“Ma, did you put something special in the cookies? Why is the Shadow princess so mad about them?” Ray asked.
“I don’t know, maybe she just likes them a lot? I suppose taste is subjective.” Ma said, pushing the doors open further. The Shadow princess was, sadly, the only one waiting for the shop to open. But it made sense, it was not as if Ma had a reputation.
“Did you add anything special in them?” Ray asked.
“No, but my [Bakery] skill has been increasing along the way. Perhaps that has something to do with it? I did get to Tier 5 a few hours ago.” Ma said, shocking ray.
“What? Congratulations, Ma, that’s very good news!” Ray exclaimed.
“Well, not really very noteworthy, but now I can make more bread before I get tired. The only reason I got there so fast is that I already had seven hundred mana to begin with. I wonder if the System will give any other skills later.”
“I could use something that increased the amount of bread that I could make. At least I have bigger ovens now. ” Ma said as she set up shop to wait for any customers that might be coming.
Ray frowned, Tier 5 was a very big thing, Ma had not advanced since he was born, and now she was trying to downplay it? Why? Was Ma hiding something again? Well, there was nothing he could do about it.
Ray just sighed and went up to the attic. The lab was ready, and he could make some potions to sell.
The attic had changed greatly since a few days ago, the place was much cleaner for one. And looked much more like a lab with all the beakers.
Ray sat in his chair, ready to begin the potion making. Cough's cure was the only one he had made yet, the others required too complicated processes to work. Ray quickly followed the first steps, dissolving the herbgreen and adding the Sawroot.
The next step was where he attempted something he hadn't before. Alchemy with a wand. Ray conjured neutral glitter, letting it submerge into the water and guided it around. The process was significantly easier than before, the control he could exercise was much greater for one.
Ray shifted the glitter around, calmly adding neutral mana as needed, directing the fluid into a more uniform solution. And it worked, the solution spread out as the neutral mana shifted it around, and better yet, Ray had a better idea of what was happening than before. The potion formed easily, without any unexpected surprises.
A rather anti-climatic ending. Ray sighed and got to work on the next one. Though these things wouldn't be sold till tomorrow, he had to be at the College tomorrow. A stock needed to be formed.
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Ray
“What price should we put on these Ma?” Ray asked her, holding one of his potions aloft. The Alchemy skill hadn’t leveled up once, even after all of his work. Ray had no idea what made the skill tick.
“The market price for these is three mana coins, right?” Ma asked. “And how much does it cost us to make these?”
“Well, most of the cost is in the machines, instruments and mana, but ten potions can be made from one mana coin’s worth of ingredients.”
Ma raised her eyebrows, looking at Ray. “I see why Alchemists are so rich. What do you think we should price it at?”
“A mana coin?” Ray answered, semi-asking.
“A third should work, yes. Though, we can also put up packages where we give ten potions for seven mana coins. Cough’s cure lasts for a long time and is handy to have when you have a cold.” Ma said. “Do you mind if we set it up now? Not a lot of business right now.”
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The morning had been slow. Though a few people had stopped by to look in, only one person had bought any bread. And none of the cookies.
“Yeah, sure. I will see if I can learn some more common use potions, so we can sell them.” Ray answered, eager to contribute.
“Ray, are you still wondering why the Shadow princess is buying so much?” Ma asked.
“No, why would you think so?” Ray answered, trying to hide the fact that he was, indeed, thinking of that.
“Well, you haven’t asked for your cut yet. I am selling your goods, and you aren’t even asking for any money for it.” Ma chided him.
“I mean, you were always going to give me some…” Ray answered meekly, he had never been too good at the business stuff.
“Ray, you always need to ask for your fair share. I will give you fifty percent of whatever sales I make, how about that?” Ma asked.
“But isn’t that unfair? I don’t pay for the ingredients, food, or the maintenance…” Ray replied. Ma would have to use her share to help feed them,, and he didn’t exactly have things to spend it on.
“Well, you can buy your own ingredients. The experience will be helpful. And you’re presuming that the potions will be the only thing selling. I am quite proud of my baking, you know.” Ma replied. “Now you take charge of the counter, I need to make lunch.”
Ray nodded as Ma went up to the kitchen. A helper was very much needed, how could Ma manage when he wasn’t at home tomorrow? At least the shop was quite right now.
Ray manned the counter, fanning himself with a fan at the heat. The sun was shining itself off the counters and making the shop very hot. Perhaps a few fans wouldn’t be a wasted investment, people would come here just for the cool.
The next half an hour was spent just looking at an empty shop as people passed by. In the end, a man came in, armed and scary looking. Ray took out his wand, keeping it out of sight as he asked, “Can I help you sir?”
“Yes, is that Cough's cure? Do you have an Alchemic license by any chance?” The man asked.
“No, sir, but I am a student at the Alchemic college. I have my id card if you want.” Ray said, brandishing the only thing he had to show that the potions weren't fake.
“And what if these turn out to be fake?” the man asked.
“Well, then we can offer you your money back.” Ray answered.
“Oh, good then, I happen to have a cough. “ the man said, snatching a potion from the stand before Ray could stop him.
“Would you look at that, it's fake. Now dear boy, how would you like to pay the money back? Thirty mana coins was it?” The man said, grinning, not even bothering to hide that he was extorting Ray. But Ray wasn't having it.
Brandishing his wand, he released green glitter, twirling it around the man, drawing a clear line from the nearby potted vine. The vine grew around the man, rendering him helpless.
“I did say that I was a student at the Alchemic College. “ Ray said to the prone man as he tried to escape.
“Now, do you want to pay up thirty-one mana coins, thirty for the extortion charge and one for the potion, or do you want me to try fire on you? I bet you'd love it if that vine suddenly started burning you.” Ray said, acting like he thought a gangster would. Ray did not have a lot of mana left in him after a stunt like that, but enough to matter.
“I-I am a member of the Rawson family! Do you know what will happen to you if you disobey?!” the man asked.
“No, but I do know that if I let you come in now, you’ll be here tomorrow to steal things and ask me to pay for it again. And I have no interest in that happening ever again. So either pay or lose your life, your choice, crook.” Ray said.
“The wallet is in my back pocket.” the man stated, looking at Ray like he wanted to murder him. Ray had a bad feeling that he would be back. But he still bent down and fished the wallet from the man’s pocket, pointing his wand at him the entire time.
Ray half-expected him to try something, but surprisingly he didn’t and ran away instead. Ray didn’t have time to figure out why, there was a line of customers waiting for some reason.
Ray rushed to serve them as they lined up. Though most bought a little bread and some cookies, sometimes even cake, but that was more than they’d sold all morning. At the tenth customer, Ray could no longer hold it in and asked,
“Why are all of you coming in now? Is it lunchtime or something?”
“The man from the Rawson family, sir. The area is under their control, everyone knew that you didn’t have their permission and most didn’t dare eat here. But once you beat him, we knew you were a Mage.”
“A commoner Mage at that. I hope you start more potions ,sir, cheaper potions could mean less dead loved ones for us.” The customer replied, leaving Ray for a loss.
Though he knew that gangs were common here, he hadn’t thought that they would run into one so soon. But it also made him doubt if this was over, was it really the right decision to stop that man?