Having concluded his meeting with Oleg, Tyler seemed rather disheartened.
Obsessive as he was, he had hoped for Oleg to thoroughly explain the combat plan, but alas, their relationship was not that of a superior and subordinate.
The fact that Oleg trusted him so much was already quite an honor.
This trust was largely due to the gold emblem of the Scarlet Family.
-(Next time I meet Viviana, I would have to express my gratitude.)
At this point, all Tyler could do was hope that Oleg proved reliable.
A person who could serve as Branch Chief should not be too far off the mark.
.
Since he couldn’t change others, Tyler focused on preparing himself as best as possible for battle.
Initially, he thought his next life-threatening encounter would occur during the trial, but now, in order to conquer Emilia, he had to put himself in danger tonight.
With only two days left on his death countdown, he had no choice but to take a gamble.
After receiving “Basic Antidote Production Methods and Formulas” from Emilia the day before, Tyler had made a total of 100 antidotes.
Generally, to verify the effectiveness of a potion, one would need to find a poisoned test subject or have someone willingly ingest poison before using the antidote.
However, with the Divine Eye of Transcendence’s identification ability, Tyler could tell at a glance whether an antidote was successful or not.
The Divine Eye’s power always proved incredibly convenient in unexpected ways.
Out of the 100 antidotes, the appraisal results were as follows:
Not only poisonous but also toxic: 68 bottles;
Ineffectual but safe to drink as water: 14 bottles;
Possessing weak detoxification effects: 7 bottles;
Meeting the detoxification standard for a basic antidote: 11 bottles.
Tyler wasn’t sure about others’ first attempts, but he was satisfied with his 11% success rate.
Today, based on yesterday’s experience, he fine-tuned the formula and made another 100 antidotes.
This time, 37 bottles met the detoxification standard for a basic antidote—more than triple the previous day’s results!
(Indeed, the key to success lies in the formula and the quality of the ingredients…) 𝗈𝗏𝐞𝔩xt.𝗇𝓔t
Tyler had now essentially determined the precise formula for the basic antidote; all that remained was standardizing the processing of the ingredients.
As he took out pen and paper to calculate and record, he suddenly received a notification.
—”Experience requirements met; Production Occupation ‘Pharmacist’ assigned according to product type,”
This unexpected surprise made sense considering Tyler’s recent activities.
He immediately checked the skills provided by the “Pharmacist” occupation, expecting abilities such as “Potion Effect Amplification” or “Potion Crafting Success Rate Increase.”
Instead, Tyler saw the following skill:
━━━━━━━━━
Skill Name: Calculation Boost
Skill Effect:
During activation, increase calculation ability by 5%;
Consumes 5 magic power per second during activation, with less than one second counted as one second.
━━━━━━━━━
(Calculation Boost? I’m now a CPU or a GPU?)
At first, Tyler was puzzled, but after some thought, he realized the skill had its uses.
First, as a pharmacist, he needed to calculate various ratios, weights, and other data for formulas; second, in battle, his ability to see various data meant that stronger calculation power would allow him to devise combat strategies more quickly.
The value of a skill ultimately depends on its application.
.
After completing his “duties” as a Pharmacist for the day, Tyler commenced his subsequent preparations.
Owing to the harsh nature of this Prison Star world, there were no bug-like items such as “Interdimensional Storage Bags of Doraemon,” thus limiting the things Tyler could carry.
In his battle-ready state, Tyler’s equipment consisted of:
One set of leather armor;
A hunting bow;
Two quivers of short arrows (a total of 80);
A single iron round shield;
One handguard sword;
A willow-leaf dagger;
A luminous magic stone;
Five smoke bombs;
Three flints.
This assemblage represented the upper limit; carrying more would hinder Tyler’s agility in combat.
Consequently, he shifted his focus to enhancing his steed, Moto-chan.
After scoping out the area, Tyler took an interest in a set of horse armor.
Following some haggling, he still had to pay the hefty sum of 40 silver coins.
Tyler, feeling the pinch, contemplated selling the magic core of “Rogue Shadow Demon” but ultimately couldn’t bear to part with it.
Later, he visited a weapon shop to have his meteorite iron-forged willow-leaf dagger appraised. The master there, a kind man, candidly stated that the meteorite iron was of excellent quality, but the forging was mediocre; he purchased the dagger for 45 silver coins.
With cash in hand, Tyler finally acquired the horse armor, allowing Moto-chan to bid farewell to running bare and providing some resistance against enemy attacks.
At this point, Tyler had made all the necessary preparations; all that remained was to rest, replenish his magic energy, and ensure his body was in peak condition.
-(I wonder what the situation is in the Quest Guild right now… There shouldn’t be any unexpected complications, right?)
Tyler gazed in the direction of the Quest Guild, apprehensive in his heart.
.
In the Quest Guild, Nassar was in high spirits today, small talking with other bounty hunters who were waiting to form teams.
“You know what? I heard some big news when I went to Gudetown!”
“The Gudetown Cavalry was completely wiped out in the Sandrift Gorge!”
“If they had just let us handle the Rock Shadow Demon, they wouldn’t have lost so many people. It’s hilarious how they tried to show off despite their incompetence, haha!”
Nassar reveled in the tragic end of the Gudetown Cavalry, and the other bounty hunters showed no sympathy, joining Nassar in raucous laughter.
In the Sunny Town Quest Guild, looking down on Gudetown was a collective tendency, and this inclination was largely initiated by Nassar.
“Listen up, bros!”
“It seems like the cowards of Gudetown don’t care about the Rock Shadow Demon anymore. Next month, let’s form a team and take it down!”
“Let them see the power of our Sunny Town Quest Guild!”
“Oh yeah!”
“Nassar, you’re the man!”
“Take me with you when the time comes, Nassar!”
Nassar relished the feeling of being praised by everyone.
He glanced at the reception desk, hoping to see if Emilia was attracted to him, but to his disappointment, Emilia didn’t look his way at all.
—(Hmph, what a snooty bitch, acting like she’s deaf!)
—(Keep playing coy, you sly fox. Once I get my hands on the Blaze Steed tonight, you’ll be of no use to me!)
·
As the sun set and darkness fell, Nassar waited early in the tavern, anticipating the arrival of the Branch Chief Oleg with the Blaze Steed.
Five minutes before the agreed-upon time, Branch Chief Oleg appeared early, holding a long wooden box in his hands.
Just by looking at the length of the box, Nassar knew that the Secret Saber: Blaze Steed must be inside.