84. The Apothecary Is Complete
After several minutes of being chased around the campfire by Siska, the atmosphere finally settled down. Rian, who couldn’t stand watching Rangga keep running anymore, eventually grabbed Siska’s arm while laughing.
“Enough, Sis... Give Rangga a break.”
Siska was still giggling.
“Fine... It was funny, though.”
Rangga, who was standing quite a distance away, let out a sigh of relief.
“Damn... That was exhausting.”
Fajar laughed again.
“You can fight monsters the size of houses... but you run away from one girl.”
“Shut up.”
Not long afterward, they sat in a circle around the campfire again. Each of them held a bowl of food as they enjoyed their dinner, which had already begun to cool.
In the middle of their casual conversation, Rangga suddenly became serious.
“Hey... I wanna talk about something.”
The other three immediately looked at him.
“What is it, Bro?”
Rangga put his bowl down.
“Today I met a Pioneer from another country.”
Fajar immediately stopped chewing.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah... He followed me and Mayor Deri from behind.”
Rian frowned.
“Then?”
“He hid himself using mud.”
Siska was immediately surprised as well.
“Why?”
Rangga shrugged.
“He said he just wanted to introduce himself... But who hides in the mud when they want to meet someone?”
Fajar slowly nodded.
“True.”
Rangga continued.
“Luckily, Andre thought he was a Simosuchus... So he shot him first.”
Rian’s eyes widened.
“Wait, he actually shot the guy?”
“Yeah... In the thigh.”
Siska winced.
“That must’ve hurt.”
“His fault.”
Rangga took a little rice.
“That’s why you shouldn’t sneak around.”
The atmosphere became slightly more serious as Rangga looked at each of them.
“Anyway, be careful from now on... It’s confirmed that you can encounter other Pioneers on three-star islands. Not all of them are necessarily friendly.”
Fajar nodded in agreement.
“Yeah... Mayor and I met Lucas yesterday, and he was nice... But that doesn’t mean everyone else will be.”
Rian nodded as well.
“So we shouldn’t go alone, right?”
“Exactly.”
Rangga pointed at Rian.
“I was thinking... From now on, Pioneer Garuda members who go to three-star islands should never go alone.”
Siska immediately agreed.
“It’s safer in groups.”
“Yeah... At least two people.”
Fajar immediately opened the regional chat panel.
“I’ll tell the others.”
“Go ahead.”
Fajar began typing.
Fajar: For those who have already reached Level 3.
Fajar: If possible, never enter a ⭐⭐⭐ island alone.
Fajar: Bro Rangga met another country’s Pioneer there today.
Fajar: Not all of them necessarily have good intentions.
Fajar: So try to explore with at least one other person.
Not long afterward, replies began appearing.
Rio: Got it.
Bima: Noted.
Yusuf: Okay.
Broto: Whatever.
Fajar closed the chat.
“Done... The others agree too.”
Rangga continued.
“One more thing.”
He pointed at Rian and Siska.
“You two have equipment now. If another Pioneer Garuda member reaches Level 3 later... you can help teach them.”
Rian immediately nodded.
“Sure.”
Siska smiled as well.
“Okay.”
“Tell them about the monsters there... Don’t let them go in blind.”
Rangga nodded in satisfaction.
“Because the monsters on three-star islands aren’t something you can just fight recklessly... If you don’t understand their patterns, it’s dangerous.”
Fajar chimed in.
“Like when I fought the Herrerasaurus... If Bro Rangga hadn’t been there, I’d have been done for.”
Everyone chuckled, and Rangga suddenly remembered something else.
“Oh yeah. If anyone wants armor or weapons made... like you two.”
Rian immediately responded.
“Wait at the island of whoever invited them?”
“Exactly.”
Rangga pointed at him again.
“Precisely... For example, if Fajar invites them, they wait at Fajar’s island... Then I’ll come over.”
Siska nodded slowly.
“So you don’t have to keep going back and forth?”
“Yeah... Saves time.”
Rangga then grinned.
“But... don’t forget the payment.”
Fajar immediately laughed.
“There it is... You always end up asking for payment.”
“Of course.”
Rangga laughed as well.
“I’m nice, not a charity.”
They all burst out laughing. Once the atmosphere settled down again, Rangga looked at the campfire in front of them.
“What I want is... for every Pioneer Garuda member to grow stronger.”
“We can’t depend on me forever... If eventually everyone can make their own weapons and armor... then we’ll all be strong together.”
The three of them fell silent for a moment before Fajar slowly nodded.
“Amen.”
Rian smiled.
“Hopefully we can catch up soon, Bro.”
Siska nodded as well.
“We will.”
The campfire continued burning through the night as their relaxed conversation continued. Among the Pioneer Garuda members, something was slowly beginning to take shape—something that many other countries still did not have.
Their conversation continued until their food was completely gone. After that, there was nothing else they needed to do that night.
Rangga stood first.
“Well then... I’m heading back.”
Fajar stood as well.
“Take care, Rangga.”
Rian raised his new long spear with a smile.
“Thanks again, Bro.”
Siska waved.
“Be careful at sea.”
Rangga gave a short nod.
“Yeah.”
“See you tomorrow.”
They said their goodbyes. Rangga headed back toward his ship while Fajar, Rian, and Siska accompanied him to the small dock.
