Asher's Family

The little girl couldn't continue her words as she burst into more tears. Liam quickly went to her, holding her in his arms.

Without a word, Liam went to another room in the house where he found a figure who was going back to sleep as she was done wiping her mouth.

Looking down, he saw blood strained over the floor.

Liam observed the woman who was now sleeping ruggedly. She was pale and very thin. At a glance, anyone could see that she was suffering from illness.

Because of the family's poor condition, this woman was confined to this house instead of being in the hospital.

Liam recalled Asher's memories of painstakingly making potions to cure his mom.

Even though he was an Alchemist, Asher had not been particularly talented. In the first place, he was not a player of IGO.

His knowledge was limited, so the best potions he could make were C-rank Health and Mana potions.

He had been selling these potions to save enough money for his mother's hospital treatment.

But selling basic potions was not a very profitable business, as one had to buy ingredients. Additionally, he had to compete with the large supply in the market, which drastically lowered the price of basic potions.

At this rate, his mother would die before he could save enough money to treat her.

Liam remembered how shaken Asher had been when he saw his mother cough up more blood that morning. When he saw his mom smile as if the pain were nothing, Asher felt despair. He felt useless and helpless in their situation.

This was the reason why Liam had found himself with a rope wrapped around his neck when he woke up.

Having recently experienced it himself, he knew too well how helplessness could affect a person's mind.

'You can rest in peace. I will take care of your family from now on.'

Liam offered a silent prayer and made a promise. He placed the crying child beside the sick woman, instructing her to hold her mother's hand.

He went back to the previous room and opened the cabinet where several flasks and plant herbs were stored.

These were the supplies Asher had collected to make another batch of basic health potions.

Liam took everything and placed it on the floor.

The plant was a herb called Jasmin. Among medicinal plants, it was the lowest rank. It was commonly used for fever and coughs, but by brewing the herb, it was possible to produce a health potion.

Liam held the mortar and started mashing the Jasmin herb together with the Springfield flower, a type of flower used for making basic mana potions.

While doing this, he conjured magic water from his fingertips—one without a form—and mixed it directly with the sap.

The normal process for basic health potions involved extracting the sap from the Jasmin herb, mixing it with water, and boiling it for a certain time.

But this was just the normal process.

Expert Alchemists had other methods for brewing potions that involved different techniques.

By replacing ordinary water with magic water, the sap would be imbued with more magical properties, increasing the potion's potency.

However, the magic water needed to be formless—meaning it was not water produced by any water-conjuring spells. Additionally, a [Stability Catalyst] should be present, such as the Springfield flower.

After mixing the sap and magic water, Liam placed everything in a large bowl instead of brewing it on the stove.

With a deep breath, he began to concentrate, reaching out with his senses to tap into the invisible energy around him.

[Amassing]

Slowly, mana began to gather at the top of his palm, responding to his will.

[Sequestration]

[Refining]

The amassed mana began to filter through his mental command.

By using the sequestration process, he separated the fire mana from the impurities or the unwanted mana types in the surroundings.

Then after that, he began refining the separated mana to increase its purity.

These operations came naturally to him, given that he had been doing these for years.

However, because his Elemental Manipulation skill was still at the apprentice level, he noticed that he could only refine the fire mana up to 65% purity.

Nevertheless, he was still grateful because he was confident it wouldn't drop below 50%, which the system considered a failure. This was due to his 100% success rate in Elemental Manipulation.

Seeing the multicolored mana floating on his palm change color to red, Liam manipulated it again.

[Converge]

[Desublimate]

The refined fire mana swirled, converging at the center of his palm, slowly molding into a single bead until it completely solidified. The result was something akin to a red pearl.

⟨Your expertise in Elemental Manipulation has greatly risen!⟩

⟨Modified Apprentice Elemental Manipulation 1 >> 5⟩

Liam put the red pearl into the bowl.

The unique heat emitted by the red pearl directly boiled the sap of the Jasmin herb, brewing it in the process.

After five minutes, the boiling eventually stopped, and the previously dark, murky sap became a clear red liquid.

