Since Kai realized that the mushroom would grow, he decided to find a part-time job. Something that would help him feed these rapacious mushrooms that didn't exist in his past life. There were only three ways that he could get this. First, if he joined a mercenary group. Obviously, this was not possible as it would endanger him in revealing his Elemental core.
Right now, Kai is not in the right position to reveal his ability. In fact, he was planning to keep it a secret as long as he can.
The second was by working under a professor. Or becoming a professor's apprentice. Alfred mentioned bringing him somewhere after he registers himself as a potioneer level one. However, he could only do this if he could summon other plants that he could use in creating potions.
Without the ability to summon other plant entities, he couldn't create a new potion.
Unless…. He used a mimic mushroom.
After he recalled Alfred's reaction to the rotting plant, Kai knew that he only has to use the third option to earn money. Create a potion and sell it in stores.
This time, he was planning to use a mimic mushroom to copy the properties of the ingredient.
[Mimic - A mushroom that could mimic any plant-type properties. This does not mimic any abilities. Cost: 10 copper coins.]
Kai had been using mimic mushrooms before coming into this kingdom. He had been using it to create potions that he could use to heal himself in the mountains. The effects of the mimic mushroom were undeniable. What surprised him is the fact that it could actually boost the effectiveness of the healing potion as well.
From his analysis in the past, the effects should be about ten percent more. The voices offered him the exact numbers, but it demanded another five coins as payment.
Kai removed the mushroom from his hand and swallowed it. Cool sensation instantly extended from his navel to all parts of his body. He then opened his pouch and checked his money.
Twenty copper coins.
Hey, at least it was enough to summon one mimic mushroom and have another steak in that restaurant! Kai smiled and put ten copper coins in his right hand before he thought of the mimic mushroom.
[Mimic - A mushroom that could mimic any plant-type properties. This does not mimic any abilities. Cost: 10 copper coins.]
[To Summon the mushrooms say: Summon!]
"Summon!" Kai said. Soon, a green mushroom appeared on his right palm. Just like the previous healing mushroom, this one is also as small as his thumb.
Then he thought of the healing potion formula that his grandmother taught him.
Screwbean foot - a delicate plant considered as the top ingredient for making the potion. To summon it, one needed to memorize how it looked like its properties, its uses, how it grew, and just everything about the plant. One mishap could summon another plant that might be dangerous for the summoner. A screwbean foot was just like a string bean except it was purple and they glow. And well… there is also the fact that it smelled like stinky feet.
A screwbean foot can live in this dimension for twenty-four hours before it would start to rot.
The second requirement is a Star Rye - A Star Rye is one of the commonly used plants for creating potions. It would act like an agent that would separate the toxins of the plant and make it usable. Star Rye's are pretty popular because they also last for one entire week before they start to rot. Star Rye is something that one could buy in the potioneering stores in the capital.
He simply thought of the Screwbean foot and watched as the mushroom morphed into a string bean. Its greenish, purplish luster indicated that it was in its perfect state. However, Kai wasn't done. His potion only required one ingredient, and that is the screwbean foot. To cleanse it from the toxins, Kai is going to use his elemental lightning.
This was a trick that was popular ten thousand years ago. An elemental summoner could easily kill the toxins of the plant by using a flash of weak lightning that would burn the toxins. This was also the reason why the potion that he created was more effective.
It took him a few tries to perfect this method, as he wasn't an elemental summoner in his previous life. Even though he is an expert in summoning dragons and weapons, he couldn't just summon an uncontrollable element on his first try.
The crackling sound of the lightning that flowed from his finger made him smile. He watched as the bean slowly turned dark until it looked completely burned. He withdrew the lightning and retrieved the cauldron from his pouch. To be able to brew a potion, one needed a durable cauldron and Cendis fire — something that is readily available in each academy. It was hotter than the regular fire use in cooking food and white and something that can be produced by burning a Cendis tree.
However, Kai had no access to this type of fire. So, what he would do is summon a fire element and use it. His fire, however, was black. His black fire was hotter, it was something that could burn almost all types of cauldrons, except his grandmother's cauldron.
Soon, he put his hand on both sides of the cauldron, using his Anima to control the fire and the bean that was already on the cauldron. Then he closed his eyes and thought of turning the bean into liquid. Potioneering isn't just about brewing. It was also about controlling your psyche to visualize the result that you wanted. The stronger your psyche, the easier it would be for you to finish the brewing.
After pouring enough Anima, he opened his eyes and eyed the cauldron. Inside was a white liquid that sparkled against the light coming from the lamp. The sweet smell of jasmine soon filled the room. He smiled and used a vial to collect the potion.
"Hm?" Kai lifted an eyebrow when he realized that the sticky liquid inside the cauldron won't fit in one vial. Did the liquid increase because the mushroom became bigger?
It was a pleasant surprise!
Kai took another vial and smiled. It seems that now, he could produce two vials worth of potion from one mimic mushroom. Does this mean the output would increase every time the mushroom would grow? Kai beamed and examined the two vials. He gave a nod of approval before he cleaned up everything and went to bed.
The moment he would wake up, he would immediately sell the potion and hopefully earn more coins. Kai smiled helplessly.
The problem with the mushrooms is the fact that they only accept coins. For instance, even if one hundred silver is equivalent to one gold coin, the voices won't accept gold but would only accept one hundred pieces of silver coins.
Meaning, if he wanted to earn money, he needed a new storage pouch.
Perhaps a bigger one that could hold a lot… of coins.