Brewing Potsions

"How much money do we have left?" Isaac asked.

Whether goblins and Goblin Slayers were just two sides of the same racket was none of his concern. All he knew was that hiring a Goblin Slayer cost money, and he was running short...

"Five hundred Gold Coins, sixty-three silver coins, and some copper coins. We arrived at a bad time. Last quarter's Silver Moon Grass was just handed over."

"Hmm." Isaac nodded. "Take fifty Gold Coins and find a team... never mind, make it five Gold Coins. Find a Goblin Slayer. He can locate the goblins, and we'll kill them ourselves."

"Yes, Young Master."

Isaac waved Smith away and let out a heavy sigh. It seemed like a lot of money, but if he spent it on magical research... it probably wouldn't be enough. Besides, he had brought those five hundred Gold Coins from home. Once they were gone, that was it.

The Silver Moon Grass grown on the estate simply didn't earn that much.

According to the previous accounts, his net profit from Silver Moon Grass was only a dozen or so Gold Coins each quarter, and they could grow three crops a year.

That was enough for a minor noble to live a little more comfortably, but nothing beyond that.

So, hiring a Goblin Slayer...

Required careful consideration...

The estate didn't have many fighting men, but their quality was high: one Knight, eleven Quasi-Knights, and himself, a Formal Wizard. They could slaughter goblins with ease. The Goblin Slayer's only purpose was to locate them.

"Ah... back to research, back to research." Isaac shook his head and returned his attention to the parchment before him.

The Blood Essence Potion could not only strengthen his side, but might also make for a good business. It deserved some serious study.

Unlike Heart Replacement Surgery, brewing Potsions required only a few spells. There were just three: the Fire Magic Spell to light the fire, the Water Magic Spell to prepare the ingredients, and the Extraction Magic Spell to extract the Potsion at the end.

These three spells weren't as easy to manipulate as Heart Replacement Surgery. Repeated chanting wouldn't increase the success rate, because each had to be used exactly once. Any fewer or any more, and the brewing would fail.

As with the ritual, the only thing his golden finger could manipulate was the ingredients. Many supplementary ingredients could be added without limit, raising the success rate without limit as well. Silver Moon Grass was the most cost-effective of them, since he grew it himself.

Before coming here, he had already instructed the estate to set aside some Silver Moon Grass. There was enough for him to burn through freely.

The three spells used to brew Potsions were all basic spells and weren't difficult to learn. Isaac soon mastered them and was ready to begin brewing.

The reason he used the word "brewing"...

Was that Legendary Wizards made Potsions differently. Unlike Arcane Masters, who used a whole array of chemistry-related equipment such as beakers, crucibles, and test tubes, they needed only a large pot and a long ladle.

Much like the evil wizards in fairy tales.

After reading the parchment scroll again and confirming that he had memorized all three spells, Isaac stood and carried the necessary ingredients over to the cauldron one by one. First, he added water and monster blood at a ratio of two to one, filling the cauldron, a meter wide and tall, more than halfway.

Then he chanted the Fire Magic Spell. With a whoosh, a sickly green flame sprang up beneath the cauldron, feeding on the magic power in the air to produce heat and warm the vessel.

With the fire lit and the liquid not yet boiling, Isaac crouched down and curiously examined the sickly green flames blazing away without any firewood.

He wondered whether the Fire Magic Spell could be used to attack.

In theory, it should work, right?

But the Fire Magic Spell was only a basic spell, and its temperature wasn't very high. He wondered whether more advanced spells existed.

Isaac had many questions, and spells were one of them. Both of his current witchcraft techniques required spells, unlike arcane magic, whose learning and use involved models and magic power equations instead.

Which of these is the mainstream approach for Legendary Wizards? For my future... hmm?

Isaac suddenly paused at that thought, then shook his head. Who cared which was mainstream? His golden finger made either one easy to learn, so it hardly mattered.

Of course, if circumstances allowed, he would choose both!

"Bubble... bubble..."

Before long, the bright red liquid in the cauldron began to churn. Isaac didn't dare get careless. With a rip, he summoned the Demonic Claw and, with its help, began adding all sorts of strange ingredients in sequence.

A withered finger, two sections of rotten root, multicolored scales, mushrooms giving off a strange smell, a dead rat, and a bright red heart radiating intense fluctuations of magic power!

After adding them in order, Isaac chanted the awkward, obscure spell while dipping the large ladle into the cauldron and stirring three turns to the left, then three to the right. Every so often, he tossed in some Silver Moon Grass to keep the success rate from dropping below two hundred percent.

He kept stirring, and gradually, the ingredients in the cauldron blended into the bloody water. With so much Silver Moon Grass added, the liquid had turned green. As green bubbles burst one after another, a peculiar smell began to spread through the room.

Isaac's expression shifted slightly. He knew the brew was ready. Although the green liquid in the pot differed from the red liquid described on the parchment, its smell was the same, and the sensation from its magic power was similar. Besides, the success rate was still two hundred percent, so there shouldn't be much of a problem.

With that thought, Isaac moved the long ladle to the surface and gently swept it across the liquid, changing his chant to the Extraction Magic Spell. Behind his head, the Demonic Claw spread its five fingers directly above the cauldron. Wisps of magic power began falling from it and sinking into the brew.

Slowly, a clear, translucent red liquid began to collect in the long ladle as Isaac moved it across the surface, giving off a sweet, bloody scent.

Only then did Isaac finally feel completely at ease.

It worked.

A smile spread across Isaac's face as he looked at the ladle brimming with red liquid. He carefully poured it into a glass tube and secured the cap before letting out a long breath of relief.

He had prepared only three sets of Potsion ingredients in total. Even one failure would have been a serious loss.

Rolling his shoulders, Isaac began pouring fresh ingredients into the cauldron. While he was still in good form, he would brew all three batches in one go. He still had enough magic power, anyway.

Notably, Isaac didn't discard the green liquid in the pot. Instead, he added the new ingredients directly to it and began brewing.

This was valuable stuff. A Legendary Wizard's Potsion-brewing process could also be viewed as a simple magical ritual. During it, the cauldron, the long ladle, and the remaining liquid inside would all receive slight enhancements. Given enough time, they too would become wondrous Magic Items.

It was like the wizard's clothes he wore. They had originally been ordinary fabric, but because they had participated in the ritual through which he became a wizard, they now possessed certain magical properties, including a faint ability to conceal his presence.

The same applied to the liquid in the cauldron. Once sufficiently nourished by the rituals, it could not only improve the success rate of brewing Potsions, but also be used to perform witchcraft.