Chapter 90: A Visitor Arrives

Just what exactly was the world's will thinking?

Unable to figure it out, Lan Qingyou shook her head.

Not being able to understand it now didn't mean she wouldn't be able to understand it in the future. And since she might understand it in the future, what was the point of dwelling on pointless hypotheticals and increasing her own distress?

Shang Chuan: "By the way, it's about time to prepare mana potions to deal with the upcoming mana tide."

Right at this moment, Shang Chuan sent another message over.

Because Lan Qingyou had basically produced zero potions over the past few days, Shang Chuan thought he needed to give her a reminder.

However, the reality was that Lan Qingyou had already stockpiled quite a number of mana potions.

It was precisely to cope with the three-day mana tide immediately following.

Of course.

Lan Qingyou: "I'm out of containers. There are fewer and fewer test tubes now, and the number of pots and pans capable of holding potions has also decreased. Why don't you get Stonemason Li to carve out some stone vats? Alternatively, there's so much wood around, getting a carpenter to make some wooden barrels works too."

That's right.

There was another issue currently plaguing Lan Qingyou, which was containers.

Her previous stockpile of test tubes had already bottomed out. The number of test tubes Shang Chuan could hand over every day had dwindled from thousands to hundreds, and from hundreds to mere dozens.

Putting aside how others consumed them.

Lan Qingyou's own attack potions alone were enough to let her squander all the test tubes on hand.

After all, whether it was explosion potions, combustion potions, or frost potions, it truly was... throw one out and there's no sound remaining.

It was all money.

They were all consumables.

Although Lan Qingyou didn't care about this little sum of money, having it consumed without any replenishment meant there were none left. Thus, she practically ceased doing the 'retail' business of selling potions by the stick.

Instead, she made them by the barrel, by the vat, and by the pot.

After making them, she simply threw them to Shang Chuan's sector to handle.

Yet even with this, there still weren't enough containers. Ultimately, she could only turn her gaze onto Li Huai, the stonemason.

Shang Chuan: "..."

Seeing Lan Qingyou's message, Shang Chuan broke convention and sent her a string of ellipses.

Yes, everyone knew that Li Huai had the talent and skills of a stonemason, but there was no need to speak so bluntly.

Stonemason?

Only a witch like Lan Qingyou would dare to say it like that.

If it were anyone else calling him that to his face, let's see if that suit-wearing thug who only knew how to kill monsters and level up wouldn't slap the living daylights out of them.

Shang Chuan: "Alright then, I'll go have a chat with Li Huai."

Shang Chuan left, and then Shang Chuan returned.

Lan Qingyou: "He couldn't be persuaded?"

Shang Chuan: "He said that his previous battle with the Mountain-Eating Beast made him fully realize his inadequacies. Now, he needs to undergo training."

...

The moment these words came out, it was Lan Qingyou's turn to be speechless.

This stonemason was actually putting on airs.

Shang Chuan: "How about you wait a little longer while I go find a carpenter and see what they can do."

Truth be told, the craftsmanship required to make a wooden barrel wasn't complicated. What was complicated right now was how to dry out the wood to prevent it from cracking during the manufacturing process.

But as luck would have it, it was currently the season of heavy snowfall.

Furthermore, given Kalim Continent's known climate, it wasn't even certain if that method would work.

After all, drying out wood on Blue Star required at least twelve months.

Even in this magical world, if there were some magical drying methods, he believed it would still require a certain amount of time.

So, Shang Chuan was actually in quite a spot of misery.

It wasn't so much that the lack of containers caused him misery; rather, he was miserable over his inability to make money—miserable that his massive market was on the verge of shrinking.

After all, without Lan Qingyou's mana potions to prop them up, there was an extremely high possibility that many clients would become things of the past during the mana tide.

The basic materials required to last through the three-day mana tide were an astronomical figure.

Those capable of gathering over two hundred thousand units of basic materials were absolutely in the minority.

However, this wasn't a problem Lan Qingyou needed to worry about.

Her materials were already enough for her to upgrade to Level 4.

Once she leveled up and the Trading House's space expanded, it wouldn't be too late to exchange for Level 5 basic materials.

But the lack of containers was a fact that wouldn't change.

Therefore, she was extremely anxious as well.

Regardless of what was said, her current method of output was those potions. Without test tubes, it was no different from losing her supply capabilities.

Hand-crafting 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 alchemical arrays, or the knowledge of Na2SiO3, CaSiO3, and SiO2, she possessed them all right now.

But the problem was, how many could she produce by herself?

Even after a full day of hand-crafting, she wouldn't be able to make many, and the finished products would be terribly flawed.

Yes, she had tried.

It happened right around the time she was studying chemistry with Professor Samayel. But she had failed. The end products she produced were the kind where even a bottle cap couldn't fit over them.

This forced her to abandon the idea of making them herself.

But if you were to ask her to sell high-temperature alchemical arrays, that was absolutely impossible.

It wasn't that she feared technology leaks. Rather, without a foundation in alchemy, it was impossible to operate something like an alchemical array.

The knowledge barrier of mana input alone was enough to keep many people out—even those with very strong mana control.

For instance, even if stonemason Li Huai possessed an S-rank magic talent, he would absolutely be unable to do it without the relevant knowledge.

This was the barrier of knowledge.

However, this matter soon saw a turning point.

This turning point occurred on the fifth day after the mana turbulence ended.

On this day, after finishing a batch of mana potions and waiting for them to precipitate, Lan Qingyou planned to fly out for a spin to stretch her limbs and muscles. She also intended to let Steel Wool experience the joy of flying ahead of time.

In the end, the moment she stepped out of her door, bracing against the cold wind and tightening her clothes, she noticed a person standing in the snow beneath the large tree opposite her home.

This person wore a green and white outfit with a green traveler's hat adorned with black feathers upon his head.

But if one had to point out his most distinctive feature, it would be the pair of sandals on his feet.

Seeing those bare feet stepping on the snow made an ache shoot straight to the roots of Lan Qingyou's teeth.

Was this a case of not being afraid of the cold, or being immune to it?

To actually stand freezing in the snow wearing an outfit like this?

Perhaps noticing that someone was observing him, this man raised his head and met Lan Qingyou's eyes for a second, then...

"A pleasure to meet you for the first time, Esteemed Tower Witch."

This person took off his traveler's hat, pressed it to his chest, and gave Lan Qingyou—who was in the air—a slight bow.

Only then did Lan Qingyou clearly see the visitor's appearance.

Male, of European descent, with long, wavy black hair, looking very much like a traveler.

His age was hard to tell. Given that Europeans tended to look older, Lan Qingyou guessed he was probably in his late twenties or early thirties.

If he hugged a small harp or some other instrument, he'd probably be able to cosplay as a bard perfectly.

His demeanor and speech seemed quite gentlemanly.

During normal times, Lan Qingyou wouldn't mind exchanging a couple words with such a person.

But that was during normal times.

Encountering a person of unknown origins in a place like this, Lan Qingyou had no room for negotiation.

With a wave of her small hand, four or five explosion potions and frost potions materialized in midair, hurling straight for this European man's face.