Filed to story: A Bullied Boy Died: A Mafia King Woke Up In His Body
The process proved to be difficult. There were a huge number of potential combinations, and Kyle didn’t know when he would complete it-too many variables were present in the recipe. He now understood why Damian said reverse-engineering alchemy was nearly impossible without a hint or a guiding book.
As he completed his sixtieth failed potion, a new title appeared for him.
Title Obtained:
Potion Crafter (Intermediate)
This title was supposed to be given on successful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch.
+10 INT, increased accuracy of examined potion’s description, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials, +5% chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt. This effect can be stacked and is reset on discovery.
Suddenly, it was as though three pieces of information appeared in his head, partially informing him of what the recipe consisted of.
It seems that for every twenty attempts I make, one of the variables of the recipe is revealed. Hence, with sixty crafted, I now have three variables revealed.
Kyle quickly drew a new combination table, narrowing it down to two variables, making it simpler. With time and more failed attempts, he locked down yet another variable. Kyle could already imagine Haui’s face if he knew exactly how Kyle was able to reverse-engineer recipes so quickly.
A few hours passed through dinnertime before he finally got the recipe down. “So, 15% Greis Powder, 15% Olio Roots, 35% Yul’s Tears, rest water. Boiled for five minutes.” Kyle nearly raged at the sheer amount of Yul’s Tears he had wasted, having finished the entire pot with only one Strength Potion to show for it.
At least another product has been completed. Infusing it with Euria should be possible too.
He didn’t try to reverse-engineer the health potion just yet. It was far too costly to waste Yul’s Tears on it. If the percentage were even higher, he might go bankrupt.
He sat back in his office, eating a late dinner, while Keith reported the daily finances to him.
“Sir, you can’t keep burning through money like this. We don’t have a lot of cash reserves left. Assuming you want to make another set of Strength Potions, it’s going to wipe us out for the rest of the month unless we get steady revenue.”
“It’s no problem. The expansion of the brothel will be finished in a few days. We’ll easily make it back, then. Who are the other rival gangs that are at odds with the Red Lions?”
“The Ilysian Punks and the Wretches are the main ones that come to mind, but they’ve been ignoring us for a long time.”
“I want the smaller gangs in adjacent districts, anyone the same size as us and lower, to get this message.” Kyle packed a few parchments into message tubes, handing them over to Keith.
“Ah, you want to ask for their help! I’ll send it right away.”
“No, Keith. We’re going to find some customers.”
Arcite Technology
Wrent fiddled with a Stamina Potion in his hand, sitting at the end of a long table in a well-furnished room. “Have any of the alchemists replied? I want to know if the potions they are providing are complete knockoffs. A twenty-man team should not be able to produce five hundred a day.”
It had been less than two days since they signed the contract, but Wrent had yet to distribute the Stamina Potions to his gang members for fear of them being poisoned. Such an outrageous production rate was banned by the Alchemists’ Guild-anyone flouting this rule was either an ostracized alchemist or someone trying to pull a quick one.
“Boss, our in-house alchemists are all currently busy and will respond in two weeks’ time.” The Red Lions’ main headquarters were still involved in violent conflict with the Ilysian Punks and the Wretches. Wrent had not yet been requested to join the conflict; his controlled district was not adjacent to any of the fighting zones.
“How about Haui? Has he replied?”
“We provided him with a few samples, and he has verified that they are legitimate, albeit with a lower efficiency than his. It could be said to be extremely diluted but still effective.”
So the Seven Snakes are mass-producing it but with a much lower quality than if done by a certified alchemist… “If Haui says it’s okay, then we can use it. Our priority is to distribute them to our members first for enhanced training and preparation. We need everyone ready to assault the Seven Snakes at the end of the non-aggression pact.”
*****
If everything goes to plan, the initial samples their alchemists have received won’t be the Euria-infused ones, seeing as the first three crates are completely clean. Suppose it’s Haui who is testing; that would be even better. Kyle tapped the table, thinking. It’s been two days since the start of the contract.
An associate entered, passing Kyle a few replies from the other gangs. He opened them, reading the contents before calling Keith into the room.
“The new recruits won’t have time to prepare for the battle. The other gangs have agreed to purchase Strength Potions from us at a fixed rate for the next month. Get the new recruits to begin production on a separate line. Follow the exact method I did for the Stamina Potions, but no Euria this time.”
Kyle had sent a contract proposal, undercutting the market price of the Strength Potions with a discount of ten percent and selling them for nine hundred rakels each.
This shouldn’t rock the market too much.