Some may call pranking pursuers, determined to capture and force you into academic servitude, childish. Well, for those people, I humbly disagree. I call it a compromise.
And so, while I jotted down potential blighted potion recipes onto a piece of paper, ignoring my internal self screaming at the expenses, I watched my wolf and Mazu’s performance. The forest’s aura was finally spread across the area.
“The residents are complaining,” Milia had warned earlier before leaving to talk to them. For just a day, they’d endure it. Any longer and I’d have to deal with complaints, crying, and perhaps roaring from beings of all kinds from fairies, a surfing panda, to walking roses, and the list went on. Milia’s forest housed its own world.
Cheetara watched with interest from the top of the tower. Beakwing was out hunting. Chenzu did a little farm work, but mostly observed the unfolding event ahead. The apprentices had various reactions and opinions on the small prank.
Harmony outright disliked it, finding it distasteful. And while technically she had an argument there, she knew I didn’t care. Lucas approved, on the other hand, even offered to help, though didn’t know how.
“We have to keep this small,” I had told him.
Mandi, while indifferent, watched with curiosity, though Opal ignored us entirely to focus on creating electrical buttons. Alexander was on board, of course.
And so when the two academy students were halfway, they suddenly stopped, the feeling of the Axem’s aura catching them by surprise. The pause didn’t last long, the two pushing forward. The first one to shriek was Simon, the elf.
Chenzu’s laughter invoked my own. Wolverine and Mazu continued growling. Hell, the sunlight wolf even barked. The students attempted to go around them, but the spirit beasts didn’t allow such a thing.
“Eeagh! Get away, stand down!” Simon yelled. “Don’t make me hurt you!”
Luna was using Simon as a meat shield, her terror seeming only slightly lower, likely preparing a spell.
To their credit, unfortunately, the students just refused to turn around, their determination to get to the shop unstoppable. This meant getting them to leave was going to be just as difficult. All it would take is one scan.
Even if we left to dungeon dive, they’d simply wait for us. Nothing I could do would clear me of suspicions. My bracer made me unscannable except by high-level scans.
The gig was up. My days of being incognito were over. Of course, I’d never admit to being Raider, wouldn’t bring it up, but they’d piece everything together.
That was when my backup plan finally set into motion and they at last turned around. They saw someone wearing what appeared to be a Raider outfit riding a horse, with a traveler’s bag, disappear, taking the deep east road. The two took the bait, running toward the town to inform Titus.
The apprentices looked at me, eyes wide and filled with disbelief.
“Wanda’s fumbling, jiggling toots,” Harmony muttered. “What just happened?”
Milia laughed. I grinned.
“Why… was Raider…?” Mandi paused. “What did you do?” She placed her hands on hips, glowering at Milia and me.
“Perhaps one of the oldest tricks in the book,” I said. “The fact is, we’re suspicious. There’s no getting around it. One good scan and they’ll never leave us alone. So anticipating this little confrontation, I came up with a backup plan last night. We sent one more messenger bird to Ramon to arrange things. After that, we made sure to be seen on purpose while heading to the farm. Wolverine and Mazu buy Ramon a little time, he gets onto a horse, leaving the town with a traveler’s sack. They’ll either run after him or their headmaster.”
“You didn’t have to keep your plan hidden,” Harmony said. Lucas nodded twice in agreement.
“If I didn’t, I’d miss out on the expressions you’re giving me now,” I said, laughing. “Even Chenzu didn’t know.”
“This is probably the closest call we’ve had to getting exposed,” Alexander said as he took a seat in a chair of the main shop room.
I accepted Wolverine into my arms. “Good job, buddy.” He licked my face. “Yes, you’re the goodest of boys.”
After Simon and Luna explained the events to Headmaster Titus, the trio boarded their lightning horses, prepared to give chase. They’d all return to the capital with a new powerhouse. The Lord Ruler’s patience wouldn’t last forever.
“Thanks for seeing us off and I’m glad you’re okay. Now you take care, Gwendolyn. Stop by to visit the academy sometime,” Titus said.
“Are you sure about this?” Gwendolyn asked.
“We saw him,” Simon insisted. “Everyone’s right. He passes through this town sometimes. We should be able to catch up to him easily.”
“Remember, you’re clear to return,” Titus told her. “How Raider convinced that stubborn ruler of ours to change his mind is another thing I want to ask while we’re on the way back to the academy.”
Gwendolyn watched the trio take off, banking toward the deep east. She laughed.
“Sir Nate… is a little clever, I’ll give him that,” she said, turning around. “Just a little.”
