Midnight, Arlangier's Mansion…
Chrysos didn't sleep at all until now.
The only time he did something except lay down was when someone delivered dinner for him. But after that, he didn't sleep until midnight.
He watched over his potions and equipment. And because his brain was working in perfect capacity, he really didn't need to sleep at all.
The guards patrolling outside were surprised that Chrysos was still awake whenever they caught glimpses of him through the window. And because he has nothing else to do anyway, he started reading the first form of the Sword of Fortune. He wrote down the contents in a small handbook that he brought everywhere.
He had to admit, Alsan's talent with the sword is exceptional.
Not only is his grasp with swords amazing, he also knew the different problems a person might come across and how to resolve such problems. This made the learning experience even easier for Chrysos.
When he bought the scroll, he couldn't believe how exquisite and detailed the sword technique was. For a sorcerer, he really should become a swordsman instead. Sadly, since everyone's Divine Paths are permanently set and unchangeable, Alsan had to stick with his own thing.
The Sword of Fortune technique is very useful in blocking and attacking. The sword's trajectory couldn't be detected that easily because the magic circle has symbols that allows the user to swing the sword in one area and immediately relocate to hit another area, making it difficult to block.
As long as Chrysos was careful with the sword technique, he was confident that he could defeat someone with equal strengths as him.
Chrysos spent four hours learning the sword technique. And when he was finally able to perform the first form of "Sword of Fortune," the sun was already beginning to rise.
Shwing!
Chrysos tested out what he learned and he was a bit disappointed. "I really need to keep learning the Sword of Fortune.. my mastery over this thing is still too lacking." Chrysos took the scroll and began reading once more.
He spent a few more hours learning the technique and when he learned about 80% of the sword technique, it was already early in the morning.
"Phew, this technique is too complicated.. I wonder how difficult the second form would be." Chrysos looked at his handbook laying flat on the table and remembered that he already made a lot of progress. He felt very satisfied with the sword technique. And to think that it was just a casual project from a Provectis ranked sorcerer. He couldn't wrap his head around how powerful Alsan must be in real life.
Suddenly, he heard knocking from the door.
"Mister Gerald, someone would like to meet you." Hulor's voice was heard from the other side of the door.
"About time.." Chrysos took all of his stuff and opened the door.
"This way- oh?" Hulor was politely gesturing to Chrysos and he was taken aback when he saw that the room was very clean.
"What? Aren't I supposed to meet him?" Chrysos waved his hand in front of Hulor's face.
Snapping out of his daze, Hulor coughed twice and said. "Yes, follow me.."
As they walked, Hulor began to reevaluate Chrysos in his mind.
While walking in the corridors, Hulor spoke to Chrysos. "I have a question for you, Mister Gerald, what have you been doing all night?"
"Training.." Chrysos was telling the truth.
"Without sleeping? Are you sure that you wouldn't be tired if you did so?" Hulor already heard from the guards that they saw Chrysos wasn't sleeping the entire night. To hear it coming from Chrysos himself was still a shock.
"I had nothing to do, so I trained." Chrysos shrugged as if it was the normal thing to do.
Hulor couldn't help but look at Chrysos. When he saw that Chrysos didn't show any signs of grogginess or sleepiness, he couldn't help but guess how he did it.
His first thought was that it was a unique ability, but unique abilities are always pointed towards the Divine Path of the person. He didn't remember any Divine Paths that regularly skipped sleeping. But there are abilities that delay the need to sleep. But even this method will eventually reveal signs of sleepiness.
Another guess was that Chrysos used a potion to stay awake, but he couldn't imagine such a potion being in Chrysos' hands. After all, he has only heard of potions that help you stay awake but not all the way to last another day. If Chrysos did so, why wasn't he sleepy or even disorganized in his movement?
Hulor sighed. "There's no point thinking about this." He said to himself.
Chrysos was led to a brown wooden door and Hulor knocked on it, getting a response from someone that he could tell had a higher age than him.
"Let him in." The voice said behind the door.
Getting permission, Hulor opened the door for Chrysos. And when he did, Chrysos saw two men discussing something. One of them has a long white beard and the other man looked significantly younger but he still looked old and he was probably around his fifties.
The man wore a dark blue coat and black trousers. Under that, he wore a white button up shirt and a black tie. His coat had thick black and silver linings that made his appearance seem more domineering despite looking quite calmly. He had a golden pendant around his neck with a pink gemstone. It was quite eye-catching, but not enough to undermine his aura.
His beard and hair was white, his eyes were like blue gemstones. The crystalline eyes was the Nelton family's most prominent feature alongside their normally white hair.
"Ah Viscount Nelton, this is Gerald Greenwood." Orius gestured to Chrysos with his hand the moment Hulor opened the door.
"I see..." Agarius Nelton stroked his beard.
Chrysos snapped his fingers. "You must be Rienan's father, am I right? And although I can see the similarities, Rienan's eyes were purple if I remember correctly."
