Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Survive the freeze, please! part

Later that day Rina went to visit Sera, who was still busy at the warehouse. When Sera noticed who was at the door she felt a bit scared, thinking that maybe she did something wrong, but her fear was unfounded, because as soon as Rina got inside she kissed Sera’s cheek.

“I don’t know what you said or did to Ryu, but I have a lot to thank you for girl!”

Sera knew the meaning behind Rina’s joyful mood and, despite feeling a bit jealous, she was truly happy for both of them.

It took Sera two full days of work to sort every different herb that was in the storage, when she told Ryu that she finished her task he went in to check everything was alright. After that he grabbed a sack with ring herbs and headed upstairs.

In those couple days when everyone kept busy training, he set up his workshop upstairs. Since it was dangerous to operate the distiller in closed environments he had to device a way to keep the fumes from gathering inside. He made some vents and pipes, which added to stone floor, were supposed to keep accidents from happening in there. He was finally ready to try his new distiller.

Ryu grabbed enough ring herbs and followed Ayumi’s instructions that were written on the note he got, keeping the temperature in check was a difficult task so he needed to supervise the whole process, and he also wanted to see if his vents were working properly, anyway he decided to spend the whole time inside the workshop.

When it reached the optimum temperature, a soft noise similar to a leaking pipe was all he needed to know he had done things properly, but that wasn’t the end of it. He also got a system message:

.....

Transmutation 53%

Transmutation 54%

His skill progressed one percent in about fifteen minutes and he was beyond ecstatic. Everything was going according to plan, even his companions were rapidly developing thanks to a proper diet and a lot of hard work.

Finally a clear green liquid started filling out the finished product pot and Ryu used his identify skill.

Ring herb extract: powerful medicine that can’t be applied on wounds, poisonous.

“If it can’t be applied nor can it be drink, what good is it?” he mumbled to himself.

But he wouldn’t let something like that stop him. He grabbed three small glass bottles that he bought along with many supplies before the freeze, and filled them with water, then he proceeded to put a couple drops of extracts in one.

Ring herb concentrate: mild medicinal properties that can’t be applied on wounds, poisonous.

He proceeded to do the same two more times, but the result always ended in a poisonous substance.

After all his effort he was disappointed in the result. The worst part was that he needed to properly clean the equipment before using it to make something else, but then he remembered he had a couple of slaves that remain idle most of the day.

He didn’t like the idea of taking advantage from them, but since he was paying them 5 copper coins per day in order for them to buy their own freedom sometime, the least they could do was earn the money with honest work.

Eiri and Kairi were more than happy to help Ryu, but it turned out that both of them were a couple of airheads and their learning speed was much less than Ryu expected. He showed them how to properly clean every part of the machine, but when Eiri bent one of the pipes because it was in the way, Ryu politely asked them to get the hell out of the workshop and don’t ever come back.

“Ryu, what was all that about? you never yell like that”

Rina came into the workshop when she saw Eiri and kairi running out with teary eyes.

“I know, I feel bad too... I asked Eiri to help me clean the distiller and she almost broke it”

“Don’t worry darling, I can help you! After all I’ve been washing dishes and mugs for years”

Rina said placing a hand on her arm making a pose that was supposed to show her muscles meaning ‘I can do it’, yet all Ryu saw was her breasts pressing against her arms.

“You can touch all you want, we’re all alone you know”

Rina said with a grin after catching his perverted eyes staring at her bosom.

“No way Rina! if you help me in here I need you to focus on the job, its of the utmost importance that we clean it properly or the next batch could be ruined”

“Yes, yes, I will try to keep my hands to myself then, I can’t promise anything though”

She shrugged, making Ryu chuckle. Ryu did enjoy his time with Rina before their naked fun time, and he feared that things might become awkward, now he was certain that it was all inside his mind and she was still the same Rina he met before, only a lot closer to him.

He considered himself lucky for many reasons and there were many things that made him happy, but his relationship with Rina was at the top of the list.

With Rina’s assistance Ryu managed to make extracts from every plant they had at their disposal, including potatoes and grain. Rina was so happy when she found out that the mysterious machine was also able to make liquor, because that meant that they wouldn’t run out of drinks and they will be able to serve customers at least until spring season.

With many different extracts at his disposal he mixed them in many different combinations and ratios, and this time the products were even better than he expected.

Whenever he mixed a medicinal extract with a detoxifying one the result was something that kept the medicinal properties untouched but eliminated the poisonous effect. But that wasn’t the end of it, he was able to make medicine for burns, frostbite, light wounds, medium wounds and even serious wounds. The results varied so much that he needed to write the exact recipes and that took him a lot of time and effort, especially since Rina couldn’t help him with that.

“What got you so motivated to work so much into this? I think the potato alcohol you made is more than enough for our needs”

Said Rina moving on her chair as if it was a rocking chair, making the most annoying creaking sound.

“I need to find something to help Sera with her broken arm”

He said still taking notes about his last experiment.

“Is it even possible?”

She asked intrigued.

“Give me your hand”

Rina extended her arm without hesitation and Ryu placed a droplet of a mysterious bubbling liquid on her hand. At first she didn’t feel anything, but then her whole hand went numb and she couldn’t move it at all.

“That’s a paralyze potion, I wanted to make an anesthetic, but it came out wrong”

“My hand! I can’t move it!”

“I know, that’s why it’s called paralyze potion”

“What’s the point in making something like this?”

“I’m just making some experiments for now. Every time I make a new potion it has so many properties that I need to compensate adding more substances. Some substances counter side effects while others, when mixed together, create completely different effects. For example, I managed to create a pretty good medicine for burns, but it had a nasty side effect that weakened a person’s strength for a while. In order to get rid of that side effect I stumbled upon a fire resistance potion”

Ryu said as he drank a vial and then placed his hand directly on the fire beneath the distiller. He felt just a little bit of pain and his hand wasn’t burned in the slightest.

“It only works for a couple seconds, but my guess is that there’s a way to make the effects last longer, I just need to experiment a bit longer”

“How do you know the effects a potion has before you drink it?”

“This has been a secret for a while, but I have a skill called identify”

“Uh, I’ve heard about that skill, there was a merchant that was supposed to have it, I can’t remember his name though”

“That’s nice to hear, at least I’m not a weirdo”

“Don’t be silly darling, even if you had the weirdest skill or none at all, you would still be the weirdest person I’ve ever met”

Rina said, making Ryu feel comforted at first but when he noticed she was mocking him he put his hand on her head and messed with her hair.

“Ahh! violence! my boyfriend is so violent!”

She joked squinting her eyes with her hair disheveled, but when Ryu heard himself being called her boyfriend a sweet sensation ran down to his stomach, it felt like vertigo but in a pleasurable way. He leaned close to her and kissed Rina deeply, leaving her flushing and panting.

“Why did you do that?”

She said trying to keep Ryu from noticing her arousal.

“Am I not your boyfriend? anyways, you’re distracting me too much, I need you to let me focus on this”

“That’s not fair, you can’t start things and then send me on my way”

She pouted.

“Oh, so now you’re telling me what I can or can’t do... At least wait until we’re married”

He joked, but just by hearing the word ‘married’ stiffened her limbs and he walked sheepishly outside.

Anne just happened to be in the hallway upstairs when Rina exited the room, when she noticed her expression, her bright red cheeks, her disheveled hair and two small buttons that stood out on her dress, she thought that Ryu and Rina just had some action.

Anne’s heart shattered in a thousand pieces and a bitter smile inhabited her face.