Genius Alchemist

"What did you just say? Say it again." Lemanski felt a tremor in his heart.

Wait for you for a few days? What are you planning to do? Do you want to set off for somewhere else with the caravan? I must win him over.

Kraun was completely unaware of the whirlwind of thoughts in the old man's mind. He replied, "I wanted to ask you to wait a few more days. I plan to brew another batch of Blood-Boiling Potion; I'm a bit short on cash lately."

Lemanski was somewhat surprised. There were truly very few apothecaries who would admit to being short on cash.

However, he didn't dwell on this question. There was only one thought in his mind now: to properly win over this genius apothecary.

He stood up and said, "Wait here," before hurrying away.

About five minutes later, Lemanski returned, carrying several small boxes.

"I can scrape together 40 portions of Black Sage and Blue Tulip here. The other auxiliary ingredients for the Blood-Boiling Potion are common herbs, and I don't have a reserve of those."

"I have plenty of the auxiliary ingredients in my own stock."

The old man nodded. "How long will it take you to finish brewing these potions?"

After thinking for a moment, Kraun spat out a number: "Two days."

"Good, we'll wait for you!"

Usually, these herbs would be taken to the Gisai gathering grounds to be brewed by a familiar alchemist, whose success rate was only a little over thirty percent.

But if he could befriend a genius apothecary here, any loss would be worth it.

"40 portions of materials, 80 Gold Shields. You brought 9 vials of Blood-Boiling Potion, which is 45 Gold Shields. By that calculation, you still owe 35 Gold Shields."

Kraun had brought all his worldly possessions when he arrived, and at this moment, he had 41 Gold Shields on him.

The two exchanged money and goods, both sides well-pleased.

After receiving the materials, he stood up to take his leave. "Time is tight, so I'll head back and start brewing early."

Lemanski walked him to the back door of the inn's lobby and urged, "No need to rush. Maintain your best state and stick to your normal rhythm. If time is truly tight, being a day late is fine too."

Kraun offered a gentle smile, and the two parted ways.

Carrying the medicinal herbs, Kraun first went to the market district to buy grain, meat, and vegetables. He replaced his old pot with a high-quality iron one and then found a carpenter to replace his wooden door.

In one trip, he spent one and a half Gold Shields.

His current standard of living could be considered luxurious for this small town.

However, this was necessary. If his diet couldn't keep up, he might end up killing himself while practicing the visualization of the Golden Light Incantation.

Once finished with his chores, he rolled up his sleeves to wash vegetables and cook.

Beef tripe soup, wood ear mushrooms stir-fried with mutton, and potato stewed chicken. This time he didn't make rice; instead, he steamed a pot of large, white, round buns.

After a satisfying, hearty meal, he began the potion brewing process.

Whenever his focus began to waver, he would practice the visualization of the Golden Light Incantation.

Aside from bathing in the moonlight to visualize at the Hour of the Rooster, he maintained a steady rhythm of brewing and visualization.

As he continued to brew the Blood-Boiling Potion, his success rate and speed improved significantly.

By the afternoon of the second day, he had already finished processing all the materials.

His overall success rate for the brewing reached forty percent, and for the final ten attempts, it had even hit sixty percent.

A golden wall appeared, and the constantly increasing numbers on it filled his body and mind with pleasure.

[Herbalism: 1276/5000; Tier 3]

Now, the proficiency growth from brewing Blood-Boiling Potion had slowed down. Perhaps before long, he would need to find a new recipe for a transcendent potion, or wait until he had "livered" it to a certain point.

Efficiently packing up his potions, Kraun shouldered his medicine chest and headed out. He had become a regular at the Goat Inn over the past few days.

Seeing him enter with his chest, Old Jason greeted him enthusiastically, "Business is booming, I see!"

"Haha, it's alright. When I leave later, get me a barrel of your best ale."

"No problem!" Jason agreed with a chuckle, a thought of playing matchmaker rising in his heart.

This kid is doing really well for himself. Should I introduce him to my niece?

Seeing the table covered in potions, Lemanski's breathing grew rapid.

The 50 vials of potion dazzled his eyes, and the old man checked them with trembling hands.

He examined the color and smelled the scent.

Only two days had passed, yet the other party's success rate had increased by so much. He wouldn't be able to rest easy without checking them carefully!

Half an hour passed before he had barely finished inspecting the potions.

"Tell me, is this how you do business? If I had hundreds of transcendent potions, wouldn't you waste your entire day just checking them?"

Kraun was somewhat dissatisfied. During the first transaction, a careful inspection was only natural.

But for the second transaction, with a foundation of cooperation already established, such strict scrutiny felt a bit nitpicky.

The old man stared at him with burning eyes, his gaze like that of a lecher spotting a beauty, unable to blink even for a second.

Kraun felt a chill run down his spine and raised his voice a few notches, "Hey, if there's no problem, let's settle the bill."

Lemanski finally returned to normal and said, "There's no rush to settle the bill. I think we can strengthen our cooperation in the future."

"How do you mean, strengthen our cooperation?"

"We will pay a certain percentage as a deposit and be responsible for providing the materials, and we can agree on a monthly supply volume."

"No problem," Kraun agreed readily.

He had no other channels at the moment, so having a stable supplier and sales outlet was exactly what he wanted.

"You provide the materials, pay a 20% deposit, and we'll settle the material costs at the end."

"No problem!"

This time, it was Kraun's turn to be surprised. These terms were actually quite harsh, and he had been prepared for the other party to haggle.

Facing his suspicious expression, Lemanski provided the answer, "A genius pharmacist is worth this level of trust."

Kraun gripped his backpack tightly as he entered the inn through the back courtyard door. The 250 Gold Shields, a massive fortune, sent ripples through his heart, which had previously been as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

Being an herbalist was damn profitable!

The inn was gradually filling up with people. He greeted Old Jason and headed up to the guest rooms on the second floor.

He had promised to treat the witcher and his apprentice to a meal today, and he was here to invite them to his home.

Standing at the end of the corridor, Kraun straightened his posture and reached out to knock on the door.

Knock, knock.

"Coming," a response came from inside. The door opened, revealing Alan's pleasantly surprised face.

"Big Brother, I was just telling Teacher whether we should go directly to your place to find you."

"Missing me that much?" Kraun teased.

"Heh heh," the boy laughed awkwardly, then turned and shouted into the room, "Teacher, Big Brother is here to pick us up."

Geralt walked out with a solemn expression, offering a polite smile.

Even though they were just going out for a meal, he still carried his weapons on his back.