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Avan and Yue had entered the workshop. Shelf upon shelf lined the walls, filled to the brim with potions, reagents, materials, and some pickled things. A sweet and herbal whiff hung in the air. This time, however, no chime rang out. Kay, so not your everyday typical bell enchantment? But magical light dimly shone from above. Are these... Runes?! They look like the altar I found back at the temple ruins. And also similar to the dungeon runes. Is there a chance that I could learn them somehow or from someone? They look so... intriguing. He mused while he put his head back and stared at the ceiling when an amused cough interrupted his train of thoughts. He looked at Yue, but she just stared back at him with laughing eyes.
Avan looked around in bewilderment until he spotted an older woman standing a meter in front of them and watching him in merriment. She had greyish-silver hair and a cane in her right hand, which she leaned on with both of her hands while she smiled at him. "Oh, wow. Aren't you a peculiar and stunning young man. And your hair... is not natural." She talked half to Avan and half to herself. "Excuse the musings of an old woman. Where are my manners? I am Luria Squidchaser, and I own this little store called Herbalia here. I am an alchemist and herbalist. That's why my shop sign contains both symbols. And what brings you two to my humble abode?"
Yue made a respectful gesture with her right fist pressing in her left palm while bowing to the woman and introduced herself. "Greetings, venerable Luria. I am Yue." Avan mirrored her posture as soon as he viewed it and smiled at both of them. "I am Avan. It is my pleasure to meet you, Luria." The alchemist glanced from Yue to Avan with knowing eyes. Her eyes brightly glowed as if she knew who they were. As if she could look into their souls. Always creepy to meet elderly and wise people who can literally peer into one's soul! But she seems honest and genuine. He mused with a subtle shudder. "We are here because Barth from next door sent us to you regarding some alchemical materials. He told us it would be worth more in the right and capable hands." He explained and decided to tell the truth and without any jokes.
"Interesting! The youngster sent you to me? Hah!" She laughed and tapped her cane multiple times on the ground. "Hear, hear. He learned to be more respectful, it seems. You know, he just recently inherited the store from his late old master who had passed on a year ago. He always tried to trick people until one of his recent customers got angry at him and had given him a few bruises. I found him in his backyard and nursed him back up with some of my potions. After that, he had promised to stop cheating people." She cackled, clearly thinking back about the scene. "Long story short, here you are. So, what do you have for me?" She expectantly looked at Yue and Avan in turns.
He dropped the second backpack he had carried over his shoulder softly on the floor and picked up one of the [Hound Fang] s and gave it to her. The older woman gently took the fang out of his hand and started looking at it, slowly swiveling it around in her hand. She examined it in-depth and sighed. "That's a high-quality fang you have brought me here, young man. It can be powdered and used in nearly all known potions to strengthen its effect. How many do you have, and where did you find such beasts?" She incredulously asked him with a stern look. "This tooth has a density you usually only loot from dungeon creatures. The common hounds you can find around Cyntha are of a much lower quality than what you got here."
Avan sensed he had to be honest with her and told her quickly about the dungeon he had stumbled upon. And where he had met Yue, but without giving out too many details. That was not for him to tell. "The tower of Akkalon, you say? It can't be... that... tower. Akkalon... could it be true?" Her interest clearly piqued, she mumbled to herself. "You said it is named the tower of Akkalon. Are you sure? Because the Order of Akkalon were monks that lived around a thousand years ago in this area. And we have some history books explaining that they were real, but it contains primary stories and incomplete information. And you just stumbled randomly into their dungeon? No one has found even ruins of them! You are really a unusual man, aren't you?" She stared at him as if he was a puzzle she had to solve. With a cough and a hint at the fang in her hands, he tried to shift the conversation back to the reason they had come. And better not telling her about the RUINS I just walked into the day before I found the dungeon! Way too coincidently. "So, that's a... good story, and I want to hear more about it, but later. If possible? I am here to sell one hundred and fourteen of these fangs. Would you be interested in buying them?"
