by Zhuang Bifan
However, William's attitude couldn't cool Wilkinson's anger. For any pharmacist, pharmaceutics was a solemn affair, and the slightest negligence would lead to detrimental effects.
Pharmaceutics in the Anril World wasn't just grinding a pile of herbs and throwing them into a pot to make a soup. It was about the interaction between different kinds of energy. A seemingly insignificant grass might contain sufficient energy to explode a house. Even the slightest mistake could seriously harm the pharmacist who made it. For example, if Lin Li hadn't destroyed that dangerous potion in time when he'd first visited the Pharmacist Guild, the entire Guild would have exploded.
"Just talking about the rule of balance, your so-called potion formula is untenable. But let me tell you, there's a more fatal problem." Wilkinson had always detested such behavior that put other people's lives at stake. Of course, anyone who really attempted to concoct the potion according to this idiotic formula was a fool. Although Wilkinson didn't know who came up with William's potion formula, he rightfully scolded William since he was the one who had it.
Chapter 522 - Divine Potion
"How stupid must you be to put the Heaven Three Leaf Grass and Dark Shadow Flower together! The Heaven Three Leaf Grass contains the purest light energy, while the Dark Shadow Flower is formed from the purest darkness energy. To put these two together is sure to cause death!"
With shaking hands, William took out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead, yet just after he did, he began to sweat again. Although he didn't know the two herbs Heaven Three Leafed Grass and Dark Shadow Flower, the conflicting characters of light and darkness were common knowledge for even people with no pharmaceutics background.
Water and fire were conflicting energy forms commonly known by people. However, anyone with a slightly better understanding of magic would know that these two were not always conflicting, but rather initiated change and integration. In contrast, light and darkness were always conflicting forms of energy, with no chance of any integration or peaceful interaction.
Wilkinson learned not only pharmaceutics knowledge from his teacher Lin Li, but also his way of teaching. One needed to know that Lin Li's pedagogical methods were scolding and punishment. Though he had never beaten Wilkinson before, scolding was also part and parcel of it during those days. Now he could be considered applying what he had learned. Since he was also angry at William in the first place, Wilkinson's words were incredibly savage.
"Nobody can concoct the potion? Indeed, nobody can. Do you think that a bunch of random herbs written together can be considered a formula? You are not a kid, how can you do such a thing? Do you really think that a random stone you've picked up is a gem?"
Wilkinson's scolding was merciless. Though William laughed bitterly upon hearing the scolding, he didn't have any intention to defend himself. Meanwhile, as the only one who could stop Wilkinson, Lin Li didn't say a word after hearing that the formula required 47 herbs.
Lin Li, who appeared to be calm on the outside, was actually very shocked. This formula that William was talking about was very similar to the one he had seen back in the Endless World, and was likely to be the same one.
Back in the Endless World, Lin Li had once met a pharmaceutics Guru who lived in seclusion during a mission. As the smurf account was specially for developing an avatar with every profession maxed out, he had purposely interacted with that pharmaceutics Guru. He used many ways to fill up the 'relationship bar' of the Guru, and frequently got lots of goodies from him.
After they became friends when the relationship bar filled up, the pharmaceutics Guru spoke of a potion called Divine Potion. However, he wasn't sure of the specifics of the formula, either, and only told him a few characteristics of this formula such as the number of herbs needed.
A true formula was not only listing of all the ingredients, but—more importantly—specified the amount of each ingredient used, the preparation method for each ingredient, the special techniques used during concoction, etcetera. The making of a potion was a very serious process where a slight mistake could result in immeasurable outcome. The less serious would be wastage of precious ingredients, while the more serious threatened the life of the pharmacist. Therefore, only knowing the ingredients needed for a potion was of no value in regards to the concoction of that potion.
If it was only a half-finished formula, that pharmaceutics Guru didn't have to tell Lin Li about it only after the relationship bar had filled up. The truly important thing was that the last potion that a certain Divine Smith had concocted before he rose to become a Divine Smith was the Divine Potion.
