Chapter 6. The Healing Potion Turned Out to Be More Useful Than I Thought

Chapter 6. The Healing Potion Turned Out to Be More Useful Than I Thought

Morning. As soon as I opened my eyes, the room was flooded with light.
Looks like the sun had been up for quite a while already. I squinted and saw a bright ray sliding through the window, filling the room with sunlight.

Hm, turns out the window wasn’t as small as it seemed yesterday. It was big enough for the sun to almost completely fill the room with its light.

— Well then… get up, — I muttered to myself and rose from the bed.

The first thing I needed to do was wash up. I stepped into the corridor, wondering where the washroom might be.

— Let’s see… usually, they put such rooms either at the beginning or at the end. Let’s try the first one, — I decided and went to the nearest door.

Fortunately, I guessed right. Inside was a small washroom. I quickly splashed cold water on my face, refreshed myself, rinsed my mouth… Alright, no need to linger on these little things. It all took less than a minute.

When I opened the door back into the hall, I almost froze.

Right in front of me, at the long tables, sat about ten, maybe twelve people. They were having breakfast.

Damn… and here I thought it would be just as empty as yesterday.

I walked past the registration desk and headed toward the tables, trying not to make noise. I picked a free spot and sat at an empty table.

— Hey, why are you just sitting there? — came the hoarse voice of the old man.

I flinched.

Turning my head toward the voice, I saw a small window in the wall, behind which someone was placing out food.

— No one’s going to bring it to you. There are no waiters here, it’s self-service. Take your breakfast, — the old man said and placed a tray on the shelf.

I immediately went over there. Picked up the tray. On it was already a deep bowl with some kind of soup, a loaf of bread, some dried fruit, and a mug of hot liquid. Though, it hardly seemed like tea — more like just boiled water.

Returning to the table, I sat down and took the wooden spoon in my hand. Strange feeling… I scooped up the soup and tried it.

— What the hell is this taste… — I almost swore out loud.

I had never eaten worse soup in my life. The smell seemed fine, but the taste… I almost gagged.

I quickly glanced around. The others were eating calmly, chatting, and even seemed to enjoy their breakfast. Maybe my taste buds were too spoiled? Or was it just a matter of habit?

I tore off a piece of bread, dipped it in the soup, and tried again. That was more tolerable. Slowly, I managed to finish it. In the end, I just shoved the remaining bread into my mouth, washed it down with hot water, and finished the dried fruit.

Phew… managed it. Would’ve been really embarrassing if I’d thrown up right there in the hall.

— Well, a hungry man can eat anything, — I muttered to myself.

Breakfast was done. Now I needed to decide what to do next. I got up and went back to my room.

I sat down on the bed and thought about what to do. Take on quests? No. My main goal was to become stronger. I had to train.

I had enough food and money for a few days. That meant I could buy some more provisions and shut myself in the training room again. Boring, exhausting, but there was no other way. I had to raise my level as high as possible.

Clothes? No, not a priority yet.
Oh! I completely forgot about the Alchemy skill. Yes, that’s the one that should become my salvation. As soon as I had enough mana, I had to create healing potions — that would give me a stable income.

Right now, my max mana was 1960. Damn… just 40 more, and I could make two potions in a row. Fine, I’d level up soon. For now, I needed to buy food.

I stepped out into the registration hall. It was empty — everyone had already left. My gaze fell on the quest board.

There were only five notices pinned to it.
— That’s not much, — I muttered and walked closer.

First quest: “Help with the harvest. One day’s work. Reward: 15 copper coins.”

Second: “Help with house construction. Laborer needed. Pay: 20 copper coins per day.”

I frowned.
— What the… isn’t this just ordinary work? — I whispered and quickly scanned the rest. All of them were the same: helping in the fields, carrying loads, repairing roofs.

— Where’s monster hunting? Where’s escorting caravans or defending the village? — I wondered.

Just then, the door behind the registration desk creaked open. The old man stepped out. His stern gaze immediately landed on me.

— Oh, want to take a quest? Good. Better not waste time, — he said in his low voice.

— No, I was just looking, — I quickly replied.

Inside, though, I was boiling: What the hell, did I get sent to another world with levels and monsters, just to do manual labor again? No way! Selling potions earns me more than a whole day of this work. I’d rather spend the time in the training room, leveling up.

— Hahaha! — the old man suddenly laughed loudly. — Not what you expected, huh?

— Well, yeah, — I admitted reluctantly.

— Of course. Every young adventurer who comes here expects great feats, — he smirked. — They think they’ll be hunting dangerous monsters, finding rare artifacts, or escorting important people.

He shook his head.

— But no. The best you can get here is hunting wild rabbits or wolves that bother the locals. No serious quests for beginners. And you know why?

