The Alchemist at Hell's Gates

8

^^ Lucky Arcane Wrist-Launcher ^^
(Credit: QuickDraw, Griffin's Armory!)

"Okay... I have a full day to deal with you now... let's get to work." I cracked my knuckles and sat down at my work table, pulling out the new Herbs I'd gotten Identified. The loss of 90 gold to identify them all had stung, but even with the 405 gold I'd spent getting my items enchanted and the 50$ I spent on Rare Metals, I still had 460 gold left from our little adventure, and I was about to make a hell of a lot more, if selling these was as profitable as I thought it would be.

First was the Red Cap Mushroom: the Rage Potion was pretty useful, and according to the Chat, it was popular with high-level Archers, used against Bosses to make them slaughter their own allies, or against crowds to make them turn on each other, instead of you; in both cases, you still received all the XP and Loot from their deaths, because you were Indirectly the Cause for the Deaths, just like if you pushed someone off a cliff. Gravity did the Killing, you just gave it a little help.

I mixed the Red Cap with Glow-Stone in a small mortar, then poured the resultant crumble into a boiling beaker of Catalyst, stirring it until the Fungus and Stone both Dissolved, and the potion turned an angry, glowing Red, then turning a dull grey.

Formula Incomplete.

"Huh... alright, so there's other ingredients..." I frowned at the message, tossing that failed potion to the Catalyst Slime to eat and then adding Blue Willow Herb to the mixture before trying again.

Formula Incomplete.

"Son of a B!&$H!!!" I growled, tossing that one as well and adding the final ingredient, the Spotted Mushrooms.

Formula Discovered: Berserker Potion; Red-Cap Mushroom, Blue Willow Herb, Spotted Mushroom, Glow-Stone, Catalyst.

Berserker Potion, Rarity 5: This Potion is the historically renowned method of the dreaded Ulfhednar, -Savage Warriors of Ancient Times,- who would drink it before battle to enable them to strike down even the greatest of foes with the Might of their Ancestors. It contains all of the positive side-effects of the Red-Cap Mushroom, Blue Willow Herb, and Spotted Mushroom, but none of the negatives. (Strength+10, Con+10, Pain Resistance, Immunity to Stunning, Blinding, Poison, and Fear DeBuffs; Duration: 6 Hours.)

"Okay... not what I was expecting, but I like it... I'll make 10 of these, then, then move on to the Rage Potion." I hummed, mixing the potion nine more times. "Maybe just without the Catalyst, this time?" I mixed Red-Cap and Glow-Stone, and grinned at the orange potion.

Formula Discovered: Rage Potion; Red-Cap Mushroom, Glow-Stone.

Rage Potion: This Potion sends those afflicted by it into an unstoppable rampage, wherein they cannot tell Friend from Foe, and will attack anything in their path until they are dead or the poison runs its course. (Causes Rage for 1 hour, 20Dmg/sec.)

"Alright, perfect... how about Red-Cap and Blue Willow, without a Catalyst or Spotted Mushrooms?"

Formula Incomplete.

"Blue Willow and Red Willow?"

Incompatible Ingredients.

"Fair, I can't Stack too many Positives... how about-"

—

I spent the beginning of Sunday, a full 24-hour long In-Game Day, finishing my potions and crafting new potions. In the end, I managed to make several new potions, all of them basically improved forms of their basic Herbs or Ingredients, like the 'Potion of Vitality', which just gave the +10 to Str&Con from Blue Willow Herbs for 6 hours instead of one, or the 'Potion of Illusions', which gave whoever was affected by it wickedly euphoric hallucinations for 6 hours. Mixing the Acid Shrooms with Glow-Stones created the 'Greater Catalyst', which was apparently strong enough to absorb and counteract just about any acid in existence, as well as having a number of magical effects when used as a weapon, so I made a full 100 of those, but there was one last problem: Delivery. Lobbing a potion could possibly hit my allies, and I didn't want that, but I had little recourse, other than slathering my daggers with a potion and throwing that, but that required me to be within 30 feet; as in, well within most creatures' detection range. I could send my slimes, but then they'd be in danger, and they were also very slow, and I wanted to keep them with me; they were Support Items, not Combatants.