Theo left the Newt and Demon before midday, feeling as though dusk was around the corner. His deal with Fenian took a toll on him, even if the news was good. He successfully predicted what the merchant wanted, not that it was a difficult thing to guess. The restoration potions he made were extremely useful and often the difference between life and death for adventurers. He mentally informed Tresk of the deal he made, and she screamed into his mind with excitement.

Three gold? Are you kidding me? Tresk said. Her words came labored, as though she were exerting herself at that moment.

And monster cores for the stat potions, Theo reminded her. It’s a lot of work, but obviously worth it.

No kidding. Now you just need to collect a whole lot of stuff, Tresk said. Theo wasn’t happy that she could scoff into his mind while using the Tara’hek communication.

Stay safe out there, Theo said.

Of course.

Instead of taking the road directly south, he headed toward the river. Theo harvested [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] along his ambling path, eager to take advantage of the early hour of the day. It was unlikely that Perg’s laborers were back from their task, but he wanted to instruct them to bring it to the lab. The [Spiny Swamp Thistle] he harvested the other day had returned. The alchemist didn’t understand what made the precious plant grow, and he didn’t care. It was an endless supply of reagents provided by the swamp.

Theo arrived at the river, clearing every plant he found along the way. He inspected the flora he’d seen before, but found it to be common weeds and other plants. The goal wasn’t to fill his entire 500 unit requirement for the [Lesser Healing Potions], but to get more experience in his [Drogramath Herbalist Core]. It was at 15% of level 6, whereas his alchemy core was ready to level to 7. The obvious imbalance in the way he hired others to harvest his ingredients was showing, and he made a mental note to make more of these trips. The prize of his trip was a thick patch of [Widow Lily] near the river. He carefully harvested the poisonous flowers and stowed it away in his inventory, not willing to risk exposing himself to the deadly thing.

When he finally looped around to the tannery, Perg was standing around the back where the hides used to start their journey. She dug into her satchel and produced a fist-sized object that looked like a giant seed. “Guess who spent their life savings?”

Theo inspected the object, knitting his brow.

[Tannery Building Core]

[Building Core]

A seed-shaped core that can be planted in the ground. When fed [Monster Cores], this building will grow into an upgradable tannery. When using a [Building Core] inside a core town, permission from the king, governor, mayor, or appropriate functionary is required.

“Fenian had a building core?” Theo asked. “I don’t even know how you get these.”

“Dungeons,” Perg said. “He stopped by before leaving town. We’re going to demolish this tannery and replace it with a core building.”

“That’s amazing,” Theo said, shaking his head. “The upgrades for my lab were great.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Perg said. “Seeing as you’re the Lord Administrator, I have to ask for your approval.”

“It’s yours,” Theo said without hesitation.

The alchemist had thought about replacing all the buildings in town with core buildings, but it was the last item on his long list of tasks. Planting the seeds of core buildings would cause growing pains, but it would be worth it in the long run. From his small sample size, he saw the power they had. Upon giving Perg his mental acceptance for the building, he felt something tingle inside him. He assumed it was the system giving her the permission.

“I sent the laborers out this morning,” Perg said. “They’ll be back sometime mid-afternoon.”

“Perfect,” Theo said. “Have them stop by the shop when they return.”

“Works for me,” Perg said.

Theo swept his gaze over the tannery. When he first saw the building it was revolting. The smell alone was enough to mark it in his mind as a place worth demolishing. Now that it operated with alchemy, and the smell was gone, he’d miss it. The building that would go up in its place would be better in every way, but that week-old nostalgia returned. He settled the matter in his mind with the conclusion that if Perg was the one running the tannery, he’d be happy.

“Hey, want to come to the shop for dinner tonight?” Theo asked. “And, do you have any idea where we can get some bread?”

A smile spread across Perg’s face. “I can bring some bread. The farmers mill the [Zee Kernel] down to a grain and bake it into bread.”

“Sounds like cornbread,” Theo said, nodding.

“What’s corn?”

“Corn is small zee. It grows a lot like zee, but the fruit of the plant is tiny,” Theo said, gesturing with his fingers to approximate the size of a corn kernel.

“That’s really weird,” Perg said. “I’d be happy to come. Who else is going to be there?”

“Well, if I crack my window as I’m making the soup Luras shows up,” Theo said. “So, me, Tresk, Luras, and you.”

“Sounds like a party,” Perg said, scoffing.

“Hey, it’s free soup. My soup is a lot better than Xam’s,” Theo said.

“Don’t let Xam let you hear that,” Perg said, looking over her shoulder. “She thinks that perpetual stew is the best thing in the realm.”

