Chapter 11: Chapter 11 – Alchemy Haven (2)

Coming back to the store, Lia hurriedly followed him into the sea of people, grabbing at the edge of his uniform to not get swept away by the many students coming and going. Cutting through the sea of people, they managed to push through, arriving at a staircase leading to a second floor. Stepping onto it, some eyes quickly landed on Sion, as only those affiliated with the shop could ascend it. When Lia climbed after him, even more eyes looked their way, including the same pair of green ones that sold Lia the item box.

"She is with me." Sion mouthed the silent words, drawing an understanding from him, no longer bothering with them. "Follow me!" Sion looked at Lia, walking up the stairs, reaching a thick, wooden door, and knocking on it twice.

"What is up here?" Lia asked, looking back, hearing the cacophony of voices and seeing the many heads coming and going.

"A private section of the shop. It is for the big spenders, teachers, or those who run it."

"Is it run by teachers?" Lia asked as they waited.

"No." He smiled softly, shaking his head, "It was established by students a few centuries back; it is still run by us. I am an affiliate with them, helping them weed out problematic employees." While he said that, the door opened, and a 4th-year student was at the other side, his vest showcasing two elements; water and nature. He was around 180 centimeters tall, slim and young, with long, black hair and a blue tinge mixed into it. If he wore his hair in twin tails and Koadriana's uniform, he could easily pass on as a beauty.

"Sion!" He smiled happily, his voice a bit feminine while his black eyes greeted him, inviting him in, not asking why Lia was following along, just nodding at her with a friendly smile. "Hi, there! My name is Lorin! Welcome to my Alchemy Haven!"

"Hello! I am Lia!" She curtsied, returning the warm welcome, "So… you are the…?" She asked, a bit confused, looking at Sion and Lorin, mainly because this shop was supposed to be here for centuries.

"The current leader of it!" Lorin explained quickly as he invited the two further in. "Soon, I'll need to choose a successor, too, as this is my last year here!"

As he was speaking, they entered another room from the hallway. It was a spacious office with a round window at the back, looking out at the busy street. Lorin had a U-shaped desk before it, and right now, there was a wide, holographic projection coming from the middle of it, curving alongside the desk's shape. On the left, it displayed multiple changing ingredients, plants, organs, bones, and everything in between. On its right, a magic formation was slowly spinning, its many foreign runes sometimes replaced with another. In the middle of the projection, a complex algorithm did calculations by itself, independently toiling away.

"Whoa!" Lia exclaimed, looking at it, almost falling over the leather couch before her.

"It's built on the same principle as the bracelets," Sion explained, seeing her surprise while Lorin waved his hand and pointed at them to sit on the couch while he started to bring freshly brewed tea over, serving it to them.

"That looks sooooo coooool! I never saw something like that!" Lia replied, her eyes sparkling like a child's.

"It is a helpful tool when coming to alchemy." Lorin chimed in, sitting on the opposite couch, raising his teacup and sipping it elegantly. "It can calculate the enormous amount of data, variations, and possible outcomes when developing something new. It is faster than any normal Magi, at least below the Speciali level."

"Reaching that stage makes it obsolete as our brain can work just as fast!" Sion exclaimed with wonder, looking at Lorin, "How far are you from it?"

"Close… but...." He shook his head in answer, "I won't reach it before graduation. I'll not get an honorary!" He sighed, a bit disappointed but still happy.

"Honorary?" Lia asked, finishing her tea, looking at the two, moving her eyes back and forth.

"Every student who graduates with the rank of Speciali or above gets his name recorded and displayed on campus. Not to mention the potential support of the others who left the Academy with the same achievement… It is like a certificate of badassery!" Lorin chuckled.

"Well, you were never a badass, you bookworm!" Sion teased.

"That is true! I am not a warrior, but I am filthy rich!"

"Really?!" Lia asked, surprising them with her voice suddenly rising, looking at her weirdly. "Then I thought about it in the right way!"

"Um…? About what?" Lorin asked, not just from Lia but from Sion, about why he brought a girl with him.

"I was about to pick up alchemy to make myself rich, so I could spend on truly important things to raise my strength! It was the most logical step after reading the school's guidebook! Everything costs a ton of CP, so if I want to advance, I need a lot of it… the best way to earn it is to make potions and sell them for a big profit!" Lia explained happily, the words rolling down her tongue like a machine gun. "Dueling is fun and fine, but if I place a biiiiig bet on it, either the system will refuse it or my opponent will… that is not the best way to earn a lot of CP!"

"Geez, who taught you to think like that?" Lorin and Sion asked simultaneously.

