As August entered the building, he noticed a variety of potions displayed inside a closet, with people bustling around different counters to make their purchases or heading upstairs.
Approaching one of the counters, August took a closer look at the girl behind it. She had short, pink hair that reached her shoulders, with one side braided.
Her eyes were strikingly unique, each a different color; her left eye gray and her right eye green, giving her a distinctive appearance. She was dressed in a combination white and green color uniform of an apprentice at the alchemy guild.
Beside her on the counter, a cat rested peacefully, its fur a deep shade of black matching the witch's hat perched on its head. It opened one of its obsidian eyes as August approached, sizing him up before nonchalantly closing it again, as if deeming him unimportant.
But one thing caught all of August's attention: her height and appearance. The girl appeared to be only twelve years old.
'What is a child doing at the counter?' August initially thought so, but he quickly dismissed the idea as he noticed the apprentice alchemist attire she wore, indicating she was at the apprentice stage of alchemy. Additionally, she had a beast accompanying her.
'Or perhaps she's wearing someone else's uniform and waiting for them, along with their beast,' August considered.
The girl shot him a glare, as if she could read his thoughts about calling her a child.
'Are my thoughts written on my face? Why does everyone seem to know what I'm thinking?' August sighed.
[Host's face is easy to read]
Ignoring the system's remark, August asked, "Are you the receptionist?"
"Then who do you think I am, some child snacking in an adult's seat?" the girl retorted sharply.
August glanced at the snack packet left on the counter.
The girl followed his gaze and quickly snatched the packet, smiling at August.
"It's for my pet. He was eating, right Yoru?" She glanced at her pet with puppy eyes, as if silently asking him to take the blame.
The cat jumped up from its resting position.
⌈Master, I cannot take the blame for you. I cannot tarnish my image, being the most intelligent beast in the world, or should I say, the entire universe?⌋ Yoru pondered aloud.
Hearing Yoru's boastful words, she felt embarrassed. She glanced at August, unsure of how to respond.
Thankfully, August was too preoccupied with the cat. "It can talk?"
⌈Yes, I can. What else would you expect from the most intelligent beast?⌋ Yoru said proudly, lifting his nose.
'It's incredibly rare to find beasts that can speak human languages. Most beast masters only communicate with their pets after reaching the first stage of synergy, known as the link, which allows communication between them.'
'Let's see what this beast can do.'
[ Duskane ]
Rank: 2 (initial)
Bloodline: B-
Element: Darkness, Psychic
Ability: Psychic weave C3, psychic control B2, shadow travel C3, darkness whip D3
Status: average ]
'It's a darkness and psychic element beast. Though beasts that can speak human language are often found in the psychic element category, they're still rare.'
She quickly covered the cat's mouth with her hand and smiled at August. "Let me clarify—I'm not a child. I'm a 16-year-old prodigy alchemist. I've reached the apprentice level at such a young age that even my aunt boasts about me," she shamelessly declared.
'People say beast masters and their pets have similar personalities. It seems it's true.'
"Impressive. I've also started learning about alchemy," August praised her. He knew that with his knowledge of alchemy, he could be considered an apprentice alchemist, but he didn't mention it because he wanted to quickly buy what he needed.
"Anyway, I'm Zaya. How can I help you?" She smiled professionally, switching to business mode.
"I want to buy some alchemy ingredients."
"Do you have an alchemist badge?" Zaya asked.
"No," August quickly answered, as he hadn't taken any alchemist exams to obtain an official alchemist certificate or badge.
"You'll be able to purchase the ingredients at the standard price," Zaya said, handing August a tablet. "Here."
"Thank you," August expressed his gratitude as he took the tablet and began scrolling through the list of ingredients.
————
Blood bloom flower (epic): price: 150,000C
Black rose (rare): price: 45,000C
Glowspore fungus (rare): price: 23,000C
Ember leaf (uncommon): price: 1,000C
Star petal (uncommon): price: 2,000C
....
————
'Hmm, there are so many ingredients,' August murmured to himself as he scrolled through the list. He noticed a variety ranging from common to rare grades, with only one or two epic grade ingredients.
'I can't find the ingredients like this. Why isn't there a search bar? How do they expect someone unfamiliar with the list to find what they need?'
Yoru saw August struggling to find what he wanted and offered his help. ⌈Let me help you, boy⌋
⌈It should be the receptionist's job to assist customers in finding what they need. I'll help you for now⌋ Yoru said, eyeing his master with his obsidian eyes.
"I completely forgot," Zaya exclaimed, sticking out her tongue in playful self-reproach.
⌈What ingredients are you searching for?⌋ Yoru asked.
"I'm looking for common grade Frost Blade Grass, common grade Gale Mycra Leaves, Low Grade Mana Stone, and Rank 1 Beast Blood," August replied, recalling all the ingredients needed for the recipe.
⌈Hm, wait a second⌋ Yoru scrolled through the list and selected everything August needed.
⌈Here's the list of what you need⌋ Yoru showed August the selected items.
————
Frost blade grass (common): price: 3C per blade
Gale mycra leaf (common): price: 1C per 10g
Low grade mana stone: price: 10C per stone
Rank 1 beast blood: 0.5C per ml
————
He has a total of 870C with him, so he has to buy the ingredients carefully to avoid wasting money.
"Hmm, I'll take 100 blades of Frost Blade Grass, 1 kg of Gale Mycra, 5 Low Grade Mana Stones, and 500 ml of Rank 1 Beast Blood," August specified.
Yoru clicked on the screen with his paw and said, ⌈Your total comes to 700C. Anything else?⌋
"No, this is all I need."
⌈Master, can you please go get the items?⌋ Yoru requested.
"I got this," Zaya assured as she hurried off to the storage where all the ingredients were stored to prevent spoilage.
After some time, she returned and opened her storage ring in front of August, retrieving all the requested items. After confirming the ingredients, he paid with his smartwatch.
"Oh, and I also want to rent a room," August remembered that he didn't have any equipment to make potions, so he needed to rent an alchemy room.
"Without an alchemist badge, you can only rent a room with basic alchemy facilities, and it's 10C per hour," Zaya explained.
"Okay, I'd like to rent a room for 3 hours," August decided, knowing it was expensive but necessary.
"For three hours, it will be 30C," Zaya said with a smile.
"Let me show you the way." After August paid the amount, she led him to the upper floor of the building.