Chapter 4: Wisdom Tear
Once he entered his room, he sat on the wooden bed and started to recall how to concoct the 'Wisdom Tear' potion.
'First, I need to get the main ingredients and utensils required for potion brewing.'
Unlike the alchemic potions, creating these normal potions wasn't a complicated process. One could find the ingredients in the city outskirts or even inside the Mansion itself!
So, Abium didn't have to spend hundreds of gold coins to buy these potion ingredients.
'Flux seeds are mostly used for cooking, so I think I can get a few from the kitchen. As for the blue herb, I might find it in the garden.'
Blue herb was an ornamental plant, so he didn't have to sneak outside to search for that herb.
'But the problem is about finding the Spirit Berries and the Rose Petals. I think I can find them in the city's outskirts.' A frown appeared on his face. He hurriedly moved towards the wooden table placed on the corner of his small room, opened the cupboard, and took out a leather pouch from it.
Following that, he untied the knot and looked into it.
He soon saw a total of 13 silver coins stored inside the leather pouch. It was his life savings by doing chore works. Although he used the money for buying magic stones and toys in the past, he started saving a small amount of money for emergency purposes.
In truth, it was Alfred's idea. He was the one who told him countless times at least to save a minimum amount of money for emergency purposes. Thankfully, Abium did listen to his request and started saving money.
'No wonder the proverb says: Listen to your elder's advice. Not because they are always right but because they have more experience of being wrong.' A chuckle escaped out of his mouth. If he were in Alfred's position, he would've done the same.
He hurriedly picked up five silver coins from the leather pouch and put them in his pant pocket. Following that, he put the leather pouch in the cupboard again, locked it, and then walked out of his room.
After that, he moved towards the courtyard area, looked at the guards one by one, and soon started walking towards a particular guard.
'Warrior Claude!'
Even though it was completely dark outside, he managed to identify the guard due to the nearby fire torch.
Claude was a middle-aged man who appeared to be around 40 years old, had curly grey hair, hooded hazel eyes, extra long eyebrows, crooked nose, fair skin, and an oval face. He wore leather armor over his linen shirt and held a long sword in his waist.
'He should be around Peak Tier-2 Warrior.' He analyzed his strength in an instant. It was not due to his unique skill but his years of experience in warrior technique.
If someone looked at Claude closely at that moment, they would find a unique type of invisible vapor appearing around his body before dispelling into thin air constantly.
These reactions would only happen when a Warrior reaches the peak Tier-2 stage!
At that moment, Claude also noticed his arrival and looked at him in surprise.
"What are you doing here at this time, Abium?" His voice contained a trace of shock.
Meanwhile, Abium smiled in response and made a request.
"Uncle, I need some materials from the city's outskirts. Can you get it for me?"
"Materials? At this hour? For what purpose?" Confusion appeared on Claude's face.
Meanwhile, Abium swiftly took out three silver coins from his pocket and gave them to him.
"I want to keep that part secret, Uncle. But if you get that for me, I'll give you a big surprise later." He said with a mysterious smile on his face.
But instead of taking the coins, Claude looked at him suspiciously and asked.
"What are those ingredients do you need from the city's outskirts?"
"Spirit Berries and Rose Petals," Abium said with a smile.
"That's it? W-Wait, does Bulter Alfred know you are wasting your money? He won't shout at me for helping you, right?" Claude asked with a stiff smile but took the silver coins from Abium's hand.
Meanwhile, Abium shook his head and responded with the same mysterious smile on his face.
"You don't have to worry about that. Also, prepare some cracker rocks for the journey, Uncle. We might encounter many goblins along the way."
On the other hand, Claude got stunned by his words and nodded thoughtfully. In truth, he didn't think it was necessary to bring cracker rocks during their journey to the capital. But after hearing the Abium's warning, he decided to buy two dozen cracker stones for safety purposes.
"Okay, wait in your room. I'll go and bring those two materials soon." Saying so, he moved towards the compound gate, spoke a few words to the gatekeepers, and stealthily walked out of the Mansion.
Meanwhile, Abium turned around and moved towards the kitchen building again.
...
A few minutes later, Abium returned to his old shabby room, took out a few Flux seeds, three blue herbs, a leather bottle filled with pure water, two glass vials, and a Fire burner from his both pant pockets one by one and placed them on the wooden table.
Then, he took three candles from the cupboard and lit them one by one using a match stick. The dark, gloomy room illuminated the next instant and glowed in yellowish color.
'Perfect.'
Nodding inwardly, he moved towards the wooden door and locked it from the inside.
After that, he inhaled deeply to calm his fiercely thumping heart, looked outside through the small window, and soon breathed out a sigh of relief.
He almost alerted the guards when he sneaked into the Mansion's garden a while ago.
If not for his swift decision to throw a stone on the other side and distract them, he would have been caught by them now!
'Staying here is more like walking on the iron needles.'
Shaking his head, Abium closed the window and turned his gaze towards the wooden table.
He then sat on the iron stool and focused on the ingredients.
First, he broke the low-tier magic stone into multiple pieces using Quern stone and started pulverizing it. Then, he also did the same to Flux seeds and placed them separately.
At that moment, he heard a knocking sound from outside, stood up from the iron stool, and moved towards the wooden door.
Soon, he unlocked the door and opened it.
"Oh? What are you doing, kid?" Claude tried to peek inside, but Abium blocked his path and showed his palm towards him.
Meanwhile, Claude let out a deep sigh and passed him a leather bag full of glowing blue-colored berries and red roses.
"Use all you want, but don't cause any ruckus, lad." He said with a chuckle and walked away from there. What Abium was doing in his room was nothing but a silly thing in his eyes.
'But this kid is acting weirdly today.' He muttered as he reached the courtyard and shifted his attention towards another leather bag he held in his left hand.
'Hmm, I should also go back and get ready for the journey.' Although he wanted to rest, he didn't have any time now.
Shaking his head, he left the mansion house and went to the next street. That's where his home was located.
In the meantime, Abium returned to the same place, took a copper tumbler from his cupboard, and placed it on the wooden table.
Then he poured some pure water into it and boiled it using the Fire burner.