Alchemy Shop

Drew first obtained the recipe for the antidote. Since it was a potion recipe, it naturally contained no magical materials.

It was quite simple, requiring only five non-magical herbal ingredients.

Four of these were herbs found in the forest, while one had to be purchased.

The acquisition price for the four forest herbs was 50 copper coins per portion, totaling 200 copper coins, or 2 silver coins, for all four.

The monthly income of an average household was roughly 20 silver coins, so finding two portions of herbs a day was enough to cover daily expenses.

The townspeople were putting their backs into gathering herbs from the forest, and Drew believed that the small warehouse built at home would be filled in no time.

The remaining herb was called Red Sweet Potato Flower. Although it did not grow in the forest, it could be cultivated artificially on a large scale.

While it had to be imported from large towns, the high volume kept the price low at only 80 copper coins per portion.

Drew knew the other four herbs were abundant in the forest, so he had the caravan bring in a large batch, negotiating the price down to 75 copper coins per portion due to the volume.

The total cost of materials for Karen was 2 silver coins and 75 copper coins per portion.

Drew had the caravan inquire about the price of the antidote at alchemy shops in the large towns, and it was a full 10 silver coins per portion.

One had to realize that the purchase price for the four forest-grown herbs was only 20 to 25 copper coins per portion, and the Red Sweet Potato Flower was grown in-house; the estimated cost was less than 50 silver coins, meaning the cost of one portion of the antidote was at most 1 silver coin and 50 copper coins.

Of course, one had to account for the success rate. A mature alchemist, or even an alchemy apprentice, had a 60% success rate in crafting the antidote.

This meant the cost of one portion of the antidote was 2 silver coins and 50 copper coins, and adding the alchemist's commission, it would not exceed 3 silver coins, resulting in a profit margin as high as 300%.

Marx once said that if profit exceeds 300%, a capitalist would risk their life to do it; it was truly an exorbitant profit.

Regardless of that, Drew was a calm system.

Drew decided to craft one portion first to practice.

During the extraction phase, he easily completed the process using an extraction device purchased from the Alchemist Association.

In the second phase, the blending phase, he first added one portion of material A according to the recipe, followed by one portion of material B.

He carefully observed the liquid of material B to ensure a 1:1 ratio of active ingredients; it appeared this portion contained 1.05 portions of material A.

Drew controlled his wrist muscles and gave a slight flick, dripping a tiny bit of liquid out. Hmm, now it is exactly one portion. He added it to material A.

Then, he scanned the molecular movement with the system's microscopic observation. Once the reaction was nearly complete, he added material C. The liquid for material C required 1.5 portions, and this batch contained 1.55 portions; he used the same flicking technique to add it to the mixture.

He observed the molecular movement microscopically again. Hmm?

It seemed material C had not reacted completely; 0.02 portions remained unreacted.

He ignored it for now, deciding to record it for later analysis.

The recipe stated to add material D next, and to add the Red Sweet Potato Flower liquid when the reaction was halfway through.

Drew observed the molecules microscopically and added the Red Sweet Potato Flower liquid exactly when the reaction with material D reached the halfway point.

Continuing his microscopic observation, he saw that when the reaction finally finished, the excess 0.02 portions of material C had not participated in the reaction and ended up as impurities.

Half a portion of material D liquid reacted with the previous mixture, half a portion of Red Sweet Potato Flower liquid reacted with material D, and then the two resulting liquids reacted further.

The reaction finally completed. Perfect.

The mixed liquid stabilized, and it was time for the solidification phase.

He pulled up Karen's solidification techniques and the sensation of casting, synchronized his movements, and completed the solidification phase to obtain the potion.

He observed the quality; it was a bottle of antidote of excellent quality, bordering on superior.

He analyzed the experiment to see if the excess 0.02 portions of material C had affected the potion's quality.

He recorded the experimental results and conducted the experiment again. This time, he only added 1.48 portions of material C, ultimately obtaining a bottle of superior quality potion. He recorded the results.

