Chapter 60 - Ambition
“But…” Lin Li shook his head helplessly. “After adding the netherbloom and dracaena grass, the concentration for the Sobriety Potion was indeed increased, but it also has potent side effects. I’ve tried drinking a little bit of it last time and it led to an extreme mental confusion. If it’s the whole bottle…”
“So serious?” Old Grimm was slightly startled. A little of it would cause mental confusion; then, if one were to drink the whole bottle, wouldn’t it cause a complete mental breakdown?
“Mm…” Lin Li nodded and spoke no more.
He had been really vexed by it lately. Ever since he had concocted the Arcane Magic Potion, Gerian had been pestering him to come up with some other potions no matter how to enhance the strength of the mages in the Guild of Magic. Lin Li had given it some thought at that time and felt it necessary as well. Although the Guild of Magic had ultimately risen, its influence was contained only in Jarrosus City.
Outside Jarrosus, there was a handful of forces hostile to the Guild of Magic, such as the one of the middle-aged man whom Lin Li had met when he first arrived in Jarrosus—the middle-aged man represented a force called the Shadow’s Nest.
Because there were many rare mineral veins in the Demon Fall Valley, many forces were coveting that fertile land. Among them, the Shadow’s Nest was the most direct; they had asked the Guild of Magic several times to leave the Demon Fall Valley, and even assassinated several guild mages as a threat.
The Guild of Magic today was far from being able to rest easy.
Lin Li was not an ungrateful man. He knew most clearly how everyone in the Guild of Magic treated him. Gerian, in particular, had even bet the guild’s future on him. At that point, Lin Li felt obligated to contribute to the guild.
After a slight deliberation, he had chosen the Sobriety Potion.
In terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Sobriety Potion was the most cost-effective among the formulas Lin Li knew.
Three kinds of inexpensive herbs and an uncomplicated concoction process could produce an overstepping effect, plus a small amount of mana restoration.
And in the process of preparation, Lin Li also had the most intuitive understanding of the shortcomings of the Sobriety Potion.
Of course, these Sobriety Potions were enough for ordinary mages, especially the ones in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. That was the smell of Sobriety Potion that they might never get a whiff of in a decade. It was a good thing that they got to have a taste of it; how would they still complain that the effect’s duration was too short?
However, Lin Li, a pharmaceutics guru, would never be content with it. He had much more to consider than ordinary mages.
Ever since he had become a guru of all five series, he had always wanted to go even further and enter the illusory realm of the Divine Smith.
The near-infinite power of the Scroll of Wishes hadn’t allowed him to enter directly into the realm of the Divine Smith, because the realm itself transcended the scope of knowledge and skills. This was more of an abstruse realm, and the phrase “a skill approaching the practice of Tao” was most likely referring to such a dimension.
It was because of this ambition that Lin Li had never stopped moving forward.
Although he was already a guru of all five series and had already reached the peak of his profession, Lin Li knew very well that there was still the illusory Divine Smith beyond this peak.
This was the difference between Lin Li and ordinary pharmacists.
Almost all the pharmacists, including Grimm Burnside, followed the formulas strictly. They had never considered the reasons why they had to do this or why they could not do that. They were bound by their imagination and dared not break the inherent rules. They might have the chance to reach the realm of a guru by their own efforts, but they would never be able to reach the realm of a Divine Smith.
After completing 100 bottles of Sobriety Potion, Lin Li had been wondering whether there was a way to prolong its effects.
Increasing the concentration of the potion was undoubtedly the most direct way, so Lin Li performed a series of experiments.
Unfortunately… At present, his experiments were a failure.
At least, he couldn’t solve the problem of mental confusion caused by the increased concentration.
And Old Grimm, who was from the Pharmacists Guild, naturally became the best partner to have a discussion with.
In order to discuss with Old Grimm, he could even tolerate Rowling’s presence, which was a very rare thing with his obstinacy.
Old Grimm thought for a very long time, but still could not quite grasp the reason behind it, so he asked in puzzlement, “I can understand the netherbloom is used for purification, but why do you add in the dracaena grass?”
“Besides being used for purifying, the netherbloom also has the effect of stimulating the growth of mental strength, which effect can be further amplified after heating. But the Sobriety Potion itself has the knot elixir which can also stimulate the growth of mental strength. The addition of netherbloom will cause a loss in balance of the medicinal properties, so I added the dracaena grass. When the potion reaches its boiling point, the calming effects of the dracaena grass will curb the medicinal properties of the netherbloom…” Lin Li said as he dipped his hand in the red wine and listed down a few equations on the table to explain the whole process more clearly.
Old Grimm listened attentively. It felt like he returned to decades ago, when he was still an apprentice, looking at his teacher with eyes full of the thirst for knowledge and listening to him explain mysterious and complex potion formulas to himself. He had completely forgotten Lin Li’s age and was simply immersed in the knowledge of potions.
Rowling sat there quietly, listening to the conversation of the two men, but her gaze resting on Lin Li was more complicated than before.
She knew Lin Li was a pharmacist back at Ina’s place. But Rowling had not imagined that he would be qualified to discuss pharmaceutical knowledge with Grandpa Grimm, and even dominating the discussion to some degree!
Rowling’s pharmaceutical attainments had completely failed to keep up with their thinking. The equations listed down on the table were like Greek to her. But Rowling knew what kind of figure Grandpa Grimm was. He was someone of a mastery level, and even within the Pharmacists Guild, he was considered one of the most important members.
Looking at the old man who was listening modestly at the moment, Rowling had some doubts in her mind. Is this really Grandpa Grimm?
If I could learn potion knowledge from him… Rowling took another glance at Lin Li with a complex expression. The idea that had been abandoned earlier bred quietly in her heart once more, and this time, it was firmer than before.