Tutorial Day 32

  The Earth Root Ash, was both good news and a completely new variable. The Ash might not have been included in other Pill Mixtures, but Earth Root flakes had been. But, if my initial assumption of the Earth Root shavings not being needed was wrong, because burning it as fuel did the same thing—then this was a second piece in the puzzle.

  Checking my stock of Powdered Witch Hazel and Moonstalk showed me that the latter would be the limiting factor in further batches. I likely had enough for seven more attempts. So, was it worth it to start again, but this time add some Earth Root Ash into the mixture, and burn another Earth Root, as well?

  In the end, I decided to act scientifically in this endeavor. Meaning my hypothesis changed, and I needed to restart my experiment for more conclusive results. Still, I’d attempt to change only ‘one’ variable per attempt.

  During the cooking process of the other batches of Pills, I concluded that I wouldn’t be going out Hunting today. I had too many more batches to make. Plus, I needed to visit Veronique with the successful Pills afterward.

  “Okay, start with another repeat of exactly what I did last time,” I whispered to myself, not wanting to ‘waste’ materials but also needing a new control. So, I used the same mixture thanks to the scales, the same temperature, burned more Earth Root shavings, and even connected the compass in a circle going strictly east.

  Forty-five minutes later, I was staring at another Flask of Detoxifying Pills, with ninety plus percent efficacy. I chose to save some Tp and combine them with the ninety-five percent batch. When I re-stoppered it, the efficacy on the label changed to ninety-two percent..

  I wasn’t sure what had caused the slight decrease in efficacy, but made a note about the differences that existed. Small size differences and efficacy rating of the Earth Root shavings I used, which also existed in the Herbs involved in the Pill Mixture. Any one of those could be the contributing factor.

  I shrugged. That drop in efficacy didn’t seem like a problem. Nor did adding the batches together because I could likely separate them back out later if I needed to. Then I redid my experiment using the same tornado pattern with another batch of the ingredients, except this time I added in Earth Root Ash.

  My eyes widened and I added to my notes confirming that Earth Root Ash more than ‘helped’ the Pill Crafting—it added an entire variant to it. So, the shavings I’d added into the mixture last time had probably made the original difference!

  I could test out five more additional patterns on the Cauldron before I ran out of Powdered Moon Stalk. My first attempt—creating a ‘western’ tornado, was another success, but the efficacy was only sixty-five percent, so also a ‘failure.’

  I made some notes, to that effect. It was clear to me that the creation of a spinning effect was important for the process. However, spinning the smoke east was better than west.

  The next attempt of connecting the compass rose in the northern direction was a complete failure, that created black smoke and burned my ingredients up, making the ‘Pills’ useless. I could have probably saved the Pills, as I saw numerous signs that things weren’t looking that great during the process, but wanted to be thorough in my experiment.

  I reset everything and created another mixture of the ingredients, before carefully filling up the Pill Tray. Gritting my teeth, I moved onto the third attempt. On this one, I planned to try a southern tornado.

  The signs that something was wrong started showing up after I completed the circle and the green smoke in the chamber started to swirl. These warning signs came far later than the northern direction ones had. However, in the end the southern circle created black smoke and burned up the Pills as well.

  The note I scribbled into my book and my gut feeling told me that the experiment hadn’t been a total waste. Going south had failed… slower. With three more attempts and the information I learned—I thought I had a conclusion.

  The first answer was that east and west were the successes. However, a quick check told me that trying to connect back to a previous illuminated light on the Cauldron wasn’t an option. So, going east and then west wouldn’t work.

  Should I go east-south and then west?

  That conclusion felt wrong. I had a note on both the eastern and western tornadoes saying that the spinning smoke was what felt right. Creating the pattern above felt like it would not spin the smoke. Still, I made a note of that possible experiment but chose to go a different direction first.

  My next try, should have a cyclone that ‘moved’ south-east. That felt right to me.

  There was just one problem with that discovery. I had no ‘diagonal’ option on the compass. As I waited for my Mana to recharge, I returned to my much-improved far better looking Cauldron. If I created a stepped pattern to the lights, similar to my thoughts on east-south-west would that work to mimic a diagonal?

  East-south, and repeat? The north and south cyclones had revealed to me that lights did exist beneath the Cauldron and somehow above it, where the chimney resided. The lights didn’t climb the chimney or descend onto the feet. Instead, they formed a perfect globe. Or that’s what my awareness of my own Mana told me was happening.

  It wasn’t like I could use the visual from the flashing lights on the back, bottom or top of the Cauldron on those attempts. Just like I hadn’t been able to see the ones behind it on east and west attempts when the lights had gone behind the Cauldron. Instead, I’d reached an understanding. One drop of Mana per light filled them.

  The circle has ten to go around in any direction.

