Chrysos took a rope from his backpack and tied the four corrupted ones together.
Tightening the knot one more time, he lowered his face to the beast tamer's level because he wanted something that the beast tamer has.
"You there, remove your control over the lion so that I can ride it home." Chrysos pointed his finger close to the beast tamer's face.
"There's no way I'd do that!" The beast tamer snarled. He didn't like that he was being stepped on by another person.
"You're a tough nut, huh?" Chrysos placed his hand on the back of his head. Seemingly thinking of ways to make the beast tamer do what he wanted.
Meiros, who was watching from the sidelines, decided to intervene. "Master, I have observed how to make people comply before. Do you mind if I try and convince him?"
Chrysos turned his head and decided. "Why not, take over from here." Chrysos stood up and walked away.
Actually, Chrysos was quite curious how Meiros would convince the beast tamer.
The beast tamer heard everything and watched Meiros, who looked like a naive little kid approach him. He already scorned him inwardly. "Tch, give it up kid, there's no way you're convincing me to do jack$#/+."
Meiros didn't say a word and slapped the man with the back of his hand.
Pak!
Chrysos, who initially had his arms crossed, loosened it the moment he saw Meiros' interrogation method. "I was expecting him to use the unique abilities of a psychic, not to slap the man like a sack of rice."
The beast tamer also wasn't expecting to receive a slap. He gritted his teeth at Meiros and cursed, "You damn brat! I'll crush your eyes once I get out-"
Pak!
Meiros slapped him once again.
The beast tamer felt very humiliated and angry. He looked like he was going to explode in rage any time.
Meiros looked confused. "This guy is different from those I saw before. Maybe it's because I'm not trying hard enough." He then clenched his fist and punched the man in the repeatedly in the stomach.
As Chrysos watched his student abuse the beast tamer as if he was a punching bag, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the man.
But alas, the man wouldn't relent and it only fueled his resolve not to do what Chrysos wanted.
When Meiros saw that punching was also ineffective, he wiped some sweat off his forehead and rested his hands on his waist. He then got a new idea.
He pulled out his sword and crouched down. Meiros turned his head Chrysos who was watching from the corner and asked, "Master, do we have spare healing potions?"
Chrysos nodded. "I know what you're thinking, and even I'm wincing at the thought of it." Chrysos was planning to pull away Meiros if he was ever close to kill the beast tamer.
The beast tamer's initially stoic expression broke down into that of fear.
"Alright! alright! I'll remove it!" The beast tamer didn't know that Chrysos was that decisive to kill him.
"Good." Chrysos told Meiros to put his sword back and watched the beast tamer begrudgingly remove his influence over his tamed beast.
Meiros sheathed his sword and stood up.
The beast tamer didn't hesitate any longer and began to summon a magic circle. It was his unique ability. And once he did so, a similar magic circle appeared on the lion's forehead and broke apart. Signifying the lion's status no longer being under the beast tamer.
The lion looked at him in a daze.
When it fully recovered its senses, it growled and pounced at Chrysos.
"Hmph.." Chrysos kicked the lion, sending it crashing towards a tree.
The beast tamer's heart bled. That was his mount that he took care of for many years! Seeing it being thrashed like this, he felt a painful heartache.
The lion stood up and looked at Chrysos with apprehension. Chrysos didn't mind it and walked forward.
The lion knew that it couldn't defeat Chrysos, so it ran away.
"Oh no you don't." Chrysos dashed faster than the lion and grabbed it by the tail.
Roar!
The lion turned around and it wanted to bite Chrysos' head off. Stretching its large mouth, it tried to chomp a large piece out of Chrysos.
Chrysos lifted the lion by its mouth and threw it away, making it crash towards another group of trees.
The lion stood up with a little bit of difficulty. It looked at Chrysos warily before running once again.
"Do you think I'll allow that?" Chrysos ran towards the lion and held its hind legs.
The lion was trying its best to resist Chrysos' grip, but it was thrown up in the air and when it was about to land, it received a dull kick, sending it towards a boulder.
Bam!
The lion didn't try to run this time. It made up its mind to fight Chrysos. The lion roared and it brandished its claws to attack Chrysos.
"Have you even learned your lesson?" Chrysos was getting tired of the lion's resistance. He grabbed the lion's claws and smashed it down the ground like a piece of dirty rag.
