Exceptionally Gifted

Serpent Tooth Herb needed to be ground into powder.

Mountain Mugwort had to be boiled. A large cup of water (8 ounces) was added to the crucible and boiled together until only 1 ounce remained, then that 1 ounce of liquid was used.

Gao De estimated that 1 ounce was roughly equivalent to 30 milliliters in his original world.

Processing the Green Spider Sac was much simpler. He just had to puncture it and extract the venom inside.

Gao De used Mage Hand for this step.

Although Green Spider Venom was primarily paralyzing, it was still somewhat corrosive. Getting it on his hands by accident would be troublesome.

Once all the ingredients had been processed, it was time for the final step: combining the medicinal properties of all the materials. This was also the most important step in brewing an elixir.

Gao De took a deep breath, retrieved a conical potion bottle from the rack on the table, and "skillfully" poured the liquid boiled from the Mountain Mugwort into it before adding 5 ounces of honey water.

He gently shook the bottle. Once the liquids had fully blended together, he swiftly poured most of the grayish-green powder ground from the Serpent Tooth Herb into it.

The moment the Serpent Tooth Herb powder was added, the liquid in the bottle began to churn violently as though boiling, its color gradually changing as well.

Gao De released his Mental Strength again and stared at the potion bottle.

Strange ripples appeared in his vision once more.

This time, however, the ripples were continuously twisting and merging, changing without end.

He carefully observed the changes in the ripples and occasionally added Serpent Tooth Herb powder according to the situation, doing his best to guide their final form in the direction he needed.

There could be neither too much nor too little Serpent Tooth Herb powder. He had to strike the right balance. If he added too much, he needed to immediately add a little honey water to neutralize it; if there was too little, he had to replenish it at once.

Put simply, the process was just like adding flour when there was too much water, and adding water when there was too much flour.

But it was not nearly so easy in practice. On one hand, Gao De had to focus his Mental Strength to observe the changes in the ripples. On the other, he needed an absolute understanding of the ingredients' properties, knowing exactly how much material to add under any given circumstance.

After nearly ruining the elixir several times by failing to control the amount of Serpent Tooth Herb powder, Gao De finally calmed down from his initial fluster. By then, the brewing process was also nearing its end.

When the final drop of Green Spider Venom fell into the potion bottle, the constantly churning liquid gradually settled.

A grayish-green Magic Aura could vaguely be seen flashing through the liquid.

This was the sign that a Novice Spider Venom elixir had been successfully brewed. If one knew the cantrip Detect Magic, they would be able to see the Magic Aura in the potion again.

Looking at the faintly green medicinal liquid in the bottle, Gao De could not help feeling a powerful surge of accomplishment and pride.

Novice Spider Venom elixir, a Tier 0 elixir, had a powerful paralyzing effect but was nonlethal. It was generally purchased for coating arrows to deal with wild beasts.

Unable to wait, he took three noticeably smaller conical potion bottles from the nearby rack and poured the freshly brewed Novice Spider Venom elixir into them.

One standard batch of Novice Spider Venom elixir could be divided into three small bottles for sale. Selling it this way brought greater profits to Elixirists and was easier for buyers to accept.

But after filling the three small potion bottles, Gao De discovered that about half an ounce of potion remained in the large bottle in his hand.

According to his memories, a standard batch of Novice Spider Venom elixir only barely made enough for three small bottles, each of which held 2 ounces. Why was there still so much left over?

"Unless..."

A thought suddenly flashed through Gao De's mind.

The next moment, he immediately began searching the small workroom.

In the end, Gao De dug out a wooden box from the bottom shelf of the rack.

Inside the wooden box were three small bottles of Novice Spider Venom elixir, six gold coins gleaming with an enchanting luster, and dozens of scattered silver and copper coins.

Gao De's heart began pounding fiercely.

Without question, this was an enormous fortune.

In this world's monetary system, the most basic currency was the copper coin.

Here, the actual purchasing power of a single copper coin was already equivalent to just over four yuan from before Gao De's transmigration.

Silver coins occupied the second tier of the currency system.

One silver coin was worth 12 copper coins, giving it purchasing power of around fifty yuan.

Gold coins stood at the very top of the currency system. One gold coin could be exchanged for 20 silver coins, with actual purchasing power of roughly one thousand yuan.

Furthermore, because of differences in minting methods, materials, and national strength, silver and copper coins were not necessarily accepted between different countries, and their actual purchasing power varied greatly by region. Gold coins, however, were directly tied to gold, so they did not have either of these problems.

They were universally accepted, and their value did not differ much.

Gao De picked up a gold coin with its enchanting sheen. It glimmered brilliantly, almost dazzling his eyes. He could not help narrowing them, nor could he help falling in love with it.

He was currently in the Sien Duchy.

The gold coins currently used in the Sien Duchy were formally called Sien Gold Coins. Simple and easy to understand.

The front of a Sien Gold Coin bore the likeness of the duchy's founding grand duke, while the reverse depicted a proud, majestic rooster. Thus, people privately called them "Cluck-Cluck" or "Little Rooster."

"What an adorable little rooster!" Gao De could not help sighing as he admired the exquisite rooster design on the reverse of the Sien Gold Coin.

This was absolutely not because he was greedy for money. He simply liked chickens!

He defended himself in his heart.

After admiring the charming "Little Rooster" for several dozen seconds, Gao De picked up a silver coin.

The silver coins of the Sien Duchy also bore the founding grand duke's likeness on the front, but the reverse featured a shamrock instead. Thus, they were called Shamrock Silver Coins.

Gao De carefully counted them. There were 6 gold coins, 7 silver coins, and 14 round copper coins in total.

That was equivalent to 6,400 yuan before his transmigration.

It did not seem like much.

But one had to know that in this world, under normal circumstances, the minimum annual living expenses for a family of five were only 57 gold coins, and that was with rent included.

If they owned their own house, their yearly living expenses could even be reduced to under 45 gold coins.

For an apprentice born as a beggar to save up such an enormous fortune under such high-pressure circumstances was absolutely incredible—after all, apprentices received no compensation whatsoever for working for Mage Seda.

The memories left behind by the previous owner contained nothing about the source of this money, but Gao De now understood everything.

Both the remaining half ounce of potion and the three neatly arranged bottles of Novice Spider Venom elixir in the wooden box spoke of one truth.

—The previous owner had been an exceptionally gifted genius.

A genius in Herbology.

With unsystematic instruction and less than a year of study, he had managed to brew Novice Spider Venom elixir according to the standard formula while producing an extra half ounce of finished product.

In other words, for every four batches of Novice Spider Venom elixir he brewed, he could obtain one extra small bottle of Novice Spider Venom elixir for himself.

All of this was built upon the previous owner's precise grasp of the ingredients' properties and his outstanding ability to magically alter materials. This was the manifestation of his talent, and Gao De had inherited all of it.