"What was he doing?" Lan Yu wondered curiously.
Under the night sky of Troll Forest, Lu Yang had fully recovered and continued killing trolls. He did not stop until dawn on the second morning in the real world.
Using a Return Scroll, Lu Yang returned from Troll Forest to St. Gall City. He ran to the Goblin Camp west of the city and found Bisel in the council hall.
"Buddy, you're back. How did it go?" Bisel had been discussing something with Settar, but when he saw Lu Yang, he immediately walked over happily.
Lu Yang took 200 Troll Bone Chains from his backpack and handed them to Bisel. "I killed 200 in total."
"Oh, brother, you did great. You really live up to being a big guy. Here are 40 silver coins." Bisel took a pouch from his waist and handed it to Lu Yang.
System Notification: You obtained 40 silver coins
Lu Yang was a little excited. Forty silver coins did not seem like much, but it was only the third day since the server opened. The exchange feature between game currency and real-world currency had not yet been activated, and even a major guild only had a few dozen silver coins in liquid funds. The 40 silver coins in Lu Yang's hands could accomplish many things.
"I'll come see you again tomorrow." Lu Yang bid farewell to Bisel. After leaving the Goblin Camp, he went to the auction house in St. Gall City's East District, intending to buy herbs for making Antitoxin Potions in bulk.
In Second World, players could not pass through one another. In other words, if a player occupied a spot, others could not walk through them. Because of this, the game's commercial buildings had all been built on a grand scale.
The auction house in the East District was one such iconic commercial building. The three-story auction house covered more than 8,000 square meters, and its entrance alone was 50 meters wide, capable of accommodating ten thousand players in an auction at once.
At this time, many players had already come to the auction house, though most were lifestyle players. They gathered herbs, animal hides, ores, and other items to sell there.
On every floor of the hall, there were numerous NPCs who could assist players with auctions. There were also machines similar to bank ATMs that allowed players to participate in auctions themselves.
Lu Yang found a self-service auction terminal and first listed the Silver-grade bow that had dropped from Wokins. He set the minimum price at 50 silver coins with no maximum price. Then he selected the herb category and found Stone Root Herb, Withered Leaf Herb, and Silver Leaf Herb, the three ingredients used to make Antitoxin Potions.
Herbs at the auction house were generally sold in stacks of thirty. Only a small number of high-end herbs were allowed to be auctioned one at a time.
He checked the prices and found that all three herbs cost the same: a maximum of 10 copper coins per stack and a minimum of 3 copper coins. He could not help but feel surprised.
He remembered that in his previous life, once players gradually obtained the Antitoxin Potion Recipe through various channels, the prices of herbs used to make Antitoxin Potions had risen steadily. At their peak, a stack of herbs could sell for one silver coin. Compared to that, their current price was incredibly low.
Lu Yang spent 30 silver coins to buy 300 stacks of herbs, then headed to the Apothecary Guild.
The Apothecary Guild in St. Gall City was the largest human apothecary guild. It was also located in the city's East District, just northeast of the auction house, covering roughly 5,000 square meters.
If players wanted to learn alchemy, they could only come to the Apothecary Guild and pay 5 silver coins to learn the beginner alchemy skill. Only after learning alchemy could they use various recipes.
At this time, only a scattered few players were in the Apothecary Guild's first-floor hall. When they saw Lu Yang, every one of them wore an arrogant expression.
Anyone who could come to the Apothecary Guild to learn alchemy on the third day after the server opened had to be an apothecary heavily trained by a major guild.
Lu Yang knew he would never have anything to do with these people in his lifetime, so he could not be bothered with them. He went straight to the second floor and, just as in his previous life, chose Bokens, the alchemy master in the ninth room he knew so well.
"Hello, sir. I would like to learn alchemy," Lu Yang said respectfully.
Bokens was a middle-aged man around forty years old, standing beside a bookshelf and reading. He wore a violet-gold alchemist's robe, a color that represented his rank and showed that he was an advanced alchemist.
"Young man, welcome to the profound art of alchemy. However, if you wish to learn, you must pay me 5 silver coins in tuition before I can teach you," Bokens said.
"Of course." Lu Yang took out 5 silver coins and handed them to Bokens.
Bokens took a beginner alchemy skill book from the bookshelf behind him and handed it to Lu Yang. "Read it carefully. You will find the true essence of alchemy within."
Lu Yang accepted the book and chose to use it.
System Notification: You learned Beginner Alchemy Alchemy Proficiency: 0/50
This was the highest level beginner alchemy could reach. To learn intermediate alchemy after level 50, he would have to come back and pay again.
Lu Yang took out the Antitoxin Potion Recipe from his backpack and chose to use it again. After a flash of light, the recipe disappeared, but an Antitoxin Potion icon appeared in his potion-making skill menu.
System Notification: You learned how to make Antitoxin Potions
"Sir, I would like to rent an alchemy room," Lu Yang said.
"Of course. One silver coin per hour," Bokens said.
Lu Yang paid the silver coins, and Bokens used magic to send him into an alchemy room.
An alchemy room could increase potion-making success rates by 1%. This was very important to many ordinary players, but it was of little use to Lu Yang.
He had rented the alchemy room not for that 1% success rate, but because it had a large alchemy furnace that could brew up to thirty bottles of potion at once, saving him the time wasted making them one bottle at a time.
According to Second World's official settings, players had to make potions themselves. They had to boil herbs, add reagents, and create chemical reactions. On average, making one bottle took five minutes. Lu Yang did not have that much time to waste, so using an alchemy room was the best choice.
After lighting the fire beneath the alchemy furnace and waiting for the water inside to boil, Lu Yang took out Stone Root Herb, Withered Leaf Herb, and Silver Leaf Herb from his backpack, adding one stack of each to the furnace.
Making thirty bottles of potion at once was not easy. Ordinary players simply did not have the ability. As long as a single step went wrong during the brewing process, that bottle of potion would be ruined.
However, this did not trouble Lu Yang. As a mage in his previous life, and a top-tier mage at that, one of his most important required courses had been alchemy. He had been an alchemy master in his previous life, though he had not learned it willingly; the game had forced him into it.
Mages consumed too much money. Entering dungeons now was manageable, since there was no need to drink potions or use high-grade potions. But after level 50, mage players had to bring potions and elixirs into dungeons, or their spell damage would not be enough to kill bosses.
But a single bottle of elixir was too expensive. Back then, Lu Yang had still been a poor kid. To save money, with the help of several brothers, he slowly learned how to make elixirs. Thinking back on those days brought both bitterness and a trace of happiness. Perhaps that had been pure friendship.
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