by Zhuang Bifan
Ona vented his anger and thought about the 20 senior pharmacist, after which he couldn't help but fantasize. If his team could get the support of 20 or so senior pharmacists, they would definitely be able to stand up to the Dark Blade and the Malfa Family—if they ever had to one day. He couldn't help but shiver, because it was all just a fantasy of his, while the Tower of Dusk did have more than 20 senior pharmacists. Well, this newly established Tower of Dusk was not far from their rise in the Breezy Plains.
There were countless small forces like Ona's corps in the Breezy Plains, and all of them could only dream about having as many senior pharmacists as there were at the Tower of Dusk. However, there were many others apart from them who had the audacity to covet the senior pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk and think that they had the capital to fight the battle.
How much could a newly established minor force offer to the senior pharmacists even if they were to get into the good books of the Malfa Family? Plenty of powerful forces thought that way. They felt that they could offer the same conditions and benefits that the Tower of Dusk had.
Gaget, the leader of the ambitious White Shadow, could acutely sense an opportunity to rise.
How had the Tower of Dusk attracted those senior pharmacists? Was it money? Although the White Shadow was not exactly a merchant organization, they owned many shops and businesses in cities of all sizes in the Breezy Plains. Hence, as far as money went, they might not be inferior to the Tower of Dusk at all.
Or was it because of some attractive promises that they'd made? That couldn't be. The Tower of Dusk was just a small force that had been established less than a year ago. Regardless of how well it had been managed, it did not have a strong foundation, and was destined not to undergo any major development.
The only possibility could be that they had pulled the personal relations card and done the pharmacists a favor. Everyone knew how hard it was to return favors. However, it would be impossible for so many senior pharmacist to owe an insignificant mage huge favors.
Gaget analyzed the situation for a while, and was stunned by the results of his analysis. He was suddenly overwhelmed with euphoria. Yeah, in that case, those 20 or so senior pharmacists were basically prepared for others to take over. He smacked his hand against the armrest of his chair. Since the other forces might have thought of what he did too, he decided that he had to act fast.
For a moment, the word of this group of senior pharmacists seemed to have swept the Breezy Plains like a hurricane. The various forces were like sharks that had smelled blood. They wished they could dash into the Tower of Dusk to snatch the pharmacists away. Of course, they also had to be mindful. After all, the Tower of Dusk had the formidable Malfa Family to support them.
Compared to the past, the atmosphere in the Tower of Dusk was much livelier, and all forces had sent their people to try and approach the senior pharmacists in a bid to poach them. Although it was not as bustling as Mentingruo City, Black Clouds Town had indeed become much more prosperous.
The Tower of Dusk was becoming more and more lively. As the majordomo of the Tower of Dusk, Gavin was feeling extremely anxious, for he knew clearly what the senior pharmacists meant to Tower of Dusk. If any of them got poached, it would definitely be a huge loss that couldn't be compensated for.
However, what was alarming was that the young President seemed to know nothing, and had yet to take any measures at all, let alone investigate who'd leaked the news. After seeing an outsider communicate with one of the senior pharmacists, Gavin finally couldn't hold it back anymore, and barged into the President's office in a hurry.
"President, this can't go on. Those outsiders are absolutely dauntless. They actually had the guts to poach our people in our hall. They're completely disrespecting us." Gavin was feeling extremely anxious and displeased with the fact that others were trying to poach their pharmacists.
"Oh, what else do you want me to do? Those pharmacists are not our slaves. We can't hide them from others," Lin Li said nonchalantly, seemingly not worried at all. It was as if the ones being poached were not his pharmacists.
Chapter 516 - Visitor
"But we should at least do something. Why don't I assemble some people and chase those outsiders away at least?" Gavin actually knew that Lin Li was right. Even the members of the Pharmacist Guild enjoyed the freedom of going wherever they wanted. Hence, they couldn't lock the senior pharmacists up like slaves.
