Lukas spent the next week or so crafting potions, pumping them out like it was nobody's business. In that time, he hadn’t had a single failed concoction, which might have sounded great, but the streak didn’t hold much excitement once he realized he probably wouldn’t fail to make a mana potion ever again.

  Either way, Lukas happily produced one potion after another, staying fresh by not focusing on one potion for too long. In this time, he improved fast, but not so fast as to have mastered the basic potions. All of his potions were still of the lesser rarity, despite using common rarity materials. He was making progress though, each potion he made was better than the last, each concoction providing more potions per-batch.

  Levels also came in this time, though Lukas could feel the progress slowing. It was a combination of needing more experience for each level and stagnating by only making the same three potions over and over. Even still, Lukas had surpassed level 10 but had yet to check his status, wanting to push that back until level 15. He could feel the meteoric growth he’d experienced and was well aware that he had a good amount of free points to spend. He wanted to push to level 15, gathering even more.

  There was no point in power leveling though, Lukas didn’t want to ruin the important foundations he was putting in place. The fact that the only way he could gain experience was by making potions only helped. if he truly wished there was no doubt he could do it, but Lukas saw no point in spewing out shitty potions just for what would most likely be a minuscule amount of experience. Nor did he want to waste time trying to find a way to min max the process. No, better to just maintain his current pace.

  During his crafting binge, Lukas fell into a nice rhythm. He’d focus and dedicate himself to making potions to an almost unhealthy degree, then whenever he ran out of mana and couldn’t just down a potion to keep going he’d take a break. During these breaks, Lukas would take time to read and do some studying on other potions he was interested in, but mostly it was poisons he focused on. After that, he’d meditate for a while before getting some sleep or just getting back to making potions depending on how tired he was.

  Overall, Lukas was happy with this routine, but he knew he’d have to shake it up before long. He’d taken the goddess's words to heart when she had told him not to hyperfocus on one thing. This was why he was looking into other concoctions. On the top of that list were poisons, two poisons in particular.

  Sure, Lukas could stick with some good old potions, moving on to potions of regeneration and recovery since they seemed like the obvious next step. The thing was, they weren’t. Those potions required multiple ingredients in order to be made, a fact that meant most novices, Lukas included, would find it extremely difficult to control and tame the energies inside.

  Most alchemists would typically go on to make some basic buffing potions, ones that would make you slightly tougher or faster for a short period of time. Those kinds of potions are generally easier to make, using only two ingredients. Lukas was not like most alchemists however, he was a combat alchemist.

  Granted, Lukas didn’t really have any idea what that was practically, as he hadn’t fought anything in weeks. What he did know was that using potions and what not in combat was a part of the class. This included poisons, two of which would be considered basic alchemy. The first was a hemotoxin, a poison that would thin the blood, increase bleeding, and decrease natural regeneration. The second poison was necrotoxin, a truly horrific poison that would cause a person's still living flesh to die and rot away.

  These two poisons, while considered some of the most basic to create, were perhaps some of the most deadly out there and weren’t to be underestimated. That wasn’t to say they were the best poisons or the easiest to make. The crafting process was tricky and by no means easy, added on top of that was how dangerous it was to attempt the making of poisons. The fumes alone could kill anyone unsuspecting and long term exposure could warp the mind.

  Thankfully, Lukas had a mask to help deal with the harmful gasses, but he was still weary about having a concoction blow up in his face resulting in being covered in a necrotic goop that tried to melt his skin. Thus he did all the studying he could in order to get it right.

  Eventually, Lukas knew the time had come. He was nervous about making his first attempt at a poison, really not liking the idea of accidentally poisoning himself due to a failed concoction. As a result, he’d looked into making some antidotes or antitoxins, but those were a bit too complex for him at the moment. Lukas found it somewhat ironic that an extremely deadly poison was easier to make than a cure.

  In the end, Lukas had to realize he was as ready as he could be, leaving him with no more excuses. He knew the process, he knew the ingredients, and he knew the dangers. All that was left now was to actually make the poisons.

  When it was finally time, Lukas headed to the garden to get what he would need. He’d long since realized that the ingredients for poisons were in the back so he headed that way. There, against the back wall, Lukas found berry bushes packed full of green berries that almost looked like grapes. Plucking one from the bush, Lukas identified it:

  [Idem Berry (Common)] - A common berry found throughout the world. This berry is most often used as a catalyst in the making of poisons but can also be used in various alchemical creations.

  In potions the catalyst used was the Wesser vine, it was a vine that generally had beneficial properties, nothing that would provide bonuses on its own but if prepared correctly could give benefits. The Idem berries were similar. Used as a catalyst in the making of poisons, the berries weren’t something you wanted to snack on. They weren’t poisonous or anything, but even consuming one berry would make your stomach quite unhappy.