He snorted into his beard.

— Because if things were the way you dream of, half — no, most — of the young adventurers would’ve already died. Such quests aren’t for beginners. But this, — he gestured at the quest board, — this is safe enough.

There was a hint of amusement in his voice, as if he enjoyed crushing my expectations.

— In the morning there were still a couple of rabbit-hunting quests, and one for wild boars, — the old man said, shaking his head. — They were taken right away. You’re too late.

He smirked, but his tone wasn’t mocking — more like lightly regretful.

— Though honestly, it would’ve been hard for you alone. Those pests aren’t that dangerous, but even such tasks aren’t easy to do solo.

The old man pointed at the remaining papers.

— And those… — he chuckled, — usually taken by adventurers who are completely broke. Those on the edge. That’s why such quests aren’t appealing. But think about it.

He narrowed his eyes and added in a softer tone:

— Even if they pay little, it’s a safe way to earn. Just work — and you get coins. No risk to your life.

He gave me a sly look.

— Though it seems you’ve got enough funds for now. Still, think about it. They may not seem worthy of an adventurer, but it’s safe money. No danger to your life.

— Yeah, I’ll think about it, — I answered, though in my mind I had already decided otherwise.

— Excuse me… — I hesitated a bit. — Do you know where I can buy food for traveling? Something that can last long?

— If you need provisions, just leave the guild and turn left. A couple of houses down is a general store. They’ve got everything you need, — the old man said.

— Thank you, — I replied and quickly left the guild, heading where he pointed. A minute later, I was standing before the store, looking at the goods. Yeah, there were lots of fresh fruits, farming tools. Even a few dozen swords, though they clearly weren’t new. I also noticed a couple dozen bows and lots of arrows. Besides weapons, they sold clothes, tools, and a bit of everything.

— Good morning. How can I help you? — A man in his forties, with a touch of gray in his black hair, stepped out from the back. For a villager, he was dressed quite decently.

— I need food for travel. Something that lasts, — I said.

— Ah, you’re a new adventurer? Of course, of course. I’ve got everything a beginner needs: copper swords, armor, bows, if you’re interested, — he replied.

— No, just food, — I interrupted.

The merchant glanced at me, paused on my clothes, and smirked a little — probably realizing right away I had no money for weapons.

— Alright. How many days’ worth? And for how many people?

— Just for me. — I dug through my pocket, pulled out all my money, and placed it on the counter. — Here, one silver and twenty copper. I want food for this whole sum.

— Got it. Any preferences? More dried fruit? Or meat?

— I don’t know… whatever you think best, — I replied.

— Alright. — The merchant nodded, went to the back, and returned three or four minutes later with a sack. — Here’s hard bread, some dried meat, and enough dried fruit. All of it keeps well. And the sack — free of charge, from the store.

I took it. Judging by the weight, it was more than ten kilos.

— Thank you, — I said and hurried back to the guild, into my room.

— Come again! — the merchant’s voice followed me.

I quickly entered my room and put the sack down by the bed.

Alright. Now I had enough food. As for water… I figured I could ask here. Water should be free.

I soon found the old man in the registration hall.

— Water? — he looked at me and smirked. — What, should I bring it to you myself?

— No, I just wanted to know where I can get drinking water, — I said.

— There’s a well in the courtyard. Take as much as you like. And don’t bother me with trifles, — he grumbled.

I returned to the corridor with the rooms.

Oh, how did I not notice before? From the windows, I could see the guild’s inner courtyard. Not far from my door was the exit to it.

I stepped outside. There was a training area: wooden targets, dummies, mannequins — everything you’d need for sword or bow practice.

And there was the well.

I grabbed the bucket tied to the rope and lowered it down. After a splash, I began turning the handle. The bucket slowly rose, full of cold, clean water.

I scooped some straight from it and took a few gulps. Refreshing, cool water — just what I needed. The only problem: I had no container to carry it with me. Oh well. I’d just come here whenever I needed a drink.

After a few more gulps, I went back to my room, grabbed the sack of provisions, and activated the Training Room skill.

In the next moment, I was back in the familiar space where I’d been training. Yes, this feeling of freedom. A huge space, all mine. Compared to the cramped adventurers’ guild room, it felt like an entire hall.

Oh… what’s that? Dried grass? Where from? Ah, right… it was my mattress. Yesterday I’d gathered fresh grass, and now it had completely dried. Well, considering time here passed 240 times faster, no wonder. I’d clean it up later.

I set the sack of provisions aside and focused.

Quest number 11:

— 1100 squats,
— 1100 push-ups,
— 1100 jumps,
— 11 minutes plank,
— and a new exercise — 100 sword swings.

