Chapter Eleven: The Apothecary's Discerning Palate and the All-Purpose Strain

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It was quite common for players across the network to team up for dungeon runs and monster farming. The game itself encouraged players to interact frequently. The high difficulty of the dungeons was a subtle way of urging players to band together early on. Most newcomers felt overwhelmed by the tough challenges and began calling friends to join them. Players like Lin Bo, who could clear the hardest difficulty without taking a single hit, were considered real tough guys.

In the chat channel, new players joined every day while veterans sometimes quit, with the active user count fluctuating between twenty and thirty. Lin Bo often lurked quietly during his spare time, enjoying the lively chat atmosphere—it was one of the few familiar and comforting forms of entertainment in this world.

[Nightingale]: Feeling lonely and bored at home? Why not run some maps with me? Hell difficulty is thrilling and intense. Any good brothers want to join?

[Skygrass]: I’ve used up my challenge attempts today. Let me add you as a friend first, and we can queue together tomorrow.

[Starry Eyes]: Count me in!

[Nightingale]: Friend request accepted.

Players in the network chat channel could send friend requests to each other, but could not recommend friends to strangers. Thus, every player’s social circle was tied to their current dungeon channel.

Many players never tired of making friends. After all, some online acquaintances could suddenly become top players, and being their friend meant you could quickly latch onto their strength.

[Lighthouse Guest]: Can I add you?

[Nightingale]: Of course, brother.

After Lin Bo added [Nightingale] as a friend, the other party sent a team invitation.

[Network Notice: Player [Lighthouse Guest] has joined the current party.]

[Skygrass]: Four people are enough. Let’s each say our class and specialties to assign roles efficiently.

Dungeon difficulty scaled exponentially with the number of players, but rewards did not increase correspondingly. The optimal strategy was always to team up with a small group of elite players—this kept difficulty manageable while greatly boosting overall strength.

[Skygrass]: I’ll start. Level 3 Barbarian, Giant’s Path. Strong, leaps far, and throws axes accurately.

[Nightingale]: I’m a level 3 Rogue, skilled in ambush, lockpicking, and disarming traps. Also proficient with the bow.

[Skygrass]: Nice, fast and survivable. I’ll assign you to handle traps on the factory’s third floor.

[Starry Eyes]: I’m a level 3 Soul Summoner, able to summon a spirit swordsman and cast a few simple spells.

[Skygrass]: Hmm, rare class. Sounds like a hybrid of spirit binder and summoner. What spells do you have?

[Starry Eyes]: Silent Phantom, Electric Claw, Mist Veil, and Darkness.

[Nightingale]: Wow, you’re better at stealth than I am.

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The teammates were quite satisfied with [Starry Eyes]’ abilities. Having a magic user on the team broadened their problem-solving options immensely.

A mage didn’t need to wield cataclysmic power; as long as they could create advantages for the team, they were an excellent adventuring partner.

[Nightingale]: Lighthouse Guest, your turn.

[Lighthouse Guest]: I’m a level 2 Mage, specializing in melee.

The team chat went silent for a moment.

Three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds... the uneasy silence stretched on, and suspicion from the teammates seemed deafening.

[Skygrass]: Dude, that’s a wild pick. Melee mages aren’t strong early on. Don’t be discouraged—if you train your skills well, you can still shine.

[Starry Eyes]: Lighthouse Guest, you probably haven’t unlocked Hell difficulty yet, right? How about I team up with you first, and we clear the Extreme difficulty together? What do you think?

Lin Bo quickly chimed in, “Thanks for the offer. I just cleared Extreme difficulty today. I feel continuing to solo Hell difficulty will be tough, so I want to find teammates to help.”

[Starry Eyes]: What? Alone?

[Lighthouse Guest]: Yeah.

[Nightingale]: No way!

[Skygrass]: Same here!

[Starry Eyes]: Wow, a real pro!

The three immediately flooded the chat with various worship emojis. Lin Bo, a quick learner, echoed their enthusiasm, and they joked around for a while. The four agreed to wait until their challenge attempts refreshed before running the dungeon together.

Lin Bo left the team chat but didn’t log off immediately. Instead, he went to shop at Agilent’s store.

