Chapter 4:

Chapter 4. A New Day

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Chapter 4. A New Day

Morning came quietly. I opened my eyes slowly and felt amazingly light—better rested than I had in a long time. A small yawn slipped out on its own.

The sun must have already risen, but its first rays hadn’t yet reached the bottom of the gorge. A soft morning shade reigned here, filled with coolness and freshness. The air was so clean I wanted to breathe deeper and deeper. Somewhere in the distance birds were singing—bright, joyful, as if everything around was greeting the new day.

“Good morning,” came a familiar voice.

I turned my head and saw Sherial. She must’ve woken up much earlier than I had and already gotten things done.

“Good morning,” I answered, a little awkward. Lately my life had been only work and home. I’d forgotten what it was like to see people… let alone such beautiful girls in the morning.

I looked around. The second girl wasn’t in sight. Maybe she’d gone somewhere. I didn’t know.

“Don’t just sit there. Better have some breakfast. We’ll be leaving soon,” Sherial said calmly.

I hurried to the river, washed my face with cold water, and when I returned to the fire, I spotted Rem. She was just approaching from the opposite side of the gorge, carrying something in her hands. When she came closer, I saw—fresh fruit. A few ripe peaches and some red berries. They looked a lot like raspberries.

“Good morning,” she said with a smile.

“Good morning,” I replied.

Our breakfast was simple: a piece of hard bread, a few dried fruits, and for dessert—two peaches each and a handful of red berries. I was almost done with my berries when Rem suddenly spoke:

“These berries grow all over the gorge. There are lots of them.”

She must have noticed how much I liked them. I was pleased. Great, then I can eat more later—I’d seen them on the bushes before, I thought. But Rem immediately added:

“You just shouldn’t eat too many.”

“Why?” I asked, on guard.

“They really are tasty, but they contain a small amount of poison.”

“Damn!” I nearly choked. “They’re poisonous?!”

Rem soothed me with a wave of her hand.

“Don’t worry. In small amounts they’re absolutely safe and even beneficial. But if you eat too many, you’ll start hallucinating. You could say the toxin acts like a mild narcotic. Almost unnoticeable in low doses, but in larger quantities it can cloud your mind.”

I fell silent and looked nervously at the berries in my palm.

“Even if you overdo it, it won’t cause serious harm,” she added, “but being in that state out in the wild is very dangerous.”

She was right. Better not risk it… even if they are delicious, I thought. I decided I’d only eat them in small amounts.

Oh, seems I missed something important. I already owed them my life, but I should pay back at least part of the debt. Yesterday they clearly used a health potion on me to heal the wound on my neck. I might not repay it in full, but at least this much I can return, I thought.

I focused, activated the skill, and right in front of me, at arm’s length, light flared in the air and a vial appeared. I reached out and caught it easily.

“Oh? You have a Storage skill?” Sherial asked, surprised.

“Storage skill?” I repeated. “No… I don’t have that. It’s just my Alchemy skill. It creates potions.”

Rem and Sherial froze at once and glanced at each other.

“Wait…” Rem frowned. “You’re saying you have a skill that can create a health potion out of thin air?!”

I grew a little embarrassed and quickly shook my head.

“Well… not exactly out of thin air. It’s all done by spending mana.”

“Real health potions? Just from mana?” Sherial asked, doubt in her voice.

“Well, yes,” I nodded.

“May I take a closer look?” Rem asked.

“Uh… sure,” I said, hesitating a little. “I wanted to give it to you as thanks. You used a health potion on me yesterday.”

Rem quickly took the vial from my hand and examined it closely. She was silent for a few seconds, then said:

“Yes, it’s real.”

I caught the way the girls exchanged a look. Their reaction seemed strange—as if they were holding something rare and valuable. Isn’t this supposed to be ordinary? This is a world with a System, levels, and skills. Shouldn’t there be plenty of potions? I thought.

