The Autocraft Alchemist

Richard slept well after a successful night of blowing off steam in the Slime Dungeon downtown. And while he was hoping for something fun or different to drop, so that he could distract his mind. Nothing did, and it was just a bunch of Blue Slime Cores. While he was still at an impasse on if he wanted to build for dps or healing.

The best way to make a decision on something is to ignore it until the point you no longer can. So instead of worrying over what his build was going to be, Richard decided that his time would be better spent making potions. He only needed a few more to hit the 50 unique items created. And there should be enough things in his apartment to do so.

He learned the other day that it was unique combinations, and not so much unique items needed. So a Mana Potion created with an Imp Gem and Imp Blood Vial was different than a Mana Potion created with an Imp Gem and Blue Core Vial.

Richard picked up the Ratter Fetish Vial using the strip of fur that was wrapped around the neck of the vial. With his other hand he picked up an Imp Gem and then confirmed to create the potion. The resulting product was a Poor Mana Potion-. And when he checked his unique item count it read 48/50. So that part was good.

The part that wasn't good was the Poor quality potion. Given the Burner that Richard had in his Tool Slot, his minimum quality should have been raised to Weak. And yet, somehow, a Poor quality potion came out.

There had been one other case where a symbol appeared after a potion. And that was when crafting with the Blue Core Vials. Usually when crafting with a vial and catalyst from two different dungeons the quality would drop by a stage. The exception to that was if a Blue Core Vial was used. In that case the quality would be bumped up by one and a plus symbol would appear after the potion.

So using that logic, the minus symbol that appeared meant that the Ratter Fetish Vial created potions with a lower quality than usual? One that was applied after the Burner should have increased the quality? Or was Richard missing something?

He rotated his shoulders and shook his hands. Instead of worrying over something that he didn't want to use as a material ever again, Richard stuck the Ratter Fetish Vial potion in an old boot by the door. While it wasn't the ideal spot for storage, it kept the creepy thing far enough away from anything that he cared about.

Next up Richard made a Black Carapace Vial and combined it with the Imp Gem. He was surprised when he saw the completed potion, Weak Burst Mana Potion. Richard had assumed that it would come out like the combination of Black Carapace Vial and Black Beetle Stomach and just be a flat Mana Potion. Instead the potion had the Burst modifier that the Healing Potions and Vitality Potion gained when using the Black Carapace Vial.

That probably meant that the default recipe for a potion was the ideal way of making a potion. And when another vial was used it would instead be created with whatever modifier that the vial provided? He would need to do more testing to try and figure things out. It would be best to wait until he both had the spare money to spend on materials as well as places to store the resulting potions. He also wasn't too keen on releasing any more new ones through the Crafter's Union.

After a quick check he confirmed that he was sitting at 49/50. Using the Orthrus Skull that he had picked up on the way home yesterday, Richard tried creating a Healing Potion with a Healing Flower that he had likewise bought.

The potion that he pulled out from the autocraft window was a little different. It wasn't the vial, it still had the diamond shape and vague skull look. But the glow that appeared on the stopper had changed. Instead of only one source of light, there was a second one. And the two of them slowly orbited around the surface of the stopper. When Richard used the System to ID it he found it was a Double Healing Potion.

He placed the potion onto the table in front of him. Double meant two. Double potion should mean that there are two potions? In one? Or did it mean something else? Richard shook his head and watched as the two red lights slowly circled around one another. At the very least it was probably better than a normal healing potion, right?

And if it was better, by how much? It shouldn't be possible for something to become twice as good if only the vial was different. Though that might have something to do with the fact that the Orthrus were Rank… uh, after looking it up he confirmed it to be Rank 5. Did being Mid Rank have something to do with it? Or was it just the effect of the orthrus vial? They did have two heads after all.

