The Autocraft Alchemist

After the first order, more came in. And it had gotten to the point where Richard was visiting the workshop each day to fulfill new requests for potions. Over the past week he had pretty much made some of everything. Though it was after his first few times using the workshop that he found a glaring problem. He was too efficient. Making potions with Bulk Autocraft barely took any time at all. And yet he still needed to at least appear to be playing the part of a proper alchemist.

To that end he had spent some time hanging around the workshop after the potions had been completed. But that quickly got old. There was only so much time that he could waste on his phone before getting bored. And after some humming and hawing on his part he sprung for a TV to place in the corner. If anyone bothered to ask about it Richard could always just say that it was for background noise or displaying his recipes. Or something else alchemisty.

Richard had taken to having the news playing. Both as his background noise of choice as well as keep him up to date. The last week or so it was just a loop of the same coverage about the impending orcs. He was somewhat surprised at first when the media had started reporting on it. What was more surprising was the distinct lack of tension. It was almost as if they were reporting about the weather and not some hostile force looking to tear down what had been built since the break.

He shook his head and put the news out of his mind. And instead shifted his attention to what was in front of him. With all of the extra time that Richard had to burn he figured that he might as well try to learn alchemy proper. Only he had already gone through several of the Healing Flowers that he had brought.

Since everyone was so cagey with their recipes Richard went with the process of elimination and experimentation. He knew that it should be possible to create Healing Potions with a Healing Flower and a Blue Slime Core. But the how was a mystery. One clue was in the Tool Slots, which had places for a Burner, a Retort, a Mortar and Pestle, a Crucible, and something called a Magic Separator.

From those clues it was possible to try and guess the methods used to create a potion. Heating, distilling, grinding, melting, and… magically separating. Sure he didn't know what he was doing. But then again neither did the first alchemists way back in the past. If they muddled their way forward then he should be able to as well.

One thing about the process that excited Richard was that he bought some normal glass potion vials. Instead of being diamond shaped they were longer and circular. Something that could be stuffed into a bandolier or the like. The little corks were different from his stoppers which were made of the same material. While it felt a little strange to geek out about something so mundane, he did so anyway.

As for making a potion proper, Richard had tried using the Mortar Pestle to grind a Healing Flower into paste. And then mixing the paste with water. The end result was a cloudy and soupy looking mixture which he then strained out the solids. A gritty potion, or one filled with floaters, didn't seem appealing in the slightest.

The attempt had given Richard a brown concoction that didn't look, or smell, all that appetizing. He also didn't get anything when trying to use the System to ID it. Maybe the potion needed to be in a vial? Which… also accomplished nothing. And he found himself with a vial filled with a suspect looking murky brown liquid.

Not wanting to waste the Healing Flower, Richard dumped the vial into a sauce pot that he had found in the kitchen cupboards, added the solids back in, and tried to bring the mixture to a boil. While boiling the smell didn't get any better at all. It was different however. Which could have been the good thing he was looking for.

Though as he looked down at the mess it still wasn't something that the System felt like identifying. Richard tossed it into the fridge and waited for it to cool. Then he strained it again and placed it back into the vial. It was then that he found something else had changed. Failed Healing Potion. The System finally decided to acknowledge his efforts. Even if it was a failure. And shouldn't that mean that he was somewhat on the right track? He either needed to do more of something, or less of something else. What changes could he make?

After some attempts with the Retort Richard managed to get it set up on the Burner just like in the videos he found online. Then he took the mess that was his failed healing potion and tried to see if that would distill into anything. It took a longer time than he expected and he finally produced enough liquid to fill a vial. Only for the same results, Failed Healing Potion, to appear again.

So with his total lack of skill he wasn't able to make a Healing Potion from just a Healing Flower. Richard knew that it was possible to create a potion with a Healing Flower. His Autocraft recipe list proved that. And since the System mentioned that it was still a Healing Potion, albeit a Failure, there should be some way towards success.

