Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
“Sold out?” Angele stood beside the counter with his brows furrowed.
“Yes, sorry, the ones you purchased last time was all we had,” the lady at the counter tactfully answered.
“I apologize once again.” She bowed.
Angele stood in front of a counter in a large herb store. The rays of the sun at noon came right through the entrance, causing his boots to shine.
There were eight clerks taking orders of the customers, and Angele was talking to one of them.
"I heard Grace Herb Store is the best in the city. Can you double-check with other branches to see if they still have stock?" Angele didn't want to give up.
“I am afraid they don’t. The one you bought last time was the last Night Honeycomb we had. I am sorry to disappoint you, but we don’t have anything in stock right now.” The clerk apologized again.
“Can you tell me where you get the Night Honeycombs from?” Angele already spent the whole trying to buy the Night Honeycombs, and this one was his last hope.
“We buy them from the people living around here. If you truly need it now, I'd suggest you check the forest around the city. If you are lucky, you'll find the Night Bees. We don't have people who can collect them, so we can only purchase them from others,” the clerk explained.
“Fine.” Angele nodded.
Angele left the store and began to head back to his shop. He was still contemplating to figure out a way to obtain more Night Honeycombs. Angele had successfully concocted his first Awakening Potion last month and spent the rest of the month trying to buy Night Honeycombs from the herb stores in the city. However, he was only able to buy two, and none of the stores had the channels to purchase more for him.
Angele's luck was good as he was able to concoct three potions out of the two Night Honeycombs. His Mentality reached 4.9 units within one month after drinking the two potions and meditating every day. If he could get five or six more Night Honeycombs, it would be enough for him to reach the next rank. However, there was no more stock left in the city. It was quite likely that he had to go to the forest and obtain them by himself.
The problem lied in the Night Bees. With their needles coated with deadly venom, no one would be able to take the honeycombs if they were present in the vicinity. Night Bees were nocturnal creatures, and their dark outer shells made it difficult to detect them in the hours of darkness. Night Bees took several lives every year: they were dangerous since they attacked anyone who wandered in their territories.
Additionally, the Night Bees' honeycombs were small, and they would carry their honeycombs with them while moving to other areas.
Angele returned to his shop only to find a carriage parked right in front of the entrance. Engraved on the body of the carriage was an insignia depicting a sunflower and a white bird. It was from the lord's castle.
A group of full-armored guards stood beside the carriage, and among them were several people who seemed like officers. The alley was much cleaner than it was before, and the awful stench that reeked was gone. Tia was standing outside the door, looking at the carriage curiously. She was here to deliver food.
The officers walked toward Angele right after they saw him.
“Master Angele, you're back. Mr. Harland is waiting for you. We've arrived here since an hour ago,” one of the officers spoke in a respectful tone. They were in-charge of the area, and they didn't want to mistreat Harland's guest.
The guards knew that the young man in front of them was someone invited to banquets in the Lord's castle. Thus, they realized that Angele was a person they couldn't afford to offend. They once visited the shop before, and Angele told them that he disliked being disturbed, so they decided to improve the environment around the alley instead.
“Mr. Harland?” Angele was confused for a second, and then he looked at the carriage.
“Angele, I hear you've been looking for Night Honeycombs. You should've just asked me instead. We're friends, right?” Harland got off the carriage with a smile. He was wearing a white cape.
“Of course, we are.” Angele smiled.
“It wasn’t an urgent matter, so I decided to check the herb stores first.”
"Well, I hope you still need more." As Harland waved his right hand, a guard stepped forward holding a black wooden box.
Harland took it and handed it over to Angele.
“There are several Night Honeycombs inside. You can take it if you want.” Harland had an honest smile on his face.
Angele opened the box and saw eight Night Honeycombs inside, each wrapped in black clothes. The way it was packed looked great.
"I do need them. Thanks." Angele looked happy. He slowly nodded as he closed the box.
"Glad I could help." Harland nodded.
"I have to go now. I still got some work to do."
"Sure." Angele stood there watching them depart.
After they had left the alley, Angele reopened the box. He looked at the Night Honeycombs; seven of them seemed to be aged, probably sitting inside the storage for years. However, one of them looked fresh — its color was bright. He saw some blood stains on its surface.
Angele furrowed his brows. He grabbed the honeycomb and sniffed it.
"It is blood. A weighty gift," Angele murmured.
He wondered why Harland decided to collect a fresh one aside from the seven old ones. Doing so most likely resulted in Harland losing several people. Though Harland tried to erase the traces of bloodstain, Angele had stronger and keener senses than average people, so he detected the blood on it with ease.
Based on the information he obtained from the clerks of herb stores, Night Bees had twice the speed of an adult male, and only knight-level warriors were capable of dodging some of their attacks. Furthermore, they were tiny, and their needles could easily penetrate leather armor. If they had decided to don heavy armor, they wouldn't be able to catch up with the bees' speed.
The Night Bees were nocturnal, which made them even harder for people to capture. A knight-level warrior probably left the bloodstain on it wherein causing Angele to think of it as a weighty gift.
‘Though they obtained Night Honeycombs, Harland most likely didn't find the other materials I requested. I can't go to Rifts, and those materials are too difficult to obtain.’ Angele shook his head and entered the shop with the box in his hands.
Angele told Tia to train in the backyard. Afterward, he sat by the table and took the Night Honeycombs out of the box. He placed those honeycombs inside a large glass bottle filled with clear liquid.
Angele had obtained the materials he needed, so he wanted to pay attention to the concoction of potions. Eight Night Honeycombs were enough to concoct eight Awakening Potions. With these potions and the supplement of meditation, he could easily grow his Mentality to 6 units.
************************************************
Time flew.
A week later.
Angele sat on his bed with his legs crossed, his expression calm. He had been unlucky these days. He only successfully concocted seven Awakening Potions, though he still managed to increase his Mentality to 6.2 units. Angele had initially expected to attain a 6.3 Mentality. However, his body seemingly began to resist the potion's effects.
‘Well, at least I met the requirements.’ Angele was relieved.
Angele asked Tia to take two days off. He didn't want anyone to interrupt him during the process.
Angele looked at the crystal clock on the table. It was 2:10 p.m. Angele got off the bed and took out the Black Lead Potion from the bag.
The bottle was the length of a palm and made from some silver metal. The rim of the bottle was sealed using a brown stopper. Angele placed the Black Lead Potion on the table before he took the tinderbox out of the drawer and struck the flint to light up the oil lamp. The oil lamp used a different type of fuel — one that looked like solid, white fat.
Angele set a beaker onto the metal holder over the flame and poured some light red liquid into it. He then grabbed a test tube that had yellow powder contained inside.
Angele sprinkled some yellow powder into the beaker, causing the red liquid inside to turn blue and cloudy within a second. He heated the beaker right after.
Ten minutes later.
The blue liquid inside the beaker was no longer boiling as it was before, but its color turned darker into something nearly black. When Angele began to smell a fragrance of flowers in the room, he thought that everything was prepared accordingly and nodded his head. He then grabbed the Black Lead Potion.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login