With the Mutant Black Root Hemlock sorted out, Arthur took a breath of relief. It was a tense procedure after all and a small mistake could end up killing him right then and there, spoiling all his progress.
"It was good that I bought the extra vials. Though perhaps I should have also gotten some bigger ones, would have saved me time." Arthur muttered to himself.
He got up and looked around the area, seeing that there were still a few Black Root Hemlocks left.
"Sigh~ Can't get these without my gloves. Best not touch them, it won't be worth it." Arthur said before looking away.
Just getting the Mutant Black Root Hemlock was worth several times the cost of the gloves though, and Arthur wasn't regretting them getting corroded. He could very easily buy another pair of gloves with the coins he would be making.
'The Mutant Black Root Hemlock can come in handy shredding through boss characters. Though I'll need to process the Hemlock first for it to be properly usable.' Arthur thought.
The cut up Mutant Black Root Hemlock could still be used, but its mode of use would be through consumption. While it could also spread corrosion through touch, it wasn't exactly the most efficient way of using it. Not to mention, Arthur would have to use a higher quantity of him.
There was no way he would be wasting it like that, as he reckoned at least a few vials of strong corrosive poison could be made from the quantity he had.
"Maybe I should ask the alchemist for a favor. Though I don't think he'll agree quickly." Arthur pondered. "Maybe if I can help them out better, it just might work." He hoped.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWith that in mind, Arthur started to make his way back to Roran Town. He and Brambles fought a few more mobs on the way back, netting them extra experience from it.
A couple hours later, the two finally reached the town, their experience bars exceeding the 50% mark again.
'I should be able to hit the next level while on the way to the Ember Bellow Lizard. And if I add the experience from that bounty, it should be enough for at least a couple more levels, if not more.' Arthur calculated.
Once he was inside the town, Arthur quickly made his way to the Guard Captain's office not wanting to waste any time.
"I'm back!" Arthur spoke, seeing the guard captain sitting at his desk.
The man looked up to see Arthur with an eager look on his face. Fredric could already guess what Arthur was here for.
"You got it?" He asked. "Show me."
"Yep!" Arthur nodded his head and walked up to the desk.
He carefully placed the Black Root Hemlocks on the desk, showing the captain how many he had obtained.
"You managed to get twelve of them?!" Frederic was surprised. "Do that many even grow in the Trunel Woods?" he hadn't expected this at all.
While they had offered a higher reward for bringing on more of the Black Root Hemlocks, they only expected two or three at most. They certainly didn't expect Arthur to bring 12 of them at once!
"I think I just might have emptied out the woods of all Black Root Hemlock." Arthur replied.
"Hmm… makes sense that it took you a couple of days to do it." The Guard Captain attributed Arthur's time in the real world to his search for the hemlock too.
Of course, Arthur didn't bother correcting the man, as there was no need to do so.
The NPCs didn't fully understand the situation of the players right now. Many of them couldn't even detect when a player logged out or logged in. If a player spawned in front of a NPC, the NPC would think that they simply missed them.
It would take a while for the NPCs to understand that players weren't exactly normal beings.
After all… not many could return after dying multiple times.
'The NPCs in the newbie villages would be the first ones to understand that the players were 'immortal'. The people in the town don't know, as I'm the only player here. But once the others arrive and also die, the NPCs will understand.
And of course, the merchants that witness it would only spread the news further to the cities.' Arthur knew exactly how it all went.
Thankfully, the NPCs all ended up accepting the players as beings sent forth by great gods in order to help them.
Various players getting blessings from the deities only solidified this claim and NPCs didn't find players that suspicious.
Of course, there were exceptions to it, such as those NPCs who were isolated or simply were prejudiced from the start.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBut then again, it was all part of the appeal of the game and it was up to the players how to deal with them.
"I have to say, you did way better than I thought was possible." Fredric said honestly.
"I just did my best." Arthur replied calmly.
"Praise is due where it is worthy." Fredric said before ringing a bell on his desk.
A couple of seconds later, a guard appeared, hearing the bell.
"You called, Captain." The guard said with a salute.
"Call Alchemist Lugan over," Frederic ordered.
"At once!" The guard quickly left to carry out his orders.
Arthur didn't even need to wait for two minutes, as the Alchemist appeared rather quickly. It was clear that the man was already present in the building. As for where? That was yet to be seen.
The first thing Lugan saw was the Black Root Hemlocks that were kept on the desk. He too, was surprised by the numbers.
"You got this many? I barely used four of them so far to make the drug, and you got triple that amount." I was safe to say the alchemist was astonished too.
"I reckon this would be more than enough, then." Arthur replied.
"Yes, yes! It will be plenty!" Alchemist Lugan said with a smile.