Chapter 15: The Art of Alchemy: Turning Potions into Profit

Extraordinary professions make money in ways most ordinary people can hardly imagine. Yet, the irony is, many extraordinary professionals are still living in poverty.

Alchemy potions, sequence potions, clarity potions, magical weapons, spiritual gear, extraordinary knowledge, recovery elixirs, magic stones, enchanted weapon oils… the list of expenses goes on and on. There are just so many places to spend money.

Out of all extraordinary professions, the Alchemist sequence is probably one of the most lucrative.

In the previous era, awakening one's spirit and advancing into an extraordinary profession was incredibly dangerous—mutations, madness, and unpredictable outcomes were common. That all changed when alchemists began creating awakening potions and sequence potions, which greatly reduced the dangers of becoming extraordinary.

Though alchemists aren't the only ones capable of crafting potions and magical gear, their creations are always of superior quality. Spiritual essence defines the characteristics of these items, so while other professions can make potions and gear, they often come with side effects. Alchemist-made potions and gear, on the other hand, are known for being both powerful and stable. For example, awakening potions—if taken incorrectly the first time—won't cause irreversible damage to the soul, allowing for a second attempt without risking one's life.

Magical gear made by alchemists is also uniquely safe, even allowing ordinary people to use them without tainting their souls. Low-quality magical gear, however, tends to be unstable and comes with serious side effects, including mental confusion, neurosis, or even strange new obsessions over time.

To protect their interests and avoid being exploited by powerful factions, alchemists have formed the Alchemist Union. This union is free-spirited, informal, and unpredictable. Ian's father once tried to buy his way into the extraordinary sequence with a massive fortune—only to be rejected. As for Ian, when he arrived, he didn't have to spend a dime to join, and could choose any faction he liked. It was a testament to the unpredictable nature of the union.

Ian's plan to make money starts with leveraging the alchemists' abilities. Though he doesn't have many magical gear blueprints and still hasn't fully mastered the knowledge needed to craft them, his first goal is to focus on crafting enchanted weapon oil—a recent breakthrough of the Alchemist Union, and the one alchemical product he is most skilled in making.

[Enchanted Weapon Oil]: A special oil that enhances the sharpness and durability of weapons without damaging their overall integrity. It also provides a slight magic-breaking effect.

Materials Needed for Recipe II: Medium-grade protein oil, scented mold mushrooms, unmarked magic stone powder, coordinating crystal, fiber stone, low-carbon stone.

There are several variations of enchanted weapon oil, each with slightly different characteristics. After some research, Ian settled on the most cost-effective formula. The materials are easily obtainable in Heaven's Harbor, and apart from the magic stone powder and coordinating crystals, most of the ingredients are common and inexpensive.

The materials stores at the Bounty Hunter Guild are all located on the second floor, with the guild offering prime space at the entrance to bounty hunters and independent traders. This is one way they show appreciation to their members.

Ian didn't want to waste time bargaining or carefully selecting materials, so he headed straight to the inner part of the second floor, where the better shops are located.

"The Sorcerer's Emporium."

"I'd like to have these materials prepared." Ian walked into the shop, bypassing the shelves to hand a list to the clerk behind the counter.

"Good day, sir. Welcome to The Sorcerer's Emporium. Please wait a moment." The young, freckled clerk bowed politely and quickly scanned the list. A smile crept up on his face as he realized this was a big order.

"Sir, we have three coordinating crystals left. All other materials are in stock."

"Just three will do. Please gather the rest."

The cheapest set of alchemical materials and the full order cost Ian 42 gold coins—nearly all of his savings.

On the sixth floor of the Breath of the Ocean building...

"Seventy percent? That's acceptable."

"You must be kidding! Seventy percent is what they get!"

"What?"

"Are you trying to make fools out of us?!"

"Captain, we lost two ships and hundreds of brothers! And we're only getting thirty percent?!"

"Let's take them on..."

The room was filled with heated discussions, everyone talking at once, voices overlapping in frustration.

"Quiet!" A short, stocky man with a face full of gray stubble and a pipe between his teeth slammed his pipe down on the table, making a loud crack.

"Liya, speak."

A woman dressed in a form-fitting black leather outfit, her figure accentuated by the tight fit, stood up. She was in her twenties, with pale skin and wavy burgundy hair. Her features weren't delicate, but they were well-proportioned, giving off a lazy vibe. However, a deep, jagged scar ran from her right ear down to her chin, marring her otherwise striking appearance.

"Thirty percent of an estimated value of 63,000 gold coins—Divine Grace gold coins! Of course, the actual amount won't be determined until next month's auction, but it will definitely be no less than that."

The room fell silent.

"Why is everyone so quiet now?" The woman crossed her arms, a slight smirk on her lips as she looked at the others.

"Is this for real?!" A young man in a blue-black captain's outfit, sporting a braided hairstyle, looked incredulously at the woman. "Captain, you can't be joking!"

"I don't joke."

"Captain, I didn't mean to question you—"

"Our captain is a genius," another man quickly added. "Always thinking ten steps ahead…"

Abigail, the captain, couldn't help but smile at her crew's eagerness. They were so obviously dazzled by the gold.

The Whale Hunting Crew had managed to capture a terrifying Sequence 5 extraordinary creature, the Fearsome Blind Whale, but handling the creature's materials wasn't going to be easy. If they sold everything to the Extraordinary Association, they'd barely get 50,000 Divine Grace gold coins. But splitting the materials and selling them slowly could be risky—they'd likely waste some of the precious components, and as time passed, the materials would lose their potency, making them harder to sell at a high price.

Sending everything to the Alchemist Union was a much smarter choice. In exchange for handling the materials, the union would take thirty percent of the total profits. From a business perspective, it was a huge win.

"Enough chatter!" Abigail suddenly became serious and raised a hand to silence the room.

A sudden burst of spiritual energy surged from the corner of the building downstairs.

On the fifth floor of Breath of the Ocean, in one of the hotel rooms, a simple alchemical array floated in the air. It was drawn on a silver plate of low purity, with red lines etched to form a complex pattern. The nodes were rudimentary, lacking the usual magic stones—magic stone powder was used instead.

Ian was activating the array, preparing to craft the enchanted weapon oil.

Although the Breath of the Ocean wasn't the safest place, Ian had no other choice. He hadn't even set up a protective array, only a basic defensive ward, though, to be honest, it wasn't needed. His safety was guaranteed by his destiny cards.

Besides, after wandering the chaotic streets of Heaven's Harbor for several days with a coin pouch at his waist, not a single "unsavory character" had dared to approach him.

You never know what strange forbidden knowledge someone else might be wielding. Attacking another extraordinary individual without a huge reward would be reckless—most wouldn't risk it unless they had something to gain.

At lower Sequence levels (7-9), the gap in combat strength wasn't that huge. Ordinary people couldn't identify extraordinary individuals, but their leaders knew exactly who they were. This made Ian feel oddly reassured—the "residents" of Heaven's Harbor were strangely well-behaved.