangs of Emily’s bow, the silent starring becomes too much for me--

“New jumper?”

She nods once while pulling it down as if to accentuate the blue and white horizontal lines.

The silence continues...

“...Oh, Sybil, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Your [Stealth] skill, how did you learn it?”

“Sneaking, creep lots and… think inwards.”

[ ‘Stealth’ Acquired ]

...Really? You're giving me that with that little of an explanation? Ugh, you're getting lazy greeny... though I guess the prerequisite could be perception. Still, that’s just beyond words.

“Thanks Sybil, I think I get it--”

She points to herself while holding my sleeve. I wait for a moment, expecting her to ask something which she doesn’t. Instead, I just awkwardly stand there waiting before Emily stops firing arrows off and explains.

“She wants ya to make her stronger like ya did with Bella. Can ya do the same for me too?”

“Hmm, I can probably make Sybil stronger, but you’ll have to completely heal first Emily, and then we'll talk about it. Sybil, come sit over here and I’ll give it ago.”

We take seats opposite each other and she closes her eyes without hesitation. I get the feeling this will work just from her behaviour alone.

Let’s see...

STAT points remaining 148 STR 067 999 AGI 066 999 STA 050 999 VIT 042 999 PER 052 999 INT 013 999 WIS 004 999

Well, the obvious choices here are PER, AGI and STR in that order. [Stealth] requires high ST to be effective but her race offsets the need to invest many points in STA for higher ST. Let's go with this.

STR 100 999 AGI 110 999 STA 050 999 VIT 042 999 PER 120 999 INT 013 999 WIS 004 999 STAT points remaining 3

For skills…

Skill Points: 32

[>>>>>>]

Dagger Proficiency Lv 10 / 10

[>>>>>]

Scout Proficiency Lv 10 / 10

[>>>>>>]

Dual-handed Style Lv 10 / 10 Skill Points: 15

“Okay… You ready?”

She nods so I hit ‘Commit’--

The impossibly bright yellowy light returns once again, engulfing Sybil and carrying her upwards towards the heavens, just as it did with Katharine and Bella before her. The air vibrating around her, humming strangely while continually getting louder and louder. Then, once again, just as suddenly as it appeared, nothing. It was gone, and Sybil falls into my arms as I catch her. I’ve seen this twice before after all.

Static Effects:

Amnesia The subject has lost access to their memories. [Sealed] [Permanent] [Divinty Presence] Master 'Dagger Proficiency' +10% STR and +10% AGI transference while wielding regular dagger weapons Master 'Scout Proficiency' +25% to concealment skills. +30% to detection skills Mastery of 'Dual-handed style' +10% STR and +10% AGI transference while wielding two weapons

Unlike with Bella and Katharine however, Sybil looks to be completely fine and full of life after the upgrade, for lack of a better word. I release her to the floor, and she immediately pulls out her daggers and starts bouncing around. The speed of her swipes are lightning quick that I only glimpse half the motion; forget [Flash] step, she’s invented [Flash] swipe.

Sybil stops testing herself and looks back to me--

“Thanks”

“...No problem--”

Before I have a chance to finish speaking, she walks back over to Emily and continues helping her practice. The whole interaction leaves me feeling strangely exhausted.

“Busy?”

My attention gets drawn from thought to the unmistakable voice of Risk behind me.

“No… Pub?”

He laughs slightly before nodding.

“Aye.”