[Feat Achieved! Karma Came Squeaking]
[+1 Gold Gacha Ticket]
There was nothing better than coming home from a hard day's work and seeing your efforts rewarded.
[Rolling Gold Gacha Ticket]
[Tinker]
|Rare Trait|
You are a natural at building technology. All tinker abilities are more potent. In addition, it is far easier to innovate, improve, and build new technology. You can also push your specializations much further.
Oh hell yes.
It was like a veil had suddenly been lifted from my mind. Connections I had failed to see before became painfully clear. The unassailable wall of improvement I'd tried and failed to climb no longer felt impossible.
So many ideas…
I could practically taste them.
"You good?" Red Hood asked.
I shook my head, narrowly avoiding getting sucked straight into a fugue. "Yeah, I'm fine."
I pulled out two energy drink potions from my inventory and tossed one to Red Hood.
"Thanks." He uncapped it and took a sip as he dropped onto the couch. "What's the plan now?"
"Waiting, for the most part." I fell back into my own office chair. "We've gotta keep building pressure until they're forced to the table."
"Not worried they'll retaliate?" Red Hood asked. "We busted up almost a hundred enforcers, I think. They took a lot of damage today, but they've got more guys if push comes to shove."
"Well, if it was just us, I might've been a tad worried." I grinned as I checked my phone. "But half the fun of being the boss is getting other people to do the work."
A few button presses later, and I shared the first batch of videos.
The office's TV lit up with a photo of old warehouses buried under a thick shell of ice. I flicked to the next image, where Captain Cold stood in the middle of the frozen mess, his freeze gun resting casually against his shoulder. Around him, mobsters lay scattered across the ground, sealed in blocks of ice up to their necks.
The next photo was somehow even better.
Captain Boomerang stood proudly on top of a pile of groaning mobsters, one boot planted on some poor bastard's back while he held a boomerang over his head like he'd just conquered a small nation. Behind him, several more mobsters were pinned to the walls by their coats, sleeves, and belts. A few duffel bags lay open nearby, packed to the brim with cash.
The
"Ah, so that's where those two disappeared to." Red Hood snorted. "Was wondering how they slipped the net at Star Labs. Of course you had something to do it with it."
"Slander. I was merely in the neighborhood and wanted to give these kind gentlemen some honest work."
"Very illegal-looking work."
I raised an eyebrow and pointed at the bloodied duck hammer and baby mask sitting nearby. Red Hood had thoroughly enjoyed testing out Pacifism, to say the least.
"Are you really talking about legality, bro?"
"...Touche."
"Besides, I've got my own Angel on overwatch, so there's no need to worry." I laughed and leaned back in my chair. "Now we just wait and watch them implode."
Red Hood barked out a laugh.
"Looking forward to that."
—
While I would have loved to hang out with Red Hood a bit more, my mind wouldn't stop spinning with new ideas.
So after a quick goodbye, I threw myself into the lab and got to work.
Damn, did it feel good.
With my magical education being a dead end, I'd genuinely given up on improving my potions and simply focused on versatility instead. I had plenty of ideas in that direction too, but right now, I was far too invested in creating an actual upgrade to give anything else much attention.
I quickly realized where my issue stemmed from when trying to develop upward. No matter what I did, going beyond the "low" forms of potions simply felt impossible.
I'd tried different techniques. I'd rebuilt the refineries from top to bottom. Even my Ichor trait had failed to boost them any further.
Despite all my attempts, though, I'd failed to see the easiest answer.
The answer to my problem?
Simply brew potions whose sole effect was designed to boost other potions.
It was so obvious and simple that I felt stupid for failing to notice it before I got the trait.
The newly built refinery rumbled and spat smoke as I watched with bated breath.
A glass bottle came rolling out, filled to the brim with iridescent, milky-white liquid. The first of the "booster" series of potions I'd just developed. This one was specifically designed to enhance my healing potions.
Creating a simple catch-all booster potion hadn't worked, unfortunately, but I didn't particularly sweat it. Even though the booster series was probably the most expensive potion line to make, Ichor let me use my blood to mass-produce more with ease. A couple thousand extra potions wouldn't exactly hurt my pockets.
I swiped the white potion and quickly carried it over to the table. A simple red healing potion appeared from my inventory a second later.
Uncapping both bottles, I carefully poured the milky-white booster into the red potion.
The two liquids touched, and a soft glow bloomed from the glass.
For a moment, the entire bottle shone like a tiny lantern in my hands. Then the milky-white color vanished completely, devoured by the red until all that remained was a brilliant crimson hue far deeper than before.
"Hell yeah!" I jumped.
My health potions had always been relatively limited to short-term damage or smaller wounds. Basically, things the body could have theoretically healed on its own. Even if you drank a bunch, they couldn't really do much for catastrophic wounds or complex diseases.
With boosted potions, though…
I imagined an army of goons beating the shit out of the Court of Owls without fear, each of them carrying a single potion capable of dragging them back to their feet.
"Ohhhh, the things I could do with this…" I couldn't help but salivate at the possibilities. "Wait, wait, wait. Don't get ahead of yourself here."
I needed to test how potent the booster was compared to the low-end versions. I didn't want to think about it, but there was always a chance the boost was some minuscule amount.
But how the hell was I supposed to test it?
Animal experimentation, maybe, but I'd need to test it on a human for the best results.
I didn't really want to do human experimentation, though. Even on the low chance I botched the potion, that was a line I wasn't eager to cross. Maybe I could—
There was a loud crash above me.
I looked up and blinked as one of the air ducts above me sagged.
A second later, the duct finally gave out under the strain and crashed onto the lab floor.
"Bollocks!" A familiar-looking man in a trench coat shimmied out from the duct, rubbing his head. "Last time I trust a bloody pixie and their freaking shite items…"
"John." I gave him a flat look. "What a wonderful surprise."
John's head snapped toward me. "…How you doing, Jean? Funny meeting you here."
"Funny. Right." I stared John in the eye. "Meeting me in my lab, where I store loads of my very important magical goods. Very funny, John."
"Now, now…" John gave me a nervous chuckle. "There's a totally reasonable explanation for all this."
"Right…" I pointed behind him. "And the reason for that giant burlap sack sitting behind you?"
"It's a gift from me nan," John said instantly, not even blinking. "Old Constantine family heirloom. Never leave home without it."
I snapped my fingers and called Gary and Stu.
The gargoyles appeared almost instantly, their massive stone bodies filling the room as they loomed over John. Their wings scraped the ceiling, their claws gouged faint lines into the floor, and their eyes fixed on him.
John slowly looked up at them.
"Alright, alright, you got me!" He raised both hands. "No need to bring out the bloody cavalry."
I massaged my brow. "John, why are you even here? I gave you, like, a year's supply of drinks. An alcoholic year's supply."
John just whistled and looked away, the very picture of innocence.
I stared at him for a long moment.
"No, you know what? I don't even want to know." I raised my hand. "Get him out of—"
Then I paused as an idea dawned on me.
"Alright," I said slowly. "I'll give you more."
John perked up instantly. "See? That's what good mates are for."
"Right…" I chuckled darkly. "Best of mates."
John's smile faltered a little.
"So naturally, you'd be willing to do your buddy a few favors and help with some… testing."
"Absolutely, let me just–"
John spun on his heel and booked it.
"Catch his ass!" I ordered
Gary and Stu bounded after him as John belted out curses.
***
Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.
I have advanced chapters on Pa tre on/daisyberry if you wanna read ahead.