System Change

Derek stared intensely at the near neon blue potion in his hand. So, this one is supposed to work on my mind. It seemed to be the one that they were the most confident about, so it shouldn’t be too hard on me. Still, they were hesitant to give it to Shae, so I should at least make some preparations.

I guess the first thing I should do is increase all my recovery just in case it’s powerful. With that thought, Derek slipped into Greater Meditation. It was his failsafe if something bad happened. He hoped that his increased health recover while in a meditative state could counter any possible damage he would receive from the potion.

After he used Greater Meditation, Derek pulled up his stats so he could see what effects the potion was having on him. Then, he could report his findings to Roman and Freia. Derek looked at the potion, then at the two Alchemists. He released a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.”

Derek popped the top of the potion and brought it to his mouth. In one swift motion, he tilted his head back, and the potion flooded his mouth. The potion had a very light taste, almost like water with a hint of coconut. If he had to describe it, he would say it was refreshing. It would be better if it were cold.

After sloshing the liquid around in his mouth for a moment, he swallowed. Immediately, he focused his attention on his stats, waiting for any type of increase or decrease. Nothing happened… Just as he was about to voice his concerns, the pain hit.

The pain was bad. It took him back to when he first arrived at this new world, but was much worse. It felt like his brain was being stabbed repeatedly all over. Instantly, he knew exactly what was happening. He was having multiple aneurysms at the same time. After the vessels burst, they would heal, only to burst again. It was torture.

The worst part was that Derek couldn’t focus. His meditation had failed after a few moments. There was too much going on for to stay in the meditative state. Not being able to meditate meant that his recovery was only a fraction of what it should have been.

Derek did his best to focus on his health, which was rapidly decreasing. It had only been moments and his health was at 70%. Each time a vessel burst, a chunk of his health went with it. It seemed like it was a critical hit with each successive rupture. Instinctively, he knew that if his health hit zero, he would die. There would be no second chance. He wouldn’t enter the ‘Dying State,’ he would just die.

It would be the same as somebody getting their head chopped off. If the hit was critical enough, the ‘Dying State’ would be skipped and you would just end up dead.

At 50% health, Derek was finally able to focus enough to cast Rejuvenation, but it wasn’t enough to do much. Then, he cast Cure Toxin, and barely muttered, “Health potion.”

Immediately, Freia was beside him, pouring a red potion down his throat. Derek was so out of it that he wouldn’t have been able to stop her, even if he wanted to. Luckily, the health potion she used seemed to be a good one. Soon, his health was back up to 60% and battling against the damage.

His HP kept fluctuating between 55% to 60%. The worry in his mind lessened. He cast Cure Toxin again once it was off cooldown. He still had a while before he could use Rejuvenation again, though. Actually, Cure Toxin didn’t do anything. Apparently, the potion wasn’t a toxin or poison.

With the panic gone, Derek soon got used to the small explosions happening throughout his brain. He was finally able to slip back into Greater Meditation. With that, his health slowly moved its way back up to 99%. Derek closed his eyes and focused on his increased regeneration as he waited for the effects of the potion to wear off.

After a long time, which, to Derek’s surprise, turned out to only be a few minutes, the pain lessened and the vessels in his brain slowly stopped rupturing. He could only compare what happened to popcorn. It was like the vessels were kernels and they rapidly popped until there weren’t any more left. The pain was as excruciating as the calm after was relaxing.

Once he could properly breathe again, Derek took a look at his stats. Both his Intelligence and Willpower had exactly a 10% increase. His analysis was further confirmed when he noticed a notification waiting for him. With a thought, he viewed it.

Unknown Potion Ingested

+10% increase to Intelligence and Willpower for the next 30 minutes.

That was 100% not worth it. He thought.

Finally, he opened his eyes and glared at the two Alchemists that were looking at him like he was a ghost. “That potion… was a failure.” He said.

“What was wrong with it? What exactly happened?” Roman asked as he handed Derek a clean cloth.

That was when Derek noticed his current state. He looked down, only to see a giant puddle of blood. He went to wipe his face with the clean cloth, only to see that it was already stained with blood that had covered his hands. After looking at the cloth, he looked at Roman. “Really?”

Roman shrugged, then smiled. “It’s the thought that counts.”

Derek’s entire body, from his eyes down, was covered in blood. According to the two Alchemists, when the potion activated, blood poured out of every orifice on his head. They too were stunned, and only came back to when Derek requested a health potion. The blood from his ears had run down his shoulders onto his hands, and the blood from his face ran down his chin, to his torso, then finally down to his feet.

Luckily, Derek had the perfect skill for the situation. Quickly, he cast Cleaning until he, his clothes, and the floor were blood free.

“Well?” Freia asked.

Derek shook his head. “If anything, I would call this a Potion of Assassination.” He said.

“What do you mean?” Roman asked.

Derek went on to explain everything he experienced. From the aneurysms and pain, to not being able to focus enough to use his skills, to the increase in stats once everything was over with.

Roman nodded at Derek’s explanations. “Assassination in deed.”

Derek’s health was sitting at 16,500 HP. It had gone all the way down to 8,000 HP before he tried to heal himself. It still decreased afterward due to the potion and was only able to restore itself because of the potions he was given.

“What was that potion you gave me?” He asked.

“Potion of Greater Restoration.” Freia answered. “It restores 90% of your health over the course of one minute.”

Derek thought about that. Once he took the potion, he was able to meditate and relieve the effects of the test potion. Finally, he shook his head. “That potion dealt over 20,000 points of damage to me in those few minutes.”

Both of the Alchemist’s eyes widened in disbelief. Finally, Roman asked, “How big is your health pool?”

Derek shook his head. “That’s only for me to know. Just know that it is big and I have a lot… and I mean A LOT of regeneration. And it still did over 20,000 points of damage, probably way more than that. So, all that for a 10% increase in those two stats… it’s not worth it. But I don’t believe there are more than a handful of people who would be able to survive taking it.”

Roman nodded. “I agree.”

“So, the potion is actually worth a lot. I would say that it would be worth more than whatever you were trying to make. It’s basically a guaranteed kill for almost anyone or anything in the kingdom… assuming it works on beasts the same way it works on humans.” Derek explained. And Modified Humans at that. He thought, remembered his status.

“You are correct, but I don’t think I’ll be selling something like that.” Roman added. Then, he gave Derek a huge grin. “I just leveled up.”

That stunned Derek. “Really?”

Roman nodded. “That’s the thing about Alchemy. You get XP for the process, but you also get a chunk of XP for creating something original. The XP is based on the rarity and power of the creation. I just received a notification about successfully creating a ‘Potion of Greater Mind Destruction,’ and enough XP to increase my level from mid-way through 211 to a quarter way through 212.”

“That’s crazy!” Derek exclaimed. “Not just the amount of experience earned, but that you just casually told me your level.”

Roman chuckled. “I’m an Alchemist. It’s to my advantage to advertise my level, unlike you sneaky warrior types. The more people that know my level, the more business it generates. Especially since they know how leveling a crafting class works. Knowing that my level increased from 211 to 212 in such a short time let’s them know that I have achieved something incredible. Which, in return, will generate even more business. Which will give me more money and materials. There is no downside for it.” He explained.

Derek shook his head. “I guess…”

“Plus, they all know that I have the backing of an Onyx Ranked Adventurer who just happens to be a Guild Master. I’m not exactly a good target.” Roman continued.

Derek smiled. “Well, congratulations… I guess.”

“Thanks!” Roman said. “Now… time for the next potion.” His eyes sparkled as he stared at the next potion.