No wonder force adepts value pharmacists so much, it’s just insanely expensive to cultivate force.

  At his current pace, completing one full cycle of the force nodes in the Poison Technique to raise his force values requires thirty bottles of the force potion.

  A Vitality State force adept needs to cycle at least thirty-six times.

  That’s over a thousand bottles of the force potion.

  And that’s a conservative estimate. The speed of the force node cycles slows down as the force values increases.

  As each cycle takes longer, the demand for the force potion grows even greater.

  Aaron senses a faint surge of power suddenly appearing inside him.

  His confidence strengthens once again.

  As a force adept, giving up is absolutely not an option.

  He pulls out another vial of the force potion and drinks it down in one gulp.

  The dissipated force around him thickens once more.

  Not daring to waste a little, Aaron quickly operates technique to absorb the force.

  Before he knows it, an entire night passes.

  Aaron feels the force inside him and his mood lifts.

  By rough calculation, he completes one-tenth of a full cycle of the force nodes.

  If he trains like this for ten more nights, he’ll finish the first full cycle of the force nodes, condense his vitality, and become a Vitality State force adept with one force values.

  As for daytime, Aaron plans to spend it brewing the force potion.

  According to the mysterious “big shot” on the forum, one vial of Focus Potion is enough to sustain a superpower seed for several months.

  The two Focus Potions his master gave him will cover all his superpower seed needs until the Level 1 pharmacist exam in June.

  “Too bad superpower seeds can’t be sped up,” Aaron sighs.

  A superpower seed only absorbs a limited amount of spiritual energy at a time. Once it’s full, it stops absorbing.

  Drinking two Focus Potions at once is just a waste.

  Normally, the superpower seed must slowly nurture and awaken over time.

  When the “seed” will bloom and bear fruit is uncertain.

  According to the superpower information posted by the “big shot,” some people never see their superpower seed awaken even in a lifetime.

  “I don’t need to worry about the superpower seed until after the Imperial Academy recruitment. Right now, the real issue is brewing some force potions,” Aaron thinks to himself.

  He’s already learned all the basic potion formulas, so making the force potion shouldn’t be too difficult.

  But the problem is still money.

  He’s short on herbs.

  Last month, the Silver Fox Hunter Group gave him 150 batches of Calm Potion herbs, which already include this month’s and next month’s shares.

  Asking for more herbs now would be a bit unreasonable.

  Besides, even if he had the nerve to ask, they probably couldn’t supply him immediately.

  From what he knows, the Silver Fox Hunter Group is currently out exploring land in the Forbidden Zone and won’t be back anytime soon.

  Should he ask his master for some?

  Better not.

  That old man just gave him two Level 3 Focus Potions.

  Since his master doesn’t know how to brew them, he must have bought them with money. It’d be a bit tacky to ask for more spending money right after that.

  “Better to put the diluted Calm Potions on the market,” Aaron decides.

  He still has some successfully brewed Calm Potions on hand.

  Now that he has Focus Potions, Calm Potions feel less useful, so selling them for cash makes more sense.

  However, he’s not ready to release the full-strength Calm Potions yet.

  Although his master holds some status among the outcasts, who knows if some reckless outcast might try to assassinate him?

  Outcasts tend to target imperial prodigies with assassination attempts.

  Aaron definitely doesn’t want to draw attention to himself right now.

  After making up his mind, Aaron heads to the brewing room.

  He still has over a hundred Calm Potions on hand.

  After using the Silver Fox Hunter Group’s herbs, Master Scott sends twenty batches of herbs to the brewing room every day for the next half month. Before he realizes it, Aaron accumulates quite a stash of potions.

  And the more he brews, the more he feels—maybe it’s just his imagination—that the quality of his Calm Potions improves, with stronger effects.

  “Too bad no one can answer this question anytime soon. And these potions aren’t ready to be shown yet,” Aaron thinks.

  He casually pulls out a vial and skillfully dilutes it.

  Spending the whole afternoon, he dilutes ten full-strength Calm Potions into forty half-finished potions with about 20-30% potency.

  “I’ll put ten of these up for sale on the platform first,” he plans.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Aaron calculates the herb costs for the force potion.

  As the most famous Level 1 potion, a force potion sells for about 10,000 gold coins.

  The herbs to brew one force potion cost around 4,000 gold coins.

  The force potion is a classic case of high cost, low price.