Agarius laughed. "Yes, that lad is my son… He definitely inherited his mother's red eyes as well, hence giving Rienan and my daughter their purple eyes. Come, sit here with us." Agarius patted an empty chair next to him.
Chrysos went inside the room and walked towards the chair. The bottles in his back rattled when he put them down from his back so that he could sit.
"That's a lot of potions." Agarius couldn't help but look at the big bag of potions from Chrysos' back.
"Yes, I couldn't leave them at my house in case it gets stolen." Chrysos explained his "reason" for bringing so many potions with him.
"I see that you're a cautious man... That's a certain trait that I like." Arlangier Orius nodded.
Chrysos asked. "Why was I called here? What did I do?" He now knew that he was here because he helped Agarius Belton. So, by acting as if he was just a normal citizen that happened to help him, this could lower their guard around him which can provide Chrysos with a lot of things to work with. Especially in a verbal discussion.
"Relax, you didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I'm here to thank you." Agarius revealed a warm smile. He adjusted his sitting position which made his golden pendant swing a little bit.
"For the potion I sold Rienan? I was just selling my products at that time.. I had no idea that it helped." Chrysos pretended to be oblivious of the matter.
"Nonsense, you saved my daughter and I would like to thank you personally." Agarius laughed. "Now then, what would you like to get? As long as it's not unreasonable, I can get it for you."
"Hmm... I really don't think I have anything I like." Chrysos scratched his head. "What about this? Can I sell you my potions?"
"Sure, how many are you willing to sell?" Agarius agreed.
"1070 bottles." Chrysos said after pretending to count with his fingers.
Agarius widened his eyes in shock. "Are you telling me that there's 1070 potions in your bag right now?"
Even Orius couldn't help but look at Chrysos a second time.
"Yes, and all of them do not have any spoilage." Chrysos assured them. "In fact, why don't you all verify them?" Chrysos opened the bag and showed them the potions inside. The Divinious stored within them were enough to permeate the entire room.
Orius snapped his fingers and three guards went forward to organize all of the potions. He was quite sure that from the Divinious exuded by these potions, they were definitely high quality.
It took the guards about two minutes to organize each potion by their type and tier.
"My goodness, it really is 1070 potions! And there's no signs of spoilage so that means..." Orius and Agarius couldn't help but turn their heads to Chrysos.
"Yes, I made them all within a week." Chrysos said casually.
Everyone in the room almost choked on their own saliva.
Orius nodded. "If it's a talented alchemist such as yourself, I can see that it's possible… I suppos-"
"More specifically, I made them all just yesterday." Before Orius could finish his sentence, Chrysos cut him off.
Agarius coughed to get Chrysos' attention. What he said was just too unbelievable. "Erm, it's not that I don't believe it.. it's just too difficult to think that a single person could make so many potions in one day."
"I can verify it if you doubt me." Chrysos spoke flatly. "Say, I'm not trying to overstep my boundaries here, but would you like a wager?"
"Are you sure about that? Interesting.. what is the wager that you propose?" Orius looked at Chrysos and felt that the alchemist was more than meets the eye.
"Give me 1200 bottles and these ingredients listed on this piece of paper and I can prove that I can make this many in under three hours." Chrysos took out a piece of paper containing all the ingredients. "And, if I manage to do so, I would like to receive an attack type spell above Strange tier. And if that is too much of me to ask, something equal to these potions is also appreciated."
Orius took the piece of paper and scanned it. "This is not a problem at all. Hulor, get all of these sorted in our alchemy house and prepare it for our guest, Gerald Greenwood." Orius gave the piece of paper to Hulor.
"As you wish Arlangier Orius.." Hulor bowed and left the room.
Both Agarius and Orius didn't completely doubt the credibility of Chrysos' words. They just needed to verify it so that they could trust him completely.
But then again, seeing how calm and composed Chrysos was in front of them they couldn't help but believe it by a bit.
Agarius specifically, was thankful for Chrysos' potion that saved them time to make the potion. If it was any slower by several days, he didn't know if Alvira would've made it.
But if Chrysos had a bad character, he would still compensate him, but he wouldn't have the same respect for him as before.
Agarius then asked Chrysos, "What if you lose the wager? What will we get?" Agarius was curious if Chrysos had something as a failsafe if his plans ever end up badly.
"You can take these potions for free." Chrysos gestured with his hand towards the bag filled with potions.
Both Agarius and Orius nodded.
"So, Gerald... you're a lone alchemist right? Why didn't you join a company if you could brew this many potions?" Orius asked, wondering why such a talent would choose not to seek great wealth and glory.
Chrysos took a concealed deep breath before he replied.
"They would want the potions for themselves.. what I want is to distribute them to as many people who couldn't afford expensive potions because many alchemists choose not to." Chrysos took a small vial that he called a "Pocket Breathing Potion." and took out the filter from his gas mask. He refilled the filter so that he could breathe in continuous oxygen for another two weeks.
