drink

Chapter 465 The mysterious stone tablet

"Hmmm?" Liam closed his eyes and opened them once again, only to see the scenery still the same as before. He was sitting in the middle of a garden?

He stared dazedly at everything around him. He did not even know at what point he had closed his eyes.

A few hours in, he suddenly felt as if he grasped something, but when he tried to think about it, unknowingly, he had closed his eyes and spent a lot of time in that state.

Not that he remembered what he was thinking about. It was like a dream that he did not remember now that he was awake.

Liam hurriedly looked at the stone tablet again, only to see the same old stone slab with words inscribed on it. However, now there was an additional faint glow surrounding it.

It was just like when he had seen the stone tablet for the first time. He had not gained anything from it yet, but it felt as if the tablet had acknowledged him?

Liam sighed and stood up to take a look around. Just like at the ogre demon's place, this room as well magically became a garden.

There were several trees, plants, a vast blue sky, chirping birds, and a gentle breeze. It was a pleasant evening atmosphere.

Amazed once again at how these things could pop out of a stone world, Liam walked around and took a look.

Soon he found a familiar face.

The white fox that usually roamed around him was now diving in and out of the small pond near the center, having a great time by herself.

Liam shook his head helplessly and left her to play. He then continued his walk, taking a look at everything around him.

All of this was indeed amazing, but the thing was… he had still not made any progress towards that recipe that he needed so desperately.

Just how long was it going to take before he made any headway in it…? He did not even have a single clue which was very frustrating.

Liam let out a long sigh and then turned around to return back to the spot where the stone tablet was placed.

All of this was like a world that had popped out around the stone tablet, but the tablet was still at the center of this small world.

Liam walked back to the stone tablet and sat down in front of it. The atmosphere this time was a lot more relaxing, but he couldn't care less about it.

It mattered very little if he was attempting this monstrous recipe in a desert or a cave or a pleasant environment like this.

The problem was never the ambiance. The problem was the recipe.

Something was missing, or rather maybe he failed to see something or understand something crucial, which was why every single time it was blowing up in his face.

And now there was another problem also. It was not as if he had an endless supply of herbs to train this recipe, he only had a few more sets which gave him about twenty more tries.

From this point onward, every single attempt must be done carefully. Liam tried to go over the recipe again mentally and thought about where he could possibly go wrong.

However, he suddenly noticed something strange from the corner of his eyes.

Adjacent to him, on a small patch of land… there was something familiar growing…

Hmmm… Liam was now truly speechless. Perhaps because he had been cooped up here for so long… he really lost it this time?

He blinked his eyes several times, rubbed his hurriedly, and then looked again. No, he had not gone crazy. It was still there!

He slowly stood up in complete and utter shock and went over to that small patch of land. He took a deep breath, squatted in front of the land, and looked at it, his eyes wide like boiled eggs.

"How is this possible…"

Liam still couldn't believe it. He slowly stretched his hand out and touched the small plants growing on this patch of land.

These were not ordinary plants… rather… they were the same herbs that he was thinking about seconds ago and worrying that he was about to run out of them!

How could they possibly be growing in this place!

This couldn't be a simple coincidence!

He sucked in a big breath of air again and directly plucked one of the herbs. He took it closer to his face and examined it carefully.

The same smell, the same coarse, grainy texture. More importantly, it wasn't a sapling or an aged plant. It was ripe.

The plant was grown to perfection!

Liam ran his fingers over the leaves and looked up to see the rest of the patch when once again, his jaw dropped to the ground.

He still hadn't gotten over the previous shock, but now there was another one!

On the spot that he had just now plucked a herb, he saw another herb. It was the same as before, in ideal condition, ripe and grown to perfection.

"What is this place… what is this tablet?" Liam stared at the whole thing, falling back in shock. He crumpled the herb in his hand and threw it in front of him.

Yup, it was very real.

This means that… this stone tablet was truly a treasure… a treasure he couldn't even begin to understand.

So what if this single recipe did not work! In his hand, there was a gold mine! With his, he no longer needed to scavenge for herbs and waste his time!

Liam hurriedly tried to see if this also worked for other herbs.

"How do I activate this?" He closed his eyes and thought about another recipe, the high grade health potion recipe that he did not have the herbs for.

He gulped and gave it another two good minutes just in case.

Did it work?

He flashed his eyes open to see… there was now a second patch of land with a bunch of herbs growing on it.

Chapter 466 Herbs everywhere

"These are indeed all the herbs that I need for the high grade mana potion… what is happening here?" Liam immediately wanted to test the limit of this thing.

He quickly opened his system interface and closed his eyes to think about every single recipe he had collected, more specifically the low grade and high grade ones.

