After Brutus curled up and fell asleep wherever he pleased, Ethan Carter opened the Marketplace to see if anyone was selling alchemy recipes.
Unfortunately, either too little time had passed since everyone arrived in this world...
...or players were intentionally hoarding the valuable ones.
Most of the potion recipes available were mediocre.
Some brewed basic healing potions for treating external injuries.
Others produced simple attribute-boosting potions.
The healing potions were useful because they could be brewed repeatedly.
The attribute potions, however, came with diminishing returns.
Once a person drank one, further doses of the same potion became ineffective.
After browsing for quite a while, Ethan finally purchased a Basic Healing Potion Recipe in exchange for 500 milliliters of drinking water.
Unlike crafting blueprints, potion recipes mainly required herbs, plants, monster parts, and other natural ingredients.
Setting the monster materials aside...
Many of the herbs listed were plants Ethan had never even heard of.
He spent nearly an hour searching the Marketplace before barely gathering enough ingredients to brew a single batch.
"Sigh..."
"It heals wounds without any side effects..."
"But if collecting ingredients takes this much effort every time..."
"I’m not sure it’s worth it."
Still, he placed the recipe onto the Legendary Alchemy Workbench.
The parchment dissolved into light and merged with the workstation.
From now on, Ethan only needed to think about the Basic Healing Potion to see the complete brewing instructions.
Following the recipe step by step, he dropped each ingredient into the enormous glass flask.
Every time another ingredient entered the flask, the rainbow-colored sphere beneath it began spinning like a magical flame.
Whether it was herbs...
Medicinal plants...
Or monster organs...
Everything dissolved into liquid almost instantly.
"Seriously..."
"That’s incredible."
"Is that glowing sphere some kind of legendary mystical flame?"
"And if it is..."
"What kind of glass can survive something that hot?"
Chuckling to himself, Ethan dropped in the final ingredient.
As every liquid merged together, the mixture gradually changed from pitch black to a pale emerald green.
Despite the intense reaction inside, the flask itself remained cool to the touch.
It also seemed coated with some special material that prevented liquid from sticking to the sides.
One gentle tilt...
Every last drop poured neatly into an empty water bottle.
Focusing on it revealed the finished product.
[Basic Healing Potion — Effectively treats ordinary external injuries. Sterilizes wounds, prevents infection, and significantly accelerates healing. Effective whether applied externally or consumed.]
"Not bad."
"If I can secure a reliable supply of ingredients..."
"This could become one of my biggest advantages."
Satisfied, Ethan stored the healing potion inside his inventory before continuing his night watch.
The following morning...
The thick clouds finally began breaking apart.
For the first time in days, genuine sunlight shone across the wasteland.
Ethan observed it from inside the shelter for several minutes before cautiously stepping beneath the roof overhang.
He stretched out a finger.
Warm.
Gentle.
No burning sensation.
No strange side effects.
He finally relaxed.
After a full night’s sleep, Natasha had recovered as well.
Together with Brutus, the three of them headed back toward the abandoned city.
This time they chose a building that looked remarkably similar to a bank.
The paper currency inside would obviously be worthless.
But banks often contained vaults.
And unlike paper money...
Gold remained a valuable crafting material.
Fortunately, Ethan’s luck held.
Although the bank had clearly been looted—and even the vault door had already been opened—a number of valuable items remained behind.
Spiked Trap Blueprint.
Iron Spike Fence Blueprint.
Fertilizer Blueprint.
And several other useful crafting plans.
Once crafted, the traps and fences would significantly improve the shelter’s defenses.
The fertilizer would also accelerate crop growth.
After finishing their search of the vault, Ethan prepared to leave.
Suddenly...
A deafening explosion echoed outside.
The entire abandoned city trembled.
Carefully approaching the entrance, Ethan peeked through the doorway.
Only moments ago the sky had been bright.
Now...
Dark storm clouds completely covered the sun, plunging the city into near darkness.
Thunder rolled endlessly overhead.
Lightning flashed through the clouds.
A massive storm was approaching.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning slammed into the street less than fifty feet from the bank.
The blast blasted a crater into the concrete while instantly igniting anything flammable nearby.
Even with his enhanced physique...
Ethan instinctively flinched.
Some fears were buried deep within human instinct.
If lightning struck him directly...
He doubted even his strengthened body would survive.
"So this is what the System meant by extreme weather..."
As Ethan quietly muttered to himself, Natasha stepped beside him.
"Darling..."
"What do we do?"
"It’s too dangerous to go outside."
"We’ll stay here for now."
"If the weather clears up, we’ll head home."
"If not..."
"We’ll have to search for another safe route."
"Understood."
"I’ll organize everything inside the vault."
"Thanks."
Although the vault door had already been opened, it still provided excellent protection.
If the storm lasted into the night and they were forced to stay here...
Closing that massive steel door would keep out most ordinary monsters.
Not long after Natasha left...
Brutus suddenly walked over.
The tiger bared his fangs while staring toward the spot where the lightning had struck.
"What is it, Brutus?"
Ethan looked in the same direction.
He couldn’t see anything unusual.
The tiger’s ears twitched.
"Master..."
"I smell danger."
"A powerful creature is marking its territory."
Hearing those words immediately put Ethan on high alert.
Brutus was already a Tier 2 apex predator.
If even he considered something dangerous...
Then whatever was nearby was almost certainly Tier 3.
Maybe even higher.
Regardless...
Encountering it now would likely be fatal.
Without hesitation, Ethan manually lowered the bank’s heavy security shutter.
He knew it wouldn’t stop something truly powerful.
But even a few extra seconds might mean the difference between escape and death.
Next, he moved to a concealed window and carefully raised the Silent Hunter.
He wasn’t planning to attack.
He simply wanted to use the scope to identify the creature.
Even if they couldn’t defeat it...
Knowing what they were facing might increase their chances of escaping alive.
Following the direction Brutus indicated, Ethan searched the distant streets through the scope.
Moments later...
His eyes widened.
Several hundred yards away...
An enormous creature slowly emerged from beneath the ground.
It stood nearly two stories tall.
Its limbs were long and powerfully built.
Behind it dragged a tail as thick as a water tank.
At first glance...
It resembled an enormous upright lizard.
Or perhaps...
A gigantic Komodo dragon.
But what shocked Ethan even more...
Was that someone was actually attacking it.
Not just one person.
Several fighters were already engaged in battle against the monster.
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