It was then that Richard looked to the other ingredient that was part of the recipe. The Blue Slime Core. He started with just the Healing Flower for two reasons. The first being that he wanted to see if it was possible with just the flower. And the second was that he didn't have the slightest idea on how to make use of the core. Since it appeared to be a requirement for a successful potion, did that mean that there was something inside of the core? Or was it the core itself that was needed? If so, how should he go about finding out?

First he tried grinding a Blue Slime Core with the Mortar and Pestle. Only to find that the core was too tough. And Richard feared breaking either the bowl or the pestle. Then he tried to boil it in water. After several minutes nothing seemed to change, and from what he could tell the water was still the same. Maybe he could try crushing a core between two pans? Or maybe place the core inside of a towel, which he didn't have, and try to hit it with one of the heavier pans? Then maybe boiling then would produce something?

There was a glaring noise that came from the TV that was mimicked by his phone. When he looked the looping reporters had disappeared and instead there was an emergency alert. Richard read over the warning once, and then checked his phone to find the same. The orcs were marching south.

Richard stood there looking at this phone for a moment. It was already early evening. Was there even enough time- he was startled by his phone when it suddenly rang. The display came up with Jackie and he swiped to answer. "Hello Jackie."

"Richard. How are those potions?"

"Done." It wasn't the time to hide what he could do. "Between you and I, I can craft anything that you need as soon as I get the materials."

There was a moment's silence before she spoke, "Right. Where are you? I'll see about getting in some last minute potions."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I'm at the workshop right now. Should I go somewhere else?"

"No. Wait there. I'm sure that it's going to be a long night. Even orcs need to rest. So we still have some time yet. The only question is, should we meet with them in the morning or not. If we wait too long they could get to the walls-. Never mind. I'm just speaking my thoughts. Someone will be by soon with some more materials, probably Daniel. I'll get him to sneak into the Swords coffers."

"Alright," Richard said. "Is there anything else that I can do?"

"No. But, what you are doing is already important enough. Without a ready supply of Healing and Mana Potions we'd be up the creek. I'd say stand by. But you'll probably want to be with your folks."

"I…," Richard said. While that was true, he also wanted to be ready if the clan needed something. "I don't think that I would be able to relax at home. And that I would rather be ready to help in any way."

"Right. I'll see what I can do."

***

Richard cleaned up the mess that he had made. Who knew when he would have a chance to come by the workshop again. And it would be better for future Richard if he didn't have to clean up a mess that past Richard had left for him. He laughed at the thought. Usually past Richard hadn't been so kind to future Richard.

By the time he had everything cleaned up the news was back on. Only it wasn't any help at all. There was no way that it could have been. From what Jackie was saying there still were a lot of unknowns. And the news just kept on repeating that things were under control. And that plans were in place to deal with the orcs. People were advised to go about their normal day as best as they were able to.

He perked up when he realized that something new had been added to the loop. They were playing an interview with Premier Fred. He was looking sharp in a new suit that fitted his slimmed down body rather well. In the days prior there had been a lot of media coverage about him finally taking care of himself. Clips of him saying how he had decided to live a healthier life. And that the best way he could serve the province was to ensure that he would be around for a long time. Although Richard hadn't voted for Fred, he was happy that the Premier had made significant headway on his weight loss goals.

Outside of his new appearance the Premier talked about how the guilds in the province were making their best efforts to assemble strike teams. And how the federal government would be lending aid as well. Should anything go awry, the funding bump given to wall enforcement from a bill he passed would have a chance to show its worth. As that they were more than ready to deal with an orcish siege should it come to that.

Richard shook his head as the new news came to an end and once again started to repeat itself. There was only so much that he could do to help. And somehow, even though he knew that it was enough, he still wanted to do more. Was that how the people back at the time of the break felt? Before they knew how to gain levels in the dungeons they must have felt so helpless in front of the threat that was the break species.

