Alchemy, Mutated Potions, and a Dungeon Expedition

Under Grove’s unique blend of coercion and incentives, the restaurant chef reluctantly presented a book to Lin Shenyue. Its cover proudly proclaimed: Royal Cuisine.

‘As expected, anything Master finds truly delicious must surely be a hidden life skill,’ Lin Shenyue mused.

After enjoying a lavish, unpaid meal with Grove, Lin Shenyue found herself walking back alongside her master, a touch of awkwardness clinging to her. She had initially intended to settle the bill, but upon learning the exorbitant sum of 1000 gold coins, she promptly, and wisely, sealed her lips.

Grove, however, smoothly asserted that it was only natural for the master to treat Leon’s first disciple. Despite receiving a withering glare from Leon, he remained utterly composed, leading Lin Shenyue away without so much as a flicker of expression.

****

Once Grove had brought Lin Shenyue back, he offered a final piece of advice.

“Alchemy is a skill that demands perseverance,” he imparted. “As long as you persist, don’t fear failure. Instead, analyze its causes, and you will, in time, ascend to become a true master of your craft.”

Seeing Lin Shenyue nod in understanding, he then retreated back into his own quarters.

Lin Shenyue, for her part, slowly resumed her practice of crafting Novice Potions. Each successful attempt rewarded her with 50 experience points, while even a failure still granted a modest 10.

With little else to occupy her, Lin Shenyue spent the entire day engrossed in potion refining. After her Alchemy skill leveled up, she transitioned to the two newly acquired Instant Recovery Potion recipes. For the necessary materials, she had struck a deal with Bloodthirsty Rose: 20% of the potions she produced would serve as payment.

It was only when Ye Jue came online and sent her a private message that she finally surfaced from her focused crafting, realizing she had spent the entire day lost in the art of potion-making.

After informing Ye Jue of her current location, Lin Shenyue began to tally the fruits of her day’s labor. From this extensive refining session, she had produced 400 Novice Potions. Among them, 28 were mutated.

Specifically, she had crafted 15 mutated Novice Health Potions, which restored 100 health points over 10 seconds, with the recovery doubling if the user’s health fell below 50%. The remaining 13 mutated potions were Novice Mana Potions, capable of restoring 50 mana points over 10 seconds, while also boosting the user’s magic attack by 10% for a duration of 20 seconds.

Next, Lin Shenyue turned her attention to the Instant Recovery Potions. Despite having upgraded to Intermediate Alchemy, she discovered that the success rate for crafting these remained surprisingly low. While her proficiency with Novice Health Potions allowed for a 90% success rate, the Novice Instant Recovery Potions only yielded around a 60% success rate.

Nevertheless, Lin Shenyue managed to produce over 600 Instant Recovery Potions. Given her class as a Priest, only 200 of these were Instant Health Potions, each instantly restoring 250 health points with a one-minute cooldown shared among all health potions.

The remaining 400-plus Instant Recovery Potions were all Instant Mana Potions, each instantly restoring 150 mana points, also with a one-minute cooldown shared among all mana potions.

Approximately 5% of these, too, were mutated. The 10 mutated Instant Health Potions offered an additional effect: a 20% increase in Constitution for 30 seconds. Meanwhile, the 20 mutated Instant Mana Potions provided a 15% boost to magic attack, lasting 20 seconds.

Following her upgrade, Lin Shenyue once more attempted to craft Novice Health Potions. To her satisfaction, the success rate had now reached a perfect 100%. However, she quickly realized that each successful concoction only yielded 5 experience points, effectively rendering Novice Potions useless for grinding Intermediate Alchemy experience.

Concurrently, the experience required to advance beyond Intermediate Alchemy had soared to a staggering 1,000,000 points. Given that successfully crafting an Instant Recovery Potion only awarded 100 experience points, the path ahead seemed daunting.

‘Leveling up is dreadfully slow,’ Lin Shenyue mused silently. If any other potion-making player were to overhear her thoughts, they would undoubtedly be mortified with shame.

Alchemy’s base success rate was inherently higher than that of traditional potion-making. Moreover, Lin Shenyue’s exceptionally high luck stat meant her personal success rate far surpassed that of others. While most players struggled with a mere 50% success rate, Lin Shenyue already boasted a remarkable 90%, putting her leveling speed significantly ahead of the pack.

Furthermore, at this current stage, many players still lacked Intermediate Potion recipes, forcing them to laboriously continue crafting Novice Potions just to eke out experience.

[I’m here, come out.] Lin Shenyue received a message from Ye Jue. She quickly scribbled a note for Grove before heading outside.

As Lin Shenyue emerged, she found Ye Jue surveying his surroundings with a curious gaze.

“Why are you here?” Ye Jue inquired, a note of bewilderment in his tone.

Lin Shenyue offered a faint smile. “I’m here to study Alchemy,” she replied.

“Alchemy?” Ye Jue’s voice held a note of surprise. “Wait a moment, does that mean the person inside is Grove?”

“You know my master?” Lin Shenyue asked, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.

Ye Jue nearly blurted out an affirmative, but he caught himself just in time, snapping his mouth shut. Grove was destined to truly shine in the second expansion pack. As one of only two Divine Alchemists in the Divine Realm, he would craft an Intermediate Potion that would single-handedly reverse the human race’s disadvantage against the demon hordes. Only then would his name become widely known, and only then would people realize his expertise lay not in mere potion-making, but in the far more advanced art of Alchemy.

Observing Ye Jue’s expression, Lin Shenyue understood that he clearly knew more than he let on. However, she had no desire to press the issue. Instead, she smoothly changed the subject.

“Are we still planning to tackle the Abyssal Difficulty Dungeon?” she inquired.