"Mom!" Lia answered proudly, "She said when traveling the outside world, it is always a must to be prepared!"

"Well, she was not wrong…." Lorin added, leaning back on the couch, "But if you want to get into alchemy because you want money, you will fail."

"Mmm?" Lia blinked her eyes, surprised and a bit confused. Sion was not about to interrupt, focusing on his tea, and letting his friend continue the explanation.

"Have you ever concocted any potions?" Lorin asked her suddenly.

"No." Lia answered, shaking her head, "My Mom once or twice did show me how to do it when teaching me about the different forms of magic!"

"Most mages are capable of doing it, true." Lorin agreed, "You need only a basic understanding of the ingredients, the know-how of mixing them, and precise control over your mana. Then you can create potions. Why do you think my shop runs so well? Why is it so busy?"

"Because you sell good ingredients!" Lia answered immediately.

"Ahahaha, thank you~" Lorin laughed, not shying away from the praise, "That is true! But mostly because everyone thought the same as you! Ooooh, I can make some potions, then sell it, bam, instant profit!"

"Ah…" Lia flinched a little. "I thought it was a good plan…." She murmured, lowering her head, "But if everybody does it…."

"The market is flooded." Lorin nodded, continuing. "You can find basic potions left and right on the streets! And not just from people like you pursuing the same idea! But those who took the Academy's alchemy courses! You said you have no experience in potion-making. Then you will be just a new girl on the streets, selling her wares next to hundreds of others! After people used you a little, the novelty of it is over and gone!"

"Khm…" Sion cracked his throat, reminding his friend to use less naughty examples.

"What?" Lorin tilted his head, smiling with his eyes, "Sore throat?"

"Jerk," Sion murmured while Lia was in deep thought.

"I see… then I have to look somewhere else…." She bit her lower lip, a bit frustrated as it was such a good idea when she thought about it. At least at first glance.

"Learning alchemy is not easy! It takes decades to study, and you need unshakable determination. I have been doing this since I was 4!" Lorin said, trying to help Lia out here, "I am considered, in the world of alchemy, nothing more than a promising seed that is yet to bloom!"

"Not even a fully-fledged alchemist?" Lia asked, surprised, looking at him, then turning towards the still-working simulation at his desk. She guessed it was a formula he was working on, not yet ready or completed.

"Not even!" Lorin laughed, "Yet my potions are selling like hotcakes in here! Think… If you produce a few healing potions and begin selling them… where would people go? To you on the streets or to my shop for my certified potions?"

"Haaah…. Oooookay, I get it! I'm not stupid!" Lia sighed, pursing her lips, "I thought it was a sure idea…."

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"Ahaha, it would be if you were serious about alchemy! But I can see it in your eyes; you are not. You would have to forget to pursue other matters, at least for the next four years! Only focusing on Alchemy! Then you may have a place amongst us and sell your potions for a profit! When an alchemist starts out, we burn money!"

"Ugh… I need money... and I want to focus on water magic! Ice, to be exact!" She protested, not keen on the idea of giving up her true goal at all.

"Oh?" Sion and Leorin looked at each other, then at her fiery emblem. Before asking anything, Lorin looked at his friend, who gently nodded, telling everything with that alone. "I see…" Lorin tapped on his knees with his ten fingers, thinking rapidly as his eyes darted back and forth between Lia and Sion. "I have a proposition!" He leaned forward.

"Yes?" Lia asked, and even Sion was interestedly listening to it.

"I assume you already had recipes chosen for what to brew!"

"Yes!" Lia repeatedly nodded, "We had a big library back home; I remember a few interesting ones and wrote them down before I forgot them! I planned on doing those!"

"Tell you what!" Lorin said, and before Lia could say something, Sion coughed, interrupting the girl. Lia just pursed her lips a little, glancing at Sion as he interrupted her 'funny moment.' Lorin was not about to ask what was going on. He was already used to some weird antics, especially regarding the many more alchemists working under him. Every one of them was an eccentric bunch. "I am willing to buy off the recipes from you! And not with money! I'll give you a VIP card, making you eligible for discounts and first access to everything we have! Also, I'll wire it up, so while you are in school, you get 5% of profits made from the potion of your recipes!"

"10%!" Lia answered almost as quickly as he finished. It surprised the two, and Sion just raised his hands that Leorin should not look at him for help.

"7%," Lorin replied.

"Thank you for the tea!" Lia chuckled, standing up, fixing her clothes, ready to leave, shocking them again.

"8%!" Lorin said, but Lia was already skipping towards the door. "Fine, fine! 10%!"

"Eh?" Lia stopped, holding onto the door handle. "It is 15% by now!"

