Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  This was probably the most exclusive privilege in the Emerald Tower apart from Gerian's, particularly for a mage who had just joined a few days ago—it was absolutely a miracle.

  Almost none of the mages in the Emerald Tower could understand why Gerian made such a decision. To them, it was a joke. Even the pride of Jarrosus Guild, legendary mage Andoine, had never enjoyed such generous treatment before. What right did this young mage, who had just joined the guild for a mere few days, have to deserve such favorable terms from Gerian?

  For a moment, Emerald Tower was in chaos, and all kinds of rumors were in full swing. There were speculations whether the relationship between them was normal or not, and questions whether Gerian was being fair. There were even a few petulant ones who threatened to pull out from the guild if Gerian did not rescind his decision.

  Jarrosus' Guild of Magic had been lacking in talent, and the withdrawal of a few mages who were of at least level-nine would be a devastating disaster. Almost everyone thought Gerian would compromise—otherwise, the Jarrosus Guild of Magic would completely disappear from Anril before the Supreme Council's assessment in three months' time.

  However, they were all wrong. Gerian was not only unwilling to compromise this time, he had also taken an unusually tough approach.

  Within three days, rumors in the guild were f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y suppressed. The mages who threatened to quit were kicked out of the Guild of Magic that afternoon.

  The tumult had come and gone; it was almost over before it began, and everything seemed to be back on the original track. Lin Li still spent his days in the library, occasionally hanging out with Kevin outside of the emerald tower to see if there was anything good in the magic stores. The fat old man was still keen on instructing young mages in his own unique way as ever…

  The only issue was probably the mages who were kicked out of the guild.

  Not to mention Gerian, even Lin Li heard it several times.

  These guys had been coming together lately, but no one knew exactly what they were discussing.

  Everything looked the same except for this.

  Under Gerian's tough approach, the small ruckus was crushed. But everyone knew that, in fact, these suppressed voices never really disappeared. They were merely waiting patiently.

  Once there was a slip-up from Lin Li, or if Gerian could not come up with a convincing reason, these voices would come out from the shadows again, louder than before.

  But to Lin Li, this was not a big deal.

  He had been so busy since he'd returned from the Jarrosus Exchange that he did not have the time to care about such matters.

  Every morning, Lin Li would head straight to the library. He had too much knowledge he needed to catch up with. Sitting in the quiet library, Lin Li felt as if he was back to the time before his college entrance examination. When he had finally looked up from the pile of books, he'd often go back to the potion lab without having his meals. There, herbs worth thousands of gold coins were waiting for him.

  What Lin Li had to do was to turn the thousands of gold coins' worth of herbs into potions.

  Even Lin Li, a potion master, could not help but have a headache when faced with so many herbs.

  Moreover, there was that old fellow Gerian, who ran to the potion lab in the name of concern more diligently than anyone. In particular, the way he drooled when he looked at the bottles of finished potions made Lin Li want to drive him out of the lab.

  That day, the two of them had reached an agreement in the reception room.

  Lin Li would have the next highest privileges second to the President in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. Correspondingly, the guild would have the priority rights to purchase the potions he produced. That was the reason behind the fat old man running to the potion lab everyday.

  As a matter of fact, the two men—young and old—did not differ much in their core personality traits. Both were philistine—only that one was arrogantly philistine, while the other had kept it low-key.

  The agreement was, of course, full of the spirit of utilitarianism.

  One wished to maximize the benefits of pharmacists, while the other wished to maximize the use of guild resources for his own work. Neither of the two jerks was good.

  Lin Li was satisfied with the agreement. Being a transmigrator, he knew the power of publicity more than anyone else. Especially in a world of swords and magic, if you had a giant like the Jarrosus Guild of Magic standing behind you, you could sell the medicine more readily than others.

  A large amount of herbs was placed into their different categories, and the empty pharmacy was once more filled with the fragrance of herbs. According to Lin Li's plan, the first batch of herbs would be used in low-level potions as much as possible. After all, this was just the beginning; it was far from the point of showing off all of his skills.

  But with his ability as the potion master, even if it were some low-level potions, it'd be enough to make Andoine's eyes lit up. Heaven knew how many years had passed since the mages in the Emerald Tower had a smell of the Calming Potion…

  Chapter 19 - Potion Storm

  A delicate fragrance filled the potion lab while the potion in the beaker gurgled.

  Lin Li added nectar from the peacebloom into the beaker as he meticulously calculated the ratio of the three potions. He only raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead occasionally, quickly burying his head back in work.

  Behind him were bottles of completed Arcane Magic Potion.

  Gerian had come to watch a few times. When he saw the bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, the fat old man nearly bit his tongue off. It had been on his mind even without looking at them, but now that he had seen them, he was behaving like an aggrieved woman who hadn't been satisfied for decades, refusing to leave the potion lab and insisting on getting two bottles for him to have a taste.

  Lin Li tried every possible way to dissuade him, but eventually he got him a bottle and sent the aggrieved hag away.

  Other than that hag, Kevin also dropped by a few times to take a look.

