The third floor was a typical two-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, one-bathroom apartment, which was enough for Hill. It had probably been shared by several Mage Apprentices before, hence it was a bit cluttered. Hill tidied up the room and set out the furniture from his Alchemy Hut.
These days, Hill spent more time reading books and less time meditating. Fran strongly supported his engaging in sundry activities, as mingling with people and affairs was precisely what a Magician should do at this stage: it was crucial to strengthen the human aspect and not get dragged away by beastly impulses.
Hill clapped his hands, deciding to open for business the next day. After all, as soon as anyone discovered the shop, hordes of players would swarm in.
The next morning, as Hill got up and pushed open the windows, there were already crowds of female players on Maple Leaf Street.
Looking down, he saw that they were all dressed in various outfits, striking different poses among the drifting maple leaves.
Hill shook his head; sure enough, it was all about fashion: backless evening dresses and chest-high mini gowns had made their appearance. All to showcase their elegant high heels, they were all wearing short skirts.
No wonder several neighbors dared not open their doors.
Hill inspected carefully, yet there was a hint of helplessness and absurdity on some male players' faces as they stood by. The variety of shirts, long pants, and leather shoes pleased Hill.
He was tired of the nobility's multi-layered collars on shirts. Wearing those alone wasn't allowed, but simply wearing a Mage Robe always made him feel underdressed.
Hill went downstairs to open the shop. He pushed the door open, lit up the sign, and then just waited for the customers to come.
Hill set up a small round table by a floor-to-ceiling window on the first floor, loaded it with food, and began to enjoy a meal in the armchair.
Soon, some passing players noticed the only open shop on this street.
Hill realized it was someone he knew: the famous A Deer, known for hitting people over the head with a Priest Hammer. There were a couple of familiar faces with her, but most seemed to be newcomers; it looked like their guild really had entered en masse.
She was wearing a white fishtail gown, and the jewelry visible on her hands sparkled faintly, probably her professional accessory.
Such Alchemy Jewelry wasn't cheap; apparently, wealthy players were now able to keep up with the mainstream gear of this world.
The girls began to explore the place: sneaking glances at Hill in the process.
Hill wore a deep blue Mage Robe, purposely looking mature, serious, and stern.
However, it was no use.
A Deer was clearly heard saying, "Look at that pretty uke."
Hill looked up at her, then someone tugged at her clothes, "Is he looking at you? Did he hear you?"
A Deer nonchalantly replied, "He probably feels I'm talking about him, but I'm not saying anything bad, just praising his beauty! Other NPCs won't understand, it gets blocked."
Hill thought blankly, Block me, please! I don't want to hear this.
Sure enough, those girls started trying to match Hill with someone, making him hastily get up and ask, "Is there anything you need? You can use the Mana Points on the tray to access the crystal, which will provide product descriptions."
He turned to see the Alchemy Jewelry, "These are very suitable for those in the Magical System."
The large gemstone-made ornate jewelry caught their attention, and they swarmed to look at them.
Hill tried to ignore the chattering noise of their discussions, noticing A Deer inspecting Alchemy Medicines: a smart girl, the guild needed medicines the most. She immediately picked up a tablet and started looking for someone.
Soon Baldy came rushing in with Xiao Liuliu. It seemed the guild leader's wife handled the finances.
His voice boomed, "Hey, apprentice, lucky you saw this. Otherwise, by the time I woke up, everything would have been gone."
Xiao Liuliu quickly advanced to the medicine cabinet, "We've got to open up guild territory, got to get the accounts right."
"No worries, we're only level 50, still a long way to advance to level 100!"
Xiao Liuliu ignored him, "Lulu, it's good you woke up early."
Baldy asked, "What are that bunch looking at?"
"Jewelry, very pretty! Master, I went to see too, you and Mistress take your time shopping," she replied.
Baldy nudged Xiao Liuliu, "You go check it out too! Buy more if it's nice."
Xiao Liuliu rolled her eyes, "Didn't you spend all our money on horses?"
Baldy chuckled, "Wasn't that a limited edition snatch? Lucky I grabbed fast. I'm getting Gold from Little Bug. You go have a look too!"
Xiao Liuliu said, "Looks plentiful, but I'll get the medicines first. Our guild's stock is too low."
Baldy nodded vigorously, then turned and saw Hill sipping morning tea, and leaned in to whisper, "Good morning, Archmage sir. First time seeing you. Wasn't this place open yesterday?"
Hill tilted his head and glanced at him, "I'm here to attend the new King's coronation and will leave after running the shop for a few days."
Baldy paused briefly, then suddenly jumped up and ran towards Xiao Liuliu, "Wife, wife, quickly call everyone online, this is a limited offer."
Xiao Liuliu hurriedly said, "I'll call them, you watch your language. Want to get banned for seven days again?"
Baldy opened his mouth, swallowed the words on his lips with difficulty, "Ah, can't even use expressions."
Hill struggled to keep a straight face.
Baldy added, "Hurry them up. See if we can buy it all. Tell them not to spread the word, if those from Doomsday hear about it, I'll cry if Listening Wind shows up."
