What exactly is this world consciousness thinking?
Lan Qingyou shook her head, unable to make sense of it.
Just because she didn't understand it now didn't mean she never would. Since there was a chance she'd figure it out later, there was no point in wasting energy on idle worries now.
Shang Chuan: "By the way, it's time to prepare mana potions for the upcoming mana tide."
Just then, Shang Chuan sent another message.
Since Lan Qingyou had barely produced any potions over the last few days, Shang Chuan felt the need to remind her.
In reality, however, Lan Qingyou had already stockpiled a significant amount of mana potions.
They were specifically reserved to deal with the three-day mana tide.
Of course, there was another major reason for her lack of recent production.
Lan Qingyou: "I'm out of containers. My test tubes are running low, and I'm running out of pots and pans to hold the liquids. Why don't you ask Li the stonemason to make some stone vats? Or since there's so much wood around, he could work as a carpenter and make some barrels."
Exactly.
The issue currently plaguing Lan Qingyou was containers.
Her previous stock of test tubes had hit rock bottom. The amount Shang Chuan could supply had dwindled from thousands a day to hundreds, and then down to mere dozens.
And that wasn't even accounting for other people's consumption.
Lan Qingyou's own use of attack potions was enough to squander her entire supply of test tubes.
After all, whether it was an Explosion Potion, an Incendiary Potion, or a Frost Potion... they certainly silenced whatever they hit.
It was all money.
It was all consumables.
While Lan Qingyou didn't mind the cost, there was no way to replenish what she consumed. Consequently, she had essentially stopped doing 'retail' business for individual potions.
Now, she brewed by the barrel, the vat, and the pot.
Once finished, she dumped them on Shang Chuan to handle.
Even so, containers were still scarce, and she eventually had to turn her gaze toward Li Huai, the stonemason.
Shang Chuan: "..."
Seeing Lan Qingyou's suggestion, Shang Chuan sent a rare string of ellipses.
Yes, everyone knew Li Huai had the talent and skill of a stonemason, but there was no need to be so blunt about it.
A stonemason?
Only a witch like Lan Qingyou would dare say that.
If anyone else called Li Huai that to his face, they’d have to see if that suit-wearing thug, who cared for nothing but monster hunting and leveling, wouldn't give them two loud slaps across the face.
Shang Chuan: "Fine, I'll go talk to Li Huai."
Shang Chuan went, and then Shang Chuan came back.
Lan Qingyou: "Couldn't convince him?"
Shang Chuan: "He said his previous battle with the Mountain Eaters made him fully realize his own shortcomings. He needs to focus on his training now."
...
Upon hearing this, it was Lan Qingyou's turn to be speechless.
The stonemason was certainly putting on airs.
Shang Chuan: "How about you wait a bit longer? I'll go find a carpenter and see."
To be honest, the craft of making a wooden barrel wasn't complicated. What was complicated was how to dry the wood to prevent it from cracking during the process.
But it happened to be the season of heavy snow.
Furthermore, given the known climate of the Kalim continent, it was uncertain if it would even work.
Back on Blue Star, drying wood naturally took at least twelve months.
Even in this magical world, even with some kind of magical drying method, it would surely take time.
Thus, Shang Chuan was actually quite distressed.
It wasn't that the lack of containers made him suffer; it was the inability to make money and the thought of the massive market shrinking that pained him.
After all, without Lan Qingyou's mana potions for support, many clients would likely become a thing of the past during the mana tide.
The basic materials required to survive the three days of the mana tide were an astronomical figure.
Those who could scrape together over two hundred thousand units of basic materials were definitely in the minority.
However, this wasn't Lan Qingyou's concern.
She already had enough materials to upgrade to level 4.
Once she leveled up and the exchange space expanded, it wouldn't be too late to trade for level 5 basic materials.
But the lack of containers remained an unchanging problem.
So, she was also anxious.
Her current means of output were those potions. Without test tubes, it was no different from losing her supply of ammunition.
Hand-making test tubes?
It wasn't that Lan Qingyou couldn't do it.
Whether it was the raw materials like quartz sand, borax, and limestone, the high-temperature alchemy circle, or the knowledge of Na2SiO3, CaSiO3, and SiO2—she possessed all of it.
The problem was, how many could she make alone?
A whole day of hand-crafting would only yield a few, and the quality of the finished products was abysmal.
Yes, she had tried.
During those days she spent learning chemistry from Professor Seymer, she had failed. The finished products she made couldn't even fit their own caps.
This forced her to abandon the idea of self-production.
But if you asked her to sell the high-temperature alchemy circle, that was absolutely impossible.
It wasn't that she feared the technology leaking out, but rather that an alchemy circle was something one couldn't operate without foundational knowledge of alchemy.
The knowledge barrier of mana input alone was enough to shut out many people, even those with strong mana control.
For example, even if Li the stonemason had an S-grade magic-based talent, he absolutely couldn't do it without the relevant knowledge.
Such was the barrier of knowledge.
However, a turning point soon appeared.
This turning point occurred five days after the mana turbulence ended.
On this day, after Lan Qingyou finished brewing a batch of mana potions and was waiting for them to settle, she decided to go out for a flight to stretch her legs and let Steel Wool experience the joy of flying in advance.
As soon as she stepped out, tightening her clothes against the cold wind, she saw someone standing on the snow beneath the large tree opposite her house.
This person wore a green and white outfit, topped with a green traveler's hat adorned with a black feather.
But the most striking feature was the pair of sandals on his feet.
Seeing those feet stepping in the snow made Lan Qingyou's teeth ache with sympathetic cold.
Was he not afraid of the cold, or was the cold afraid of him?
To be standing in the snow in such an outfit?
Perhaps noticing someone observing him, the man looked up and locked eyes with Lan Qingyou for a second, then...
"A pleasure to meet you, respected Witch of the Tower."
The man took off his traveler's hat, held it to his chest, and bowed slightly toward Lan Qingyou in the air.
Only then did Lan Qingyou get a clear look at his face.
A male of European descent with long, black curly hair, he looked like a traveler.
His age was hard to tell—Europeans tended to look older—but Lan Qingyou estimated him to be around twenty or thirty years old.
If he were holding a small harp or some other instrument, he could probably cosplay as a bard.
His manners and speech seemed quite gentlemanly.
Normally, Lan Qingyou wouldn't mind exchanging a few words with someone like this.
But that was 'normally.'
Encountering a person of unknown origin in a place like this, Lan Qingyou had no intention of negotiating.
With a wave of her small hand, four or five bottles of Explosion Potions and Frost Potions appeared in the air, hurtling straight toward the European man's face.
Rate on N.U.
