So, how does creating the Intellect Potion begin, excluding the preparatory stage I successfully completed? Naturally, with another preparatory stage — closing all curtains and turning on red light. Thick, anxious twilight flooded my small apartment, turning it into something between an alchemical laboratory and a maniac's darkroom. Fortunately, my makeshift lab was already set up on the table, and the instructions were etched clearly in memory, so I began with Fantasmium extraction.
Ghost Orchid pollen was not powder, as an inexperienced observer might think, but pollinia. A single waxy mass — in the case of the Ghost Orchid, dazzling white with a slight pearlescent sheen — which I carefully extracted from the center of the materialized inventory flower with tweezers. Naturally, in the apartment, apart from the crimson glow of the bulb, there were no other light sources.
I placed the waxy pollinia piece on small laboratory scales. The display froze: 57 milligrams. Within the 50-70 mg needed for one dose — perfect, continue. With that intent, I placed the weighed pollinia in a perfectly dry and clean 50 ml flask, then using a measuring cylinder measured exactly 20 milliliters of isopropyl alcohol — its sharp, sterile smell briefly hit my nose — and added it to the flask with the pollinia.
Turning on the dry heating block, I quickly set it to gradual heating over 5 minutes from 30 to 40 degrees, then maintaining exactly 40 degrees for the next 10 minutes. Placing the flask in the block, I waited, periodically checking if the pollinia dissolution had begun. It should start dissolving, faintly opalescing the alcohol. Nerves were taut as strings. Fortunately, by the tenth minute, the process started, and after another 5 when the heating block clicked off quietly, I poured the resulting solution into a centrifuge tube and started the device. The room filled with a growing, monotonous hum.
Five minutes later, all insoluble particles — wax, flower bits, dust, etc. — settled at the bottom in a dense whitish sediment. I needed only the clean liquid above — the supernatant — which I carefully drew with a syringe into a new sterile flask. This was the purified Fantasmium extract, to which I immediately added exactly 5 ml of colloidal silver. The solution instantly reacted, becoming slightly cloudy — a sign I was on the right track. Before the almost final, crucial stage, I placed the flask in inventory, filled a deep bowl with cold water, added salt and ice, and returned the flask with extract to reality.
A box with one of the charged quartz crystals silently appeared on the table. Taking ceramic pliers, I grasped the crystal — from which a faint tingle seemed to emanate — and pressed it against the outer wall of the flask on the table. I did not risk doing this in my hands, fearing charge destabilization. Now everything should go smoothly. I hoped…
The crystal's vibrational field penetrated the glass and triggered the expected chain reaction. First, the liquid clouded heavily, turning milky white. I waited patiently, holding the crystal to the flask and feeling the air around thicken. After about 3 minutes, the liquid began rapidly clearing — like fog dispersing in fast-forward — and after another minute, it became perfectly transparent and pure as water. Additionally, a light, fresh ozone smell spread through the apartment — another sign of successful activation.
Without removing the crystal from the glass, I carefully grasped the flask with other pliers and placed it in the prepared ice-salt bath. A quiet hiss sounded. The sharp temperature drop fixed the unstable molecular structure of the potion, making it suitable for consumption and storage. After a minute, I removed the flask from the ice bath and returned the now-discharged, ordinary stone crystal to its box. Next, I took a small light-proof glass vial and used a syringe to transfer about 25 ml of potion into it. All done — the Intellect Potion was officially ready, and fortunately, the system agreed!
[Created normal-complexity potion "Intellect Potion." Complexity: Normal. Received +200 OP!]
Phew, finally! I did it! So much effort, so much expense, so many plans and ambitions for this potion the system aptly called a potion, and here it was in my hand. I wanted to drink it right then and there, but I restrained the urge. Not the time… Especially since I still had four more potions to make — so, stashing the vial in inventory, I began the "potion-brewing," haha.
[Created normal-complexity potion "Intellect Potion." Complexity: Normal. Received +150 OP!]
[Created normal-complexity potion "Intellect Potion." Complexity: Normal. Received +100 OP!]
[Created normal-complexity potion "Intellect Potion." Complexity: Normal. Received +50 OP!]
[Created normal-complexity potion "Intellect Potion." Complexity: Normal. Received +40 OP!]
The system slashed rewards hard for successful but repetitive actions. Unpleasant, but I was already used to it; even with the cuts, five Intellect Potions netted me +540 OP, bringing the total to a mind-boggling 685 OP. A sum I could not have dreamed of days ago, but reality quickly sobered my excited mind. It was not enough for three system spins — only two: one for 200 and one for 250. The third at 300 was out of reach; only 235 OP would remain, a hundred of which would likely go to unlocking the Muscle Stimulant (unless something more interesting dropped).
