Class Bonus

"This effect..."

Lance's eyes widened, his face full of delight.

Although the so-called "anti-infection" property could not be observed with the naked eye for now,

the astonishing speed at which it stopped bleeding alone completely surpassed the Ordinary products on the market.

With such efficacy, perhaps only Troll's Blood, the premium hemostatic product that sold for as much as fifty copper coins per jar, could compare.

Lance quickly began calculating in his head.

The production cost of this ointment was extremely low. Its raw materials could be found everywhere, and a single batch cost at most ten copper coins.

The usual price of Ordinary hemostatic ointment on the market was eighteen copper coins.

With his ointment's effects, even if he did not sell it for fifty copper coins, it would absolutely be snapped up by adventurers who valued their lives even at twenty-five copper coins.

That meant he could make a net profit of at least fifteen copper coins from every jar.

Lance looked at the jar of green ointment in his hand as though he could see a broad, golden road stretching before him.

"I'm rich!"

In this world of adventurers, there was no business more profitable than selling life-saving medicine.

And what did money represent?

Attributes, knowledge, skills, equipment, potions, demi-human beauties...

That was power!

The next morning.

The old wooden door of the attic was knocked on softly.

Lance opened the door to find Flora standing prettily outside.

It was the first time the young woman had visited Lance's cramped bachelor apartment. She curiously poked her head in to look around, her eyes filled with novelty.

Flora had changed into a different outfit today.

A pair of round brass-rimmed glasses rested on her nose, while her signature twin braids were casually tied with beige linen strips, making her look adorably a little silly.

She wore a loose off-white linen shirt on top, its cuffs finished with delicate ruffles.

Over the shirt, she wore a dark forest-green, thick canvas bib apron, the standard attire she wore while working at the potion shop.

The most eye-catching part was the huge pocket at the front of the apron.

It was stuffed full, and faint rustling could be heard whenever she moved.

As a friend familiar with her, Lance did not need to guess to know that it was definitely packed with snacks like jerky and nuts.

"Come in. Don't mind the mess."

Lance stepped aside to let her through.

To show Flora the results, Lance had given yesterday's gray-furred wild rabbit another two cuts.

The room had already been cramped, and with two people inside, it felt even smaller.

Neither of them cared about such details. They leaned close together over the room's only wooden table, staring at the gray rabbit in the cage with its dead-eyed expression.

More precisely, they were staring at the wound on the rabbit's hind leg, which had already completely scabbed over.

"My goodness..."

Flora adjusted the glasses on her nose. Her eyes behind the lenses widened into circles, her face filled with disbelief.

"Lance, the onset speed of this Hemostatic Ointment you made is almost catching up to actual alchemical potions."

As a professionally trained potion apprentice, she knew all too well where the limits of Ordinary herbal ointments lay.

Even the most Proficient veteran could not make such basic materials produce a finished product with such immediate hemostatic effects.

Flora extended a slender finger and scooped a little of the green ointment from the jar.

She brought it beneath her nose and gave it a light sniff, then her brows furrowed slightly.

"Strange."

"There aren't any special alchemical techniques used in this, and the method itself could even be called quite crude."

The young woman pointed out its flaws without mercy.

"The herbal residue hasn't been filtered cleanly enough, and the oil hasn't been blended to its optimal state either."

"By all rights, this should be a defective product."

As she spoke, she tilted her head in confusion, the tip of her nose nearly touching Lance's sleeve.

"Hmm... You don't have that smell on you either."

Like a little dog, Flora carefully sniffed all around Lance.

Normally, potion makers who could enchant potions or enhance their effects through special methods would carry an extremely complicated scent of magical materials all year round.

But Lance smelled only faintly of soap, perfectly clean.

With the young woman's warm breath brushing against his neck, Lance felt somewhat uncomfortable and instinctively drew his neck back.

"I really did make it. No tricks involved."

Lance spread his hands and admitted it calmly.

Flora straightened up again, her gaze shifting back and forth between the ointment and Lance. In the end, she seemed to figure something out and wore an enlightened expression.

"Lance, you're amazing."

Her voice was full of sincere admiration.

"This must be your personal Talent, right?"

In this fantasy world, Talents came in all shapes and forms and followed no logic whatsoever.

Flora herself possessed a Talent with an exceptionally high affinity for plants, so she naturally attributed everything to that.

"Your Talent can directly improve the effects of finished products. This ability is practically like having a Class Bonus."

"Class Bonus?"

Lance keenly caught the unfamiliar term, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes.

It was his first time hearing such a thing.

Seeing that Lance did not understand, Flora patiently explained.

"Take Aunt Morwenna, for example. She's only an entry-level potion maker, but because her career path specializes in herbs, the plant-based potions she makes are far superior to those of potion makers without that specialization, whether in activity or storage duration."

As she spoke, the young woman puffed out her chest slightly, a trace of professional pride appearing on her face.

After all, she was working toward that path too, though she still had a long way to go before taking up the profession.

"That's also why, even though there are other potion shops in town, only our shop secured the Adventurers' Guild's long-term supply contract."

"After all, when it comes to medicinal effects, the advantage of professionals is a gap Ordinary people can never bridge."

"I'm working toward that too."

After hearing her explanation, Lance suddenly understood.

So that was it.

He had been wondering why the system's Research function had not given him any new formula blueprints or taught him any advanced techniques.

It had merely made him mechanically repeat the refining process once, yet the medicinal effect had increased out of nowhere.

Now it seemed that the system's "Research results" essentially simulated this world's "Class Bonus" mechanism.

It directly altered an item's properties at the level of its underlying rules.

This cheat was surprisingly reasonable. He did not even need to make up an excuse for it.

"But the boost yours gives is really huge."

Flora looked at the jar of ointment and gave it extremely high praise.

"If we rated it, this would definitely be a very impressive rare Talent."

Hearing confirmation from a professional, the weight in Lance's heart finally lifted completely.

He looked at Flora and asked the question that concerned him most.

"Then can I consign this at your potion shop?"

Since its effects passed the test and had even exceeded expectations, it was time to consider turning it into money.