"That's almost 5 Gold for 3 potions!" William complained to the elderly man.
"I'm sorry but this is the rule of our Potion Master." he replied with a tinge of anger on his face. The Potion Master was not to be offended.
"Can I speak to your Potion Master about this?" Will was not giving up. Even if he could afford 5 Gold, Will was not going to let the Alchemists take advantage of him.
"This.." the elder wanted to say more, but paused mid-sentence when he noticed a figure entering the hall from behind a nearby potion room.
"Potion Master! This alchemist greets you!" he bowed deeply and didn't bother anymore with William.
The Potion Master spoke up, "Young man, your name is William? You have some explaining to do for harvesting all the nearby herbs in such a manner."
William looked over and noticed the Potion Master had a unique and formidable aura which pressed down on his shoulders. Even without any Cultivation, William could tell that the seemingly old man was not a pushover. He adopted a respectful tone even though he wanted to give the man a piece of his mind.
"Yes Sir, I am not very good at gathering herbs, and was just aiming to complete my Quest."
"Didn't the Guild tell you not to damage or pull the roots of herbs? They give a rulebook to all their new members, can you not read?
Not only this, but when one of my Alchemy Masters visited the forest, it took them over two hours just to find a sprout! It is unacceptable by the Alchemy Hall that a Commoner would destroy such a valuable resource!" the Potion Master shook his fist in anger.
Even though the Potion Master was right, William wasn't going to back down any more. His previously apologetic tone changed to anger, "You cannot blame me for this. If you want the materials then I will get them to you one way or another. What's wrong is you are charging me double the price for potions!"
"And I can charge you triple if I feel like it. No useless Adventurers deserve the normal price for our goods."
"I can't be useless if I delivered over 300 Lifeshrooms on your order, that has to mean something!" William complained.
The Potion Master was impressed by this kid's courage, "Then let's have a bet! Briar, come here!"
"Yes Master!" a voice resounded from a second potion room with a door slightly ajar. The same fiery redhead that William met at the Guild and scammed in the forest showed himself with an ingratiating smile unlike his previous arrogant attitude.
He saw William by the counter with the Potion Master and had an idea of the situation. Briar was gloating on the inside, but flashed a noble smile at William before bowing to the Potion Master, "What do you need, Master?"
"This young man has ruined a precious natural garden of Lifeshrooms. I want you to teach him how to gather herbs properly, then the two of you will hold a contest to see who can collect the most medicinal ingredients. Every improperly harvested herb will reduce your final score." the Potion Master ordered with a wave of his hand.
William didn't like this situation, "Sir, I don't have any Cultivation compared to him! And besides, what if he doesn't actually teach me?"
"You're about the same age, you can only blame yourself for not being better. He won't teach you wrong, because I'll be here to witness the process. I cannot afford to have untrained animals ruining my valuable herbs." the old man snorted.
"What do I get if I win?" William asked.
"If you win? Ha! You'll be lucky to gather a dozen herbs without tearing out the roots." the Potion Master laughed. He thought for a moment, "But I suppose I'll stop charging you double price for items at our shop.
If you lose the challenge though, you'll have to compensate us for the damage by replanting Lifeshrooms until the herb garden is restored."
This deal is bullsh*t, do they think I'm a fool? William had almost nothing to gain from this deal. "Do you think I'm a fool? I'll just stop visiting your shop and find other Alchemists in another city."
"I have connections in other cities too, boy. Don't think you can escape punishment by running away." the Potion Master threatened.
———
System Quest: The Alchemy Hall has threatened the Host's future potential. Accept their challenge and defeat Briar to ensure your growth is not hindered.
Difficulty: Medium
Rewards: 250 Potential Points
———
William's eyes shined at the Quest issued by the function. The 250 Potential Points reward was extremely tempting, but he still wasn't happy with the Alchemy Hall's terms.
"I'll agree to your challenge if you give me an additional 10% discount for winning."
The Potion Master was surprised at William's response. "Hmm, you have a deal young man. I don't know what gives you confidence to accept, but I like your attitude. Regardless of the outcome, our grievances are in the past.
Meet with us tomorrow morning at dawn. The challenge will start the following day."
"Alright." William was one of the few people who had no problem waking up early in the morning. He would have left at this point, but he remembered what the original purpose of going here was. "Potion Master, please make an exception for these three mana regeneration potions. I have to prepare for a Guild Quest this week."
"No exceptions. Win the challenge if you want a discount." the Potion Master was unrelenting, much to William's dismay. He was forced to let the Alchemy Hall scam him for the potions at 4 Gold, 8 Silver.
William grumbled the entire way out of the store, down the street, and past the Guild Hall. He complained past the village entrance, along the path, and inside his house. It wasn't time for lunch yet, so William laid on the bed and imagined ways he could make the Potion Master miserable in the future.
"Death by fire is most suitable..no wait. What if I ate all his food and stole his potion cauldron?"
Holding grudges? Nope, Will never does that.
Arsonist thoughts aside, William decided to plan for the two upcoming events. Before, he needed to kill a Wind Wolf before the end of the week. Now, he has to take part in an herb gathering contest with Briar.
'If I can earn the reward from this contest, it should boost my power and make it easier to kill a Wind Wolf. That being said, Briar has the Wind Element and will reach herbs faster than me.' William considered his options and developed a plan. He had advantages of his own with the Life Element and his high Affinity. All that remained was to practice in the Livingwood Forest and learn from Briar.
'If I had a Space Ring, I wouldn't need to return to the village so often and could even clear the outer part of the forest in one trip. What a pain...'