All recovery potions sold in the shop have a cooldown time of five seconds, differing only in the amount of health restored. A basic recovery potion restores 100 HP per use, an intermediate one restores 200 HP, an advanced one restores 400 HP, and the highest-grade potion restores 1000 HP. As the recovery amount increases, their prices also multiply accordingly.

  However, potions without cooldown… As long as one has enough of them, no matter how powerful the enemy is, as long as they can’t kill you in a single strike, you can remain completely unscathed. Such an overpowered potion should not exist—no amount of money could buy it.

  Even though there were only 20 bottles, Ye Tianxie was already infinitely satisfied. He stored these special potions away and gratefully said, “Thank you, Village Chief. With your help, I now have even more hope.”

  “The horrors of the Abyss Trial far exceed your imagination. My assistance is just a minor effort at best,” the Village Chief replied. “Brave young one, I suggest you visit Yuan Lao at the pharmacy. Some of his collections might be of great help to you… Here, take this. This is my letter of recommendation. With it, he should be willing to bring out the strange items he has crafted over the years.”

  Ding… You have received the special item: ‘Letter of Recommendation from the Chief of Novice Village No. 60001.’

  A thin letter appeared in Ye Tianxie’s inventory. He sincerely thanked the Village Chief before heading towards the pharmacy. Once again, he couldn’t help but marvel at how wonderful the favorability system was!

  The owner of the pharmacy in Novice Village No. 60001 was a shriveled-up old man, so skinny that just talking to him made people subconsciously lower their breath for fear that a strong gust might blow him away. His name was Yuan Que… perhaps a devoted admirer of some ancient Chinese physician. Typically, elderly men who were both highly skilled and long-lived carried an air of superiority, often looking at others with only half-open eyes. Yuan Que was no exception. Regardless of who came to buy medicine or complete a quest, he always maintained a lazy and indifferent demeanor. Even when facing Ye Tianxie, whose Charm stat was as high as 20, he merely gave him an extra glance.

  “Hello, Master Yuan—”

  “Hello, my ass! Speak up if you’ve got something to say, and don’t waste my time! And who told you to call me ‘Master’?!” Before Ye Tianxie could even finish his greeting, Yuan Que impatiently cut him off, spitting a spray of saliva in the process. Ye Tianxie subtly took a half-step back to avoid it without making a sound.

  “Then what should I call you?” Ye Tianxie raised an eyebrow.

  “Don’t you know what’s trendy these days? Call me Brother Que!” Yuan Que straightened his face, looking completely serious.

  “…Brother Que.” Ye Tianxie suddenly had the urge to turn around and leave. There’s a saying—if you spend too much time with lunatics, you risk becoming one yourself.

  “Hmm.” Yuan Que nodded in satisfaction, his expression still as stiff as a rock. “So, what brings you to Brother Que? You’re not too bad, kid. If you’re here to buy medicine, I’ll give you a generous 0.2% discount today.”

  Damn… A 0.2% discount? You call that a discount?! Ye Tianxie secretly scoffed but kept his expression entirely serious. Without haste, he took out the “Letter of Recommendation from the Chief of Novice Village No. 60001” and placed it in front of Yuan Que. “The Village Chief told me that you’re a master of the craft, the greatest figure in this village’s history. Before embarking on my journey, he insisted that I must seek your guidance.”

  Having gone 800 years without receiving flattery, Yuan Que was secretly delighted by Ye Tianxie’s absurdly obvious flattery. His gaze towards Ye Tianxie visibly softened. “Oh? That old bastard sent you to see me? Let me take a look.”

  Ding… Yuan Que’s favorability towards you has increased by 5.

  Ye Tianxie inwardly mocked the old man’s intelligence while handing over the letter. Yuan Que took it, narrowed his already squinted eyes, and examined the thin piece of paper carefully for a long time. Then, he raised his head and scrutinized Ye Tianxie for another long moment before finally speaking.

  “The moment I saw you, I knew you had potential. Looks like I was right. Even that old bastard of a Village Chief thinks highly of you enough to squeeze every last bit of value out of me… Fine, fine, I owe that old bastard a favor. Here, take a look—these are my treasured collections from over the years. Buy whatever you like.”

  Yuan Que opened a small cabinet beside him, revealing a row of bizarre-looking items. At the same time, a system notification rang in Ye Tianxie’s ears.

