Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

Lion patrolled the courtyard extensively once Silvia had departed. To put his scheme into motion, he first needed to unlock the ‘Three Stars’ milestone. Fortunately, given his background in an arcane household, botanical specimens grew all around him, and with a veteran’s eye, he quickly located the remaining two ingredients.

『Acquired White Star Fern (★)!』
『Acquired Blue Moon Fern (★)!』
『’Three Stars’ Achievement Cleared!』
『Received 20,000 Shillings!』
『Congratulations! Gathering Proficiency Novice Lv. 5 achieved!』

“Ah, this is the feeling!” Lion cheered after reviewing the notification. A full twenty thousand shillings. It amounted to every last coin he had gathered through relentless farming until now, all at once! This alone brought a grin to his face, but the rewards didn’t end there.

『Potion Crafting Talent Activated.』
-You realize you can create a special potion by combining three herbs.

The formula for a specific concoction flashed straight into Lion’s mind! This came courtesy of the ‘Potion Crafting Specialization’.

“The only slight downside is that the Shilling Shop hasn’t opened its doors yet.” It looked like it would become accessible once he hit the anticipated 100,000 mark. Regardless, the preparations were complete. Inside the chamber, exactly as Silvia had arranged, sat a full suite of elementary alchemy tools.

“Now then…” Should he get to work? Just to be safe, he sealed the window and pulled the drapes, then inspected the neatly lined-up vials within the pitch-black space. As expected of gear belonging to a magical dynasty, they looked remarkably premium. It felt rather eccentric to carry this out in total darkness, but his appearance was the least of his concerns right now.

“First, I need to attempt a standard potion.” It marked the initial phase of extending his stay with the Asteri Family. This was directly tied to grinding affection with his grandfather. Since he had already fallen out of the old man’s good graces (presumably), a single gesture wouldn’t instantly fix it, but turning up empty-handed in this scenario would surely send his favorability plummeting past rock bottom. Didn’t he need proof that he hadn’t merely wasted this past month, if only to prevent things from getting any worse?

Luckily, he had just secured a stellar item alongside a potion formula. Before touching the star-marked ingredients!

*Swish.* Lion drew out the standard low-grade flora. Since this was his maiden attempt at brewing, practice runs were necessary before tackling the main project.

“Just like the ‘Novice Herbalist’ milestone, Gathering involved repetitive grinding.” If that held true, Potion Crafting should follow a similar progression. By grinding out milestones this way, he would naturally hit at least Novice level 4. Unlike in the game, now that it was real life, proficiency tiers carried significant weight.

“Even for Gathering, let alone Potion Crafting.” Out of all those tiers, Novice. Novice stood as the absolute baseline among lifestyle skills. Beyond that lay Skilled, Artisan, and finally the Master rank, attainable only by the top one percent. Even so, the tactile feedback felt different, and the rate of plant decay varied. Therefore, leveling up naturally took top priority.

“If my calculations are correct…” For Gathering, he unlocked the Novice Herbalist title after a hundred extractions. In that case, what would Potion Crafting require?

“I need to brew a hundred bottles, and drink a hundred bottles.” He possessed plenty of greenery, paired with the Potion Crafting talent. On top of that, he had an exceptionally high-grade alchemy set. These constituted luxury gear for brewing low-grade concoctions, but… What was the point of being born with a silver spoon if not to use it? You might as well spend lavishly!

“It’s not like the money belongs to me anyway.” Lion gathered the harvested leaves into a large vessel. “Silvia truly delivered.” At the mere mention of an alchemy set, she had fetched everything from basic glass tubes and flasks to apparatuses embedded with various mystical enchantments. In particular, the vessel that heated without fire, the mortar that pulverized foliage on its own, and the distiller that prevented scorching! Judging by the archaic runes etched across their surfaces, she had clearly raided the family vault for special artifacts.

“A genuine silver spoon.” To acquire such extravagant gear with a single word. Lion mused to himself while stirring the leaves inside the pot, drying them out like roasted tea leaves. As a crisp, profound fragrance drifted from the vessel, he scooped out the foliage, ground it to powder, mixed it with an extract, and fed it into the distiller. Then, reaching toward the apparatus, he declared, “Extract.”

*Fwoosh!* Accompanied by a faint spark, a translucent liquid trickled out to fill the vial. Then…

『Successfully crafted a Low-grade Health Potion.』
Success!

『Asteri-made Low-grade Health Potion』
-Although crafted with a process as simple as considered ‘processing,’ it barely reached the realm of ‘alchemy’ due to the user’s promising talent and good ingredients.
-Possesses the effect of slightly increasing the user’s stamina.

“This is entirely thanks to the equipment.” Good gear combined with talent yielded a rather plausible outcome.

*Gulp!* Lion instantly chugged the low-grade concoction he had just made.

『Stamina partially recovered. Current Stamina 80%』
『Novice Alchemist (1) Achievement progress 1/100』

Just as anticipated, the milestone progress was moving along smoothly. “Hahaha. Just you wait, Grandfather!” Lion couldn’t suppress his ecstatic laughter as he continuously brewed and consumed potions throughout the night.

As the sun slowly began to crest the horizon, and his brewing and consumption hit the hundred-bottle mark…

『Novice Alchemist (1) Achievement Cleared!』
『Received 1,000 Shillings!』
『Congratulations! Alchemy Proficiency Novice Lv. 4 achieved!』

Just as expected. He had reached Novice level 4.

“That means…” Lion gazed at the star-marked plants. It meant he could finally utilize those special specimens. He also unlocked a fresh recipe upon reaching level 4.

