Chapter 89: Ch 89: Potion making unlocked
Rin woke up with a stiff body. Moving even the slightest bit felt like being poked with pins and needles.
This was not the first time Rin had woken up feeling this way, so he knew how to deal with the situation. He needed to move to get his blood circulating.
And that’s when he ran into his first problem.
"Why am I bound...Ah, Shelly asked for this. Why did I allow her to tie me up? I don’t even enjoy this."
Rin complained as he adjusted himself into a comfortable position.. Sensation was slowly returning to his numb limbs and Rin let out a sigh as it became easier for him to move around.
Shelly had not bound him too tightly this time so Rin was easily able to free himself and take care of his needs. Since Rin’s room was adjacent to Shelly’s, he decided to head to his room.
He was enjoying his time in the bathroom when he heard a loud noise coming from Shelly’s room. It startled him enough to make him grab his clothes and pull them on over his wet skin.
"Shelly, did something happen?"
Rin asked as he looked around her room... which had been destroyed.? How did that even happen? He had been gone for only 25 minutes.
The covers on Shelly’s bed were thrown aside and her desk was flipped over. The antique vase she kept in the corner of her room was broken and the valuable paintings were destroyed as well. (But photos of Rin and Shelly had remained intact, which he did not notice)
Shelly’s eyes widened as soon as she saw Rin and she dropped the laptop she was holding (which was useless during these times anyway) and ran toward him and grabbed his face.
"Rin, are you alright? You were not in my room when I came back, so I assumed...anyway, you should get back to bed. Aren’t you tired?"
Shelly was panicking while looking over Rin. Her hands didn’t stay still for even a second. Was she having a stroke? Should he tell Shelly to get herself checked by Reina?
It took Rin some time to calm Shelly down and she finally relented (after checking him two more times).
But her worried expression stayed on her face.
"Fine. I’ll get myself checked out by Reina. Are you happy now?"
Shelly nodded but her mood dropped even more. Rin had no idea what she wanted from him now. Wasn’t he doing what she asked?
Rin made a quick escape before Shelly could say anything more.
’Maybe Shelly has just entered puberty and is showing teenage rebellion. Or, maybe it’s a weird female thing I am too stupid to understand.’
[Have you considered that it’s just you being ignorant? Honestly, your density surprises me sometimes. It makes me wonder how a human could be born like this. Or maybe you are not even a human? Rookie, have you been hiding stuff from me? This system is heart-broken beyond belief.]
"I am 100% human. Can’t you look at my reference sheet in the system’s information page? Besides, won’t someone have caught on to my real nature if I was not human?"
[Tsk, what a naive thing to say, Rookie. This universe is filled with endless possibilities. You can’t even imagine what all exists out there. Well, for more information, you can view the system’s encyclopedia.]
The system gave Rin a link but when he clicked on it, it took him to a page filled with XXXX and a message that said - ’You do not have the authority to view this page. Please try after you raise your internal ranking.’
"Are you trying to make fun of me?"
Rin asked and the system immediately replied.
[Rookie, don’t be discouraged. You might not be able to see this list, but if you make this your goal and work hard, then you will surely succeed one day. Keep fighting for that goal.]
"Tsk, I would much rather fight for better goals."
Rin complained before closing the panel.
...
[Additional compensation for system task: Enchanting Weapons is available. Would you like to see compensation?]
Rin clicked the button to check his reward.
[Skill had leveled up. Perfect Craftsman (lvl 1) -> Perfect Craftsman(lvl2)]
[New abilities have been unlocked]
[You can now enhance more weapon types. More after-effects have also been unlocked]
[You have unlocked potion crafting]
Rin rubbed his eyes as soon as he saw the notifications. He expected the notifications to change, but nothing happened.
[Congratulations Rookie. You have leveled up. This system expects you to keep up such work and show even more dedication.]
The happy message was displayed on the screen, but Rin still felt suspicious of it.
"Crafting potions? Isn’t that too good of an ability to give out randomly? Are you sure I can have it?"
Rin asked, sensing a trap. Things were never straightforward when it came to the system. As expected, the system did not take long to show its real colors.
[Don’t get ahead of yourself. Your insignificant skills cannot match their mastery of the potion-making system yet. But if the Rookie wants to provide some samples as a gift, this senior won’t say no.]
"Are you going to pay me?"
The system went quiet which was enough to tell Rin that it had no intention of doing anything nice for Rin.
Still, potion making was a skill much more important to him than weapon enchantment. This way, he won’t have to spend money buying potions and he could focus it on better things.
"Alright, let’s try to make a potion."
The process to make one was simple. Rin needed to command the system and a bottle would appear in front of him. Next, he needed to pour his energy inside the bottle and the potion would finish. From start to finish, it took one minute
It was not the first time Rin felt like this.
Rin tried to make a few before he began to notice the unnatural tiredness in his body. This usually happened when he used his abilities and he had also noticed that his fatigue levels jumped up quicker compared to everyone else.
He was about to complain when the system spoke first.
[Rookie, you are only feeling like this because you have not been acquainted with the lifeblood of an office worker. Here, let me give you our golden secret.]
A cup appeared in front of Rin and inside it was a familiar black liquid.
"Is this... coffee?"
[Don’t mistake that lifeblood for mere coffee. It’s the heart and soul of a system worker. Just try it and see the results.]