The original Alchemy City was the wealthiest city on the continent, and its residents carried a sense of pride, even if one was just a factory worker screwing bolts at an Alchemy Factory. They would walk with their heads held high.
When encountering an "outsider" like Amberser, their gaze would unconsciously carry a hint of arrogance, as if they were looking down on country folks who had come to Alchemy City to take advantage.
But today seemed different; pedestrians walked with slightly bowed heads, no one stood around chatting, and everyone hurried along as if they had not a minute to spare.
The shops on both sides of the street, normally bustling with activity, now had most of their doors shut tight, with many displaying 'for rent' signs.
"Could it be that Alchemy City is really going bankrupt?"
Amberser recalled carefully that in recent years the prices of various magical materials had soared dramatically, and export quantities had drastically decreased.
But it seemed like they were still able to maintain operations before. How could it be that after just two years without a visit, the economic environment of Alchemy City had deteriorated to this extent? No wonder they started to heavily tax, they must be truly on the verge of collapse.
Amberser had no mood for leisurely strolls and headed straight for the tower that was almost as ugly as a lump of green feces. Because its shape resembled the product of a failed healing potion concoction, locals called this tower the "Green Healing Tower."
Ugly as it was on the outside, the interior was quite stylish.
The alchemists of Alkaimia couldn't change the tower's exterior, so they went to great lengths to make the interior decor understated yet luxurious, filled with elegance and a sense of artistry—it made these seven ugly towers a feature of Alchemy City.
However, upon closer inspection, most of the staff looked listless, some shops were closed tightly, and trash remained in the corners of the floors- which were previously polished to a mirror finish.
Sensing that Alchemy City had serious problems, Amberser didn't bother observing further and went directly to the place selling Enchanted Seeds.
Amberser was here to buy seeds today; he needed to prepare crops for his forthcoming subjects. But since he was going to farm on a Lich's domain, he needed some special seeds, and only in this poop-like tower could he find what he was looking for.
Humans need a lot of food to survive, and farming has always been a crucial productive activity, so Alchemy City had developed many different kinds of Enchanted Seeds. Such as oats that could be harvested quickly, beets sweeter than sugarcane, and potatoes that could grow in the desert because they were extremely drought-resistant.
Even though most could only be planted once, with the magical effects rapidly diminishing in subsequent crops, this suited Amberser—the poor and underprivileged Lord—just fine. He wanted to stabilize people's hearts, let them quickly adapt to new territory, and have easy-to-plant and fast-maturing crops which were the most suitable.
Unfortunately, Amberser really didn't understand farming, or else he would have simply summoned a magic crow to order. Exactly because he lacked knowledge, he needed to come in person, to ask the staff here.
After browsing for a while, Amberser found that no matter the type of Enchanted Seeds, they were all praised as unparalleled, as if they could yield a harvest even planted in the air.
That's the problem of not knowing the trade, and since Amberser didn't have friends knowledgeable about farming, he could only select a few varieties with a try-and-see attitude. But when Amberser asked about the price, the serviceable and smiling staffer quoted a number that shocked him.
"What? One hundred Gold Coins, that's so expensive, is this a robbery?"
Two bags of fast-growing Enchanted Seeds actually cost one hundred Gold Coins, enough money to buy the cheapest low-grade food to feed hundreds of people for a year, nearly five times the price from before.
The staffer suddenly dropped their smile and said coldly, "Where is it expensive? It's been this price since last year, it hasn't even gone up this year, so don't talk nonsense.
"Moreover, our Enchanted Seeds are not made from cheap materials, they are genuinely good products, this price is already very cheap. If you can't afford it, maybe you should consider if that's your own problem."
Amberser, expressionless, extended his finger and flicked the magic bell on the counter.
A puff of smoke emerged from the bell, transforming into a tiny humanoid form, which spoke in a formulaic manner, "Bell Spirit No. 996 at your service, may I help you with..."
Amberser didn't let the Elf finish, and interrupted, "Complaint, rude attitude."
The moment the staffer heard this, they immediately became agitated and attempted to explain.
But Amberser gave her no opportunity to explain, turning and leaving as he did, only to hear the elf say, "Customer complaint, no conciliation obtained, deduct thirty percent from this month's wages."
Hisss, a thirty percent deduction!
It seemed Alchemy City must truly be going mad with poverty.
Amberser left the high tower with a heavy heart, beginning to worry. The prices in Alchemy City had soared to terrifying levels; the Living Mercury Solution he had ordered before was probably not going to be under twenty thousand Gold Coins.
Should he cancel the down payment?
No, absolutely not.
Just thinking of returning the money made Amberser physically uncomfortable; he absolutely couldn't cancel the down payment, nor could he afford to take a loss.
Amberser decided not to wait for the delivery any longer, but to go fetch it himself.
Exiting the Green Healing Tower, Amberser came to another tower that resembled a broken carcass, black in color. This was the most common outcome of a failed biological alchemy experiment, where the creature used in the experiments would be blown into an indescribable, charred mess.
But it was precisely because of this classic image that one could tell at a glance that this was a place for biological alchemy.
He entered through the main doors into the most luxurious hall and found a dozing attendant.
Amberser got straight to the point. "I placed an order yesterday for a bottle of Living Mercury Solution, I've come to pick it up."
The attendant checked the records, then said, "Oh, found it, one bottle of Living Mercury Solution, the price is thirty thousand Gold Coins, will you be paying in cash or promissory note?"
"How much?!" Amberser asked in disbelief.
The attendant repeated, "Thirty thousand Gold Coins."
"Wasn't it just eighteen thousand Gold Coins before?"
"That was last year's price," the attendant said with a poker face, starting to feel that this customer couldn't afford it, and her attitude cooled.
Amberser had hoped for a small profit, but now he faced a loss of ten thousand Gold Coins; how could he endure this?
"Can't you offer a discount?" Amberser asked.
"Discounts are out of the question, the price is only going to increase after some time," she said.
Amberser asked incredulously, "Just raising the prices, won't you lose more if you can't sell any?"
After hearing this, the attendant mysteriously hinted, "It's not like there's no discount... but..."
At that, Amberser's interest was piqued, and he quickly asked, "How much after the discount?"
"Only five hundred Gold Coins."
Amberser was immediately shocked; wasn't this too much of a discount, almost like selling fakes?