Kristin and Anom were in front of a large, two-story building.
Gazing at the display cabinets visible through the glass, Anom realized that it was a bookstore.
"Let's enter." Kristin motioned for him to follow as she walked through the entrance of the store.
A moderate crowd was gathered on the ground floor, consisting mainly of adventurers and mercenaries. Practical experience was necessary, but it was also necessary to gather enough information and know-how before going deep inside the Zeru forest. The place was dangerous as it was; it would simply be fatal for the ill-informed.
Kristin seemed to know her way as she led them deeper inside the store. Walking through the rows and rows of shelves, Kristin stopped in front of one.
Anom saw her taking out a book with a hard cover. Leafing through the pages, she flipped to a seemingly particular page before dog-earing it at the top.
"All done!" Pressing it back on the shelf, she turned and smiled. "It was good, right?" she asked. "I learned this from Nia."
"It was neat." Anom agreed. The inconspicuous books on this shelf contained many words that could be used to create countless combinations of codes. It was a no-nonsense way of informing someone secretly.
But he then curled his lips and couldn't help but comment, "I wonder if you two decided to raid this city because of your confidence in such "special" techniques."
Kristin's face turned awkward before she snorted, "You're not going to let it rest, are you? It's not like we could've predicted every step." She then calmed herself before speaking, "To be honest, if not for Nia, I would not even have the confidence to do something this daring. But I'm glad I agreed. It was a fun experience." Her expression was like that of a mature person remembering their achievements.
Anom nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's quite fun to send yourself to your death."
"Ugh! You…" Kristin ground her teeth in fury. She really wondered how Nia could have handled this person alone.
"Alright." Anom chuckled at her reaction before turning calm. "Let's go to that section." He pointed at the aisle with the board: {Local Interests}
"You want to buy something?" Kristin asked.
"Hm. I just wanted to refresh my knowledge about my surroundings." He replied as he made his way towards the aisle he was interested in.
"This one." Browsing through the titles, Anom grabbed a thick book, titled "The Unique Aspects of Nulis City." Quite a… Simple title.
"So it's this, huh?" Kristin looked at the two-inch thick book as she explained, "This must be derived from the popular series in the capital—the Unique Aspect Volumes. The author is a professor at the Royal Academy."
With seemingly abundant knowledge of the topic, Kristin continued. "He was formerly a famous adventurer who is said to have travelled across many kingdoms. The book series, consisting of over a dozen volumes, that he compiled in his advanced age turned out to be quite a hit. It was especially praised by the merchants. It helped them, who had never left the kingdom, understand the distribution of resources within and beyond the boundaries of their nation. The merchant union even discovered several areas where the local merchants were getting swindled by their foreign counterparts."
Looking at the book in Anom's hand, she added, "Even His Highness the King had acclaimed him as a Royal Scholar." She paused before adding, "I didn't expect to see something similar here."
"Well, I don't need something that detailed. Just letting me know about Nulis City and its surroundings would be enough." Waving the book in his hand, Anom said to Kristin, "Let's go. We'll leave after I buy this."
After Anom paid for the book, they left the bookstore.
"Do you want to buy something else, or should we go back?" As they walked through the busy pathways, Kristin turned to ask Anom.
Anom pondered for a second before speaking, "Let's just wander around the area for a bit, then we'll go back to meet Nia and Crystal."
As Kristin nodded in agreement, they changed their route and went deeper inside the trading district.
As they moved ahead, the stores and shops on the sides also kept increasing in the extravagance that they displayed. All kinds of goods and services that could only be called luxuries seemed to be this area's focus. In regards to that, the crowd had also thinned. The people walking here could also be distinguished from the crowd earlier.
Although this was only a small city with a basically insignificant existence in the kingdom, Nulis City was still the main hub of many nearby villages and small towns. However deficient it might be compared to the other cities, it was still a place that held the aspirations and dreams of many.
Suddenly, Anom noticed a commotion on the path ahead of him. A large crowd was gathered outside a store. Given how packed the crowd was, Anom would not even have been able to identify the building as a store had it not been for the board hung above its door.
Although there were many people, they were kept in order by the uniformed guards that stood among the crowd.
For one thing, they were private guards, not the ones belonging to the city lord. Another thing was that Anom also recognized their origin.
