Basic Magic Circuitry

Shang Chuan: "That's possible, but I'll need part of the payment upfront. Could you throw in a few other things, too?"

Lan Qingyou: "Name them."

Shang Chuan: "There are potions that restore Magic Power. Are there any that restore health?"

Lan Qingyou: "There are. They're called Healing Potions."

Shang Chuan: "What do they do, exactly?"

Lan Qingyou: "I'm not sure. I haven't brewed one yet. You could wait until this afternoon, after I make one."

Shang Chuan: "That works."

Lan Qingyou: "Then I'll pay you ten potions that restore 50 Magic Power each."

Shang Chuan: "[OK]"

After sending that, Shang Chuan began drafting the trade request, tossing the materials piled across most of his room into the Small Screen one by one.

Once the trade was complete and he had received the ten potions, he glanced at his friends list and then messaged another big client.

Shang Chuan: "Ten potions that restore 50 Magic Power each."

Shang Chuan waited a while after sending the message. He knew that, given the other person's habits, he probably hadn't gone out yet.

Li Huai: "Send them."

It didn't take long for the other big client to reply.

Lan Qingyou's potions were in short supply.

A potion that restored 50 Magic Power went for 70 basic units. That was the black market price.

Looking at the extra 700 basic units, Shang Chuan smiled.

Now he was looking forward to the profit he'd make after getting the rest of Lan Qingyou's potions that afternoon.

Especially the Healing Potions Lan Qingyou had never brewed before. Those were where the real money was.

If they worked well, he could even make a 100% profit.

Of course, he knew his place. Even if he got them before anyone else, he wouldn't be the one to set the price.

Lan Qingyou had the right to set the price. He wouldn't overstep.

He only needed to follow along and pick up whatever was left. That was more than enough to keep him fed at this stage.

[ Ding! Congratulations to 'Lan Qingyou' of the Abandoned Forest, District 666, for being the first to upgrade to a Level 3 Shelter. You have received one self-selected reward. Keep up the good work. ]

As he sat there daydreaming, the World Will's voice rang out.

See? I told you someone would upgrade to a Level 3 Shelter.

Shang Chuan smiled again, then got to work.

In the Regional Channel:

"I was just about to head out when Lan Qingyou pulled off something huge and made me sit down to post this. See you all tonight. Level 2 Shelters are coming soon."

"Man, we're all still working on Level 2 Shelters, and someone else has already reached Level 3."

"We can't compete. Not even close."

"If you know you can't compete, why are you still yapping? Go gather materials already."

"Aren't you yapping too?"

"I've been at Level 2 for ages. I'm planning to take the day off."

"...Bro, you're the man."

Since plenty of people went out once it got light, there weren't many people in the Regional Channel.

After upgrading to a Level 3 Shelter, Lan Qingyou began choosing her reward.

She skipped the first three options and went straight for knowledge.

Basic Potions had helped her so much last time, so she was determined to choose knowledge that would help with her alchemy again.

Most importantly, she'd have a new book to read. That would keep alchemy from getting boring.

The problem was figuring out which knowledge would be useful among so many options.

Especially since quite a few books had at least some connection to alchemy.

Take Basic Mineralogy, for example.

From the title, it sounded like a branch of Mechanics, Blacksmithing, or Material Science—and that was indeed the case.

But alchemy also made use of minerals, so learning it wouldn't be a waste.

Still, this kind of knowledge wouldn't help Lan Qingyou much at her current stage.

She had to consider not only what would help her now, but also what she might need later.

After turning it over in her mind, Lan Qingyou finally gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and chose Basic Magic Circuitry as her reward.

The book would serve as a bridge between what she already knew and what she would learn next.

Magic Circuits were essentially lines drawn with one's own magic, connecting points in an orderly way to make them work together.

They weren't as complicated as Semiotics, but they were certainly no simple matter.

The circles and triangles connecting each symbol in an alchemy array were also Magic Circuits.

Once she learned this, she'd be better at drawing circles, which would naturally make her alchemy arrays more powerful.

Of course, there was another important reason she'd chosen this book.

Magic Puppet construction in Golemancy also required Magic Circuits.

She'd originally wanted to choose Golemancy.

After all, if she had a few more Magic Puppets, wouldn't her alchemy work be much easier?

But Golemancy required far too much prior knowledge. It was beyond Lan Qingyou's reach for now.

So she'd settled for Basic Magic Circuitry, which would still help her at this stage.

After receiving her reward, Lan Qingyou immediately got to work.

Working while reading was a wonderful thing.

Although she'd promised Shang Chuan she'd make Healing Potions, she still had to brew the Slow-Acting Magic Potion she'd planned the day before.

So she could only make the Healing Potion in a soup pot.

After flying back and forth a few times to fill the larger Water Tank beside the bathroom's water tank, she began brewing.

The Novice Protection Period was about to end. Who knew what would happen afterward—maybe a beast tide, or something else.

That was how it always went in novels, wasn't it? She needed to quickly prepare a way to protect herself.

The Slow-Acting Magic Potion was the best option at her current stage. She had just enough materials to make one batch.

Speaking of which, it was worth explaining the difference between potions and magic potions.

Although both were brewed in cauldrons, they were fundamentally different.

The most basic difference was that potions could be drunk—or, in other words, used on oneself.

Magic potions, on the other hand, were thrown at enemies, attacking them by vaporizing or sticking to them.

That was the simplest way to distinguish potions from magic potions on the Karim Continent.

If an enemy ever threw a bottle at you, don't doubt it—nine times out of ten, it was a magic potion attack.

The remaining one or two times, it was probably a beginner who'd grabbed the wrong bottle.

Of course, that was how outsiders distinguished them. Alchemists had their own, much simpler way.

For example, right now.

Once the water in the cauldron began to boil, Lan Qingyou set down the Stone Stirring Rod and took out a bottle of Nutrient X-Line. She opened it, then poured the 20 similarly sized yellow objects inside into the cauldron.

The yellow, wormlike objects tumbled and twisted in the scalding liquid.

They were a kind of insect from the Karim Continent. Since their bodies were covered with many yellow rings, alchemists called them Yellow-Ringed Legless Worms.

Of course, you could also call them Earthworms, as Blue Star People did.