by Zhuang Bifan
All the people present were either wealthy or respectable, and they were all prominent figures in Jarrosus. Even the lowest among them were the cronies of the leaders of a certain force. How could they not hear the meaning behind Old Grimm Burnside's words?
They had even gotten jealous of Lin Li's good luck.
Those words almost meant that Old Grimm had taken interest in a talent and would like to guide this young mage in pharmaceutics!
Just think… He was one of the most important figures in the Pharmacists Guild. With the guidance of a master like him, it was not impossible to join the Pharmacists Guild in the future.
The silence in the hall was frightening. Everyone's eyes fell on Lin Li's face. They would like to see whether the young mage would be able to continue keeping his calm in front of a godsent of an opportunity like this.
"You flatter me…" Lin Li smiled modestly. No one had expected to hear the words that followed. "But I've indeed encountered a lot of problems lately, so it would be great if I could talk to you about it. Do you have time now? Why don't we go over there for a drink?"
As soon as Lin Li uttered these words, a few guests fainted right on the spot.
Everyone looked at him as if they were looking at an idiot. Many had begun cursing in their hearts, How did such an idiot come out from the Guild of Magic? It was such a good opportunity to become Master Grimm's apprentice and he literally wanted to discuss with the master? Damn your stupid discussion…
Some were even suspecting that he was deranged after Bathrilor's sneak attack. How could such a clever-looking kid utter such idiotic words?
"Uh… I have time…" Old Grimm wiped his cold sweat off secretly. He was beginning to doubt Andoine's vision. However, he had already said the words and it wasn't good to take them back on the spot. He made up his mind to test Lin Li with a few difficult questions to see if he could come up with some constructive ideas. If he was satisfied with the answers, he would guide him; if he was not satisfied, then he'd use this as an excuse to leave…
Lin Li lifted his head and glanced around the banquet hall, only to find the place a mess due to the sneak attacks he and Bathrilor made on each other. At the moment, there was not a clean and secluded place in sight…
Just as he was at a loss, Old Grimm stretched out his hand and pointed in a direction behind him. "Let's sit there."
Chapter 59 - Sobriety Potion
The legendary mage wanted to talk to Lin Li alone; who'd be insensible enough to intrude? Although the guests were curious, they had to disperse… albeit slowly. At the instruction of the Castellan, a servant came shortly to pick up Bathrilor, who was still in a coma, and soon the banquet hall was restored to its previous state.
The crystal chandeliers still emitted the soft light, and the music still sounded soothing and gentle.
The fatty continued to introduce his daughter to Kevin; the aunty with the full bosom continued to speak coquettishly; the mercenary guests were still working hard to secure their personal gains, and deals were picked up where they were left off previously.
It was as if the prior chaos had never happened before, and everything was back as it used to be at the beginning.
A few folding screens separated the quiet corner which was slightly dim under the hazy crystal lights, providing a suitable place for guests to talk about confidential matters. The old and young each found a chair to sit, and when they were about to speak, they were embarrassed to discover that there were others in the secluded corner. For a moment, both of them were stunned.
The tears had dried on Rowling's pretty face. Before the startled eyes of both men, she called out timidly, "Grandpa Grimm."
"Heh heh, so it's little Rowling." Old Grimm's smile was amiable, and the eyes that looked at Rowling were affectionate and kind. "Come, tell Gramps, why are you sitting here alone?"
Rowling glanced at Lin Li with a complex expression on her flushed face and said softly, "It's too noisy outside, I wanted to be alone…"
"Heh heh, then come and sit with Grandpa Grimm." Old Grimm had taught Rowling some knowledge of pharmacy because of his friendship with her grandfather, but he was caught up with something else and did not have the time to teach her anymore. Nevertheless, he had always liked this little girl who was proficient in medicinal skills. He had even had the idea of bringing her into the Pharmacists Guild.