"The Handlers seemed to be having a good time," he muttered.
He walked forward before turning towards a man who was standing a bit behind to be considered part of the crowd.
"Hey, dude. Are you all here for a sale or something?" With a curious expression on his face, Anom directed the question towards the man, who had also sensed his presence.
"Hmm? You don't know?" The guy exclaimed for a moment before asking, "The Handler family had gone through the effort to advertise their new products through the whole city since morning, and you still don't know?"
This guy sure knows how to exaggerate. Anom thought speechlessly. It wasn't even noon; how was the news supposed to travel through the whole city this fast? But he didn't say that out loud. Since he had already asked, he decided to play along.
"Was it this morning?" With an awkward expression on his face, Anom explained, "Ah, you see? My girlfriend was looking a bit too enticing today. So I had to accompany her in the bed a bit more." There was a sheepish smile on his face as he, intentionally or not, turned a bit towards Kristin, who was standing behind him.
Hearing his reply, the guy was stunned for a moment before he guffawed. "Ha-ha, friend. You are quite interesting!" He then turned his head towards Kristin and noticed her fair skin and clear eyes that were peeking through her covered face.
"Ho-ho!" A smile that only men would understand appeared on his face before he exclaimed, "Now that I'm sure that you were not talking nonsense, let me tell you about it."
Kristin's lips twitched as she heard the talk between the two guys that made no sense to her besides seeming perverted. She would have really rushed forward to smack some morality into the two had this been the capital. Alas, it was not her turf. Hence, she could only sacrifice her ears and continue listening.
Thankfully, the guy seemed to have gotten in the mood to finally explain as he cleared his throat before speaking, "There's a rumor that the Handler family has supposedly developed various advanced drugs and recovery potions. But not many were willing to believe it at first. After all, the industry had been stagnant for so long. Only the imported goods from the other cities, which appear at irregular intervals, could excite the people. But it changed in the morning today when they made the announcement to give weight to the rumor."
Turning to look at the dense crowd, he said helplessly. "The announcement also carried the words about there being a limited quantity of the products available. Now it has become like this."
Anom nodded inwardly while outwardly showing an ignorant expression as he continued to ask, "What are they making such a fuss over? Aren't they just some potions? It's not like they're going to stop selling after today. Just come over later to buy when more are available."
"Hey, hey! Tone it down, friend." The guy seemed scared as he scanned his surroundings. Not finding anything abnormal, the guy closed the distance and spoke in a low tone, "Keep your voice down. Don't let the guards hear you." He then paused before explaining, "You're not wrong with what you said, but you have to understand that these potions, which are still a rarity, are something that can affect the situation of the many small and medium-sized forces in the city. Do you understand now?"
Anom nodded, as he could guess the reason. The forces the guy in front of him was talking about must have already reached an equilibrium. Now, these potions have endangered that delicate balance, and since there was no way to remove them from the picture, they could only fight to be the ones to grab them in their hands.
A slightly enhanced potion might seem like something not worth much attention, but when both sides are equal in weight, the slightest nudge can decide the outcome.
"Thanks, dude. I hope you'll be able to grab some for yourself." Anom thanked the man as he turned to leave.
"Yeah. I hope so too." The guy sighed before he went back to the crowd.
"These people are really restless." Kristin commented as she came forward. Clearly, the people she mentioned must be the Handlers.
Anom nodded in agreement. "The young master from the capital must have brought a lot of good "toys" with him. Given their desire to conquer this city, it's only natural that the Handlers can't contain their urge to show it off."
"Let's go." Anom said. "Those two should be done by now."
Kristin nodded and followed him as he walked on the way back to the Safaira estate.
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Author's Note: I have used the term potion in this chapter, but it's only a generalized reference. It is not to be mixed with the various types of magical potions mentioned in magic/mage/wizard genre novels. I have written this novel with energy cultivation/training as the core theme. But it will be different from the traditional Wuxia novels. Although still within the scope of fantasy, the plot I'm trying to write will at least follow some logical theories and not have some whimsically stupid concepts. Well, the point could be quite confusing, as the fantasy genre is all about being imaginative and whimsical.
All in all, you will all come to understand as the story progresses.
lemmewrite
Thanks for reading. Add this to your library if you like it. Don't forget to throw some stones my way even if you don't.
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