Classes end mid-afternoon, the rest of the day is free for students to do any activity. Luke, decided to go to the commercial area of the city.
He plans to buy some pills and elixir to increase his magic power. There are four ways to increase mana core and therefore magic power.
First, and longest, is to absorb mana from nature. This requires a lot of concentration and good breathing technique.
The second is to absorb pills or elixirs made by alchemists.
Third, is to absorb magic beast cores. This is considered the best method, however it is necessary that the core contains a lot of magic power, that is, a beast that is at least A-rank.
It is possible to absorb the core of lower tier beasts, but no one recommends it.
It's not worth absorbing the cores of these beasts.
One core of a high-ranking beast is equivalent to fifty cores of a low-ranking beast.
And the fourth method, magic artifacts that increase magic power. There are people who absorb the power of these artifacts, making them obsolete.
The city streets at these times are very busy, many academy students go out together to have fun or do other activities.
Many smart merchants have opened establishments to serve students, thanks to this, an entire region has developed because of them.
Luke, he likes a bakery in this area. After shopping, he plans to go back and buy something at the establishment.
After a few minutes, Luke arrived in front of the store his grandfather had told him about. This store was one of the first to be opened in the region, due to this, the building has an old structure.
Your grandfather always said that this shop has the best alchemists and all products are of the highest quality.
He once said to be careful with some stores. Some sell products for more than their actual value.
In addition to the higher price, they mix other substances in the midst of medicinal herbs. This, in turn, makes the efficiency much lower.
Luke, entered the store. A smell of rue entered his nose. Looking around, he saw that there was incense scattered around the establishment. In addition to the incense, Luke came across a mess.
Books everywhere, on the shelf and piled on the floor, swords, axes, shields, spears, among other weapons scattered around the store, alchemy products and things Luke didn't even know what they were.
Due to the mess, Luke had to walk around the store carefully. If he bumped into something, a pile of objects would fall on top of him.
After fulfilling the impossible mission of not bumping into anything, Luke arrived at the counter.
Behind the counter was an old man with his eyes closed. He was probably sleeping. The old man was bald, had two bushy eyebrows and a big nose. To compensate for the lack of hair on top of his head, the man had a beard that extended to his chest.
COF! COF! COF!
Luke coughed loudly, but it didn't work. He repeated it a few more times, but again the man gave no sign that he was going to wake up.
Luke hit the counter, yelled, nudged the man, but nothing worked.
"Tch!"
Harvestz was about to give up, but looking around, an idea popped into his head.
"What will happen if I take this book away?" The book is one of the foundations that supported other books.
When he was pulled by Luke, everyone else fell, triggering a series of disasters greater than the boy expected.
The books that fell caused other stacked books to fall, causing some weapons to fall as well. These, in turn, broke some glass.
After this confusion, Luke looked at the old man. Slowly, the bearded man opened his eyes. Half lost, he looked around.
"What happened here?"
"I think a hurricane passed through here."
Luke said, with the greatest shame in the world. The old man, who so far hadn't seen Luke, looked at him.
Surprised by the young man's presence, the bearded man stood up.
"A customer."
"Oh, yes. I came... Giant."
Luke's eyes widened at the size of the man behind the counter. Before, he was sitting on a small wooden bench, making him look like he was of normal height.
As he stood up, the old man revealed his true height. He was at least two meters. Also, he wasn't fat, but he wasn't skinny either, he was normal.
"How can I help you?"
"I came to buy pills and an elixir. Top quality."
"Hmm...wait here."
The man said and went to the back of the store, when he returned he brought two wooden boxes.
"These are the best."
He opened the box, there were several pills separated into small squares. All had a clear glow.
"I'll take three."
"Do you want to choose?"
"No, give me what you think is best, sir... What's your name?"
"Dan."
Only experienced alchemists can tell you which pills are better. Knowing this, Luke didn't even bother to choose and just let Dan choose them for him. It would just be a game of chance.
Dan selected three pills and packed them. Then, he opened the second box. It contained several bottles of elixir.
"I recommend this one to you. The main component is white basilisk blood."
The white basilisk is a rare species. In addition to the color, the venom is stronger, and the body size is different from the others. Normal basilisks are D-rank monsters. However, the white basilisk is classified as B-rank.
Luke paid and thanked Dan. As he opened the store door, Luke listened.
"Until next time, Mr. Luke Harvest."
"Up until."
Luke found it strange, at no point did he say his name. So how did Dan know? Harvestz doesn't know it, but he's famous among commoners.
Luke himself has built this fame, he is known for his 'goodness'. He always treated the residents of the imperial capital with respect and never judged anyone by their social status.
The son of the Harvest family, the most powerful dukedom, treated commoners well. Also, he has Imperial blood, obviously something like that has spread.
That's the other reason some nobles don't like Luke. Being noble is synonymous with better, that is, superior to commoners. That's how most of them think.
Luke never cared about titles. In addition, he marked on his chest what his mother told him one day.
'We must value the commoners, they are the basis of society.'
Luke understood immediately. If there were no commoners, who would work in the fields, in the blacksmith shop, in the transport of goods and in so many other areas?
Commoners are important, but most nobles don't think about it. In Luke's view, most nobles are nothing more than self-conscious idiots.
Luke came out of the store and started running. Soon, the bakery would close.
Fortunately, Luke was able to buy what he wanted. The owner, who knows the boy, closed a little later.
After buying what he wanted, Luke started walking back to the dorms. Suddenly, he heard someone calling him.
"Lukizin."
There's only one person who calls him that. Upon looking, he found two identical boys. Brown hair, defined and tall face. That's the definition of the two.
They were Charles and Charlie, twins. Even their voices are similar.
Both sons of the empress, that is, cousins of Lucas. There are two ways to differentiate the two.
The first, the hair. Charles combs his hair to the right and Charlie to the left.
The other way is the eyes.
Despite being the same color, Charlie's eyes show envy.
Charles wad chosen as a sword saint, one of the heroes. Even receiving this title, he was never favored by the empress. Obviously, in the race for the throne, Charles has a certain advantage.
If he returns alive and victorious from the war, he will inevitably be named future emperor.
Charlie simply envies his brother. Everyone wants to be a hero, a chosen one.
Everyone but Luke, until two weeks ago he really didn't care. The only reason he changed was to protect his loved ones.
In history, demons never invaded the empire. But, the prophecy that Argonos said stirred Luke. If this prophecy does come to pass, it's best to be prepared for the worst.
"Let's meet some friends. Would you like to go?"
Charles said as he approached Luke. As always, he conveys an aura of superiority.
"A reunion?"
"Yes, Rebecca will be there."
"So it's an S-class reunion."
"Basically."
Luke scratched his face with his finger and grimaced thoughtfully. In fact, he doesn't want to go.
If he denied it right away, it would be a little rude of him.
"Best to leave it for another time, I have something to do now."
"Well, I won't insist. Come on Charlie."
Since the conversation started, Charlie hasn't said a word. Luke even forgot his presence.
"See you two another time."
Turning his back, Luke started walking towards the dorms.
Entering his room, Luke placed the pills and elixir on the floor.
Sitting cross-legged, he began to increase his magic power.