Chapter 5: Supply and Demand

In the Red Lions’ base...

The Red Lions were much larger than the Seven Snakes. The gang controlled four districts in total, with more than three hundred men in total.

Each of the three subordinate districts was controlled and managed by separate sub-leaders. They were now eyeing the Seven Snakes district, which would be an easy kill. However, they were not the only enemy facing the Red Lions, with both larger and smaller gangs trying to test them with small skirmishes.

No gang wanted a full-out bloodbath between gangs – they were here to make money, not to be mass murderers.

At this very moment, the sub-leader of the adjacent district to the Seven Snakes was training hard against a wooden dummy in a massive training yard nested between buildings. Wounding a punch that caused the reddish armour set to elicit striking neon blue lines reminiscent of arcite fuel, he delivered a devastating strike, cracking the wooden dummy figure into half.

Two Red Lion associates ran up to him, getting down on one knee while waiting for the sub-leader to acknowledge their presence. He panted slightly, grabbing a towel from a servant and wiping off the sweat on his scarred forehead. He ran his other hand through his spiky dark red hair before tossing the towel back and nodding towards the two underlings. “Speak.”

“Boss Wrent, we still can’t find any trace of Riker. We suspect another rival gang has imprisoned him.”

“Who did it?”

The associates looked at each other before one gulped and bowed lower. “Boss, I think it’s the Seven Snakes.”

A loud bellowing laughter roared through the yard. “Ridiculous! Against us?! The Left Paw of the Red Lions?! Ulon and his measly twenty men would never be able to pull off such a feat.”

“But boss, he was last seen heading towards their district, where we recently took over ownersh-“The associates paused as Wrent raised his hand.

“Or maybe a bigger gang has impersonated them and is trying to get us to fight each other. I would not put it past the Ilysian Punks or the Wretches, and it won’t be the first time they did such a thing. Our main headquarters is still at war with them. Focus your search on the punks from Versia.”

The Ilysian Punks and Wretches were non-native gangs, hailing as immigrant-formed from beyond the border.

“Yes, boss. What do we do about the Seven Snakes now?”

Wrent currently had more than sixty men under him, three times the number of the Seven Snakes. However, a cornered animal was just as dangerous as a wounded one. Wrent was playing the slow game. Any pyrrhic victory would leave him weak and vulnerable to the other sub-leaders and external rival gangs.

If I can subjugate the Seven Snakes while the headquarters and other sub-leaders are busy with the Ilysian Punks and Wretches, it would be a big boost to my reputation and allow me more of the take.

“Carry out my orders. Keep an eye out for any booming businesses of the Seven Snakes. The moment any of them stand out, we will slowly target them one by one with persistent harassment, crippling their finances. They are already in debt, and this would eventually force them to capitulate without a single loss of life on our side.”

The next day...

Kyle observed intently as he poured out a tenth of the Stamina Recovery potion, mixing it with stored rainwater as the base, representing nine parts. He then swirled the mixture around before pouring it into an empty flask, filling it to the brim.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item Created

[Diluted Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)]

Restores a tiny amount of stamina.

Recommended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every hour

Ingredients, Poair Leaves, ???, Water

Cooldown: Thirty seconds

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Title Obtained

[Potion Crafter (Basic)]

Mixing water with an existing potion might be inane but still worthy of recognition.

+5 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +5% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials

Kyle immediately put down the diluted potion and picked it back up.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item Created

[Diluted Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)]

Restores a tiny amount of stamina.

Recommended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every hour

Ingredients, Poair Leaf, Greis Powder, Water

Cooldown: Thirty secondsThe source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

“Finally, the entire list of ingredients is visible to me. The exact recipe might be missing, but it’s a start.” Kyle quickly retrieved the Mind-Bending Potion.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

[Mind-Bending Potion (Basic)]

Sends the user on an illusionary trip fueled by their subconscious, rendering them incapable of normal functions.

Recommended Dosage: Half a bottle for an adult human male for three days

Ingredients: Poair Leaf, ???, ???, ???, ???