"Nah, let them be. They can't poach my people unless they have what it takes." Lin Li was extremely confident. He thought, They're trying to poach my pharmacists? What a joke. They might be able to do so if they have a pharmaceutics Guru.
Gavin wanted to say something else, but could not think of a better idea even after racking his brains. He had just chased the people away, but he was just saying those things in a moment of spite. Although they were openly poaching the pharmacists, there would definitely be a public outrage if they were to get into a physical fight. Regardless of how strong the Tower of Dusk was, they might not be able to secure a footing in the Breezy Plains.
Hence, the young owner of the Tower of Dusk, President Felic, allowed the matter to go on without doing anything. Not only did he not take any precautions to prevent the pharmacists from interacting with others, he even instructed the receptionists who were in charge of receiving the mages to summon people to help him as long as the outsiders tried to bribe him.
"Master Felic!" Wilkinson yelled at the end of the lecture, trying to stop Lin Li who was about to leave.
"Oh, is there a problem?" Lin Li asked as he turned around, though he already knew what Wilkinson was about to say.
"Master Felic, there is a sudden increase in the number of people outside. Could we trouble you to arrange for us to get some help? Whenever we go out, we end up getting harassed, and it takes us a lot of effort to shake them off," Wilkinson said resignedly.
"Yeah, Master Felic, we don't know them, either. They're making us scared to go out," the rest chimed in.
It was just like Lin Li had expected. He smiled, and asked, "Did they give you presents too?"
Wilkinson and the rest hurriedly explained, "They did, but we didn't accept them."
Lin Li clapped with a regretful expression, and said, "Why not? Who says no to gifts? I've been teaching you guys for so long, yet you didn't even pick up such an important mindset!"
"So… we should accept it?" Wilkinson asked apprehensively, as dumbfounded as his peers.
"Yeah, it'd be a waste if you don't. Since they're willing to give you gifts, just accept them. It's no big deal," Lin Li said nonchalantly.
"But…" Wilkinson and the rest, who had never done something like that before, were extremely shocked. However, Lin Li left before they could even ask him another question.
Since Master Felic said that we should accept them, I shall not stand on ceremony, Wilkinson thought to himself. After having been led astray by Lin Li, Wilkinson and the other pharmacists eagerly accepted the gifts, which was to the joy of those who gave them gifts.
"Sir, the targets have already accepted the gifts; they seem to have wavered."
"Leader, the target has chatted with me for a longer duration than yesterday. I suggest that we continue to curry favor with them."
Both the givers and recipients of the gifts were on cloud nine. However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were living in fear every day, afraid that they would wake up one day and realize that there were no longer any senior pharmacists.
However, there was an exception during the s.u.c.k.i.n.g up. Whenever the outsiders badmouthed Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, they would relentlessly throw the presents onto the ground.
Although the pharmacists were not good in magic, they were all ancestors1. Even if they went overboard, no one would dare to disrespect them.
The outsiders might disregard the Tower of Dusk, but they wouldn't dare to ignore the presence of the pharmacists. Perhaps there were only a few capable ones in the Pharmacist Guild, but there wer
e plenty of forces that were waiting to stand up for them.
The leader of the White Shadow, Gaget, was feeling extremely smug about his great foresight. A force would have to stay ahead of others in order to develop well. It was his great foresight that would give him an edge in recruiting other senior pharmacists. The White Shadow would be taken to greater heights as long as they had one senior pharmacist in their team.
At the beginning, many forces had concerns about the Malfa Family supporting the Tower of Dusk, but Gaget had a strong feeling that perhaps the relationship between the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family was not so close. However, the Tower of Dusk actually had more than 20 pharmacists. It could be said that it would not be impossible to surpass the Malfa Family as long as they had enough time. Could the Malfa Family possibly watch their position being undermined?
Gaget couldn't guess what the Malfa Family was thinking, but he was certain that he would have definitely taken action against the Tower of Dusk and acquired the 20-odd senior pharmacists if he had the support of the Malfa Family. Even if he were to offend the Supreme Council, it would be worth it. Besides, the Supreme Council wouldn't fall out with the Malfa Family because of the newly established Guild of Magic.
