บท 9: Chapter 9: Whirlpool Potion
A moment later, the membrane of light stabilized, and its contents had changed entirely.
Strength: 1.2, Agility: 1.1, Body Constitution: 0.9, Spirit: 1.4
This was precisely the data panel he had been longing for, equally clear at a glance.
"Academic Prodigy."
He tried pronouncing softly, and the membrane of light flickered, changing the data to another version.
[Apothecary Skill: lv1(1/100)]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv0(5/10)]
[Linguistics Skill: lv0(1/10)]
The emergence of the academic data eased his mind; he named the other panel the 'Attribute' panel to avoid confusion.
It seemed the membrane of light had many unexplored capabilities, who knows, there might be new discoveries someday.
The next second, his field of vision returned to the attribute panel.
The body constitution was somewhat lacking, while the unknown factor of spirit was the highest.
'Could it be that I'm a spiritually strong fellow.'
Gazing at the spirit entry, an idea popped into Ivan's head then was promptly dismissed.
This attribute panel had no progress bars or experience point bars, indicating there was no attribute point allocation but merely plain data statistics reflecting his various aspects, probably evolved in response to his thoughts.
After pondering for a while, he shifted his focus back to the book "Herbs Record Vol. 2" and continued his reading.
[Apothecary Skill Experience Point +1]
[Apothecary Skill: lv1(2/100)]
Experience points were about accumulating experience, a process that clearly required time to level up to level 2.
As the night grew deep, he closed the book, satisfied.
A new day.
When Ivan got up, his father and Paul had already left the house; both had tasks to follow up on, while Beaman took his younger siblings to train.
Beaman coached Ivan on his sword fighting techniques, still the basic moves, correcting some of his oversights and more mature variations of changing swords, helping him to master them through practice attacks.
In the morning, Ivan unusually did not go to the Cassia Swordsmanship Hall.
After lunch, he prepared to go to the medical hall.
Beaman suddenly pulled him aside and asked, "Do you know why Old Orio agreed to teach you?"
Ivan thought of what Justine had mentioned.
Before he could say anything, Beaman revealed the answer, "One time while drinking, he bet with father in a drinking contest; whoever lost had to agree to a reasonable request from the other. He lost and father proposed that you learn from him, haha.
"Father probably didn't expect that you'd actually take a liking to apothecary. Anyway, you should have your wits about you."
Seeing him dumbfounded, Beaman added, after realizing his words might have discouraged his brother, "Old Orio's potions indeed have unique benefits, and they should also be quite profitable, so you start learning first, if you're short on money come to me, and if you truly enjoy apothecary, we'll figure something out later."
After saying that, he patted Ivan's shoulder and went on to attend to other matters.
Ivan sighed lightly, "That's an unexpected answer indeed."
No wonder Old Orio seemed so conflicted.
With that said, it was probably difficult to receive Old Orio's dedicated teaching.
This is tricky.
After thinking for a while, he didn't come up with any clues, so he decided to take it one step at a time.
Bat's Eye Medical Hall.
Ivan and Justine, like two attendants, often stood on either side of Old Orio, and since their conversation, Justine had become more diligent, while Ivan remained the same.
Old Orio suddenly said, "Leider came in the morning and paid for your medical expenses."
Ivan's heart skipped a beat, "He didn't tell me he was coming."
"You're not trying to send me away, are you?"
Fortunately, Old Orio didn't say anything else, nor did he say that he wouldn't allow him to continue coming to the medical hall, which made him secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
More than half the day passed, and it was now night time.
Someone was knocking on his door again—this time it was his older brother Paul.
"Clack."
Upon meeting, Paul tossed him an iron sword.
Ivan looked at him in surprise, his gaze falling on the sword: "This is— the Quillen Sword from the Fluttering Wind Kingdom."
Paul nodded, "Right, it's a gift for you."
"Thank you."
Ivan didn't stand on ceremony.