Seeing that it was still resisting, Chrysos smashed it against the ground once more.
Bam! Bam! Bam! ...
The lion was heavily injured but it was still resisting.
"Oh come on.." Chrysos was about to punch it when the beast tamer spoke up.
"Stop! It's not going to follow your instructions if you keep beating it senseless!" The beast tamer was breathing heavily. It couldn't bear seeing his mount in this state.
"Oh, so how do I do it?" Chrysos turned to look at him.
"You need to entice it or befriend it. It's not going to respond nicely with threats." The beast tamer spoke with a ragged voice.
"You can talk to it right?" Chrysos asked him.
"Yes, what of it?" The beast tamer frowned.
"Tell it that I will kill him if he doesn't obey me." Chrysos unsheathed his sword.
The left eye of the beast tamer twitched.
"Even if I say that, it'll choose death over being commanded by you." The beast tamer spoke with difficulty. He couldn't believe that this duo was more violent than the four of them combined.
Meiros, on the other hand, was having fun watching how Chrysos tried to tame a wild animal. If he had popcorn, he would've been eating it by now.
Chrysos groaned. What does he have that will entice a lion?
He rummaged through his belt and didn't find anything good. Well, except for a hypertraining fluid which was made using slices of meat. It increased his strength by only a little bit to the point of being negligible. However, it still had a lot of protein.
Chrysos' eyes sparkled. Maybe the lion will like this? After all, this is a compressed version of flesh. Who knows? Maybe the lion would really like this stuff because most of the hypertraining fluids Chrysos made taste like raw meat.
Chrysos poured a few drops of the potion into another vial and fed it to the lion's mouth.
The beast tamer was confused what the potion was for since he didn't know what it does. Was the alchemist going to use a trick to make his mount obey him forcefully?
The drops fell on the lion's mouth. And since it couldn't resist anymore, it was easy for Chrysos to feed it.
When the lion drank the drops of the hypertraining fluid, it opened its eyes in excitement. It could feel the muscles in its body being fixed and it was being "massaged" in such a relaxing way.
It no longer looked fierce and instead, it chose to bow its head down to Chrysos. A sign of submission.
This potion was just too good.
"It worked!" Chrysos laughed and fed the lion more hypertraining fluids. It rode the lion's back and saw that it didn't have any resistance. It was surprisingly obedient.
It licked its paws and didn't mind Chrysos being on its back.
"What did you do?! What was in that potion?!" The beast tamer couldn't believe it. His mount that even he had trouble commanding was following this random alchemist because of a potion. He couldn't accept it so easily.
"No need for you to know." Chrysos carried the four of them and placed them on the lion's back. "Alright Meiros, now let's go." Chrysos hopped off the lion and carried the four corrupted ones on the lion's back.
Meiros was too short to climb easily, so he had to use telekinesis to lift him up just a little bit more. "Master, we can go now."
Chrysos asked him, "Are you sure you won't fall down?"
Meiros nodded.
Seeing this, Chrysos grabbed the reins but didn't know how to operate it. So instead, he pointed towards a certain direction and the lion fortunately understood that his master wanted it to go that way. And of course, it did.
They quickly went to the place where they just killed the hornet's nest.
Meiros was sitting on the lion's back until he saw the spot where he buried the Divinious crystal.
"Master, that's the shovel you used earlier. But looking at it once more, it looks like a spoon." Meiros pointed to a random stone shovel on the ground.
"Yep, I know." Chrysos dismounted the lion. "With this guy right here, we'll be traveling through Ironmountain without the need of me carrying you, don't you think that's amazing?" Chrysos laughed as he petted the lion's mane.
"Very amazing… The ride wasn't bad at all, and was surprisingly steady for a lion." Meiros felt that their gains for this day were way too much. "Master, I buried the crystal there so that it wouldn't be seen if anyone happens to pass by."
"Good job." Chrysos took the stone shovel and unearthed the Divinious crystal.
The Divinious crystal was already wrapped in sheepskin, so he just added the extra load on the lion's back and hopped on once more.
He tied the crystal to securely to the lion's back and asked Meiros, "Shall we go now?" He grabbed the reins, his hands ready to command it to move any time.
"Yeah, I want to go home and eat." Meiros used Chrysos' teachings and did the strange hand sign where your thumb was sticking out. What Meiros remembered was that it meant confirmation.