Thinking it over again, I decided it was truly the best option. But tomorrow. Before spins and further planning, I would definitely take the Intellect Potion. Why tomorrow? Well, it was night; after a fruitful and successful workday, sleep was pulling hard — so I could rest and act with a fresh, rested head. Agreeing with that ironclad logic, I finally turned on normal light, cleared all traces of my improvised chem lab, and crashed into bed.
Sunday morning greeted me, as the previous day, with incredible vigor and motivation. After a quick shower and breakfast, I retrieved an Intellect Potion from inventory and downed it in one gulp, waiting. The effect came quickly. It was like a veil lifting from my eyes and cotton removed from my ears — the world became sharper, clearer, and thoughts, previously just fast, now raced at light speed, aligning into perfect logical constructs. Feeling unprecedented mental clarity and a sense I could achieve anything, I wasted no precious time and opened the system, activating the first spin for 200 OP!
[Received blueprint (common) – Refined Extremis Formula (Marvel). (Unlocking the blueprint costs 500 OP)]
The Extremis virus — the latest development in creating a super-soldier. It grants superhuman strength, lightning reflexes, and unmatched endurance. Extremis users gain the unique ability to generate extreme heat through metabolic processes, heating any body part to thousands of degrees Celsius at will. Regeneration with Extremis is impressive: wounds turn to smoldering ash from which lost tissues restore in minutes, returning to normal skin, flesh, and bone. However, this power has a price: the body glows on thermal sensors, and excessive overheating can lead to catastrophic explosion. Use with caution!
This… upended all my plans, making them abruptly irrelevant and unserious. Fucking Extremis from this very universe! Well, maybe not exactly this one, but… Whew, even under strong neuro-stimulation, I could not contain my excitement. I want it, want it, want it! It was almost a physical hunger for the power this blueprint promised. Especially since it was a refined version — meaning no explosion risk upon injection, though overheating remained an issue. But damn, how appetizing it looked, especially with 485 OP left and 15 more farmable in half an hour. Meaning I could gain knowledge of how to make a fucking super-soldier serum almost without leaving my seat and very soon.
Forcing myself to calm, I thought. Emotions aside — cold calculation only. Extremis was here and now — or rather, the recipe. Unlike the (by system standards) simple Intellect Potion, this would hardly be doable with what I had on hand. If memory served — and with the neuro-stimulator, the chance of error was low — Extremis creation directly involved nanotechnology, already near the top league. I needed a more advanced lab, resources, money, and more knowledge! The last being most critical. Unlocking the recipe now was like buying a starship blueprint with only scrap metal and a wrench in the backyard. Tempting but utterly useless at this stage.
No matter how seductive unlocking the recipe was, I restrained the impulse and, clearing my mind again, spun the gacha a second time for 250 OP, hoping for something no worse — or better — than a cheat super-soldier serum recipe. Damn, and this recipe was only Common rarity; nothing higher had dropped yet — maybe this time?
[Received item (common) – Magical Ore Crate (Every One Returns Home). (Unlocking the item costs 400 OP; ensure 1 free inventory slot!)]
What smith can do without metal? In this world, gear decides much, and without quality materials, a craftsman cannot realize his potential.
Fortunately, you have a capacious crate (2×2×1 m) filled to the brim with chunks of unprocessed ore — from ordinary iron to the rarest celestial metals. The more valuable the ore, the less there is in stock. Hope you have tools for refining and forging! The crate's stocks replenish monthly.
An item! Finally! And at that moment, my brain at peak performance instantly built a chain. Extremis was the goal. The ore crate was the means. This was not just money. It was foundation. Infinite resource source for building a lab, equipment, financial independence. Why the hell was this "Common" crate so cheat? Yes, unlocking was pricey, but monthly replenishment of various ores from simple to conditional Adamantium or Uru… No, too good to be true. And there could well be gold and platinum to solve my money problems. Obviously, technology unlock priorities had changed. First — this crate. Second — something from Arcanum, like the Muscle Stimulant for survivability. And third, once settled in this world with a proper workshop and money — the Extremis blueprint.
So, I still had about one and a half to two hours of Intellect Potion effect; I needed to try settling the following points:
Where I had left traces and whether I had at all, drawing unnecessary attention.
How to most efficiently farm another 400 OP to reach unlocking the crate, ideally today.
Calculate the budget needed to move out of this dump and how to convert valuable ores from the crate into money without attracting excess attention.
