|Arthur|
After deliberating, I decided to postpone my return to school for another day. The upcoming Aurora Constellate festival would have to wait; my mother and sister had developed an irrational fear of my safety, and it was my duty to assuage their worries.
I owed it to my family to be present, so I resolved to spend quality time with them. My father had already left for work, leaving just myself and the girls. My faithful companion, Tabitha, joined us as we discussed our plans for the day, and they all seemed to agree that a shopping trip was in order.
Although I knew that I had people to inform about my delay, I couldn't deny my family's request. However, I decided to use the opportunity to take a detour to Xyrus Academy afterwards.
As I prepared for the day, I couldn't help but let out a weary sigh.
As we wandered through countless shops, I concealed my growing frustration, not wanting to spoil the fun for my family. It dawned on me that I was painfully unacquainted with the shopping experience, having only visited stores once before, soon after my arrival in this world. I was even more dismayed by the fact that, besides my trusty sword, I owned no noteworthy equipment. I recalled my early childhood days, when I was carried on my mother's back and we roamed the small town of Ashber, peering into tents filled with fascinating wares.
Growing up, most of my time was spent within the castle walls of the Kingdom of Elenoir. Even on the last shopping trip with the ladies, we headed straight to the fashion district, leaving me with little interest in the protective gear on display. Some items had protective properties, thanks to the materials used or runes etched into them, but none were potent enough to catch my eye.
As we entered a store specializing in scarves, I finally gathered the courage to ask my aunt Helstea a question that had been on my mind for a while. "Are there any stores in town that sell elixirs or other items to help me train faster?"
Tabitha gave me a puzzled look, as if she thought it was an odd question. "Of course there are," she replied.
But I remembered the drugs that some practitioners used in my old world, and I didn't want to take any chances with unfamiliar substances.
As luck would have it, Tabitha then suggested that we check out a nearby elixir and medicine shop while they shopped for scarves. That was my cue to make a run for it.
"Thanks, I'll meet you in front of the store!" I shouted, dropping the bags I had been assigned to carry and dashing off without a second thought.
But my faithful companion Sylvie didn't take kindly to being left behind. "Kyuu! Don't leave me!" she cried out, reaching out a paw toward me as Ellie held her firmly in place.
I gave her a look of condolence, silently promising that her sacrifice would not be in vain.
Following the directions I'd been given, I turned a corner and found myself in a narrow alleyway that looked like it was a favorite haunt of local thugs. At the end of the alley stood a dingy shack that even rats would avoid. The wooden planks that made up the store were covered in moss and fungus, and a musty, stale air wafted out from inside. The sickly green weeds creeping out from the bottom of the store seemed to indicate that even they didn't want to be stuck there.
WINDSOM'S POTIONS AND MEDICINES
As I approached the dingy shack, I had to tilt my head to read the title etched on the angled sign. It was barely hanging on a single nail, and I wondered if the store really sold potions and medicines. I wouldn't have been surprised if they peddled bottled diseases or poisons instead.
Suddenly, a haggard voice startled me out of my stupor. "Spare some change, young lad?" Beside me sat a pale, old man with a hand outstretched, palms up.
I took a step back in surprise, instinctively layering my body with mana. How did I not sense this old man, who was almost right next to me?
"You look like you've seen a ghost, young lad. I'm just a mere aged man asking for some change," the old man said with a pearly white smile that didn't match his ragged state.
"Ah, sure," I replied, reaching into my pocket for a copper coin. I took the opportunity to take a closer look at the old man's face.
The old man's thick, uncombed bed of pepper-tinted hair fell down to his slightly hunched shoulders as he looked up at me with milky eyes. Despite his ragged appearance, his wizened face didn't come off as weak and weary to me, but rather intelligent and bright for some reason. It was easy to imagine that this man was probably very handsome in his youth, which made me feel a bit disheartened seeing him end up like this.
"Many thanks, young lad," he said as his gnarled hands nimbly grabbed the coin out of my hand with a speed that surprised me.
As he held the coin between his middle and index fingers, I noticed that it was silver instead of copper. I had given him a hundred copper coins by mistake!
"Wait... I meant to give you this..." I quickly reached into my pocket again, making sure that this time, the coin in my hand was indeed copper. But when I looked back up, the old man was nowhere to be found.
"What the f..." I stood there, bewildered for the third time in the last five minutes. It was clear that I had just been scammed, and I couldn't help but feel frustrated at my own carelessness.
As I approached the entrance to Windsom's potion shack, I hesitated before grasping the handle of the weathered wooden door. The texture of the knob was rough and splintered, and I could sense an unusual concentration of mana emanating from it. As a precaution, I summoned my own mana and enveloped my hand before attempting to turn the knob.
A sharp jolt of energy surged through my arm as I twisted the knob, but I managed to maintain my grip and push open the door. As I stepped inside, I was immediately assaulted by an overwhelming stench that made me cough and gag.
"Ah, a customer!" a voice called out from the back of the dimly lit room. "What can I do for you?"
I recognized the voice instantly and whirled around to face the source. To my surprise, it was the same old man who had disappeared after I mistakenly gave him a silver coin.
"You!" I exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"What brings you in here?" He looked at me with an innocent expression.
I let out an exasperated sigh as I faced the old man, my hand still extended towards him. "Look, I really just need my coin back. I can't afford to be handing out silver pieces like it's nothing."
The old man's expression shifted from innocent to indignant. "I assure you, young man, that I am not some beggar on the street. I am but a humble old man trying to make a living."
I pulled my hand back, realizing I was getting nowhere with this argument. "Fine, but can you at least give me something worth the value of that coin? I need it for important things."
The old man's face brightened up at my suggestion. "Ah, I see. Well then, I'm sure we can find something here that will suit your needs."
I raised an eyebrow skeptically. The store was filled with dusty shelves and half-open boxes, and the air was thick with a pungent odor that made me want to gag.
"I highly doubt that," I muttered under my breath, but the old man seemed not to hear me as he gestured for me to take a look around.
Sighing once more, I began to search through the cluttered shelves, trying my best to avoid touching anything too dirty or moldy. I couldn't help but feel frustrated with the situation. How had I managed to get myself into this mess?
The innocent look on the old man's face only added to my frustration. "Can I just have my coin back? I need that money to buy essential things... and besides, you said you were homeless." I held out my hand, waiting for him to return the silver coin he had taken from me.
"No, no... I said I was but a mere aged man. Based on the environment where you met me and my appearance and demeanor, you assumed I was homeless," he scolded me with a wag of his finger, as if I was the one in the wrong. "How about this, as a thank you for the present, you can pick one item here for free," he continued, mockingly twiddling my coin between his fingers.
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at the man's magnanimous gesture and quickly scanned the store. "Are you sure there's anything here worth a silver coin?" I asked, my frustration seeping into my voice.
"Of course! I don't give this chance to just anyone. You just have to choose carefully," he replied, his eyes gleaming like a second-rate gambler with a winning hand.
I tried to calm the boiling rage stirring inside me, reminding myself to respect my elders. By now, the mysterious stench had become tolerable, and I glanced around the store in amazement. The shelves were caked with dust, and I couldn't believe this place was still running.
"Do you ever clean this place, old man?" I asked, running my finger along a shelf. The amount of dust collected here could make a snowman.
"Are you asking an aged man like myself to do manual labor?" he gasped, putting on a horrified expression.
"Nevermind." I sighed, unable to gauge the old man, making it hard to trust him. I made my way through the half-open boxes blocking the path, heading toward the shelves in the back of the store.
As I scanned the various vials and containers filled with murky liquid or coloured pills, a figure sitting on the top shelf startled me. Dammit, what was with this place?
I couldn't sense anything inside the dimly lit store until it was right in front of me. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust and for the shape to come into focus, but soon I saw that it was an almost entirely black cat. The only white on its body was in front of its ears, where tufts of fur stuck out like antennae. But it wasn't the cat's color that caught my attention; it was the eyes. Those eyes were unlike any I had ever seen. They were deep and dark, like a starless night sky, but somehow they seemed to hold the entire universe within them. The pupils were slitted and white, glowing like crescent moons.
