Chapter 34: Blood-Replenishing Potion
Matthew recalled the steps in his memory, first filtering the blood to remove any possible parasites and impurities from the troll's blood.
Then, he poured 500 milliliters into an evaporating dish and lit the flame lamp, carefully controlling the heat.
Slowly heating the blood, he used Mage Hand to stir it with a glass rod, gradually thickening the mixture.
He extinguished the flame to let it cool, and while waiting, he crushed fresh Moonlight Flowers in a mortar and added 300 milliliters of pure water, bringing it to a boil.
Dried Bloodroot was finely ground into powder and sprinkled into the thickening blood mixture, little by little.
The blood began to change, with the red parts sinking rapidly and a clear, transparent liquid rising to the surface.
After allowing it to settle, Matthew drained the clear liquid and filtered it once more.
In the dry cauldron, the Moonlight Flower solution shimmered with a faint milky hue, which Matthew carefully poured into the clear liquid, mixing them together.
He reignited the fire and continued heating.
Thin white strands gradually appeared, dissolving into the transparent liquid, causing it to thicken.
Finally, Matthew added two ground Red Amber Leaves, which gave the potion a faint glow as he thoroughly stirred and mixed it.
At that moment, the system gathered enough information and began displaying data:
"Blood-Replenishing Potion Base, Completion 31%... 31.5%... 32%... 32.5%..."
The completion percentage rose with no indication of success until it reached 60%, and then new data appeared:
"Completion 62%, Success Rate 99.7%..."
"Completion 63%, Success Rate 98.9%..."
"..."
As completion increased, the success rate began to decline.
When the completion reached 80%, the success rate dropped to 90%.
Without hesitation, Matthew stopped and waited for the potion's components to complete their final reaction and fusion.
Ten minutes later, he extinguished the fire.
The liquid left in the glass dish gleamed with a faint silver glow, resembling the Moonlight Flower under the Blood Moon's light.
Matthew wasn't concerned with its appearance—he only cared if it had succeeded.
"Blood-Replenishing Potion x500 milliliters, Excellent Quality. Each 10 milliliters restores 1 HP, and 50 milliliters can heal minor injuries."
"Success!"
Matthew's eyes lit up, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he skillfully divided the 500 milliliters of Blood-Replenishing Potion into 10 portions, resulting in 10 small vials of the potion.
"Each vial of Blood-Replenishing Potion can restore 10 HP and heal minor injuries. It's slightly better than basic healing potions."
"Haha! I can't believe it actually worked! This means I should be able to replicate many of the player-created spells and inventions from my memories..."
After calming down, Matthew quickly calculated the costs and profits of producing Blood-Replenishing Potions.
"A troll only needs food to restore their health, and at most, it costs 2 silver coins per day. The blood is basically free..."
"For every 500 milliliters, I need to use one Moonlight Flower, 8 silver coins, one Bloodroot, 20 silver coins, and two Red Amber Leaves, 10 silver coins, totaling 48 silver coins."
"Including labor and the wear and tear on alchemical tools, the total cost for 500 milliliters of Blood-Replenishing Potion is 50 silver coins."
"A basic healing potion can sell for 50 silver coins. With 500 milliliters of Blood-Replenishing Potion, I can produce 10 bottles, selling for a total of 5 gold coins. That's a tenfold profit margin."
"Heh, this is a business worth pursuing!"
A smile crept across his face, and the two trolls, who had no understanding of his alchemical process, caught sight of his expression and began trembling with fear.
"Ding! Successfully crafted Excellent Blood-Replenishing Potion. Alchemy +1, now at 88 (Mid-Level)."
Seeing the helpful system feedback, Matthew felt a wave of nostalgia, reminiscent of his time as a player, when every action triggered a system prompt.
In hindsight, players had it way too easy!
Matthew could feel his potion-making still lacked finesse; his actions were somewhat clumsy.
He relied on his previous life's experience to avoid any mistakes with timing and stirring.
Still, it was precisely this challenge that fueled Matthew's enthusiasm for alchemical research.
He adjusted his techniques based on the system's feedback, bit by bit.
Soon, he had perfected a standard process specifically for crafting Blood-Replenishing Potions.
As he continued brewing, he recorded his progress using the Memory Capture spell.
This would be invaluable later!
"Ding! Successfully crafted Excellent Blood-Replenishing Potion. Alchemy +1, now at 89 (Mid-Level)."
"Ding! Successfully crafted… Alchemy +1, now at 90 (Mid-Level)."
"… Alchemy +1, now at 91 (Mid-Level)."
"..."
Stuck at a 90% success rate, Matthew gradually improved the completion percentage, enhancing the potion's healing effects bit by bit.
This progress wasn't immediately noticeable, but Matthew could sense that fully mastering potion-making would require significant time and effort.
Nonetheless, Matthew wasn't worried. Each level gained in alchemy marked a step toward improvement.
After using up 4,000 milliliters of blood, Matthew had brewed 80 bottles of Blood-Replenishing Potion, estimating a sale price of 50 silver coins per bottle.
If all went well, his night's work would net him 40 gold coins in profit.
Of course, the biggest gain was his alchemy level reaching 96, inching closer to 100 and the high-level tier.
After safely storing the potions, cleaning up the tools, and casting a few more Cleanse spells to erase any traces, Matthew finally turned his attention to the trembling trolls.
They had lost nearly half their health earlier but had now recovered to about 80%.
Their recovery rate was notably slower than when Matthew had first encountered them.
"As expected, extraordinary regeneration requires food and energy as a foundation..."
Jotting down this insight, Matthew opened the lab door and spoke to Leon and Old John, who were standing guard:
"Take these two trolls back and lock them up. Give them some leftover food to eat and make sure they're well-fed."
"Tomorrow, at the same time, bring the other two trolls here. Come back in two hours to collect them."
Old John and Leon, glancing at the previously vigorous trolls now slumped and wilted like beaten vegetables, swallowed nervously. Horrifying thoughts raced through their minds.
They didn't know what had happened and didn't dare ask. They nodded repeatedly, gathered the trolls, and hauled them away.
As the lab door closed, everyone, including the trolls, let out a long sigh of relief.
This was terrifying!