One-Eyed Monster

”Oh, yes, I’m an Apothecarist, that’s my identity!”

Perkins, reminded by Igor, remembered what he wanted to say and once again went wild with excitement.

Every time he shared his story, Perkins couldn’t help but feel enthusiastic. That’s his attitude, always full of passion and exuberance.

Perkins spoke with great enthusiasm, and Igor listened with the same eagerness. These two together were truly something.

The others naturally weren’t fully invested in listening, but with Perkins continuously talking in their ears, they ended up absorbing quite a bit of it even if they didn’t intend to.

As for now, they no longer had the same mindset as before. Not only were their perceptions challenged, but Perkins’ strange experiences were really quite startling.

This surprise wasn’t because the events themselves were shocking, but because such things happening to Perkins made it seem startling.

Perkins, for one, wasn’t an Adventurer, nor was he any kind of expert, let alone nobility. At best, he was an ordinary Non-Professional, though he had some status as Governor Rostov’s adopted son. But even Governor Rostov wasn’t revered in those places—Vero Realm, Ghost Realm, what did Rostov count for? Nothing at all. So for someone of Perkins’ standing to encounter such things was truly incredible, leaving everyone in disbelief.

But of course, ”everyone” didn’t include Igor.

In Igor’s eyes, everyone was equal, although he knew sometimes this equality was in quotes. One could say that in the face of the same struggle, everyone’s opportunities were equal. This equality gave people a great chance, one that could propel a poor boy to the top of his life or instantly strip a wealthy man of everything. This kind of equal opportunity is invisible and intangible, but when it comes, no one can stop it. It’s only about whether you can grasp it.

Igor believed that Perkins was someone who had seized such an opportunity.

Although he didn’t have the chance to become an Adventurer, his efforts paid off. Even though he didn’t become an Adventurer, how was his experience any less than that of an Adventurer? Among the many Adventurers present, which one of them possessed Queen Wensi’s Mask? Who among them would dare to say they had done business with the Mantai Dwarves?

No one, no one could claim such things. Most people cared more about their gains and didn’t pay attention to the process.

Focusing too much on the outcome leads to ignoring a lot of things, things that are hard to grasp. Yet without these things, people wouldn’t change at all. So, these hidden things don’t catch anyone’s attention.

Being too concerned with the outcome leads to overlooking many details, and these details can change the original matter. Just like Hustace, being overly focused on the outcome, ignored the details, eventually got himself into such a state.

Perkins continued talking about various things related to being an Apothecarist. Of course, at the beginning, he was just a wandering vagabond without any skills, only guided by Tobin onto this path.

This path led him to confusion now, but the experiences and gains from before allowed him to carve out a niche on this road.

This, Perkins understood well, didn’t represent everything he experienced traveling the world. They were merely footprints on his path. As for where this road led, that would need discussions with others to determine.

”An Apothecarist is really just an ordinary person. We’re just skilled at using potions.”

”Wait,” Igor suddenly interrupted Perkins because this sentence reminded him of an Alchemist. Although he hadn’t interacted long with the Alchemist, from the Great Mentor and others, he knew the Alchemist was skilled with potions. ”The potions you mentioned, are they the same as those used by the Alchemists?”

”That’s a good question. Let me tell you, the potions I use and those used by Alchemists aren’t that different, it’s just that the way we obtain them is vastly different.”

”The way you obtain them?”

”Yeah, think about it. Alchemists can directly use Exchange Spells to get the potions they want, but I can’t do that. I don’t have that ability.”

Igor furrowed his brow, thinking about it, realizing it’s true. The Alchemist who went berserk with Brad used potions obtained through exchange.

”And let me tell you, Alchemists’ potions are too singular. Most of them are for enhancement, corrosion, things like that, solely for destructive purposes. They can’t serve any other purpose, and their potions don’t combine; they’re too simple, practically a waste of species.”

”Uh, you’ve said so much, but I still don’t have a clear overall picture,” Igor commented. While Perkins spoke a lot, Igor still couldn’t understand it directly.

Simply put, Perkins gave too few examples, leaving Igor to fill in the gaps with imagination. But these imagined pieces were abstract, so Igor’s mind wandered quite a bit.

However, Perkins was someone who regularly shared his stories with others, so he wasn’t fazed by unexpected interactions. In his mind, he had dozens of ways to deal with all of this, and it was child’s play to him.

”Think about it, you saw that scene earlier, right? I was sweeping the floor with a broom and dustpan, what do you think I was doing?”

”I don’t know,” Igor shook his head like a rattle, feeling that Perkins at that time seemed like a madman. Who could know what he was doing back then?

”I was collecting the potion, hahaha!” Perkins laughed like a child. ”These potions are very precious!”

”Potions?” Igor was even more puzzled.

”Yeah, hahaha, you think about how I managed to stop them from beating me just now. It was just with this potion!” Perkins laughed as if he had eaten honey.

Igor looked around, not noticing anything unusual, with a face full of doubt: ”What are these potions?”

”Hahahahaha, well, let me tell you, the potions I use are made from Needlegrass seeds. These seeds are tiny, but when spread on the ground, they can immediately grow into Needlegrass. Even though the Needlegrass isn’t visible, it has strong immobilizing effects, binding people in place.”

”Needlegrass?” Igor had never heard of it; what was this new invention? How come he had never heard of it?

”Haha, it’s very rare vegetation. Sol would definitely know; they’re ancient Hunters, certainly familiar with this stuff,” Perkins said with a mischievous smile.