Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  Upon hearing Lin Li mention Basel, William frowned, and asked in shock, "You know Mr. Basel too?"

  William obviously knew about Basel. Before the Guild of Magic in the Breezy Plains was established, Basel's library was like a Guild of Magic in the eyes of the mages. Although Basel was just a librarian, he was said to be a Legendary-mage. Yet, Young Master Felic has actually gotten acquainted with the Legendary-mage?

  "Yeah." Lin Li nodded, and decided not to talk about Basel any further.

  Seeing that Lin Li did not seem interested in talking about Basel, William decided to change the subject, especially since the matter didn't have anything to do with him and his agenda. "Young Master Felic, it's very crowded here. I got a great shock when I arrived."

  Chapter 520 - A Few Formulae

  In the past, Lin Li would've really continued beating around the bush with him, but he did not have the time to do so now. He knocked his fingers against the table gently, and half-jokingly said, "Mr. William, do you have the same agenda as those people out there?"

  Upon hearing Lin Li's words, William smiled. Good eyesight was the means of living for an appraiser. Although he didn't know how the pharmacists were related to the young President, he could tell from various signs that it was not easy to poach them. Those who tried would probably not have their wishes granted even after going bankrupt.

  William stared at Lin Li smilingly, and asked, "What's the matter? Is Young Master Felic that confident? I'm sure you know better than me how important senior pharmacists are to a force. Aren't you worried about those people out there at all?"

  "Hah, this is not a prison. Everyone here is free to go where they want to. If they can get what they want, it just means that they're capable enough. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any successful cases yet. Perhaps you might be the first to succeed, Mr. William," Lin Li said with a calm smile, seemingly not bothered by the fact that someone else was trying to poach his pharmacists.

  William began to feel more and more confused as he wondered to himself just why Lin Li was so confident about it. Human character was the hardest thing to grasp in this world; what made him think that those pharmacists were fools? Or was he really not restricting the freedom of those pharmacists, and was simply letting them do as they pleased?

  It would be impossible not to be tempted by the 20-odd pharmacists who had just appeared in the Tower of Dusk. Although William's most famous business was the Time Consignment Store, he was actually involved in other industries, especially the pharmaceutical one. It was a lucrative industry, and some people who had the ability and connections could not resist the temptation of making profits. William was not blinded by temptation, however. Although the news of these senior pharmacists was spreading like wildfire in the Breezy Plains and causing a major uproar, the forces participating in the pursuit were working extremely hard as if they would be able to solicit success at any time as long as they worked hard.

  If it were really that easy to recruit the pharmacists, it wouldn't be up to them to do it. The Malfa Family would have long brought them to Aminya! No one in the Breezy Plains would have the audacity to say that they were much stronger than the Malfa Family, and no one could compare to the Glittergold Trade Union in terms of wealth. They were all just dreaming. Besides, there were many powerful forces in this world, and the Malfa Family was only dominating Aminya. Since when was it their turn to poach the pharmacists, especially when the Glittergold Trade Union didn't even dare to claim to be the ric.h.e.s.t in the world?

  His subordinates had repeatedly suggested and proposed that they recruit a few senior pharmacists before the rest did, but they were all turned down by the decisive William, who had seen through everything clearly right from the start.

  Most of the gifts given by the forces to the pharmacists were acquired from the Time Consignment Store. However, William's sharp senses told him to forgo the benefits despite them being placed right in front of him. Although William refused to participate in recruiting pharmacists, it did not mean that he had given up the pursuit of benefits. There were many ways to obtain benefits, and it was not necessary for him to make the pharmacists his own.

  Many people looked down on Ona's mercenary corps because they were too insignificant in the Breezy Plains. Such a small mercenary group that could not even be considered a faction actually had the cheek to go to the pharmacists and present them with gifts, hoping to get into their good books? They were just overestimating their own abilities. Even if Ona had obtained a potion that allowed his and his son's strength to advance to level-15, they were still considered embarrassing and unworthy to the other forces.