  After throwing a good amount of berries in his inventory, Lukas went to look for the second ingredient. Thanks to the reading he had done, he didn’t have to look far. Under a large tree that looked like a willow sat some nasty looking flowers. They were a deep blood red, even more so than the blood moon lily, and looked sharp. Even the petals seemed dangerous, ready to nick someone and draw blood.

  The flowers liked to sit in the shade, not being fans of direct sunlight. This wasn’t the only tree to harbor these flowers either, as many more in the back section of the garden shaded them.

  Crouching down, Lukas went to pick one of the flowers, careful of the thorns that grew on the stem.

  [Cruor Carnation (Common)] - A natural treasure. This flower contains hemotoxic energies and is most often used in the creation of hemotoxic poison but can also be used in various alchemical creations.

  Nodding to himself, Lukas took as many flowers as he thought he would need before moving on. This time he headed for the underground cave in search of the final thing he needed. After looking over all the other mushrooms, some poisonous and others beneficial, he found what he was looking for. There was a large alcove to one side where he found what he was looking for.

  The mushrooms he needed were the ones with swirls of sickening green mixed black. They looked rather unassuming and were quite small, but unbelievably potent. It was to the point that only one of the things was needed for an entire batch of poison. That alone was terrifying, so looking into the large alcove to see the walls, floor, and ceiling absolutely packed full of them didn’t help aleve Lukas’ nervousness.

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  When he picked one of the small things up, Lukas could feel a tingling in his fingers. It was the innate necrotic properties trying to eat him. Luckily, Lukas’ toughness was able to hold back the attempt thanks to his level and titles.

  With the mushroom in hand, Lukas identified it:

  [Mors Mushroom (Common)] - A natural treasure. This mushroom contains necrotic energies and is most often used in the creation of necrotic poison but can also be used in various alchemical creations.

  Grabbing his fill of mushrooms, Lukas headed for the lab. Once he sat himself down, he got started. With the hemotoxic poison being less deadly Lukas began trying to make that one first. Pulling out one of the carnations and a few berries he got to work. The initial process was the same as making potions, grinding both ingredients down into a paste before adding it to the boiling water.

  Doing just that, Lukas got ready for the hardest part of the crafting process and the one that differed slightly from potion making. When making potions the energy of the main ingredient attacked those of the catalyst, not wanting to be made into a potion. In poisons the energy of the main ingredient seemed to know it would be made into a poison and wanted to mix with the catalyst. The problem was that the poisonous energy was a little too “enthusiastic”, the catalyst would get overwhelmed and the brew would fail. This meant that the alchemist's job of controlling the energy was the same no matter what they were making.

  Lukas learned pretty quickly that while the goal was the same the methodology was different. He’d been fairly confident going in, that the failures wouldn’t be too bad because he already understood the energy control. The only problem was that trying to control the harmful energy of the poison flower the same way he would with the beneficial energy of the resource flowers led to a disaster.

  Turns out that all that excitable energy, that was ready to mix with the catalyst, led to more explosive failures. That meant that not five seconds after Lukas tried to take control of the energy of the concoction it blew up in his face, leaving him covered in rancid goo that would make him bleed profusely if allowed into his bloodstream.

  With a sigh, Lukas flicked away some of the foul gunk in an attempt to clean himself off as best he could. As it turned out, that wasn’t good enough. Knowing full well that he’d probably be covered in even more soon, Lukas just got back to work.

  Sure enough, Lukas found himself splattered with more goop, but he was making progress. If Lukas had to describe it, he’d say that controlling the energies was like controlling a toddler. With potions it was a toddler throwing a temper tantrum that you had to calm down. Poisons on the other hand was like trying to control the toddler after eating a butt load of candy, you just had to wait for it to tire itself out.

  It seemed like an apt description to Lukas, as he pretty much learned that he had to wrestle the carnation’s energy until it calmed down enough to introduce the catalyst. It wasn’t easy as Lukas practically had to make a cage out of his mana to trap the energy. Unfortunately for Lukas the energy was slippery and found ways to get away from him. It was a massive pain in the ass, and felt like he was actually dealing with a hyperactive child.

  Thankfully, Lukas had ample experience with his mana and energy control. A few hours later and a lot of nasty gunk later, Lukas got it right as the scent of hot blood drifted up from the cauldron.

  [Inferior Hemotoxic Poison (Lesser)] - Has been successfully crafted. This is a new creation, providing extra experience.

