Brin didn’t expect Calisto’s shop to be open on the way back. It was still before dawn after all, but he saw a light on inside. He ran back and grabbed the glassware he’d made for the [Alchemist]. A few beakers, several bottles, and different sized containers; he packed them all into a wooden box. He didn’t know exactly what Calisto needed, but from the look of his shop the other day, he could use whatever he could get his hands on.

When he returned to Calisto’s place, the door swung open before he could knock.

“Yes! Perfect! Bring it in, there you go,” said Calisto. “There, just place it down, there you go.”

Calisto was dancing back and forth, moving forward to grab the box out of Brin’s hands before hesitating and stepping back, caution warring against eagerness. He seemed even more energetic than he’d been last time, which was a strange mood for an hour before dawn. Brin felt like he was about to pass out. Whose idea had it been to pull an all-nighter, again?

As soon as Brin stepped away from the case, Calisto darted forward and started pulling things out. “Wonderful. Wonderful!”

There were three beakers, five flasks, ten regular bottles that could fit finished potions, five bigger bottles for whatever, some stirring rods, and even a measuring cup. Ademsi had come up with exact measurements, and then Brin had easily marked them with notches on the glass.

“I have some ideas about glass that’s resistant to thermal shock but… but something about Gudio? Sorry, I can barely think. I need Gudio for one of the ingredients. Yeah, that’s it,” said Brin.

“Resistant to thermal shock? How dare you say such beautiful words to me,” said Calisto.

“Did you get a chance to make what I needed?” asked Brin.

“I did, and in fact, I can guarantee the results. It works really well,” said Calisto.

“You’re using one right now? Gimme,” said Brin.

“Well, hold on, now, let’s back up a step.” Calisto held up a small cloth bag. “I can give you three doses, but–”

Brin snatched the bag from his hands and looked inside. There were three white pills, each about the size of a nickel. He plucked one out and gulped it down. It was always awkward to swallow pills dry. He could do it, but it always left a weird feeling in his throat, like it was waiting on the edge, wanting to come back up. And that had been in his old world, where the worst of what he swallowed was a Tylenol. This pill was huge, and he felt the push against his throat as he forced it down.

“As I was saying, you should know that there’s a reason that people don’t completely replace their sleep with drugs,” said Calisto.

“Because it’s too expensive?” asked Brin, hoping that’s all it was. Money wasn't a problem.

“That and because of potion sickness. Remember that allergy you developed to mana potions?”

“I’m mostly over that now,” said Brin. “Besides, these are pills.”

“Are you really standing here telling me that you think that’s a loophole? I hate to disappoint you, but potion sickness doesn’t literally mean ‘potions’; it’s a colloquialism referring to the body’s reaction to the buildup of alchemical–”

Brin felt a sudden wave of dizziness. His vision went blank and lost all feeling in his limbs. He tried to stay on his feet, but wasn’t sure if he was succeeding.

As abruptly as it came, the dizziness left. With it, all the tiredness and brain fog lifted as well. His exhaustion was gone. It felt so nice, that this time he really did fall to his hands and knees, panting.

“I would’ve told you to take it sitting down if you had given me a chance,” said Calisto.

“This is great!” Brin said, standing. His mind was clear. He felt better than he had since even before his sleep troubles. Whatever this wonder drug was, it hadn’t just taken his exhaustion, it was as if his built-up fear and anxiety from weeks under siege had left as well. He’d expected to feel sort of high, since that was Calisto’s general disposition, but instead it was more peaceful and calm. He felt like he’d just woken up from a long, restful sleep. Nothing more, and nothing less. “When can you get me more?”

“One per week, or you risk developing an allergy. This was created as an emergency measure. For emergencies. Not as a lifestyle supplement! Listen. Look at my mouth. One per week.”

“Of course,” said Brin. “But just for emergencies, I think I might want a few more.”

“Check back in three weeks. You wouldn’t need them more than that, would you?”

Brin smiled. “We’ll see.”

There was no point in arguing about this now. He’d find out if Calisto could scrounge up a few more when he dangled some laboratory grade glassware in front of his nose.

There were few people on the street in the pre-dawn light. It was nice to be out and alone in the cool fresh air. He didn’t exactly hate that people here were friendly to stop and chat, but it was nice to be able to cross town without having to exchange pleasantries with ten different people. When he crossed the town square he noticed that they were setting up a wooden stage for something. For the bigger festivals, they often planked over the entire town square, and then packed it up again the next day, but this didn’t seem to be like that.

He made his way outside, across the muddy fields, trampled by hundreds of undead feet. There were sections he could see here and there where new fields had been plowed, but Davi’s family hadn’t yet started to replant. They made plenty of money renting out Poco the bull, and the town had enough in store that no one would be in danger of starving, even if the siege had lasted for a year.

Their barn had been torn down, but the set of weights Davi had commissioned were still intact. Undead needed orders to do anything, so when they found something weird they tended to just leave it alone.

Davi had already started, laying on a bench and pumping six hundred pounds of black iron like it was nothing. After a quick set of ten, he stopped and put the bar on the rack. The bench and the rack were made of wood, but they didn’t so much as creak under the weight. Bog Standard wood was the pride of this town, and the highest level crafters could do miracles with it.

“I didn’t know if I’d see you today,” said Davi.

“Yeah, I’ve been a little bit out of it lately,” said Brin. “But I’m feeling good today.”

Davi stood to start pulling some of the weight off the bench press, but Brin stopped him. “Let me try it there.”

He lay back on the bench, and before he could talk himself out of it, pushed with all his might. He was almost surprised when the bar moved. He pumped once, twice, then three times. On the fourth, he strained to get the bar back up, slowing down, but with force of will, he made it. He decided to push his luck and went for five. He got the bar halfway up, but then it started to slide back down. Davi helped him, pulling from above, and together they got the bar back onto the rack.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Through training, you have increased the following attribute:

Strength +1