  For comparison, a Calm Potion costs about 1,000 gold coins to make, but sells for at least 7,000 gold coins, often going up to 9,000 gold coins.

  The force potion costs four times as much as a Calm Potion but sells at roughly the same price.

  Of course, this isn’t because pharmacists suddenly got generous.

  It’s the Hunter Union’s strict policy.

  Not just Level 1 force potions, but Level 2 and Level 3 force potions are the same.

  They cost a lot to make but don’t sell for much.

  That’s because force potions are essential for force adepts’ survival and common use.

  If force potions were priced too high, it would hinder the Empire’s force adepts from growing stronger.

  So the Hunter Union imposes price caps on these essential force potions. Pharmacists working in the Potion Hall get assigned monthly quotas for brewing these must-have potions, ensuring a steady supply.

  As compensation, the Hunter Union turns a blind eye to the costs and pricing of non-essential potions.

  If there’s demand in the market, pharmacists can charge whatever they want, both buyer and seller willing, no harm done.

  “Ten half-finished Calm Potions can only buy enough herbs for ten force potions. That’s nowhere near enough!” Aaron crunches the numbers in his head.

  Early on, potion brewing inevitably involves failures, and he’s no exception.

  He wastes over a hundred batches of herbs before getting the hang of it.

  Actually, Aaron’s efficiency is pretty impressive.

  After wasting close to a hundred batches of herbs, his success rate shoots way up.

  In comparison, ordinary pharmacists often waste hundreds, sometimes even thousands of herbs just to get started with a potion.

  Because of this, many pharmacists rack up debts of tens or even hundreds of thousands of gold coins while still young.

  Even after getting the basics down, their potion success rates remain pitifully low, only improving slowly through mass brewing later on.

  In the Potion Hall, many pharmacists survive by relying on a few famous potions to get by.

  Aaron hesitates for a moment but decides to only put out ten half-finished Calm Potions.

  Three days ago, he already gave Landon ten half-finished Calm Potions, so taking out another ten is already quite a bit.

  A normal pharmacist only brews a few dozen potions a month. As a newly promoted senior apprentice, Aaron producing twenty half-finished potions this month is considered high output.

  …

  Wilderness Resource Trading Market.

  As the only trading spot for force adepts in Bert City, it’s a bustling hub where countless hunters gather, coming and going to pick up and complete tasks.

  Inside the potion trading hall, a massive display screen flashes rows of red text, listing potions put up for sale by pharmacists.

  Aaron hands over his half-finished Calm Potions to the staff. Before he even leaves the hall, the Calm Potion listing appears on the screen.

  A few surprised exclamations ring out.

  Hunters who spend their days lurking here, hoping to snag bargains and act as middlemen, immediately head toward the trading counter once they spot the Calm Potion listing.

  Not long after, Aaron’s phone buzzes with a message.

  “Account ending 9527, income: 39,000 gold coins, balance: 39,000 gold coins.”

  The money hits his account, and Aaron’s mood lifts.

  This is the first real profit he makes from brewing potions.

  Feeling a bit richer, Aaron wanders around the herb selling hall for half an hour.

  But his confidence quickly evaporates.

  “This price is ridiculous! Buying herbs for one force potion costs 4,500 gold coins? That’s killing me,” Aaron grumbles bitterly.

  “I’d better buy directly from the hunter group!”

  Pharmacists selling potions don’t have a commission taken by the Hunter Union, since they’re employees.

  But hunters selling herbs get a commission fee taken by the Hunter Union.

  That fee naturally inflates the herb prices.

  So buying herbs straight from the hunter group is generally cheaper. No middlemen taking a cut.

  “I’ll check out the Silver Fox Hunter Group tomorrow,” Aaron decides after some thought.

  The Silver Fox Hunter Group mainly pioneers in the wilderness, with people stationed at their base.

  Their warehouse should have some herb stockpiled.

  Aaron leaves the Wilderness Resource Trading Building as evening falls.

  Dark clouds lingering in the sky break apart under the glow of the sunset.

  The sunset clutches the last light of day like a fading cloak.

  Rows of golden-red clouds stretch all the way to the horizon.

  The city, washed clean by rain, fills the air with a fresh scent of grass, wood, and earth.

  Aaron strolls along a grassy path, feeling pretty good.

  “Hey, my friend!”

  A clear voice calls out nearby.

  Two girls walk toward him from the opposite direction. One spots Aaron and waves.

  Aaron’s cheerful mood instantly vanishes.

