‘ I can give you some mana potions so that you can get on with your lab making’ Anita said, making Ray turn towards her. ‘Mana potions are a thousand mana coins each.’ Ray stated.
‘Yes. I still have some.’ Anita said, bringing out three potions. The potions would give Ray enough mana to do a lab each.
‘Are they really safe?’ Ray asked.
‘No,’ she said, dashing Ray’s hopes ‘Just one a month or you get mana poisoning. Though that doesn’t stop the people at the Academy.’
Ray nodded, so just one more lab. But it would have to do. As for the hunt… ‘Would it be ok if I don’t give you an answer now?’ The Academy organized many hunts for its students to gain mana, but it was known that they weren’t the safest. The nobles all had personal protectors, btu commoners had the habit of dying before a teacher got there.
Ray had made the mistake of going above his head once, not again.
“Are the two of you done staring at each other?” Ma said, from the kitchen. “Cause we have work to do, Ray.”
“Oh, on that subject, where are you sourcing your ingredients from?” Anita asked.
Ray looked at her, puzzled, “The market, why?”
“Oh, and you’re sure that you’ll get the ingredients you want for all of your students?” Anita said.
“Anita, are you selling ingredients? Why are you talking like this?” Ray asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Well…Momma might be trying to expand into the herb business, and I was wondering if we couldn’t help her somehow. After all, she can give them to you for cheaper and more regularly as long as you give her a booth in the bakery” Anita said, rushing through the last few words.
“I think that would be a good thing.” Ma said, “The nobles might decide to influence the market anyway. But we take a selling fee.”
“Oh what fee? I can give one percent.” Anita said, talking in her little girl voice. Ray saw an excellent opportunity to get a business skill.
“The standard rate is ten percent. The maximum I can go is nine percent.. What do you think?”Ray asked.
“And you don’t want a family discount?” Anita asked.
“The normal one will do.” Ray said, smiling inside.The ingredients would have a cumulative effect with the potions. The bakery would become the go-to place for things Alchemic with that, not to mention the monopoly.
Just about anyone could set up an Alchemic shop, but to get so many potions and ingredients was much harder. And then there was the idea that Ray just had.
What if he offered another deal where he provided the ingredients too, for thirty percent of sales?
Skill gained: [Negotiating]: 30 mana +1 to perception
Ray smiled, the skill was much more valuable than his other ones, though he would have to level it up a bit if he wanted to reach Tier 5. But at least it was a start. Now to see to Norman.
Ray collected the cat from its post watching Ma bake cookies.
‘What did you mean by saying that I can’t see?’ Ray asked
‘Huh, what do you mean?’ Norman said, giving the same answer as before, Ray sighed, putting him down. Perhaps the book Ma had on other species had an answer?
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Ray, it's dinner time.” Ma said. Well, it would have to wait for later.
----------------------------------------
Ray sat down with the Jorenson’s guide on his bed, Anita beside him.
“Come on, just let me read it,” she said.
“No, I am going to read it, who knows if you have enough patience to wait till the pages are open.” Ray said, he usually teased her that she didn’t have enough patience to do anything.
“Humph.”Anita pouted, “I can kill you, you know. After all, I am a Tier 9, and you’re just a measly Tier 3.”
“But you won't,” Ray said, opening the book to the page on High Fae.
“Come one, where is it? What are we looking for?” Anita said, looking over his shoulder.
“Just wait a second, I am looking for it.’ Ray answered, looking through the book for something on Fae sight.
“Oh, give it to me, you slowpoke.” Anita said, snatching the book from Ray.
Ray rolled his eyes, “Just look for something on Fae sight.”
“Hmm, let's see. Not here, not here…ah yes!” Anita said, holding the book aloft.
“What?” Ray asked.
“The Fae see very differently than any other species, or so they say. But not one of these exotic species told me what they meant. I fear that this fact will remain unknown to this author, at least for now.” Anita read.
“Is that all?” Ray asked.
“Yeah, not a lot to go on. But at least we know that it’s real.” Anita said, visibly disappointed.
“Why are you so interested in all this?”Ray asked, curious.
“Why would I not be interested in knowing things that people don’t want me to know. Do you never feel curious about things like that? What is the Empire hiding in all these books its burning? Why does the Emperor hate other species so much? Just how powerful are the Xnarthan? Oh so many questions Ray.” Anita said, her eyes practically sparkling.
“I don’t know…” Ray replied. The truth was that Ray had never thought about it. Why did hte Emperor hate other species so much?
“Ray, you’re the person that should be most curious about these things. A High Fae! In the Empire! Oh, you never told me how it felt. Tell me, do you have wings yet? IS your blood poisonous to me?” Anita said.
“I don’t really feel any different, and the other things only come after I pass a trial set by something called the fae stone…”
Ray spent the next few hours catching up with Anita. Anita might not be an Alchemist, but she actually knew a lot of things about Alchemy, though her knowledge seemed a bit tilted towards things one might get from a banned book.
But what surprised him the most was her knowledge of mana manipulation. Anita was not called a legendary genius for nothing, she had insights Ray would have never thought of. Ray could barely wait to try out some of the things she had suggested. To see what happened when blue nad yellow mana combined. Or what red mana represented.
Ray decided that he could try now, the lab making would not start till tomorrow and he had the rest of the night to himself. Now excited, Ray attempted to conjure red glitter, drawing on his mana.
The wand’s tip began to glow red as the pellet formed. Ray looked on eagerly, waiting for it to begin. But it didn’t. The light just went out, never leading to anything. Ray looked at his mana, seeing if any had been consumed.
Tier 3 (0/474)
The light had consumed…all of his mana? And the process had barely started. What element was red glitter? Ray had no idea. But it seemed powerful. And horribly expensive. But that just made Ray want to know what it was even more. But that was impossible.
Ray sighed in frustration as he went to sleep, the mana exercises would have to wait till tomorrow. At least he’d decided to skip College.
SC
Ray
Ray looked at his surroundings with suspicion. “ Are you sure you want to convert this into a lab?” Ray asked.
“Why? I thought it would be a good place, it's out of the way, already has a lot of shelves and tables and some of the machines. I already cleared the big machines out.” Marcus asked.
“No, not that, it's just that this place smells very heavily of beer. And these bottles tell me that it was a brewery at one time.” Ray replied, wiping the dust off one the bottles with his finger.
“Yeah, it used to be my Mom’s…”Marcus said trailing off.
“But she left it to me all those years ago, I don’t own it yet, but Dad said he wouldn’t mind. So, can you do it?” Marcus asked. Ray looked at the three storey warehouse-like building, feeling intimidated.
“Not alone no. The place is just too big for me.” Ray answered.
“Well that’s why we are here. So, what’s the first thing to do?” a girl asked. Marcus had called some of the air element under students to help on promise of discounts. The current plan was to turn it into a sort of common lab building like the College had, except cheaper and run by them.
“Well if you insist, the first step is to conjure so much air that it replaces the dirty air in here.” Ray said, conjuring violet pellets and letting it spiral into the air.