The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) by Cajiao, Jez (little red riding hood ebook TXT) 📕

shook my head, grinning at the evil tactic, before saying goodbye to Barrett and walking over to where Tel stood nervously by three large bags.

Tel was a large man, with heavy, sloped shoulders and massive fingers, clumsy to the point of being laughable, but for some reason, he became graceful when he worked with plants, those massive fingers gentle and assured in his movements.

When Cai had told me about him, I’d almost dismissed it out of hand. The thought of this huge lump of a man using the Alchemy set? Then I’d caught a glimpse of my own reflection, and I’d paused.

I was bigger than he was, considerably so, and if I could do it, however badly, then surely he could too.

“Tel,” I greeted him as I approached.

“L... Lord Jax!” he said, bowing and almost falling over as the ship lurched on an air current.

“Whoa, there!” I said, catching him by the shoulders and steadying him. “Let’s not worry about that right now; no need for bowing and all that shit. Let’s just concentrate on why you’re here, okay?”

“Y…Yes! Cai said you wanted me to help you with some alchemy…but I’m not sure….”

“Yes and no, Tel.” I said, cutting him off. “You’re here to help me, and for me to help you. I’ve heard you’ve got a gift with Herbs and Alchemical plants, is that right?” I asked, and he nodded hesitantly.

“Yes, Lord, I’ve always been good with plants. They…well, they just seem to like me. They grow real easy, and I can sell them easy enough. I always wanted to learn more, but nobody could teach me, so I sort of just made it up as I went along… I guess?” He said shyly, wringing his hands in embarrassment.

“Well, today you get to learn, then. I’m going to be making as many health, stamina, and mana potions as I can over the next day of travel. You’re going to be reading these and helping me,” I said pulling out a ‘Basics of Alchemy’ and ‘Bartlebee’s Excellent Herbalism Primer’ Skillbooks. I had no idea who Bartlebee had been, but he’d clearly thought a lot of himself.

“My lord!” Tel squeaked, clutching the books as I passed them to him.

“Get them read, and then I want you to start sorting through the alchemy ingredients,” I told him, gesturing to the three bags. “I’ll set up the basic gear I have, over there, I think,” I said, pointing to an area to one side where it didn’t look like we’d be in anyone’s way, “…and I’ll get started on the health potions first, so I suggest you hurry.”

I reached down to grab the first bag, intending on shifting them over, only to have Tel sit on it in his excitement to get started. He jumped up quickly, the combination of realizing what he’d done, and the sharp spike of a thorn helping him along.

I couldn’t help but laugh, and I pointed at the corner nearby.

“Sit there and read; I’ve got these.” I said, grabbing the bags. They were the size of rubbish bags from back home, stuffed with herbs and seemingly random plants that I guessed had alchemical properties, but they were light enough, and in a few minutes, I had them sorted out. I spent the next twenty minutes picking through the plants, taking anything I didn’t recognize and trying it.

I got a dozen new alchemical ingredients added to my internal list, and a combination of wonderful side effects, one of which resulted in Oracle having to use a healing spell on me while I chugged one of my old basic ‘Cure-All’ potions.

Whatever else Althem Blossoms were capable of, they were fucking lethal poison as well, and I couldn’t get the damn taste out of my mouth. I ate a couple of Thulin berries that I’d identified earlier, discovering that they had a stamina boost effect, just to get rid of the taste.

“O…okay, L…Lord Jax…” I heard the hesitant voice speak up, and I looked over at him, popping another handful of berries into my mouth and munching on them.

“Tel, you ready?” I got a nervous smile in return. “That’s great,” I said and made room for him in front of the alchemy gear. “So, did you get a healing potion recipe as part of the alchemy book?” I asked, and he nodded. “Great, and with the herbalism one, can you identify these ingredients? No, not all of them? Then let’s go over them,” I said, spreading a sample of each out on the deck as I went. His hesitation disappeared as we talked about the various plants and their properties. Some of his knowledge was different from my own, and I made notes as we went, adding the extra properties to the ingredients in my list.

The day passed quickly, Tel and I taking turns on using the alchemy set I’d brought.

I spent my turn teaching him my methods and making sure he understood how and why I did things, and he did the same. Our basic knowledge was nearly identical, but coming from two different Skillbooks, we got slight differences.

It took a few hours, but eventually, I got the notification I’d been hoping for:

You must now pick a path to follow. Will you choose the path of IMPROVEMENT, or concentrate on CREATION? Choose carefully, as this choice cannot be undone.

IMPROVEMENT:

Choosing to specialize in this direction will result in a 5% increase in potency of your learned potions, and you will have a 5% chance of a breakthrough when being tutored by an alchemist of higher experience.

CREATION:

Choosing to specialize in CREATION will result in a 5% increase in your chances of creating a new recipe from unconventional ingredients. Following in the footsteps of others will result in a 10% drop in potency of all potions you make, but for each potion you create without others’ assistance, you will gain a point in Intelligence

I didn’t pause in the slightest, not when stat points were on the line, as I preferred