Hearing what Meiros said, Chrysos used his past horseback riding knowledge and whipped the reins down.
After that, both of them went back to the city.
Half an hour later, Ironmountain city…
The selection for the grand tournament was already coming to an end.
Chrysos turned in the quest and the three corrupted ones and received 21 gold coins. He kept the Divinious crystal a secret since he doesn't want anyone to know that he has a good treasure with him.
The Infernal Gale Lion was eye-catching, but since Chrysos was riding it normally as a mount, no one thought of it as strange. They just assumed that Chrysos bought it.
After all, most citizens would involve themselves too deeply in the business of awakened ones.
And just like that, two weeks passed and Chrysos' house had a total makeover.
Ironmountain didn't change too drastically except for multiple businesses starting to flourish and compete in the market.
Chrysos now has a larger house with more rooms, a stable for Vaf and Ralfor. The lion ended up being named by Meiros.
Also, Chrysos now has his own alchemy shed that he specifically paid for, costing around 14 gold coins.
Now, both Chrysos and Meiros have a room for the two of them. The shed is also a good addition so that the noise from brewing wouldn't keep Meiros awake at night.
It cost Chrysos 170 gold coins to build all of these.
In Ironmountain, the heroic church that holds the altar from the God of Heroes, Kharuen was finally built. People could go inside and worship the God of Heroes to receive heroic Divinious and if they're at the Elitius rank, they can use the Divinious to nourish their Divinious reserves to increase its capacity.
Relaxing in their new and renovated house, Chrysos looked around the house as he sat in the dinner table.
"Ahh, I really can't believe that we have a bigger house now." Chrysos thought of the days where he used to live in a run down cabin in the woods as he had his breakfast with Meiros.
"Yep, I was fine with a small house but you insisted that we make it bigger." Meiros spoke as he ate. He dipped the piece of beef into a special meat flavored sauce that Chrysos brewed.
"It's fine, we have enough money for it, right?" Chrysos looked around and felt accomplishment in his heart. "It's spent for our use anyway, so what's wrong with that?"
"I guess you're right." Meiros shrugged.
As the two of them enjoyed their meal, the selection tournament in Iqualius City also happened to conclude.
After the slots were increased, the selection tournament naturally increased the slots from seven to ten.
And with that, Alvira and Rienan managed to cling on the tenth and second spots. The others were shocked that Alvira Nelton was alive and well.
Many people knew about her condition being dire. Who could've known that she would recover and become a dark horse of the tournament? Despite being a newbie, after relentless training and plenty of resources spent on Alvira, she was lucky to cling on the tenth spot.
"Alvira, we'll be going to Majorii Ironfist's main city soon. Are you prepared?" Rienan said as he packed his clothes and other stuff in his suitcases.
"Of course I am. I'm not a child anymore." Alvira said as she brought her baggage with her.
Rienan couldn't help but feel happy every time he saw Alvira's smile. It felt like a short time when she was still bedridden. Seeing her full of vitality and happiness like this made him feel delighted.
Later, the two of them left for Ironclaw City.
Agarius Nelton looked at their carriage as they left. "Caei, I want you to prepare my carriage. I will be going to Ironmountain."
"As you wish Master Nelton." Caei bowed his head respectfully and walked away.
Agarius couldn't meet Chrysos before because of the several matters that he had to attend to. But now that he had time, he wanted to meet this lone alchemist who saved his daughter's life.
Butler Caei came back with a horse carriage and Agarius went inside. "Caei, you'll be in charge of the manor while I'm gone. Make sure to manage the small matters and leave the important ones when I come back."
"Yes, Master Nelton." Caei bowed.
Agarius nodded his head and instructed the driver to go.
Back to Ironmountain, Nalkar's Market of Desires…
Chrysos was selling his potions as usual and finished in about a few minutes. When he was about to leave, a person came up to him.
The man had dark red hair, a well trimmed beard, and brown eyes. He wore a blue and white coat with golden threads embroidered on his collars and shoulders. He wore a black tie, blue pants with thin white stripes and sharp looking black shoes. He had a mellow yet mature voice and his height was a bit shorter than Chrysos.
This man asked Chrysos with an inquiring tone, "You must be the alchemist who sold the smoothies before, right?" The man was wearing a very fine outfit. From this, Chrysos knew that he must be rich.