Afterward, Drew conducted many more experiments and finally derived the data.

In a comparative experiment, using 1.5 portions of material C to make 20 portions of antidote yielded 2 bottles of superior quality and 18 bottles of excellent quality.

Using 1.48 portions of material C to make 20 portions of antidote yielded 14 bottles of superior quality and 6 bottles of excellent quality.

He concluded that the optimal recipe for the antidote should be changed to 1.48 portions of material C.

However, others would be unable to distinguish the difference between 1.5 and 1.48 portions of liquid.

Therefore, it made little difference to others and could not be applied practically; only Drew could use the optimal recipe. Truth is often held by the few.

Although this was only a small change to a potion recipe, it held epoch-making significance.

It meant the arrival of an era of alchemy innovation, and it meant that a large number of recipes would be optimized and altered.

It meant that Drew had hope of becoming the world's number one alchemist.

Furthermore, through the method of microscopic observation, he could create and combine even more alchemy recipes.

Of course, that was a matter for the future; the primary task now was to sell the crafted antidote.

In the future, he would certainly have all kinds of potions and reagents to sell, so having a stable sales channel was essential.

Should he open an alchemy shop in this small town? But Drew did not want to deal with people, as it would increase the risk of exposing himself.

He could hire a shopkeeper, but the person had to be reliable. It seemed it was time to visit the town mayor again. Drew picked up three bottles of superior quality antidote and set off for the mayor's house.

Upon arriving at the mayor's house, Drew first took out the antidote and handed it to the mayor.

"Greetings, Mayor. These are some antidote potions I've recently crafted, all of Excellent quality."

"What? Excellent quality? Let me see. I've never laid eyes on an Excellent quality potion in my entire life."

"It's just that most people capable of producing Excellent quality items have moved on to making pharmaceuticals, which is why they are so rare."

"You are too modest. Even if you asked those self-proclaimed Alchemy Masters to start over and brew these potions, very few would be able to produce anything of Excellent quality. But tell me, what brings you here today?"

"First, I would like to thank you, Mayor, for all your help these past few days. Please accept these potions as a small token of my gratitude."

"Oh my, that was all just part of my duty as Mayor. How could I possibly accept such a valuable gift? Please, take them back."

"You are being too formal, Mayor. I can still craft more Excellent quality antidote potions; to me, these are just common items, nothing worth mentioning. Please, just accept them. If you don't, I'll be too embarrassed to ask for your help with a favor later."

"Since you put it that way, I shall accept them. Now, what was this matter you wished to discuss?"

"It's like this: I am planning to sell a batch of potions and would like to purchase a storefront."

"That is wonderful news. No problem at all."

"Regarding this, I have two issues I was hoping you could help me resolve."

"What issues?"

"The first is that all my current capital has been spent on alchemy materials, so I don't have the funds to purchase a shop right now. The second is that I dislike being bothered by trivial matters, so I would like to hire a manager. However, they must be capable and honest; while I don't want to handle the management, I also don't want to be swindled."

The Mayor pondered for a moment before saying, "Money is not an issue; I can lend it to you. As for a person, I do have a candidate in mind. They are absolutely honest and responsible, though perhaps not the most brilliant. What do you think?"

"May I ask who this candidate is?"

"It is my nephew. Please rest assured, I am not just playing favorites; he truly is the best candidate available. The truth is, our town is small, and we struggle to retain top-tier talent. My nephew's abilities are considered quite outstanding within this town. You can ask around if you don't believe me."

"That won't be necessary; I trust you, Mayor. How about this instead? We can form a partnership. You provide the capital, and I provide the potions and elixirs. I will take seventy percent of the profits, and you will take thirty percent. You hire the manager, and I won't interfere with the operations. You make all the decisions; I will only be responsible for supplying the stock and auditing the accounts at the end of the month. What do you think?"

"No problem, it's a deal. I will have everything settled within the next two days."

And just like that, Drew's alchemy potion shop opened for business.