At last I dared to ask:

“But you did heal me with a health potion yesterday, right?”

“Yes, we used a health potion,” Sherial answered evenly.

Then why are they reacting so strangely? flickered through my head again.

“Oh, looks like you don’t understand what’s going on,” Rem said.

Yes, she seemed to realize I was confused.

“This is a standard rank-one health potion—the weakest and cheapest kind you can get from a dungeon. But a skill that creates potions like this… we’ve never heard of one,” she continued.

“So this skill is very rare?” I asked.

“Yes. Very rare. And if anyone does have it, they wouldn’t spread the word. The fact that you just revealed your skill like that… was foolish. No offense, but you acted like an idiot,” Rem said.

I really don’t know how this world works, I thought, but kept quiet.

“Looks like you really are from some backwater village and don’t know anything about the world,” she added.

“Sorry, I just thought it was a great skill. I could earn money by creating and selling potions. Without even doing ‘real’ work,” I said honestly.

Rem fell silent for a moment. Our eyes met, and I noticed her sigh quietly—as if in disappointment.

“You look like a grown man, but you think like a child,” she said sternly.

She paused a beat, then added:

“Can I ask a couple of questions?”

“Yes, of course,” I replied.

“How many such potions can you make in a day?” Rem asked, watching me closely.

“Well, right now, I think I can make a couple a day. I got the skill only recently, so… soon, probably, when I level up, I’ll be able to make more,” I said after a bit of thought.

“Even so,” Rem said, “you can already earn about forty-eight silver coins a month.”

I frowned slightly. I didn’t understand prices in this world at all yet, so I just listened to her explanation.

“You really don’t know local prices. Look. The guild buys rank-one health potions for eighty copper coins and sells them for about one silver. Calculating at the buy price, that’s one silver and sixty copper a day. Multiply by thirty days—forty-eight silver,” she explained calmly. “That’s quite good. Even excellent, considering average city folk make twenty to thirty silver a month. In rural areas it’s even less—five to ten. Granted, they have their own homesteads; they manage. But for one person, forty-eight silver is good money.”

“Well… yeah, I suppose,” I nodded.

Though honestly, I didn’t know whether “forty-eight silver” was enough for a normal life. Would that be enough to live well? I’d find out later.

“Right now you’re only level eleven,” Rem said. “But when you get higher, you’ll be able to create more potions per day. And the skill itself will grow too. You might even be able to make higher-rank potions. Then you’ll earn a lot more.”

“Well… isn’t that good? The more I earn, the easier life will be,” I said frankly.

“You’re right,” she nodded, and after a brief pause added, “But that’s a child’s dream.”

A child’s dream? What am I thinking wrong? I wondered.

“Imagine everyone finds out you have such a skill. A skill that lets you make money just by creating potions. Do you think people will leave you alone? No. Anyone with power will want to have you. As weak as you are now, even street thugs could drag you off. And even if you become stronger later, that won’t make you completely safe. The higher the rank of the potions you can create, the more valuable you become. Then there will be those who’ll lock you in a dungeon, a prison—anywhere—just to force you to make potions for life. And they’ll take the profits,” her voice was firm.

What about laws? Human rights? The government? I thought.

“Don’t count on the law or the government when money’s involved,” Rem said coldly. “Laws apply only so long as it’s convenient for the powerful. If your skill becomes rare and valuable enough, the very nobles meant to uphold order will be your main enemies.”

She paused for a second, then continued:

“If you’re lucky, they’ll keep you like a rare curiosity to squeeze money from. But more likely, they’ll lock you in an underground cell and keep you alive only to churn out potions. Constantly.”

“Well, that would be stupid,” I objected. “People get sick quickly in dungeons. I doubt I’d last long in those conditions.”

“Yes and no,” Rem narrowed her eyes slightly. “Think it through. You have a skill that creates health potions. With them you can treat illnesses again and again.”

