“That thing,” Rugrat said.
“Build up my knowledge,” Erik managed to squeak out between his face contortions. People gave him more space as he and Rugrat kept on walking.
“Increase the blood flow of a person, but be more effective with animals—would cause someone a chill and too much of it could create a poison that slows a person’s reaction times greatly. Be horrible when used with food,” Erik said as the information filled his Alchemy skill book. He felt a thread of information filter into his mind.
“Called lemur grass, actually pretty useful for animals that are hurt. Not as effective on humans and with our weaker constitution, can easily poison us instead of help.”
“Damn you’re weird.” Rugrat led them both over to a stall that had powerful formations guarding different items.
“The Windwalking Movement art, how much?”
“This is an ultra-rare movement art that will allow one to walk on the wind and glide through the heavens! I will not be able to let it go for any less than ninety Earth mana stones!” The man made it clear that he would not budge on this matter. Though his attitude was that he was doing them a service, as if he knew that it would sell; it was only a matter of time.
“May we take a closer look?” Rugrat asked.
“I can swear on the Ten Realms that it is real. If it wasn’t for my need to get a better healing art, I wouldn’t be putting it up for sale.”
Erik couldn’t sense any disturbance in the mana around the man. When someone was telling a lie or annoyed, then the mana around them would start to move according to those feelings; it was unconscious and people who didn’t have a domain didn’t know it even existed.
Erik and Rugrat looked at each other.
“How can you prove it to be true?” Rugrat asked.
The man looked at Erik and Rugrat, as if assessing whether it was worth to waste more time on them.
“This is why.”
The man jumped up, some fifteen meters into the sky, an easy feat for people who could make it into the Fifth Realm.
Instead of dropping back down, he glided like a leaf.
“Fucking paratroopers,” Rugrat said.
“What?” Erik asked.
“I’ll buy it.” Rugrat pulled out the mana stones and put them on the counter.
The man looked at Rugrat in surprise.
“Swear it is the real one first, though,” Rugrat said, keeping his hand on the boxes.
“I swear on the Ten Realms that this is the original copy of the Windwalking Movement art,” the man said, his manner much more respectful as his eyes locked onto the boxes.
“Good.” Rugrat held out his other hand. The man took the book out of the formation-enclosed space.
“Dear friend, I am sorry that I am late, but I saw the display of the movement art and I have a great need of it,” a woman said. The crowd parted around her as she and her companions walked forward. All of them looked at Erik and Rugrat, assessing them, but not showing any overt threatening movements.
The man in the stall hesitated and Rugrat grabbed the book from his hands.
The seller coughed and smiled awkwardly, giving the girl a look, showing he wasn’t a part of any of this anymore as he collected the Earth mana stones on his counter.
All of the people in the group wore a sword-like medallion that seemed to be carved from polished rock. Lines of various colors moved through the surface of the sword.
“Ah, young genius Hilia,” Erik said, remembering her image from the pile of important people who would be at Arman.
The woman cupped her fist to Erik and Rugrat.
“I am sorry for my rudeness. I have been looking for a movement art to augment my smithing style and I believe that this art from the display might be what I need. One of my friends rushed to tell me about it but I was just a half second too late. For this, I am willing to pay twenty Earth stones above the price you paid for it as an apology and thanks.”
Erik looked at Rugrat.
“I am sorry, but I’m in need of this manual as well. I can only hope that you are able to find another one,” Rugrat said.
Hilia seemed to fight with what to say before she sighed and clasped her fist. “I can only blame my bad luck then. I am sorry for keeping you. Will you possibly contact myself or my master if you think of selling it?”
“Certainly. Good luck with the smithing tournament,” Erik said.
Using a movement art to help with smithing, when you think about it, it makes sense. Like how I use a flame art to help me with alchemy. Using different arts and abilities together, it creates many paths to advance down.
Erik and Rugrat headed into the crowd, the book already secured in Rugrat’s storage ring.
“Get information on who they are. There is no need to act rash. Maybe we can trade them something that they find useful,” Hilia said to one of her followers in a low voice thinking that Erik and Rugrat couldn’t hear her.
Erik was impressed. Here in the higher realms, there were many hidden Experts. Attacking someone without knowing their connection or knowing what they might be willing to trade wasn’t much smarter than going in blind to it all.
They walked the market more. Erik and Rugrat felt the eyes on them as Erik discreetly tested the different ingredients that they came across.
Erik scanned around before his eyes fell on a guarded doorway. Above it, written in mana-infused words, was a sign: Lee Clan’s Manual Store.
Erik nudged Rugrat and tilted his head at the building.
Rugrat changed his direction and they made it out of the people and walked up to the guard.
Erik felt him sweeping his perception over Erik and Rugrat but didn’t do anything as he let them pass.
His gear was all mid Journeyman level and he was level forty-six, showing that this Lee clan had some background to have such a guard outside.
