Throughout the day, Sam had kept coming in to update him on things that had been happening within and around the camp, and the Backpacker made sure to keep Ashton informed on anything important. Big events, people that acted particularly weird, monsters that were noticeably stronger than others, that sort of thing.
Of course, Ashton wasn't the only one that had encountered the crimson wyvern, and some posts were now circulating, talking about potentially trying to take it down by banding together in one large group. Which wasn't the worst idea in the world, but it was unlikely to work.
Right now, people were at the stage where they started getting actually stronger. At low levels, even a single point increase in any stat made a distinct difference that couldn't be ignored. It was an invigorating feeling, definitely. Even to Ashton, whose stats by the end of his time in Lumia would have been solidly in the three digits, the sensation of actively levelling up and getting just that bit stronger was sensational. It was easy to grow cocky, especially since monsters didn't grow that much stronger within each quest, and saw the most boost between the end of one and the start of the next. Essentially, those that worked hard at levelling up would quickly grow much stronger than the monsters.
If you didn't know what was to come, their stance made sense, especially considering the reward. Ashton was probably one of the only people that had something better than an uncommon item with him at this point in time, let alone an epic item like the camera. So, getting your hands on some rare items could be a true gamechanger. Plus, people were already speculating what coins might be useful for. If there was one constant in life, it was human greed. The coin reward for killing the wyvern, even if it was split up amongst participants, was quite substantial.
Ashton just hoped that they wouldn't gather together and get themselves killed before he could intervene. But even if they did... then he couldn't really do anything about that.
At least, there were a few things that Ashton could get done before any of them seriously tried their hands at it. For one, finishing the quests for the constellations. Part of that was already done, and Ashton looked at the message before his eyes that proved this.
[Congratulations! You have fulfilled the requirements of acquiring the [Expert Apothecarist] Class!]
[Perfectly Create 50 units of Uncommon Grade Potions]
[Perfectly Create 5 Rare Grade Potions]
[Show a certain level of skill with brewing potions]
[Show a deep understanding and knowledge of brewing potions]
[Show a deep care for your ingredients]
Ashton smiled as he looked at the message. An 'Expert Apothecarist', huh? Well, that sounded about right, though it felt a little cocky to admit this, even just to himself.
Expert classes were a solid step above the 'skilled' class tier. Theoretically, Ashton should have the expertise, knowledge, and understanding for an even higher tiered class, like a 'master' one, but for that he had to do more than simply create a couple of rare potions. It was the same with the 'Expert Enchanter' class that was offered to him after he finished the tools. He would need to make, at least, some epic items to be able to get his hands on a higher tier than that. Not that Ashton had the intention of taking a second class anytime soon, as tempting as it was.
Either way, now that all the potions were finished, Ashton could get really started. First things first, he grabbed the small bottle filled with a dark blue liquid. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough for what he had to do.
[[Observer in the Veil] excitedly looks at the potion you have crafted]
[[Observer in the Veil] smugly looks at the Daughter and Executor]
[[Daughter of the Scarlet Heart] rolls their eyes]
[[Executor of the End] clicks their tongue]
"What's that about? Why are you guys annoyed?" Ashton asked as he got out a crystal-nipped pen from his jacket's chest pocket.
[[Observer in the Veil] asks what you mean]
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
[[Observer in the Veil] points out that you have chosen them]
"... Chosen? Wait, did you guys think I was going to pick one of you guys and not try to complete the other quests?" Ashton asked with a wry, surprised smile, and the constellations' messages halted for a moment.
[[Daughter of the Scarlet Heart] asks if you plan on completing all three quests]
"Obviously, they seem doable enough."
[[Executor of the End] laughs loudly, and says that you may join them soon after all]
[[Observer in the Veil] points out the importance of rest]
With a glance at the small, green potion standing at the edge of the table and the dark blue one in his hand, Ashton grinned. Even the observer didn't quite realise what those potions were? Or at least, they might not have realised the full extent of their effects when used in combination.
"We'll see," Ashton said, as he slowly poured some of the dark blue potion onto a shallow plate, placing the pen onto it. It wasn't fully submerged, of course, but it was properly touching the potion along its entire length.
"Though I assume the Observer knows, let me tell you guys what this potion does, exactly." Ashton smiled, almost whistling because he was happy he managed to properly make this. "This is a 'Potion of Mental Fortitude'. It helps recover mental exhaustion. And, if applied properly, can be used to wake someone up. And of course, since it's a potion, if done right, it can affect magical entities as well."
