ch13-Tutorial (8) Gaining professions

Oliver himself had gained most of his wealth in his past life through alchemy.

He exhaled slowly, clearing his mind as he prepared for the work ahead.

Herbs, metals, liquids and other profession recourses, just like the professions themselves were split into 10 grades. 1 being the worse and 10 being the best.

Currently Oliver had basically unlimited grade 1 recourses with the amount of gold he had. But when it came to grade 2 recourses, that was another story.

Not only were grade 2 recourses rarer, they were also mostly in the hands of people that aren't in need of any money, at least not the amount Oliver could offer.

With all of the connections of the thieves guild he got only about 150 of such herbs, which were brought in, in special wooden boxes.

Oliver wasn't going to start with those, he first needed to become a grade 1 alchemist, which in essence was rather simple, just make a grade 1 potion or pill.

Oliver calmed himself before lighting the fire under the cauldron. And then proceeded to silently sit there, his hands close by the fire, while he tossed in a piece of wood once in a while.

Before he forgot Oliver also turned of system notifications, alchemy was a very delicate process, and even the lightest of distractions could totally ruin the potion he was going to make.

It was only 15 minutes later that his calm and passiveness disappeared. He quickly sprung into action now that the fire had hit the perfect temperature for the potion he was about to make.

Oliver started by throwing in varies paddles and herbs before letting them simmer. He did not sit idle while they did though, as he started preparing, cutting, and doing much more to varies plants.

Over the next hour Oliver squeezed, threw and extracted varies things inside the cauldron, making sure to keep the fire at the right temperature in all stages.

'Now, the moment of truth.'

Oliver placed both his hands on the cauldron, focusing with all his might as his mana started gently flowing in the cauldron, spreading itself deep within the concoction he had just made.

But alas, feeling a slight fluctuation from the cauldron Oliver quickly retreated.

BOOOOOM

'Hm, it is quite difficult indeed without the proper skills.'

Oliver had supreme talent for magic, so he could be sure that this failure was due to his failure to follow the recipe correctly, and not his mana injection.

Oliver wasn't deterred however, he simply cleaned out the cauldron, leaving the other failed potion mess alone for now around the room, and stared concocting yet again.

...

Yet another hour and a half later another loud explosion could be heard from Olivers crafting room.

BOOOOM

'At least I'm getting closer, I can feel I'm almost there.'

...

After another cleanup Oliver started brewing yet again, he had dealt with much bigger failures during his alchemy journey, so this was nothing. It was just that he was on quite a tight schedule.

And so, another hour and a half past, only this time no explosion could be heard, only a smiling Oliver who quickly took a glass bottle from behind him pouring the now glowing liquid from the cauldron within it.

[Mana Potion (Grade 1)]

High grade

Effects: regenerates 20 mana over the course of 1 minute.

Oliver smiled lightly at his first ever potion as he quickly looked over his system interface.

[Oliver]

Floor Cleared: None

Class: Element Mage (Temporary)

Profession 1: [Alchemist (Grade 1)]

Profession 2: None

Profession 3: None

Health: 20/20 (0.01/minute)

Stamina: 17/20 (0.1/minute)

Mana: 85/120 (0.1/minute)

[Attributes]

Strength 2

Speed 3

Stamina 2

Sturdiness 2

Mana Pool 5

Intuition 1

Magic Power 2

Regeneration 1

AP: 0

[Spells]

Mana Bolt 1

Mana Shield 1

[Innate Trait]

Multitask Level 1

[Temporary Trait]

Pure Magic

Needing a stable state of mind to create the grade 2 potion Oliver decided against looking at the hidden notifications from the system, and subsequently getting his rewards.

Oliver also had no need to check the alchemy menu. He had clearly gotten the skills associated with a grade 1 alchemist. This was clear because countless knowledge regarding herbes were inserted into his mind. Indicating that he got the [Herbal Knowledge I] skill.

Needing a quick break Oliver called in his assistant, who proceeded to clean up the whole room floor to ceiling. Which wasn't easy as potion residue was titularly in every single crevasses of the room.

It took a good few hours for her to do so, so Oliver came back into the room after his quick power nap refreshed and energized. He hadn't noticed up until now but he was physically and mentally exhausted, not being used to having to sleep every day made him totally forget.

But now, armed with his grade 1 alchemy skills, and a fresh mind Oliver started working on the preparation for his grade 2 potion. He truly couldn't mess up now, especially in the preparation state since he only had 5 sets of materials.

...

Unlike grade 1 potions grade 2 potions required a lot of preparations, Oliver had spend 3 hours on it for this singular attempt alone.

Each jump up in grade not only signified a qualitative jump in the effects of the potion, but also in the difficulty of creating it. Oliver knew this all too well, so he took his time mentally preparing before starting the actual potion making.

And so began the long and straining process of making a grade 2 potion. Oliver spend 5 strait hours brewing and waiting, for the base concoction to finally be ready.

In essence the brewing of grade 2 potions wasn't much different from grade 1, except for that every step was, longer, harder, and a little more complex.

And so Oliver started pouring his mana into the potion.

BOOM

By the time the liquid exploded Oliver was already outside the room, the explosions from failed grade 2 potions were many times larger than failed grade 1 once, so to stay totally safe he needed to move.

Another 8 or so hours later Oliver had yet again arrived at the final step, but this time no explosion could be heard.

'Hopefully this is it.'