Wizard: Surviving in the Steam Age with Points for Demon Hunter

Chapter 69 Introduction to Potions +3

102 Dumitru Street, Secret Investigation Division.

Two figures, one tall and one short, walked hand in hand back to the Logistics and Investigation Department near the gate, illuminated by streetlights spaced five meters apart at dawn.

Snapped.

The gas lights in one of the offices were turned on.

Lacey released her grip, forcing a smile. "Welcome home, Tina."

The white-haired girl's empty eyes slowly rotated, as if she were familiarizing herself with the office layout.

After a while, she hopped over to Wayne's desk with strange steps. "Tina, Wayne."

Compared to before, her voice sounded stiffer, as if a hard stone was stuck in her throat, making a clicking sound as it rubbed against her vocal cords.

Lacey said softly, "He's alright, you saved him."

"Tina, be happy."

"Yes, we're so happy that you two are alright."

"Tina, it's okay."

Tina shook her head, as if trying to shake it off, but the stiffness in her neck made her body sway.

"Yes, you'll be fine too."

Lacey bit her lip, her eyes filled with sorrow.

She knew perfectly well that when the death knell tolled, no one would be spared.

But why Tina?

Why does such a small and thin body have to bear the weight of the world?

Recalling what Director Ares had said before she brought Tina back,

"Lassie,"

Ares's figure remained upright, but his eyes had become clouded. "We must be careful with Tina. She is both hope and disaster."

"I don't have much time left, it's up to you from now on. I hope you can stall for as long as possible."

Misfortune and redemption, sacrifice and rebirth...

It's ridiculous.

At that moment, Tina lightly touched the ground with her toes and nimbly jumped to the window, pressing her small face tightly against the glass and staring directly at the red moon in the night sky.

For the first time, other colors were reflected in those empty, lifeless eyes. "The red moon is smiling..."

Lacey went over and picked her up, carefully drawing the curtains to block the glow of the red moon. "Tina, don't worry about that, just smile."

"Yes, Tina, smile."

As she finished speaking, the white-haired girl's lips curled up, stretching to her earlobes... revealing a wide smile. "Is that so?"

There was no hint of a smile in her eyes, and in the dim light of the gas lamp, her smiling face looked even more bizarre.

Lacey forced a smile. "Yes, that's it."

"Tina misses Wayne, laughs."

"As for him... there's no need for that. He probably prefers you when you're not smiling."

Tina nodded, seemingly understanding, "Tina knows."

Lacey watched her smile fade and sighed inwardly: It's good that she knew, otherwise Wayne might easily develop a psychological trauma...

……

……

[You have successfully crafted a healing potion. Your Potions Knowledge Tree has increased by 1 level to include Healing Potions. Special Reward: +3 Survival Points, +1 Mental Level.]

[You have successfully crafted a Mental Defense Potion. Your Potions Knowledge Tree has increased by 1 level. Special Reward: Survival Points +3, Mental Level +1.]

After carefully crafting the three potions, it signifies the official beginning of potion-making, and all three potion knowledge points become available for investment.

"I've finally learned them all. Adding points to Potions is a bit more complicated than adding points to Rune Arts."

Immediately afterwards, Wayne upgraded the Enlightenment Potion, Healing Potion, and Mental Defense Potion to the maximum level.

1/1,

[Inspiration Potion Level 1 (1/1), upgrade?]

【promote.】

[Congratulations! Your Potions Knowledge: Enlightenment Potion has been upgraded to Level 2. Effect: The probability of crafting a perfect quality potion is 20%.]

[Inspiration Potion Level 2 (1/2), upgrade?]

【…】

[Inspiration Potion Level 9 (9/9), upgrade?]

【promote.】

[Congratulations! Your Potions Knowledge: Enlightenment Potion has reached the maximum level. Effect: The probability of crafting this potion with perfect quality is 100%.]

[Congratulations! Your Enlightenment Potion Proficiency level has reached the maximum. Your Potions Mastery progress is 1/10. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

【…】

[Congratulations! Your Healing Potion Proficiency level has reached the maximum. Your Potions Mastery progress is 2/10. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

[Congratulations! Your Mental Defense Potion Proficiency level has reached the maximum. Your Potions Mastery progress is 3/10. Special Reward: Mental Level +1.]

As the proficiency level of the three potions increased, a wealth of knowledge related to these three potions flooded into his mind.

Wei En only felt a slight headache before fully absorbing this part of the knowledge.

"The quality and precise quantity of materials, the timing of their addition, the production techniques, the secrets to quality improvement..."

As he learned and absorbed the knowledge related to these three potions, he began to understand the basic principles of potion creation, the fusion and dissolution of the extraordinary properties of materials...

So that's how it is—

The essence of the vengeful spirit is the triggering medium, which will introduce the beneficial soul characteristics contained in the brain-flower seed into the user's soul.

The soft tentacles of the sea octopus serve to absorb and neutralize the polluting properties of the other two ingredients, so that after the entire mixture is combined, only the beneficial properties remain.

The reason why the potion's quality can be said to be 100% perfect is because of the knowledge content provided by the panel.

This allows him to accurately identify the subtle differences between different materials, optimize the production process accordingly, and thus create potions of perfect quality.

The effects of potions vary greatly depending on their quality. For example, with a low-quality potion, the user can only absorb less than half of its effects.

Take Enlightenment Potion as an example: a low-quality Enlightenment Potion lasts only 30 seconds, while a high-quality one lasts 120 seconds.

In addition, the speed at which mental strength is restored also varies...

In comparison, the intermediate method is many times less effective at restoring mental strength.

Having figured this out, Wayne couldn't help but clench his fist, a hint of excitement on his face.

