Alchemist, & Meso Up, how do they work?
Alchemist is a passive skill that gives 150% effect on all the potions & time based status pots. It does not do anything with ETC items, such as summoning rocks. Example: a pure water recovers 800 mana normally. With maxed alchemist, you would recover 800×1.5 = 1200 mana per pure water. In effect saving you much much pots, & unlike Meso Up alchemist lets you save money immediately as soon as you start putting SP into alchemist (Whereareas Meso Up only benefits when you actually pick up the drops from individual monsters, and the task of looting becomes quite time consuming at higher level places). Hermits generally spend a lot of funds, and the extra recovery will let you train carrying less pots & therefore more room for extra stars. You will need to carry more & more stars as you level higher, obviously; to compensate the extra time needed to stay at certain areas. As for pots that have a timer, the +5 attack chocolates sold at ludibrium lasts 10 minutes long. With maxed alchemist th