“I thought health potions are useless against disease,” I said. “They’re supposed to work only on open wounds and physical injuries. At least in games it’s always like that—against poison or disease a potion doesn’t help.”

“Not exactly,” Rem replied, indicating the vial in her hands. “Yes, they aren’t as effective against diseases, but they’re universal. When you drink a health potion, it returns your body to an optimal state. Damage caused by sickness is healed too. The body gets a chance to keep fighting. If you take potions regularly, your body will be restored to ideal again and again until the immune system copes. Even with strong poisons. That’s why they’re called universal.”

In games it was different. A health potion could heal lethal wounds and return the body to normal, but it was useless against disease and poison. There were separate potions for those—remedies and antidotes. Here, it made much more sense: both disease and poison inflict physical damage on the body, only from within. If a health potion restores damage and returns the organism to an optimal state, then the body gets time to develop immunity and even overcome poison. Yes, that was much more logical.

I won’t tell anyone about my Alchemy skill. I’ll keep it secret. The mere thought of spending the rest of my life in a cold, dark underground cell gave me goosebumps.

Yes, I won’t tell anyone about my Alchemy skill. I’ll keep it secret.

Just the thought of living out my days in a cold, dark prison underground made my skin crawl. But I’d already blurted it to the first people I met…

“Oh, and don’t worry. We won’t tell anyone that you have a skill that can create health potions,” Rem said.

That did calm me down. I didn’t know why, but I believed her.

Hmm… better ask a few more questions while I have the chance.

“Do you think there’s a safe way to sell health potions? I’d like to be able to earn a decent living,” I asked.

“There won’t be any problem selling health potions,” Rem answered. “Even if you sell them every day, no one will assume you have a skill that creates them. But if you start selling them in large batches—then suspicion might arise. Your safest path is to register with the guild and become an adventurer.”

She paused and added:

“When you sell a lot at once, it’s better to bundle them with other items: magic stones or dungeon trophies. Even in small amounts they create the impression the potions are just part of a haul. If you sell infrequently and in one-offs, there won’t be any trouble at all. But if you plan to hand in large batches every time, you’ll need to rotate cities and not stay too long in one place.”

“What about other potions?” I asked after a short pause. “For example, mana potions… or experience potions?”

The moment I said the last words, Rem went slightly still. I caught the tension in her gaze.

“So your skill can even create experience potions?” Her voice was quieter than usual.

“Well… theoretically, yes,” I said, scratching my head.

“What do you mean ‘theoretically’?” she asked.

“Well, I can’t make experience potions right now,” I said. “I just don’t have enough mana. To make a rank-one health potion or a rank-one mana potion, you need a thousand mana. But for a rank-one experience potion you need a full million mana. Right now I don’t even have one percent of that.”

After I said it, the worry on Rem’s face seemed to ease. As if she felt better hearing I couldn’t produce experience potions as easily as health potions. But why? I didn’t understand.

Maybe because experience potions let you raise your level… unearned. Yeah, if it were that easy, I could just create them and level up endlessly. That would be pure cheat—a cheat skill. Though… my skill is pretty close to that already.

What if I told them about my second skill—the Training Room? Ask for advice?

No. Let that remain my secret. I’d already accidentally blabbed about Alchemy, and this skill was even better kept hidden.

“Alright, I’ll explain mana potions and experience potions to you,” Rem said. “First, mana potions aren’t worth as much as health potions. Yes, the adventurers’ guild buys them, but the price is low. They’re barely in demand until about the fourth rank. From the fifth rank and up, mana potions start to fetch good money, but before that level they aren’t of much value.

“As for experience potions, you need to be careful. Even at rank one, such potions are expensive—at least five or six gold coins. Ordinary people don’t buy them. Their main customers are the wealthy and nobles. They’re in high demand, but an extremely rare commodity.

“In dungeons you mostly find health potions. Far less often—mana potions. But experience potions are so rare that if you ever happened to acquire, say, a rank-five experience potion, then selling it could set you up for life. Assuming you spend sensibly, of course.”

