Ren grinned as he stared at the mountains of herbs, powders, and reagents piled around his rented lab station.
Two hours of free lab time, courtesy of being a Junior Instructor, and an armful of ingredients he had swept clean from the auction house.
Three recipes. Three goals.
The Instant Healing Potion.
The Instant Mana Potion.
The Instant Focus Potion.
Each one was a serious upgrade compared to the basic over-time potions available in the starter towns.
They were still only Tier 1 potions, but because of the improved recipes—using slightly higher-grade ingredients like Purified Frostpetal for healing, Refined Lightrush for mana, and Crystallized Bitterspore Dust for focus regeneration—they were instant effect, not slow regen.
In the early game?
Instant mattered.
Ren moved quickly, but precisely.
Thanks to his [+5% Alchemical Insight] passive and the familiarity bonus of being in the Alchemy Guild’s official facilities, his hands flowed through the motions like he had done it a thousand times before.
He stirred.
He decanted.
He balanced the heating plate temperatures manually, trusting his instincts more than the rusty beginner equipment at his station.
Each batch took about three minutes from start to finish, and Ren’s success rate was high—around 85% with the slight stability bonuses from his earlier rank-up.
He wasn’t hitting Perfects, no way.
But he was consistently crafting Good- and Great-quality potions, exactly what he needed.
Every potion successfully crafted gave him a little tick of Alchemy EXP, steadily pushing him toward officially reaching Apprentice Rank 1.
Ren was exhausted but happy when he looked at his results. Bottle after bottle lined up on his crafting table, gleaming with power.
[Crafting Results – 2 Hour Session]
53 bottles of Instant Healing Potions.
37 bottles of Instant Mana Potions.
29 bottles of Instant Focus Potions.
A massive haul for just one furious sprint session.
He spent the last few minutes cleaning up, storing the potions properly, and stashing them into his personal inventory.
‘Not bad,’ Ren thought, wiping his hands on a rag. ‘This is going to crush the market.’
There were still no instant potions available in Greenwild Cross.
Nobody else was even close to unlocking them yet.
He was going to be first.
First meant profit.
First meant dominance.
And this was only the beginning.
Ren leaned back, thinking about the dozens and dozens of potions he had just made. Originally, he had planned to just shove them onto the Auction House and let the market sort it out, but becoming a Junior Instructor had changed things. Big time.
He approached Guildmaster Harkin, who was still overseeing a few other apprentices brewing at the far tables.
“Guildmaster,” Ren said casually, “would it be alright if I ran a private sale for the potions I’ve brewed? Say… 1% to the Guild as a contribution?”
Harkin gave a deep, rumbling laugh.
“Aye, lad. Fine by me! Bring in the coin and the glory. ‘Bout time this dusty hall got some action.”
That was all the permission Ren needed.
Because Harkin wasn’t just any old Guildmaster—he had the ability, through the Alchemist Guild system, to broadcast town-wide messages. And right now, with all the towns filled with struggling players who’d just realized how brutal the game was without instant healing? This was perfect.
Ren politely asked if he could get an official shout-out.
Harkin grinned and agreed, taking out the heavy Guild Ledger, tapping a few runes, and sending a world system announcement cascading across every player’s HUD.
[System Town Announcement!]
The Alchemist Guild of Greenwild Cross is proud to announce a special potion sale hosted by Junior Instructor Ren!
Instant-use Healing, Mana, and Focus potions available for limited time!
Prices set at standard NPC market rates.
Event begins in 10 minutes. Location: Greenwild Cross – Alchemist Guild Main Hall.
The town went nuts.
Ren could practically feel the vibrations through the cobbled streets as players scrambled, pushing toward the Alchemy Guild.
Why?
Because everyone, absolutely everyone, had already realized that heal-over-time potions sucked.
Sure, it was nice if you were out of combat. But in the middle of a fight? When your ribs were broken and a goblin was shoving a spear through your gut?
You needed instant healing.
And the General Store’s instant potions were way, way too expensive for most newbies right now.
Ren’s potions were better—crafted cleanly, with Great-tier stability—and he was selling them at the exact same price as the crappy basic NPC stock.
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He wasn’t undercutting, but he didn’t have to.
His potions were better.
Ren calmly walked back behind the big apprentice counter and began setting up rows of labeled crates.