  The only problem with this next pattern was that it was going to use twenty drops to return my stepped line back to the start. Then add to that the ten I put into the red sun. Plus, whatever additional amount I needed to keep the blue and red stars temperature controls topped up.

  That would start me under half my Mana, when the Pills began to ‘cook.’ Sure, it should have me with twenty Mana remaining. But there was just no telling what unexpected things might happen during the process.

  “I can either give up due to fear of the unknown or try,” I whispered to myself.

  Mixing the Powders and Ash together felt different this time, perhaps due to the anticipation. Loading the Pill Tray, too, felt exciting. It was like my entire body was buzzing. Even Mental Fortitude, trying to curb my expectations wasn’t working.

  Every other batch before this had pointed to this as a solution. Yes, there were other solutions—like using a spiral that lit up more light nodes. Essentially, that possibility meant going south twice just before the lights reconnected, but I didn’t have the Mana for forty Nodes. Well I did, but didn’t think starting the process at zero mana would be smart.

  Still, I’ll try it if this fails…

  Lowering myself in front of the Cauldron, my hands started to tremble. Sure, I was thinking something new and possibly fantastic was going to come from this. Yes, I realized that it might just create a highly efficient Detoxifying Soldier Pill—but I really wanted my experimentation to pay off.

  Maybe I even needed it too.

  Looking at the Sun-Stones in the room told me just how long I’d been at Alchemy today. I suddenly understood why many of the Hunters inside this building might not go out anymore. If this made me profit, I could theoretically just buy ingredients and continue to run my experiments. They certainly were exhilarating.

  And yet, the last week and a half of killing two Borkers a day, also made me want more.

  A chuckle escaped my mouth, in a bit of a puttering exhalation. This was a strange time to be examining my goals—but I probably owed it to Evelyn to at least ask myself what they were. She had certainly voiced that question enough. Unanswered emails and texts included…

  While I had begun by acting as a non-combat Hunter here in the Tutorial—that had partly been by necessity. I didn’t have an offensive Skill when I arrived. Now that I had a Spear that could obliterate Monsters, and Armor that allowed me to sneak up on them—I wanted to improve there too.

  Sure, creating Pills and earning Tutorial Points and Mana Coins would still be important—but the end goal of both of those endeavors was to return home.

  At the same time, it wasn’t just about getting out of the Tutorial, I admitted.

  I wanted to leave this place far stronger than when I entered it. I wanted to go back home better than when I left it.

  My hands now fists, stopped trembling as I acknowledged that the results of these experiments were simply a means to an end. Sure, more Tp or mC from better Pills would be great. However, it would only be a minor setback if it didn’t become something… better.

  “Let’s get to work, then!” I said to myself, even as I pushed Mana through my SNS to the Red Cauldron Node. Now at forty Mana, I waited until the Blue Node started pulsing and then refilled the red.

  Thirty-nine Mana.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Opening the oven, I placed in the Pill Tray, and then opened the Fuel Drawer and put in one of only eight remaining portions of Earth Root shavings. Hurrying, I connected my Mana to the central Node of the Compass and began.

  East. South. East. South—

  Each light took my Mana as they came to ‘life.’ Only nineteen Mana remained when I reached the final south to connect back to the start. Knowing I didn’t have twenty Mana, and couldn’t create the Spiral pattern yet, gave me something to strive for in the future!

  South.

  The connection formed, and the zig-zagging staircase of a line, glowed. The Cauldron top floated up from the floor and capped the Chimney. The vents and exhausts flared open and closed in a pattern I didn’t understand and the ‘tornado’ inside of the oven started to form.

  One oddity could be both seen and felt. The first and ‘final’ node pulsed in my vision, while the center of the Compass Node also pulsed in my Mental Universe. Closing my eyes, I did what I figured it expected of me, and pushed Mana at it.

  The Mana rebounded back into my Pool.

  The central node of the compass continued to pulse, and I grew worried. Did I need to continue? I tried going east, and the compass didn’t respond or accept my Mana.

  It clearly wanted something! My heart began to race, and in my Mental Universe I saw the black hole where Reptilian Body resided slowly open, revealing the sheen of red smoke I knew lay within.

  Could it be? Did the Cauldron want Qi?

  My body was already vibrating with both anticipation and anxiety over the Craft. So, it was relatively easy to summon the energy from my sternum that was Qi. However, I’d never infused it into anything without touching it…

  The Node pulsed invitingly. With a growl, I peeled off my glove and shot my hand forward, connecting it with the Cauldron’s hot metal. Instantly, my pain receptors told me to jerk my hand back before I was badly burned. I ignored it.

  Instead, hoping Recovery could handle the problem, while I focused on trying to think of the Cauldron as a weapon that needed to be ‘coated’ in Qi. The moment my Qi connected with the Node, I felt the Cauldron tug.

