Chương 94: Potion Addicts

The next morning as I was soaking in my usual bath, I shared the news with the alchemy misters about my new cauldron! Honestly, if anyone were to understand the struggles I faced without one, it'd be these misters! [Finally Bought a Cauldron!] Author: BinLover (image of cauldron) Look!!! I bought one!! I really did it! It's so beautiful! (image of cauldron from different angle) The creator called it the 'Ghost Cosmos Cauldron'!

It was forged in the depths of hell from Black Ghost Iron after a fierce battle with Cerberus and infused with the dust of the cosmos, shattered by the Gods themselves! Then! The greatest(cutest) alchemist to ever exist confirmed that it was up to standard! I can create potions in batches of 50 now! Manipulating mana is so much easier! Cauldrons are cheats! Pretty awesome, right? → [Juxtaps: I feel like we're congratulating you every other day now. But, congratulations! You can really tell the difference now, can't you?] ↳ [BinLover: It's only natural I get congratulated a lot cause I'm impressive! And yeah, it's so much better!!] → [ObsidianTier: Congratulations! It was weird using a pot for so long in the first place.] ↳ [BinLover: We all start somewhere!!!] → [Love Fusion Mix Hands: Congrats. What's the first thing you're going to do with your new cauldron?] ↳ [BinLover: Hehe, I've already made mana potions! For now, I want to create recipes for all the other common buffs I'd need to use in the tower. I plan to relax for a while and just increase my funds.] ↳ [Love Fusion Mix Hands: A good choice. I have a recommendation for a new potion for you: Heartlily Nectar, Honeybee Honey, Cupiberry Juice, Indigo Petals, High-Quality Koi Fish Core] ↳ [BinLover: Huh? Heartlily… honey… petals…] ↳ [BinLover:!?] ↳ [BinLover: T-This!! This is an aphrodisiac! I don't need it!!] ↳ [Love Fusion Mix Hands: Hm…] ↳ [Juxtaps:? Why would she even need such a thing? Though, she did figure that out fast. I can tell she's been studying hard.] ↳ [Love Fusion Mix Hands: Ugh.] → [EfficiencyLord: So, black ghost iron and cosmo dust were the main materials used to create this cauldron? Not a bad choice for a beginner's cauldron. Guessing is not very efficient, but if I must, I'd say that your way of checking if it was up to standard was sitting in it.] ↳ [BinLover: PFFT!!!!] ↳ [BinLover: WHAT!?] ↳ [BinLover: How in the seven seas could you possibly guess that!?] ↳ [BinLover: And no! That's not how I checked!! (nervous raccoon icon)] ↳ [Juxtaps: Pfft.] → [CauldronBro: Hm… The craftsmanship isn't bad. I can tell the creator has forged a few cauldrons before. However, they seemed to put effort into detailing it based on the flowers engraved below the lip. For aesthetics sake, there's nothing wrong with it, however, for practicalities sake, it will slightly dampen the efficiency of threading mana into it. Though, it won't make a noticeable difference. Unless you only prioritize and care about efficiency, there's no problem. Black Ghost Iron likes to absorb, so, it's useful if you'd like to store properties in it until it digests. It'll also be useful to keep dangerous fumes from escaping as it'll also absorb those. I reckon the Cosmo dust is remains from a Cosmo Ghost, a monster found in graveyards or death-affinity environments; Cosmo Ghosts kill prey by infusing death-attuned mana into their targets. Ironically, the way to kill them is to infuse your own mana into them, after you do so, they'll corrode and leave behind cosmo dust, which you'll have to purify before working with. Otherwise anything created with be infused with death-attuned mana. The dust works well with black ghost iron and has a natural synergy, it'll aid the ghost iron in absorbing properties and also help imbue them into materials.] If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

↳ [BinLover: Oh my… CauldronBro is actually a cauldron master! You truly live up to your name!] ↳ [Juxtaps: What did you think he was before?] ↳ [BinLover: Super potion man!] ↳ [CauldronBro: …?] → [✪Potions Are Easy: Happy for you! A cauldron makes a huge difference when doing alchemy. Make sure to explore the newfound possibilities a cauldron brings!] … After my bath, I went straight to theorizing and creating recipes for the potions I needed. As I've always said, thinking of the recipes aren't hard.

Optimizing them, making them cost-efficient, and fun is the difficult part. In just a few hours, I had a long list of materials for each potion I'd create. Next, I needed to trim them down and only have the best materials listed. To do so, I'd check the exchange and look for three key things: How many are listed, in other words, their market volume; How expensive are the materials; And their trade volume. The first two reasons are obvious and easy to find.

The one that takes the longest is the third reason: How much is traded per day, week, and month. Thankfully, there are some websites that track all of my needs. But, it's still a hassle!

"Mm~" I hummed, jotting down the information in my notebook. By the time it was afternoon, I had finished three of the seven recipes I was working on. Standing up, I stretched, hearing the satisfying sound of my bones cracking. I still had so much to do today, so I couldn't spend all my time acting like a scholar.

"I wonder when Luna's gonna drop by." I mumbled, "Mm… Alright, let's bake a cake." … While the cake was baking, I moved onto brewing mana potions. By the time I finished a batch, it should be done. When I checked earlier, the reception to my sweet mana potions was explosive. Some people who originally bought them for collectors sake, drank them instead because of the 'most delicious potion ever' claim that's been trending. And that's to say, my potion didn't disappoint.