In Old Grimm's mind, he was about to advise Lin Li anyway. It might be better to have the little girl sit in and listen as well, perhaps she could learn something. Despite his intentions, Old Grimm still asked Lin Li politely for his opinion. "Kid, is it okay with you?"
"Okay…" Since the old man had already spoken, Lin Li would not refute him in his face. Furthermore, it was not a secret matter; there was no harm letting Rowling listen to it.
Lin Li shifted his chair to make room for Rowling. The three of them sat down again around the table. Old Grimm then nodded at Lin Li and signalled that he could ask his questions.
"Please have a look at this bottle of Sobriety Potion." Lin Li pulled out a blue glass bottle from his pocket and passed it across to Grimm Burnside.
"Mm…" Old Grimm took the glass bottle. He removed the cap and brought the bottle close to his nose, taking in a slight whiff.
Then, Rowling, who had been sitting there quietly, noticed the look on Old Grimm's face changed at once. It was a look of disbelief, as if what he had seen was not a blue glass bottle, but an elephant bitten to death by an ant.
"This is impossible. Is this really the Sobriety Potion?" Old Grimm's eyes were wide open; he looked at Lin Li with a face full of doubt. "What's added in it?"
"Some netherbloom, and a little dracaena grass." Lin Li scratched his head, his expression troubled. "Recently, I have been trying to increase the concentration of the Sobriety Potion. In order to make the Sobriety Potion possess a higher degree of purity, I've tried over 30 kinds of herbs. In the end, I realized that if I mix netherbloom together with the dracaena grass, I'll get a similar effect. But…"
"But what?" Old Grimm was anxious at this point. He was a mage, so he knew very well what a concentrated Sobriety Potion would mean to mages—a longer time to cast a spell and a faster recovery of the mana.
The Sobriety Potion had been criticized for its short-lived effects; a bottle of Sobriety Potion could only last for ten seconds. Hence, even within the Pharmacists Guild, very few people would make the Sobriety Potion. Even if they occasionally did concoct one or two bottles, they were usually given as alms to the Guild of Magic.
When Lin Li said that he was "trying to increase the concentration of the Sobriety Potion", Old Grimm wanted to talk him out of it. The same attempts had been made by the Pharmacists Guild, but no one had achieved anything so far.
The potion itself was an extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e thing. All kinds of conflicting medicinal properties maintained a delicate and fragile balance in a small bottle of potion.
In particular, prescriptions like the Sobriety Potion, which had been passed down from the Dark Ages, had long been proven ones that could not be improved.
So, Old Grimm was completely stunned when he opened the bottle cap. Just this bottle of Sobriety Potion was enough to subvert the knowledge of most pharmacists.
He had always thought that the genius pharmacist in the words of Andoine's mouth was merely a young man with a gift in pharmaceutics; perhaps a little more gifted than Rowling, but definitely not by much, since Rowling was a rare talent after all.
However, when Lin Li had finished his sentence, Old Grimm realized that he had been wrong, and he was ridiculously wrong at that.
This young mage, Felic, was not a genius at all, but a potion master who had already achieved great success. He even had a good chance to surpass the mastery level in a very short time.
It was then that Old Grimm understood why this young mage Felic had been so brazen earlier to want to discuss with him…
… He was really qualified to do so. Lin Li had no intention to be
an apprentice, nor had he thought of asking for advice. He simply considered Old Grimm as a peer for discussion.
After he had straightened out the matters, Old Grimm could not help feeling his face burn despite having lived for over a hundred years… It felt as if he had rushed forward with excitement but was suddenly slapped in the face. The embarrassment mingled with a sense of loss, so the look on Old Grimm's face was extremely complicated.
But Old Grimm was not like those young people in general. He had already lived for a hundred years and learnt to take things easy. That endless embarrassment was soon forgotten by him, and he turned his attention to discussing the Sobriety Potion with Lin Li.
However, this time, Old Grimm did not dare to treat him as a junior who needed advice, but a potion master who was qualified for a discussion together.
