Chương 10: Greatest(Cutest) Alchemist and the D Grade

Unfortunately, I didn't receive an outfit boost. The potions I created after were the usual E+ grade. But that did beg the question: Why? I hadn't particularly done anything special when creating the D grade potion. I went through the same steps as usual. Thinking about it, I really had no clue or understanding of how the classification of the system worked or what a 'good' potion actually is. I only knew that my potions were 'crude' because my alchemy friends said so.

"Let's see… B grade recovery potion…" I decided to purchase a 'Recovery Potion' from the exchange for 100, 000 points. It did hurt my heart hitting that purchase button but at least it was paid for by the people who watched my clear video. A glass bottle filled with red liquid appeared in front of me. The glass bottle was wider at the base and thinned towards the top. Setting my own minor recovery potion next to it, I could actually tell the clear difference.

The B grade potion's liquid was filled with life and mana. There was a very noticeable and clear feeling it gave off—like the essence and sole purpose was to grant life. While my E+ grade potion barely gave off the feeling of life. I couldn't feel any mana in the potion and its essence felt weak. It was like the dying embers of life.

"Wow… What a difference." I mumbled, comparing the two potions. But, I wasn't discouraged. Not at all. Rather, my mind was racing. How could I make this type of potion? How do I infuse life into my potion? Just supplementing mana wouldn't do it. I needed to infuse the essence itself into the potion. Let's think back to the D grade potion I made. The concentration potion, what was I thinking while making it?

Since it was my first potion of the day, I had focused a bit more while going through the steps; I was thinking that I looked cute and like a proper alchemist. I was extra careful adding in the materials.

"Hm…" Looking at my concentration potion, I could feel a little bit of mana in it. There wasn't the essence of life like in the recovery potion, but rather, I felt slight fixation in it.

"Agh!" I rubbed the sides of my head, "I don't know!" I sat and thought about it for over thirty minutes, yet no good ideas came to mind. Perhaps I could ask the gallery about it, but that felt like cheating. This too is a part of the learning process. If I looked for shortcuts now, could I truly become a grand alchemist in the future? I don't think so. So! I'll think about it harder later. Who knows, maybe something will just click! After a good stretch, I headed to my computer. I hope Mouse is on. …

[BinLover: lololol you're so bad.] [ElectricTypeMouse: shutupshutupshutup] [ElectricTypeMouse: I died on purpose.] [BinLover: lololol so bad! To skeletons?! Who dies to skeletons!?] [ElectricTypeMouse: Agh!!!!] … The next day I made ten more concentration potions, unfortunately, none of them were D grade. I was brewing at a steady rate of ten potions per day, if I pushed myself I could do more, but five hours of potion making a day was enough for me. Any more and I might lose concentration—Ha…

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"Hm?" Didn't the gallery say something about using concentration potions to aid in brewing potions? Would they even help? I mean, I might not be the most focused when brewing potions, but I'm focused enough to consistently create potions. Or is that the reason I can't make D grade potions? Instead of experimenting and trying to perfect the process, I'm just repeating what works. But could I even perfect it?

The gallery members made this recipe and though I understand the materials and their uses, isn't it already as good as it can be? If I experiment and mess up, that's 20, 000 points gone. Should I wait until I'm more financially secure? Or send it? I thought back to what the gallery manager said.

"Alchemy is a lot of trial and error, but that's all a part of the process and what makes it fun." Right. Who cares if I mess up? As long as I don't explode, I can make more money and try over and over again until I get it right. Preparing the materials to brew one more potion, I turned on the stove.

"First, grind the ballaruse herb in a mortar and pestle… This creates a powder that when soaked in water, infuses its chemicals to activate a certain part of the brain. While we soak that, move onto the kunlap herb; Soak it in warm water, creating a kunlap infusion that increases dopamine levels when drunk. We'll combine the two liquids into one pot and let it boil over high heat. Making sure to continuously stir.

After it's been boiling for a few minutes, we add the main ingredient of the concentration potion: Concentrated Eyn Liquid. Stir it into the mix and set the heat to low and let it simmer for five minutes." This is where the recipe ends and after it cools down, the potion is finished. But, true to my nature, I wanted to experiment. While the mix simmered, I stirred in a tablespoon of powdered tyulo herb to boost the norepinephrine hormone in the brain.

A half an hour later, I poured the completed liquid into a apt glass bottle. [Concentration Potion] Grade - E Creator: Raccoon Increases your concentration. * Lasts for 15 minutes. A failure. Well, that was to be expected. Instead of raising the grade, I actually lowered it. But, I didn't let this setback get me down. I just needed to experiment with more materials.

"Haah…" I yawned, I hope Mouse is on. What I didn't know then was that even though the grade had lowered, the boost to concentration had actually been raised. While E+ grade gave a 15% boost to concentration, this new potion gave a 25% boost, the same as a D+ grade. … [ElectricTypeMouse: wowowow you suck lolol] [BinLover: no, that's unfair, why the heck would skeletons appear there???] [ElectricTypeMouse: Skill issue.] [BinLover: trash game.] … The next day, I was in my gardening room.

