CH 77

Episode 77 – Results of the Experiment

Having laid down my plans, I popped open the lid of Magic Potion. The potion was blue, and its color didn’t look like something that humans should normally be able to ingest safely. I took a small sip and slowly savored the taste of it before swallowing.

I imagined it to have the characteristic bitterness of Magical Grass, but… it wasn’t bitter? On the contrary, it possessed a faint sweetness that left a refreshing aftertaste.

How strange. A long time ago, I drank a Magic Potion before, but I could’ve sworn that it tasted just like the bitter extract of the Magical Grass at the time. Although I had my doubts about its flavor, I drained the remaining amount of the sweet Magic Potion in one gulp. After that, I made short work of the remaining two Magic Potions, drinking them all in one go. I really wanted to examine the effect by drinking one Magic Potion at a time, but I was worried about the possibility that drinking only one might not raise my magic power capacity by a full unit.

Today, I drank all three Magic Potions to investigate whether or not Magic Potions can increase total magic power capacity or not. If my magic power capacity didn’t go up after drinking a full three bottles, it would probably be safe to conclude that Magic Potions didn’t increase magic power capacity at all.

And… it suddenly occurred to me while I was drinking the faintly sweet-tasting potions that perhaps this characteristic was an exclusive secret of Elf’s Tears. I felt like I had really learned a lot about “flavor” today. For a moment, I felt tempted to become that grandma’s apprentice, but for now it was more important to see if my magic power capacity increased or not. After getting ready for bed, I began to synthesize plants.

Because my magic power capacity was 14 before drinking the Magic Potions, if I could synthesize 5 Magical Grass, then that would mean my magic power capacity had increased. With that in mind, I started synthesizing Magical Grass.

(TL: Quick reminder that each Magical Grass costs 3 units of magic power)

I synthesized 4 Magical Grass without a problem. With a short suspenseful breath, I started with the fifth one.

Oh!! No symptoms of weakness came even though I grasped the fifth Magical Grass in my hands. I managed to make 5 Magical Grass! That meant that Magic Potions were indeed capable of increasing total magic power capacity. Along with the existence of the tasty Magic Potion, this was quite a discovery. Alright! I still had to proceed and investigate the growth of my magic power capacity.

From 3 Low-grade Magic Potions, just how much would my magic power capacity increase by?

From here onwards, I decided to switch to synthesizing Medical Herbs, and I soon started with the first one.

—-Hmm. The first one was successfully synthesized. No problems with the second one either.

And the moment I tried to synthesize the third—- no Medical Herbs were produced, and I was assailed by weakness.

I see. Three Low-grade Magic Potions increased my total magic power capacity by 3. While 142 stalks of Magical Grass increased my magic power capacity by 11, these three Magic Potions alone raised it by 3. Taking into account the market price of 2 copper coins per stalk of Magical Grass, each unit of magic power capacity increase would cost about 2 silver coins and 5 copper coins for the method of direct ingestion of Magical Grass. The Low-grade Magic Potions cost me 4 silver coins each, so for the potion method, each unit of magic power capacity increase would cost exactly 4 silver coins. Magic Potions were fairly expensive, but, after remembering the suffering I went through to directly ingest the stalks of Magical Grass, that difference of 1 silver coin and 5 copper coins suddenly didn’t seem like much. If I were able to brew those tasty Magic Potions on my own, I would be able to increase my magic power capacity easily at a much cheaper cost.

At any rate, today’s experiments were a great success because I was able to find a delicious way of eating Dumbbell Weed, and I discovered that those tasty Magic Potions were able to increase my total magic power capacity. Feeling satisfied with the fulfilling events of the day, I surrendered myself to the weakness symptoms and drifted into a deep slumber.

The next day when I woke up, I started the day with my morning training routine. Just like always, while I was practicing my sword swings, I spotted the blue-haired Knight of the Royal Order woman jogging nearby.

Is it just my imagination, or are my sword swings getting faster by a little bit?

I wasn’t sure if it was the fruits of my daily training or the effects of the Dumbbell Weed taking root. I could see the measurable increases in my magic power capacity, but it was difficult to really feel the effects of the Dumbbell Weed. Well, no matter what I thought about it, it was better to just trust the effects that [Plant Master] appraised and continue to take it.

After finishing my morning training, I went back into the rundown inn to come up with my plans for the future. While I was swinging my sword, I was thinking to myself. Since I had quite a lot of financial leeway at the moment, I decided to buy Magic Potions at Elf’s Tears and use them to increase my magic power capacity. Thus, my plan for today was to sell the low quality plants and herbs to the Adventurer’s Guild, then go to Elf’s Tears and buy some Magic Potions. At that time, I might try to negotiate with the grandma to see if I could pay her to turn the Magical Grass I had into Magic Potions. It would also be a good idea to try buying some Medium-grade Magic Potions as well to see which quality of Magic Potions were most cost-effective for increasing magic power.

Alright! With that decided, I stuffed the low-quality plants and herbs into my bag and headed to the Adventurer’s Guild.