Deadly Poison Potion

A few days later, Aiven, having produced the second batch of Healing Potions, arrived at the Apothecary's liaison point again.

This time, the shop owner was noticeably more enthusiastic than before, greeting him as he approached.

"Do you have more potions to sell?" Boss Hawke asked, his face beaming with a smile.

At the same time, he muttered to himself, recalling Link's previous instructions: buy anything Apothecary Aiven offered, no matter what it was.

"That's right, I have some potions to sell, and I also have a commission I need your help with," Aiven stated his purpose directly.

"Certainly, certainly."

Seeing a big deal walking in, the shop owner's smile widened.

Then, Aiven carefully placed his backpack on the table and took out the Healing Potions wrapped in burlap.

This time, he had used all the Orange Fruits from the villagers to make Healing Potions, over forty bottles in total.

At a price of 5 silver coins per bottle of Healing Potion, that amounted to over 200 silver coins!

"So many!"

The Apothecary owner was startled, but after remembering Link's instructions, he nodded.

The effects of these Healing Potions were indeed excellent, and he had no reason to refuse. He could also make a small profit by reselling them later.

After handing over the Healing Potions, Aiven presented the shop owner with a list of materials – a commission to collect potion ingredients.

"Let me see... these auxiliary materials aren't rare; we have them here."

"Hmm? Toxins from four different Magical Beasts? Mr. Aiven, are you trying to concoct poisons?"

The shop owner scanned the list, his gaze falling on the last few items, and he asked with surprise.

Although he didn't know what specific potion Aiven was trying to create, the Magical Beast toxins were too obvious; they were used for making poisons.

"Do you have these materials here?" Aiven didn't answer directly.

Seeing this, the shop owner glanced around and then said, "I think this matter needs to be reported to Apothecary Link."

"These Magical Beast toxins are strictly controlled in the City of Ambition. We need to obtain them through some special methods."

Listening to the shop owner's words, Aiven's eyes lit up. He inwardly thought that coming to the Apothecary's liaison point was indeed the right decision; besides the visible business, they also handled these underground dealings.

After Aiven agreed, the shop owner immediately sent a shop assistant to fetch Link.

He didn't have to wait long before Link arrived in a hurry. Upon seeing Aiven, his face immediately broke into a smile.

This Aiven is not simple... The words of his teacher flashed through his mind. It was possible that behind Aiven stood an Apothecary no less skilled than his own teacher.

"I didn't expect you to be collecting Magical Beast toxins."

"Although these are controlled, we Apothecaries naturally have them. Otherwise, how would we research antidotes?"

Link chuckled, "I should be able to get all these materials. The other materials are easy to come by, but the toxins from these Magical Beasts are rare ingredients and quite expensive."

Aiven breathed a sigh of relief and handed Link the gold coins. "I'll leave this to you. Please try to buy back all the poisons you can."

"Alright, leave it to me," Link nodded and walked towards the exit.

Won't he just run off with the money... Seeing Link's actions, Aiven's heart skipped a beat. He looked at the fruit shop in front of him and then calmed down.

The fruit shop was still here, and the Healing Potions were still here. The other party wouldn't just disappear.

Of course, he had also covered his tracks. He had only given Link the materials for a simplified Deadly Poison Potion recipe, mixed with many other ingredients.

With the Orange Fruit, which was a poisonous ingredient, added to the list, even if Link gathered the four Magical Beast toxins, he wouldn't be able to concoct the Deadly Poison Potion.

"Mr. Aiven, you can go sit inside."

"Since you are also an Apothecary, consider this place your home," the shop owner said with a gentle smile, leading Aiven to the inner room.

Upon entering, Aiven was stunned. The room was filled with a large amount of potion-making equipment.

Some of the instruments looked quite advanced, capable of helping Apothecaries analyze potion components and pharmacology. Besides that, there were many potion ingredients.

A cursory glance revealed auxiliary materials for concocting Deadly Poison Potions, including some very rare tree fruits.

This is indeed a good place to concoct Deadly Poison Potions... Aiven mused about how he could utilize this place.

He didn't have to wait long before Link returned in a hurry.

"Aiven, look what I got!"

"Bad Frog, Giant Needle Bee, Poison Rose, and Dazed Flower venom – exactly four types."

Entering the shop, Link eagerly took out four bottles containing purple venom and shook them.

These were indeed the venoms of Poison-attribute Spirits... Aiven breathed a sigh of relief. Although none of the Spirits had particularly potent toxins, it was still good.

Especially the Dazed Flower and Poison Rose, which were Grass and Poison dual-attribute Spirits. Their toxins would be very compatible with Grass-attribute Spirits like the Petilil.

"The four types of toxins cost a total of 10 gold coins."

"This was the result of a lot of bargaining. Believe me, you won't find a cheaper price."

"Besides these four Magical Beast toxins, we have all the other materials in the shop. I'll get them for you now."

"Poisonous herbs... poisonous herbs... got it, poisonous herbs worth one silver coin, after a discount it's ninety copper coins, and this one, after a discount it's..."

Link chattered on, but he didn't notice that the shop owner's face grew darker with each material price he announced.

"Alright, these materials total twenty-two silver coins, and after the discount, it's nineteen silver coins and eighty copper coins."

After calculating the final price, Link handed the bag containing all the materials back to Aiven, striking a triumphant pose.

"Thank you for your trouble, Link and Boss Hawke," Aiven said as he took back the materials and gold coins.

Then, he took out one gold coin and handed it to the shop owner, "As per the rules, a commission fee of one gold coin."

He's a kid who knows the rules... The shop owner happily accepted the gold coin, then glared fiercely at Link, who still wanted to say something. "Rules are rules!"

"Boss Hawke, I'd like to brew the potion here directly, is that okay?" Aiven quickly interjected, seeing the two glaring at each other.

"Sure, no problem at all." The shop owner's signature smile returned, but after a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "It's free."

After thanking the shop owner, Aiven gave Link a grateful look. Then, guided by the shop owner, he entered a private potion-making room.

This potion-making room was located in the basement of the shop. The dark room was illuminated by a bright oil lamp. Apart from the equipment, there was no unnecessary decoration.

Aiven nodded in satisfaction. The environment was secondary, really. For an Apothecary, privacy was the most important thing, and the shop owner had handled that perfectly.

"First, I need to handle the venom... I must be careful with this."

In the quiet potion-making room, Aiven worked cautiously. Brewing a Deadly Poison Potion carried significant risks; the potion itself was highly toxic.

After some preparation, he finally completed the potion brewing.

A purple liquid shimmered in the test tube, three bottles in total.

These potions should be enough for the Petilil to learn its deadly moves... Aiven breathed a sigh of relief, tidied up the remaining materials, and put them in the bag for further processing.

Although the main materials had been refined into Deadly Poison Potions, the remaining residue was still quite toxic and could cause poisoning.

Moreover, he needed to dispose of this residue to prevent the formula for the Deadly Poison Potion from leaking. It wasn't impossible to reverse-engineer the formula from the residue.

After tidying up the room, he wrapped the three bottles of Deadly Poison Potion in several layers of cloth and carefully placed them in his backpack.