  “Oh, hello, familiar stranger.”

  “My good friend, why so cold? I just didn’t lend your money, that’s no reason to be so stingy. Where’s your manly spirit?” Ava says, acting like they’re all part of some brotherhood, telling him not to be petty.

  “Can you stop with the nagging?” Aaron replies.

  “Can’t help it. You’re an S-grade genius, after all. If I didn’t have a little dignity and ninety-seven percent charm, I might’ve thrown myself at you already,” Ava winks and smiles.

  Aaron pulls a sour face. Yeah, right.

  If he believed her, she’d probably block him by tomorrow.

  Privately, Bruce once told Aaron why Alex acts like a fool, full of spite toward him.

  It’s because Ava often teased Alex before.

  One side was just messing around, the other was truly fell in love.

  Once Ava sensed things were going sideways, she blocked Alex immediately.

  Poor Alex, the hopeless old puppy, was heartbroken.

  In the snowy forest, seeing his “ex” interested in Aaron, who even stayed in Ava’s camper, Alex flew into a jealous rage.

  That’s why he acted out with a string of foolish moves.

  “Spill it. What do you want?”

  Aaron asks straight away.

  Ava’s habit of playing with emotions isn’t something he really wants to get involved with.

  “I’m throwing a party. Come by tonight!” Ava invites.

  “No time. I’m diving deep into potion studies lately,” Aaron declines bluntly.

  “Come on, we’re all young, let’s have some fun! Don’t tell me you’re still mad because I didn’t lend you money?” Ava teases, then adds, “There’ll be plenty of beautiful girls at the party!”

  “No matter how beautiful they are, what do they have to do with me? My heart belongs only to the Empire and its people,” Aaron replies with righteous seriousness.

  “They’re rich too,” Ava adds again.

  “But they’re Empire‘s people too. I’ll be there tonight as promised,” Aaron smiles faintly, wearing a look of patriotic concern.

  No choice. Poverty teaches him to be flexible.

  Emily looks at Aaron with a strange expression.

  So shameless…

  At that moment, Aaron catches a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. His calm expression suddenly falters.

  Those eyes… he feels like he’s seen them somewhere before.

  A fleeting thought crosses Aaron’s mind, but he quickly regains his composure, confirms the time and place, and walks away.

  Night falls.

  Seven o’clock.

  A knock sounds at the door. Aaron opens it.

  “Senior Brother, what are you doing here?” Aaron asks, surprised.

  “Ava is throwing a party and invited a lot of advanced apprentices. If you’re free, come with me,” Bruce says, inviting him.

  After the last kidnapping incident, Bruce feels guilty. He thinks he failed as a senior brother by not looking after his juniors properly.

  So this time, he makes a point to bring Aaron along for a little stress relief.

  Parties like this are common among pharmacists since they spend all day cooped up in the lab, doing tedious and mentally taxing work.

  Many pharmacists like to host parties, have a few drinks, relax, and share tips and experiences.

  “Alright,” Aaron nods.

  He was planning to unwind anyway and maybe meet some wealthy clients.

  The two set off together, chatting along the way.

  Before they reach the venue, the sound of lively music and bursts of laughter reach their ears.

  Aaron looks up to see a bustling scene on a distant lawn.

  Colorful lights hang from nearby trees.

  Several food trucks line the roadside.

  The grill master flips meat over the barbecue, the aroma fills the air.

  The pastry chef keeps checking the time on his wrist, waiting for desserts to be ready.

  To the beat of the music, servers deliver an array of delicious food to the party.

  A group of energetic young people gather in the center of the lawn, chatting and laughing, the atmosphere vibrant.

  Aaron and Bruce enter. Many heads turn in surprise.

  Though Aaron doesn’t have many friends in Potion Hall, plenty of people know who he is.

  His S-grade rating acts like a halo, making him stand out.

  Besides that, people remember him for two things: beating up senior brothers at the drop of a hat and getting robbed while out relaxing.

  His personality is seen as eccentric.

  That’s the general impression most apprentices have of Aaron.

  Still, it doesn’t stop others from wanting to connect with him.

  “Aaron, right?”

  As soon as he steps in, a young man approaches him.

  “Hello,” Aaron replies politely.

  “I’m Lucas. We took the advanced apprentice exam together,” Lucas introduces himself, then adds, “Aaron, you really live up to the S-grade genius title. You brewed the Calm Potion in just a month. That’s impressive.”