PowerFusion50
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WARLIC'S NEW FORMULA
I
It was another peaceful day in the town of Battleon. Adventurers from all over Lore were gradually entering and exiting the shops around the centre of town, acquiring all their new equipment and much needed rest at Yulgar’s Inn. The famous, respected and feared paladin Artix Kreiger had been residing in the inn for the past few days, as he had just returned from an excruciatingly difficult week-long quest. As he gazed out his suite’s window, he looked upon the town with an impatient irritation about him. He longed to be back out in the wilderness slaying the undead, but he knew he must acquire his full capacity of heal and mana before returning to battle. And thus, he continued to gaze.
He noticed all the adventurers roaming the town, and something seemed a little different to him. Usually, most of the adventurers would go into the inn, but recently, that had not been the case. An unusual amount of people were entering and very quickly exiting Warlic’s Mage Shoppe without going into any other of the town’s stores. They went into Warlic’s shop, and came out so quickly that Artix had wondered if they even said ‘hello.’ Then, it was right back into the woods with them.
After three days of this strange occurrence (probably more as Artix had been away), Artix decided he’d go and say hi to Warlic and find out what the recent spark had been about. Was there a new rare spell in town? Perhaps an interesting staff with multiple elements imbued in it? He had to find out.
II After leaving the inn and strolling across town, Artix leisurely enter the mage shop. He saw no sign of Warlic in the storefront. Perhaps he was in the back room. “Warlic,” he called, “you in here? It’s Artix.” Warlic slowly emerged from the door leading to the back. “Welcome, friend,” he said softly, “how can I help you today? I’ve no new light spells in stock, just to forewarn you.”
“That’s okay, that isn’t way I’m here,” Artix replied, and added “do you have anything new? Like something big, or rare?” Warlic responded saying, “No, nothing new or out of the ordinary has come up.” His attitude was no longer warm and welcoming but alert and resistant. “Why would you ask?” “No particular reason,” he replied, “I had just noticed a lot of comings-and-goings from your shop lately, and thought something new might be in town.” “Well, you thought wrong.” Warlic said sternly and quickly, then added with a chuckle, “if there were, I’m sure you’d know.” “Yeah, I guess I would.” Artix replied with a laugh, and casually left.
On his way out, he passed a very weak-looking adventurer with cuts, gashes, and bruises all around his body, entering the shop. Artix paused, thought for a moment, and turned around to re-enter the shop. When he walked in, Warlic was handing the adventurer a bottle of health potion, shaking his hand, and accepting a handsome amount of Z-Tokens for it. At first, he did not know what to think. Had Warlic taken advantage of this beaten adventurer? As the man passed him on the way out, Artix noticed that the small bottle contained a red liquid which was much deeper in shade than normal health potion. It was very dark, almost crimson.
After the man had left the shop, Artix asked “Hey, what was that about?” Warlic, who had not noticed him, turned quickly around and barked: “What!? What did you see? What do you mean?” Artix replied, “Was that a health potion? You really ripped that guy off, you know.” He was starting to sound irritable. Warlic rolled his eyes and sternly said, “yes, yes it was a health potion. And no, I did not rip him off, in fact I gave him a fairly decent deal because of his condition. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have matters to attend to. Happy slaying.” He quickly and swiftly retreated to the back room again. Just before the door snapped shut, Artix asked him, “Why did it cost so much? What kind of potion is it?”
“Health potion, good day.”
“But why did cost Z-tokens? The stuff is usually free.”
“Because it’s a new kind, good day.”
“What kind, where did it come from?”
“I made it, good day.”
“You? How? What’s different about it?”
“Yes, me. And it is much more potent than average health potion, in fact, it is extremely potent. Good day.”
Again, just before the door snapped, Artix blurted out, “I want some!”