  However, if everyone's efforts and gains were compared to each other, Ona would be the one who really stood to gain. Although Ona used the potion to break through to level-15, it was far more valuable than the gifts that Ona had given away.

  Besides, had Ona only gained some benefits in terms of personal strength? Although the Warriors who had broken through to level-15 would still be very different from the Archmages in terms of strength, the extension of their lifespan was almost the same. For a small group of mercenary corps, having two level-15 Warriors was almost equivalent to doubling their strength, which meant that there would be more opportunities for them to obtain more benefits.

  However, it was just a potion that was casually concocted during an experiment, though it was life-changing for some. That was also the reason for the pharmacists' superior status.

  William's agenda this time was not to hire the pharmacists or discuss partnership with Lin Li. Instead, it was for something else. However, before he broached the topic, he would still have to find out what was the relationship between the Tower of Dusk and the senior pharmacists.

  Ripples formed in William's heart, and he tried to think of an appropriate way to pose his question. If he were too careless with his words, he might end up offending Lin Li.

  At this very moment, the door of the hall was suddenly opened, and a youth who was dressed in a pharmacist's coat poked his head through the crack. He seemed to have something to say to Lin Li.

  "Oh, Wilkinson, is there a problem? Come on in," Lin Li said smilingly while waving at Wilkinson.

  Lin Li was being a little disrespectful by allowing his subordinate to interrupt the meeting with a guest. However, William did not feel in the least bit displeased, because he had heard of Wilkinson before. Hence, he knew that he was the most important among the batch of senior pharmacists. William was tempted because he felt that he might be able to find out about the pharmacists' relationship with the Tower of Dusk from Wilkinson.

  "Mr. Pharmacist, it's my honor to be able to see you here," William said as he stood up while Wilkinson walked towards them.

  However, Wilkinson ignored William, and instead glanced at Lin Li inquisitively.

  "This is the owner of the Time Consignment Store, Mr. William. We've met once before," Lin Li introduced.

  "Oh," Wilkinson said while scanning William from head to toe condescendingly without saying anything else. Since Lin Li said that they had only met once, Wilkinson's glance was enough.

  "Wilkinson, if there's nothing too important or urgent, take a seat and wait for me there. Mr. William hasn't told me about the purpose of his visit yet." Lin Li pointed at the chair beside him and poked fun at William.

  Wilkinson did not say much, and instead took a seat while staring at the old man William with disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

  Feeling extremely awkward, William began sweating, and droplets of sweat trickled down from his forehead. However, there was nothing he could do, since he was the one asking for a favor. Besides, he was at fault for beating around the bush. He smiled awkwardly while seated on the chair, knowing that there was no point in saying anything more. The young President would probably flare up and lose his patience if he were to continue saying some nonsense.

  "Please forgive me, President Felic. I do need your help this time," William said earnestly. Actually, there was no need for him to t
ry and find out anything more at this point. Wilkinson's attitude towards Lin Li had already spoken for itself.

  "Mr. William, you don't have to do this. I can't guarantee that I can help you for sure. What exactly is the matter? Feel free to tell me about it." Actually, Lin Li could already tell that William was there for the pharmacists.

  "Well, because I run the Time Consignment Store, I often get the chance to get in touch with peculiar and strange things. It was also through a very accidental opportunity where I acquired several potion formulae from the Dark Age from an adventurer," William said as he stared at Wilkinson who was sitting opposite him.

  Wilkinson's eyes lit up as he heard William talk about the formulae of the potions from the Dark Age. For a pharmacist, nothing was more attractive than a pharmaceutical formula, especially one from the Dark Age when the war that swept the entire Anril occurred, bringing huge damage to pharmaceutics-related legacies. Many formulae and pharmaceutical techniques were lost then.

