Chapter 8: Potion Business
The day I arrived at End Village with my potion cases, I decided to pay Jackson a visit first before selling them to the drugstore.
Jackson was the person I trusted the most in the village. Not only did he know exactly who I was, but he knew that I had memories from my past life too.
I did trust the rest of the 60~ or so villagers, but Jackson was the only one who knew my secrets and kept them that way. So I appreciated him for that.
Obviously, the rest of the villagers knew that I wasn't normal. I mean, they saw this 12-year-old kid go into the forest for days and teleport back with a bunch of trading goods. But they still didn't ask me any questions… They all just went with it, which I appreciated a lot.
"Let's see, what are you bringing me today?" said Jackson as he guided me to his living room.
I placed the cases that I was carrying on my back on the ground and took one bottle of each, then placed them on the table in front of him.
"I made these… But… I don't know if they are any good."
"Did you test them?" said Jackson as he picked up one of the bottles.
"I did, but the Inspect says that their effect is way more potent than anything I could test for myself…"
"I see, let me take a look…"
"..."
Jackson used Inspect on all the potions. Each time he did, his eyes widened with surprise. 'Are they really that impressive?' I thought.
"Hmmm, I can see why you would doubt the Inspect window. Those descriptions are pretty unbelievable, especially that Holy Panacea…"
'Right!? Anyone would doubt a potion that says it can cure ANY type of illness…'
"The thing is…" said Jackson, as he placed one of the bottles back down on the table.
"The Inspect window doesn't lie… Ichiro, this is a miracle medicine…" He said, with a serious expression.
"I… wanted to sell them to the drugstore here…" I muttered.
"Hmm, in all my years as an adventurer, I've never seen anything like this panacea. It would definitely sell for a lot. But are you sure you want to put these out there? All these potions have your signature, y' know?" Jackson said.
"You think some people might come looking for me to make potions for them?" I asked.
His concern was justified, to be honest. Just as I thought, these potions were quite rare, and the "Inspect" window stated very clearly that I was the creator.
'Surely there are other people named Ichiro out there in the world… Right?'
"Well, yeah, that could happen. But, if Mr. Olliver sells them at his drugstore, then he could just tell them that you are his supplier. Merchants always keep their business practices secret, so it could deter people from asking…" Jackson explained.
"I… Just thought these would be useful for you guys, the adventurers protecting the town, and the villagers… You all have been so nice to me…"
"We could say the same about you, Ichiro. If it wasn't for you, this village would have gone through a famine, ahaha!" He said with a smile.
"But I digress… We should pay Mr. Olliver a visit to see what he thinks about this."
Before we went to Mr. Olliver's drugstore, I asked Jackson to teach me the value of money.
He seemed surprised at first, but that feeling quickly dissipated when he remembered that I had no use for money. However, I was about to go do business, and I had no idea how much the coins were worth.
He gave me a quick explanation, it went like this:
10 copper coins = 1 silver
10 silver coins = 1 gold
10 gold coins = 1 platinum
10 platinum coins = 1 big platinum coin
__________
Jackson and I arrived at Mr. Olliver's drugstore. He was a tiger beastkin who seemed quite mature, with gray hair, and pretty burly for a pharmacist.
Beastkin was a race of people that possessed animal features. Their kind was said to come from the union of human and legendary beasts, and there seemed to be a lot of different kinds.
We knew each other since every once in a while, I would bring a small bag filled with greenberries to him. In return, he gave me eggs because he had two chickens in his backyard. However, I hadn't seen him that much after winter started.
"Ahhh, if it isn't Ichiro! I don't think you are here to bring me any greenberries are ya'!?" the pharmacist said.
"Heh, not with all this snow Mr. Olliver. But I did bring something…" I said to him with a smile.
"Well, go on then! If Jackson is here, it must be important. I'm excited now! Come on, let's see!"
With Mr. Olliver's excitement filling the store, I pulled out the four different kinds of potions and showed them to him.
He inspected each one of them thoroughly, and even after casting Inspect, he still used a magnifying glass to look at the liquid for some reason.
He looked very serious while doing it, without even showing a hint of surprise, unlike Jackson.
"Umm… Are those good?" I asked, a bit reserved since he was dead silent.
"Ichiro… You really made these, huh?" said Mr. Olliver as he shot a glance into my eyes.
He explained to both of me and Jackson that these potions were "high grade," and it was reflected in their names by the "(+)." Usually, only the most experienced alchemists could craft such potions.
He then showed me the normal healing potion that he sold the most:
Creator: Dr. Lane
Potion that can cure wounds.>
'That's it!? That's such a vague description!'
"As you can see, this potion doesn't say it cures MOST wounds, and it also doesn't cure you from poison. I sell a separate poison antidote for that." He explained.
He would get those normal healing potions from a supplier in a town called "Speranza" for 5 coppers each, plus the delivery that could take between 7-10 days. Then he would sell those potions here for 8 copper each.
He advised me to go to Speranza to sell the potions there, but I rejected the idea instantly.
The only reason I was here in the first place was to not deal with people, End Village was an exception, but Speranza was a big town, and I just wasn't feeling up to it.
Besides, the main reason I wanted to sell the potions in End Village was because I wanted the people there to use them, not because I wanted money.
Mr. Olliver seemed on the fence at first. He told me that even if he paid me the market price for those potions, people in the village didn't have enough money to pay for them. But then again, I didn't care about making money, so I offered him a deal he couldn't reject.
I would sell him my "Healing Potions(+)" for 5 copper each, the same amount he paid for the normal ones. Same with the "MP Potions".
The "MP Potions(+)," which I had much less than the others, I sold for 8 copper each, and the "Holy Panacea" was sold for 1 silver each. Of course, the delivery was free since all I had to do was teleport there.
Mr. Olliver refused at first, saying his conscience didn't let him scam a child, but I persuaded him by telling him that I could pretty much make those potions any time I wanted. I mean, it depended on the season, but I had hundreds of them stacked anyway.
Honestly, the fact that he didn't want to go with it at first because he thought he was scamming me was proof enough to me that this was the correct person to sell them to.
All I asked him was that he kept the prices low to allow all of the villagers to buy one if they ever needed it.