A formation seemed to separate them from the outside world, removing the noise and the heat. They looked around at the people touring the room, moving to counters and to offices that were hidden down different corridors.
“Hello, sirs, this one is Katrine Mae. Is there anything that I can help you with?” An attendant bowed to them. She wore a light uniform that served to enhance her beauty and hint at more.
Erik nudged Rugrat on reflex, stopping the spreading grin across his face.
“We’re looking for fighting or technique arts,” Erik said.
The woman’s eyes lit up and her smile became brighter. She pressed her arms together, pushing her shirt’s limits. “Please, follow me this way. We have plenty of items to interest you! Is there any specific craft or fighting style art you are interested in?”
“Any and all,” Erik said.
“Certainly!” She took them over to a private room, waving them to comfortable chairs in front of a desk. She sat down opposite and pulled out several books. “These list the different kind of manuals. I can bring you samples from any of the manuals listed inside.”
The books were small, more like menus. Erik and Rugrat opened them.
Forty Earth stones for a basic fighting art manual. Erik looked through the techniques and then moved to the next.
Woodworking arts, tailoring arts, healing arts, beast taming arts—Rugrat studied the stealth movement arts and the spell casting arts, alongside the archery arts.
Erik noted down a number of fighting arts as well.
Although it is good to have multiple arts for a craft, having too many arts when fighting will only lead to confusion. The greater the selection, the closer one can find an art to their fighting style and use it to increase their combat power. Is that the basis of the sects? Why they pull in people who are not only talented, but have an affinity for their sect? Sword sects pulling in swordsmen and focusing on them?
Erik made some notes and looked at Rugrat. “Do you have your choices?”
“One second.” Rugrat flipped a page, going back and forth between some that had caught his eye.
>
“It’ll be easier to tell its value with a sample,” Erik said.
“Then I’ve got my selection,” Rugrat said.
“Could we get a sample from the Lightning Fist art, the Cobra Kicking art, the Spinning Wood art, Flowing Threads art, Penetrating Healing art.”
Erik and Rugrat named several arts, the attendant writing them down dutifully.
“I will require a deposit of five Earth-grade mana stones and I can only give you two hours to review all of the arts,” she said with a sad expression. “These stones can be used toward your final purchase.”
“That’s fine.” Erik pulled out the Earth stones and put them on the table.
She smiled and took them into a jade box. “I will return momentarily.” She turned and left.
“Notice she didn’t say we would get them back if we didn’t want to buy anything,” Rugrat said.
“Ah, looks like you’re maturing in your older age—getting a bit wiser?”
Rugrat flipped off Erik. They didn’t have to wait long before the attendant came back with a number of small manuals that were only a page or two thick.
Erik and Rugrat took the books and started to leaf through them. The words were brought to life; as they read, vivid scenes played in their minds, showing what the end result of the art would be.
Erik saw a woodworker spinning a knotted and ugly piece of wood that looked as though it deserved to be thrown into the junk pile.
The woodworker took her tools and jabbed them forward, shavings flying off the wood. In seconds, its size had decreased and the wood came to a stop. One could see that the disfigured wood had been reborn. A single staff lay in the lathe, emitting a powerful aura completely different from the wood from before.
“So it looks like it can refine and concentrate the power of the wood into its core; then she removed the excess and sealed that power within. It’s like ingredients, refining them so that they are incredibly potent. It looks impressive on the outside, but there is a lot more going on, hidden workings that could be complicated or easy to understand.”
Erik didn’t want to waste mana stones but they needed to start somewhere. Erik moved onto the next art.
He finally came to the Cobra Kicking art and watched as a man moved freely through his attacker’s stance, weaving through their kicks and punches before they raised their leg. A poisonous cloud appeared around their leg and it shot forward, hitting the opposing attacker.
The man using Cobra Kicking art lashed out again and again; the poison mounted in the attacker’s body, reducing his ability to fight.
The Cobra Kicking instructor backed away, easily staying out of the other’s reach before they crashed to the ground.
“Using their kicking art as a way to transmit poison into their opponent’s body.” Erik had his Poison Body and although it was good in a group fight, allowing him to weaken those in an area around him, or even kill them, when he was fighting beside his allies, he was unable to use it.
The attendant brought back teas and snacks for them as they continued to immerse themselves in the manuals.
There was a noise in the room and Erik and Rugrat looked up.
“I am sorry but the time has run out,” she said apologetically. “Though I can extend again for another ten Earth-grade mana stones,” she said with a wide smile.
“Do you have your choices?” Erik asked.
“Yeah.” Rugrat put forward several art manual slips and put the others to the side. Erik added his own piles to Rugrat’s.
“Could you price how much these would cost?” Erik asked.
“Certainly.” She took only a few minutes, writing down a few notations. “Your total for these fourteen arts is 753 Earth-grade mana stones.” She looked to be beaming at them both.
