“How confident are you?” Sheree asked, staring at Ewan.
“That depends. If you tell me the source of the poison, I can give you an estimate,” Ewan said, meeting her gaze. The antidotes’ recipes he had were unnamed and generic, their potency couldn’t afford a title to separate them from the common crowd. Nevertheless, they were effective and worked when and where they should—how they should.
Sheree furrowed her brows, and Ewan shrugged. “You can just give the antidotes a try and see if it works too,” he said.
“Sorry, I’ll be taking a huge loss,” Sheree said after a small hesitant pause.
“You can trade some other parts of that mystic Astylind too,” Ewan said. Any information related to the mystic would take him a step further towards his aim for the mystic rune, so he fished for it.
But she shook her head. “I only found this old core by chance, there is no other mystic-element material.”
Ewan pursed his lips and weighed his options. He could try and ‘borrow’ from her after the meet and confirm it himself. By hook or by crook, he might just get a good loot… But the action had limited pros and heavy repercussions. The Step-1 mystic-element core was valuable to him, but its appeal came up lighter against his other needs regarding the city. Most of all, Kiev invited her, so the trigger of the conflict would be tantamount to challenging him, especially if it was unprovoked. Not now, he had to drop the idea.
“How about this, you let me study the core for five minutes and I’ll give you one antidote,” he said.
“Three antidotes,” Sheree said.
“Then triple the time.”
“Deal,” she said with a smug smile.
…
…
…
Fifteen minutes of observation under his
The details of this core differed quite a bit from the one Ewan had, of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Most of it was because of the difference in the level of life. Regardless of the species or combat efficiency, mythical or weed-common, a genius or a runt of the litter, a Step-0 life could never compare to a Step-1 life. History proved this fact time and time again, and Ewan wanted to study that difference in the field of mystic-element.
“C-Can I also study it?” Avis asked, his eyes glittering as he stared at the mystic-element core. “I’ll pay with this antidote.” He took out a vial from his ring, putting it on the table.
“Of course.” Sheree glanced at Kiev and pushed the wooden box towards Avis with a heartfelt smile, taking the antidote from him. That she did this as a favor for Kiev oozed out from her sparkling peeks at him.
“Looks like we have two curious minds in the room,” Mize said, looking at Ewan and Avis.
“Well, if you say it like that, I’m also interested in studying the core. Sheree, can I?” Trask asked.
She laughed. “I have enough low-leveled antidotes now, pay with something else.”
Ewan sparked it, and one after another, everyone in the room took turns to observe the core, paying Sheree with either materials or Novas coins. The core changed hands, and they scribbled in their diaries for minutes.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Do you want to exchange notes?” Ewan asked, looking at Avis when he’d done jotting down, with two ending lines digging into the pages.
“Y-Yeah,” Avis said with a failed and ugly effort at cracking a smile. Soon everyone in the room exchanged their observations on the core.
“This was supposed to be a trade meet….,” Kiev said.
Ewan ignored his helpless chuckle and focused on the plethora of information he got. Most of the notes from others matched his, but some parts were quite innovative and kindled several ideas in him. Especially from Avis—his notes were the most detailed and included some unusual observations, though with a rather…innovative style of handwriting.
“Shall we move on? I’m next,” Mize said and took out a wooden box full of glass pebbles. “Two hundred grams of Crayntine. I want to exchange for healing potions, high-level if possible.”
Identify.
[Item Name: Crayntine]
[Item Description: Neutral material that has the trait of trapping Anima.]
[Remark: Essential for making any Anima storage artifact.]
Thoughts and ideas collided in Ewan’s head after he checked the item’s details. The lack of a mystic rune forced him to drag the natural Mystic-Anima from all around him to cast a spell. If he had an artifact, though, that could store Mystic-Anima for him like a rune, it could alleviate his troubles. Such artifact couldn’t replace a rune in the long run, but it would do as a substitute for the time being.
I should talk to Nana about this….
“I have some potions for Step-0. If you’re willing, I can make up with quantity,” Ewan said and hammered the iron before anyone else could make an offer. The material was important to him, he couldn’t let it go.
“How many?” Mize asked.
Ewan showed him five fingers, inching on the verge of what he could pay without attracting doubtful eyes.
Mize glanced at the others, but they all either shook their heads or leaned back onto the sofa.
“I would’ve offered you Novas coins instead, but it doesn’t seem you’ll take that over his healing potions,” Trask said. “I really envy you Potioneers.” He clicked his tongue.
Ewan forced an awkward laugh. If possible, he didn’t want to hog all the trades, but his necessity topped his need for diplomacy.
“It’s better to have him in our group then, is it not?” Kiev said and patted Ewan’s shoulder. “I’ll invite all the Ashevas in our group next time, you can monopolize the trade all you want.”
Was this a sweet bait? Kiev was reeling him towards his side.
Ewan smiled and nodded while wondering about the issue. He had all the basics about the power struggle in the area from Kidd—however authentic the information was. The Ensils ruled the city, and they weren’t without opposition, they hadn’t been from their beginning. Yet, they still held strong for a lot of wintry Frosthelms and searing Flamecrests; as the dry season parched the ocean and bared its bed, and the rainstorms flooded the port.
But their pillar, the Governor, had now aged. His limit of life was nigh, and the lack of a suitable successor aggravated the long ongoing war. Though Ewan didn’t want to get involved in the chaos, he had to step in if he wanted to fulfil his objectives. He had to latch on to this ladder and climb to meet his needs.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [8th Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 1.9
Spirit: 16.9
Anima: [Fire – 16.9 | Ice – 16.9 | Blood – 16.9]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [8th Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-8] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-8] [Grade-B]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-8] [Grade-C]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 6
Crelith: 4596