Chapter 60 - Ambition
"But…" Lin Li shook his head helplessly. "After adding the netherbloom and dracaena grass, the concentration for the Sobriety Potion was indeed increased, but it also has potent side effects. I've tried drinking a little bit of it last time and it led to an extreme mental confusion. If it's the whole bottle…"
"So serious?" Old Grimm was slightly startled. A little of it would cause mental confusion; then, if one were to drink the whole bottle, wouldn't it cause a complete mental breakdown?
"Mm…" Lin Li nodded and spoke no more.
He had been really vexed by it lately. Ever since he had concocted the Arcane Magic Potion, Gerian had been pestering him to come up with some other potions no matter how to enhance the strength of the mages in the Guild of Magic. Lin Li had given it some thought at that time and felt it necessary as well. Although the Guild of Magic had ultimately risen, its influence was contained only in Jarrosus City.
Outside Jarrosus, there was a handful of forces hostile to the Guild of Magic, such as the one of the middle-aged man whom Lin Li had met when he first arrived in Jarrosus—the middle-aged man represented a force called the Shadow's Nest.
Because there were many rare mineral veins in the Demon Fall Valley, many forces were coveting that fertile land. Among them, the Shadow's Nest was the most direct; they had asked the Guild of Magic several times to leave the Demon Fall Valley, and even assassinated several guild mages as a threat.
The Guild of Magic today was far from being able to rest easy.
Lin Li was not an ungrateful man. He knew most clearly how everyone in the Guild of Magic treated him. Gerian, in particular, had even bet the guild's future on him. At that point, Lin Li felt obligated to contribute to the guild.
After a slight deliberation, he had chosen the Sobriety Potion.
In terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Sobriety Potion was the most cost-effective among the formulas Lin Li knew.
Three kinds of inexpensive herbs and an uncomplicated concoction process could produce an overstepping effect, plus a small amount of mana restoration.
And in the process of preparation, Lin Li also had the most intuitive understanding of the shortcomings of the Sobriety Potion.
Of course, these Sobriety Potions were enough for ordinary mages, especially the ones in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. That was the smell of Sobriety Potion that they might never get a whiff of in a decade. It was a good thing that they got to have a taste of it; how would they still complain that the effect's duration was too short?
However, Lin Li, a pharmaceutics guru, would never be content with it. He had much more to consider than ordinary mages.
Ever since he had become a guru of all five series, he had always wanted to go even further and enter the illusory realm of the Divine Smith.
The near-infinite power of the Scroll of Wishes hadn't allowed him to enter directly into the realm of the Divine Smith, because the realm itself transcended the scope of knowledge and skills. This was more of an abstruse realm, and the phrase "a skill approaching the practice of Tao" was most likely referring to such a dimension.
It was because of this ambition that Lin Li had never stopped moving forward.
Although he was already a guru of all five series and had already reached the peak of his profession, Lin Li knew very well that there was still the illusory Divine Smith beyond this peak.
This was the difference between Lin Li and ordinary pharmacists.
Almost all the pharmacists, including Grimm Burnside, followed the formulas strictly. They had never considered the reasons why they had to do this or why they could not do that. They were bound by their imagination and dared not break the inherent rules. They might have the chance to reach the realm of a guru by their own efforts, but they would never be able to reach the realm of a Divine Smith.
After completing 100 bottles of Sobriety Potion, Lin Li had been wondering whether there was a way to prolong its effects.
Increasing the concentration of the potion was undoubtedly the most direct way, so Lin Li performed a series of experiments.
Unfortunately… At present, his experiments were a failure.
At least, he couldn't solve the problem of mental confusion caused by the increased concentration.
And Old Grimm, who was from the Pharmacists Guild, naturally became the best partner to have a discussion with.
In order to discuss with Old Grimm, he could even tolerate Rowling's presence, which was a very rare thing with his obstinacy.
Old Grimm thought for a very long time, but still could not quite grasp the reason behind it, so he asked in puzzlement, "I can understand the netherbloom is used for purification, but why do you add in the dracaena grass?"