  But the young mage was much more restrained than the fat old man. After greeting Lin Li at the door, he would squat in the corner and draw circles. When something happened, he could also help Lin Li; all he wanted was to witness the skills of a potion master.

  It took him almost a week to use up over thousand gold coins' worth of herbs.

  It was Wednesday when Lin Li dragged his tired body out of the potion lab.

  Lin Li went to Gerian the first thing after he came out, and the old and young pair hid in the reception room once again. Their discussion took almost the whole afternoon, and both emerged with sly smiles on their faces.

  Lin Li could finally get a good sleep after finishing all these.

  Lin Li was dizzy from exhaustion after so many days of work. He fell asleep and did not wake up till Friday.

  By the time he woke up, news had spread through Jarrosus City.

  "I heard that Jarrosus Guild of Magic discovered a High Elves relic not long ago and obtained many master potions from it!"

  "No, no, I heard they poached a Potion Master. This time, the Guild of Magic hit the jackpot. It was said that the Potion Master had brought a pile of potions with him from the Pharmacists Guild!"

  "Brag all you want. Who doesn't know what the Guild of Magic have been like these years? The fellows from the Pharmacists Guild have their eyes on top of their heads; if they really poached a pharmacist from them, I can chew off the spire of the Emerald Tower!"

  "I really don't know what they were thinking. Those are potions of the mastery level, they should be keeping them and drinking them in secret, but instead they decided to sell them! Damn… You few, don't leave! Lend me some money, I should buy a bottle too!"

  "Dream on! With what little money we have, it's not enough to buy a bottle. Hmm, it's probably enough to buy a bottle cap…"

  And the source of all these was a word from Gerian.

  "This Sunday, the Guild of Magic will be au
ctioning 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion in the Emerald Tower!"

  The mages in Jarrosus, especially those who came from the mage families, could not even remember how many years it had been since they heard of "Arcane Magic Potion".

  Although the Jarrosus Guild of Magic had been down and out in the recent years, due to the agreement made during the Dark Ages, they could more or less get some aid from the Pharmacists Guild. Although the aid was paid for with Gerian's old face, they were still happier than the mage families.

  The mage families had great wealth and enviable power, but the Pharmacists Guild was not as much an object of wealth and power.

  Every pharmacist had the right to look down upon all of these.

  The skill they inherited from the High Elves Dynasty was in itself the most precious wealth in the world. If a potion master wished so, he could easily destroy a magic family with a flip of his hands. There were too many strong people in the world willing to go through fire and water for a bottle of potion.

  Perhaps only a giant like the Merlin Family had a small chance of getting a master potion, but it was really only a small one…

  The entire Jarrosus City was in a complete frenzy ever since Gerian had released the news.

  Competent forces were scrambling to make money.

  The Merlin Family, determined to acquire these 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, even disposed of several properties in the heart of Jarrosus City in order to gain more bargaining ch.i.p.s in the competition. After all, old Gerian had said that the Guild of Magic would only recognize money this time. Whoever gave the highest price would have the best opportunity, and friendship or whatnot would have to wait after the items were sold!

  It was said that Gerian gave a flat refusal even when Old Odin came calling. Everyone in Jarrosus City knew that both of them wore the same pair of pants growing up. The Merlin Family, which was just about to extend a friendly hand, immediately pulled back after hearing that even Old Odin had been turned away…

  "How are the properties in the city center handled?" Matthew Merlin was 53 years old this year. He had been the head of the Merlin Family for a decade, but he had never been as agitated as today. He paced back and forth in the living room, stepping on the soft carpet, but his mood could not be calmed for a long time.

  The 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion was a godsend of an opportunity for the Merlin Family.

  He had never seen any force taking out so many bottles of Arcane Magic Potion at once. Even the Pharmacists Guild had never been so generous. When he'd first heard the news, Matthew Merlin, who had never let his feelings show, was so excited that he dropped his wine glass on the spot.

  That was 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, which meant 30 chances to permanently enhance magic power.

  Although this opportunity was only for mages below level-five, weren't they what the Merlin Family had the most?

  For most mages, level-five was a difficult gap to cross.

  After crossing this gap, one would be entitled to wear a long mage robe and be called "respected mage". But if one could not cross the gap, they would be a pathetic mage apprentice for life.

  A mage and a mage apprentice. It was one of heaven and one of hell…

  With the Merlin Family's influence now, should there be another 30 mages beyond level-five… At the thought of this, Matthew could almost see the glorious future of the family…

  Chapter 20 - Father and Son

  "It's almost done. There are two places which are a bit of a trouble. The buyers are biting onto the prices and not willing to compromise; I've sent someone to negotiate with them, so we should be expecting some good news soon."

  Cromwell's expression was respectful, but there was a triumphant glint in his eyes. He had always wanted to prove that he was capable of managing the family in addition to his magical talent, so he had done his best to be perfect in the real estate disposal. In just one day, five properties worth more than 180,000 gold coins were disposed of; in such an urgent situation, he made sure the family did not suffer much loss.

  In Cromwell's opinion, it would have been difficult even for his father to do it better than him.