Instant Health Potions.
InstantMana Potions.
InstantFocus Potions.
The first wave of players arrived within minutes, practically drooling.
And the best part?
Every sale automatically kicked 1% into the Guild treasury, so not only was Ren making money—he was building serious goodwill with the Alchemy Guild too.
And this was just the beginning.
Ren rolled his shoulders, smiled, and waited for the floodgates to open.
‘Time to get rich,’ he thought.
Ren stood by the Alchemist Guild’s main counter, tapping his foot as he waited for Guildmaster Harkan to return. He had realized something important.
Selling everything through the Auction House would lose him 2% right off the top, plus he’d have to compete with lazy scalpers.
Now that he was a Junior Instructor?
He had a better plan.
When Harkan returned, gruff and chewing on what looked suspiciously like a sugar stick, Ren pitched his idea quickly.
“I’d like to run a private sale,” Ren said. “In-house. One percent fee to the Guild.”
Harkan raised a bushy eyebrow, then let out a bark of laughter.
“‘Bout time someone in this branch started using their brains. Do it, lad.”
That was all the permission Ren needed.
Because Harkan was a Branch Guildmaster, he had the ability to send out a Local System Broadcast—and he used it without hesitation.
The message blasted across Greenwild Cross:
[System Broadcast]
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Private Potion Sale at Greenwild Cross Alchemist Guild!
Instant Healing, Mana, and Focus Potions available at general store prices—but higher quality! Sale begins in 10 minutes. First come, first served!
The announcement went to everyone on the Greenwild Cross map, player and NPC alike.
There weren’t any other players inside the Alchemist Guild yet—Ren was the first—but across the entire starter town, players were scrambling the moment they saw the message.
Until now, most newbies had been relying on slow Heal-over-Time potions, which were barely worth the bag space they took up.
Sure, the General Store sold Instant Potions, but they were expensive, and most players were barely scraping by after the goblin battles.
However, the coin-to-credit exchange rate in Towerbound was extremely fair, 1 silver to 1 credit, and players could easily buy coins if they were willing to spend a little real-world money.
And now? Instant potions—good instant potions—were being offered at the basic price.
Best of all, Ren’s potions weren’t the usual junk.
In Towerbound, potion quality mattered.
An Average potion healed the standard amount.
A Great potion healed 10% more and had better stability and shelf life.
A Perfect potion healed 20% more, but Ren wasn’t quite able to craft those yet without hitting a full stability score.
That meant Ren’s Instant Healing Potions didn’t just restore 50 HP—they restored 55 HP.
In a game where getting chunked for 70% of your health by one unlucky hit wasn’t unusual, an extra 5 HP on a clutch heal was the difference between staggering back up and lying face-down in the mud.
As Ren finished stacking the last box of neatly labeled potions behind the Guild’s front counter, he allowed himself a slow, satisfied grin.
‘This,’ he thought, ‘is how you build a fortune before anyone else even knows the game’s start
The moment the sale started, it was pure pandemonium.
Players stormed toward the Alchemist Guild like a Black Friday doorbuster, shoving, shouting, and scrambling for position.
Most of them were solo players—small parties, newbies with dented gear, desperate to get something that could keep them alive on their next run.
Ren stood calmly behind the counter, arms folded, watching the madness with a neutral expression.
Then came the guild players.
Organized groups from Prosperous, Bloodthorn, Blackhand, and Wyrmguard muscled through the crowd, trying to push their way to the front.
They were decked out in better gear, moving with arrogant smirks.
Clearly, they thought they could just muscle in, buy out the entire stock, and resell it to desperate players later at double the price.
Ren, very politely, raised a hand.
“Three potions per person,” he announced loudly. “No exceptions.”
The Prosperous Guild lead scoffed.
“We’ll buy everything you’ve got, kid. How about it? Two gold, right now.”
The room went quiet, watching.
Ren smiled thinly.
“Three potions per person,” he repeated. “Line up, or don’t bother.”
The Prosperous lead’s smirk twisted into a sneer.
“Fine. We’ll just send twenty people through the line.”
Ren shrugged.
“Sure. If they can survive the crowd.”
Because the solo players weren’t having it.
Seeing Prosperous Guild trying to cheat the system pissed them off instantly.
The crowd closed ranks, shoulder-to-shoulder, glaring daggers at the incoming guild members.