  Level gained: [Combat Alchemist] has reached level 13 - Stat points allocated.

  Lukas sighed with relief, glad he’d finally succeeded and wouldn’t be covered in more goo. Because seriously, it was like a firecracker went off at the bottom of his cauldron every time he messed up. He really wanted to take a shower, but knew he’d have to push on until he was confident he wouldn’t fail again.

  Collecting the poison in bottles, Lukas managed to get three. It was a decent craft, the only problem was he didn’t know how bad “inferior” was. At least with the potions he’d made so far it told you how much of a resource it would restore. There didn’t seem to be anything similar with poisons. He assumed “inferior” was the worst he could’ve made, and he wasn’t sure what the next rarity would be, but guessed it would be “common”.

  There was nothing Lukas could do about it at the moment, seeing as the label was given by his outworlder ability, an ability no one else had. He’d just have to figure it out on his own as he got better at making poisons.

  Moving on to something more important, Lukas looked down at the vial of dark red liquid, it was a red so dark it almost seemed purple or black. He turned the vial over in his hand in thought.

  ‘Should I drink it? Probably not. But I don’t have any open wounds or anything, so what would it even do? Likely nothing good. Maybe just a little taste test?’

  Lukas just shook his head, it was tempting as it was something he’d done with all his other creations, but knew it probably wouldn’t end well for him. Besides, it probably didn’t even taste that good.

  Happy with his success, Lukas got back to work. For the next few hours he made hemotoxin, only taking a break when he stopped failing the craft. He could’ve kept going, his improved mana pool having enough for a few more goes, but he couldn’t handle the feeling of having that dried crap all over him.

  So he took the time to clean himself up and meditate to rest the mind a bit. In no time at all Lukas was back in the lab, he made a few more hemotoxins to get back in the groove before pulling out one of the necrotic mushrooms.

  Dropping the mushroom into the mortar, Lukas used the pestle to grind it down into a fine paste. Almost immediately Lukas’ nose was assaulted with the smell of rotting corpses. He gagged and forced himself to breathe through his mouth in order to avoid the smell. He just wished his mask had the option to block out scents and not just their negative effects.

  Suffice to say Lukas ground the mushroom down as fast as possible before moving on to the idem berries. Once the berries were crushed as well he added it all to the cauldron. With his hand on the control runes, he poured every drop of focus into the concoction and pressed his Amber Eye ability to the limit.

  Lukas put everything he had into the mix, his brain working on overdrive as his eyes flitted across the cauldron to keep an eye out for any errant energies. They were similar to those of the hemotoxin but far stronger and more potent. The necrotic energies were tricky and almost seemed alive.

  Lukas tried all he could. He would have loved to have made the necrotic poison on his first attempt, really not wanting to be covered in the results of a failure, but in the end it was not to be. Soon Lukas came to realize it was only a matter of time and all he could do was stall and minimize the damage.

  When the time finally came, the concoction failed explosively, covering Lukas in a thick black gunk that smelled worse than all the others combined. Unfortunately for Lukas, that wasn’t all. The moment the tar like substance hit his skin he yelped, jumping out of the stool he’d been sitting on.

  “Ow! Ow! Shit! Fuck!” he yelled, waving his arms around to get off the substance that was attempting to rot flesh.

  Lukas danced around in pain until it began to subside, the remaining energy in the crud having dispersed. Even still, he was left gritting his teeth. His body was covered in red spots wherever the goo had landed on him, some spots were even slightly black as though some of the necrotoxin had managed to take hold.

  Thankfully, Lukas’ toughness was enough to keep the necrotoxin mostly at bay while his vitality fought off whatever managed to get through, resulting in him losing some health points. All told, it was an experience he really did not want to go through again, but he knew full well that he had to. Worse yet was the fact that this was his first attempt, with many more no doubt following.

  With a groan, Lukas wiped off what gunk he could before he got back to work and it was not fun. For the next three hours he had one failed attempt after another, each time getting sprayed with the necrotic mess. He was just glad that the necrotoxin didn’t eat his clothes, but that just left them to get even more nasty as they began to collect the foul stuff.

  Eventually, Lukas began to get trigger shy, scared that each and every attempt would result in more pain. That didn’t break his resolve however, he stuck with it, refusing to back down from the challenge. The sooner he could get the process down the better. And after what felt like an eternity, it finally happened.

  [Inferior Necrotic Poison (Lesser)] - Has been successfully crafted. This is a new creation, providing extra experience.

  Lukas didn’t smile or celebrate his success, only letting out a tired sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment.

  “Not bad,” a familiar voice said, surprising Lukas and making him jump while still holding the cauldron full of flesh-rotting poison.