Chapter 472

472 The locked box with original potions

Eros had an attractive face with a well-maintained and stylized trimmed beard. He looked like a man that could woo women if he wore proper clothes instead of his stained work clothes.

Furthermore, Eros also knew when to push and pull in a relationship. Even when Honey and Eros didn’t see eye to eye, he was the first to offer a bribe to reconcile.

Vincent became interested to see what kind of skills Eros has. However, what appeared on the status window took Kazumi and him by surprise.

.

[Name] Eros Rafael Bellini

[Race] Human

[Age] 34

[Condition] Healthy

[Traits] Mana Tempered Body Stage Two

.....

[Class] Alchemist

[Stats] Strength 13 || Agility 12 || Perception 34 || Mana 2538

.

[Class Alchemist]

*Minor Transmutation

*Minor Liquify

*Minor Condensation Control

.

Vincent and Kazumi stared in shock at the Eros’s status window because all of Eros’s skills were on minor levels. To their dismay, they thought Eros might be a bigshot alchemist, but Eros was an ordinary alchemist, it seemed.

“Please take a seat. I am glad the harem didn’t come because there aren’t more seats left.” Eros bluntly said.

“...” Both Vincent and Lilith took a seat with blank expressions. The blunt words came out of the blue, and they didn’t know how to respond to his bluntness.

Eros stood up when Vincent and Lilith sat down. “Does any of you want a hot or room temperature drink?” He offered while heading to the kettle as if he wanted only to serve hot drinks.

Lilith shook her head and said, “No...”

“Two hot chocolates, please.” Vincent interrupted Lilith. After recalling what Eros offered Honey, Vincent was interested to see what was so special about the hot chocolate.

“Comming right up.” Eros proudly said.

“There was no need to let Eros make us hot chocolate. ” Lilith whispered nervously.

Unbeknownst to Lilith, her body was acting as if she was in a dangerous place. Her body might have developed a minor potion phobia after what happened.

“But I am interested in the drink that makes Honey change her mind. ” Vincent responded quietly.

Lilith recalled the happy times drinking hot chocolate with her parents when she was young, bringing a smile to her face. After what happened to her, she didn’t have a sip for ten years.

Best

Vincent took Lilith’s smile as being interested in the drink. He playfully bumped her shoulder and whispered, “How about you?”

*Sniff* *Gulp* “I want to taste it.” Lilith whispered while curiously moving her gaze on Eros as he used his Minor Condensation Control to make a hot chocolate with alchemy skills.

Shortly, Vincent and Lilith had the tastiest hot chocolate they had ever tasted in their entire lives. ‘No wonder this drink is Honey’s Achilles heel.’ Both thought.

On the other hand, Kazumi wondered how it tasted. She watched Vincent and Lilith enjoy the drink while acting like the people on television commercials. It piqued her interest.

Eros rubbed his chin and looked at Lilith. “Hmm, based on my observation, the side effect of the expired Rejuvenating potion has provided more than twenty times the potency.” He bluntly said as if Lilith was a test subject in front of his eyes.

“Ahem.” Vincent cleared his throat.

“Forgive me. ” Eros apologized after realizing how insensitive he was. “I will explain a few basics about an expired potion to help understand better.”

“I have seen Lilith from afar during the eating contest, and the difference between the before and after is incredible, yet the drawback is also incredibly dangerous.”

“An expired stat-boosting potion normally provides the buff as intended but later weakens the user with a stat down for a day or two.”

“On the other hand, expired potions like the cleanse, regen, or heal potions will greatly reduce their effect, and the user normally gets sick for a few days.” Eros stopped looking serious expression when his explanation was over.

Eros sincerely smiled and spoke in a grateful tone. “Thankfully, someone provided nutrients while your body expelled the bad and good when there wasn’t enough bad at an alarming rate.”

“The drawback is why it is dangerous, yet this situation is very rare.” Eros paused and brought an apple from another table. “When the rejuvenating potion sells quickly like cheap fresh apples, worrying about the expiration date is practically nonexistent.”

Vincent and Lilith looked at each other. It appeared Iris’s role was more important than they expected. Without uttering a word, both decided to show Iris their gratitude.