[Basic Healing Potion]

[Basic Mana Potion]

[Basic Stamina Potion]

[Basic Strength Potion]

[Basic Agility Potion]

[Basic Fire Resistance Potion]

[Basic Anti Venom Potion]

[Low Grade Body Cleansing Potion]

[Low Grade Stealth potion]

[Low Grade Anti Venom Potion]

[Low Grade Water Breathing]

[Low Grade Rage Potion]

[High Grade Mana Potion]

[High Grade Health Potion]

[Chrysanthemum Lethal Poison]

[Nine-Color Paralyzing Poison]

He waited for a minute or so again and opened his eyes hurriedly to check out the results.

Bingo! There were now ten patches of land in total with different herbs growing on them!

Liam silently stared at this amazing stone tablet for a few seconds, not knowing what to think of anything. He had never known or seen a treasure like this.

With this, he could learn everything that his heart desired! He would not have to waste his time searching for the herbs!

Even if he were not able to take this stone tablet back with him to the real world, he would still be able to make good use of it here.

And he had only barely scratched the surface. He could feel it. There was so much more to this stone tablet.

"Hmmm… This is still not enough. I need to learn more recipes. Maybe then I will gain more things from this stone tablet."

Liam opened the system interface and messaged Berat to start collecting as many recipes as possible at all costs.

And since he was in the trade city, he also transferred some 200 gold coins he had in hand to the guy.

This was just chump change when compared to the usual amount they dealt with, but for other guilds and players, this was still a huge number.

"Hmmm… Now that I no longer have to worry about herbs, I should go back to trying to figure out that recipe…" Liam mumbled and took out another cauldron.

He settled in front of the patch of land on which the herbs for this specific recipe were growing. He looked at the cauldron and then the herbs.

Though all of this had happened, the truth was that he hadn't made that much progress in understanding the recipe itself.

If he tried it again, he knew that this time as well it was going to end in a failure. It would just be a waste of time to try anymore without having something solid to go on.

"What can I do…" Liam quietly pondered. If he did not know something, the easiest thing to do would be to ask someone who knew it.

But this specific recipe… even the alchemy experts in the alchemy association might not be aware of it.

They might eventually figure it out. However, it could take a while. He did not have that much time on his hands. He needed someone who could help him with this recipe fast, ASAP.

Liam thought for a second and then nodded. He exactly knew who to ask about this.

If someone could help him with this recipe, it was the person… who he knew had already succeeded in doing it once.

King Dante!

In his previous life, this guy concocted this potion and sold it in batches. So surely he would be able to figure it out this time too.

He opened his system interface, but he did not have the contact for Dante yet. "I guess I could ask those two."

Liam then messaged Alex to get Dante's information from the two spies, well past spies and now her followers.

Not bad." Within a few minutes, he already received the information that he needed. However, Liam still frowned. It was not enough to know Dante's location. He had forgotten a key point.

He had forgotten that he was not able to step out of this PVP tower for the time being. So even if he knew where Dante was or would be, it was still useless.

He needed to make the guy come to him!

Liam sighed and once again contacted Alex, this time asking her to arrange a meeting for the two spies with Dante.

"Would he really come?" Alex was doubtful.

But Liam was sure. "Ask them to tell him that they had discovered a secret about me. He will come."

A couple of minutes later…

"Liam! Just like you said! That guy immediately agreed! The meeting is in half an hour inside the PVP tower on the ground floor, just like you requested." Alex replied.

"Alright. Here goes nothing." Liam chuckled and stood up.

Since he had already booked the room for a few more hours, no one else would be able to enter inside even if they wanted to.

So he left everything, including the stone tablet and Luna, and stepped out of the crafting room. But before he could take a few steps, he suddenly had an odd feeling.

A shiver traveled down his spine. He felt as if someone was watching him, someone far more powerful than him. There was an odd pressure that he felt.

"No. Let's not take any risks." Liam doubled back into the alchemy room and retrieved the stone tablet back, and placed it into his inventory carefully. He did not want to take any chances.

He also grabbed the small fox and brought her as well along with him, leaving behind only the broken mess and the useless debris in the crafting room.

Only now he felt relaxed. He then took the elevator, walked over to the ground floor, and patiently waited for the three to arrive.

A few more minutes passed, and finally, the first person arrived, shortly followed by the second one. The two spies were here.

After that, almost another hour passed when a fat chubby guy waltzed in through the door.

"This is Dante? Hmmm?" Liam frowned as this was not the same person he knew.

Chapter 467 - l come in peace

Liam stared at the chubby guy up and down for a few seconds. Nope, this was definitely not the 'King Dante' he knew of!

The person that he was familiar with was strong, lean, muscular, handsome, and charismatic. He was one of the richest players both before and after the apocalypse and had dozens of wives.

After seeing that person from afar, Liam couldn't simply bring himself to see this chubster as the same charismatic guy.

