Chapter 10: Alchemy

I trudged the path leading to the forest. Not the mutated one of course.I had just left the capital with a backpack of necessities: A map, some dried jerky, water, ent, etc. I didn't want to only stay as a blacksmith. I had noticed the powers of alchemy: Even though I just used the Jarr moss without any other materials to boost its properties. Armon had noticed me yearn for other professions and sent me to find an old friend of him.

I wanted to take full advantage of my class, I could learn all the different crafting professions and to be honest, I was excited about that. Especially the concept of mana involved in crafting. Armon told me that mana was required for a high-level blacksmith. Although he didn't want me to learn it, he wanted me to learn it from the friend of him. Someone who was supposedly an expert in enchanting and alchemy.

I slowed down my speed and scanned my surroundings when I walked. Beside the muddy dirt road and the green grass across the landscape, I sometimes caught sight of herbs of different qualities and effect.

There were some white flowers the size of a hand that gave mild paralyzing effect. Maybe useful for poisons? I put it in my bag. I found dozens of other valuable herbs, including the jar moss which grew on the side of a boulder. The most interesting was something called Radkin berries that hang on a small tree a few meters from the road. They restored a minor amount of stamina when consumed. Just thinking of never being tired lifted made me excited.

I saw that the sun was on its way down, so I searched for a suitable place to set camp. Armon had said that the trip to the village where the master lived was about one and a half days of travel. I liked the peaceful walking and searching for materials. It was much better than forging and fighting with the monster. I set camp under a willow tree beside a lake. The branches were long and stretched over the water, casting a shadow which would soon disappear as the night came. The tent took a few minutes to set up. The grass was quite alright to sit on, but I put over which made it comfortable and soft. I unloaded my backpack and took out a lantern which I lit up.

The soft glow illuminated the tent. I brought up some dried jerky and ate. I wasn't tired from the walk. My high endurance was showing its splendor. I decided to experiment a bit with the herbs that I had collected. I could have waited until receiving guidance from The master or whatever his name was, but my curiosity thought otherwise. Armon briefed me before leaving that his friend was a hermit. He didn't want anyone to know his name. He didn't yearn for riches. His friend hadn't taken a student, nor taught anyone for that matter for decades. Fortunately, he owed Armon a favor that he chose to have repaid now.

I brought up the herbs a picked and spread them out on the quilt. I first sorted them according to their effect. I set my eyes three different kinds of herbs that I found intriguing and a good match, the familiar Jarr moss being one of them. I inspected the other similar materials:

Radkin Berries [Restores minor amount of stamina when consumed] - Crafting Material Grassroot [Boosts blood-circulation] - Crafting material

The berries were easy to understand what they did. The Earthroot, which were fist-sized and had a brown collar underneath the dirt - wasn't. Blood circulation was indeed beneficial in a sense. But what if you mix it with something toxic, wouldn't that hasten the effect?

I washed the Earthroot in the lake to get rid of the dirt. A minute later I entered my tent again and brought up a mortar and pestle that Armor had sent with me. He said that I was supposed to give it to the master, but if he was free to use it on his journey.

God's hands [Legendary] - A masterpiece of a tool, made to better grind herbs together.

Special effects: Enables mana-techniques, +240% synergy

"Synergy?" The mortar and pestle were heavy despite its size. I put it down on the ground and thought, "I guess it makes the materials mix with each other easier.."

Now. I looked at the berries. Should I peel them first? Or should I use them as they are? Fuck it, let's go with my stomach feeling. I took my knife and made a small slit in the skin. Using my hands, I began. The inside of the berry was a ball of red fruit-flesh. I put the inside of the fruit in the bowl and set protective skin aside.

The Grassroot was squishy. I cut and squeezed it over the mortar in hopes of liquid coming out. Nothing. Maybe there's a special trick? I pressed harder and harder. Finally, It began drops hit the mix of materials in the bowl After a few minutes, I was happy with the results and started mixing. When I finished with the mixing, I put the liquid in one of the vials that I had purchased in the general store.

A notification popped up in front of me.

Stamina liquid - Poor [Recovers stamina] - Mixed with Grassroot for better effect

I was quite happy with the result, even tough the potions were worse than common, I had never done it before. I cleaned the bowl and tried to mix the grassroots with Jarr moss. It was easier this time, and I managed to create one more potion after a while.

Health liquid - Poor Recovers hp. Mixed with Grassroot for better effect

A yawn escaped my mouth. I was tired. "Better get some sleep so I'll be energized for tomorrows journey," I put out the light and went to sleep...

I woke from the chittering sound of the birds. They seemed to be close by, maybe above me in the tree. There was no nightmare this night. It felt weird since it was a long time since that happened. A good start on the day.

I packed down the herbs in the bag, before disabling the tent. Before leaving, I went down to the lake and splashed some cold water on my face. The slight bit of morning grossness disappeared.

The rest of the journey was faster than yesterday. I didn't pick any herbs that I had seen before due to the space limit in my bag. Late afternoon, judging by the sun, a similar village that I had in my imagination appeared.

A wall made of gray bricks, reinforced with sharp poles on the lower bottom. Ahead of me stood two men guarding the gate. One of them was a young man with a helm on his head. There was a dent in it, and it was slightly large for the young adult. He wore a chain armor and in his hand a spear.

The old man dressed in leather armor. A scimitar on his side and wooden shield, fortified with metal, on his back. The old guard had an untrimmed beard. His eyes were blue and wrinkles, showing signs of aging.

The aged man straightened his back and said, "What business do you have in our small village?"

"I am on a mission from my master to find a close friend of him, a famous hermit living nearby this village" I replied politely.

The wind blew past me as the old man hesitated and said, "You mean he who has no name?"