Not long afterward, Rangga’s ship left Fajar’s island and once again cut through the sea toward his own private island.
Upon arriving at his island, Rangga immediately disembarked and headed toward the production area without wasting any time.
His goal for tonight was clear.
The Furnace.
He stopped in front of his Kiln and opened the building panel.
Upgrade Kiln → Furnace
The materials that had previously been missing were now all complete thanks to the Heat Regulator obtained from the Mechanical Shantungosaurus hunt.
Rangga immediately pressed the confirmation button. A golden-white light enveloped the Kiln in front of him.
The stones making up its structure began to change shape. The furnace grew larger, its walls becoming sturdier with dark metal plating, while a new chimney slowly emerged from the top.
Several seconds later, the light disappeared. His simple Kiln had now been transformed into a Furnace.
Rangga immediately opened its production menu.
“Damn...”
A list of new recipes immediately filled the screen.
Glass x1
4 Quartz
1 Coal
Brass Ingot x1
1 Copper Ingot
1 Zincornium Ingot
2 Coal
Steel Ingot x1
1 Iron Ingot
1 Tin Ingot
2 Coal
Rangga read through them one by one, slowly nodding.
“Ohhh... So that’s what the Zincornium Ore from the Herrerasaurus is for.”
He immediately remembered that the Apothecary recipe required Brass Ingots.
“No wonder... So that’s how the progression works.”
Without thinking for long, Rangga immediately loaded the necessary materials into the Furnace.
“Brass first.”
Ten smelting processes began immediately. After that, he added Quartz and Coal.
“Forty Glass.”
The flames inside the Furnace burned much brighter than those of the previous Kiln. The sound of glowing embers continued as the smelting process proceeded automatically.
A while later, everything was finished. Ten Brass Ingots and forty Glass.
Rangga immediately smiled with satisfaction.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.”
He opened the island construction menu again.
Apothecary
All the materials that had previously been shown in red had now turned green. Without hesitation, Rangga selected Build.
Light appeared once again beside his house. The ground slowly changed shape before a new building rose directly beside the main house.
The building wasn’t particularly large, but it looked neat. Wooden shelves filled the interior, along with a workbench, stone mortar, empty glass bottles, and various storage containers for herbal ingredients.
At the same time, the Blood Moss, Cinchona Bark, Tree Resin, Natural Rubber, and various medicinal plants that had previously been stored in his warehouse gradually moved on their own onto the Apothecary’s shelves.
Rangga looked at his new building with satisfaction.
“Damn... It’s finally done.”
He immediately stepped inside the Apothecary to see what new functions had become available after spending the entire day hunting materials on the Swamp Island.
Rangga opened the newly completed Apothecary panel.
His eyes immediately scanned the list of recipes appearing one after another.
Refined Resin
5 Raw Resin
1 Coal
Natural Rubber
3 Raw Rubber
1 Charcoal
Antibiotics
3 Cinchona Bark
1 Bio Catalyst
Bleeding Suppressant
3 Blood Moss
1 Enzyme Gel
Regeneration Salve
3 Gotu Kola
1 Enzyme Gel
Antiseptic
3 Yarrow
1 Bio Catalyst
Rangga slowly read through everything, and his smile grew wider.
“Damn... Finally.”
He immediately looked at the Bleeding Suppressant and Antibiotics recipes several times to make sure he had read them correctly.
“So now we actually have medicine.”
He leaned against the Apothecary workbench for a moment and let out a relieved breath.
Until now, whenever he got injured, he could only hope the wound wasn’t too serious or that it would stop bleeding on its own. Even Mayor Deri’s injury earlier and David’s bolt wound had only been treated crudely with raw Blood Moss.
Now things were different.
If all these recipes worked as expected, injuries would no longer be as serious a threat as before.
Rangga looked over the recipe list again. His eyes stopped on one particular ingredient.
“Natural Rubber...”
He slowly nodded.
“Ohhh... So that’s where it gets processed.”
He had wondered why Raw Rubber obtained from trees couldn’t be used directly.
Apparently, it still had to be processed through the Apothecary first.
“Makes sense.”
Without wasting any time, Rangga immediately placed several materials onto the workbench.
Blood Moss. Enzyme Gel. Cinchona Bark. Bio Catalyst.
A short while later, the Apothecary workbench began operating. A distinctive herbal aroma filled the room as the ingredients were crushed, mixed, and processed into medicine.
Before long, several small bottles were neatly arranged on the table. Bleeding Suppressant and Antibiotics.
Rangga processed a small portion of his remaining herbs as well. He deliberately avoided using his entire stock because he didn’t yet know how difficult Blood Moss and Cinchona Bark would be to obtain in the future.
Once he finished, he transferred all the medicine into his inventory.
The quantity wasn’t large, but it was enough for emergencies.
Rangga stared at the bottles for a moment before smiling with satisfaction.
“There. If I get injured again... I won’t have to panic.”
He then turned toward the Apothecary shelves, which were now beginning to fill with various medicinal plants gathered during his exploration of the swamp.
The more facilities he managed to build, the more apparent it became that his small island was gradually changing.
It was no longer merely a place to survive. It was slowly becoming a base capable of producing its own equipment, weapons, armor, and even medicine.