Historical Experience

Darby Farm.

Aiven was using Berries to brew Healing Potions.

With practiced movements, he crushed an Orange Fruit and added it to a test tube, then dripped in three drops of juice from its leaves, along with some other ingredients...

A mysterious reaction took place inside the test tube, and a faint, fragrant scent wafted out.

Uncle Darby and Aunt Irene exchanged glances. At last, all their doubts vanished.

Still, they could hardly believe it. Their nephew really was a bona fide Apothecary!

"Anyway, that's how it happened."

"I unexpectedly came across an Apothecary's notes, then taught myself apothecary."

"I'd planned to tell you both when the time was right, but this all happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to think it through."

Aiven started making things up. Believe it or not, he was an Apothecary now!

In the end, his aunt and uncle had no choice but to believe his story. The proof was right in front of them: their nephew really could brew potions!

"Haha, I knew my nephew was a talented lad." Uncle Darby was quick to accept it.

Aiven breathed a sigh of relief and seized the opportunity to say, "Uncle Darby, this is a Healing Potion. You can try it and see how it works."

Darby took the potion and hesitated for a moment before uncorking it, tilting his head back, and gulping it down.

Beside him, Aunt Irene was on tenterhooks. She believed Aiven was an Apothecary now, but could Orange Fruit and some herbs really be used to make potions?

A little sweet... That was Darby's first thought.

The next moment, his whole body shuddered. He felt the exhaustion drain away.

He often worked long, grueling hours, and the worry over Petilil being stolen had worn him out over the past two days. But now, all that fatigue was gone!

"What incredible restorative effects." Darby clenched his fist, feeling strength surge through him.

Aunt Irene watched, delighted. Just then, Aiven handed her a bottle of Healing Potion, too.

This time, she drank it without hesitation, and all her fatigue disappeared!

"Wonderful, wonderful! This Healing Potion can quickly restore a person's vitality. Its effects are truly astonishing!"

"If we sell this potion, people will definitely buy it, especially the nobles and the chief constables."

"Then we'll be able to make..." Darby suddenly paused, his eyes widening bit by bit.

It finally dawned on him. This bottle of Healing Potion had been made with one Orange Fruit and a few herbs. The cost, the cost...

"An Orange Fruit costs fifty copper coins, and this Healing Potion's effects are definitely no worse than Petilil's leaves," Aunt Irene reminded him.

Darby was a plainspoken farmer, but with his wife's help, he quickly did the math. The Healing Potion would bring in several times the profit of selling Orange Fruit!

It was probably a tenfold profit... Drawing on the memories in his mind, Aiven silently reached the same conclusion.

Healing Potion was essentially Nutrient Juice from the future, a nutritional supplement for Pokémon. Its effects were even better than Uncle Darby could imagine.

In the ancient Elf World, the currency consisted of gold, silver, and copper coins. One gold coin was worth ten silver coins, and one silver coin was worth a hundred copper coins.

By converting the values, he could roughly tell that one copper coin had about the same purchasing power as one yuan.

He estimated that a bottle of Healing Potion could sell for five hundred copper coins, or five silver coins—exactly ten times its cost.

That night, the oil lamp cast a faint glow across the room.

Aiven sat motionless at his desk with his eyes closed, sorting through the memories of the body's original owner.

Now that he had accepted his new identity, he needed to learn about this world.

The first thing I need to do is survive here. After a long while, Aiven opened his eyes.

The world a thousand years ago was nowhere near as safe as the modern world. It was a dark, savage society, with rigid social classes. Wild Pokémon, natural disasters, and disease could all claim fragile lives at any moment.

"What a terrible start." Aiven sighed.

As an ordinary commoner, he was destined to go without the privileges enjoyed by nobles. Fortunately, his uncle owned a farm, which at least meant he had food, clothing, and shelter.

But that wasn't nearly enough for Aiven. He wanted to live without any threats hanging over him.

Besides, word of Petilil at the farm had probably gotten out by now.

This time, Baron Reiser had fallen unconscious. What if another baron passed out next time and needed a Panacea brewed from Petilil?

He had saved Baron Reiser this time, but there was no guarantee he could save another baron in the future. That would always be a threat to the farm unless they gave up Petilil.

"I need to become strong enough," Aiven muttered.

His start wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. The Pokémon on the farm presented an opportunity. If he could raise them well, he'd be able to protect himself.

There was a Luxray that had gone on adventures with Uncle Darby, a Mukkuru that guarded the farm, as well as three Cherubi and a Petilil. They all had plenty of potential.

And as a Pokémon breeder, wasn't raising Pokémon what he did best?

However, raising Pokémon well required abundant resources. Healing Potions could solve that problem.

That meant he had everything he needed to raise a powerful Pokémon.

History had taught him that the Spirit Alliance had been founded by a group of powerful trainers. Strength was the foundation of everything!

The next day, Aiven went to town with an impatient Uncle Darby.

They walked along, scanning the signs on the street, until they stopped in front of a fruit shop.

The shop looked ordinary enough. Its counter held a large assortment of common Berries, along with a small selection of rarer ones.

"Aiven, is this where people sell potions?"

Uncle Darby asked doubtfully. No matter how he looked at it, this seemed like an ordinary fruit stand.

"It should be."

"This is an Apothecary contact point that some of my senior Apothecaries told me about."

Only after hearing that did Uncle Darby nod. He was also surprised that Aiven knew senior Apothecaries.

It seemed his nephew had started learning apothecary long ago. Uncle Darby had simply never known.

"Hello, what would you like?"

The shopkeeper hurried over as soon as Aiven and Darby entered.

"I'm here to sell potions. I heard you buy them." As he spoke, Aiven opened his backpack just enough to reveal the green potion inside.

"Potions..." The shopkeeper looked Aiven up and down, then asked suspiciously, "Who sent you here?"

"I don't think that matters. What matters is whether the potion is genuine."

The shopkeeper nodded. This was an Apothecary contact point, operating openly. As long as the potion was genuine, they could trade for it.

After ushering Aiven into the shop, the shopkeeper continued, "You're in luck. A friend of mine who's an Apothecary is here right now."

With that, the shopkeeper went into the back room. Before long, a young Apothecary emerged with him.

"Huh, are you Apothecary Aiven?" The young Apothecary exclaimed in surprise, recognizing Aiven.

Aiven looked over and also exclaimed in surprise. Wasn't this the young Apothecary who had argued with him at Baron Reiser's house?

"Hello, Apothecary Link. Fancy seeing you again." He smiled and held out his hand in a friendly greeting.

"I didn't think you'd remember me, Mr. Aiven." Link was flattered. He reached out and shook Aiven's hand, and the two immediately grew closer.

Watching this, the shopkeeper's eyes darted around. Link was Master Apothecary Aulai's most outstanding pupil, yet he was being so polite to this man.

Uncle Darby had a similar expression. Without his knowing, his nephew seemed to have already made a name for himself in Apothecary circles?