“These are much higher, though they’re not as high grade.” Rugrat pointed to different manuals.
“Ah, but they are in great demand. We only have a few of them left. If you buy these all together, then I can get you a discount of twenty mana stones,” she said.
“Done,” Erik said.
“I’ll get those ready for you.”
She headed out of the room and Rugrat sent Erik a sound transmission.
“We’ve got an auction starting in forty minutes, so might need to get a move on.”
“All right,” Erik said.
“Only been three hours and spent nearly a Sky mana stone already. Ballin’.” Rugrat threw up rocker devil horns.
Erik shook his head. “Fuuck.” He sighed at the other’s antics.
***
Minnie had always been diligent in her study of Alchemy. She was a good student and carried out a lot of missions. Unlike others, she didn’t have a backing in the Alchemist Association to help her along.
Although she was a good student, there were plenty of others who were good students. To the outside world, getting into the Alchemist Association was like having your path set out ahead of you.
She had thought it would be like that as well. But once she was inside the association, she learned that the competition wasn’t over; it just changed. Instead of just having to work for just one competition to enter the association, everyone was fighting all the time in different ways to get the eyes of others who could help them on their path to become a stronger alchemist.
There were a lot of good students in the Alchemist Association, but standing out was hard.
She enjoyed Alchemy but in the past, many of her products had exploded, set on fire, or turned into items of destruction instead of aids.
It made her unpopular with the Alchemy workshop students as they would need to clean up after her, time that they could spend studying or doing anything that was more fun.
After some time, just for fun, she started to look at these reactions and study them, just see what kind of destruction she could create. It had been a new outlet for her and she had become good at it. She had gone to different higher tier alchemists and tried to find classes that talked about these kinds of concoctions. Poisons and aids—those were what the Alchemist Association produced, not these fiery or exploding concoctions that were highly unstable.
So when she had seen the poster asking about a kind of destructive concoction, it caught her attention. She had thought it was just some kind of prank, but then she saw the seal and the reward with it. She had been surprised.
She slept on it a few days. She didn’t want to admit to anyone that she had not taken the advice that the other alchemists had given her. She had been experimenting with the destructive forces of Alchemy after their advice.
The reward and hearing people talking about it tilted her decision.
If I can complete the mission, maybe then I can interest some people in supporting me. If not, then the reward is already high enough to interest me.
So now, she found herself in front of the mission counter with the poster’s information slip in hand. She passed it to the man behind the counter with a letter that contained a formula inside.
“Thank you for your submission,” the man said.
She nodded and headed back to her room. Dozens of others were applying their formulas against the mission. It had to be verified that it worked and then passed to the client, who would accept or turn it down.
Shouldn’t have ever submitted that formula. Now the mission department will never take another formula from me again!
She was inside a workshop she had rented for an hour, working on different Stamina concoctions. They were very easy to make, but as people used concoctions instead of food to regain their Stamina in the higher realms, there was always a great demand for them.
She was about to finish up her latest batch when there was a knock at the door.
She frowned. “I swear I activated the sound-cancelling formation,” she muttered and kept on working, just filtering out the last impurities and preparing her bottles.
There was another knock at the door.
She was getting annoyed now. Why would t
hey turn off the sound-cancelling formation? Is there some kind of emergency?
The instability of her wavering mind made her forget her control over the flames, burning up the concoction within.
“Dammit!” she yelled, looking at the burnt sludge in the bottom of her cauldron.
Angered, she opened the door to her workshop with a dark expression. “What is it?”
“Expert Zen Hei wishes to speak with you.” The guard raised his eyebrow slightly.
Her eyes went wide and her expression paled, not sure how to react.
“Please gather your items,” the guard said.
She opened and closed her mouth but none of the words came out. She just bobbed her head and went back in the room. What does Expert Hei want with me?
She collected up her items without any conscious thought and went back outside.
“Please follow me.” The guard led her through the halls.
She lowered her head as people glanced at them in passing. Seeing his armor and the emblem on his chest, one could see he was a personal guard to Expert Hei, one of the three Pill Heads.
Seeing her, a half-step Journeyman Apprentice, trailing after him, they couldn’t help but talk.
“What could Expert Hei want with such a low ranked alchemist?”
“I heard that he doesn’t take on students.”
“Doesn’t take on students? I heard that he has a personal disciple who has a student themselves. He helped Expert Hei create that Master-level pill!”
“Do you think that she did something to get his ire?”
“Is he looking to make an example?”
All kinds of thoughts and questions fell from people’s lips as Minnie hid her hands in her robe’s sleeves, nervously moving them around.
They reached Expert Hei’s office and the guard opened the door. A woman sat at a desk, her brow creased as she looked through different books.
“Delilah,” Old Hei said from where he was working on paperwork.
“Oh, sorry, Grand Teacher.” Delilah—the woman—looked up from her work.
Expert Hei smiled but continued what he was doing.
The Fifth Realm Page 43
