Chapter 145 - Hoodlums (1/2)
The King's passing came as a shock to many. It took a few days for the news to reach each corner of Hidros. Flowers were left as a tribute near the castle, the guards accepted any and all gifts. The day after Gallienne was crowned as the Queen – meetings with nobles, important traders, and companies that made Rosespire the thriving capital for commerce and such were organized.
Many were taken by surprise – her personality changed quite drastically. More often than not when triggered, rather than resort to violence – her demeanor would be calm and understanding. Many saw that side as even scarier. In addition, the Queen Mother grew to be friendlier towards her child. The Royal family now compromised of Gallienne, Sely, and Piers. Since the death of the father, the animosity faded. They grew to be one so that the pain of losing someone special could be borne.
A few days had gone by, almost a week. Daily life steadily became the norm. Staxius stayed inside the shop for the entire duration. An order to not disturb was issued to all the party members. To that, Undrar took charge and guided the others. From quests to daily activities, her times spent with the Silver Guardians came as a boon. Instantly, any problem that could surface was dealt with. Keeping the guys together turned from a task to something natural – they loved her charisma. Two faces of the same coin, Undrar was the good and honest, while Staxius the crude and shady leader. However, it didn't bother anyone – Adete remained at the shop. Lizzie learned the ways of craftmanship. Rather than turning into a fighter, she chose to try and make things that could turn useful for others. Auic and Avon grew inseparable, the girl took a liking to the spirit. Achilles' reputation increased massively, her days working for the guild and saving people out on the street grew more frequent. Many recognized her outside the guild as a true warrior with Deadeyes helping with the quests here and there.
”Finally,” the room dark with a red light as the only means for sight; a flask fell and broke. ”Keep it down,” a quiet voice yelled. ”Don't you dare stand up, Adete,” Staxius fired back, he used her as a paperweight yet again. The number of notes on the table reached the ceiling, most of which were pointless and rough thesis.
After days of research, the fabrication of God's ale became a possibility. Though, rather than turning the consumer into a slave – it only gave the feeling of never-ending pleasures till the effect wore out. There were side effects such as headaches and addiction, but no care was given. The worst component had been removed – no longer was it needed for one to become an empty shell. Even with that removed, there still didn't have a cure to revert back the effect – that would take months and years to even research. Once it entered the human body, Staxius didn't know what could happen then, interaction with the organs to changing its properties – a mystery that was saved for another time. On top of that, research on Relic class scrolls was half-way done and the process of making potions turn autonomous, with the highest purity being Uncommon.
'The potions can be made into quality higher than Uncommon. But that would make the scroll expendable, I want that item to retain its value. If one wants something of higher quality – then the scroll should be enough,' the mind worked.
*Pssst,* a whistle from the apparatus signaled its completion. ”And that is the last one,” the last flask was placed into a carton with the Uncommon label. *click,* the light turned on, piles and piles of carton were laid to rest on the left wall. Each box held 30 potions each separated by rarity. Common and Uncommon were the only two available.
”As your first task, you are to try and solve this quandary about turning Mana from an Ethereal substance to one Physical.” [Difficulty: SS-Ranked]
A memory came into mind, days before – Clarise came by the shop to deliver a task from the Master Alchemist. A job that the rather limited amount of Alchemist had to do. Their objective still remained the advancement of technology and to unearth different possibilities. 'Turning mana from a spiritual form and into physical. The makers of God's ale have already been doing that – I must say it came as a surprise to learn that the Alchemy division knew not of this.' With a sigh – the problem solved itself.
From researching the substance – the ways of turning mana into something usable also became reality. A process that was tedious to set up but easy to execute. 'Judging by the difficulty, if I turn this paper to Clarise; I can expect them to lay off my back for a while.' Not wanting to have the little girl coming into his shop uninvited – Staxius decided to give the Alchemist what they wanted. ”Adete, get up,” he spoke. ”No,” she fired back, the tone filled with attitude. ”As you wish,” yet again, without any care – Staxius pinched her by the head and placed the girl inside his shirt pocket. ”STOP GRABBING MY HEAD, I'M NOT SOME DOLL YOU CAN PLAY AROUND WITH,” the voice piercing as she stood closer to the ears. ”Fine, I'll stop,” with the index finger, he patted her head. *Snap,* a blueish light shone.
”Good morning Isorin,” Staxius spoke, a dazzling light sent the wizard in shock. ”Calm down,” he spoke seeing the sage leaning back too much, the chair gave way and broke. ”MY BACK,” he screamed. ”My bad,” nonchalantly, Staxius opened a flask and dowsed the injured scholar.
”I can't believe you've learned teleportation. What's the reason for this visit?” he stood and spoke. ”I'd like to find Clarise,” Staxius replied. Both stood inside Isorin's bedroom. ”I know not where she is, maybe inside the Alchemy lab?” he dusted off the now dirtied robe. ”No worries, thanks for the help,” the door opened, a large empty corridor stood.
”Adete, I'm going to use the All-seeing eyes, get ready,” the tone quiet so that none could hear. ”There's no need to tell me when the ability will be used, the moment it activates, I'll be able to help,” she replied sternly. Deep breath in, the left eyes closed. A faint pulsing was felt, the eyes burnt with a scarlet color. 'I'm in,' he could now see what people were up to. From the guild assistant to Isorin, he switched through their sights effortlessly. 'The alchemy lab,' he saw through the master's eyes. 'There's Clarise,' a smirk later, Staxius vanished.