  Sensing the change in Wilkinson's attitude, William silently heaved a sigh of relief. As long as he could pique Wilkinson's interest, he would have a shot at it. In fact, the real reason for his visit at the Tower of Dusk was not to meet Lin Li or Wilkinson.

  Just as William had said earlier, he happened to get some formulae from an adventurer by chance. Although he could tell from the formulae that they were really from the Dark Age, he could not understand them.

  William also ran a pharmaceutical business. Although he was not involved in pharmacy, he knew that if those formulae were genuine, they would be priceless.

  Chapter 521 - Absurd Potion Formula

  In order to know the authenticity and value of these potion formulae, William made use of a great amount of connections, and finally found a pharmaceutics Master from the Pharmacist Guild. With the discernment of that pharmaceutics Master, William's guess was confirmed. These potion formulae were indeed from the Dark Age, and differed from any known formulae from the Pharmacist Guild.

  William couldn't contain his excitement upon obtaining this knowledge. He felt like he had picked up a gem, which hadn't happened to him for a long time.

  However, what that pharmaceutics Master said next dampened William's enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water. "The formulae are probably authentic, but they involve a few concoction techniques that were lost in time. Even I can't make the potions successfully by following these formulae," the pharmaceutics Master told him candidly.

  Upon hearing these words, William was immediately stunned. A formula that couldn't allow you to concoct a potion successfully was just a piece of waste paper. So what if it was from the Dark Age? When the corresponding concoction techniques were lost and even a pharmaceutics Master couldn't concoct them, what was the use of holding onto them himself?

  William had somewhat given up at first. After all, this pharmaceutics Master was publicly acknowledged as a very knowledgeable man. Even he couldn't concoct the potions, let alone the others from the Pharmacist Guild.

  However, not long after this incident, the news about a great number of high-level pharmacists appearing in the Tower of Dusk spread like wildfire in the Breezy Plains. Every faction immediately started to pursue these high-level pharmacists. How could this kind of widely known news escape the ears of William, who was in charge of the Time Consignment Store?

  In fact, several competent subordinates had suggested that Time Consignment Store should also join in this pursuit…

  William, however, was clearly more farsighted than the other factions. He immediately felt something was amiss about this emerging Tower of Dusk; it wasn't as simple as it appeared to be. Without understanding the situation, it was unwise to offend the Tower of Dusk for the sake of a few pharmacists…

  Thus, William didn't hesitate to reject the suggestion by his subordinates. At the same time, he thought of the potion formulae from the Dark Age which were lying in the attic…

  Although the price that he'd paid for the formulae was so insignificant compared to his net worth that it wouldn't hurt him to throw them away, he just couldn't accept it knowing that the formulae were authentic. It was as if seeing a gem buried in dust.

  William didn't have high hopes that those high-level pharmacists could help him concoct the potions. Although he didn't employ any high-level pharmacists personally, he didn't have to wait till now if he wanted to find high-level pharmacists to help him with the potions given his abilities.

  Moreover, even that Master from the Pharmacist Guild acknowledged that he couldn't concoct the potions from the formulae. He even claimed that there wasn't possibly anyone in the entire guild who could concoct the potions. If so, was there any high-level pharmacist even more knowledgeable than a pharmaceutics Master? It was clearly impossible.

  When the other factions only saw those frenzy-inducing high-level pharmacists, what William noticed was the Tower of Dusk that was behind these high-level pharmacists. Why was there a sudden appearance of high-level pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk, a newly established faction? Though the Tower of Dusk was a Guild of Magic supported by the Supreme Council, the Supreme Council was, after all, not the Pharmacist Guild. Even the Pharmacist Guild wasn't able to get so many high-level pharmacists in such a short time, let alone the Supreme Council.

  In this world, not all mages belonged to the Guild of Magic. Similarly, not all pharmacists belonged to the Pharmacist Guild. Hence, William made a bold guess that this batch of high-level pharmacists might not be from the Pharmacist Guild, but rather from another less known pharmacist organization. There was likely to be one or two pharmaceutics Masters behind these high-level pharmacists. If not, it'd be impossible to nurture so many high-level pharmacists.

