Non-Textbook Crafter

"It really is not like the Slime I knew."

"Or maybe it is if they were stronger."

Ar and Stugrd have finished the hunt with the Slime. It went well but, it was not like what they expected at first.

"Yeah. It's merely a single slime that only has a pounce attack, but it's definitely not a thing to be taken lightly."

Ar took a closer look at the Slime's latest location. It didn't drop any carcass like the other and only left some items on the ground.

"Well, I think they reuse this. It's the same game too after all. Nothing wrong." Ar picked the dropped item and showed it to Stugrd.

"'Slime's Nucleus' and 'Slime Gel'. It makes me remember those nostalgic memories. The Slime Hunting Department might have their comeback here."

Hearing the topic that also tickled his nostalgic memory, Ar couldn't help but also respond with a giggle.

"Haha. And with the addition of 'producing' class, the 'Department' might circulate better. Wait-"

Ar was stopped in his sentence. Something passed through his mind while talking about the topic.

"What is it?" Stugrd was curious about the abrupt change.

"We hit a jackpot."

Tilted his head since he was not so sure about where would the topic brought, Stugrd only waited for the additional explanation.

"Slime Hunting Department was made to meet the demand of the high level dungeon. And here, we have an 'Alchemist'."

Stugrd lighted a bulb and got what Ar said. Slime dropped item was needed for high level potions or to be exact, any kind of recovery potions. The most demanded supply in the high level area.

"That's true. Although, it can't be done easily now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. I used 18 out of my 20 bolt for a single Slime. We can't farm it."

After Ar said it, he gave the Slime's dropped item to the only Civilian in the party.

"Can you use it? Umm, what is this Alchemist anyway? Under what kind of path is it? You even able to contribute to the battle first hand."

Korka himself was not that ready to interact with Ar, but even under the unstable condition, he tried to respond fully.

"It is under [Crafter] the same as Blacksmith. While Blacksmith itself works to convert materials into better solid items, Alchemist mixtures materials into, mainly liquids."

Korka picked the item and examined it for quite a bit. Ar wanted to continue the questions while continuing with their search. He gestured Stugrd to take a lead.

"Safer path?"

Stugrd confirmed a nod from Ar and decided a path they will be heading. The others followed him from behind.

"Those potions sell by the merchants, were they made by Alchemist?"

"Yes, there's Alchemist Guild back then on the Village and also here on the City. The apprentice sells the successful product to the merchant."

"Successful product?"

"Yes, the fixed and regulated potions set by the Guild. Only those who met the standards can be sold."

A lizardman was on their sight and Stugrd signaled them to hide.

"You chose the place where the Lizardmen is around?"

Ar was flustered by the path picked. The Lizardmen had higher levels of difficulty compared to the Slime. On top of that, they were a humanoid monster with a certain degree of intelligence and chain of command. That was the distinctive difference that separated the humanoid monster from the rest.

"But, that's the most logical thing possible, isn't it?"

"Okay, I agree. If it's become a rescue mission, there's no way the Wolfkin was captured by the Slime."

They chose to take a detour since the lizardmen looked like they had no plan to move.

"How about your flask? It looks like you have plenty of them in your inventory."

Ar continued to fill in his curiosity.

"I stea- I mean, I picked the failure product."

"So you steal them from the Guild?"

"No. I picked it since they will get rid of it, regardless. After all, they only care about the textbook. They wouldn't care about the failure. They only accept the success product."

Korka used some appraisal stone to the Slime's loot while answering it. He did it while steadily following Ar's step beside him.

"But, they create potions, not poisons. How can you have an inflammable flask?"

"Isn't that what Alchemist supposed to do? Create mixtures and construct reactions. If it's a failure product, you can enchant its failure."

He brought out a flask from his inventory.

"This flask was not accepted because it produced a very bad smell. Isn't it common sense for us players to pick it? How can they threw it just for some contribution."

"A 'repel', huh?"

"Yes, but I can't give you a taste of its smell. It has strengthened for some folds."

They continued the conversation for the time being.

The party had move further from the designated location and their starting checkpoint.

Fortunately, the area has the design from the other hunting ground Ar has explored. One to another monster spawn location was quite far. Their sneak was successful so far thanks for that feature.

"That's good for you guys to become closer, but I think we can't continue further."

Stugrd signaled them to take another detour. He has listened to their conversation quietly from the beginning and tease them for a bit.

"Wait, Gerd!" Ar stopped them from moving to another track.

The reason for Stugard to choose a detour was because of the large number of Slimes that inhabited the area.

Dozens of them surrounded the area.

"Are you not curious?"

"Curious of what?"

"This big number of Slimes. While what we found so far was only one Slime or a pack of 3 Lizardmen."

"But, our focus is the quest, the Wolfkin."

"At least, we have an overpowered item for this matter."

Ar has dug in more information about Korka and his capability. The 'Repellant Flask' he owned has a strong area effect and worth a try. To be exact, he wanted to try.

"Okay, then." Stugrd gave his approval.

Korka gave the flask to Ar. The color of the flask was dark green. The Alchemist strongly prohibited him from opening the cover. He said that the smell might give them PTSD worse than from pummeled by dozens of Demonic Apes.

"But, how can I estimate my throw power. I have no confidence in it."

They were covered behind a big boulder. The distance between them and the Slimes was quite far.

"Let me do it." Stugrd proposed it. Since the game's attribute had more or less some effect on the character, his [STR] might do the work optimally.

The flask was thrown right into the middle of the crowd. That was quite an accurate throw.

Once the flask made a contact with the ground, it broke and released a considerable amount of gases. It formed a green cloud that covered the whole area nearby.

"Shit! Somehow it stinks just by looking at it." Ar covered his nose reflexively. The other two just responded with a chuckle.

"Is there any chance that they'll run to us?" Ar asked. The cloud pretty much covered his field of vision and he could only see some silhouettes of the Slime running around.

"Maybe one or two. They will be running away from the source of the smell. So, we need to hide if some of them run to us." Korka answered.

"Wait, they are bigger than the one we fought earlier, huh?" Stugrd focused his eyes on a Slime that was outside of the cloudy area.

"Shit! It's 'black'!" They couldn't have the basic information shown before the distance between them reach a certain range.

The Slime bounced its body hastily to ran away from the area. The track of its run was quite a bit in their direction. Nonetheless, they hide to prevent the worst.

Ar took some walk to moved away from the other two. He said that he needed to have some preparation. The 'black' difficulty Slime might have a sharper and quicker attack pattern that they couldn't avoid. The stall tactic like earlier wouldn't work.

At the lower ground, Ar opened a virtual screen.

"Silv, do you have any data about teleport items?"

"I do. It can not be obtained in a convenient way, but it exists."

Ar nod after hearing the answer.

"Then, it's possible that Harden has that item. I can't believe he can act that calm with such threats around."

"Yes, it is possible. Such items are provided to help Adventurers with Quest. Items that able to teleport them back to the checkpoint are listed on the Adventurer Guide Journal."

Ar confirmed the things he wanted to know while creating more 'infused bolt'.

The duration of the 'Repellant Flask' lasted for quite long. Until the cloud was completely gone, they couldn't raid the place. He decided to focus on his craft.

Ding!

After spending quite a time, a notification appeared before him. Ar was so surprised after reading the content of the notification.

[System]: Congratulations! You unlocked a new skill!