Fran looked at the girl with the ponytail dressed in a black cocktail dress, quite puzzled. She pondered, "It's one thing to play a mischievous character in a keyboard game, but what kind of obsession compels one to do the same in a holographic game? Do they assume that since they can't see themselves, it's only others who get disgusted?"
Xiao Liuliu suddenly smiled, leaning closer. "Archmage sir, can I get a discount if I buy more items?"
Fran shook his head. "These are all already at the lowest price, young lady, with no discounts available. Once they're sold out, that's it."
She asked gently again, "Sir, your alchemy items are very good. Will you sell more in the future?"
"We have our own Magic Tower and don't come to the Capital unless necessary."
"That's such a pity! I really hope to be able to buy such good things continuously."
Fran smiled silently, and Xiao Liuliu had no choice but to leave.
Seeing that someone was ready to make a purchase, Fran tossed a few Alchemy Golems towards the store's control core.
The golems quickly lifted several trays and walked to the girls' side, waiting for them to confirm their selections.
Baldy trotted over again. "Sir, may I ask what controls these golems?"
Fran gave him a glance. "These are controlled by the most basic Magic Tower core. Long ago, those at the Mage Level could construct magic towers, and they developed this type of core. It can only manage three stories worth of alchemy items and magic arrays. It can handle some minor computational statistics."
"However, these tasks can now be handled by Mage Apprentices, and using these is much cheaper. Gradually, they were phased out. Now it's mainly alchemists who don't want to hire staff who use them for their shops."
"Are these things very expensive? Sir."
"The core isn't expensive, 20,000 Gold Coins will get you one. But it requires an Elemental Crystal each day to operate, which costs 1,000 Gold Coins each."
Baldy muttered, "*$#% it, sell me then!"
Xiao Liuliu suddenly said angrily, "How did you get warned again! If you get banned one more time, I'm not helping you command!"
Baldy hurried back sheepishly to appease his wife.
Fran watched the pair bickering and felt nostalgic: This is what true love looks like.
In this world filled with deceit and conspiracy, Fran didn't believe he would fall in love with anyone. The overly sensitive nerves of a mage made it difficult for most to marry. Not to mention magicians like Fran, who were guided by Natural Consciousness.
In the past, although Fran could sense when someone in front of him was lying, he wasn't as sensitive as now. Each time someone tried to deceive him, the voice of nature would swirl around him, reminding, "He's lying to you! He intends to harm you! He is malicious!"
Nature loved him, Fran knew, but he really didn't want to distinguish things so clearly. He missed the bliss of ignorance.
Suddenly, dozens of people rushed into the entrance, and Fran was delighted to see that most were men: indeed, all dressed in fine outfits.
Fran walked to the spacious workbench in the center of the shop, sat down, and proclaimed loudly, "Identification and miscellaneous intake!"
Baldy charged over abruptly. "Sir, do you also do identifications? It's our first time seeing this!"
Fran tilted his head. "You've always been following Prince William to war; surely, you haven't seen an alchemist."
The Magic Sword standing behind Baldy asked, "Only alchemists can perform identifications?"
"Others may know the names of the items and vaguely what they are used for, but they could also be mistaken. Alchemists are meant to analyze everything in the world, generally knowing what specific materials can do."
"So, basic identification means this? Telling me what the name means?" Luo Sanquan, standing third in line, muttered.
Fran noticed their group also jostling for a position. These few were all Sky Knights, quickest to act.
Baldy casually dumped a pile of items on the table. "Sir, can you give a price estimate?"
Fran looked up at him. "I'll give you material prices for each item, 1 Gold each. For more detailed and specific uses, 10 Gold each."
Baldy swallowed. "The 10 Gold ones."
Fran watched as people behind him stretched their heads to look at the items on the table, collecting any duplicates.
Dream Awakening, standing at the last, simply went to guard the door.
They coordinated very smoothly, and it seemed like the competition among players was fierce. Fran thought this over as he inspected each item.
First, he took out the Magical Beast Crystal Core. "I'll arrange these by Crystal Core Level for you, from low to high. These are all used in making medicines, generally accepted by any Potion Shop."
Xiao Liuliu quickly ran over to take photos, beckoning to those still paying.
Fran paused a few minutes for them, then continued, "Crystal cores can also aid in meditation, you need to test your Physical Attributes in a Temple or Magic Tower. Although during meditation the easiest attributes to absorb are your own, multi-element people may slow in leveling up due to a lack of elements at high stages."
Busy, Xiao Liuliu asked, "Is it the same for Priests?"
Fran looked at her. "Priests don't need crystal cores. Meditate more on Divine Grace in churches."
"So, churches have this use too!" A Deer muttered, "And I wondered why Prince William didn't just build schools instead."
Fran looked at this Archbishop level priest and didn't even want to respond, choosing to pretend he hadn't heard.
Baldy looked back and shouted, "Where's Chattering? Didn't he come? Can't he wake up earlier!"
The old man behind answered, "He didn't come, I recorded it. I'll pass it to him when he arrives."