Though Lin Li's Hunter account didn't have pharmaceutics as a sub-occupation, he still had quite some knowledge about pharmaceutics—at least more than William. Upon hearing the pharmaceutics Guru's description of the formula, he had exactly the same thoughts as Wilkinson now, thinking that such a formula was impossible.
Yet, Lin Li witnessed the true power of the Divine Potion not long after that conversation.
It was a Level-B mission issued by the system. The goal was to escort an important personage from a certain kingdom, and they needed to travel through what was known as the untraversable land—the Rift Valley of Hell. Everyone who saw this mission thought that it was too difficult for a Level-B mission since any mission that was related to the Rift Valley of Hell was generally a Level-S mission. Even Lin Li dared to go to the Rift Valley of Hell twice only after obtaining the Stars of Fury.
Lin Li had obtained neither the Stars of Fury nor the seven debris of the stars at that time, and could only be considered a high-level Hunter with pretty good equipment. He had accepted this likely bugged1 mission only for the sake of escaping the pursuit of other players who wanted to kill him.
When the escort team had reached the Rift Valley of Hell, a large number of hell creatures swarmed out, and instantly surrounded the 1000-man team. Out of those hell creatures, the most terrifying were the dozen-plus three-headed hell dogs guarding the Gate of Hell that even a Legendary powerhouse wouldn't provoke easily. The team with close to 1,000 people couldn't even defend themselves for 15 minutes. Even Lin Li had prepared to give up.
Just then, a court mage beside that important personage suddenly drank a tube of light golden potion. A golden light beam pierced through the night sky and landed on that court mage, and powerful aura emerged from the body of that court mage.
Seeing it with his own eyes almost made Lin Li shout out a certain famous movie line. That court mage was still thin and feeble, but nobody thought he was weak. Instead, he seemed to be towering over everyone1.
Within seconds, the world was completely changed. The entire dimension seemed to be in the hands of that mage. Thousands of ferocious hell creatures, including the dozen of three-headed hell dogs no weaker than Legendary powerhouses, all turned into ashes under such devastating power comparable to that of the gods.
Lin Li then realized why this mission was only Level-B in difficulty—if they could survive the first round of attack by the hell creatures, they didn't have to worry about anything after that. After that incident, Lin Li racked his brains, and finally got the information from the court mage that the golden potion was actually the Divine Potion that the pharmaceutics Guru had told him about.
Back at the Scar of Death in the Blackstone Mountains, Lin Li had only been an Archmage who relied on the All-Knowing Potion to reach the Legendary-realm. That court mage from the Endless World, however, relied on the Divine Potion to reach the Sanctuary-realm instead. It was indeed rightfully named 'Divine'.
This was the terrifying ability of pharmacists, and also the reason why they had always towered over mages no matter what status they had.
Since then, Lin Li had always wanted to find the complete formula of the Divine Potion. Besides the fact that this heaven-defying potion could turn a human into a god, it could also help to prepare his smurf account for the rise into a Divine Smith. This was because Lin Li had a vague feeling that this Divine Potion was likely to be
the key for a pharmaceutics Guru to become a Divine Smith.
Unfortunately, Lin Li hadn't been successful in his search even when his Hunter account had gotten the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of debris of the stars, when he had smashed the eyeballs of the Dragon of Destruction, and when he had exhausted all means and put out all kinds of rewards to get the complete formula. After he had traveled to the Anril by using the scroll of Wishes, this issue was naturally forgotten by him.
Lin Li couldn't believe that the problem that had perplexed him all this while was so easily answered in this world. He had originally given up all hope of finding the formula for the Divine Potion, yet it appeared by itself now. Life was simply intriguing.
How could Lin Li let this benefit that was delivered to the door escape just like that? However, this enormous benefit didn't make Lin Li lose his composure. His face didn't reveal any d.e.s.i.r.e.