Ye Jue paused, considering her question. Thanks to the equipment they had acquired yesterday, their attributes had seen a considerable boost. His own health points, for instance, now stood at 600, and his attack power ranged between 60 and 63.

“What are your current stats?” Ye Jue asked.

“My health is 230, and my magic attack ranges from 66 to 70,” Lin Shenyue responded.

After a moment of careful thought, Ye Jue couldn’t help but furrow his brow. “No, it’s still not enough,” he concluded. “We won’t be able to withstand the boss’s damage. At Abyssal Difficulty, the boss’s attack speed is too high to be dodged with skill alone; at best, we can only block.”

Lin Shenyue pondered for a moment, then extended her hand, offering the mutated potions to Ye Jue. “What if we add these?” she asked.

Ye Jue’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as he examined the potions’ attributes. Though they offered only a modest boost to stats, such small margins often made the crucial difference between enduring a boss’s assault and succumbing to it. With these, Lin Shenyue’s healing output would see a noticeable increase. For him, the additional 20% Constitution wouldn’t just grant more health; more importantly, the increased physical and magical defenses would drastically reduce the damage he took. Combined, these two effects would finally allow them to withstand the boss’s onslaught.

A hint of excitement entered Ye Jue’s voice. “This should be enough,” he declared. “I’ll also have Empty Night bring a more reliable mage when he arrives; that will make the fight considerably easier.”

Lin Shenyue nodded once more, then fell into step behind Ye Jue as they headed towards the dungeon entrance just outside the village.

****

Along the path, Lin Shenyue grew subtly quiet. She found herself uncertain how to truly interact with Ye Jue. They appeared to be friends, yet it felt like something more. They were teammates, certainly, but their bond seemed far deeper than mere camaraderie. Could it be… Lin Shenyue vigorously shook her head twice, forcefully dislodging those two unsettling words from her mind.

‘I must be far too idle to be contemplating such things,’ she chastised herself.

Suddenly, Ye Jue broke the silence. “Have you been playing all day without logging off?” he asked.

Lin Shenyue hesitated for a moment, then finally answered. “Yes,” she admitted. “For certain reasons, I’m unable to log off.”

“Unable to log off?” Ye Jue echoed, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Lin Shenyue nodded. “While it’s only temporary, I’m still unsure exactly when I’ll be able to log out,” she explained.

Gazing at Lin Shenyue’s slightly melancholic expression, Ye Jue found himself uttering words he hadn’t consciously planned. “I believe you’ll recover very soon,” he said. The moment the words left his lips, Ye Jue was taken aback; he couldn’t comprehend why he had suddenly spoken with such unexpected earnestness.

“Thank you,” Lin Shenyue replied, a faint smile gracing her lips. Though it was but a fleeting moment, it caused Ye Jue’s expression to momentarily waver, as if lost in a daze.

Observing Ye Jue’s momentary daze, Lin Shenyue subtly pursed her red lips. A peculiar sensation welled up within her, a strange blend of what felt like delight and, paradoxically, a hint of aversion.

Snapping back to reality, Ye Jue swiftly turned his head, resuming his role as guide. A subtle panic stirred within him. ‘What’s happening to me?’ he wondered. ‘While Lin Shenyue is undoubtedly beautiful, it’s not as if I’ve never encountered attractive women before. Why do I constantly lose my composure around her? There’s just this contradictory aura about her that I can’t quite place…’

For the remainder of their journey, a comfortable silence settled between them, each lost in contemplation of the ambiguous emotions they harbored for the other.

****

By the time the two arrived at the dungeon entrance, Fissure, Divine Wind, and Empty Night were already patiently awaiting them. Empty Night had also brought along an additional person, who, by all appearances, seemed to be a mage.

As the trio watched Lin Shenyue and Ye Jue approach together, an unspoken, knowing look passed between them. Just as Lin Shenyue felt a surge of indignation, Empty Night quickly interjected, addressing Ye Jue.

“You scoundrel,” he declared, “are you truly planning to ditch me now?”

Lin Shenyue’s gaze held a trace of anger, but upon seeing Empty Night and Ye Jue already engrossed in conversation, she reluctantly reined in her temper.

Empty Night, steeling himself, did his best to ignore Lin Shenyue’s intense gaze as he conversed with Ye Jue. Ye Jue, too, felt a touch of awkwardness, but quickly steered the conversation in a different direction.

“Your role in the team is rather minor,” he stated. “For this Hell Difficulty Dungeon run, bringing along someone as incompetent as you simply won’t suffice.”

“Are you kidding me?” Empty Night retorted indignantly. “In the last few Abyssal Difficulty Dungeons, if I hadn’t held the aggro of those minor mobs, you all would have wiped out ages ago!”

Divine Wind interjected smoothly, “If we had a different mage, those minor mobs would have been dead much sooner.”

Empty Night’s expression stiffened. He shot a fierce glare at Divine Wind, then gestured towards the mage. “Allow me to introduce you. This is Iron Blood Plume, an elite from our Iron Blood Clan and our chief mage.”

He then gestured towards Ye Jue and Lin Shenyue. “And this is our team’s main tank, Peerless Karma Fire, and our Priest, Yue’er.”

After their introductions, Empty Night shook his head with a sigh, clutching his chest dramatically. “To think I’d be abandoned like this… alas…”

Ye Jue, caught between laughter and exasperation, gave him a light kick. “Stop clowning around. Go deal with your own affairs.”

Empty Night gave a theatrical ‘tsk-tsk’ before departing.

After adding all three to the party, Ye Jue took a deep breath. “From this point on, we must give it our all. Adjust your states, and prepare to enter the dungeon.”

The four responded in unison. Ye Jue inhaled deeply, then chose to enter the Hell Difficulty Dungeon.