Chapter 24: Flame Oil
[Flame Oil (Hidden Recipe)]: Apply to a weapon or thrown object to give it a flaming appearance and add fire damage.
Fire damage is one of the most effective types against dark creatures, so its effectiveness goes without saying. That effect alone is already impressive—but its special traits make it even better.
Weapons coated with Flame Oil are essentially imbued with a fire effect—flames roaring off them, looking ridiculously cool.
In his previous life, this recipe was hidden in a meteorological book in the library of Vick University. It was tucked away in a chapter describing frost monsters, and wasn't discovered by players until many years later.
The first person to master this recipe was none other than the game's "Child of the Planes," Leandro de Pessa—a genius in alchemy and a complete idiot in meteorology. A huge part of his popularity in his past life came from a promo video featuring that flaming greatsword. It was just too badass.
At this point in time, Leandro de Pessa hasn't even enrolled yet, so clearly this recipe hasn't been discovered. That's one of the reasons why Zhou Ning has been pushing so hard with his alchemy these past two days.
If he manages to get his hands on this recipe after all this effort, it'll be worth it!
After tidying up the alchemy lab, Rosie came over for the shift change. This long-legged girl was pretty diligent—not only was she, like Zhou Ning, working as a teaching assistant to earn a 5-Vecktas monthly stipend, but she also worked part-time at the school's alchemy shop. Serious hustle.
Zhou Ning greeted her with a grin, "Good afternoon. Got anything to eat?"
Rosie: …
She instinctively clutched her pocket in caution.
Still, Zhou Ning managed to snag a red bean cake from her, and in return treated her to a cup of black tea—his regular order from Mrs. Turing, who had it delivered every noon.
After a fairly pleasant afternoon tea, Zhou Ning said goodbye, returned to his dorm, grabbed the book he'd just finished reading, and headed to the library.
As usual, he returned the book first, then made his way to the section containing meteorology texts.
As one of the top three libraries in all of Bryston, Vick University's collection on meteorology was extensive. The forum back in his previous life hadn't been very specific—just said the book was written by Roger Moore, but Roger Moore was a prolific author from a century ago and had written four books total.
Looking at the four thick volumes on meteorology, Zhou Ning couldn't help but wish he had access to the forum or bullet comments here.
With a stack of books in his arms, he found a seat and started reading slowly.
In the game Apocalypse, there are three ways to learn recipes: someone can teach you, you can obtain the recipe directly, or you can discover it by reading. If you're lucky, a random paragraph in an ancient book might turn out to contain a rare recipe.
Three books in, still nothing—though his meteorology proficiency kept increasing.
Finally, near the end of the fourth book, the prompt popped up:
[You have learned Meteorology (Beginner). You've unlocked the skill [Weather Observation]!]
[You have discovered the recipe [Flame Oil]!]
[You have discovered the recipe [Sleepless Elixir]!]
[Flame Oil] (Hidden Recipe): Requires Flameflower, Firefin Fish Oil, Crystal Vial, Sun Orchid Root. Apply to a weapon or thrown object to give it a flaming appearance and add fire damage.
[Sleepless Elixir] (Hidden Recipe): Requires Vipershade, Needlegrass, Gillsage. Grants intense energy and removes the need for sleep.
"Finally learned it." Zhou Ning clenched his fist in excitement. This was a god-tier opening. Flame Oil spoke for itself, and as for Sleepless Elixir—if he could sell it to factory owners, it'd probably be a hit.
Flameflower and Sun Orchid Root were common herbs and fairly cheap. Firefin Fish Oil was a bit rarer, but still under 5 Roshens—well within Zhou Ning's budget.
The sky was already darkening.
Zhou Ning made his way to the on-campus alchemy shop, spent 20 Roshens on two sets of materials, and another 4 Roshens to rent a lab. He was eager to begin.
Unlike the low-grade potions he'd made before, Flame Oil was not only higher in difficulty—it was one of the tougher intermediate-level alchemical products—and this time, he was using his own money. So extra caution was absolutely justified.
"Whew…"
Letting out a breath, Zhou Ning skillfully lit the alcohol lamp. Maybe it was thanks to his 13 points in Agility, but his movements had become more and more precise, almost ambidextrous. He ground the herbs methodically, poured them into a beaker with buffer agents, and began slowly heating.
The process was complicated—and luck played a role too.
[You've completed one alchemical preparation. Quality: 7. Brewing failed. You gain 26 EXP and 1 proficiency point.]
Five minutes later, the beaker gave off a burnt smell. Zhou Ning frowned—failure.
With one last set of materials remaining, he forced himself to stay calm.
He reheated the beaker, let the potion come to a boil, then added lead salts and other stabilizers. The process flowed smoothly without a hitch. A few minutes later, the system gave him a new prompt.
[You've completed one alchemical preparation. Quality: 72. You gain 46 EXP and 2 proficiency points.]
He'd done it! Zhou Ning finally relaxed.
In the test tube was a crimson liquid. After it had fully cooled, he poured it into a crystal vial.
When he focused on the vial, the interface displayed:
[Flame Oil (Normal Quality)]: Apply to a weapon or thrown object to give it a flaming appearance and add fire damage.
Decent quality.
After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Ning poured the Flame Oil into a small bowl. Then he pulled a bullet from his inventory and carefully dipped it into the oil.
It might've been his imagination, but the moment the bullet touched the oil, a flash of flame burst out.
With a quick flick of his wrist, Zhou Ning fished the bullet back out. It was now engulfed in fire—but this flame was purely visual, a special effect from the oil. There was no actual heat.
[Special Item: .45 ACP Bullet]
[Attribute: Burning]
[Description: Bullet infused with Flame Oil, deals an additional 13–25 fire damage.]
"Just as I thought!"
Zhou Ning looked excitedly at the flaming bullet in his hand. What had been just a theory turned out to actually work.
Next, he dipped another 8 or 9 bullets into the bowl. One by one, he fished them out.
A total of ten bullets—each transformed into a special round.
Just as he was about to dip in an eleventh, he realized the half-bowl of Flame Oil was already used up.
Two sets of ingredients for 20 Roshens, 4 Roshens for the lab rental—with a 50% success rate, that meant 24 Roshens for 10 special bullets. A little pricey.
But that cost would go down as his skill improved.
Zhou Ning pulled out his ivory-handled Colt M1873 revolver, popped out the cylinder, and carefully loaded all ten flaming bullets.
He now felt sure—if he ever ran into another creature like Marien, it would be an easy fight.
…
After returning the rented lab, Zhou Ning found that it had started to rain. Fortunately, due to the campus's unique weather conditions, every facility offered umbrella loans. He borrowed one from the alchemy shop, bought a few pounds of bread at a roadside store, and headed back to his dorm.
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