  Since that pharmaceutics Master had said that nobody in the entire Pharmacist Guild could possibly concoct the potions using those formulae, what about people outside the Pharmacist Guild? If he could think of a plan, maybe he could get the help of a certain pharmaceutics Master through the Tower of Dusk to concoct the potions successfully from the formulae! This thought was too tempting for William to ignore.

  So, with this thought in mind, William arrived at the Tower of Dusk, hoping that he could revive the glory the formulae had during the Dark Age with the hands of a pharmacist Master behind those high-level pharmacists.

  "What potion formula is there that nobody in the entire Pharmacist Guild can concoct? You must be exaggerating, Mr William. Tell me about it! I'm interested to know what these formulae that nobody can concoct look like." Upon hearing William's full story, Wilkinson was more unconvinced. He wasn't someone that William was looking for—a pharmacist from an unknown pharmacist organization. He belonged to the Pharmacist Guild since the very start, and was a proud disciple of President Balbo. How could he tolerate other people doubt his teacher's pharmaceutic abilities?

  William noticed Wilkinson's disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, but didn't know why he incurred it. He merely thought that Wilkinson didn't believe him, and said, "If you want to know, let me tell you about a formula here. The name of this formula is long lost, only the ingredients needed and a few concoction techniques remained. The herbs needed are: Abyss Blood Crow Tongue, Heaven Three Leaf Grass, Sword Bamboo fruit, Autumn Bell flower, Dark Shadow Flower stamen, Icefield Seaweed… A total of 47 herbs."

  "Haha, this is ridiculous! How is this a formula? Even a pharmaceutics disciple knows that this formula can't possibly let you concoct any potions." Wilkinson felt so cheated right after hearing what ingredients were needed for that formula, and began to criticize it mercilessly.

  Normally, Wilkinson would only laugh it off if he got such a potion formula, and not be so fed up. However, William had aroused his interest and provoked him by doubting the abilities of the Pharmacist Guild, yet Wilkinson ended up realizing that the so-called potion formula was a scam. How could he not be angry?

  "First, there is an extremely foolish mistake that can be spotted at first glance. This formula needs 47 herbs? Looks like the person who faked it is bra
inless, and didn't have any pharmaceutics knowledge. To say that this thing is a potion formula and take it to us is a total disgrace!"

  Wilkinson was angry over the fact that even the basic common knowledge was gotten wrong. Even if one wanted to cheat, couldn't he do it using more technicalities? Did he really think that everyone was a fool? Wilkinson doubted if William had even looked for other pharmacists, and wondered what kind of people he had sought out to look at the formulae. Even an old man who swept the floors of the Pharmacist Guild would never make such a mistake.

  "Mr William, you are an appraiser, and a manager of a consignment shop. Maybe I cannot demand too much from you regarding pharmaceutical knowledge, but you should know at least some basic pharmaceutical knowledge as an appraiser! The characteristic of appraisers is being a jack of all trades but master of none. If you don't even have such general knowledge, how can you be a jack of all trades?"

  Appraising was quite an awkward occupation. One needed to know a bit of everything, yet couldn't be an expert on anything due to constraints of time and effort. To be a jack of all trades but master of none was the best description of appraisers.

  If this was said by any other person, William would have 1,000 methods for him to die miserably. However, since the one who spoke was a high-level pharmacist, he wasn't offended at all.

  "If you don't know, I can tell you that in this world, the most fundamental and important rule of pharmaceutics is the rule of balance. It is right to say that any potion formula is a reflection of the art of balance. To lose balance would result in losing everything. This is something that even pharmaceutics disciples know because it's the first piece of pharmaceutics knowledge they learn."

  Facing Wilkinson's consecutive rebuttal, whether he was right or wrong, William had no motivation to refute him, and could only agree with embarrassment.