Theo scrunched up his nose. If the mystery meat didn’t put someone off from the soup, the bland flavor would. At a copper per bowl of soup, it was also robbery. The alchemist bid farewell to Perg and made his way back to the shop. Azrug didn’t even glance up from his book when he entered, simply waving and issuing a grunt. With his new [Custom Copper Stills], Theo could make massive runs of potions. A full load in either would produce enough essence for 200 potions, the reaction for base-level potions being a one-to-one mix of [Purified Water] and essence and each potion was a two unit solution.

With everything cleared away, Theo judged the amount of [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] by eye. It was enough to make 40 units of essence resulting in 40 [Lesser Healing Potions]. His goal was to create healing potions to sell to locals as the shop downstairs was mostly barren. The alchemist processed the roots he harvested, cutting them into manageable sizes before mashing them. After dumping them into a still, he rubbed his hands together. The excitement of the new [Flames Artifices] was too much, and he wanted to get started. He leveled the still off with [Purified Water], clamped the lid shut, and placed the small disc underneath.

Theo retrieved a piece of parchment from his inventory, the one that contained the bulk of his notes, and drew a table documenting the inputs, outputs, and heat level for this run. As with most things in alchemy, he started at the lowest setting on the artifice. The flame licked the bottom of the copper still, barely reaching it. He nodded to himself and took a seat.

I’m thinking of writing a book, Theo said to Tresk.

On alchemy? She asked.

All the basics of distillation from a Drogramath Dronon’s perspective, Theo said.

Your handwriting looks like a child’s.

There has to be a writing artifice for this very reason, Theo said. For now, I’m taking notes.

We’re wrapping up out here. More cores for the town, Tresk said.

Perfect. Perg is coming over for soup tonight, Theo said.

Sounds fun.

Theo ended the conversation there. He knew Tresk was nice about it, but she was usually fighting monsters out there. The condenser started its slow drip into a flask. Even when he used the smallest flame possible with actual fire, there was a lot of sputtering in this phase. The unchanging flame of the artifice heated the still evenly, creating a smooth extraction. The alchemist made a note of it on his parchment, underlining the need for an artifice in distillation. He made a short list of his recipes so far, detailing the brewing process and the exact quantities. This was especially useful for the tannery materials, as fractions of a unit in error caused explosive consequences.

The artifice issued a faint click, and the flame disappeared. Theo inspected his flask of essence, surprised at the upgrade in quality.

[Healing Essence]

[Essence]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

40 units (liquid)

Concentrated essence of healing, used to create healing potions.

A wide grin painted his face as he stared at the rose-hued liquid. It wasn’t perfect, but the flame bumped up the quality of the extraction process. He prepared to set off a large reaction, finding one of his ridiculously sized flasks and hoisting it onto the table. It slipped halfway, slamming against the side of the table with a resounding gong. To his surprise, the glass didn’t show any cracks. Theo wondered if the glass couldn’t break, and realized that he hadn’t bothered to test it yet. He scooped up an unused vial and stomped on it without leaving a mark. His low [Strength] stat might have something to do with its durability. He’d need to ask Tresk to step on some glass later.

Azrug poked his head up the stairs, waving at Theo. “I’m heading out for the day, boss.”

Theo retrieved 2 copper coins from his inventory and tossed them to the boy. He caught the money in the air and ran down the stairs without another word. The alchemist turned his attention back to the reaction. It was the easiest reaction he knew and kicked off the 80 unit recipe without a problem. He propped the window, wafting the smoke outside and inspecting his new creation.

[Lesser Healing Potion]

[Potion]

Common

Created by: Belgar

Grade: Excellent Quality

A lesser healing potion. Drink to restore health.

Effect:

Instantly restores 35 health points.

The increase in quality resulted in healing an additional 5 health. It wasn’t the biggest jump in power, but the effort involved was minimal. To keep a fire at a certain temperature was an arduous task. His new method was not only easier, but it made better potions. His intuition said that the catalyst for the reactions should influence their quality, but that wasn’t his observation. He made a note of his findings on the parchment and let his thoughts take natural paths to the reason. It was likely because these were level 1 potions, still branded with the “lesser” tag. There was no information in his books on how to produce more potent potions.

Theo worked the [Glassware Artifice] to produce 40 flat-bottomed vials. He was curious about his new distribution method and the effects it had on the stability of the potions. The alchemist measured out a ‌unit of the potion out and placed it in a vial. He waited for a moment, swirling the liquid around until it exploded in his hand. Black smoke rose from the top of the vial with force, ripping it from his hand to slam against the floor. He confirmed ‌the vials were mostly indestructible, and that an odd quantity of a potion’s solution had a violent reaction when left alone.

The system allowed for a reaction to happen in a large vessel before being transferred, which sped up ‌bottling. But the system didn’t appreciate it if he tried to cheat it by splitting the potion into strange quantities. He quickly scooped a ‌unit from the flask and tossed it out the window to avoid his entire 80 unit solution from exploding in the lab. With the crisis averted, he filled the remaining vials with the potion, ending up with 39 [Lesser Healing Potions] at “Excellent Quality”.

