Lynn stared wide-eyed.
Without another word.
He quickly opened the counter cabinet and pulled the high-quality enhancement potion his teacher had painstakingly developed from its mouth.
"Please try this one. I guarantee you'll be satisfied this time."
Lynn spoke earnestly.
[Top-Tier Berserk Potion]: Greatly increases all capabilities and sends the target into a berserk state.
He set the bottle of blood-red potion on the table.
Without a doubt.
This potion was absolutely one of the finest reserves the Bloodsaw Apothecary had!
The black knight reached out, grabbed the potion, and drained it in one gulp.
In an instant.
A red glow flashed over his body, and faint threads of blood-red appeared in his eyes, clearly a sign that the potion had taken effect.
[Ding! Danger level: 20%]
"Minimal effect."
The black knight casually tossed the bottle aside and rasped:
"This sort of potion might work on weak creatures, but for me, its effects are practically negligible."
"..."
Lynn stared wide-eyed and quickly pulled another high-quality potion from beneath the counter.
"Then try this one!"
"Garbage!"
[Danger level: 30%]
"What about this one?!"
"That's for hemorrhoids."
[Danger level: 40%]
"This one is definitely the best!"
"It's expired!"
[Danger level: 60%]
"..."
Several minutes later, Lynn grimly surveyed the empty bottles on the counter, then looked at the visibly impatient black knight.
Clearly, none of the potions their apothecary sold could meet the demands of a black knight at this level.
[Danger level: 91%]
Lynn was beginning to feel anxious, too.
This seemingly simple task.
In reality, it was every bit as dangerous as the ones he had completed before.
"It seems your shop has nothing better to offer."
The black knight raised his head, rolled his neck with a series of cracks, and rasped:
"You're wasting my time."
[Ding! Danger level: 95%]
"Wait!"
Seeing the danger level about to go off the charts, Lynn reached up, adjusted his monocle, and said calmly:
"Our shop has another potion that I'm certain will meet your requirements, but I don't have any in stock. I'll need to brew it on the spot! If you can wait a little while, I guarantee it'll be the best potion!"
The black knight rasped, "Oh?"
Lynn said calmly, "If you're still dissatisfied with this potion, you can cut me down right here!"
[Ding! Danger level decreased by 5%]
A hint of interest appeared in the black knight's gleaming eyes, and he said flatly:
"Is that so? Fine. I'll give you half an hour to brew it. Just as you said, if it fails to satisfy me, I'll cut you down."
"All right!" Lynn said earnestly.
Lynn rushed into the backyard.
Without another word.
He immediately retrieved the formula he had received as a reward for curing that Root-Level Monster from his system storage.
[Critical Hit Potion] [Quality]: Special [Ingredients]: Root-level creature tissue x1, explosive fruit pulp x1, hell clover x4, Black Bat wing x1, etc. [Description]: A potion that greatly increases critical hit rate, but also causes a few strange, negligible side effects...
A reward for curing a Root-Level Monster.
This was definitely the best potion he could offer.
"I'll just have to make a last-ditch effort. A potion formula rewarded by the system should definitely be better than the other potions in this world!"
Lynn's expression was serious.
He quickly rushed into the storeroom and gathered the various ingredients needed to brew the potion.
His teacher's storeroom had most of the ingredients in stock.
And he also had the hardest ingredient to obtain: tissue from a root-level creature.
While repairing that Headhunter's teeth last night, he had collected a large amount of tooth fragments and the monster's oral mucus.
He had kept all of it.
They were absolutely top-quality ingredients.
Once the ingredients were ready, Lynn quickly rushed into the brewing room in the backyard.
He was ready to begin!
His potion-brewing level wasn't particularly high, but two years of learning at his teacher's side had greatly improved his skills.
"Let's begin!"
[Ding! You ground medicinal powder. Potion-brewing experience +1] [Ding! You extracted explosive fruit pulp. Potion-brewing experience +1] [Ding! You purified Slime mucus. Potion-brewing experience +1]
Glug, glug-
Standing before a large vat, Lynn vigorously stirred the thick, viscous mixture with a stick as strange bubbles continually rose from it.
The flames roared.
Wearing a mask, Lynn looked serious.
"First, the Black Bat wing, then the Human-Faced Wolf Spider's fangs."
[Ding! You added potion ingredients. Potion-brewing experience +1] [Ding! You added potion ingredients. Potion-brewing experience +1]
Boom-
The vat of potion instantly turned from white to purple, bubbling up one skull after another.
Lynn stood impassively before the vat, stirring without pause.
The potion kept shifting between red, blue, black, purple, and all sorts of other colors.
Time flew by.
Soon.
Twenty minutes had passed in a flash.
[Ding! You brewed Critical Hit Potion x1. Potion-brewing experience +10] [Ding! You brewed Critical Hit Potion x1. Potion-brewing experience +10] [Ding! You brewed Critical Hit Potion x1. Potion-brewing experience +10]
Accompanied by one system notification after another.
Lynn swiftly poured the potion into empty bottles and set them on the counter in a rapid series of clacks.
Ten whole bottles of Critical Hit Potion!
They also instantly earned him an extra 100 points of potion-brewing experience.
[Critical Hit Potion]: For humanoid creatures only. Increases the target's critical hit rate by 100%, but has a few minor side effects...
"Whether I get through this depends on how well this potion works!"
Lynn's expression was serious.
In the main hall.
Lynn earnestly pushed the black-and-red Critical Hit Potion toward the black knight.
He adjusted his monocle and said solemnly:
"The Critical Hit Potion, our shop's newest high-quality potion. You're our first customer for this product, so you get to judge how effective it is!"
The black knight glanced at the plain, unassuming potion.
He picked it up and toyed with it, saying flatly:
"Are you sure this is the best potion you have? Think carefully. If this potion still fails to meet my standards, I'll honor our agreement and cut you down."
Lynn said calmly, "I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"
In truth, though, Lynn was nervous.
After all, he had no clear idea how effective this potion actually was.
But at this point.
He could only trust the system's quality!
Pop-
The black knight pulled the wooden stopper from the potion bottle.
A faint, pungent odor immediately wafted out, and the moment the black knight smelled it, he froze.
It stank! Clearly, it wouldn't taste good at all.
But surprisingly, merely smelling the potion caused a strong reaction in the power coursing through his body.
And for someone who had been taking potions for years.
He hadn't experienced this sensation in a very long time.
He grew solemn.
He raised the bottle, opened his mouth, and drained it in one gulp.
Hum-
Almost that very instant, he felt an intensely bitter surge of heat rumble into his body.
"This... this power!"
He stared at his arms, trembling, and abruptly stood up.
Before you continue