"You…!" Lorin trembled, twitching his eyes while Sion was amused by the scene, leaning back on the couch watching them.

"If I push down the handle, it will be 17%! If you catch me in the hallway, 20%, and by the time I reach the first floor, it will be 30%!" Lia said with a grin, "By the time I get back to my room, I won't sell it!"

"Fine! 15% it is!" Lorin stopped her, with raised hands, snapping his finger as Lia's bracelet lit up and displayed a contract written up with all of the mentioned details.

Lia was grinning while reading it and, in the end, accepting it. It was a simple contract detailing that she would get a cut of the sales of any potions made from her recipes.

"You… are something!" Sion laughed, and even Lorin let out a defeated chuckle.

"Mom always said to me to not let guys use me! When they get into my bed, they must know that I let them in and not the other way around!"

"Eh…" The two flinched, looking at each other while Lia hummed happily, knowing she was going to solve her immediate money problem.

"I have four recipes!" She continued, tapping at her bracelet, and soon Leorin received two of it. Reading it, his eyes shone brightly, as one was a potion that raised the strength of any beast folk after transformation for a few minutes, while the other helped people fall into a meditative state. He was expecting the usual healing-focused or mana-restoring potions, but these were even better. Unique brews always sold the best.

"And the other two?" Lorin asked, but Lia just giggled.

"Let's see how these sell! If it is good, I'll give you two more!"

"Hah!" Sion laughed out while his friend tried not to curse or let his facial expressions betray his honest feelings. He very quickly reevaluated the young girl before him, deciding to take her seriously from now on.

"Logical." Lorin scratched his throat. "I'll go over it. You should see results in a week or so."

"Great! Nyahaha! Now I have more money left for other cool stuff; no need to spend it on ingredients! Yey!" She clapped, "I'm going to browse some other shops then… I'll come back sometimes to visit!" Lia exclaimed with an innocent tone, adding Lorin to her contact list. "See you later!" She left without a second word, hurrying away, already feeling that the money from the duel was burning her pocket.

"Damn… You brought a thief into my kingdom!" Lorin clicked his tongue, looking at his friend, who was also surprised.

"Hey… sorry, I did not know it!" Sion mumbled, raising his hands. "But I'll be damned; I like her!"

"Hah!" They laughed at the same time as Lorin shook his head, "Is she really from one of the Houses? I only know of the Amarins who pursue the mastering of opposing elements… and the only of the Six who, time and time again, manage to achieve it."

"Yes. I saw her jumping into Master Lauron's embrace. While others saw it as blatant flirting because their hormones raged like a flooding river, I already noticed their similarities. They are brother and sister… then I looked up the Student Registry with my authorization and found out her full name. She is the fourth child of Reyra Amarin." Sion explained it to his friend. "She is an interesting one, eh? Different from what I expected from someone from one of the Houses!"

"That is for sure!" Lorin nodded, "Reyra Amarin… I read about her. Rumors say she already mastered two opposite elements and working on mastering another two in tandem…."

What they didn't know is that mastering the two was not the most challenging part for those from the House of Amarin. Every member of the family had the aspiration and talent to do it. The real difficulty came from wielding them simultaneously. Nobody could achieve it since Erias's death. Reyra was now the closest to the feat from the family, but she was still somebody who could not summon light and darkness simultaneously. She could switch between them seamlessly… but the accomplishment of casting light that brought darkness was still eluding her.

"It is good to be on her good terms. If nothing else, we at least know what others don't!" Lorin smiled, shaking his head, sending a message to his most trusted people to come and gather in his office. "It will be eventually known, but we will be the first to build a rapport with her."

"And don't forget to thank me later on!" Sion joked, standing up.

"I'll invite you for dinner~!" Lorin smirked, but Sion just rolled his eyes.

"Thanks but no thanks! Instead, get me some truth serums; I always run short on those!" He reached out with a hand, looking at his sitting friend who just crossed his legs, licking his lips.

"Come on, my dear Sion~! Don't play the hard-to-get type!" He laughed.

"I'd rather be hard to get instead of getting hard with you! Serums! Please!" He insisted, raising his eyebrows, already used to Lorin's antics.

"Okay, okay! I'll send it over to you!" He shook his head with a grin, grabbing his hand and pulling himself up, "I owe you one for introducing her to me! I knew you loved me~."

"I like you… as a friend," Sion said, adding it very quickly. "Don't go and ruin that, okay? I would hate to give you a strike for assaulting a member of the Disciplinary Committee!"

"Tsk~ Harsh!" Lorin pursed his lips before letting him go as the door opened to the office, and multiple 3rd- and 4th-year students started flooding in.