We talked a little more, but the girls reminded me they had a job to do and didn’t want to waste time. I managed to learn the most important thing—how to get out of here and reach the nearest village.

It turned out that even if I managed to scramble up the slopes and climb out of the gorge, I’d find only dense forest above. For someone at my level that would be suicide—there were monsters too dangerous up there.

The proper route was different: I had to head upstream through the gorge for about six or seven hours on foot. There would be a bridge, and next to it a road sloped down low enough that I could leave the gorge easily. If I turned left and walked about two more hours, I’d reach a village. Not a tiny one—there was even a small branch of the adventurers’ guild.

As they were about to leave, Rem turned back with one last piece of advice:

“Be careful. We came from upstream and cleared most of the monsters—the same rabbits that chased you. But there’s a chance one or two are still wandering around.”

“Yes, of course, I’ll be careful,” I nodded.

If one or two were left, I thought I could handle it. After all, I’d managed to kill one with a single punch. And according to Rem, those monsters were very weak. Yes, weak—but caution wouldn’t hurt.

I moved along the flow, slowly, scanning my surroundings. After about thirty minutes I came upon a thicket of bushes—the same red berries we’d eaten in the morning grew everywhere here. And nearby stood a short tree with peach-like fruit hanging from its branches.

Well then, I wasn’t hungry now. But hike upstream for another six hours? No, that wasn’t an option. I had a better plan.

While I still had strength and hunger wasn’t gnawing at me, I decided to use my time well—train and level up. There seemed to be plenty of water and food here for a long while.

I stopped, closed my eyes, and focused. The command sounded in my mind: “Training Room.”

In an instant I was back in the familiar stone chamber.

Why then, when those damned rabbits were chasing me, couldn’t I get in here?..

Alright, that didn’t matter now.

Something else surprised me far more: the room had changed. Not a little—significantly. Before, it was about ten meters long and five wide, with a ceiling around three meters high. Now, the space before me stretched at least twenty meters long and ten wide, with a ceiling five to six meters high.

“What the…” I whispered.

I opened the status window at once. And then it made sense: “Training Room”—Rank 2.

So that was it…

I caught an unpleasant smell—a metallic tang in the air. Nearby lay my T-shirt, and beside it dark marks like dried paint, almost black. I crouched, picked it up, and cautiously sniffed it.

“Damn… why did I do that?”

The smell wasn’t as awful as I expected. Just a little stronger with that same metallic scent. The blood had long since dried. When I tried to smooth the cloth, tiny flakes crumbled off, like old paint.

It looked like the T-shirt was completely ruined. And considering time flowed faster here, it had probably been a couple of months since then—though only twelve hours had passed in the outside world.

“Alright, enough fussing over nonsense,” I muttered and tossed the T-shirt aside. “I’ll wash it later.”

Right now the important thing was to earn experience. I took a deep breath.

“Well then. I’m ready.”

[Mission No. 1 — Rank Two]

[Squats: 0 / 100

Push-ups: 0 / 100

On-the-spot Jumps: 0 / 100

Plank: 0 / 1 minute]

Well, that was to be expected. The Training Room skill had risen to rank two. The number of exercises had increased sharply—predictable. But it still didn’t look impossible. I thought I could handle it. Maybe even complete several missions in a row.

I was about to start with squats when light flared on the stone floor before me. What appeared instantly wrecked my plans.

A weighted vest.

“Damn, I completely forgot about it…”

To have the mission count, I had to put it on. I bent down and picked up the vest. Heavy. Not like last time, but the weight still pressed into my hands.

Oh, something on the belt was glowing. I looked closer: Weight — 51 kg.

“Damn… fifty-one kilos… and I’m supposed to do all the exercises in this…”

A stab of anger flashed, then gave way to resolve. It was still far safer than running into monsters again.

I put on the vest.

Well then. Let’s begin.

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