The Quillen Sword was a fine piece among swords, produced by the neighboring Fluttering Wind Kingdom. It was said to be forged from hundred-refined steel and incorporated a special mineral called Whistling Stone. The sword's name 'Quillen' was in memory of a legendary Flying Knight.
This Quillen Sword's price was definitely no less than two Gold Coins from Beaman.
Paul then handed over the bow and arrows from his shoulder: "This is from father. After receiving Old Mickey's message, father specially prepared this fine bow and arrows for you."
Old Mickey was an old mercenary who had been part of the Giant Shield Mercenary Group back when his grandfather was the leader, possessing the strength of a squire. Nowadays, with his advanced age, he rarely went out on missions, instead staying in Flying Fish City, guarding the barracks and looking after the Marichadon family.
Standing next to the room's door was a beast hide quiver that could be slung on the back, and a large tube of feathered arrows—there must be about 300 of them.
After receiving them, Ivan arranged everything in his own room.
He couldn't help but feel emotional inside; this must be his father's unique way of showing care—always so awkward, much like the man he had been before.
Paul continued, "Father said, if you need to ride a horse, you can go to the barracks to find Old Mickey, he'll arrange it for you."
Ivan nodded slightly to show he understood.
Paul didn't stay long and was about to leave when he seemed to remember something, taking out a sheepskin scroll from his pocket: "This was acquired unexpectedly during a mission. You can study it yourself or give it to Old Orio. Father said you can do whatever you want with it." Saying that, he also handed it over to him.
After sending Paul to the door and returning, Ivan turned his attention to the sheepskin scroll in his hands, which was made from specially nitrate-treated sheepskin. It actually contained a prescription and its apothecary method, a Breathing Method Universal Secret Medicine—Whirlpool Potion.
The essence of the Breathing Method was to refine the Breath of Life as well as to tap into the potential hidden within one's bloodline. Many Breathing Methods were closely tied to personal bloodlines and the corresponding potions were the same.
The Whirlpool Potion was a page class Universal Secret Medicine. Undoubtedly, such a prescription carried immense value. If he could produce and sell it, he would certainly earn a vast fortune, enough to be a foundation for a family to establish itself.
Such an item of great value was given to him so casually; Ivan felt as if he were holding the weight of a thousand catties in his hand. He looked around subconsciously and closed his room door tightly.
"Whirlpool flower, barro grass, black snake fruit, bitter wheat mantis feeler, red rock powder... No, that's not right, if my memory serves me well, barro grass grows on cliff sides and is rare and hard to come by, and as for the main ingredient, whirlpool flower, it has already gone extinct."
When it came to distinguishing herbs, Ivan was no longer the clueless novice he once was. Looking at what was recorded on the sheepskin scroll, he quickly spotted the problem.
In fact, the world's apothecary was similar to the principle of preparing traditional Chinese medicine, which could be summarized as the ruler-vassals hierarchy. According to this hierarchy, in the formula for the Whirlpool Potion, whirlpool flower was the 'ruler' medicine, while barro grass was the 'minister' medicine.
"It's still possible to collect barro grass, but whirlpool flower will likely need to be substituted with another herb."
The lack of the two key ingredients greatly diminished the value of the prescription, yet it wasn't worthless. Someone like Old Orio would definitely be interested.
Ivan suddenly understood his father's intentions.
He wanted him to offer the prescription to Old Orio in an attempt to secure a chance to become a true apprentice. His father might seem silent and unresponsive, but he cared for him no less than anyone else.
However, dealing with Old Orio was tricky, and he too needed to put in a lot of effort and be thoroughly prepared.
...
Cassia Swordsmanship Hall's martial arts arena.
During a break, Donnie suddenly came up close, sneakily tucking his head in and speaking in a very low voice.
"I've got some top-secret news for you."
"What is it?"
"There's a sorcerer in Flying Fish Port, a mysterious sorcerer has come to recruit apprentices."
Ivan hadn't cared at first, but at those words, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at him.
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