There's actually an internet challenge going on with people trying to recreate my potion's flavor. Which… Isn't exactly hard? At least I think so. It's just strawberry concentrate and sap; How could people be struggling to recreate the favor? But, it seems like the internet doesn't think the same. As, no one has successfully recreated the taste yet. I'm getting a ton of DM's, messages, and questions about it. There's even some rankers asking if I could send them a potion to drink.

Should I just start a drink company at this point? What I didn't know at the time is that the reason that people were unable to recreate the exact taste of my potions was because of the natural flavor my mana gave the potion; All alchemist's mana have a unique flavor that mixes into the potions during the creation process. Anyways, that's all to say, I'm amazing and impressive and cute.

As I was preparing the materials for the mana potions, my phone buzzed, it was Luna asking if she could come bring the antidotes over. I smiled and agreed. But I also told her to just come in when she arrived, since I'd be in the process of brewing potions. With that set, I hummed, a little bit more happily, as I continued prepping the materials. … Luna inspected herself in the mirror, twirling a bit of hair around her finger and messing with her bangs. After a little, she took a step back and nodded,"Good."

With her appearance acceptable, she picked up the box of antidotes, glancing at the suitcase Stella had left behind. A faint red appeared on her cheeks before she shook her head and set off to Stella's place. A little later, she parked her car and brought the box of antidotes up to her apartment. As she went to knock on the door, she remembered that Stella had said to just come in since she'd be busy. So, her hand moved down towards the handle and opened the door.

Stepping inside, the familiar, welcoming scent hit her. It was even more comfortable than the one at her own home. It didn't take long for her to spot Stella, as, she was in the middle of the living room, standing in front of her cauldron. Not wanting to disrupt her focus, Luna stayed quiet as she closed the door and set the box on the couch. Luna looked at Stella's back for a few moments before circling around to the dining table, where she could see Stella's face.

Stella hadn't noticed her at all, her full focus on the cauldron in front of her. She had that same focused, serious look that she's always had when working. Luna propped her chin up with her palm. She'd go from browsing on her phone to stealing a few glances at Stella, repeating that until the potions were done. …

"Phew…" I stepped back, wiped off the sweat on my forehead and turned off the heat. They say if you do what you love you'll never work a day in your life! Liars! Even if it's enjoyable, it's still work! Though, looking at the finished product makes me inexplicably happy. I just needed to bottle it now. When I looked up, I flinched a little seeing Luna sitting at the table. When did she get here? But a smile came a moment later.

"Hi!" I waved, "You're here!" Luna put down her phone,"Mhm," She nodded, "You're done?" She asked, standing up and approaching the cauldron.

"I just have to bottle them and then yeah." I nodded, "Hehe, is this the biggest mana potion you've seen?" I presented the liquid in the cauldron.

"For sure…" Luna said, trying to whiff up the scent, "?" A question mark practically appeared on her face when she couldn't smell anything.

"Hehe," I giggled, "The cauldron sucks up any fumes."

"Oh…" Luna let out flatly.

"Why don't you take a sip? I think you'll like it." I used mana to form a small cup and scooped up a little bit of liquid before holding it to Luna's mouth. Since I couldn't project it far, I had to hold the cup up to her directly.

"O-Oh, um…Okay…" She let out, a faint red appearing on her cheeks. She carefully sipped. A moment later she was smacking her lips in delight. She went to drink more but realized the cup was empty! Luna looked at me accusingly, as if saying 'How could you!' …Is it supposed to be my fault that she drank it all in a single swig? I stared back blankly. After an intense(?) stare down, Luna eventually retreated and looked away with a faint blush.

"U-Um…" She let out, stammering.

"Pfft!" I laughed, "Let me bottle them, drink as much as you'd like."

"I-Is that okay…?" She hesitantly replied, glancing at me expectantly. I smiled and nodded. … [Raccoon has listed 42 Sweet Mana Regeneration Potions!] [42 D+ grade potions] [Did anyone snatch up Raccoon's potions today?] Author: Addicted To Sweet Potions If so, PLEASEEEE SELL THEM TO ME!! PLEASEEEEE!!! → [LOLOLOL, as if anyone would sell them to you, idiot.] → [Relatable.] → [Look at this idiot who wasn't waiting on the exchange 24/7 to buy Raccoon's potions!! Hahaha! (me too bro…)] → [Sucks to suck, I'll be here sipping this sweet mana potion~] ↳ [Addicted To Sweet Potions: PLEASEEE SELL IT TO ME!!!! I NEED IT!!!] ↳ [LOLOLOL Nope~ Suffer~] → [This guy aside though, does anyone know why Raccoon only sold 42 today? Yesterday she sold a clean 100, now, she sells 42? Is this her trolling again? Limiting the supply to us peasants so we have to beg? If so, I'll get on my hands and knees and bark like a dog! WOOF! WOOF! PLEASE SELL MORE!! WOOF!] ↳ [This guy's crazy-WOOF WOOF] ↳ [You're all craz-WOOF!] ↳ [WOOF] ↳ [Addicted To Sweet Potions: WOOF WOOF WOOF!] → [Aviation Crow: … The world's gone crazy. Is everyone suffering withdraw syndromes or something? Just how good could her potions be to force you guys to act like dogs. I'm getting more and more curious.]