Bai Qiu activated the Fivefold Arcane Crystallization Eyes, and instantly, every subtle movement of Guinelia was laid bare before him.
Only after she finished making the first batch of potions did Bai Qiu finally speak.
“Good afternoon, Guinelia.”
“Huh?! When did you get here?” Guinelia turned around and asked in surprise.
“I’ve been here since you were grinding the herbs. Sorry—because of me, you’ve been overwhelmed,” Bai Qiu said apologetically.
Guinelia handed him her storage ring and said, “Well, obviously! Because of you, I stayed up late again last night! And today I’ve been rushed by so many customers! I haven’t even eaten yet!”
She patted her flat, smooth stomach and looked at Bai Qiu with a resentful expression.
Bai Qiu took the ring and scratched his head.
“Sorry, sorry. I’ve got some fruit here—have a bit to fill your stomach first. By the way… can I help you make potions?”
“Uh… you want to learn potion-making?” Guinelia looked at him with a strange expression.
“Yeah. I just observed your process, and with my current control over mana, it shouldn’t be too hard to learn,” Bai Qiu said eagerly.
If it relied on system-assisted alchemy, he didn’t trust his luck—but if it was based on his own observation and mana control to imitate Guinelia’s method, he believed he could do it.
Guinelia looked at Bai Qiu’s serious expression.
Although she didn’t really think he could learn it that easily, she had no intention of stopping him.
“Potion-making is quite difficult, you know! How about this—I’ll demonstrate it once more, and then you can give it a try.”
Bai Qiu nodded and stood beside her, watching as she repeated the potion-making process step by step.
“Alright! Your turn! Start by selecting the correct proportions of ingredients,” she said with a cheerful smile.
Bai Qiu walked over to the herb storage cabinet, took out the materials for a healing potion, and matched the exact same quantities Guinelia had chosen—down to the smallest detail.
Just as Guinelia was beginning to feel surprised, Bai Qiu had already moved on to the next step on his own…
Step by step, Bai Qiu flawlessly completed almost every part of the process.
But at the final step, he suddenly stopped.
His brows furrowed as mana continuously restructured and rearranged in his hands in various forms…
“I can’t do this last step,” Bai Qiu finally admitted, giving up.
This was bound to fail, and he didn’t want to waste Guinelia’s materials.
When he turned around, he found Guinelia staring at him with her mouth wide open and eyes widened, as if she were looking at a monster.
After hearing what he said, she spoke in disbelief:
“Bai Qiu… have you really never learned potion-making before? That was incredible! Aside from the final step, everything else was perfectly executed on your first try!”
Bai Qiu shook his head and said calmly,
“This isn’t my talent or innate ability. I only learned this through imitation, so my level depends on you.
As for the final step, it should be your own unique gift. Perhaps that’s why the healing potions you make are superior to those made by alchemists in other safe zones.
Of course, it’s also possible that my current ability just isn’t enough to replicate your technique.”
From Guinelia’s expression, Bai Qiu could tell that his guess was mostly correct.
For the rest of the time, Bai Qiu began assisting Guinelia.
He completed all the earlier steps and left the final step for her, greatly increasing the efficiency of her potion-making.
Moreover, they didn’t need to produce any complicated potions.
The only potion currently in short supply was the healing potion.
As for the others, since the mage merchant was still around, they remained largely ignored.
After selling a batch of potions, Li Shi hobbled in with his crutch.
Seeing that Bai Qiu hadn’t left or was chatting with Guinelia, but instead was busy doing something on his own, he felt momentarily confused.
Soon, he realized—Bai Qiu wasn’t just tinkering around, he was clearly making potions.
Startled, Li Shi asked, “Damn… Boss Bai Qiu, you can make potions too?”
“No, I can’t make potions,” Bai Qiu replied, his hands never stopping as he continued working steadily. .
“But I can help her with the groundwork.”
“Boss, you’re awesome!” Li Shi gave a thumbs-up.
Then he looked toward the counter where the finished healing potions were stored, and was utterly astonished.
He hadn’t expected that in such a short time, Bai Qiu and Guinelia working together would achieve a result greater than the sum of their parts—the output was three times what he had taken last time!
This won’t do—I need to speed up too, Li Shi thought to himself.
He quickened his pace, swiftly storing all the healing potions into his storage card before hurrying out of the workshop.
After he left, Guinelia smiled and said, “He called you ‘boss’! Looks like you’ve really stood out among the adventurers! I’ll have to rely on you from now on!”
Bai Qiu remained expressionless as he handed over the prepared materials.
“It’s nothing special. My level is just a bit higher than theirs.”
Then, as if remembering something, he added,
“By the way, will me helping you make potions affect the experience you gain?”
“Huh?”
“If I remember correctly, your starting level should’ve been 20, and now you’ve leveled up once. I’m guessing your way of gaining experience is related to potion-making,” Bai Qiu explained.
Supporters, like players, also have levels, but since they rarely leave the sanctuary’s barrier, their method of gaining experience definitely isn’t through killing monsters.
“It doesn’t affect it at all! In fact, with your help, my leveling speed has increased!” Guinelia said happily after understanding what he meant.
“For the healing potions made with your assistance, I still receive half of the [Proficiency EXP] and [Personal EXP]!
And with Mr. Li selling the potions, I can also gain [Authority EXP Points] from the system. Right now, I can totally be considered one of the top figures among the [Supporters]!” she said proudly, hands on her hips.
“Then I’m relieved,” Bai Qiu replied as he continued working.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips—now that he had no more worries, he could speed things up!
And so, Bai Qiu spent the entire afternoon in Guinelia’s workshop, quickly serving all of the day’s customers.
Not only that, they also produced a large stock of healing potions, enough to last until the next day.
After finishing their work, Guinelia immediately hopped behind Bai Qiu and said:
“Thank you so much for today! Without your help, I probably wouldn’t even have time to eat tonight! By the way, are you free this evening? This time, I’m treating you and Mr. Li to dinner! No making excuses to turn me down!”
“It’s nothing—just returning the favor for you making the Riptide Potion for me. And, unless something unexpected comes up, I should be pretty free lately.”
Bai Qiu agreed to Guinelia’s dinner invitation.
After working the whole afternoon, he was starting to feel a bit hungry.
— The end of the Chapter–
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