Perhaps all of that was the after effect of consuming various elixirs like the one he wanted.

Liam decided not to think too much about it.

This was definitely Dante as the facial similarities were unmistakable, and so was his name and guild name. He stood up and walked over to the group.

"What do you mean you don't have anything yet? Then why did you call me here?" Dante furiously shouted at the two good-for-nothings in front of him.

He had come here running all the way, thinking that these guys finally managed to get some intel, but they were just as useless as always.

"Tch. What a waste of time! Don't call me again. Fuck off." Dante glared at the duo, breathing fire down on them.

"Heh. Let them go. I am the one who called you here." A voice sounded from behind, making the guy turn around and look.

"Hello." Liam calmly smiled at the wide-eyed chubby player. "Whatever information you need, you can directly ask me."

"You!" Dante looked in confusion from Liam to his two underlings, and he understood what happened. These two dogs had betrayed him!

"This is what I get for trusting brainless idiots to do the job! Ptui!"

"Hey. Hey. I come in peace. Calm down. Can we go somewhere more private to talk some business?" Liam chuckled faintly and explained things to the guy before he popped his lid off.

"Hmmm? What about?" Dant's face changed. He was also curious now. He silently followed Liam as the two of them headed inside the tower.

Since Dante was also qualified to enter until floor 50, they picked a restaurant on that floor and settled in a private booth.

"Tell me. What is so important that you had to meet me in person?" Dante sneered. He was much calmer now, having a good grasp on what could have happened.

"Heh. What's the rush? Why don't we get something to eat first?" Liam smiled. He wanted to feel out the guy to see if a business deal with someone like him could actually work.

Not that he had a choice in that matter. This was the only person whom he knew was capable of getting the job done.

"You want to eat something? Do it on your own time. I suggest you come straight to the point." Dante leisurely leaned back on the bench, putting his leg up on the table to sit in an arrogant, intimidating pose.

His gaze landed on Liam, looking at him from top to bottom in disgust. What a pretty boy! He hated guys like this.

And he had to admit. He had gravely misjudged this so-called top ranker. He didn't have a single noteworthy item on his body.

He probably just had some trick up his sleeve for fast-leveling. And as for those recipes…

"By the way… I already have your fire resistance potion recipe. KeK." Dante sneered. "I hope you didn't come all the way here to beg me about it?

Liam chuckled again. "But I didn't come here. You did."

Perhaps because he had already lived through many things, he felt like he was talking to a spoilt child.

Dante's face immediately changed, so Liam did not push him any further. After all, he was here for peace talks.

"Alright. Shall we have a proper conversation now?" He as well leaned back with a smile. "I have a recipe with me that you could greatly benefit from. Are you interested?"

"Hmmm?" Dante blinked in confusion, and then his fat lips curled up into a grin. "Why? Are you not able to crack the recipe?" He hit the nail directly on the head.

Liam nodded. "Yes." He did not plan on hiding this fact from the guy. A little bit of honesty is needed when making a deal. Someone had to take the first step.

"Oh! He He He. So you really are here to beg for my help." Dante once again sneered. "What is this recipe that even someone like you can't crack?"

"Aren't you the famous alchemy genius who made the only fire resistance potion on the market?"

"If a genius like you couldn't crack it, why would someone like me be able to help you? He He He"

Liam's face twitched. He waited for the guy to get it all out of the system, but it didn't look like this peace talk was going to end smoothly.

"Yes. I am not able to crack it, but maybe you might? Are you interested in trying? It is an extremely lucrative recipe." He asked patiently, even trying to bait with the money card.

"Hmmm… maybe… what is the recipe? Share it first."

"Mmmm. We need to make some agreements before that." Liam shook his head. He was willing to overlook the other party's arrogance, but this was the important part right here.

"What agreements? Pfft. You need my help here. Not the other way around. I am not making any agreements."

"You shouldn't be so hasty. You should take a look first. I wouldn't be here discussing this matter with you if it was not something important."

Liam looked at the guy calmly, placing his chin on his palm. "Alright. How about I tell you the name of the potion as a sign of goodwill?"

"Ok." Dante cocked his head to the side and listened.

"It's a body cleansing potion. It improves stats."

"Oh?" Even though Liam downplayed its importance, Dante still looked shocked to hear that something like this existed.

Of course, this would be extremely lucrative. The guy was not lying to him!

"So… what sort of agreement are you looking for here?" He probed further.

"Hmmm. Nothing big. Just a 40% - 60% profit split and your word that you wouldn't be sharing this recipe with anyone else."

"Of course, I would also need you to let me watch while you make it how many ever times I need to and supply me as many potions as I require."

"Obviously, I will be providing the herbs for the potions that I order." Liam casually laid out everything on the table, and now it was Dante's turn to respond.

But the guy continued to look at Liam with a weird expression.