Though Lin Li didn't have any business skills, he knew that he had the upper hand since William had some favor to ask of Lin Li. However, once he had shown even a tinge of eagerness, William would have spotted that with his acute sense of judgment as an appraiser and reclaim the upper hand. Since Lin Li wasn't close to William in the first place, it was wise to optimize his own interests.
"Wilkinson, don't be mad. I think William didn't do this on purpose. Why don't we hear what Mr William has to say?" Lin Li feared that Wilkinson would scold William too much, turning him away. This fella was not only quick to learn pharmaceutical knowledge, but also scolding people.
Now Wilkinson and his companions regarded Lin Li's words as the absolute truth. No matter what Lin Li said, they would follow it without any questions. It couldn't be helped. Though everyone had their own personality, after the countless experiences of being taught lessons for not obeying, it was now a reflex action to listen to Lin Li.
Upon hearing Lin Li's words, Wilkinson reacted quickly. He shut up before he finished scolding William as if something got stuck in his throat.
William glanced at the two of them. Astounded, he felt that he had underestimated this young President. What was his relationship with these high-level pharmacists? He even dared to speak to these pharmacists as if they were his subordinates.
"Mr William, do you really have nothing to say?" Lin Li prompted William while he stood there, stunned.
William snapped back to his senses, and immediately replied, "Ah, yes, President Felic, Mr Pharmacist. Please allow me to explain it to you."
Although William was scolded by Wilkinson, he felt much more at ease. He still believed that those potion formulae were authentic. After all, they'd been appraised by a pharmaceutics Master, and he had personally verified the ingredients needed in the formulae. As in, it could've only been so difficult by some mistake or error in the game.Perhaps a LOTR reference.
Chapter 523 - Trade
"Hmph!" Wilkinson scoffed. If the formula had been given him by Lin Li, Wilkinson wouldn't have doubted it at all, but rather thought about what he didn't know. However, since this came from another person's mouth, he wouldn't believe it no matter what.
William could only laugh bitterly at Wilkinson's attitude. After all, this formula was said not to be feasible according to a Master from the Pharmacist Guild. Thus, it surely contained a conundrum that most pharmacists couldn't solve. He came to the Tower of Dusk precisely looking for a pharmaceutics Master or an organization similar to the Pharmacist Guild. If a high-level pharmacist could successfully concoct the potion with the formula, then why would he even need to come this far?
"Mr Pharmacist, you're right. In the field of pharmaceutics, how can my little knowledge compare to yours? However, I am still a little confident with my judgment skills. It's almost definite that the paper used to record this formula is a typical product from the Dark Age." William chose his words carefully before he spoke, fearing that he would enrage this pharmacist again should he say anything wrong.
"Hah! How's your business at the Time Consignment Store, Mr William? At this rate, it doesn't seem like it'll be good. A piece of paper from the Dark Age, no matter how rare it is, is just a piece of paper. But if there's a so-called lost potion formula written on it, its price would probably be hundreds or even thousands of times higher!" Wilkinson couldn't help but speak to William with sarcasm.
Actually, Wilkinson had a point. Making counterfeit artifacts was common everywhere. Even if people didn't like artifacts, there was always something they liked, so people would make counterfeits to obtain monetary gains. A piece of paper from the Dark Age with a lost potion formula written on it was a pretty convincing trick. If a magic spell was written on the paper, it was easy for a mage to judge its authenticity by testing it out. It was not easy, however, to judge the authenticity of potion formulae, especially ones with precious herbs necessary, since it would take a long time to collect most of those herbs in the first place.
"Mr Pharmacist, you seem to be thinking that someone had written a counterfeit potion formula on this piece of paper from the Dark Age. Indeed, I was concerned about this too, so I made use of many connections, and finally found a pharmaceutics Master from the Pharmacist Guild. He helped me to analyze these formulae. Though I cannot reveal his name, this Master confirmed that the formulae were authentic, just that there are many problems in the formulae that current pharmaceutics cannot solve yet." Since he finally had the chance to explain himself, William told them all he had wanted to say in one go.