I looked at the new line in surprise. Sword swings? But I didn’t even have a proper weapon…

But as soon as I thought that, light flared before me. Out of thin air appeared a weighted vest and a long training sword. It looked crude, with no sharp edges, more like a wooden weapon made of iron. But the weight was real: my hand trembled slightly as I grabbed it.

I put on the vest, adjusted my grip, and made the first swing. The blade cut the air with a dull whoosh.

— Hm… heavy. But exactly what I need.

---

Quest No. 20 completed. Reward: 1,000,000 experience points.

Finally! I let out a heavy breath. Everything I’d bought at the store was nearly gone. I’d eaten the dried fruit yesterday, the dried meat had tasted strange at first, but I’d gotten used to it. Of all the supplies, only half a loaf of bread remained.

For me, five days had passed. Well… almost non-stop training. Why exactly five? Simple — I’d slept five times. There was no clock in the training room, so I couldn’t know the exact time. I only went by my body’s sense of fatigue.

When I finally left the training room and returned to the guild, the first thing I did was head to the courtyard. I hauled up a bucket of water and poured it over myself. Cold streams ran down my skin, making me shiver and at the same time giving me an incredible sense of freshness.

Yeah, I had stepped out now and then — to drink and wash up a little before sleep. But this, dousing myself with icy water, felt like being reborn.

And still… I don’t think I could’ve lasted those five days if I hadn’t realized one important thing right at the start. Namely — alchemy. Or rather, healing potions.

At first, I had planned to stockpile potions and sell them at the guild to earn more money. But already on the first day, after training for about four or five hours, I got so exhausted I just lay down to rest.

I looked at my mana — it had gone back over a thousand. Which meant I could craft another potion. I did, and set it on the floor.

And then a thought hit me. Healing potions don’t just heal wounds. They help with illnesses, even with poison. In essence, they return the body to an almost perfect state. Then… what if I drank one when I was utterly exhausted? After all, training damages muscles and drains energy. Maybe it could fix that too?

Alright, let’s try, I decided.

I opened the flask and took a sip. The effect was even better than I expected. In an instant, a surge of energy filled my body, and the exhaustion melted away. I felt like I had just slept eight hours and woken up completely refreshed. No muscle pain, no heaviness.

I could start training again immediately.

But I didn’t have an endless supply of potions. With mana recovery, I could only make three per day. So I decided to drink them about once every five hours. One sip, and the physical fatigue vanished, letting me keep training, taking only short breaks.

However, the potions only removed physical exhaustion. They couldn’t help with mental fatigue. And when sleepiness crept in, even though my muscles felt fine, I still had to lie down. I even moved my bed into the training room so I wouldn’t waste time going back and forth.

I wouldn’t even call it a drawback. If people could just skip sleep by drinking potions, life would probably become a nightmare. Sleep is one of the most pleasant and important parts of the day. So for me, the fact that potions didn’t remove mental fatigue turned out to be a blessing.

At first, I had planned to stockpile healing potions to sell them at the guild for money. But soon I realized: completing quests in the training room was far more important than silver coins.

The more quests I finished, the more experience I earned. The more experience, the higher my level. And the higher my level, the greater my chances of surviving and achieving a normal life in this world.

So I decided to use the potions to remove exhaustion, train longer, complete more quests in the training room, and earn more experience. I would only sell the leftover potions to the guild.

Moreover, now I could craft even more potions per day, since I invested my free attribute points into increasing my mana reserves. I put them into Intelligence, Magic Power, and Magic Defense. Yeah, maybe raising Strength or Speed would’ve been more useful in combat. But right now, the ability to make more healing potions was the key to survival and progress.

Besides, I was sure: in the future, if I gained a magical skill, having a large mana pool would be even more useful. And since I wasn’t planning to throw myself into dangerous battles just yet, boosting mana was the best investment for my future.

And to sum it up — I had reached Level 34.

[Status]

Name: Alessar
Level: 34
Rank: 2
HP: 2290+1680
MP: 1900+2520
Strength: 107+56
Defense: 60+56
Speed: 62+56
Intelligence: 71+56+28
Magic Power: 54+56+28
Magic Defense: 65+56+28
Free Attribute Points: 0
Skills: —
Special Skills:
— Training Room (Rank 2)
— Alchemy (Rank 1)

I stared at my growing stats for a long time, honestly just enjoying the sight. But I knew: I couldn’t spend all my time in the training room. Yes, it was a safe and convenient place to grow, but too boring. The same thing, over and over, hour after hour, day after day.

In real life, I had worked in a similar rhythm, and even then it was unbearable. I figured a bit of variety wouldn’t hurt.

Now I had three healing potions left. I’d sell them to the old man at the guild, buy some more food — and then train a little more. But tomorrow, I’d try going back to the gorge I had come from.