Liam comfortably settled inside the small but adequate space and took out all the herbs from his inventory.
He now had enough gold and had also crossed Level 10 so while he was taking care of the miscellaneous things, he also upgraded his inventory to hold 5000 items which was the maximum limit for the system inventory.
To store more items or rarer higher grade items other storage artifacts need to be specially crafted or looted and bound. So he pinned that task for another time.
"Hmmm… Let me see… Basic Healing potion, Basic Mana potion, Basic Stamina potion, Basic Strength potion, Basic Agility potion… It should be enough to start with these five for now."
Liam stacked all the herbs neatly based on which herb was required for each potion recipe.
Since these were all basic potions, simple enough to be concocted by a beginner alchemist, only herbs were involved in the recipes.
Unlike his cleansing potion, they didn't require beast blood or bones or any other items.
Liam then took out the cauldron from his inventory and started the heating by activating the rune on the side.
He pressed his thumb and removed it, once again just using the automatic regulation.
This was more than sufficient for the basic potions and only had the flaw of producing potions with 60 to 70% efficacy.
This number could obviously be improved if he regulated the entire concoction process himself with complete focus and thorough control of mana.
However, he didn't have any shortage of herbs or gold for now so he placed more importance on speed rather than concoction efficiency.
After the cauldron started heating up, Liam added a pail of clean water into it, and in a single batch, he tossed in the entire first stack of herbs. He had already arranged the stalks in an appropriate ratio, so he didn't have to do much else.
He just squatted near the cauldron and swirled the liquid inside using a huge ladle at regular intervals.
Before long, a series of notifications rang loudly.
[Ding: Basic Health potion created]
[Ding: Basic Health potion recipe obtained]
[Ding: Basic Health potion created]
[Ding: Basic Health potion created]
[Ding: Basic Health potion created]
…
…
...
[Ding: Your Alchemy skill proficiency has increased to Trainee Level]
"Alright. Time to move on to the next one." Liam cracked his neck and stood up, to quickly empty the cauldron.
He scooped out the huge amount of basic health potion within the cauldron into several smaller-sized glass bottles and stored them in his inventory.
He then activated another rune on the cauldron which incinerated all the leftover dregs and everything was cleaned out for another fresh concoction batch.
Liam once again heated another pail of clean water and this time as well he threw in a huge stack of prearranged herbs, without bothering to adjust anything.
As he watched the things boiling silently, he couldn't help but lazily smile and lean against the wall. The things that seemed so easy and effortless now had once been a nightmare to him.
As a slave and a weakling, he himself was never allowed to practice alchemy.
However, he was forced to stand near the cauldron and act as a punching bag every time his 'owner' couldn't successfully concoct a potion.
He had been whipped, he had been starved, he had even been held under disgusting piping hot liquid, just as a means for someone else to vent their anger.
The memories of the past flitted past his mind and his smile was no longer lazy or amused. It was rather deeply disturbing. It was like the grin of a grim reaper as he was about to take a soul.
"Not yet," Liam muttered and closed his eyes to calm himself down.
[Ding: Basic Mana potion created]
[Ding: Basic Mana potion recipe obtained]
[Ding: Basic Mana potion created]
[Ding: Basic Mana potion created]
[Ding: Basic Mana potion created]
…
…
...
"Mmm… Smells perfect. Next batch then."
Liam ended up using the next three hours of his four-hour time slot and concocted huge portions of all the five basic potions.
In the end, he even managed to bring his alchemy skill level to intermediate.
Pushing it any higher using just basic potions was near impossible and just a waste of time and resources so he stopped.
"I still have the recipes looted from the dragon's nest. Let me take a look."
[Ding: Chrysanthemum Lethal Poison recipe obtained]
[Ding: Nine-Color Paralyzing Poison recipe obtained]
[Ding: Low-Grade Stealth potion recipe obtained]
[Ding: Low-Grade Water Breathing potion obtained]
"Four special and unique alchemy potions!"
"Oh! This is a great haul."
"Too bad I don't have the ingredients for these yet. Otherwise, I could have leveled the alchemy skill up all the way to master level today."