He bought the skill book "Pharmacist’s Tongue Recognition" for 60 Disaster Coins outright, along with its companion knowledge guide "Pharmacist’s Grand Compendium" for 15 Disaster Coins.

[Lighthouse Guest]: I’m thinking about buying some herb seeds to make my own medicine later, but there are so many options. Brother, could you help me decide?

[Agilent]: Most herbs require specific growing conditions. To get extraordinary medicinal effects, the herbs need to grow under some form of magical influence. Does your world have magic resources?

Lin Bo answered bluntly, “Yes, but the supply is limited.” He briefly described what he had discovered.

[Agilent]: Magic energy contained within living organisms? Let me check with some experts... Got it! How about you grow mushrooms?

Lin Bo scratched his head. “What’s the story with growing mushrooms?”

[Agilent]: Don’t underestimate mushrooms. Watch out, they might fight back. Have you heard of the Myconids? They’re intelligent mushrooms with psychic powers—pretty formidable.

“So what does that have to do with the mushrooms I want to grow?”

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[Agilent]: Mushrooms are nature’s decomposers, extremely diverse like grains of sand on a beach. They adapt to most environments across the multiverse—even near volcanic lava you can find lava mushrooms.

[Agilent]: That’s why some scholars have recognized their potential. Through selective breeding and cultivation, they’ve developed strains to meet various production and daily life needs.

[Agilent]: Some mushrooms yield high quantities with excellent taste, capable of feeding large populations even in barren environments. Others produce oils, strong acids, salts, and so forth, satisfying industrial demands. There are countless medicinal mushrooms that heal wounds, detoxify, and nourish; most ingredients for potions can be replaced with mushrooms.

[Agilent]: The best part is all these mushroom types can evolve from a single primary fungal strain and coexist on the same mycelial mat. If you compost whale meat, bones, and innards, the mycelium will absorb magic energy automatically, benefiting all mushrooms growing on that mat.

[Lighthouse Guest]: Brilliant.

Agilent truly was a top-notch sales consultant—the guiding light of Lin Bo’s shopping journey. His words enlightened Lin Bo, making every purchase a joyful experience.

The prime universal fungal strain cost 100 Disaster Coins. Growing mushrooms also required skill, so Lin Bo bought the accompanying guide "Professor Myconid’s Fungal Agronomy" for 15 Disaster Coins.

After a hard day, Lin Bo had just 16 Disaster Coins left.

He once again slipped into a state of contented poverty.

“The money’s spent; no use worrying about it,” he thought, looking at the goods arriving through the portal with a good mood.

The scroll for "Pharmacist’s Tongue Recognition" was made from palm leaves. Once unrolled, it transformed into a stream of light that entered his third eye.

Pharmacist’s Tongue Recognition: Lv1 (0/50) — By tasting herbs, deduce their primary medicinal properties.

This skill, combined with "Pharmacist’s Grand Compendium," trained practitioners to taste herbs carefully and cross-reference the book’s records to determine their properties. Different medicinal materials combined organically could produce pills and potions of various efficacies.

This pharmacist system emphasized adapting to local conditions and improvisation—a rather rough style, quite unlike the precise and meticulous methods of modern medicine.

But Lin Bo only intended to be a barefoot traditional doctor. Without a mature, complete industrial system, he couldn’t meet the production standards of modern medicine alone.

Disregarding aesthetics, focusing only on efficacy, the pharmacist system could meet the healthcare needs of ordinary people and surpass contemporary doctors, while fulfilling Lin Bo’s own medicinal needs. That was enough.

The primary fungal strain looked like a dull, dry powder ball, but it was actually composed of tens of millions of spore polymers. Sprinkled on a culture medium, it would sprout mycelium within days. Then, guided by theory, specific strains could be selectively cultivated.

Holding the spore cluster, Lin Bo thought, this stuff definitely couldn’t be grown inside the lighthouse.

He recalled a stone cave beneath the cliffs to the east—secluded and spacious, ideal for a mushroom farm, and conveniently accessible.

“I’ll go tidy up that cave and get ready to grow mushrooms.”

Lin Bo exited the virtual chat channel, gathered his gear, and hurried out of the lighthouse.