-Mental Fatigue Recovery Potion

“Yes. This is what I was waiting for.” Lion had pondered this throughout his search for herbs. What kind of present would an elderly man appreciate? A mana potion for a grandfather who already possessed overflowing reserves? Furthermore, since an expert healing mage remained on permanent standby, he had little interest in gifting a stamina potion either. However, fatigue recovery. What about a draught that alleviated mental exhaustion? His grandfather shouldered a heavy workload day in and day out. Even if his spiritual fortitude was immense and he optimized his physique with mana as much as possible, wouldn’t mental burnout resemble that of any working adult?

“In that case, let’s give it a try.” Lion immediately plucked the leaves that shimmered in various hues. The formula differed from the previous one. He first added the basic green foliage, followed by the crimson and azure herbs, gently swirling them inside the vessel. A crisp, refreshing fragrance wafted out, unlike anything he had encountered before. It proved so potent that it cleared his stuffy nose from breathing in endless brewing fumes and chased away the throbbing headache caused by exhaustion.

Moreover… “Something feels different.” This sensation mirrored the moment he harvested the star-marked plants. He had a strong premonition, and the tactile feedback of the spatula stirring the mixture was superb. A peculiar joy washed over him as the item he attempted to synthesize came together successfully.

This time, it was his turn to dump all the roots into the pot and crush them. Then, astonishingly, a clear mucus began oozing from the heated roots.

*Boil, boil!* Miraculously, the liquid inside the vessel emitted a soft glow. It resembled the night sky mirrored in a tranquil stream on a clear, calm evening.

“Is this why they call it a mental fatigue recovery potion?” It brought a smile to his face as faint, pleasant memories surfaced. “In the game, it was treated as a trivial item. But in reality, it feels entirely different.” Lion scooped the liquid from the pot and poured it into the distiller. Then… “Extract.”

As Lion whispered softly, repeating his earlier action. *Fwaaash!* In a flash, the chamber illuminated like a lightning strike! The liquid from the distiller bypassed the vial entirely, defying gravity as it hovered suspended in the air. It broke apart into fine, cloud-like particles, filling the entire room. The dense mist of droplets sparkled like stars in the night sky, catching the light.

It felt identical to that summer night in the countryside, sitting on a pavilion, feeling the cool breeze while gazing upward. The sound of crickets chirping, the rustle of the wind sweeping through the grass… His chest settled with a strange nostalgia as long-forgotten memories rushed back.

“If it has this effect before I even drink it…” It promised to be a far superior concoction than he had initially hoped. The tiny droplets suspended in the air converged once more, flowing down into the potion bottle as a single draught of liquid. A deep, sapphire-blue fluid filled the transparent glass.

『Successfully crafted a Mental Fatigue Recovery Potion (★★)!』
-It dispels mental fatigue by recalling past happy memories.
-Ineffective for those without happy memories.

“It’s a 2-star item?” A draught that shouldn’t have been producible at the Novice tier had materialized. It appeared the Potion Crafting Specialization trait had kicked in. “Even so, a formula that normally shouldn’t unlock until proficiency level 8…” This would prove more than sufficient as a present for his grandfather.

『Congratulations! Alchemy Proficiency Novice Lv. 5 achieved!』 Naturally, the proficiency cap shattered as well. At the same time, multiple new recipes flooded his consciousness.

“No, there’s still more.” If Lion’s deduction proved correct, then… *Ting!*

『You created a potion that cannot be crafted at your current level.』
『’Potion Addict’ Achievement Cleared!』
『Received 25,000 Shillings.』
『Permanently increases mana by 1.』
『The possibility of creating a Mana Circle has emerged.』
『The ‘Mana Distribution’ talent is activated.』
『You can control mana more finely than others.』

What Lion had anticipated. It was precisely that ‘Potion Addict’ achievement. If he recalled correctly, within the game, utilizing advanced life skills consumed mana. This was because the mechanics allowed individuals to forge and gather materials ordinary people couldn’t touch. Consequently, one gained mana upon completing such demanding milestones.

“Though not a massive quantity.” The simple fact that he acquired it mattered immensely. Wouldn’t this serve as a monumental turning point for someone named Lion Asteri? His physique, entirely devoid of mana until now, could finally accept it. Furthermore, ‘Mana Distribution,’ which he had previously purchased but remained locked, was now fully operational!

“Heh… Hahaha!” Lion burst out laughing. His dopamine levels surged! And money! He had earned cash on top of that! A grand total of sixty-six thousand shillings! His entire net worth tripled overnight. At this pace, he would reach 100,000 shillings in no time. Once that happened, the Shilling Shop would open, allowing him to conduct pseudo-cash transactions!

“Though what will they put on sale?” It seemed unlikely they would stock the exact same inventory found in the game… *Ting!*

『Your assets have exceeded 50,000 Shillings, enabling a Shilling Shop preview.』
『Would you like to confirm?』

“I should.” Lion instantly calmed his breathing and stared into empty space.

『Preview is now open.』
『Currently, only item categories can be viewed.』
『Item descriptions are obscured.』

Lion slowly scrolled through the available sections. Categories for Life Skills, Food, and Maintaining Dignity appeared, while other slots remained greyed out.

『Under Preparation』

Would these become accessible when the Shilling Shop officially launched? “Let’s start with Life Skills.” Lion selected the Life Skills tab.

『Sharp Scissors』
-■■ thousand Shillings
『Basic Fishing Rod』
-■■ thousand Shillings (MD Recommended!)
『Old Key』
-■■■ thousand Shillings