Gaget could not figure out the reason for the Malfa Family's silence, but he was certain that he felt tempted about the 20-odd senior pharmacists. No matter what concerns the Malfa Family had, they wouldn't be able to hold back for too long. Hence, he decided to act first and send his able subordinates to the Tower of Dusk in hopes of getting his hands on a senior pharmacist before the Malfa Family could.
Gaget was not afraid of offending the Malfa Family at all. Senior pharmacists were precious gems, but they were not inanimate objects, after all, and were in fact humans who enjoyed a high status. Not all powerful factions were allowed to resort to violence. They still had to consider the opinions of the pharmacists. Besides, there was only one solution they could use to deal with the pharmacists, and that was to win them over using personal relations and offering them benefits. They might not stand to gain if they were to resort to violence.
Indeed, Gaget received the news that he wanted. 10 days after arriving at the Tower of Dusk, Gaget's confidante informed him that he had successfully gotten associated with a senior pharmacist who had accepted four of his gifts without hesitation. That would make things easier for them. Relationsh.i.p.s were built through mutual respect and kindness!
Gaget's greatest worry was that they might refuse to accept his gifts, thus leaving him with no way to nurture and build a good relationship with them. However, it seemed that the senior pharmacists were not ascetic and thick in the head, after all. They could actually be tempted by gifts.
Gaget was thinking that the pharmacist definitely knew his intentions for giving him the gifts which he had all accepted without hesitating or turning down. Since the pharmacist had already accepted his gift, it meant that the pharmacist did not have that strong of a relationship with the Tower of Dusk. Although the White Shadow wasn't powerful, they had put in plenty of effort into the gifts, and it was now Gaget's turn to recruit the pharmacist personally.
The pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk were definitely showered with gifts, something that had never happened before in the Pharmacist Guild. Of course, when they were in the Pharmacist Guild, they still had yet to advance to the rank of senior pharmacists, and thus wouldn't receive such fanfare.
Although some of the gifts were very tempting, the pharmacists dared not accept them at the start because they were well aware that Lin Li was the one who had given them the glory and success that they had today. It was indeed a far-fetched idea for them to advance to the senior level without the training program. They did not want President Felic to get the wrong idea. If they were to get chased out, the gifts would not be able to make up for it.
The young pharmacists admired President Felic for being magnanimous instead of holding it against them. He even encouraged them to accept the gifts as much as they wanted. That made things easier because they wouldn't feel emotionally burdened when receiving gifts now that President Felic didn't mind it.
Although the young pharmacists did not talk about it explicitly, Wilkinson could vaguely tell what they were thinking since he was their leader. Hence, plenty of forces saw Wilkinson as their greatest target. The White Shadow was one of them.
Plenty of forces and factions were all trying to cast their net and see how many pharmacists they can get. They would give every pharmacist that they saw a gift. They were thinking that they could at least recruit one. However, the White Shadow decided to take a different approach. Gaget chose to gather all of his resources and make a heavy bet in hopes of being sincere enough to move the senior pharmacist called Wilkinson.
Gaget knew his weakness. Although he ran businesses all over the Breezy Plains, he was not the wealthiest. If he were to choose to cast his net, they might end up not getting a single pharmacist. Hence, he felt that it would be better to bank on just one pharmacist to beat all of their competitors.
It was a decision that made Gaget feel extremely smug. Unlike others, he handed out one hefty gift on four separate occasions instead of several minor ones. He naturally had to stand out from the other forces since he had to give the pharmacist a good impression.
Every day at daybreak, all the forces would gather in the parade square of the Tower of Dusk. There were also people sent by the external forces1, but were all chased away by the more powerful forces. They camped in front of the Tower of Dusk and would immediately try to bootlick whenever they saw a pharmacist exiting. They would then go through the process of giving a gift and currying favor with them.
