The main ingredient in the Night Vision Potion formula is Nightshade Grass, which is both the most expensive and the most essential.
Punk carefully picked up a small, fingernail-sized leaf with alchemical tweezers. The leaf was dark purple with faint red spots, and the veins spiraled outward. A chilling sensation seeped into his palm.
This tiny leaf alone was worth five gold coins—and that was only for the lowest tier of apprentice-level materials.
No wonder the finished potions were so valuable.
The raw ingredients for alchemy were expensive, the production cost was high, and alchemists themselves were scarce. Combined with the overwhelming demand, it was only natural that such potions commanded steep prices.
The reason Nightshade Grass was so expensive lay in its growing conditions and its limited shelf life.
It thrived only in cold, humid, shadowed environments, making cultivation extremely difficult. Worse still, it would lose its potency if not used within one month.
In Faerûn, where travel was dangerous and transportation inefficient, moving goods between cities could take two months or more.
Konora, being a warm city, did not produce Nightshade Grass. Punk suspected the leaves had been transported rapidly by professionals from Lacheng.
Even so, these leaves had likely been harvested some time ago, and much of their potency had already faded.
This made Punk's task even more difficult.
Still, with a small bag of materials sufficient for ten potions, Punk remained confident.
"Nothing's too difficult when you've got the right motivation… and money."
Producing just one successful potion would already recover the entire cost of the materials.
Alchemy in Faerûn required extracting the necessary components from materials through magical methods.
For instance, Punk cast the apprentice-level alchemical spell — Energy Extraction on the Nightshade Grass.
As he chanted the incantation, the nightshade blades began to glow with a mixture of dark and bright lights.
The purple color faded, gradually shifting to lavender, while the spiral patterns on the leaves changed into yellow and green.
A red energy spot near the blade slowly floated free, forming a tiny orb that oscillated with magical fluctuations.
Although Punk was satisfied with the result, a small portion of energy still remained inside the grass.
That leftover amount was roughly one-fifth of the total extractable energy.
Technically, this wasn't a bad result—but Punk still felt irritated.
With more advanced techniques, the extraction efficiency could have been much higher, meaning fewer blades would be required to produce one energy bead.
Perhaps when I reach official rank (Level 10), I'll be able to avoid wasting energy entirely, Punk thought.
Next, he extracted energy from the auxiliary materials as well.
Soon afterward, several energy beads floated inside a specially designed alchemical container that repelled external energy interference.
Some beads were red, others blue.
They drifted slowly along intricate silver lines etched across a golden disc.
The disc generated a stabilizing field, neutralizing any external magical interference.
Following the system's analysis, Punk began infusing his mental power into the disc.
His usually chaotic mind gradually synchronized with the rhythm of the energies.
Under his control, the energy beads stabilized as they slowly drifted together.
Then he cast another alchemical spell — Energy Fusion.
The beads merged.
At the microscopic level, barely visible magical filaments began weaving the energies together thread by thread.
As the fusion continued, a translucent sphere slowly formed.
It radiated a soft glow, its energy becoming stable and contained, no longer leaking outward.
For a brief moment, everything appeared perfect.
Then—
Failure.
The liquid inside the sphere began to heat rapidly.
Within seconds, the potion transformed into a vibrating pink energy ball, emitting dangerous rays of unstable power.
"Damn it!" Punk hissed.
The unstable energy sphere now threatened to destroy his fragile alchemical equipment.
Without hesitation, Punk grabbed the sphere.
His Mage Armor spell immediately activated, covering his body with a shimmering protective film.
His left hand, wrapped inside the glowing barrier, clutched the volatile energy ball, shining like a multicolored lantern.
He refused to release it.
Letting the sphere explode inside the workshop would destroy his expensive tools.
As the energy continued to escalate, Punk made a quick decision.
He would break through the wall and move the explosion away from the equipment.
Though a mage's physical strength could never rival that of a knight, breaking through a thin, rotting wooden wall was still possible.
Punk charged forward.
The wall shattered as he burst through it, smashing across three rooms in succession before finally stopping.
"Well… this is a mess," Punk muttered.
Leaning against a crumbling wall, he endured the burning pain in his hand.
Reluctantly, he began chanting another spell, attempting to regain control of the dangerously unstable potion.