Blacklisted

"Eli, you're an incredibly skilled potion maker."

Bonnie complimented, admiring his proficiency in his craft.

"Alchemist."

He corrected with a grin.

"I must excel at something to enhance my other skills."

He added.

"Before, I had to repeat this process at least a hundred times, but now I have these chemical replicators. Willow created them after studying the exceedingly rare Dwarven Boozehound's Backpack."

He explained as he moved the potions to a wall lined with barrels on shelves. Turning to her with a chuckle, he placed a potion inside a box-like device in front of a barrel. After depositing it, he inserted the box into the barrel and twisted the valve, filling a 50 ml glass bottle with the potion.

"Now, thanks to this device, each barrel can produce approximately a thousand potions daily. I just need to supply an original potion each day. And before you ask, no, we cannot use a copy to create another copy. It doesn't work; I've tried."

He concluded.

-A few days later-

"Hey, why did you set a ward to silence your home?"

A short old man inquired, peering up at Bonnie with a lecherous gaze.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we were receiving too many complaints from the neighbors."

Bonnie responded with a look of disgust as the old man continued to leer at her.

"Curse those nosy neighbors! I bought the building next to yours for nothing. Fine, give me 1.5 million Gems and the house is yours."

The lecherous old man declared, attempting to recoup his investment.

"I'm sorry, but we are not a charity, sir."

Bonnie retorted as she turned away.

The lecherous old man scrunched his nose, clasping his hands behind his back.

"That's my building over there."

He claimed, pointing at a building similar to theirs next to the store.

Bonnie had the funds to buy it, and she was interested in acquiring more property.

"There's no way I'll pay you 1.5 million Gems for the house after whatever unsavory activities you've conducted there. I'll offer you 500,000 Gems for it."

"Ah, bunny girl, that's highway robbery! 1.4 million Gems."

The old man countered.

"700,000, and you can keep everything inside."

Bonnie considered that a reasonable offer, given what he might have done there.

"1 million, and you can keep everything inside."

The lecherous, diminutive elder replied, grinning with self-satisfaction.

"What did you do inside?"

She inquired, then immediately shook her head, regretting the question.

"Actually, don't answer that. I'd rather not know."

"Well?"

The impatient old man prodded.

"Fine, fine, bring me the legal papers, and you'll have your 1 million Gems."

Bonnie responded, dismissively gesturing with her hand.

"I'll be back!"

With that, the old man hurried off, and true to his word, he quickly returned with the documents.

Bonnie meticulously reviewed the documents, scrutinizing every word for any detrimental terms. After confirming their safety, she signed the papers and handed over the payment. She was now the satisfied owner of a property akin to her current residence, a strategic investment she was confident would yield returns in the future.

Having some free time, she inspected her new building and was surprised that everything was normal, she was expecting to find something shocking. As she inspected almost every room and found them in perfect condition, until she checked the guest bedroom that was right next to their side of the building. The things that she saw in there scarred her for life and made her want to burn the building whole.

After acquiring a new building, Bonnie repurposed it to provide housing for a group of orphans whom the guild employed to collect herbs. In doing so, she gave them a real home while they served as laborers in Eli's potion bottling operation.

Now, with the production of thousands of potions daily and the help of two store clerks, customer traffic steadily increased as more products became available. The clientele was primarily Adventurers, with an occasional noble from the town.

Eli's store was becoming well-known, albeit primarily on a local scale. On Terra, news did not travel as swiftly as it did on Earth.

Upon learning about the existence of television on Terra, Eli considered advertising his wares. However, he was disheartened to find out that television was reserved for emergency announcements and significant events.

It was less surprising to learn that mostly bars, supplied by the kingdom, and a select few nobles owned TVs, given their exorbitant cost. He also discovered weapons resembling guns. These were hefty relics that fired iron pellets and darts, were powered by Magic Stones, and were priced above 180,000 Gems.

As he finished reminiscing, he completed brewing potions to open the store. Now an S Rank Alchemist, his failures were infrequent, occurring only when fatigue caused a lapse in concentration.

For the time being, Eli handed the potions to his diminutive workers in the basement and retreated to his underground laboratory, crafted with his Transmutation Skill. While taking a nap, a knock at the door roused him, revealing a clerk standing outside, evidently in need of assistance. Anticipating her request, he gestured for her to lead the way.