Unlike when he was cautious and careful when making potions before, he is now fully confident that he can make all three potions without failure on the first try.

To put it more vividly, it means that after making it countless times, you know every step by heart.

He even knew exactly which steps in the production process could be simplified.

"This is just the beginner level. If you improve your potion-making skills to the proficient level, you can earn a lot of money."

Wayne wiped his mouth, feeling full of energy, wishing he could earn a lot of gold pounds right now and become a fat man in one go.

Immediately afterwards, he used the remaining materials to make bottles of magical potions that shimmered with various colored properties, and neatly arranged them on the workbench.

"One, two, three... fifteen bottles."

Apart from the first three bottles of potions, which were of poor quality, the other twelve bottles of potions were of perfect quality.

and many more,

Are they all of perfect quality?

Wayne stroked his chin, looked at the potions and pondered for a moment, "These can't be sold all at once."

Moreover, out of caution, he had to deliberately lower the quality of the potion.

That's simple. There aren't many ways to improve quality, but there are plenty of ways to lower it...

He only needs to change the production steps, which is equivalent to changing the perfect quality potion formula, to achieve the effect of lowering the quality.

When you're weak, even revealing a little bit of your ability is a sin...

Wei En had long understood this principle, but he had never had the opportunity to put it into practice.

After all, no one would expect a robber to prey on a penniless person.

Next, Wayne cleaned up the material residue on the workbench one by one, and washed the crucible and balance again before storing the potions into his spatial ring.

"Finally, I have a skill that can make a lot of money."

It's not easy.

I've been in this world for over ten days now. All I do is collect my basic salary as an intelligence officer and clock in at the Secret Investigation Department to collect my wages.

Even with the addition of González translation work, the rate of earning money is still severely insufficient.

Now that we have the ability to create perfect potions, things are different.

The cost of materials to make an Enlightenment Potion is 15 shillings, 10 shillings for inferior quality, 15 shillings for excellent quality, and double that at 1 gold pound to 10 shillings for superb quality.

A perfect Enlightenment Potion can cost as much as 3 gold pounds.

The other two potions also have similar profit margins—300%.

Plus, with a 100% success rate... I'm rich.

Thinking of this, Wei En almost couldn't stop laughing.

The only problem now is to find a suitable channel to safely sell these potions.

He had originally planned to sell it directly to his colleagues in the Secret Investigation Department, but now it seems that's completely impossible.

Not to mention that the Secret Investigation Division has a property management department, which can not only make some commonly used potions, but also purchase potions from other channels.

Those are potion makers, organizations, or individuals that the property management department frequently collaborates with.

If he wants to break into the potion-selling business midway, he must create a channel using perfect-quality potions.

But that would greatly increase the risk of him being exposed.

If the Secret Investigation Division were to discover that he was the one who made the potion, it would be hard to say what the consequences would be.

There's no guarantee he won't be imprisoned and turned into a tool for making potions...

Therefore, in order to avoid ending up like that, Wayne decided to keep a low profile.

Even though this would slow down his earning speed, he still felt that it was the right choice.

Ultimately, it comes down to a lack of strength.

If he were as strong as Lacey right now, he wouldn't need to be so cautious...

Wei En looked up at the time; it was already 10 p.m.

"I didn't expect making potions to take so long."

He looked at the pile of materials and tools for making mechanical puppets on the ground, and after thinking about it, decided to put it off for now.

Having experienced the terrifying experience of making potions, he was not confident that he could succeed in making puppets on his first try.

Compared to the simple methods of making potions, the creation of mechanical puppets is far more complex...

Therefore, Wayne felt it was necessary to study Jerry's Notebook for a while longer, especially the blueprints related to the [Ironheart Fury], and to achieve 100% perfection.

With that thought in mind, he turned around and prepared to leave the studio and return to his bedroom to rest.

Ok?

and many more?

Wayne suddenly remembered that he could actually do this—

The effect of the Mechanical Box is to inflict the death attribute on mechanical materials, equipment, or puppets, so...

Without hesitation, Wayne used his Source to instruct the driver to cast the Mechanical Box spell on the materials on the ground.

The mechanical box (Grim Reaper) rune mark on the driver's forehead suddenly enlarged, occupying the space between his eyebrows. His eyes stared at the empty space beside him, and his mouth opened and closed as he shouted, "Avdel Jalil!" (Mechanical Box!)

A crack appeared in the ground, and an aura filled with decay, death, and decay emanated from it.

And as the gap widened, a rusty, steampunk-style mechanical door rose up.

The door frame is round and heavy, with a clock face carved on the green door.

As the hands of the clock turned, the mechanical door slowly opened outwards, revealing a void.

"Is this the Mechanical Box?"

Wayne paused for a moment. This spell didn't feel like opening a warp; it felt more like summoning an ancient mechanical door...

But he didn't delve into it. Even the Death God's original runes had appeared, so what else was unacceptable?

He then placed the materials on the ground one by one into the mechanical door.

After all the materials were placed in, Wayne drew his musket from his waist and stuffed it in as well.

Muskets are mechanical weapons, so if they could be given the property of death... and combined with his marksmanship, wouldn't that turn a musket into a divine weapon?

After doing all this, he signaled to the driver to dispel the spell.

Wayne watched the mechanical door disappear through the crack. "It seems that marksmanship isn't without its merits. If we can find a way to improve the musket and increase its power..."

He looked at the remaining survival points on the panel, pondered for a moment, and then resolutely allocated them to marksmanship.

Add some points!

P.S.: Thank you so much, Nan Ke, for the generous donation.

There's only one chapter today, but the word count isn't much less than two chapters.

As usual, I'll update extra on the weekend. I have more time during my rest days...

(End of this chapter)