  Ding… You have triggered one of the hidden elements of Novice Village No. 60001—Yuan Que’s Pharmacy Special Items.

  In front of him were five inventory slots, each containing a different kind of item haphazardly arranged. A pungent smell filled the air. Yet, as Ye Tianxie inspected the properties of these five simple items, he grew increasingly astonished.

  Unnamed Special Recovery Potion: A unique healing potion crafted by Yuan Que, possessing properties that ordinary recovery potions lack. Only 30 bottles exist in total, with 20 bottles snatched away by the Village Chief of Novice Village No. 60001 six months ago. Currently, only 10 bottles remain.

  Effect: Instantly restores 300 HP. No cooldown.

  Price: 5 gold coins per bottle.

  Unnamed Special Magic Potion: A unique mana potion crafted by Yuan Que, possessing properties that ordinary magic potions lack. Only 30 bottles exist in total, and all 30 are still available.

  Effect: Instantly restores 300 MP. No cooldown.

  Price: 10 gold coins per bottle.

  The special potions without cooldown—so these game-breaking potions were actually made by this scrawny old man! Though they were dozens of times more expensive than high-level healing potions with greater recovery effects, their unique cooldown-free attribute absolutely justified the price. Ye Tianxie had already decided—he would buy the remaining ten bottles.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  As for the special magic recovery potions… With only “Detection” and “Gathering” as his current skills, he had no use for them at the moment. If he had enough money, he would have bought them all without hesitation because once outside, these were items that money couldn’t buy. But right now, every single copper coin had to be spent wisely.

  As he scrolled further down, Ye Tianxie began to wonder if he was seeing things.

  Double Thundercracker: A pair of explosive firecrackers made by Yuan Que using his own homemade gunpowder. A total of 20 were crafted.

  Effect: Igniting and throwing it at a single target triggers two consecutive explosions that ignore defense, dealing a fixed 150 damage per hit.

  Price: 10 gold coins per unit.

  Mega Firecracker Chain: A large firecracker string meticulously crafted by Yuan Que using his homemade gunpowder. Only 5 were made.

  Effect: Igniting and throwing it attacks all targets within a 5-meter radius, dealing a fixed 300 explosion damage per target, ignoring defense.

  Price: 30 gold coins per unit.

  “…Master Yuan… Brother Que, you actually research gunpowder too?”

  “Hah! Of course! I’m the greatest apothecary—obviously, I research all kinds of ‘medicine.’ Hurry up and buy them if you want. If you don’t have the money, then scram. If you think I’ll just give them away for free, you’re dreaming.” Yuan Que snorted impatiently.

  Gunpowder… is also medicine? Ye Tianxie gave the old man a look of admiration for treating common sense like a toy. But when his eyes landed on the next item, his admiration nearly turned into murderous intent.

  Lighter: A lighter crafted by Yuan Que based on engineering principles he picked up from who-knows-where. Not for sale.

  However, if one were to purchase all of the Double Thundercrackers and Mega Firecracker Chains in one go, Yuan Que would generously include this lighter as a complimentary gift.

  Not for sale… Must buy everything… Complimentary gift…

  How the hell was he supposed to light the firecrackers without a lighter?! Was this old man outright saying—"Either buy them all, or don’t buy any, because buying just a few is useless… unless you’re a fire-element mage”?

  Though frustrated by Yuan Que’s obsession with firecrackers, Ye Tianxie had to admit—the power of these hidden items was undeniable. These were practically tailor-made to help him clear the Abyss Trial!

  He checked his backpack and then glanced at Yuan Que before silently stepping out the door. The old man watched expectantly, only to see Ye Tianxie walk away without a word. But just a short moment later, Ye Tianxie quietly returned…

  Standing in the wind, he hesitated for a long time before finally giving up on the idea of setting up a street stall.

  At present, with the 100 gold coins he extorted from the Red Leaf Guild earlier, his total wealth amounted to 183 gold coins. For ordinary players struggling to make ends meet, this was an astronomical sum.

  As for his backpack… Thanks to his sky-high 10 points of Luck, after over a week of slaughtering fierce wolves, blood wolves, and even the demon wolves in the depths of the Wolf Valley, his inventory had swelled to a total of thirty pieces of equipment.