"Yes that's me, why? You want to buy the recipe for it? It's 4000 gold coins." Chrysos immediately set out a price.
"So quickly? I haven't even introduced myself." The man laughed and fixed his tie. "My name is Ruvie Lenth. I am the business chairman for the Carver family."
"So, you want the recipe?" Chrysos asked again.
"Yes, but.." Ruvie tried to speak when Chrysos cut him off.
"Again, it's 4000 gold coins filled with the complete details on how to make them." Chrysos listed out his price once again.
"It's not that... we would like to hire you." Ruvie said after clearing his throat.
"Nope, not interested. Are you buying the recipe or not?" Chrysos waved his left hand at him to show his disinterest. "I have work to do, so don't waste my time here."
"Eh... sure. I'll pay for it." Ruvie gave him four golden bills worth one thousand gold coins each. It had the official runic stamp of the country's Insilior, so it couldn't be faked.
The golden bills had a runic stamp made of Cabrital Crystals. The runes showed a depiction of a lion with horns and bones protruding through its back. It also shows a spear that pierced the lion's neck.
Cabrital Crystals are small red crystals placed on coins and bills. These crystals have special characteristics with how they affect Divinious, so they are used as a security measure and to distinguish the price of a coin.
The production of these Crystals are under the emperors of the Great Divine Kingdom's control. So faking these mysterious crystals is impossible. The special Divinious inside these crystals make them impossible to remove from the coins because doing so will make the crystals shatter.
If a coin has one Cabrital Crystal, it is worth one. If it has two crystals, it is worth five of its own value, if it has three, it is worth ten, if it has four, it is worth twenty, and if it has five crystals, it is worth 50 of its own value.
Meaning, five 1st Cabrital coins is equal to one 2nd Cabrital coin.
The golden bills were made of tough and durable paper that had golden prints around it that designed the bills beautifully. It even has drawings of the Great Divine Kingdoms drawn in the same golden print. The bills were slightly smaller than a dollar bill which made them easier to store.
Seeing this, Chrysos' eyes gleamed. He took the bills and said, "Here you go." Chrysos took out four pieces of paper with the recipes of all the smoothies and their flavors.
In his mind he thought. "Goddamn, if only it were that easy to bring large sums of money everywhere."
Ruvie took the pieces of paper and skimmed through all of its contents. "Sir alchemist, would you like to go with us to verify if this is correct? We'll pay for the ingredients that you have to use."
"Sure, why not." Even though Chrysos sounded unapproachable, he was actually very happy. He knew that this was just a verification, so he didn't mind coming with them.
Ruvie brought Chrysos to his carriage and rode it towards an Alchemy House.
It was a large carriage that used horses with golden armor and blue gemstones as eyepieces. They aren't hurting the horse, it only cuts their field of vision which leaves the front view.
Seeing Chrysos so quiet inside the carriage, Ruvie broke the silence with a question.
"Sir alchemist, I haven't asked for your name yet. What should I call you?" Ruvie asked politely.
"Gerald Greenwood." He didn't speak anything more.
Ruvie took note of this in his mind.
They finally arrived at an Alchemy House belonging to the Carver family.
When Chrysos entered the Alchemy House, it was pretty lively. It seems like they are very popular amongst the people when it comes to potion brewing.
It had the usual alchemy tools, materials and ingredients. It was made to withstand accidents from occuring, evident by the usage of Darksea Stones.
Ruvie led him to a room and told Chrysos that he would be brewing the smoothies there.
When Chrysos entered the room, he saw that there were many people that Chrysos assumed to be Ruvie's acquaintances, but it turns out that they were alchemists working for the Carver family.
"Sir Chrysos, can you tell me the ingredients so that we can begin?" Ruvie spoke with the same manner as he did before.
"It's in the piece of paper that I gave you." Chrysos reminded him.
Ruvie took out the four pieces of paper and instructed the alchemists to get them for Chrysos.
After a short while, they came back with the ingredients.
"Now sir Chrysos, can you start?" Ruvie revealed a faint smile.
"Of course.." Chrysos cracked his knuckles and started brewing. Back on earth, he wasn't a show off, but he did feel proud whenever he was praised.
But now as Chrysos, he was subconsciously more expressive as a result of his soul bonding with a brain that didn't belong to him.