She still stared at him; and eventually blinked. "You have one hundred and fourteen fangs?!" She nearly cried out and poked him with her cane at his chest. She was obviously stunned about the amount. With a shake of her head, she lowered her walking stick and tapped it on the ground. "I am sorry. This is... just ridiculous. I need to sit down and drink some tea to calm myself. Follow me." She walked away, through a door behind the counter. Yue bemusedly looked at him and giggled. "Get accustomed to these reactions. I learned it the same way. You are strange, and you don't even realize all these odd things that happen around you. I guess on your side, no one gets bored!" Still giggling, she followed the old lady while leaving a confused-looking Avan behind her.
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They soon sat at a table in front of a small kitchen. The room's ceiling was littered with dried hanging herbs of all sizes and types. It smelled as if someone just walked into an herb garden. It was refreshing and revitalizing. Luria fiddled with a teapot and threw in some herbs she had plucked from some of the hanging bundles. Avan saw that and decided to summon some of the herbs underneath the table. "Ahh, Luria? You can use these herbs, too, if you want. They are... also from deeper within the dungeon." He told her and showed her some fresh-looking herbs in his right hand. The celestial storage kept things fresh.
Luria glanced at his hands and back to her teapot; and instantly back at his hands with round eyes. She actually sprinted towards the herbs he had presented and snatched them out of his hands. "Where...?! How?! They are freshly picked! Do you even know how valuable these plants are? They are called [Lymia Herbs] and are used for high-grade healing potions! And you can only create high-grade variants if you somehow can get your hands on some fresh ones! Even after they are gathered and brought back ten minutes later, they are only good for middle-grade potions. And you, Avan, got your hands on dungeon-produced ones! They are even more precious, and even I don't know what grade you can create with them!" She was clearly in a chaotic state of mind right now. She hurried out of the room. The teapot was forgotten entirely, and she promptly started to throw the herbs into a distillation device with many pipes made of glass.
Yue and Avan glanced at each other and shrugged while their eyes glinted. Avan stood up and walked towards the now lonely teapot. "You know, Yue. Maybe you are right. But normal would be boring, wouldn't you agree?" He glanced at her and chuckled.
Yue just shrugged once again. "You know it, Avan. I already told you. Somehow, everything you do or things you encounter are unique in a strange way. But I really like it. And yes, since I met you, it wasn't dull anymore. If you don't count the hunt for me." She chuckled, too. "And now you have made a new friend out of nowhere. Trust me. If the look on her face told us something, it's how ridiculous you are. And she literally burst out of the room to experiment with the herbs you brought. Hopefully, you don't give her a heart attack."
Avan glanced through the doorway into the alchemist's private workshop and watched how Luria handled the glass vials and devices swiftly and with trained hands. He summoned another two herbs to throw into the teapot and noticed that his inventory list had updated itself with the new name of the herb. Uhhh, so essentially, after I get more information about items in my storage, the system recognizes the name and information and displays it not as typical no-name herbs anymore, probably? Good to know... "Yue, do you know if the identify skill updates itself after you acquire new information about an object? The herbs were just plain herbs before. And now I can read them as [Lymia Herbs] , which is actually very cool."
Yue turned her head around and nodded shortly to him. "Yes, the system of the world is based on your own mana and knowledge. If you gain new insight, it will acknowledge it too." She looked back through the door and continued watching the herbalist handling her alchemical instruments.
In the meantime, Avan mused about the world system while brewing the tea. So... The system of the world, Aorus, is based on... me? Or more specific, on every person for themself. It progresses the knowledge I gain. So it's fundamentally... me? It sort of makes sense because mana... is flowing through my soul. And I used my personal and ambient mana to infuse myself even further with it. I... made it my own. So knowledge is power once again. Doesn't matter which world. With this new insight, I really should work on more skills. Such as crafting and everything else I can learn.
After reflecting for some minutes, the teapot whistled, and he put out the flames of the stove beneath. He grabbed three cups and filled them to the brim and left the teapot where it stood. Pushing one cup to Yue and the third one to the now empty chair where Luria had been seated, he sat down, grabbed his drink, and sipped leisurely. "Ahhhh..." He exclaimed with a clear sigh.
A few minutes later, both of them had turned their chairs around to sip on their teas while watching the old woman still hectically using her tools.
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