  The Qi flowing through my body was reinforcing muscles and bones, but I currently didn’t need that—so, with a thought, I allowed my Qi to flow into my hand. My only worry was whether I could hold out against the pain from the intensifying excruciating burn to my palm.

  However, when all my Qi started flowing to my hand, the pain lessened and then vanished entirely. Unable to feel drops of Qi like I did Mana, I was at first a bit unaware of how much Qi was flowing through my hand. However, as the first light finished flashing and became purple, I saw the east line trace over in the same color, before the next light pulsed.

  Was my Qi tracing over my Mana?

  I opened my Status and watched as a single drop of Qi was consumed for this process as well. The cyclone of green Smoke inside the Oven changed, but I couldn’t tell how. Not through the small glimpses I got from the vents, at least. However, it definitely also grew brighter.

  When my Qi reached the final node—I finally saw a change through those vents. Red smoke—so much like the stuff from my Reptilian Body flooded the chamber, joining the bright green Smoke in its spin.

  The swirling pattern became a green, streaked with red, but soon they mixed, creating an earthy brown. Then, the illumination cut off and the smoky spiral began to shrink. At first, I thought something was wrong, but a sweet smell began to permeate the Alcove, even as the fan above attempted to whisk it away.

  The smell grew.

  The spiral shrank.

  The Smoke cleared enough that I could see the Pill Tray. The remnants of the brown Smoke entered it like water might flow down a drain. The aroma became so strong, the air felt edible.

  It was like I had just bathed in a cinnamon floral cologne.

  I flung open the oven doors, and used the tongs to extract the Tray, then rushed over to the counter. I realized I’d forgotten to pull back in my Mana, but couldn’t sense either the blue or red star from this far away. Still, I didn’t care.

  Pain started to return to my hand, but I ignored it, too engrossed in cracking open the Pill Tray. The lid fell away and, if possible, the aroma grew stronger. I was suddenly glad that this side of the building was mostly abandoned.

  Even more surprising, was the color of the Pills. The other Pills I created was a mix of green and gray, with the higher quality ones leaning toward green, with small gray veins. These pills were a vibrant green with red veins.

  I hurriedly dumped them onto the counter and purchased another Pill Flask. Then one by one put the Pills inside with the smaller tongs.

  For a baseline, I immediately pulled one back out and tried to sell it to Demonic Vault.

  Then, I obviously looked up Rejuvenation Pills in the Demonic Vault Shop, and found nothing. For a split second, I considered going right to Veronique with this new Pill. However, I needed more information—at least an idea of what it did. So, I’d need to go to the Northern Shop here in Town.

  But first—I should probably finish making my final two batches. I decided right then to stop experimenting for now, and instead just make two more of these Rejuvenation Pills.

  * * *

  “So, you’ve created a new Pill that isn’t available in the Shop?” Veronique said even as she spun the Pill Flask in her hand. She’d obviously already read the name on the bottle, so why was she repeating what I’d said upon handing it to her, instead of either confirming that statement or informing me what it was. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of it before, either. So, unless you can share what ingredients—”

  She cut off as I shook my head. I would not be telling her what ingredients I’d used for the mixture. “—Come on, I need something to go off of. For all I know this could just make your Skin clear up or be more vibrant.”

  “Based on the ingredients, it should be worth about fifteen thousand Tp, and have something to do with removing poisons, toxins, and maybe healing?” I hedged.

  Veronique narrowed her eyes. “Do you mean fifteen thousand to sell to me? Or that would be the price the Shop would sell it at?”

  I smiled, not planning to give that away either. The fifteen thousand price point was coming from the Shop’s sale price of seventy five hundred. The ingredients, which clearly could make a Detoxify Pill, would only be worth a hundred or so Tp a batch. The Detoxify Pill they usually made only sold for fifteen hundred—so ten times that amount might be a stretch.

  However, starting high and negotiating down was kind of standard practice in my very limited understanding of things. Plus the Shop did offer to buy the Pill for ten thousand Tp.

  The Flask in Veronique’s hand only had one Pill inside and despite the way I started today, I somewhat desperately needed a sale. Renting the Cauldron, and space under the hood vents had cost far more than I wanted. It charged about a thousand Points per hour, and I’d spent a little over five hours experimenting in Crafting the Pills.

  * * *

  I’d almost even gone back into debt without realizing it, thanks to the rental costs of the Alcove. Still, I had seventy-five of these new pills and fifty of the Detoxifying Soldier Pills too. So, I was well in the green, even if I had to sell them to the Shop.

  “Testing a Pill takes at least ten of the product. Plus, with a new product like this, we usually have to pay someone to risk taking it,” Veronique said as she dumped the single pill into her palm. I saw the moment her eyes widened ever so slightly. It wasn’t a lot, but I had kind of been expecting it. The color was extremely impressive, if I did say so myself.