"Besides being used for purifying, the netherbloom also has the effect of stimulating the growth of mental strength, which effect can be further amplified after heating. But the Sobriety Potion itself has the knot elixir which can also stimulate the growth of mental strength. The addition of netherbloom will cause a loss in balance of the medicinal properties, so I added the dracaena grass. When the potion reaches its boiling point, the calming effects of the dracaena grass will curb the medicinal properties of the netherbloom…" Lin Li said as he dipped his hand in the red wine and listed down a few equations on the table to explain the whole process more clearly.
Old Grimm listened attentively. It felt like he returned to decades ago, when he was still an apprentice, looking at his teacher with eyes full of the thirst for knowledge and listening to him explain mysterious and complex potion formulas to himself. He had completely forgotten Lin Li's age and was simply immersed in the knowledge of potions.
Rowling sat there quietly, listening to the conversation of the two men, but her gaze resting on Lin Li was more complicated than before.
She knew Lin Li was a pharmacist back at Ina's place. But Rowling had not imagined that he would be qualified to discuss pharmaceutical knowledge with Grandpa Grimm, and even dominating the discussion to some degree!
Rowling's pharmaceutical attainments had completely failed to keep up with their thinking. The equations listed down on the table were like Greek to her. But Rowling knew what kind of figure Grandpa Grimm was. He was someone of a mastery level, and even within the Pharmacists Guild, he was considered one of the most important members.
Looking at the old man who was listening modestly at the moment, Rowling had some doubts in her mind. Is this really Grandpa Grimm?
If I could learn potion knowledge from him… Rowling took another glance at Lin Li with a complex expression. The idea that had been abandoned earlier bred quietly in her heart once more, and this time, it was firmer than before.
Chapter 61 - An Idea
The increased concentration of the Sobriety Potion leading to mental confusion after consumption was a very complicated problem in itself. It involved almost astronomical changes and conflicts. Other than a pharmacist of the Divine Smith level, there was probably no one else who could grasp each and every change in the potion.
The old and the young in the seats were considered top figures in pharmaceutics—one was a master and the other a guru. But they
had talked for a long time and yet still failed to figure out any solution. Instead, Old Grimm learnt a lot from the discussion. What he had never heard nor thought about before came up in his head all at once, and all kinds of unheard of novel theories had been an eye-opener for Old Grimm.
As for Rowling, who was listening at the side, it all sounded Greek to her.
She only had a superficial knowledge of potions anyway, and sitting in front of her were a master and a guru in pharmaceutics. What they were discussing was already beyond Rowling's understanding, so at the end, she simply couldn't hear what the two men were talking about. She merely sat there, looking at Lin Li with a complicated expression, many times about to speak but saying nothing in the end…
"Mage Felic, I've got a few ideas these few days. Do you think it will work?" As the conversation went on, Old Grimm's tone changed from one of discussion to one of asking for advice.
"Oh?" Although the discussion failed to help solve the problems of the Sobriety Potion, Lin Li could feel from their conversation that Old Grimm really deserved the title of a master pharmacist. After all, it was decades of acc.u.mulated experience. There were some things that sounded new to a guru like him as well. Hearing that Old Grimm had come up with a question, Lin Li's interest was piqued as well. "Tell me about it, maybe we can study about it together."
"It's like that…"
Old Grimm had just begun to speak when someone else walked into the secluded corner.
Lin Li lifted his head and saw Kevin walking towards them with an anxious expression on his face. Something must have happened—Kevin looked tense and his footsteps were hurried; worry was written all over his fair face.
"Felic… Something has happened."
"What happened? Don't rush, speak slowly." Lin Li's heart tightened at his words. Kevin had always acted with poise, possessing a demeanor that wouldn't flip even if a mountain collapsed before his eyes. Lin Li had never seen him so fl.u.s.tered after being in the Guild of Magic for so long, especially when the first thing that he said was actually "something has happened"!