  Most of them weren’t just standard white-grade items sold in shops—among them were over ten steel-grade items with bonus attributes, and even four bronze-grade pieces that would make players drool with envy.

  In this gold-starved newbie village, bronze equipment for level 10 players was so rare that even the worst piece could fetch over 100 gold coins, sometimes even more depending on demand.

  If Ye Tianxie were to stand at the village gate and shout, “Selling level 10 bronze equipment!” he’d be swarmed in an instant. Those guild elites and wealthy players who cared more about power than money would fight to outbid each other, and in the blink of an eye, he could become the richest player in the village.

  But just like a first-time vendor nervously stepping into a market, Ye Tianxie stood at the village entrance for ages… yet not a single word left his lips.

  After all, this kind of thing just wasn’t his style.

  With a sigh, Ye Tianxie turned back to Yuan Que. He reached into his backpack and took out a bronze hammer used by Shield Warriors, slamming it onto the counter with a dull thud.

  This wasn’t just any ordinary hammer—the rounded head was covered with sharp spikes. One accidental touch, and the consequences would be… unpleasant.

  The arrogant smirk on Yuan Que’s face instantly vanished, his expression turning ghostly pale. His whole body stiffened, and he nearly toppled off his chair.

  With a trembling voice, he stammered, “W-w-we can talk this out… I-I-I’ll have you know, back in the day, I was a Level 100 Grand Magus! E-e-even if a hundred of you came at me, I wouldn’t be scared…”

  Ye Tianxie was speechless… Did this old man not realize that players couldn’t attack fixed NPCs!?

  “Relax, you misunderstood. Here’s the thing—I don’t have enough gold to buy all your stuff, so I was wondering if I could trade some of my items instead… Take a look at this hammer. It’s a bronze hammer with a solid +20 attack power. Perfect for looting, pillaging, and—”

  “Stop!” Yuan Que’s tense expression finally eased. He let out a couple of forced coughs to cover up his earlier panic, patted the dust off his clothes, and instantly regained his serious demeanor. He tapped the bronze hammer, then shot a cautious glance at Ye Tianxie before saying, “I never do credit or pawn deals… but since that old fossil of a village chief sent you, this hammer… hmm, not bad. I’ll give you 50 gold for it.”

  50 gold… that was at least three to four times lower than its market value. But considering that selling it to the blacksmith would only net him a measly 10 gold, Ye Tianxie decided to suck it up. He quickly calculated the total cost of the bizarre items, then weighed the coins in his bag before gritting his teeth and taking out a pair of gleaming bronze boots. The boots were adorned with two ferocious wolf heads—these were the Wolf Demon Boots, dropped by a level 10 Magic Wolf. They not only had incredible stats but also an eye-catching design. Anyone who walked around in these would undoubtedly attract envious and jealous stares.

  “Take a look at these boots, sir… These aren’t just any ordinary boots. Look at the stats, look at the design! If you put these on, the +5 movement speed boost will have you sprinting like the wind. Whether you’re out gathering herbs or making a quick escape when things go south—”

  “Gold coins!”

  “Check out this stylish helmet—”

  “50 gold!”

  “And here’s a top-tier bracer, something you wouldn’t normally be able to buy even if you wanted to—”

  “60 gold!”

  In the end, all four of Ye Tianxie’s bronze gear pieces were practically pawned off like junk to Yuan Que. Once the total trade value reached 230 gold, Ye Tianxie finally let out a long sigh of relief. He then took out another handful of gold coins and stacked them on the counter. “Here’s 1? gold, making it a total of 400 gold. I’ll take all your special recovery potions, Double Burst Firecrackers, and Grand Firecrackers.”

  Seeing the four bronze items and the glittering pile of gold coins, Yuan Que’s old eyes narrowed into slits of delight. He eagerly scooped up the gold while grinning from ear to ear. “Kid, now that’s what I call straightforward… Here, these are all yours. If you ever come back to my shop, I’ll give you a generous 0.3% discount!”

  Ding… You have lost 1? gold. You have received special items: 10 bottles of Unnamed Special Recovery Potion, 20 Double Burst Firecrackers, 5 Grand Firecrackers… Bonus item: 1 Lighter.

  Lighter: A tool that can be used to start fires. Can be crafted by novice engineers. Uses remaining: 200/e.