  Veronique narrowed her eyes and then grabbed a new Pill Flask and placed the pill inside of it. Once she had stopped it, and the information changed, she looked back to me. “This Pill doesn’t look normal. In fact, it looks like it’s poisonous. At least that’s what these vibrant colors would mean on Earth. However, here I’ve seen a few other Pills like it—but none with this color and vibrancy.”

  A frown crossed my face. Sure, the green color was vibrant, but to suspect poison just because of that… Or was it the red veins? I licked my teeth before I responded, “You already know I don’t know the effects. However, I doubt that something titled Rejuvenation by the System is going to be poisonous.”

  Veronique nodded. Then stood up and moved to her barrel to pour herself a cup of the Coffee substitute. “Would you care for one?”

  “Too late for me,” I answered, looking at the Sunstones. They indicated it was well past sundown—and since the flickering light within was almost gone—I’d say it was closer to midnight.

  Veronique waited until she was sitting back down and sipping her coffee to continue, “Can you reliably make more of these?”

  “Yes,” I answered simply.

  “Do you have ten that you can invest into discovering their effect?”

  That was a good question. The problem was, of course, the turn around time for that—and the substantial loan from Veronique. I must have grimaced or made some sort of face because Veronique added, “If they are as valuable as you claim—I’ll put them for sale in the Auction. I’ll also waive the payments and interest on your loan until after I’ve got an answer.”

  “How long does it usually take to get an answer?” I asked.

  “Normally?” Veronique said rhetorically. “About a month. Since I need to find a group going deeper into the Tutorial, then ensure my tester gets hired on. However, I know for a fact that one such expedition is leaving tomorrow, and a tester is already with them.”

  That of course made me want to ask the obvious. “Is he testing something else or just part of the group?”

  “That would be telling,” Veronique said with a grin. “Still, I would say he’ll have an answer in about fourteen days or less. Is that amenable?”

  In truth, I already knew the answer to that question was yes.

  However, fourteen days would still pose a bit of a problem. Only because I planned to present the Detoxifying Pills and Soldier variants to Veronique a few weeks after these were sold. There were just too many issues with trying to sell them right now, on the back of the Rejuvenation Pills.

  The same internal argument I had earlier resurfaced, and I put on a thinking face to buy myself time. If I showed them to Veronique she may be able to deduce the ingredients of the Rejuvenation Pill.

  Of course, the very fact that she didn’t recognize the Pill, and the fact that Rental Cauldrons didn’t have the compass Enchantment functionality of mine—said that discovery probably wouldn’t matter. So, I could likely chance it…

  “That depends. After my latest Crafting session, I’m a little low on Points,” I admitted, even as I turned my attention back to Veronique who had a very wide smile on her face.

  “You mean your catastrophe in your room?” Veronique asked playfully.

  My eyes slid from hers as my cheeks grew hot. I nodded without meeting her eyes. Then asked, “Do you think you can buy these?”

  The Flasks in my Necklace were in my hand for just a moment, before I placed them on the edge of the table. Veronique picked up the first one and I saw her wince.

  Since there were only three bottles it didn’t take her long to read them all. She frowned and asked, “What happened to that batch?”

  I didn’t need to think hard to figure out which bottle she meant. Likely the Detoxify Pill batch with the poor quality. I shrugged. “Experimentation.”

  “Sell those to the Shop. No one will buy them. For the better batch, I can buy them for what the Shop would—and you’ll earn your credit on the Taxes. This Detoxifying Soldier Pill is something I’ve sold before at Auction.”

  She paused and tapped her teeth. Then moved to her desk and opened a lower drawer to root around. She came out with a notebook, which she hurriedly flipped through. “Ahh, yes I recall. It is in fact a combination of the Soldier Pill and Detoxifying Pill. With your quality, I can sell them at Auction but they will likely only go for about five to eight thousand Tutorial Points. After commission you’ll probably be left with thirty-five to fifty-five hundred. I’ll give you the thirty-five hundred per pill up front today, and make up the difference later.”

  That was better than the Northern Shop offered. So, I nodded.

  “Anything else I can do for you?” Veronique asked.

  “Can I come to the next Auction?” I asked and Veronique’s eyes narrowed. “Just to see what price these Pills fetch?”

  “Don’t trust me? Or want to see what the big boys and girls are playing with?” Veronique asked.

  “Both…”

  “The next one is tomorrow. So, it will be thirty days after that. Have a good night, Shepherd.”

  She reached out her hand, and I smiled as I shook it. Gaining a notification for the one hundred and seventy-five thousand Tutorial Points.

  Then, I called it a night, as she suggested.