In the eyes of the people who had no idea what was going on, this scene was indeed too weird and absurd. There had to be a proper time and place for gift-giving and recruiting. How could they be so unconcerned about the location? However, everyone knew that the problem was that there was no decent venue in this small place, and that the pharmacists did not accept any invitations at all. One of the forces put in plenty of effort by hiring a chef to whip up delicious dishes with the finest ingredients in a bid to sit down and have a chat with a senior pharmacist. However, the pharmacist responded by telling them to leave the gifts at the door because he was too lazy to receive them.
They had no choice but to suck it up, since the pharmacists were big shots. Hence, everyone began bootl.i.c.k.i.n.g and s.u.c.k.i.n.g up to everyone for the sake of presenting the gifts.
Gaget rushed to the Tower of Dusk with a hefty gift and waited quietly for the doors to open together with the rest of the crowd. He saw plenty of people, some of which were allies, while others were archenemies. However, everyone was a fellow competitor, be it friend or foe.
Looking up at the towering Tower of Dusk, Gaget could not help but sigh. Although this tower had just been established, its foundation was indeed solid, and it was no wonder that it was favored by the Malfa Family. If the senior pharmacists were to spend more time in the Tower of Dusk, the rise of the Tower would be inevitable. However, Gaget felt that they did not have what it took to keep them around.
Gaget began to feel a little nervous, for the recruitment of a senior pharmacist would affect the rise of the White Shadow, yet he had so many competitors.
Time passed while he waited anxiously, and the doors of the Tower of Dusk finally opened slowly. Everyone in the plaza immediately sobered up, but they did not rush forth at once. After all, they were all figures of status, and still had to maintain their image during the recruitment. Hence, they slowly made their way into the hall of the Tower of Dusk in an orderly fashion.
As everyone walked into the Tower of Twilight, the spacious and elegantly decorated hall immediately made Gaget's eyes light up—especially the furnishings, which exuded a strong and refined elegance. However, Gaget soon shook his head secretly, and sighed in his heart while thinking to himself, Such a delicate elven-style decoration may not be bought even with an exorbitant amount of money.
It's such a pity that the President of the Tower of Dusk can't afford to enjoy such a luxury at all1. What is he thinking?
Next, Gaget witnessed another strange thing. Although he had heard it from his close friends, he still couldn't believe it. As it turned out, they could register an appointment with the mage who was in charge of the reception at the Tower of Dusk. Although their attitude seemed hostile, they did not make things too difficult for them. A way to say in Chinese that they were highly venerated and enjoyed great status. As you may know, seniority (age-wise, not rank-wise) is very important in Chinese culture.It probably means they were from beyond the Breezy Plains.He's probably implying others will raid and steal it all when they know it's there.
Chapter 517 - You're Welcome
"Seems like they, too, know that they don't have the means to keep these senior pharmacists," Gaget said with a cold smirk. The President of the Tower of Dusk was protecting himself by doing this. That was the sad truth about smaller forces and factions. They'd never be able to save the good things that they had. Most of the time, it might even lead to a tragedy of destruction.
After going down to register an appointment, Gaget waited for the senior pharmacist to arrive, just like everyone else. At this moment, something happened that made everyone feel exasperated. There was not a single chair in the spacious hall that the guests could sit on. Although the guests were not that weak and could manage standing for a while, it was too embarrassing to just stand and wait.
In fact, there was a special reception room in the Tower of Dusk, but the mages simply couldn't wait to use magic to destroy those outsiders. How could they possibly provide them with a resting area? Made to stay in the hall, they would probably leave sooner, and the chances of the pharmacists being poached would be greatly reduced. What was not to love?
Fortunately, the first pharmacist appeared a short while later. According to plan, one of the forces smiled and walked towards them in preparation to present them with the gifts. After one of the pharmacists accepted the gift, the person who presented the gift tried to speak. However, the pharmacist waved his hand in annoyance, turned around, and left the hall, leaving the other party behind.