Every random player there knew they were being given a shot—a real shot—at buying potions that could save their lives, instead of watching the big guilds snatch everything.
“You heard him,” one rough-looking thief said, cracking his knuckles. “Line up.”
“Back of the line, guildies!” someone else yelled.
Ren didn’t even need to intervene.
The mob mentality that had crushed the goblin blockade earlier flared up again, but this time, it was directed at keeping things fair.
Guild players were shoved, jostled, and cussed out if they tried to cut.
Some turned and left, fuming.
Some gritted their teeth and stayed, stuck in the line like everyone else.
Meanwhile, Ren calmly handled the sales.
Each player could buy up to three potions—Healing, Mana, Focus, or a mix.
No discounts, no special treatment.
The coins clinked steadily in, a beautiful symphony to Ren’s ears.
He wasn’t giving potions away for charity.
Everyone paid full price.
But at least the regular players finally had a shot, and Ren made sure they knew it.
When the first few players nervously handed over their silver and received their neatly bottled Great-grade potions, the smiles they wore were almost worth it.
Almost.
The credits Ren would make?
Those were better. Smiles and gratitude don't pay the bills.
One recruiter from Prosperous Guild actually offered him a full-time contract on the spot, right there in front of everybody.
Ren smiled at him.
Then he turned and handed a potion to a solo player behind the guy without even answering.
The recruiter’s face turned purple with rage, but Ren didn’t care.
‘Not this life,’ Ren thought. ‘I’m not building a cage for myself again.’
When the dust finally settled, the tables were wiped clean, the floor was littered with random dropped items and dented boots, and Ren had pulled in a staggering amount of silver.
And the best part?
He hadn’t just sold potions.
He had sold freedom, at least for a few hours, to every solo player who had gotten sick of being crushed by guilds.
And judging by the dozens of PMs already flooding his inbox, the Scrap Rats’ reputation had just gotten a serious upgrade.
And Ren was just getting started.
With all the potions sold out, Ren leaned back against the counter, still grinning at the memory of the Black Friday madness. He quickly pulled up his system menu and sent a group message to the Scrap Rats.
Ren: All right, guys, potion sellout was a success. We pulled in a total of 29 silver and 75 copper
He let that sink in.
A couple of stunned dots popped up in the group chat as everyone processed the amount. Even after the auction fees, after the Alchemist Guild’s 1% cut, and a little extra for miscellaneous stuff like table rentals, that was their total profit.
Ren continued typing:
Ren:So, now that we’re rolling in coins who wants their original investment paid back, and who wants potions instead?
He didn’t have to wait long.
One by one, every single member replied.
Mira:Potions please!!!
Torren:Potions. No brainer.
Bran: Potions.
Silk: Same. Potions.
All of the Scrap Rats wanted the potions.
Ren leaned back, satisfied.
‘Exactly what I wanted,’ he thought.
Besides the potions he’d crafted for sale, Ren had made one more aggressive pass through the auction house—another sweep of every reasonably priced alchemical herb, stabilizer, and reagent that hadn’t been bought out already. This time, though, it wasn’t about profit.
It was about supply.
The Scrap Rats weren’t just some throwaway crew anymore. They were a guild now—small, scrappy, but on the rise. And if they were going to survive what was coming next, they couldn’t be running around with empty belts.
So Ren stocked up again. Loaded his bags with enough ingredients to brew a personal stash for every single member of the dorm.
Ten players.
Twenty potions each.
Ten Instant Healing, and ten more depending on the class: Mana for spellcasters, Focus for anyone who needed fast reflexes, like rogues and warriors.
He didn’t even hesitate.
This wasn’t generosity. It was logistics.
If the Scrap Rats were going to climb, they needed gear, coordination—and consumables.
And now, they had them.
There was no way he was going to let those coins slip out of his hands. If he had handed the money back, sure, they would have been happy, but it would have shattered the long-term plan he was building.
Potions were tangible. Potions kept players alive. Potions made people loyal.
And potions meant he could keep reinvesting into even bigger sales later.
This pickup group wasn’t just randoms anymore.
They were shaping into something much more important.
And Ren smiled as he messaged back:
Ren:
All right. I’ll start brewing the next batch. Let’s make some history.
Because this was only the beginning.