Cooldown: Thirty seconds

The description had barely changed, much to his frustration. “Looks like I don’t have the necessary skills to see such a complicated recipe yet.” Kyle mused to himself, noting a difference in the number of ingredients between the two types of potions.

He repeated the process of diluting the Stamina Recovery Potions, but no new titles, skills or information appeared. “I’m relying a bit too much on this holographic interface, it seems, a very addictive approach. Perhaps when I get back to the Melsura Star Sector, I should buy out the VR game industry as much as possible...”

With now a hundred and twenty diluted potions, he ordered Damian and another gang member to distribute them to the training gang members, who were now undergoing a hellish regime.

Kyle called for Keith. “How much cash reserve do we have?”

“Uhm, about twenty thousand rakels since you spent the other half on the potions. That was last month’s revenue.” Keith was a lot more receptive to Kyle now as they had witnessed the relative increase in competency.

“What are our current expenses?”

“Hmm, food, utilities, equipment maintenance. It should amount to ten thousand rakels, assuming five hundred for each gang member. This is also taking into consideration that there would be no future fights with the other gangs.”

Kyle was reminded that Riker was still imprisoned by them. If I let him go, the Red Lion would come running at us. I can’t afford a fight now. Seeing as they have not approached us yet, they probably thought it was another gang who attacked them after the fight. Let’s keep it that way.

“Are you familiar with Poair Leaf and Greis Powder?” Kyle asked.

[Poair Leaves (Basic)] [Greis Powder (Basic)] [Euria Seeds (Basic)] [Extracted Euria Seed Oil (Basic)] [Pure Euria Mineral]

He then used a separate flask to mix the Poair Leaf and the Greis Powder along with water, trying to get the ratio right. Too many leaves and it was simply tea. Too much Powder, and it was more of a sludge. Too much water and nothing at all. Each flask could only hold two hundred and fifty millilitres, based on his estimate.

He soon had five flasks going in sequence, boiling them in tandem for different durations. He checked them all, frowning when the holographic interface did not pop up, which meant he failed.

However, with the sheer brute force of combination, he finally managed to figure out the recipe. “15% of each, the rest water, boiled for three minutes.”

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item Created

[Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)]

Restores a tiny amount of stamina.

Recommended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every eight hours

Ingredients, Poair Leaves, Greis Powder, Water

Cooldown: Thirty seconds

He did not receive another title or skill, but it was good enough. He then took the dark yellow residue, dropping a small amount into the potion.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item Created

[Addictive Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)]

Restores a moderate amount of stamina, along with a moderate temporary high.

Recommended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every eight hours

Repeated consumption in a short period of time may result in addiction

Ingredients, Poair Leaves, Greis Powder, Pure Euria Minerals, Water

Cooldown: Thirty seconds

A small smile appeared on Kyle’s face as he read the description. “Our first drug. Time to begin.”

WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN

Level 9

Max HP: 34(+0)(+0)

Max MP: 0(+0)(+0)

Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)

[Status Effects]

NONE

[STATS]

Race Human Class ??? STR 43(+17)(+0) DEX 39(+13)(+0) INT 49(+20)(+3) VIT 33(+0)(+3) CHA 21(+10)(+1) Free Points 40 [EQUIPMENT]

[Necklace of Healing (Basic)]

+3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) – Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.

[SKILLS] NONE [TITLES] [Former Crime Lord]

A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh?

+10 INT, +10 CHA

[Martial Arts Training]

The best things between you and death are your fists

+10 STR, +10 DEX

[Murderer]

Everyone has to start somewhere

+2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans

[Usurper (Basic)]

So, climbing the ranks huh?

+5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority

[Potion Inspector (Basic)]

Ah, you seem to be looking for something very specific.

+5 INT, Increased description of potions examined.

[Potion Crafter (Basic)]

Mixing water with an existing potion might be inane but still worthy of recognition.

+5 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +5% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials