Filed to story: A Bullied Boy Died: A Mafia King Woke Up In His Body
A few turns and corners soon had them at a dense food market. Stalls and carts with colorful banners carved with magic peddled their harvest or forage from the nearby forests and monster regions. Arctech wagons hauling goods from beyond the city came in various types. Kyle noticed that many bore different license plates and insignias, no doubt coming in from other countries.
Kyle looked around and found a few monster parts and limbs that he had never seen before. Some were even selling mealworms as a meal, but Kyle barely flinched when he saw that.
I’ve had worse.
He also noticed a few people sitting at the corner cafes with smoking pipes, blue smoke puffing through the air. The aroma was intricate, the smell of blueberries floating through the air. “That’s a popular hobby among the people-smoking Euria Seeds,” Damian explained.
“Addictive?”
“Sorry?”
“Is it hard to quit the hobby?”
“Oh, not at all. I think the body faces a mild resistance after quitting but would return to normalcy fairly fast, within three hours at most?”
Damian and Kyle navigated through the crowd before finally reaching a standalone two-story house positioned in between two blocky six-story office buildings, making it seem anachronistic. A medium-sized sign hung on top of the entrance, reading “Haui’s Alchemy and Alchemical Products.”
Another sign, the emblem of the Alchemists’ Guild, hung next to it. Kyle knew from experience that a highly prized industry would naturally have a consortium or cartel around it.
No doubt a strong association… He must have quite a backing, then.
The ground around the house was carved with engravings similar to those on Kyle’s metal pipe. The engravings were laid out in a circular fashion, forming a sort of defensive line that could go unnoticed as mere scribblings. Upon closer inspection, the lines of the engraving were hardened with metal to prevent accidental tampering.
“I assume those are the traps.”
“Yes, sir, but he won’t use it against new customers. You’ve never visited him before, so we should be okay.”
Kyle entered the shop without hesitation. It was pretty spacious inside, with a few shelves with potions of all sorts. There were already a few other customers inside-all humans-who were calculating the total for potions they were looking to buy.
He eyed the other customers, noticing that they were keeping a close eye on him as he walked through the shop.
It seems some of them are security-about five to seven well-trained guards.
He glanced at one of the price tags of a greenish-looking potion. “Five thousand rakels… Impressive.” Holding the potion up in his hand, another purple box appeared in front of him.
Health Potion (Basic)
Restores a moderate amount of health.
Cooldown:
30 seconds
Another dark-yellow flask was on a different shelf, Kyle reached out to examine it.
Stamina Potion (Basic)
Restores a moderate amount of stamina.
Cooldown:
30 seconds.
Six hundred rakels…
Kyle glanced around the shop, finding no hints that the alchemist was involved in some mass supply.
He is not as rich and powerful as I first thought-he makes money by selling the far more expensive potions on a small scale.
“Best be careful with that, young man. Once broken, it’s considered sold.” A husky voice wafted in from the back of the shop. It belonged to an old man in a purple robe who rested his head on a counter, lazily fiddling with a chisel in his hand and spinning it with his fingers.
Kyle placed the potion down and walked up to the counter. “Mr. Haui, I presume.” They both sized each other up for a brief moment.