Eros went to a corner and crouched in front of a small box. “I like to have everything nearby, so that was the reason the rejuvenating potion was found too late to sell.” He honestly said, revealing how Honey suddenly came in the possession of an expired potion.

*Clink, clink, clink* Eros brought the small box over and placed twelve potions on the table. Ten were of the same color, and the other two had a more transparent color.

Eros lowered his head. “This is my and Honey’s apology for what happened. I am gifting ten minor regen potions and two minor healing potions.” He said in an apologetic tone.

Eros still felt guilty because Lilith could have died because of his mistake. If he had made sure to dispose of the potion in Honey’s hand, then this situation would have never happened.

Vincent and Kazumi’s eyes shone with delight from the gift, but Lilith thought otherwise. She gently pushed the potions back at Eros and said, “This gift costs probably more than forty silver coins. I can’t accept this.”

Eros became disappointed when Lilith didn’t like his repentance gift. He took Lilith’s rejection as it wasn’t enough for almost costing her life.

On the other hand, Vincent and Kazumi stared at Lilith as if she had done something outrageous. No matter what the gift was, they wanted to accept it.

However, putting the greed aside to fill the Soul Dimensional Storage with important items to have, Vincent was a little pissed that Lilith’s life’s worth was about forty silver coins or a little more.

Eros stood up, shaken by the rejection. “Before I forget, I have the gift of lord Darwin to bring.” He said to change the mood and buy some time to think.

*Clink, Clink, Thud* Eros brought a small yet heavy crate and tried his best to place it on the table carefully.

“This is Lord Darwin’s gift for saving his daughter...” Eros paused for a moment after he realized how he had made the situation worse. Now it looked as if Lilith’s life was nothing compared to Melissa’s life.

‘Why do I always make the situation worse...’ Eros mulled over.

*Sigh* Eros composed himself and continued, “Inside are newly made potions. There is no need to worry about expiring any time soon.”

“A total of eighty potions are inside this small crate. Ten minor regen, heal, mana, stamina, strength, agility, perception, and cleanse potions. ” Eros informed them before looking at a dark corner and running to look for something.

[This is a large number of potions. We might be able to sell them for one gold coin and a couple of silver coins. What do you think?]

Kazumi asked when her eyes only saw money instead of potions at the moment. However, Vincent didn’t like the idea of selling the potions. His hoarding spirit wanted him to keep and save the items for later use.

-Let’s talk about that subject when the time comes.-

[Humph! You hoarder!] The annoyed Kazumi said unhappily.

Soon, Eros brought a small box with a lock on it. It probably didn’t need a lock because the elegant patterned small box looked abandoned and almost impossible to find with the corners stuffed with boxes and crates.

“With lord Darwin’s gift out of the way...” Eros paused to look at Lilith and placed a key in front of her. “I now understand how little I offered. How it can be an insult not to offer as much as lord Darwin did for his daughter’s life.”

“Your life is precious, and the potions inside are precious to me. We alchemists believe in equal exchange.” *Tap* Eros tapped on the table near the small box and continued, “This is my secret original potion box. To me, this is worth more than what lord Darwin offered. My genuine apology is the five original yet unfinished potions I treasure most.”

Lilith felt too pressured after hearing how important the potions were to Eros. She moved her hand to push the small locked box away, but her hands were intercepted.

“Lilith, my dear. To me you are precious. Why don’t we accept?” Vincent spoke. It could be noticed from his voice how he was interested in the box and he wanted Lilith to accept.

“But I feel bad to accept something so precious.” Lilith expressed.

After losing enough weight to look as she desired, Lilith felt there was no need for an exaggerated gift. Not accepting the previous twelve potions was because of this reasoning as well.

[Do something quick before we lose the potions!] Kazumi urged Vincent while holding herself from using Soul Visit and speak some sense about accepting the potions.

Vincent’s heart raced anxiously while the gift in front of them could be lost. “How about we see what is inside?” He asked nervously.

Lilith slightly smirked. ‘Does Vincent want the potions this much? I could ask for compensation if he wants them later.’ She slyly thought.

Lilith grabbed the key and opened the lock. She looked at Vincent and smiled. “These are ~my~ potions, hehe.” She teased.

Five potions lying on their side on a high-quality fabric entered their view. They had different colors and not all of them had the same amount of liquid inside.