Richard looked over his shoulder and towards the door, where the boot with the Ratter Fetish Vial Healing Potion was. Ratters were considered to be a Rank 7 dungeon, and fell into the High Rank. So why did the potion come out as only Poor? There must be something that he was missing. It would be interesting to find out. But then he might need to deal with the disgusting ratter drops.

He shook his head and tapped his fingers onto the kitchen table. The sudden potion modifier was pulling his attention off of the task at hand. Which was getting to Level 2 Alchemy. Pulling up the count he found that he had reached 50/50 unique items created. So in order to avoid the distracting thoughts, Richard stowed the potions that he had just created, and headed off to the train station.

Once he was at the Crafter's Union then he could try and see if there was any knowledge of the double modifier. Though maybe he should run it by the clan first? That way he wouldn't be drawing any more attention to himself if it was something rare or unknown.

***

His plan to avoid thinking about builds backfired on Richard. As he found that the idleness of the train was the perfect foil to keeping his mind occupied. And in the end he decided to at least put some thought into what might suit his style best.

Part of the reason that he started with a club was that it was safe. It didn't have an edge that he could hurt himself with, and yes, being in melee was dangerous. But it also meant that he would be able to avoid… well. Finding himself in melee wielding something less suitable for fighting and being in even more danger.

If a caster or ranged class found themselves in melee then they would usually be at a disadvantage. While a melee class was at home in melee, an instead would be caught at a disadvantage at ranged. Each role had its uses, but it also thrived when given ideal operating range. And given that the monsters wanted to get at his face, it made sense to be holding onto something that prevented such a collision from occurring.

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But then he had picked up an Alchemy skill book. Something that raised his Magic and Wisdom. Something that, from what the old timers had said, would be a bad idea to split focus with a melee skill, and to instead specialize. Which would be to build into a magical role. Richard had dashed his dreams of punting monsters around with his crappy skill book luck.

So he would need to find either two magic attack skills, two healing skills, or a healing and a damage prevention skill. Usually the 3rd skill slot on a caster would be put towards utility. But that was something that Richard didn't have the room for due to already having S-Rank Alchemy. Which, in reality, could serve pretty well as a utility slot. Given that he could make both healing, damaging, and debuff potions.

The first option that Richard had come across had been from talking with Rutger. The healer build that he had followed used a Healing Skill Book, A Barrier Skill Book, and a Remove Magic Debuff Skill Book. And while Richard could see himself following such a build, wouldn't it be terribly boring? Just waiting around and hoping that someone didn't get hurt? Or waiting to toss a barrier up if something goes bad? He would always have his potions around to help with any wounds and debuffs that might appear.

Which led him to consider going for a damage focused build. For the moment he had access to two debuffs, the Flash Potion and Poison Potion. That number should increase as he was sure that he would be able to find other helpful potions. Either when his Alchemy skill rose in level or as he discovered more recipes.

So, which damaging spells should he choose? When he explored the Cabbit Dungeon it seemed like Brock had a Water Magic Skill. Assuming that he was a crafter then Brock would have also had another skill slot empty or in use. As for the others in the party, Gem at least had a taunt skill, while Mumford and Tina didn't display anything skill worthy. So maybe they both had crafting skills?

Richard lost himself in browsing skill books while ignoring the cost. Given the high price that many magic skill books commanded he was sure if he looked at how much they were he would probably pick something subpar. Since his life would be at stake in the dungeons he wanted to decide on the best build that he could. Even if it would be out of reach while he saved up for it.

There were skill books for every magical element that he could think of, as well as a few that he wasn't able to. The standard elements were there. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Metal. As well as Light and Dark. Exotic ones like Ash, Space, and Void. He was surprised to see a Time Skill Book as well as a Blood one. And it made him consider just how many other skill books might exist that weren't on the market? Like with the potions that dropped from the goblin and orc dungeons, maybe there were skills books that were no longer available in the area due to dungeons being closed?