The cat looked down at me from its perch on a high shelf with obvious superiority, then turned and walked away. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of the strange encounter, and turned my attention back to the shelves. That's when I noticed a small black box, roughly the size of a jewelry box.
I picked up the box and tried to open it. With a soft click, the hinge gave way and I saw a small ring inside. I brought the ring closer to my face, examining it closely, when suddenly the "gem" embedded in the ring squirted something at me.
Instinctively, I jerked my head to the side, narrowly avoiding the stream of clear liquid. It was just water.
I let out a frustrated sigh and shook my head, trying to make sense of this bizarre store. The old man was still watching me with a mischievous glint in his eyes, but I refused to be deterred.
I scoured every inch of that dusty store, my eyes scanning over bottles and jars filled with strange liquids, vials of powders, and containers of colored pills. None of it made any sense to me, but I was determined to find something valuable.
As I rummaged through the shelves, I couldn't help but wonder who would even need half of these elixirs. Why would a twelve-year-old need an elixir for hair growth? Or an elixir to cure insomnia? It was all so ridiculous.
A familiar voice made me turn my head. "Kyu! Papa! I'm here!" Sylvie, my loyal companion, had finally caught up with me. She hopped onto my head and puffed, "Kuu! Papa, you left me!"
I smiled and stroked her tiny head, relieved that she was safe. "You survived, comrade!"
As I was about to leave the store, I turned to the old man to request a refund for my wasted time. However, the look on his face stopped me mid-sentence. His usually sagging eyes were wide open and staring in shock, his face ghostly white.
"Are you okay?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.
The old man shook his head and let out a cough. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Just a sudden shock. We finally found..." His voice trailed off, and I couldn't tell whether he was intentionally keeping me in suspense or if he genuinely forgot what he was going to say.
I decided not to press the matter and instead asked if I could use my beast will to aid in my search. The old man gave a dismissive nod in response, and I drew in a deep breath, summoning the rumbling power of Realmheart from within.
As the ambient mana flowed through me, I closed my eyes and focused my mind on scanning the store for the most valuable item. It was only through Realmheart that I realized my mistake. There were numerous valuable items in the store, and I had been blind to them all.
Finally, my connection with ambient mana led me to a small ball coated in dust, hidden away in a back corner of the store. I wiped the dust off to reveal specks of various colours floating inside.
"I'll take this," I said, deactivating Realmheart and turning to face the old man. He looked stunned, his mouth agape, before snapping back to reality.
"Now, off you go," he said, shooing me out of the store. "Teasing you bores me."
With a shrug, I stepped out of the store, taking one last look at the old shack.
Exiting the cramped alleyway, I noticed the black cat eyeing me for a moment before turning its attention to Sylvie, who seemed unbothered by the feline's scrutiny.
Not paying it much mind, I made my way to the intersection and turned the corner, where I found my mother, sister, and Tabitha seated at a table.
"Hey, big bro!" Ellie greeted me, holding a beverage in one hand.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Mother inquired, setting down her drink.
"I... think so?" I replied, scratching my head. Though I had secured the clear orb, I wasn't quite sure what it was meant for.
"Oh, really?" Tabitha piped up, rising from her seat and gathering the shopping bags. "That shop is renowned for its vast selection of elixirs and training aids. Most Xyrus students shop there for their materials."
"What, that rundown place?" I scoffed, surprised that wealthy students would bother shopping at a shabby establishment.
"Rundown? What are you talking about?" Mother and Ellie chimed in, offering me their bags.
As we approached the alleyway, Tabitha turned the corner ahead of us and gestured towards the shop.
"I wouldn't call it rundown," she remarked, appearing baffled by my description.
"If that's not rundown, I don't know what is," I muttered, my mouth agape at the sight before me.
In place of the former dingy alleyway stood a grand marble-paved boulevard that led to a three-story edifice adorned with a gilded sign that read: XYRUS ELIXIRS.
[A/N: Remember to vote if you guys like this chapter! It helps me in gauging the quality of my writing!]