One thing Frank learned very quickly thanks to the book was that many many many mushrooms were toxic. Some mushrooms broke down muscles. There were a few that would give kidney failure people would only find out about three weeks too late and there were even mushrooms that could kill someone after consuming them with alcohol.
It was honestly surprising to Frank and he was glad he purchased the book. With its aid, Frank had found so many useful mushrooms that he had to run back to town to buy a few sacks.
Kneeling, Frank took a look at what he thought was a psilocybin mushroom. It was more commonly known on Earth as magic mushroom and it was something Frank was very fond of. It had a long stem and a bell-shaped brown cap. Frank had a thought on what kind of magic mushroom this one was, but he wanted to see what [Appraisal] thought it was.
[??? Mushroom: ??? effects.]
[[Mycology lvl. 1] acquired]
"Yes!" Frank leaped up into the air, ripping out the mushroom from the ground sending a bit of dirt everywhere. It took him a few hours but with the help of the book, he was able to easily identify what he found.
Opening his status to read the description of [Mycology] had Frank grinning ear to ear. It was thankfully exactly like he had hoped.
[Mycology: Identify fungi (molds, yeast, and mushrooms) and allows minor manipulation via mana.]
"What does minor manipulation mean? I guess that's something I'll need to find out." Frank scratched his chin and wondered, shrugging. Experiments could come later, for now, he was going to see exactly how he could 'identify fungi.'
Frank looked down at the mushroom in his hand and once again tried [Appraisal] to see if anything had changed. Sure enough, it did.
[Psilocybe Semilanceata: produces psilocybin, psilocin, and baeocystin. Effects: Improves mood, causes hallucinations.]
"That's amazing!" Frank's eyes went wide at the detail of the information. "Now I can make some penicillin. The lower class will praise me as a god." Frank quickly added the magic mushroom to a second sack before making his way back to town. The goal was to purchase everything he would need to make his miracle drug.
Frank made it back to town in record time and immediately went to the market stalls. While there, he bought bread, cantaloupe, and a few oranges. He also returned to the general store to buy glass dishes; a resource he was glad those who practiced alchemy also used.
Once everything was bought, Frank returned to his room at the inn. He said hi to Samantha on his way in and quickly made his way up the stairs. In the comfort of his room, Frank placed both of his mushroom sacks in the corner and his bread and fruits on his bed.
Preparing the many dishes with his bread or fruits, Frank decided he would try and use his new skill [Mycology] on each one. He had a total of 10 dishes, something that had cost him five silver alone.
Picking up half of the dishes that contained bread, cantaloupe, and orange, Frank focused on the skill and tried to push his mana into them. He felt the mana leave but saw no visual changes to the first dish. Just to be safe, he continued with the half he would use for this experiment and set those under the left side of his bed.
Under the right side, he left the five control dishes. "Okay, it might take a week or two but I should have some mold soon and then I can continue." Frank mumbled to himself and laid down on his bed. He had started or accomplished almost everything he had wanted to do so far. Now all that was left besides screwing over the duke and the [Hero], was to make thermite and gain the [Chemistry] skill.
As Frank began to plan his next day he gazed up at the ceiling and slowly drifted off to sleep.
…
The next morning Frank woke up refreshed. Things were starting to go his way, despite his coffers lightening with each passing day. "I really need some money… I wonder what I could do."
Getting up from the bed, Frank stretched. Although he could sleep on it, the bed was uncomfortably hard. Something he would have to get used to. "Maybe I can sell some mushrooms." Frank mused to himself and grabbed the two sacks. One full of an assortment of poisonous ones and the other filled with liberty caps, another name for the psilocybe semilanceata mushrooms.
Frank opened the door to his room and made sure to lock it as he left. He headed down the stairs and saw Madison, the inn's morning shift server. "Hey, Madison. Do you know where an apothecary is?"
The short woman with midnight black hair and green eyes turned to face Frank. She tilted her head in thought. "I think there is one near the guild. Though I'm not 100% sure on that. Try looking around there."
"Thanks." Frank waved as he walked out the door, one sack slung over the shoulder and the other dangling from his arm. Fortunately, the apothecary just so happened to be on the corner, two buildings down from the Adventurer's guild.