  "Fool!" But it was Old Merlin's angry outburst that awaited him. The wine glass in the old man's hands fell to the floor again, and the fingers pointing at Cromwell were shaking slightly, accompanied by the sound of rapid breathing. "Who told you to negotiate with them? Who gave you the right to negotiate with them? Do you know that this is a matter of life and death for the Merlin Family?! You actually took the liberty of making such decisions on your own… do you still have any regard for me?"

  "Father…" Cromwell was completely dumbfounded. Old Merlin's anger was like a stick in the dark, beating him into bafflement. For a moment, the feeling of injustice welled up in his heart, and he just stood there speechless for a long time.

  "Ai…" It was his own son after all. After the scolding, Matthew's anger had subsided a little. The old man sighed helplessly. "Why do you not think over it? If I hadn't been pressed for time, how could I have sold the properties in the center of the city? Did you really think us, the Merlin Family, would be lacking in money? What we are lacking is time! The amount of time left for us is too short: only two days. After two days, those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion will appear on the auction. It'd be better if they could delay a few more days and I could dispose of some more properties. This way, our odds would be better during the auction…"

  "But…" Cromwell had no idea that Old Merlin would be so determined this time. "Are those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion really so important to our family? Even without the potions, we already have 40 mages level-five and above. Other than the Guild of Magic, no one else in Jarrosus has this kind of power. Why do we need to fight so hard for 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion?"

  "Hmph…" Old Merlin rolled his eyes. He shot an exasperated look at Cromwell, a look that also expressed that he'd expected better from him. "I've long told you not to hang out with those old fellows in the family, why won't you listen? Look at what they've taught you, these short-sighted geezers… 40 mages above level-five… It only looks nice! With these 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, what we will come to have are 70 real mages, and not some ridiculous mage apprentices!"

  Old Merlin had a murderous glint in his eyes at the mention of this. "Also, has it ever crossed your mind what will become of our Merlin Family if these Arcane Magic Potions fall into the hands of other families?"

  Old Merlin's words plunged Cromwell into deep thoughts. He stood there, absorbed in the meaning of his father's words. Cromwell was not an idiot, and after a few moments, he began to grasp the key to his words. Cromwell felt his limbs turn cold at once, and as he opened his mouth to speak, he felt his throat was unusually dry. "You… you mean… Merlin Family… will… will be replaced by other powers?"

  "Yes." Old Merlin's expression was serious. "The 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion may be an opportunity or a disaster for our Merlin Family…"

  "I get it, Father!"

  "These two days, other than disposing of the properties as soon as possible, it'll be better to hang around the Guild of Magic as well. It'll be good if you can get to know the origin of this batch of Arcane Magic Potion. Even if you can't, you'll first have to establish a good relationship with the Guild of Magic. This time, they have most likely gotten themselves a potion master. When you go, bring those few level-fourteen spells from the family with you. Gerian will likely understand my intentions…" Old Merlin sounded a little dejected. "From now on, the Guild of Magic is not the Guild of Magic of the past…"

  "Okay, I'll get right down to it!"

  "Hold on…" Cromwell was just about to leave when Old Merlin called him. "A few days ago, I seemed to hear that you were having a bit of a bad time with the Guild of Magic because of a young mage?"

  "About this… I can explain…" What was done secretly was exposed on the spot by the Old Merlin, and Cromwell's expression was now a fl.u.s.tered one.

/>   "How much do you know about that young mage?" There was not much reproach in the look on Old Merlin's face.

  "I know a little." Cromwell was slightly relieved and went on, "This mage is called Felic, I got to know him when I was in the Sunset Mountains. He had encountered a Wyvern and I was the one who saved him. But this person did not know gratitude and wanted to deal with me again and again. Then, I heard he had joined the Guild of Magic, so I wanted Gerian to teach him a lesson…"

  "What about his strength?"

  "About level-six."

  "Small character of little significance…" Old Merlin shook his head. "Your fault is that you shouldn't have let Gerian know about it. Try to see if you can rope him in this time when you go; if you can't, then…"

  As he spoke, his gaunt fingers ran across the neck, indicating he was to "eliminate" the problem.

  "Remember, if you do it, do it cleanly."

  "Understood!"

  Although he had been berated, Cromwell was in a good mood when he left Old Merlin's study. What could only have been done in secret was unintentionally approved of by Old Merlin. To Cromwell, this was more important than anything else. With the strong support of the Merlin Family, it was easier to kill a derelict of a mage than to crush an ant.

  As for trying to woo him… This had never crossed Cromwell's mind at all. As long as he took out those level-fourteen spells, even Gerian had to take him seriously. Was there any need for him to woo a down-and-out low-level mage?

  Chapter 21 - Black Lotus

  The storm brought on by the Arcane Magic Potion swept in many of the powers in Jarrosus City.

  From eleven mage families to six underground forces, almost everyone was struggling to raise money. Prime real estate, top-grade magical crystals, rare magic materials and magic equipment… All these uncommon items seemed to have flooded the market overnight. Prices were dropping day by day as if taking a dive from a high platform.

  The whole Jarrosus City had become crazy. All the powers qualified for the competition were fighting to force their way into the Emerald Tower.