Theo went down to the shop, stuffing the potions in his inventory and bringing along his parchment. He placed the items on his shelf and took more notes, categorizing them as theories instead of fact. The [Drogramath Alchemy Core] was his prime suspect as to the strange way he could make large potion reactions, but it was just an idea. He long suspected that his legendary core granted him more effects than it let on. The hours of the day passed by as he sat at the front counter, and the shop spent the day devoid of customers.

Perg’s laborers arrived ‌in the afternoon. There were five of the Half-Ogres as she promised, each with heavy satchels at their side. Theo greeted them and beckoned them upstairs to offload their items directly into the [Large Dimensional Crate]. The first thing that surprised him was that they harvested [Manashrooms]. Next was exactly how much they’d harvested of each reagent. Without herbalism cores, they gathered 200 [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root], 150 [Moss Nettle], and 200 [Manashrooms]. At this pace, they’d finish gathering everything he needed for his order quickly. He pulled back from the crate’s inventory menu and gave them a surprised look.

“You guys don’t mess around,” Theo said.

“We’ve been collecting ingredients for the tannery for years,” one said. “We don’t have gathering cores, but we get by.”

“Well, you’ve done a good job,” Theo said, summoning his inventory screen. If he broke down what they gathered into how much he’d sell it for, they brought him at least a gold worth of materials. It seemed like a jerk move to pay them standard laborer wages. He produced five copper coins for each of the laborers, distributing the 25 coins among them.

“We agreed to a coin for the labor, sir,” the lead laborer said. “What’s this for?”

“Money makes money,” Theo said. “This is the rate you’ll work at when you do dangerous work for me. I can’t stand those insects in the [Manashroom] caves.”

“I won’t refuse the coin,” a Half-Ogre at the back grunted. The others nodded their agreement.

“Two more days of this and we’ll have enough for my current order,” Theo said. “As long as Perg is alright with you guys working for me.”

“She’s waiting to do a new run of hides. Won’t have work for us for a few days,” the lead Half-Ogre said.

“What’s your name?” Theo asked.

“Ziz Rotgut, sir,” he said, looking sheepish. “It’s a family name.”

Theo looked him over for a moment. He didn’t know if Ziz was a common name or not. If he had to guess, the man had combat or farming cores—perhaps even a specialized laborer core. He would have dumped all his points into [Strength] and [Vigor]. The perfect person to run his stone mine. “I have a proposition.”

“Does it mean more coin?” Ziz asked.

“It always means more coin,” Theo said, grinning. “We’re not starting this project now—I need more coin before we do—but I want to start a stone mine to the north.”

“Aye. Northern reaches, near the [Manashroom] caves, are granite,” Ziz said.

“They’re marble,” another Half-Ogre put in.

“I heard they’re shale.”

“Whatever they’re made of, I want to establish a quarry,” Theo said. “It would be a chance for you to fill the gap between doing labor work for Perg.”

“I have a [Stonecutter Core],” the smallest Half-Ogre said.

“Yeah, we can do that work,” Ziz said. “We’re all familiar with the process.”

“Perfect,” Theo said. “I don’t have anything ready, but keep it in mind. When the tannery is slow, we can work the stone. I’m tired of the dirt roads in this place.”

“Depends on the value of the stone, sir. Exporting might be worth your time,” Ziz said.

“Perfect fallback plan. If the upgrades to the town give us paved roads, we can always sell the stone afar,” Theo said. “Fine. That’s all for today. Thank you for your hard work.”

The Half-Ogres bowed slightly, stomping out of the shop with wide grins on their faces. Greasing the wheels worked best in every world. It didn’t matter if this wasn’t Earth. People loved money. Theo decided against running the stills tonight, locking the store and returning to the lab. He focused on reorganizing his notes before Tresk came home. Somewhere buried in those bits of information was the key to approaching the next level of alchemy. He just needed to find it. The bell jingled downstairs, signaling Tresk’s arrival. He ran down the stairs to press his forehead against hers, their Tara’hek cores hitting level 3.

“Long day,” Tresk said, letting out a heavy sigh. “I hit level 10. Got a new core slot.”

Theo’s eyes went wide. He didn’t know she was so close to getting level 10. He forced his surprise away and smiled. “That’s amazing!”

“I know,” Tresk said, posing heroically. “Third best adventurer in Broken Tusk. I got a new skill and an empty core slot.”

“Any idea what you’re going to get?” Theo asked.

“No idea. I’m putting it off,” Tresk said, striking a pose again.

“Come upstairs,” Theo said. “I’ll start the stew and you can tell me about it.”