Ashton let his mana seep into the blue potion, manipulating the complex mana pattern within it as carefully as he could. As he did, slowly but surely, the potion rose up in certain spots, and created valleys revealing the plate underneath in others.
After a few moments, these peaks and valleys created a magic circle on their own. Specifically, this was a variation of the Pen of Insight's summoning circle. Ashton was trying to target the entity that was the Pen, the consciousness within the object, with the effect of the potion. He removed the 'summoning' parts and instead just kept the aspect of the circle that was meant to target the construct.
Slowly, the potion was pulled in through the pen's nib and disappeared, until the entire plate was squeaky clean once more. Ashton could feel the connection to the unconscious Pen strengthen for a while, until finally, the small object started to shake.
The consciousness inhabiting the pen sprung back awake, and Ashton smiled lightly as the Pen of Insight danced around on top of the plate.
"Hey there, bud," he said, squatting down so that his face was on the pen's level, letting him get a better look at it. "Are you okay? Sorry if I woke you up too early. The way you fell asleep was kind of scary. You can keep resting if you would like, I just wanted to make sure you're alright."
The pen didn't hesitate and jumped over to the small pot of myconid ink that Ashton had readied as a small gift, and then began happily scribbling on the piece of paper next to it.
"I'm going to take that as you being alright." Ashton let out a long sigh of relief. After the pen inspected the instaprint camera and fell unconscious, he was seriously worried that the luck potion he drank caused some serious damage, but it didn't seem like any of that happened. Though, with how deep asleep they still were just a minute ago, Ashton wondered how long it would have taken to wake the pen up if it weren't for the potion.
"Do you think you'd be ready to inspect a few things for me?"
The pen stopped the scribbling instantly, and then drew a large circle around the paper. Ashton took that as a 'yes'. They seemed actually almost excited about it.
He had a slight urge to inspect the camera again, but Ashton didn't want to take that risk for now. He would wait until the pen levelled up a bit more for that, maybe until they reached level 10 and got a slightly bigger ability boost.
For now, Ashton prepared some new paper and tagged the five potions. There was still some of the Potion of Mental Fortitude left, luckily, since he would need it in a bit. He calculated the amounts he would need for his plan perfectly. Even before the quests given by the constellations, Ashton wanted to make perfect use of the time before the next quest started.
Now that there was such a powerful enemy to deal with, Ashton needed to grow stronger as fast as he could, before the wyvern got to become stronger throughout the future quests. And for that, he needed the help of every contract he had formed thus far.
The other contracts had levelled up quite a bit already, too. Throughout all the fine work that Ashton had been doing over the past day, the lowest-level elemental was the Sylph at level 7, and the Undine was already at level 9. Even Poppy had levelled up again by giving Ashton her buff whenever possible so that he could speed up a little.
There were plenty of ways he could use the pixie and the Drunken Bear to help them level up faster, but he didn't want to abandon the pen in this plan, either.
So, first, Ashton inspected the potion he was going to take first. He had split it up into three small doses. It was extremely potent, and really should only be used in small amounts in emergencies. The bright red healing potion.
Potion of Rapid Healing
Grade - Rare
Creator - Ashton Garling
Volume - 100ml
Effect - Rapid healing of physical injuries
The Potion of Rapid Healing is a powerful healing potion capable of healing severe injuries over the course of a few minutes. However, the process is extremely painful and messy, leaving behind thick scars and leaving the patient physically and mentally exhausted.
Due to its appearance, it is often called a 'Ruby Potion'. It is the subject of the saying, 'the messenger of death is cloaked in robes of ruby', as this potion is usually only used in the most severe of cases, leading to many not surviving the strain placed onto their body.
Ashton smiled as he watched the pen write the description for the potion. He was a bit surprised that the construct referenced that saying, though. He had heard it plenty of times before in Lumia. Maybe because the recipe was from there, the pen also connected it to other knowledge from there. It did make Ashton wonder, though... could he use the pen to get information on other things outside of his own world?
Not that it was achievable at this point in time. For now, Ashton had to actually do something with this potion. "Now then, to the next potion. This one, my dear constellations, will be... rough."
He stripped out of his clothes, so that the bugs and maggots didn't get caught in them, and then grabbed the small bottle. Slowly, he placed it against his lips, as the messages of the constellations were showing their eager curiosity.
"... Bottom's up, I guess..."
Ashton let the potion flow down into his throat, and his body tensed up almost immediately.