Ralph was a skilled alchemist who could simultaneously perform multiple steps in potion-making, greatly saving time in the process.
After approximately an hour of waiting, Ralph took out a bottle of Clear Sky-blue potion from the freezer.
Looking at the blue liquid in the glass vessel, he asked Luke, "Detective, judging by the color and transparency of the potion, this is a successful concoction. I just wonder about its effectiveness. Could it be... better than the mood-enhancing potion I made?"
Luke smiled and replied, "Why don't you taste it and find out?"
"Taste it? Right here? Taking a small sip should be fine."
Ralph reviewed the potion ingredients and extraction process in his mind and concluded that taking a small sip wouldn't overwhelm him.
With the spirit of sacrificing oneself for the greater good, Ralph took a small sip of the blue potion.
"The taste is much smoother... the effects are quick... I can feel a fire burning inside my abdomen..." Ralph carefully observed the changes in his body caused by the potion. "This feeling... is slightly better than the mood-enhancing potion I made, just a little bit... but it seems a bit different..."
Sensing that the potion's effects were somewhat unusual, Ralph gulped down the entire bottle.
Then his skin quickly turned flushed.
"Ah... ah..." Ralph exclaimed, "This feeling is incredible! I feel like I've returned to my youngest days, and this sense of power is not an illusion!"
Ralph effortlessly lifted the experimental freezer, which he had struggled with before drinking the potion.
"This is definitely not a mood-enhancing potion!" Ralph put down the freezer and asked Luke.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulged on his forehead, and his neck muscles tensed with an excited spasm.
"I never said it was a mood-enhancing potion. You'd better suppress the potion's effects as soon as possible. With your age and physical condition, you can't handle this level of rage," Luke warned.
Upon hearing Luke's words, Ralph immediately searched for a neutralizing potion in the nearby cabinet, but his trembling hands knocked over many potions.
After finding the neutralizing potion, he quickly drank it.
After about two minutes, his state gradually calmed down.
The physical exertion left Ralph slumping in his chair, gasping for breath, but his eyes were filled with excitement.
Luke asked him, "How do you feel?"
"I... I..." Ralph took a deep breath before he could speak, "I never imagined that by making such slight modifications to my mood-enhancing potion, I could create such a potent rage potion."
"It takes effect quickly, reaching its peak rapidly, and the important part is that it allows for a certain degree of rationality during the rage. Although it consumes a lot of physical energy, I can't accurately gauge the fatigue after the potion's effects wear off due to my age. I can't judge the post-effect burden accurately."
"Based on my experience, a regular magic potion with similar effects could be sold for 20,000 Imperial Marks per bottle, while our mood-enhancing potion can only fetch 1,000..."
Luke didn't expect Ralph to still think about his mood-enhancing potion at this point.
"Continue producing your mood-enhancing potion. Set up a separate production line for the rage potions, and hand over all the rage potions to me for unified sales. You've been mixing with the Black Magic Guild for a long time; you should know that this kind of rage potion is enough to send you and your sons swimming with the fishes."
Luke didn't threaten Ralph.
According to the timeline, a few months later, Ralph would accidentally create this highly efficient rage potion during an experiment. Soon after, he and his family would die in a maritime accident, and the highly efficient rage potion he invented would become someone else's money-making machine.
Ralph was a crafty person and, of course, knew that his mood-enhancing potion couldn't compare to the value of this highly efficient rage potion.
Especially in this coastal area, far too many people had died because of things they shouldn't possess.
"I understand what to do, Detective. I won't tell anyone about the existence of this rage potion. I will hand over as many rage potions as I produce to you."
"As long as you understand. This young lady is my confidential secretary, Karina. She will handle the overall management of your accounts, procurement, production, and sales here on my behalf.
Additionally, I will arrange a safer location for your alchemy workshop. Our products should not be limited to rage potions and mood-enhancing potions. You need a larger and more advanced potion laboratory, along with standardized management and new potion production machines."
Ralph gratefully said to Luke, "Thank you, Detective. I will never forget your kindness to the Ralph family."
Luke said, "Now, make me twenty bottles of this highly efficient rage potion, and produce 500 bottles to be delivered to the Bureau of Secret Affairs by nightfall... Any difficulties?"
Ralph considered his workshop's production capacity for a moment.
"No problem. The highly efficient rage potion only requires slight modifications to the mood-enhancing potion's ingredients and processes. Producing 500 bottles of the rage potion can definitely be done before nightfall.
I will now make the potions for you to take, Detective."
This potion mixing room had the necessary ingredients for mood-enhancing potions, and Ralph, having recovered from the effects, skillfully operated and quickly produced twenty bottles of the highly efficient rage potion.
These potions were poured into cylindrical vials that could be comfortably held in one hand, making them easy to carry and consume.
After receiving the potions, Luke instructed Karina to inspect and audit the accounts of this alchemy workshop. Record all the supply and delivery channels and investigate them once we return to the Bureau of Secret Affairs.
The employees here also needed their identities verified and subsequently "interviewed" by the Bureau of Secret Affairs.
The goal was to have complete control over this alchemy workshop.
Even though Karina was proficient in her role, she had been busy and only finished the major tasks by noon. The trivial matters that were unrelated to the overall situation could be coordinated with this place later.
Luke returned to the Bureau of Secret Affairs with Karina at 2:30 in the afternoon.
Some sponsors who had received invitations for the meeting had already arrived early.
Luke and Karina quickly filled their stomachs with some pre-prepared food from the cafeteria and hastily made their way back to Luke's office.
Shelley, who had been anxiously waiting for Luke the entire morning, noticed the change in him as soon as she entered the room. "Detective..." Shelley entered and immediately noticed Luke's transformation. "You've changed so much. Not in appearance, but... you've become stronger."
"Oh really? That's a good thing. Tell me about the current situation with the Berserkers. Can they hold on?" Luke didn't explain his change to Shelley.
Luke didn't say anything, and Shelley didn't dare to ask further.
She sat down across from his desk and said, "Without a heavyweight warrior like Jumok, the Berserkers are struggling. If it weren't for the castle being sturdy and well-equipped with defenses, they wouldn't have lasted a single night.
Lambert hopes we can find more mercenaries to help them, but..."
"Our sponsors have received warnings from the Security Bureau, and some of them are wavering," Shelley continued.