During his training in the army, he had an officer whose profession was an alchemist. He insisted that they learn how to brew potions from easily found herbs, making it one of the few skills he learned the basics for in the army.
The thing about potions, however, was that they required a special cauldron that used mana to produce heat. Your mastery over mana would then determine what success rate you have for your potions.
There were other factors too, like timing and portions. As for Nikolai, he was brewing three potions that he had a relative mastery for. They were Silent Feet, Dizziness Fumes, and Enhanced Vision.
The success rates for these three, in his past life, were all 50%. However, he used the cauldron back then, raising his success percentage. As for now, it was good if he had a 25% success rate.
As Nikolai was walking toward the lab late at night, he encountered Miss Jena. He nodded in greeting as he continued on his way but she grabbed him by the collar from behind.
"You think I would forget about your punishment?" Miss Jena asked with a playful smile. "You didn't go to the mines the other day."
"Teacher, we were told to stay in our dorms that day." Nikolai laughed dryly. "Have you heard what happened?"
"That has nothing to do with your punishment. If you keep slacking in your classes, you'll barely reach the F-rank before you graduate."
"I'm not slacking, I just had a bad day." Nikolai tried to come up with an excuse. "I've heard that the orphanage I grew up in was being torn down, so I went there one last time." That was a total lie.
Miss Jena seemed to be sympathetic as she sighed. She let go of him and adjusted his collar.
"Fine, just don't do it again." Miss Jena let go of him, making him sigh in relief. As he watched her walk away, Nikolai was reminded that she was one of the few that helped him during his first year.
Nikolai headed straight toward the lab. As he tried to make an entry, he found that it was locked. He went outside and looked through the windows.
One of them was sloppily closed, leaving a gap that he could use. He took out a metallic strip and used it to unlock the window from the inside. He jumped into the lab and closed the window behind it. He then closed the curtains before opening the lights.
He started taking out the herbs he had bought and laid them on the table. With the leftover of his life's savings, money he got through odd jobs, he only managed to buy five portions of materials for each potion.
Five portions can be turned into five potions if someone was a grandmaster with complete mastery over the recipe. However, Nikolai's case was a bit different.
He started preparing the first potion, Silent Feet, as he opened his system. He lit the fire under the flask as he threw in the Moon Dew Water and waited for it to boil.
He then began weighing the materials and cutting them until he got the correct amount. The root tips were the essence of the plant, so he only needed those.
As he threw in the materials one after the other, Nikolai changed the probability.
[The chosen event: brewing Silent Feet potion successfully.]
[Probability: 23%]
[Fate Points invested: 1.]
[New Probability: 46%]
[Fate Points: 35.]
[Manipulate Probability]
He would have 35fate points left after he uses this. The thing is that he only has a 46% success rate. He can invest another point, but that would mean two-point per potion. If he uses it on all fifteen portions he had, he would need to spend all of his points.
It wasn't worth it. He didn't need fifteen potions for this hunt. After he gets stronger from the Goblin's Graveyard, he wouldn't need the potions to help him that much.
As he waited for the potion to brew, Nikolai manipulated the probability. For a potion, it would take a few minutes to know if it was a success or a failure. It would either turn into a black tar substance because the materials didn't mix probably or turn into a clear liquid with a glow.
After a few minutes, Nikolai finally saw a change. The flask's clear surface rapidly turned black as fumes rose from it. The potion has failed.
With a sigh, he started over again. He cleaned the flask before going through the steps. Again, he doubled the probability and waited for it.
This time, the change happened faster. The boiling materials dissolved together as a soft glow was emitted from it. Nikolai hurried to pour the contents into a vial before closing it with a sponge lid.
'You'll be my ticket to that Graveyard.' Nikolai grinned as he placed the vial to the side and took out the next portion.
Each potion took about fifteen minutes to prepare. By the time Nikolai has used all of the materials, it was well past midnight.
Three Silent Feet potions, four Dizziness Fumes potions, and two Enhanced Vision potions. Out of fifteen potions that he tried to prepare, nine were the result. That's only because he used two points on the last two Enhanced Vision potions.
He had used 17 Fate Points over these potions. In the end, he only had 19 points left for him to use. He slid the vials one by one into their holders on his belt. He got this one from the market, which also acted as a holster to his gun.
Under the cover of the night, he took his bag from under the cabinet before leaving the school. The guard was snoring and probably dreaming about some superhero comic as Nikolai walked out of the front gate.
Despite being midnight, the streets weren't that empty. The city of Rohan had many dungeons and the profession of killing monsters knew no time. Nikolai reached the Alm Gate and stood in line to get out.
The only people allowed to go out into the wilderness without using any public transportations were adventures. As soon as the guard saw his ID, he simply allowed him to go out.
The wilderness was a scary place, Nikolai was reminded of that fact. It was dark with no light except the moonlight and danger reeked of every corner.
Nikolai saw the adventurers set up camps and post points as they laid out plans to take out dangerous monsters. He hid behind a tree and took out the two potions, Enhanced Vision and Silent Feet.
He drank the former and poured the latter on his feet. He jumped up and down but there was no sound. With everything set, Nikolai ran through the forest looking for the hidden Goblins' Village.