In the end, looking at all the skills didn't really help with Richard making a decision. He had decided on being a damage caster. Only the staggering number of options presented to him gave him decision paralysis of a different sort. It would be better if he could just focus on Alchemy and find something that would complement it well. But that was probably asking for too much. While he felt the pressure to make a choice before he needed something other than just Alchemy.

***

The market at the Crafter's Union was just as bustling as it always was. And the tension that he had noticed that last time seemed to have abated somewhat. Richard dove into the mass of people and brought up 20 each of Healing Flowers and Blue Slime Cores. With the idea that, in addition to Nora asking him for them, it was always better to put more Healing Potions into the market. If he could somehow bring the price down and make them more affordable, just maybe the lower price could save somebodies' life.

With his shopping out of the way he browsed around for some of the rarer items that he wasn't able to find in the market. From the Orthrus Dungeon there appeared to be a herb drop, it was rather unimaginative and was just labeled as a Healing Herb. And what he could gather was that it could be used by anyone by either eating, or crushing and applying to a wound. Though there was some discussion as to how high the effects were.

Richard found some, but was surprised at the cost. While they were from a Mid Rank Dungeon, the uses didn't seem to justify the $16,500 they were selling for. A quick check of the recipe list showed that another Healing Potion appeared, using the Orthrus Skull Vial and the new herb. And it was after much hemming and hawing he decided to just get a bunch of them for trying with different vials. And bought 5.

The other item he was looking for was even harder to find. And it was only after asking at several stalls that he found out why. In the Imp Dungeon there was a drop called an Unknown Coin that came in both gold and silver varieties. It seemed like it was popular to create jewelry from and commanded a high price. Richard wasn't even able to handle them at all before he could buy them. And while he was tempted to buy a pair and keep them around, the price of $30,000 and $40,000 made him think otherwise. Maybe he would be able to get someone from the clan to get him some?

Not being able to get his hands onto the coins kind of bummed Richard out. While there wasn't any way to confirm that they would be usable, either right away or as he levels, they were still something different. Most of the drops were either plants or body parts. And so far only the imps provided something else in the baubles and coins.

Richard stood at the edge of the market and watched the people mill around for a moment. It was a fun place. Though he could do without the elbow to elbow jostling at times. He turned and looked at the section of the building where the crafting rooms and buying counters were.

In order to reach the next level of Alchemy he needed to create another 40 items or so. That was a nonnegotiable. And while he probably didn't need the cash right away, he had been spending more and more of late. Without any money coming in it would be better to just deal with Argence and flog the potions. It was only after spending several moments adjusting his heavy satchel so that it sat better on his shoulder that he proceeded.

Grant was the one working at the crafting room rental desk. Richard gave him a smile and said, "Could I get a crafting room please?"

If Grant remembered him as the guy with the 150k pending on his account he didn't show it. And Richard was quickly booked into a crafting room. Once he was inside the first thing that he did was place a chair against the door, just in case. And then took the time to perform a bit of a search around the room, looking for anything out of sorts. Also just in case.

Then he took a seat and sighed. There were several things that he could do with his time. But he didn't want to deal with Argence. So Richard decided to just bang out the healing potions he had bought materials for.

20 Blue Core Vials, and 20 Weak Healing Potions later and the blue dot that he had been wanting to see finally appeared in his status next to the Alchemy skill. He took in a deep breath and pressed on it and a window appeared in front of him.

You have fulfilled the requirements to level up Alchemy S-Rank.

Leveling…

Congratulations for advancing.

You have opened 2 more Alchemy Inventory Slots.

You have unlocked Bulk Autocraft.

You have been granted bonus stats to Magic and Wisdom.

Since your potential has increased, it is possible to find additional recipes.

And he let out the breath he had been holding. While it appeared to be more of the same. There was a lot in the level up to unpack. He found his hands were trembling and Richard stood and paced the room to try and spend some of the energy that had welled up from somewhere.

Numbers going up were quite fun and addicting after all.