The three of them followed Jack as he delved into the depth of the earth to where the Grandmother spider used to have its lair. The eggs were still there.
Jack climbed down to the large hall with the eggs. He saw no red dots on his radar but he didn’t let go of his guard. There had been instances when monsters could fool his God-eye monocle.
??
After making sure everything was fine. He brandished his sword and struck at one of the eggs. As expected, a damage number appeared, indicating the eggs were something that was meant to be destroyed. Jack gave it another two slashes and it popped into disgusting green goo.
“eew,” Viral Cora said with revulsion.
The Man lifted up his axe and said, “I’ll help.”
“Wait!” Jack stopped him. He looked at Jack puzzlingly.
“I need to do this part by myself,” Jack told him. “A requirement from the quest.”
Jack was not sure actually. Guss could have just referred to the outside influence as the NPC’s army, but he did not want to take the chance. Even though he had already used the drake which could also be considered as an outside influence. However, if he did not use the drake, there was no way he would have been able to take down the Grandmother spider.
Stick to the rule when he could afford it, bent it when he could not. That was another of his principle. Since at this moment, the task was easy enough for him to do by himself, no sense to risk it by letting others help. So he hacked away at the eggs and destroyed them one by one as the others stood aside and watched him work.
After he cracked three eggs, he realized the stupidity of his action. Moved back, and cast Arcane Turbulence using his new super rare staff. The spell engulfed a whole batch of the eggs and destroyed them with DPS as he attacked the other eggs.
Soon the task was completed. He saw the goo now had mixed with the water on the floor. He probably still had to tell Guss to not let anyone take water from that new stream. He told the three that he was done and they all went back to the town together.
Viral Cora didn’t stop chatting with him about his quest among other stuff. The girl was highly chatty and cheerful. Jack found chatting with her to be rather enjoyable.
They entered the town before long and Jack excused himself to go to the town hall. They want to follow but the guards on the town hall did not permit players other than Jack to enter.
“You need to ask the duke to recommend us for joining the kingdom faction too!” Viral Cora said to him as he entered the town hall.
“I’ll try,” Jack replied with a chuckle.
Guss was on his desk scribbling on some documents when Jack entered. He stopped his work once he saw Jack.
“Chief Healer Albert had come to see me. He said a soldier on duty at mess hall D had come clean about using a new stream for one of the barrels for drinking water. He said you were the one that had found out about it. An action had been taken to close that stream so others won’t have access to it anymore. The chief healer talked rather highly of you.”
“He did?” Jack was surprised for hearing it. That grumpy NPC who kept on looking down on him for not being a healer?
“He did. Now, have you found out why that stream was tainted? Have you dealt with it?”
Jack then told him about what he found, about the spider lair, and about how the stream was tainted by the spider’s eggs. He paused for a bit before deciding to be honest, he told Guss about how he lured the Grandmother spider to where the Grim Sand Drake was hiding, and had the two colossi fought one another. After the spider was killed, he went back to the lair to clean out the eggs.
Guss was silent as Jack made his report. He was still silent after Jack was done. Jack started to feel worried about the silence. The base commander stood up and clapped Jack’s shoulder. “Good job,” he said, giving Jack a huge relief.
He then heard a system notification informing him that he had completed the quest of disease investigation quest. He received 10 gold coins, 75,000 Experience points, and a rare grade medium armor chest piece. His Warrior’s experience bar was very close to level 26 now. As for the rare armor, he just stored it as his Blood Guard Scale armor was better.
“I will let that lazy brother of mine know about your success. I will make sure he compensates you fairly.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Jack said.
“Albert also has a reward for you,” Guss said as he brought out a piece of paper.
Jack was astounded. Did that grumpy healer truly regard him so highly? He received the paper and found it to be an alchemy recipe for Basic Regeneration Potion. Jack asked Peniel about the effect of this potion, Peniel told him that it granted the same effect as a level 1 Regeneration spell which he had cast before using a magic scroll.
Guss said, “when Albert asked me to give this recipe to you, he said, I quote, give that adventurer this recipe. Since he was a fool who did not pick a healer class, then he will need this potion to survive.”
That’s him all right, Jack thought. He stored the recipe and looked inside his bag. He now had three alchemy recipes which he did not know what to do about. The other two were from the Grandmother spider’s drop and the Outlaw’s drop.
Guss dismissed him, before reminding him that the expedition would be departing again tomorrow. The resupply had been going well as planned. Before leaving, Jack said, “That soldier who used the contaminated spring. If possible, cut him some slack. He had been cooperative in helping me solve the case.”
Jack went back to the inn since he had no other thing to do. He would resume his spell formation training. He saw from his radar that most of his friends were at the inn. They all turned to him once he entered.
“Are you done with your quest?” Jeanny asked.
Jack nodded. He then said in a loud voice, “who among you that focus on your alchemy job?”
“You know I do,” Bowler said.
“What’s your alchemy level?” Jack asked.
“Advanced Apprentice.”
“Anyone here who had the same or higher level of Alchemy?”
“What’s this about?” John asked.
“If you can’t do alchemy, then this has got nothing to do with you,” Jack replied crudely.
“Ouch,” John feigned getting hurt.
“I’m a basic expert at alchemy,” Pointy Tip said.
“No one else?” Jack asked again.
Since no one said anything more, he said to Bowler and Tip, “you two, follow me.”
Jack took them two to his room. John and Viral Cora had been following as well out of curiosity, but Jack closed the door on them.
After being in the room with the two, Jack took out his three alchemy recipes. Two of them, basic rejuvenation potion and basic regeneration potion, can be produced by an intermediate apprentice alchemist. While the third, which he had gotten from the Grandmother spider’s loots, was a recipe for a basic expert alchemist.
This basic expert recipe was to produce Poison Salve. Peniel had informed him it is a consumable which could be applied to a melee weapon or physical ranged weapon, like the Whetstone. It added poison effect to the weapon for a limited time. The effect could be stacked with Whetstone.
Jack explained the effects of the three recipes to Bowler and Tip, afterward he said, “I can give the two of you these recipes, but I need you to promise me that you will produce these items for me in your spare time. You can buy the ingredients, I will compensate the coins when you give me the items.”
“No problem,” Bowler said.
“Well, I am game as well,” Pointy Tip said. He knew he did not excel in combat, but his alchemy skill was pretty good. Having the chance to learn a new recipe and practice would increase the level of his alchemy job further.
Jack gave basic regeneration potion recipe to Bowler, and the other two he gave to Pointy Tip.
Pointy Tip reviewed the recipe before saying, “I have no problem with this basic rejuvenation potion, but this poison salve uses one ingredient that I never see in the market. I will not be able to make it if I don’t have the ingredient.”
“What ingredient?” Jack asked.
“Small poison gland.”
Jack looked into his bag and took out the Large Poison Gland from the Grandmother spider’s drops. “Can this do?” He asked.
“A large one?” Tip was surprised. “Yes, I can. This is the better grade of the poison gland. I have read in an alchemy book that if we use the better grade version for a recipe that required a lower grade, we can use it multiple times. With this one large poison gland, I should be able to use it around twenty times to make the poison salve.”
“Awesome!” Jack said as he gave him the large poison gland.
“But the book also mentioned that it is a waste to use a better grade ingredient when you can use a lower one. Usually, this better grade can be used for a better recipe.”
“Well, we don’t know when we will get that better recipe, if ever. Better to use it rather than let it sit in my bag. Don’t worry about it, just use it. If I find anymore poison gland, I will give it to you.”
“Much obliged!” Tip said cheerfully as he stored the ingredient and recipes.