Eventually Richard turned the TV off since all it was doing was causing him to doom spiral more and more. About an hour after Jackie had called him there was a knock at the door before Daniel opened it. He was followed by several members of the Swords and they all carried large boxes filled with materials.

"Hey Richard," Daniel said. "Got a rush order from Jackie. I hope that they aren't working you too hard over this. But anything and everything is going to help." While Daniel seemed a little pale that could have been the lighting of the chandelier.

"Don't worry about it. Doing what I can is what I can do. Hah. Well," Richard shrugged, "are the Swords going to be joining the fight?"

Daniel nodded. "Right. They are still trying to get numbers on the horde. But there appears to be a large amount. Though that's just what I've heard. No one has really said how many 'large' is." Daniel sighed. "Fighting in the dungeons is totally different from open combat. But we are in a better place now when compared to back then."

"Oh? Better how?" The helpers had already dropped off their boxes and had left the room.

"I can't say much right now. But I think that Jackie is working on getting you an invite to the command room tomorrow. So you'll be able to see then if you come. Otherwise, maybe it'll be on the news."

Richard blinked. "Wait? Command room? I'm just a crafter. I don't see how I could belong in such a place."

"Well. Grandma said that you are the only crafter in the clan so far. So that kind of means that you're at the top right? She tried to give you some fancy sounding title. But I forgot what it was."

Richard laughed and shook his head. "Just what has she tried to rope me into?"

"It's probably easier to just go along with it. The grandkids all learned to deal with her the same," Daniel said. Only the smile on his face and the dead look in his eyes didn't match with his words.

Richard sighed. "Whelp. I guess that I'll just deal with it later. And get to crafting, better to get the potions done sooner than later. Also you can take everything else on the other table. Jackie should already be expecting it."

"Hah? Really?" Daniel asked and looked to the second table in the room that was covered with completed potions. He then sighed. "We are going to need more boxes."

***

Richard spent the rest of the evening working through the rush order of potions. There were the standard healing, mana, and buff potions that he had crafted for the clan before. Just in higher numbers. Though there were a few things that were different.

100 Large Acid Potions. While they sounded like they would be pretty effective, if not gruesome, Richard was surprised to see them. From what he learned after the ratter invasion, it was possible for the Barrier skill to block ranged attacks. Maybe Jackie had a way to get around invisible magic walls?

Then there were 20 each of the elemental potions from that used the Brown Carapace Vials. They were a little more obvious. How terrifying would it be for a line of troops to open up with 20 gouts of flame, frost, or stone? Or ever better, nigh invisible metal attacks?

Finally there was an order for 20 Sleep Potions. While they seemed like a good idea. Putting an enemy to sleep would effectively take them out of the fight. More so should they be unable to wake as long as the potion was in effect. The problem was getting the potion onto or into the enemy. Armour could always get in the way. Though, if the had to drunk to be effective, wouldn't it make the potion too hard to use?

Once everything had been created Richard fired a message off to Jackie to let her know about it. He had already packed them into the boxes that had been brought with the materials inside. Though with the Large Acid Potions they would need some way to transport them as well.

Jackie thanked him right away. And let him know that if wanted to watch the fight he would be able to. All he needed to do was arrive at the building the next day before 7am. He groaned when he read the time and looked around the dining room. It probably would be possible to fit a cot in there with space to spare… Something to leave for later. While it would be handy to have at the moment, if he spent too much time at the workshop it would be too much like being stuck in a basement. Just because there was a window to a 30 story drop didn't change that fact.

After thinking about it, Richard found himself looking out the same window. Darkness had fallen and the city spread out before him. There were several groupings of lights where the burbs and commercial centers were. With headlights from cars and buses moving between them. There were still dark patches where the land was waiting to be reclaimed, to be given use again. Everything that he could see was built up from the ruins left after the break. Paid for with lives and blood by people like the members of the Mourning Horn.

He turned out the lights and locked the door while mulling over what the next day would bring.