"5,000 Gems? Isn't that exorbitant for a single Health Potion?!"

Eli's attention turned to an elderly gentleman in opulent attire, berating his clerks.

With a disdainful "Tsk," Eli prepared to confront the man. Owning the shop granted him authority; he set the rules. Should any customer attempt to disrupt his day, he was ready to ban them outright.

"Too much, you say?"

Eli spoke, drawing attention to the man's attire. Fancy clothing, rings on his fingers, and an expensive-looking cane in hand. The man clearly had money to spare.

"Why, yes, sir! 5,000 Gems for a single Health Potion that might not even work? That's just outrageous."

In the past, Eli's first impulse would have been to apologize, assure him that the Health Potions worked, and offer a demonstration to placate him. But now, as his own boss, he didn't need to do that.

"I'm sorry to hear you don't have enough Gems to purchase our potions. Please step aside as you're blocking the line, sir."

Eli said with a sneering smirk.

"What? I didn't say that!"

The man was visibly offended by his words.

"Then what seems to be the problem, sir?"

Eli asked, the smirk still on his face.

"I'm saying that you're clearly overcharging for those potions!"

A few people from behind even agreed, and the man's smirk grew confident.

"I see, so you know a place where they sell these products for less than mine?"

Eli inquired. Before the man could respond, he continued.

"Then please, go and purchase them there and stop holding up the line. Thank you, come again!"

"W-what?"

The man deflated, unable to believe the response he'd received.

"There are other customers waiting, so please, don't block the line, sir."

Eli continued, his smirk unwavering.

The man stared at Eli for a moment before letting out an angry harrumph. He attempted to slap Eli, but the moment he did, he was enveloped in light and vanished from the store. To everyone's astonishment, he reappeared outside, face-down on the street near the entrance.

Eli collected the 5,000 Gems from the counter, stepped outside, and tossed the Health Potion to the man.

"Thank you for your purchase, sir! And please refrain from returning as you have been blacklisted!"

"Dear customers, as you have witnessed, anyone attempting to harm my family, employees, store, or merchandise will be expelled by the building's ward. Three offenses and you will be permanently blacklisted."

Eli allowed the clerks to resume serving the customers, who were now reassured.

The complaints ceased after the incident. The Weak Potions sold out quicker than anticipated, but Eli had priced them at only 10 Gems each and had a stock of 5,000.

He had successfully transmuted 100,000 glass vials and had his workforce fill them.

"Dear customers, I am pleased to announce that more potions will be in stock within an hour."

Eli informed the crowd still waiting in line. Despite their grumbles, he continued unfazed.

"If you cannot wait, there will be a restock tomorrow. Please check back in the next few days."

A few impatient customers left the store with frowns, but the majority remained, eager to purchase his affordable potions. They were unable to afford the city Apothecary Guild's prices for antidotes, potions, and treatments. The Apothecary Guild served as the equivalent of a pharmacy with doctors in this world.

His Health Potions, highly coveted, became a sensation in Carthage and yielded substantial profits. As he perused his collection of Alchemy books—Beginners Alchemy, Novice Alchemy, Apprentice Alchemy, Adept Alchemy, Expert Alchemy, and Master Alchemy.

However, he realized that only the first three volumes were usable. The advanced volumes required the blood of high-ranking creatures or rare magical liquids and rare ingredients.

Eli's joy multiplied when he constructed a third subbasement measuring 100 meters in length and 50 meters in width. This space was dedicated to cultivating his own potion ingredients, using seeds from the herbs he utilized in potion-making, complemented by solar lamps and water pumps fashioned by Willow.

New Potion:

Healing Potion Restore 25% of Health (Close wounds, Restore limps, Regenerate 4% health per second for 3 minutes)

RACE: Sun Elf

NAME: Eli Rivers

Level: D-

Job Level: 1

Health Points: 6,530

Mana Points: 6,465

Stamina Points: 8,570

Attunement: 13

Vitality: 13

Endurance: 17

Strength: 14

Dexterity: 19

Perception: 15

Skill: 16

Charisma: 16

Luck: 18

Skill Points: 5

Job History: Adventure, Alchemist