“We’ll likely see them again,” I said as I flipped the store sign to open. “Hopefully without the suspicion. They witnessed Raider take off and have to assume he lives somewhere in the deep east.”
With the first batch done, I made my way behind the counter, happy to be back in one of my elements. Running my shop. Milia also decided to work in the main area today, exhausted of her office.
“How long do you think it will be before you’re ready to start selling some of your clothing?” Harmony asked. There were stars in her eyes, indicating a little of her intentions.
Milia smiled at the teenager. “The lower-magic clothing should be done perhaps a week or two after the city trip. The higher-magic attire will still need time. A lot of time.”
She didn’t mention the magic sewing machine, but we all knew that this was a requirement for her to meet any sort of demand. Milia refused to let me so much as consider spending anything on it.
I did ask around, but the few people who knew gave me the same answers as the dryad did. One could only find the machines in dwarf and gnome cities, sold only to those with deep pockets. They didn’t accept spirit coins out of safety. They were just as terrified of magicians as everyone else.
I took out my new potion of clarity, wondering if drinking it would’ve provided me with an even better idea to get rid of the academy trio.
[Potion of Clarity. Consuming a medium bottle of this will clear your mind and increase the chances of you gaining insight. Warning: this is a highly valuable potion. Magicians will likely do whatever it takes to extract this recipe from you.]
What did it mean by insight? Would consuming this help with Dao meditation? As soon as I passed it over to Alexander, whose eyes widened at suddenly being given a potion titled clarity, our first customer of the day walked in. Wait, customers. Rose, Hector, and Howie.
“Good morning, everyone,” Howie greeted.
I shook his hand, as well as the others. “Good morning, indeed. I have good news for you.”
“Tell us the bad news first,” Rose said and despite trying to put on a cheerful face in front of her little sister, the depression outlined the depths of her voice, making it sound almost hollow or forced.
“No bad news,” I said. “Gwendolyn agreed to increase her sponsorship significantly in exchange for allowing you to drink this.” I revealed the potion of Heaven’s Tears. “Remember this.” I cleared my throat. “It’s, ahem, untested—ahem, but should fix your pathway problem. See, your mother may be brutal and unnecessarily strict, perhaps could use an anger management class, but she does care. Mostly.”
“Hey, don’t bad mouth me while looking me in the eye.”
Gwendolyn walked in with her husband. I could see their horses parked outside. By now, hope flashed in the eyes of Rose and Hector. Rose seemed to be on the verge of tears. Hector’s arm… was a prosthetic.
Apparently Ling had a potion to grow him a new one, did so, then ripped his arm off again just to be as big of a bitch as possible.
“Does anyone know the name of that potion?” I asked solemnly. I was afraid no one would know, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
“A royal grade revival potion,” Rose answered, voice defeated. “Mother asked if the Lord Ruler left any behind, perhaps as an apology. He didn’t.”
I handed them both small vials of the Heaven’s Tears. “The Lord Ruler’s a dick. I tried to talk to him, but the guy’s as self-centered as one gets. I don’t understand why he made me a friend of the kingdom.”
“H… how did you know that?” Gwendolyn asked, eyes wide. “I received the news from Titus just moments before he left. You weren’t spying on me, because I’d know. Not that you’d do such a thing.”
Shoot, me and my big mouth. Well, I wouldn’t be human if things didn’t slip every now and then. Milia probably had millions of questions. After her family reveal and she told me everything, she’d no longer hold back. Then again, I didn’t keep the chest thing a secret. Maybe I could find other ways to ease out my situation without bringing down the heavenly messengers on anyone’s head.
“Anyway, drink the potions,” I said, changing the subject. “It’s better to put this to use than let it collect dust.”
Everyone watched expectantly as Hector and Rose downed the potions. Their mana presences returned nearly instantly, leaving the duo’s mouths agape.
“Well. Did it work?” Mandi asked, worried.
Rose formed a ball of mana in her hand, smiling, tears falling from her eyes. “It did work.”
Then she kowtowed before me. “Thank you… Thank you.”
Ever had someone prostrate themselves in front of you as if you were royalty? The awkwardness of this rooted me in place. It also revealed what magic meant to a magician. Don’t get me wrong, this was certainly an equivalent to first world problems. Mana, however, was an extension of someone born a spellcaster. A piece of their soul.
Hector joined his sister, but I quickly motioned for them to stand.
“No need for that,” I said, my voice surprisingly strong and calm. “I understand that magic is important to a magician, and losing it probably had you questioning your futures. But mortals walk this path daily. Remember that. No longer take your abilities, your gifts, for granted.”
I sighed. “But you’re welcome.”