However, Wilkinson still didn't believe William despite his explanation. If not for what Lin Li had said earlier, Wilkinson would have taught this old man a lesson already.
Lin Li sat there quietly, tapping the table softly with his fingers. He was unbothered by all the commotion, and commented, "I also feel that Mr William wouldn't come all the way here just to joke with us. However, if you, Mr William, think that your formulae are real, what do you want us to do for you?"
William didn't sense anything strange about Lin Li's comment, but Wilkinson felt a tug in his heart. William didn't know Lin Li's abilities, but Wilkinson had undergone training in the Tower of Dusk for such a long time that he was fully aware of Lin Li's capabilities in pharmaceutics. Though he was very respectful towards his teacher Balbo, he couldn't help but acknowledge that Lin Li was superior to his teacher in every aspect of pharmaceutics.
Now, judging from how he spoke, Lin Li seemed to be quite excited about that counterfeit potion formula. Or rather, maybe it wasn't even a counterfeit; could William be right? Wilkinson and his companions all worshiped Lin Li's abilities to the point that they almost blindly believed in him.
"President Felic, I came to visit because I hope that you can introduce me to a pharmaceutics Master to see if he can get anything from these formulae." William didn't want to test the waters anymore, so he revealed his intentions in coming here. If not, he might not have any more chances to speak.
"Pharmaceutics Master? Whom did you hear it from? Our tiny Tower of Dusk doesn't have any pharmaceutics Masters." Lin Li wasn't wrong to say this. The Tower of Dusk really didn't have any pharmaceutics Masters—it had a pharmaceutics Guru.
Since William had already lowered himself to seek help of a junior, that was Lin Li, he naturally wouldn't give up so easily. He continued, "Of course, I cannot ask you to help me for nothing. How about this: if this potion can be formulated successfully, both of us can collaborate in its sales. What do you think about this suggestion?"
"The herbs listed by the formula are all extremely rare. Even if it can be made into a potion, it's very difficult to collect enough ingredients for even one or two tubes. How is it possible to produce it in bulk? Is there even any point in collaborating?" Wilkinson attacked with no courtesy.
The Divine Potion was a heaven-defying potion that allowed the user to borrow godly powers. The ingredients needed to make it were naturally super rare. Even with the abundant storage from the Pharmacist Guild, it was probably difficult to get half of the ingredients needed. It was impossible to prod
uce this potion in bulk.
William smiled, and replied, "Mr Pharmacist, the formula that I have told you about is just one of the many that I have. I also have a few other high-level formulae which don't require such precious herbs. However, it's the same case as this one. That pharmaceutics Master said it's impossible to make the right potions out of them."
William had talked about the Divine Potion formula as a starter because he wanted to spark the interest of that pharmaceutics Master behind the Tower of Dusk. By listing out those ingredients previously, he could indirectly prove that the formulae he had were of a high level. After all, for a person like a pharmaceutics Master, typical potion formulae would hardly pique their interest, even if they had never seen them before. They pursued a higher level, and only those potion formulae they deemed useful for rising to that higher level would spark their interest enough to examine them.
"It's too early now to talk about collaboration. If you don't mind, Mr William, how about telling us what formulae you have in detail? Our pharmacists can help you examine them." Lin Li wasn't interested in anything else William had. He urgently wanted to know whether that formula William had was really the Divine Potion formula.
"This…" William felt a little conflicted. After all, potion formulae were unlike weapons or equipment. Those things still had to be bought from him even after the buyer had looked at them, yet potion formulae were something the buyer could easily remember after seeing them. Although it would still be with him after the buyer returned it, its value would be totally gone.
Seeing that William was hesitant, Wilkinson was a little displeased, and said, "You're lucky that Master Felic is interested in your formulae. If they are real, the only one in the entire Anril who can possibly make the potions from the formulae is Master Felic!
"It looks like you think that pharmacists like us are not worthy of your trust! Mr William, do I need to arrange a room for you to think about this for a few days in peace?"
