SWNOVELXO Chapter 37
Potions in the world of Asphial are a universal remedy made by brewing certain plants found in dungeons.
The primary effect of these potions is the healing of wounds, whether the damage is to the skin, muscle tissue, or internal organs, all can be equally repaired. This makes potions crucial for adventurers, whose lives constantly hang in the balance. The number of potions an adventurer carries can determine whether they proceed deeper into a perilous dungeon or retreat.
The guild overseeing adventurers across the kingdom strongly recommends that all adventurers carry at least three potions. Regardless of whether they’re a novice or a veteran, most adventurers are careful enough to carry potions unless they are extremely poor.
“Purple Grade-3 potions… Where did you even get something like this?”
“I made it through some experimentation…”
Potions are categorized by grades, with the potency varying depending on their grade.
In Asphial, the grades are ranked from Red > Purple > Blue > Green, with each color having three levels. For example, the Purple Grade-3 potion that Aina and I are currently looking at is the sixth-highest grade if you consider Red Grade-1 as the top.
There are a total of 12 ranks when you count three levels per color (4 colors × 3 grades). However, even a single grade difference drastically affects the price.
For instance, the lowest rank, Green Grade-3, has a vivid green color. This type of potion typically heals minor wounds like small cracks or mild bruises. Its price? About 500 yen a bottle—affordable enough that a layperson could make it with some basic knowledge and equipment.
On the other hand, how much is a Purple Grade-3 potion worth? At the very least, 1 million yen per bottle.
It is said that Purple Grade-1 is the highest-level potion humans have been able to develop, with methods for creating anything stronger being long lost.
Currently, Purple potions are the highest-grade potions available on the market. Although their effects halve after about a week, they sell out immediately when put up for sale.
“Experimentation, huh?”
“Yeah, I had some hope it would work, but I didn’t expect such great results…”
At the request of the researchers who are studying day and night in this alternate world, I experimented with extracting a liquid from a special type of rose I was cultivating privately in the world of Asphial. That liquid turned out to be incredibly valuable in this world.
The magical rose, which I’ve named “Magic Rose,” is a beautiful blue-purple flower with a shimmering, glittery appearance. It was the key to this remarkable discovery.
“A rose, you say?”
“Yes, we’ve found that plants resembling roses absorb more magic essence, as shown in the statistics we’ve gathered from the herbs provided by you, Shinjo-san. So, I was hoping you could cultivate roses in this alternate world.”
The person calling me by my previous life’s surname is a researcher named Tsukamoto, one of the individuals in the Saioji Group’s secret facility who, like Yoshida, researches fantastical substances day and night.
Unlike Yoshida, who is in his mid-40s, Tsukamoto is a young researcher who just finished graduate school two years ago. She has long, light brown hair tied up with a ribbon, and her lab coat gives her an air of confidence, almost like she stepped out of a TV drama.
“Roses, huh… Yes, that’s no problem.”
At the Saioji Group’s research facility, they had already confirmed that plants subjected to periodic exposure to magic could exhibit effects similar to medicinal herbs. However, not all plants that absorbed magic essence turned into potion ingredients. Some even developed toxic properties harmful to the human body, with effects varying widely depending on the plant.
The secret facility studying fantasy materials, recently rebranded under the name “Leaf,” had been conducting research on plants that could store more magic essence while simultaneously developing magic essence detectors.
It was through one of these experiments that this potion was accidentally created.
As I mentioned before, Purple potions rarely appear on the market. Thanks to the guild’s regulations, prices are now fixed, but without them, the price would skyrocket astronomically.
In fact, it’s rumored that Purple Grade-3 potions can sell for over 5 million on the black market in the royal capital.
The effects of such potions include regenerating the fingers on both hands and feet. A Grade-2 potion can regenerate an arm or leg, and a Grade-1 potion is said to be capable of regenerating organs like eyes, throats, lungs, stomachs, intestines, and even reproductive organs.
As for the legendary Red potions, which have reached the level of fairy tales, they are said to be able to regenerate the brain and heart, with the top grade supposedly even able to revive the dead—though this is largely considered a myth.
The Purple Grade-3 potion we created this time is incredibly expensive at 5 million per bottle, but it’s made simply by growing roses from commercially available seedlings and subjecting them to intense magic periodically.
Of course, this “intense magic” is likely the key, but the costs involved aren’t that high, though it does take time.
This time, I started with seedlings that were already in the budding stage, so if I grew them from scratch, I might be able to produce even better results.
“Even Mei was surprised when I told her we managed to make a Purple potion.”
Looking at the Purple potion I had brought, Aina talked about Mei, one of the members who had created the potion.
Mei is a slightly plump woman who wields a mace and is different in temperament from Nana, another member of the group.
She is one of the veterans in the brigade, even older than Ryuka and razuri, and is in her late 20s, making her the oldest woman in the group, which is mostly composed of younger women.
“I was expecting something around Blue potion quality, so this result really exceeded expectations in a good way.”
“Yeah, but the fact that you can artificially create even a Blue potion is a big deal.”
I had already spoken to both Aina and Saioji about growing roses to reduce the necessary land and costs.
The roses are being grown in an empty room on the first floor of the lobby, but I keep the door locked so that the other members don’t see them.
“If anyone else finds out about this, it’ll be bad news for you. You might get targeted.”
“…Yeah, I figured.”
I used about ten Magic Roses to create one potion, but there are still around 40 Magic Roses left in the cultivation room on the first floor.
Even after handing over some of the finished potions to Saioji, I still have enough to make five more Purple potions. If I sold them on the black market, each one would fetch 5 million yen. Selling all of them could bring in a total of 25 million yen.
However, if it becomes known that Magic Roses can be artificially cultivated, not only would I be targeted, but so would Aina, Saioji, and anyone else who knows this information. It’s far too big a matter for Aina and me to handle alone, so I decided to ask Saioji, the leader of our brigade, how to handle the Magic Roses.