Mandi hugged her siblings. Manthis stared at me in astonishment, as if he didn’t believe in the potion’s capabilities. Or maybe it was the words I said to Rose and Hector.
Howie, the redhead’s butler, nodded, smiling.
“As for the royal grade potion, if you can get me a recipe and the ingredients, I may be able to make it for you,” I said. “I don’t recommend trying to steal it from Ling.”
“I’m not sure about the potion, but you’ve helped us far more than we could ever hope for,” Hector said. “I’ll get used to this. Treat it as a lesson learned.” He bowed. “Thank you for your help and wisdom, Master Magician Nate.”
He couldn’t hide his excitement about having his powers back, but that wasn’t the only thing. The potion broke him through to the next layer, I could feel it. The same happened for Rose.
Everyone was happy. Including me, but mostly because I was making money. Alright, fine. I wanted to help them. Only because they were good to Mandi. Her other siblings would be stuck searching for a different potion maker. Unless they offered to pay enough for my retirement.
After a good bit of chatting, the Wingstons finally left, but not without expressing how much they were in my debt.
“I will see you at home, Mistress Mandi,” Howie said, bowing, before taking his leave.
Mandi saw them all off, then joined us to attend the customers that were rolling in.
The first customer wasn’t human, but a blue-skinned traveler based on her clothes and backpack. Long dark purple hair, semi-glowing purple eyes. She was taller than Shaquille O’Neal.
The man next to her, I assumed her husband, held the same height, just slightly bulkier. They spoke… strangely. The woman’s voice sounded like a song I’d listen to on repeat forever. But the man sounded like an awful rockstar, perhaps someone’s impression of a rockstar. His eyes even held dreams in them.
But they were my customers. I analyzed them without missing a beat.
[Analysis.]
Limina. Race: Lyu. Neutral. Customer. Mortal.
Jimban. Race: Lyu. Friendly. Customer. Mortal.
Nonhuman mortals felt somewhat rare, not that I explored the world to verify such thoughts.
“Not a bad shop, sir shopkeeper, ya-ho!” Jimban said. “We-ah require…” He suddenly spoke fast, as if badly singing a verse in a voice that sounded like a cross of Nickelback and Tupac. “Health potion-energy potion-speed speed speed. Something for the nudge nudge.”
I added a muscle relaxer to the menu using the HandmonViagrio leaf. But I sure hope he was keeping things family friendly, not that the kids with their parents would understand a word of the Lyu man.
[HandmonViagrio leaf. Rank: D. Useful in: an ingredient perfect for potions that can improve one’s heart health. Stamina boosts, muscle relaxers, and other applications.]
“The what…?” I said.
His wife glared at him. “Don’t mind him, my husband’s self-awareness is stuck in the opposite of cold. Just the health, energy, and speed potions. Also the muscle relaxer. Five.” She turned to her husband. “Wal-pay him already. Quench our debts, ha-shu!” She said some additional words that the system didn’t bother translating. Which meant they were probably inappropriate phrases. The man seemed too cheerful after that sentence.
After they paid the gold, the Lyu gave a half-bow, said, “All debts paid! Shu-ha!” They gave another half-bow and quickly left.
We only stared for a bit before getting back to the customers.
“That’s the fun of working here,” Harmony told Milia after we finally cleared the shop. “Travelers are so fun.”
“Just wait until you meet the adventurers,” Chenzu said. “Lesson one, Lucas. Which you actually don’t need, because you’re a good kid. So a refresher. Be respectful to the lady adventurers. Unless you’re into fiery swords sticking through your leg. They’re a mean sort.”
Lucas laughed. “That bad?”
Milia rolled her eyes. “Adventurers are a mix of many shapes, moods, drunkenness and non-drunkenness. Potion shops are a beacon of heaven for the drunks. Keep plenty of the general medicine in stock. Perhaps increase the price.”
I chuckled, patting her on the shoulder. “I’m assuming we’ll see a lot of interesting stuff in the city, right?”
“Perhaps,” Milia replied, smiling. “If you thought Wingston was noisy, just wait until you get to Whirl-Waters.”
“An interesting name for a city,” Alexander said. “Where did it come from?”
“I think it’s named after a legendary adventurer who was obsessed with water dungeons,” Milia answered. She looked puzzled. “No one knew why he called himself Sir Whirl-Waters. We just know he saved the city from some vicious monster attack by himself.”
I nodded. “Sounds like a hero’s party candidate.”
“Perhaps, but that was more than a thousand years ago,” Milia said with a chuckle.
As we prepared to close shop for lunch, a familiar girl entered, her eyes falling lovingly on Lucas.
End of Phase 4…