"Well, whatever. No need to rush things." He had finished everything that he could do here so he packed up the miscellaneous items and left the crafting room.
"Heh. This guy is still here?" Liam smirked when he walked out of the Trade building. Of course, he had noticed Berat following him around, but he didn't see any need to act on it.
"Well, let me see if he still waits around." His grin widened and the next second his figure disappeared.
"What the heck? Where did he go?" Berat looked around here and there. "His speed and agility are already so high that I cannot even track him anymore?"
"No, wait. Did he learn some sort of stealth skill?" Berat was disappointed that he had lost his mark. "Now how should I find him again?"
He racked his brain for a while before realizing something important. He then facepalmed himself for overlooking the obvious!
"Fuck. He must have just logged out. Why am I getting so flustered?" He shook his head as if he was physically trying to make his brain stop overthinking.
He let out a long sigh and sat down near a tree at the entrance of the Trade building. "I already wasted 3 hours. So what if I waste a few more? Fuck it."
He had tried talking to the few alchemists in the town a hundred different ways but he was not able to find even a small clue about a possible loophole.
At this point, he was so invested that he was obsessed with finding the loophole! It was either this or he was ready to quit the game altogether! err… at least for the rest of the day...
…
…
…
Liam felt a jolt surge through his body and his consciousness returned to the real world. He then opened the game capsule casually and stepped out of it.
"Bro! Bro! Wahhh! You are finally back." Meilin immediately stood up and ran over to him, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure curiously.
"Yes. Did you get hungry? Sorry, I am a bit late."
"No. I am alright." The girl flashed a big smile like always, batting her long lashes. Though her small face and phoenix-like eyes looked a bit tired and droopy.
Liam couldn't help but smile. The girl was far too mature for her age. She had never once demanded anything from him even though they went to sleep hungry a lot of the time.
He patted her and then quickly ordered some food for them from a nearby restaurant.
He wanted to take her out to someplace nice but tomorrow was going to be busy so he decided to finish the day with a quick meal.
The food soon arrived and Liam served the bunch of dishes on plates and bowls for the both of them.
It was only the brother and sister pair in the house so it was pretty quiet as the duo wolfed down the food.
"Brother, is this really ok? We are spending a lot ah..?"
"Mei Mei. Do you want to move to a bigger apartment tomorrow?" Liam smiled and shoved another piece of tenderly cooked pork.
"Bigger apartment? Brother, did we win a lottery?" The girl giggled cutely.
"He He. I guess we can call it that." Liam chucked. He added some more food to her bowl and also to his own.
He was ravenous after expending so much energy. And also, there was the other thing…
"Umm… brother… this… something looks different about you?" Meilin couldn't put a finger on it but her scrawny brother looked somewhat different today.
Though he was still a skeleton, he seemed as if he was stronger for some reason. The pimples on his face had also disappeared and he had muscles?
"Eh? Stop staring at me and eat your food. We are eating better so it's natural to look and feel better. Don't think too much about it."
"And no school tomorrow alright?"
"I am earning now playing this game. So we can afford to move to a better place. I don't want us to stay here any longer."
"You should eat well and take a proper rest tonight so you help brother when we move tomorrow."
"Wahhh! Brother, is this really true? We can earn money by just playing games?"
Liam smiled and ruffled her head, which made the young girl pout. "Of course. Why will I lie to you?"
"We will have a better life from now on. You can have your own room. New dresses. Whatever you want. You will see tomorrow." He nodded.
"Ahh…" The girl was completely speechless. "Brother then I should also start playing? I can help you?"
"Mmm. All in due time. Let brother get stronger first. Then I will take you to the new world."
"Ahh… but!"
"No buts! You should rest first. After you wake up, wait for me and don't head out to school. Remember alright?"
"Ok, brother. I will listen to you. Umm… Don't work too hard."
"Ha Ha. I won't." Liam threw the dishes into the small sink and didn't bother to wash them.
He then made sure that the door was latched properly, drank a jug full of water, and popped back into the capsule again.
After he left, Chang Meilin looked at the capsule from a dozen different angles, but she was too afraid to mess up something and didn't come anywhere near it.
She sat back in her corner, silently pulled out her textbook, and started reading.
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