Other questions if time remained — and generally understand if there were any; at minimum, recalling key moments of major characters' origins in this universe and comparing to this world would not hurt — having a reference point was necessary.
Good, in order. My brain, like a powerful processor, allocated maximum resources to the first task. I had not put traces first for nothing — there was one, and it was very real! The Ghost Orchid. Growing at night in a park in one of New York's central districts, it simply could not go unnoticed. Yet in open sources, no mentions — logical, actually; you would not find vibranium in open access either. Meaning Ghost Orchid existence was hidden knowledge for the initiated, and I had encroached upon it.
It did not matter who exactly collected this mystical flower from Bowling Green park — S.H.I.E.L.D., some order of mages, or an Oscorp-like corporation. What mattered was that the night I took it, or the next, someone would not find the flower. And my main mistake, driven by impulsive greed — I took the entire inflorescence with dozens of flowers! One missing flower could be blamed on an animal or vandal. The loss of the whole plant was a direct declaration of theft. So, could they track me? And how?
Threat analysis: standard methods. Tracking via countless city cameras. Professionals could build a heat map of my movements, trace my "digital ghost" — my phone, even if off (and it WAS NOT), left traces connecting to towers. They would map my route, narrow the search to Hell's Kitchen, where cameras were trickier but present. Possibly even to my street, relatively decent by district standards. But further? Only door-to-door, anomaly searches — like a sudden spike in my apartment's power consumption. Or I had slipped up badly somewhere I could not see even under brain doping. In any case, agencies like S.H.I.E.L.D., if they wanted to find me, would. It was only a matter of time and my threat priority. For now, I was an unknown thief of a rare but relatively common plant — assuming I was even on their radar. But if they learned what I made from it…
Threat analysis: non-standard methods. Some Lenape tribe shaman collecting flowers for extra-potent magical tobacco? If he was truly a mage… I did not recall local mages having precognition or info-field access except via Great Artifacts like the Eye of Agamotto — actually the Time Stone. Doubtful they would deploy a universe-scale artifact to hunt a flower. Plus, I sincerely wanted to believe I was a "blind spot" for this world. My isekai nature, the System's presence — it might make me invisible to magical sensors. And the fact that almost two days had passed without anyone coming for me was the best proof. If they searched, it would be standard ways. Meaning there was cause for concern but not panic. But it set a hard condition: I needed to accelerate the move. True, with the remaining 200 dollars on the credit account…
Fine, had I left traces elsewhere? Material purchases: I tried different hardware stores or private sellers, paid cash. Presumably clean. And overall, my materials did not scream meth lab — ordinary lab supplies. Interaction with Mary Jane and Harry Osborn? They had probably forgotten I existed. Good, note for the future: no gross mistakes with resources closed to the public. It could draw unwanted attention.
First point clear. Threat real but delayed. I had a window of opportunity, and I had to use it. That led to the next step.
Next question: How to most efficiently farm another 400 OP today?
─────────────────────
Main Character Status
1. Core Attributes:
Physique: Ordinary (no modifications).
Intellect: Average (temporarily boosted by the "Intellect Potion").
Loaded Knowledge: "Intellect Potion" recipe (from the Arcanum set).
2. Temporal and Spatial Coordinates:
Current date: Sunday, September 13, 2015.
Time since arrival: 5 days (since Wednesday, September 9, 2015).
Location: USA, New York City, Hell's Kitchen district, 10th Avenue.
3. Finances and Resources:
OP (Development Points): 235 (next "Forging the Universe" spin costs 300 OP)
Cash on hand: ~$200
Valuables in inventory: Intellect Potion (4 doses).
4. Technologies, Skills, and Items:
Unlocked:
"Intellect Potion" recipe.
Locked (awaiting OP):
Blueprint "Refined Extremis Formula" (Cost: 500 OP).
Item "Magical Ore Crate" (Cost: 400 OP).
Information Package "Disassembly Risk" (Cost: 100 OP).
Remaining blueprints and recipes from the "Arcanum" set (Cost: 100 OP with increasing price).
Randomization Mechanics:
1. Area Selection: The system first randomly picks one of 38 spheres/areas (e.g., "Sphere: Protection", "Area: Knowledge: Abilities and Skills", etc.).
2. Rarity Roll: Then a d1000 is rolled to determine rarity:
1–600: Common (60%)
601–850: Uncommon (25%)
851–950: Rare (10%)
951–990: Epic (4%)
991–1000: Legendary (1%)
3. Reward Selection: After that, it look at how many items/blueprints of that rarity exist in the chosen area (e.g., 11 common blueprints) and randomly pick one.