Frank took in the sight of the one-story building. It was a windowless stone brick establishment with a reinforced wooden door and a small sign out front that depicted a mortar and pestle. "Phoenix Feather Apothecary. Interesting name."
Entering the building was like stepping through a portal to another, more modern world. The walls were clinically white, along with the shelves. There were signs above that listed what each row contained and in the very back was the counter.
It reminded Frank of a pharmacy with a glass divider and a sliding window. Seeing someone behind the counter, Frank made his way over. As he stepped up a young man with rust-colored hair who sat behind stood up.
The man towered over Frank, who had to strain to get a good look at him. His body reminded Frank of a linebacker and to him, it was funny someone who looked like the poster boy for fighters worked in this tiny shop.
"Hello there." Frank dropped one sack on the floor and waved. "I was wondering if I could sell some poisonous mushrooms?"
The large man pulled out a pair of glasses and rested them on the bridge of his nose. "Let's see them. Most mushrooms are poisonous so I will only buy specific ones."
It was understandable to Frank, and luckily he only picked the mushrooms that had the highest potency out of all of the ones listed in the book he had purchased. "I should have some deadly webcaps, death caps, and some ink caps in there."
With a bit of force, the man slid the window open and gestured for Frank to place the mushrooms on the counter. He complied and waited while his harvest was inspected.
"Let's see. You have 32 ink caps, 16 deadly webcaps, and 12 death caps. Ink caps are worth one copper each as they are the most common, the webcaps although not uncommon are worth a good price for their potency."
He rubbed his chin and thought before he spoke, "I can give you six silver per webcap. And for the death caps, I can give you seven silver per. All that for a total of…"
The man paused to mentally count but Frank responded before he could. "18 gold, three silver, and two copper." Frank smiled as he received a notification.
[[Mathematics lvl.1] acquired]
"Correct." The man nodded and grabbed a basket from under the counter. He slid all of the mushrooms off of the counter into the container and entered the back. Shortly he returned with a bag that clanked with each step.
Frank grabbed the offered bag and thanked the man. "I'm Frank, by the way. Pleasure doing business with you…"
"Owen. You can call me Owen. I guess I'll be seeing you around? You seem like you know your stuff." Owen offered a smile and sat back down after sliding the glass back to where it was.
Nodding to answer the man's question, Frank turned around. With his bag of coins in hand, Frank quickly traveled to the general store to buy a backpack and supplies to make his Chemist's Jug.
As he was checking out, arms filled with everything he needed, the woman behind the counter commented. "Every time you come in here you buy more and more expensive stuff. I guess everything is working out well for you?"
Frank eyed the woman. She was as tall as he was and had silver hair. He attempted to remember the woman, but the only person he could recall working at this shop was an old man who looked like the wind would blow him over.
"I'm sorry? I don't remember seeing you here before, you are? I'm Frank." Frank placed his items down on the counter and offered his hand. Things were looking up for the man. Everyone was friendly outside of the duke's mansion and Frank was loving it.
The woman shook his hand and flashed him a toothy maw. "I'm Jena. I usually work in the back but my grandpa wanted to take a break. So…" She waved generally over all of his stuff. "Is this everything?"
"Yup, that's everything I can reasonably afford right now. Still have to run to the blacksmith after this." Frank groaned internally as he thought about the money he was about to blow. He had hoped he would get to the smithy today but he had kept getting distracted and kept blowing all of his money. He hadn't even eaten yet today.
"That'll be 10 gold please." Jena started packing things into the backpack and Frank fished out 10 of his gold.
Jena reached out her hand and Frank dropped the coins into her grasp. He then grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. As he was about to walk out the door, Frank stopped and grabbed a mushroom out of his sack.
He moved close to the counter and offered it to Jena. "If you or your grandpa really want to relax, take one of these. Trust me, it's a fun time." The woman shrugged and took the presented liberty cap.
"Thanks, I guess. I'll try it once I'm home tonight." She looked unsure but willing and Frank smiled. He hoped she liked it as he did on Earth. He desperately wanted to take one, but a dealer shouldn't eat from his supply.
"This day is going great. Nothing could possibly ruin my mood."