Chrysos continued talking. "As I was saying, they would want to keep the potions for the nobles and higher class without leaving anything for the commoners.. As a commoner myself, I wouldn't want that. No offense to both of you."
"So that's why you chose to sell potions even with that much talent in brewing?" Agarius understood Chrysos' intentions.
"Yes." Chrysos said without even turning his head.
"That's understandable.. but can't you sell potions to the nobles and to the commoners at the same time? That way, you'll earn money and you'll be able to help the common folk." Agarius said after thinking about it for a while.
Chrysos shook his head slightly.
"Those large companies wouldn't care about me but the recipe of the potions. With so much influence and power, don't you think that they'll be able to get what they want without anyone knowing?" Chrysos' voice was a little scuffed from his mask, so Orius and Agarius attributed this strange tone as Chrysos' disgust towards said large companies.
"That... is unfortunately true." Orius sighed. "With profits to motivate them, they'd do anything to get it."
"Honestly, those people disgust me too." Orius could understand why Chrysos decided to remain hidden. "But why us? Aren't you worried that we'll take your recipe instead? What made us seem different from the rest?"
"You said it yourself, you're disgusted with those monsters who would even kill to get a little bit more money. I can trust you as the fair and honest Arlangier. And of course, I also trust Viscount Nelton.. I just hope that my trust isn't falling on empty ears." Chrysos' words were a hidden reminder for both of them that if they do anything underhanded to him, they would be the same as monsters.
Agarius laughed. "No need to use those kinds of words against us. Don't worry, you can trust us."
"Mhm, I think so." Chrysos nodded.
Later, Hulor returned and said, "The Alchemy house is ready for mister Chrysos."
The three of them were still discussing, and when Hulor went into the room, they stopped talking.
"Alright Mr. Chrysos, I'd like to see you brew these many potions in under three hours." Orius' impression of Chrysos was quite good after conversing with him for a while.
"I will not disappoint." Chrysos followed Hulor towards the Arlangier's personal alchemy house.
On their way, Chrysos asked Orius. "Arlangier Orius, how many alchemists are there that work for you?"
"Around one hundred Iretior ranked alchemists, one hundred and fifty Iretior ranked herbalists, fifty Iretior ranked potionmakers, and I also have twenty two Provectis ranked alchemists working for me to meet the requirements of my guards if they need to defeat a powerful threat or if they need to cure a special type of poison and other attacks that need special medication." Orius had a look of pride in his face as he spoke.
"I'm amazed that Arlangier Orius has so many talented alchemists, herbalists and even potionmakers." Chrysos complimented.
"As the Arlangier, of course I should have some face to show off." Orius laughed.
"Chrysos, let me tell you that if the Arlangier focuses on alchemy only, he'll have thousands of alchemy related awakened ones working under him." Agarius revealed a smile. "And of course, the Arlangier has to focus on other classes too, like forging, mining, manufacturing products and other items that would benefit him and the city as a whole."
"I understand now." Chrysos nodded his head. "But why is there a lack of Blood Alchemists? Aren't they also alchemy type awakened ones?"
Orius revealed a difficult expression. "It would be nice having them, however their methods are too brutal despite them still being heroic awakened ones.. It became a silent agreement between nobles that hiring Blood Alchemists is almost the same as sullying their name."
Chrysos didn't respond. It seemed that just because of the nature of a certain Divine Path, even the Arlangier wasn't willing to take them in. This was a thought that Chrysos despised.
Just like corrupted ones, just because of their nature, they are hunted down, slain and sold as slaves. Even treated them lower than animals.
Keeping his cool, Chrysos didn't speak further.
They soon arrived at the alchemy house and it was pretty noisy inside. Many alchemists, herbalists and potionmakers were busily working on potions.
Agarius and Orius looked at this scene with a calm expression while Chrysos had veins bulging on his forehead.
What kind of terrible brewing methods are these? Chrysos couldn't stand it.
"Let's... just.... get this over with..." Chrysos' tone had concealed frustration in it. He wanted to scold these guys so much, but he had to control himself.
"Right this way..." Hulor brought Chrysos to a clean table reserved just for him.
When the alchemists, herbalists and potionmakers saw him, they were so curious about who the guest was that even the Arlangier himself would watch him. Not only that, Viscount Nelton from Iqualius city was also there.
Chrysos attracted a lot of attention and he could feel a lot of eyes looking at him, but it didn't bother him at all.
Taking a deep breath, Chrysos cracked his knuckles.
"It's time to show these guys what true alchemy is.." Chrysos revealed a smile that no one else could see. However, Gerald felt that Chrysos was a bit too harsh on the alchemists, herbalists and potionmakers.
Of course this was an internal conflict that was happening inside his mind. Not actual fighting between the two different personalities of the same body.