⟨You have crafted an S-rank Basic Health Potion!⟩

⟨Error!⟩

⟨The excess rank is converted into the potion's mutator!⟩

⟨You have performed the technique, "Potion Brewing through Desublimation of Fire Mana"⟩

⟨Your expertise in Potion Brewing has greatly risen!⟩

⟨Modified Apprentice Potion Brewing 1 >> 5⟩

⟨You have received 50% EXP!⟩

Notifications flashed before his eyes.

Even with the limited materials, he had managed to make an S-rank Basic Health Potion. This was due to the added catalyst and the alchemy technique he had used.

The technique known as [Potion Brewing through Desublimation of Fire Mana] was an advanced alchemy technique. It involved using solidified fire mana as the source of fire to brew potions.

While many master Alchemists utilized fire mana, this technique's approach was unique in that it directly transformed fire mana from its gaseous state to a solid state.

This shortcut preserved many of the magical properties that would typically be lost if the mana were still converted into a liquid state, thereby enhancing the effects of the potions.

However, Liam had thought he could only make D-rank potions, regardless of the technique used, because that was what his skills indicated.

He didn't expect the system to consider the true rank.

But what surprised him even more was the accompanying notification.

'Mutator? As in, equipment mutator?'

Liam was familiar with the term mutator. In the game IGO, there was an item called the Equipment Mutator. This item granted additional abilities, whether active or passive, that could enhance a weapon or tools.

In fact, Liam had used equipment mutators for his golems, extending their power arsenals.

Greatly curious, he inspected the potion's stats and saw an additional description.

---

[Basic Health Potion]

Rank: D-rank

Effects: Heals minor cuts and bruises and offers more noticeable relief from pain.

Mutator effects: If the body has or sustains a major wound within an hour after drinking this potion, it will automatically heal.

---

'This is...'

Liam was surprised by the effects. Although this was not the numerical effect he typically saw in IGO, he knew that the basic health potion could heal as described in the effect.

What surprised him was the mutator effects. This was the first time a consumable item had a mutator.

"And to heal a major wound at that. It was as if a C-rank Intermediate health potion!"

Liam couldn't believe it. When he thought his skills were already unusual, he realized they were even more absurd.

He couldn't help but anticipate what other modifications had occurred to his skills.

But for now, he continued making the potions. He took some flasks and filled them with the potion. He made a total of ten basic health potions, and all of them had mutators.

Liam stood up and quickly went to the other room with the potions in hand. Arriving at the room, he found Hanna, the little girl, still holding her mother's hand.

Drowsiness stretched across her face, but she continued to hold her mother's hand tightly. Liam couldn't help but gently pat the child's head.

"Hanna, if you're sleepy, you should go to bed."

Liam said and carried Hanna to her bed.

"Brother... Is mom going to be okay?"

"Of course. This brother will save your mom. So pray for her, okay?"

Liam assured the child, a bit late to realize that he said it from an outsider's perspective. Although the little girl didn't seem to mind.

"Okay!"

Hanna replied in a sleepy voice.

After placing Hanna in her bed, she quickly fell asleep, exhausted from crying.

Liam returned to Ayesha, Asher's mother, and administered the health potion.

She was so weak that she couldn't even open her eyelids. But probably because she was accustomed to Asher giving her potions, she drank the potion without much difficulty.

Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep.

Deep sleep was one of the effects of health potions on sick NPCs in the game, and it seemed to be the same for ordinary people in the real world.

After drinking the potion, Ayesha's rough breathing became steady, as she was now sleeping soundly.

Liam was relieved to see the potion's immediate effects. He felt that the mutator effects had healed a major wound inside Ayesha.

However, the potion would only provide temporary relief from pain. It could primarily heal fever and coughs, and although the mutator somehow healed the internal wound in Ayesha, a basic potion could not cure severe illnesses.

So he was still unsure of Ayesha's current condition and knew she needed proper treatment.

Liam had promised to take care of Asher's family. Besides, he didn't want to see Hanna become sad, as it reminded him of how he used to feel when his parents died.

"I guess it's time to hunt," he muttered to himself.