I could already see some changes in my experiment. First, two of the strawberry seeds in the C grade soil had germinated. Small little green sprouts dotted the dirt. And one seed germinated in the regular soil. In group B, the plants I used my skill on multiple times a day had clearly grown more than the rest. Even the seed I used my skill one time a day on had germinated, though not as much as the other. In group A, with regular soil, only the seed I boosted multiple times a day had germinated.

I tracked these changes down in a notebook before heading to the kitchen. With one experiment done for the day, it was time for the next. I'll make a D grade potion today, I swear of it! … To get to the point, I failed. Changing the recipe in any manner almost guaranteed an E grade potion. Thankfully, it didn't drop to F grade so I could still sell them at 20, 000 points, but I was really aiming for that elusive D grade. One strange thing that I noticed though were the duration of the potions.

I thought all E grades would last for 15 minutes, but some lasted for 25 and even up to 30 minutes.

"Haah…" I yawned, cracking my back. I had seven more attempts to make a D grade before I'd have to buy more materials. … [BinLover: Lucky me! Gear upgrade!!] [ElectricTypeMouse: Congrats ^^ What are the sub stats?] [BinLover: (Linked Necklace with perfect sub stats)] [ElectricTypeMouse: You lucky bastard!!!] [BinLover: lololol, just get lucky.] …

"Hm…Should I use less powdered tyulo? Maybe I should add sugar? Wouldn't that increase the dopamine neurons?" I was currently making my last potion. Unfortunately, the six attempts before this had all failed, only rewarding me with a E+ grade potion. The good news is that I've been pretty consistent with those though. The corner of my eye caught the B grade recovery potion I had bought.

"Essence of life…And mana… Concentration potions give off a strange almost obsessive vibe instead… Hm…Would adding things to increase dopamine and norepinephrine really make it better? What if I focus on the materials I'm already using and try to extract more out of them?" The thought came to mind. Was I really using the materials to their limit? Could I potentially get more effectiveness out of my materials?

"Does my plant growth skill work on plants out of soil?" I started the potion making process. Grinding the herb into a powder and soaking it in water, I dipped my hand inside of it and tried to activate my skill.

"Um…Grow? No…Get better? Improve?" My usual catchy tune didn't sound right for what was essentially a mutilated plant. But I didn't exactly know what I was doing to the plant, so I couldn't decide on a jingle. I felt my mana lessen. The water had changed, I could feel a little bit of mana embedded in the liquid itself. Not knowing whether that was a good thing or not, I moved onto the next step.

"Improve little plant~" I hummed. This definitely felt better than before. I don't know if it's a placebo effect or not, but I was feeling lucky.

"Stir, stir, stir and add the concentrated liquid~ Now a bit of powdered tyulo and a dash of honey!" Turning the heat to low, I looked at the pot for a moment before using my skill,"Boost! Boost! Boost! A quality buff for you!" I didn't know if that'd work, but I figured I might as well try it. Now all I needed to do was clasp my hands and pray. It wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't cross the D grade wall, but truthfully, I would feel a little disappointed.

Well, if I fail, I just need to try again in the next batch. A few minutes later, I poured the cooled liquid into a glass bottle and closed my eyes.

"Phew…I'm a little nervous." Did I succeed on my last potion? [Sweet Concentration Potion] Grade - D Creator: Raccoon A sweet tasting potion that increased your concentration and focus. * Lasts for 20 minutes. Blink. Blink, blink.

"Waaah!" I shouted, "Hehe! I did it!" I hopped around the kitchen like a rabbit.

"It's so beautiful! My love! My light! My heart! D grade, here I am!"

"Wahaha!" Not only had I successfully created a D grade potion, it even had its own name! It's kind of like my own personal spin-off potion! I guessed that the 'sweet' aspect of it came from the honey—Which I arbitrarily added since I was craving something sweet. The duration was a bit low, but the grade doesn't lie! After a few minutes of happily jumping around, I calmed myself down and thought about it a bit more. The real question was whether or not I could replicate this.

Perhaps, I really had just gotten lucky like when I made my first D grade potion. I'll have to buy more materials after these potions sell and try it again. After I confirm everything is right, I'll even brag to the gallery. I hadn't asked any questions or posted anything meaningful there lately. Well, other than trolling SlimeLube and Love Fusion—which is extremely meaningful.

"Hehe!" I giggled. … People who had followed Raccoon's profile received a notification. [Raccoon has listed 38 concentration potions!] [2 D grade potions; 24 E+ grade potions; 12 E grade potions] Within a minute, they had sold out. Some people bought it cause they actually needed concentration potions, others bought it to research, a few bought to deduce Raccoon's skill level, and one person even bought for collecting.

"Hm…They were experimenting with the creation process." An alchemist who bought the potions muttered. Though he couldn't get the D grade potions, the E+ grade ones were enough. He easily deduced that Raccoon was testing out different recipes based on the buff and duration alone. With the combination of his skill and a little knowledge, he could even accurately guess most of the materials used in the creation process.

"Ballaruse…Kunlap…Tyulo." The part that stumped him though was the essence of the potions. Why had they felt so…Obsessive?