III Warlic gave out a long, deep sigh of irritation, and said, “Fine, it seems as you know too much already anyway. I must have your Paladin’s honor that you will not tell a soul about it. I have a very limited supply and it will take seven years before more is available.” He beckoned Artix to follow him to the back. “Why does it take so long?” Artix asked. “Because its potency comes with maturity. It must age. Also, the ingredients are extremely hard to come by.”
“What are they?” asked Artix. Warlic replied with a saddened, “I cannot say.” Warlic led Artix to a very small room in which there was a small drawer he immediately went over to. Upon his opening it, Artix could see rows of small health potion bottles containing the crimson liquid. Warlic gently screwed the lid off, and told Artix to smell it.
“Gaw! It’s hideous! It’s terrible! Aww, how disgusting!” He jerked his head back so fast and hard he banged it against the wall. He even vomited in his mouth slightly, but swallowed it. The stench was putrid. Artix leaned his head out into the corridor, to escape the stench and catch his breath. After a moment he asked Warlic what in Lore’s name it was.
“Now that it is open it may as well be consumed. Here, Artix.” Warlic offered the foul-smelling liquid to him. “Since we are such good friends you may have this for free. Otherwise, however, one bottle costs 50,000 Z-Tokens.” Artix’s jaw hit the floor at the mention of the figure. He gasped. “Why so much?” he asked.
“As I said, its ingredients are few and expensive, and it takes years to make. I had to travel the void in search of the three ingredients. Hold your hand out.” Artix did so, and was handed a handful of white powder by Warlic. “Spread this salt across your tongue.” He said. “It will make the formula much more bearable.” He did so, and immediately desired liquid. Any liquid. He took the potion in Warlic’s hand. “Hold your nose and down it fast,” he said, handing it to Artix. Artix did as instructed. The liquid was so foul it nearly made him throw up again, but Warlic told him to keep it down at all costs. After regaining himself, Artix checked his meter and noticed nothing changed. He questioned Warlic.
“I know. Give it about twenty minutes. You will fight like you have never fought before. But it is only temporary, so take advantage of it and get out there.” Warlic said.
IV Artix immediately entered the forest. He was still trying to get that awful taste out of his mouth. About fifteen minutes had gone by and Artix began to feel warm. He checked his meter and both his health and mana were at their maximum, but there was more. All his STATs had increased by 25%. Thirty minutes and now gone by and he was on top of the world. His STATs were now up by 30%, and his health and mana were at 1.5 times their capacity. He entered battle with a level 130 Bigfoot and dealt the first hit.
When the enemy struck him, Artix felt nothing. No pain, no health decrease, no STAT decrease. It was as if he was invincible. He struck his foe one time with his golden battleaxe, putting all his might into his swing. The Bigfoot was sliced in half, dead after two rounds.
Artix entered battle after battle, and killed every foe that faced him with two hits. He felt no pain and his meter showed no signs of going down. After about ten battles, something changed. His meter was still the same, +30% STATs and 1.5x health capacity. But, he now felt no desire to fight. He was hot now and wished only sit and rest. He did, and gazed calmly toward the sky.
Something else was different. His head felt light, and he perceived the world around him differently. He looked at the trees and shrubbery and they seemed dance very slightly. He felt very calm, relaxed, and mellow. He wished to return to Warlic and ask him the ingredients.
As he stood, his body felt very warm. His armor seemed so much heavier that it usually is. He slowly walked back to town, frequently tripping over the logs, sticks, and exposed roots of trees.
He came into the clearing of town, and gazed through the light fog that now seemed to linger within the area. He found the mage shop, and slowly stumbled his way in.
Warlic was there, and upon Artix’s returned he happily said, “Hello, friend! How was the new health potion? It should still be affecting you, did you wear off already?” Artix said no, and told him that the affects had recently increased. Then he asked the ingredients. Warlic sighed. “Aww, I might as well tell you since I know for a fact you will not remember my words. The three, actually four, ingredients I mentioned earlier are water, grapes, sugarcane, and wheat.” Artix smiled, sat on the floor, and began to doze.
THE END
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