Chapter 14: Toxic Potion

A few days later, after successfully preparing the second batch of healing potions, Aven returned to the apothecary' liaison point.

This time, the shop owner was clearly much more enthusiastic than before, quickly coming forward to greet him.

"Got more potions to sell?" Mr. Hawke asked with a big smile on his face.

At the same time, he murmured to himself, remembering Link's instructions: No matter what potions this Aven sells, just buy them all.

"That's right. I have some potions to sell, and I also have a request I'd like to ask your help with," Aven stated directly.

"Of course, of course!"

Seeing a big transaction coming in, the shop owner's smile widened even more.

Aven carefully placed his backpack on the table and took out the healing potions wrapped in burlap.

This time, he had used all the Oran Berries from the villagers to create healing potions—more than forty bottles in total.

At the price of five silver coins per bottle, that added up to over 200 silver coins!

"So many!"

The shop owner was startled, but after recalling Link's instructions, he nodded.

These healing potions were indeed very effective—there was no reason to turn them down. Once resold, he could also make a decent profit.

After the exchange, Aven handed a list of ingredients to the shop owner. It was a commission to gather potion-making materials.

"Let me see… These supporting ingredients aren't rare, we've got them right here."

"Hm? Four different types of beast toxins… Mr. Aven, are you planning to make poison?"

The shop owner scanned the list, and when his eyes landed on the final items, he looked at Aven with a mix of surprise and suspicion.

He didn't know exactly what Aven was planning to concoct, but the beast toxins were a dead giveaway—those were clearly used for poison-making.

"Do you have these materials?" Aven didn't answer directly.

Seeing this, the shop owner glanced around and then said, "I think we'll need to notify Apothecary Link about this."

"These beast toxins are strictly regulated in Aspiration City. We'd have to obtain them through special means."

Hearing this, Aven's eyes lit up. 'As expected, this liaison point isn't just a front. They handle underground deals too.'

Soon after Aven nodded, the shop owner quickly sent an assistant to fetch Link.

He didn't have to wait long—Link rushed in, and when he saw Aven, a wide smile spread across his face.

This Aven wasn't ordinary… Link recalled his teacher's words—behind Aven might stand an apothecary no less capable than his own master.

"I didn't expect you'd be collecting beast toxins."

"These are regulated, yes, but apothecary like us naturally have access to them. Otherwise, how would we research antidotes?"

Link grinned. "I should be able to get them all. The other ingredients are easy, but beast toxins are rare and expensive."

Aven let out a sigh of relief and handed Link some gold coins. "I'll leave it to you then. Please try to get as many of the toxins as you can."

"Alright, leave it to me." Link nodded and walked out of the shop.

'He's not going to take the money and run, is he…?' Aven's heart skipped a beat as he watched Link leave, but then he glanced at the fruit shop in front of him and calmed down.

The fruit shop was still there, and so were the healing potions. There was no way they'd just vanish.

Of course, he had left himself a safety net—he had only given Link a simplified version of the Toxic potion's ingredient list, mixed with plenty of unrelated materials.

Even with the Oran Berries as the main poisonous base, just gathering four types of beast toxins wouldn't be enough to replicate the actual Toxic potion.

"Mr. Aven, feel free to come inside and have a seat."

"Since you're also an apothecary, just treat this place like your own home."

The shop owner smiled warmly and led Aven to a room in the back.

As soon as he entered, Aven was stunned. The room was filled with apothecary equipment.

Some of the instruments looked quite advanced, capable of analyzing potion components and pharmacology. In addition, there were many apothecary ingredients on display.

After a quick glance, Aven even spotted some auxiliary ingredients used in crafting Toxic potions—some of which were extremely rare berries.

'This place is perfect for brewing the poison…' Aven began thinking about how he could borrow the lab.

It wasn't long before Link returned in a rush.

"Aven, look what I got!"

"Liquid venom from Toxicroak, Beedrill, Roserade, and Gloom—four types in total."

As soon as he entered, Link excitedly shook four bottles filled with glowing purple liquid.

They were indeed venom from Poison-type Pokémon. Aven relaxed a little. Although none of them were top-tier toxins, it was still a decent haul.

In particular, Gloom and Roserade were dual Grass and Poison types—their venom would work very well with Petilil's Grass-type physiology.

"The four types of venom cost ten gold coins in total."

"I haggled for a long time to get this price—trust me, it doesn't get cheaper than this."

"As for the other ingredients, we already have them in the store. I'll grab them now."

"Let's see… poisonous herb… poisonous herb… Got it. That one's worth one silver coin. Discounted to 90 copper coins. And this one… after discount, it's…"

Link kept rattling on, not noticing that with every price he announced, the shop owner's face darkened a little more.

"Alright, everything adds up to 22 silver coins. After discount, that's 19 silver coins and 80 copper."

Once he finished calculating, Link handed Aven a sack containing all the materials and clapped his hands like he had just completed a great task.

"Thanks for everything, Link, and you too, boss," Aven said as he accepted the materials and change.

Then, he took out a gold coin and handed it to the shop owner. "One gold coin for the commission fee, as per custom."

'This kid knows the rules…' The shop owner smiled as he accepted the coin, then gave Link a fierce glare just as he was about to speak. "Rules are rules!"

"Mr. Hawke, I'd like to mix the potion here. Is that alright?" Seeing them glare at each other, Aven quickly interrupted.

"Sure, no problem at all." The shop owner put on his signature smile again. After a brief moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and added, "No charge."

After thanking the shop owner, Aven gave Link a grateful glance and followed the owner into a private apothecary lab.

This lab was located underground beneath the shop. Dim oil lamps provided light in the otherwise dark room. Aside from the equipment, there was nothing unnecessary in the space.

Aven nodded in satisfaction. The environment wasn't the most important part—for apothecary, privacy was paramount. And the shop owner had done that perfectly.

"First, process the venom… I need to be very careful with this step."

In the quiet apothecary lab, Aven cautiously worked. Brewing a Toxic potion came with serious risks—even the intermediate liquids were dangerously toxic.

After some time, he finally completed the potion.

A faintly glowing purple liquid rippled inside a test tube. In total, there were three vials.

'This should be enough for Petilil to learn the Toxic move…' Aven sighed in relief and began organizing the leftover materials.

Although most of the primary ingredients had been refined into the poison potions, the residual byproducts still retained a strong toxicity that could harm people.

He also had to make sure to properly dispose of the leftovers—if someone analyzed them, they might be able to reverse-engineer the poison's formula, and that couldn't be allowed.

After cleaning up the lab, Aven wrapped the three poison vials in several layers of cloth and carefully stored them in his backpack.

(End of Chapter)