"Yes," I answered, "I have traveled here from the capital, seeking his guidance in his professions."

"Are you a follower of alchemy?" The man asked as I saw him relax.

"I guess you could classify me as one" I responded to him, "But I can probably do some basic potions.."

"Alright kid, if you can do me a favor, I'm willing to give you shelter for the night and send my son here as a guide to the man with no name," He said as he patted the young man beside him, "What do you say?"

I considered his proposal and replied, "That sounds good, I rather sleep inside than in a tent."

"Okay," The old man said and stretched out his hand, "I'm Barry, Barry Johnson."

I shook his hand, "John Crow."

Barry nudged his son. The young man stretched out his hand, avoiding eye contact and stuttered with a nervous, "Ja-jake Johnsson..."

Jakes father chuckled and said, "He's been nervous in front of new people from an early age, but spend some time with him and familiar with him, and he'll talk until your ears start ringing."

I didn't quite know how to respond to that. Fortunately, Barry didn't give me a chance and said, "Come, I'll show you the way to my humble house.."

"Let's close the gate first Jake.." Barry glanced at the sunset. The young man nodded together they made quick work of the task, locking the door.

Barry led me to his house as his son was sent to tell the other guards that it was time for the shifts. On the way to his home, I got suspicious looks from the villagers still outside.

"Has anything happened in the recent past? I hesitated but decided to ask anyway, "I seem to be unwelcomed here?"

The old sighed and said, "Well, let's talk about it inside instead.."

A minute later we entered a small house. It was made of lumber and had a cozy feeling to it. The door creaked as Barry opened it. We entered the house. Almost all furniture was made of the same timber as the house. In the living room, there was a lantern and a pot of blue-white flowers resting in the middle of a table

Barry gestured me to sit down on one of the chairs, as he poured dark liquid out of a container into two mugs, one for me and one for him. I looked closer at the old men. Despite his wrinkles, Barry had eyes with energy, unlike old people back at earth.

"I guess I should answer your question.." barry look med straight in the eyes before glancing at his drink, watching the steam rise and disappear, "I didn't want to take it outside, it's quite a sensitive subject.."

"I understand.." I nodded slowly, "I'm all ears.."

Barry took a sip and said slowly, "There was an attack from bandits two months ago...they robbed us of most of our riches, as well as murdering...the mayor and his whole family.."

There was a painful expression on his face as he continued, "His daughter was barely seven years old, and the boy turned 14 last spring.."

Anger rose up inside of me. I've seen my fair share of murder, but killing kids, that's..pure evil.

It took a while before Barry calmed down and said, "Well, enough of that, there's something a need your help with.."

I felt that Barry didn't want to speak of the subject again, and I didn't blame him for it either, so I followed him to his barn.

It was quite dark inside. The old man walked to the side and lit up a lantern. The light illuminated the barn, and I saw a black horse laying down on a stack of hay.

"I have noticed that my old buddy, Bill, here has some problems with its right hooves." Barry explained to me, "Every time I try to inspect it, he gets nervous and almost kicks me.."

I pondered about it. I can probably use the herb with pain reduction, but the problem is how to apply it since the horse won't let me near it's wound... Maybe.

"Barry, do you guys have a syringe?" I asked, but realized that such equipment might be a bit advanced for this village.."

Barry scratched his head, "A syringe?"

"Something that can inject liquid" I tried to explain. I bent down and brought out my knife. I created an image of a syringe on the ground. It was crude, but someone who had seen it before would see the resemblance,

There was some silence as Barry looked at the picture. A few seconds later barry made an "ah" sound. He went inside, and after a few minutes, he came back with an old syringe in his hand

He gave it to me and said, "It was left behind by the doctor that once lived in the village. I was one of his friends so he gave me some stuff that he couldn't carry with him."

I checked the syringe. I was a bit old, but I guess it works. Problem one finished.

The light flickered from within the lantern as Barry said, "I'll be inside the house in the meanwhile, tell me if you need anything.."

I nodded and put my backpack as I picked up the required herbs and put them on the table. I was not sure if it would work since the horse was big. The mild effect probably wasn't strong enough for an animal of that size.

Nevermind, Let's see how it turns out. I brought up the herb that stated that it was pain reduction.

Bellroot [Minor pain reduction] - crafting material

It was similar to grassroots in many aspects, but the bellroot had a greenish color to it and was a bit smaller. I did the same thing as I did with the earthroot: cut and squeeze.

I mixed the bellroot juice with the earthroot. I managed the results surprised me.

Pain-relief liquid - Common [Bellroot mixed with Earthroot for faster effect]

Special effect: +20% effect Due to mixing highly compatible materials

The door swung opened as Barry asked, "Are you done?"I managed to get three vials of the potion before all materials were used up. I called on barry after cleaning up the mess I had made.

"Yeah...I'm not sure if it will work.." I responded as I filled the syringe with the liquid, "Can you keep her calm and as still as possible?"

"Yeah.." the aged man put his hand on Bill the horse's neck. I gently put my hand on its leg and inserted the sharp point of the syringe and presses.

The horse became nervous due to the pain, but Barry calmed him down and whispered comforting words. I smiled, the blind trust an animal could have towards a human was rarely seen.

I filled the syringe and repeated the step twice more, confident that the effect had kicked in. Barry carefully inspected the wound underneath its hooves. A few minutes later, he heaved in relief and brought out a bandage and wrapped the hoove.

A tear fell from Barry's eye as he said, "I sometimes forget how much love I have for him. Some might say that he's just an animal, but he has helped the village for many years with plowing the fields.."

You have earned the title Veterinarian. + Increased affinity with animals. 1 Hero Points earned