Potion's Painful Price
Name: Adam
Talent: Unlocked at thirteen
Job: Tier one alchemist
Class: N/A
LVL: 1
Exp: 5/20
HP: 14/14
Vitality: 1.4
Strength: 6.2
Agility: 6.4
Intelligence: 16
Free attribute points: 0
Items: Grimoire Lingua, Beastbane Dagger
Skills: Active: None
Passive: Mana Control tier two.
Note: Soul is damaged. Keep drinking those forbidden potions, junky.
Over the past seven years, he successfully brewed and consumed two tier-one potions, each granting him five points in strength and four and a half in agility.
Brewing them made the system officially recognise him as an alchemist and added an entry for it in his stats panel.
He felt a bit emotional. After all, the compendium of forbidden alchemical potions only had three tier-one potions recorded, and he brewed them all:
Cursed Shadow Sprint Serum for agility, Doomforged Elixir for strength and Veilheart Draught for vitality.
Although every potion had formidably potent effects, their side effects were even more severe if the brewing wasn't perfect.
However, he had no doubts that his brewing was as flawless as it had been for the last two potions.
His confidence stemmed from rigorous mana control training and the effects of the first potion he brewed.
He now understood how lucky he had been to concoct the ghostly elixir of ethereal energy. Its benefits went far beyond a mere boost of fifteen intelligence.
It granted him a much better sensitivity and connection to mana. That's why he was as good as some alchemist with decades of mana control training behind them, despite having only trained for seven years.
He uncorked the vial and drank the potion in one swift motion.
As he relished the surge of vitality coursing through his body, the situation rapidly took a turn for the worse.
"ARGH... It hurts," he screamed in pain, falling to the ground.
He was sure he brewed the potion perfectly, so why?
He felt as if every nerve in his body was set ablaze. His muscles convulsed uncontrollably, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
His vision blurred, and he felt a weight pressing on his chest, making every breath a struggle. A cacophony of dissonant whispers echoed in his ears, adding to the torment.
Time seemed to stretch, each moment elongated into an eternity of suffering. Just when Adam believed he could endure no more, the torment reached its zenith, leaving him trembling and gasping for air.
As the searing pain gradually subsided, he found himself drenched in sweat, lying on the ground with ragged breaths.
"What the hell happened?" He questioned, terrified by the mystical reaction and the pain.
Even what he endured after suffering from his damaged soul paled in comparison to what he had just gone through.
After recovering for half an hour, he slowly stood up, taking support on his table and staggered to his bed.
"Status."
Name: Adam
Talent: Unlocked at thirteen
Job: Tier one alchemist
Class: N/A
LVL: 1
Exp: 5/20
HP: 59/59
Vitality: 5.9
Strength: 6.2
Agility: 6.4
Intelligence: 16
Free attribute points: 0
Items: Grimoire Lingua, Beastbane Dagger
Skills: Active: None
Passive: Mana Control T2, Enhanced Intuition T1.
"The potion yielded the expected results, so what happened?" he asked tiredly, before noticing a new entry in his passive column.
"Huh? Where did that enhanced intuition come from?" Confused, he focused on it to get the description.
Enhanced Intuition T1: A mysterious synergy born from the convergence of three forbidden tier-one elixirs. This enhanced intuition allows an instinctual grasp of circumstances, foreseeing potential outcomes and guiding decisions.
"I need to find a way to level up this ability in the future..." He said seriously.
He knew how having good instincts could save one's life. He experienced it against the bear and when crafting his first potion. Nothing could take him by surprise if he could merge wit with it.
Curious about the potion's creator, he pondered his achievements in alchemy. Did he know that consuming them would bring hidden benefits? If he did, were those benefits random?
Having witnessed their danger, he was certain that only a few had managed to consume them and survive.
He gazed at his stats again while starting his daily mana control training routine.
'Can I beat the second trial with those stats?' He thought, then hurriedly shook his head at the stupid idea.
Sure, he got a super book and a cool dagger, but he almost died in and outside that accursed trial.
He was unwilling to subject himself to such torture again. Even after seven years, the shadow of the bear still haunted his nights.
*********
The night slowly passed, and a new day began.
In the dining room, Julius had breakfast with Alina and his adoptive parents.
Eleanor treated him especially well, asking him tons of questions about how he felt in the manor, how he slept, what he liked...
He felt a bit overwhelmed by her excitement, but he could count on the help of his loyal big brother to... make fun of him, as always.
Because of him, he answered the question "What is your dream," with "Become the king of pirates," which puzzled everyone in the room, except Adam, who laughed like a kid.
After finding excuses to make them believe it was a popular joke among kids, he stormed out of the room and went straight towards the training grounds.
Today, he would start his training with Sir Max.
"Hello, young master. We will begin your swordsmanship instruction today. First, what kind of weapon do you think would fit you?" Sir Max asked expectantly after hearing the lord praise the boy as a genius.
"Tell him a dagger or a short sword," Adam said while Julius pondered the question.
He repeated his words.
"Why?" Max asked with a raised brow, not expecting this answer.
"Because my only weapon is a dagger, idiot. Huh... I mean, tell him because the other weapons are too heavy for you."
"Excellent answer, young master. I guess you really are a genius," Max answered, astonished by Julius' quick-wittedness. "I thought you would say something like a rapier or a wooden double-edged sword, but it looks like you want to train with real weapons. That's why you chose the dagger or the short sword, right?"
"Hum... Yes, yes, exactly. I don't like the rapier and want to use a real weapon to get... hum... used to it." Julius repeated what Adam said, copying even his moments of hesitation.