The pair left the door unlocked and went up to the lab. Tresk appreciated the new layout and took a seat by the window. She produced more [Swamp Onions] and wolf parts for him to cook for before recounting the day. Theo chopped the onions as she told him about their encounter with a Goblin that roamed from the dungeon. The onions produced a pungent aroma that filled the room, sizzling away over a slick of wolf fat. He was stepping up his game tonight, removing the onions and setting them aside as he seared the wolf meat.

“We’re seeing Goblins on the surface, which means the first few levels of the dungeon are growing in power,” Tresk said.

Theo prodded at the wolf meat, carefully flipping it over to avoid burning. “We need to rush the development of the town.” The [Flame Artifice] was set on the middle setting, putting a nice sear on the bits of wolf meat quickly. He removed them from the hot cauldron after only a few moments, deglazing the bottom of the pot with water and adding the bones. He left it to simmer before returning to the conversation. “I had an idea for a town guard, but it’s a loose plan.”

Tresk worked a knot out of her shoulders, rolling her neck and groaning. The bell downstairs tinkled and two pairs of feet ascended to the lab. Luras and Perg waved, finding seats with the Marshling near the window. “Let me guess, you smelled the soup?” Theo asked.

“Perg found me‌,” Luras said.

“That smells so good,” Perg said.

“About your town guard idea, Theo,” Tresk said, nodding to the alchemist. “Not a horrible idea, but…”

“An adventurer’s guild would be better,” Luras said, finishing her thought. “That might be tricky, though.”

“You’ll have to explain the difference,” Theo said, stirring the soup. Steam rose off the liquid, and he turned the dial up a notch on the [Flame Artifice].

“There are a few problems, but basically they give quests. If we have an adventurer’s guild, it’ll take over the quest that Miana gave. The guild can still pay out wolf bounties from that royal fund,” Tresk said.

“Rivers and Daub has an adventurer’s guild,” Luras said. “It started out as an unofficial branch, but was incorporated later on. The problem Tresk mentioned is that we’d need someone to be the guild master. We can use the guild members to defend the town, though. Take that royal fund and put it to watch duty wages.”

“That doesn’t sound like a problem,” Theo said. “That sounds like what we need.”

“Well, there’s paperwork… Right?” Perg asked.

“To become incorporated, yeah. They’d have a lot of rules that the guild master would have to follow,” Luras said. “The good news is that Miana unknowingly gave you the authority to make an adventurer’s guild in Broken Tusk.”

The soup had been bubbling since the start of the conversation. Theo took a spoonful and tasted it. It needed more time for the flavor of the bones to really seep into the stock.

“If I can divert funds from the kingdom to pay people to stand watch, that sounds perfect,” Theo said, scoffing. “Less money out of my pocket.”

“You should figure out how Miana is communicating to the crown,” Luras said. “She gets information by magical means.”

Theo hadn’t considered that fact before. As a core town on the outskirts of the kingdom, the mayor would need a way to easily send and receive information. In a world of magic it made sense that she’d have some kind of magic mirror, or something. He dismissed the thought for a later date, settling his mind on the problem at hand. An adventurer’s guild sounded like what they needed, not just for the defense of the town. If there was some larger guild that managed all adventurers, it made sense to have a branch in a place where they could check in.

“Adventurer’s guild it is,” Theo said. “Who wants to lead it?”

“I’ll do it,” Perg said sarcastically.

“Don’t look at me,” Tresk said, holding her hands up defensively.

“I’m not opposed to the idea,” Luras said.

“It’s between Luras and Aarok,” Theo said. “If you could get with him and talk about it tomorrow, that’d be helpful.”

“Of course,” Luras said.

Theo added the onions and wolf meat to the soup, dropping the heat and letting it simmer for a while. The conversation shifted away from business and back to the adventures happening outside of the town. Luras was concerned about the Goblin showing up, seeing it as a sign that the dungeon would level once again. The only good news concerned the adventurers. They were forming small parties of their own, easily contending with the wolves out in the swamp. The sun was getting low by the time the soup was ready.

“This is good,” Tresk said, shoveling large hunks of wolf meat into her mouth.

Theo sampled his creation, satisfied with the depth of flavor. Searing the wolf meat and separating out the onions was the missing step. The stock was richer and the meat less firm. The group ate until they couldn’t eat anymore, saying their farewells for the night. Tresk and Theo locked the shop up, and she let out a shriek of joy when they entered the room.

“Is that one of those fancy goose beds?” she asked, yelling and jumping on the spot.

“It is,” Theo said, climbing into his own. It was impossibly soft, and he could hardly maintain consciousness as Tresk shouted her thanks at him. She was saying something about him being the best Tara’hek in the realms when he fell asleep, absorbed by his impossibly comfortable bed.