Retracing his steps, Arthur made his way back to the main road, his eyes drifting over the houses and fields with growing curiosity. He lazily strolled on the road as he curiously looked at the houses and the fields. Soon, a mouth-watering aroma entered his nose. He had just reached the main road. The two sides of the road were lined with shops selling various items.
"Enjoy the delicious grilled meat of a Three-nosed boar. It doesn't only taste great but it also helps in recovering your Earth elemental energy." A shopkeeper was grilling a piece of extremely juicy-looking boar meat while trying to woo the customers.
Arthur had expected markets to sell fruits and grains, but elemental beast meat? That was something else entirely. The Brown-eyed boar was an inferior Earth elemental beast that could be easily found in the forests. But even if it was relatively common, hunting an elemental beast was still not a small matter. He was excited as he walked towards the shopkeeper.
"How much for one portion of the meat?" Arthur was itching to try some elemental beast meat.
"Ah, I can tell we have a discerning young man here! Normally, I sell this for 500 bronze coins, but for someone with such sharp eyes? Only 300! It'll nourish your elemental energy and delight your taste buds!" The shopkeeper showered him with praise and gave him an instant discount.
300 bronze coins for one portion of the meat. That's my savings for the whole year! It really sucks to be poor!
Arthur lamented in his mind as he walked away from the shopkeeper regretfully. "I must start hunting a few elemental beasts as soon as I become an Elemental Apprentice. Then, I can also earn money this easily and become rich."
Frustration melted into determination. One day, he wouldn't just look at these things—he would afford them.
"Potions! Antidotes! Poison! All created from the best herbs by a master apothecary." A nearby shop had liquids of various colors stored in vials. Some of them looked a bit dull while others were shiny.
Arthur's eyes lingered on the shimmering vials, their colors shifting under the lantern light. Some glowed with an almost hypnotic hue, while others remained dull, their secrets locked away in glass. The shopkeeper's gaze settled on him. "Young man! Anything catch your eye?" Arthur looked at the shopkeeper and back to the vials. He pointed towards a particular direction.
The shopkeeper looked at the vial that Arthur was pointing to and smiled. "You definitely have a good eye. This potion doesn't look that remarkable but it's very powerful." The shopkeeper whispered to him the last question.
Arthur nodded his head in approval.
"This potion is from a very rare Earth attribute flower called the Rock Veined Lily. There are numerous thin veins on the petals of the Lily which when observed closely at night, look like glowing rocks. This gives the name to the flower. Wherever this flower grows, a powerful Earth elemental beast usually guards it as it is very beneficial to its growth. A group of adventurers put their life on the line to get this flower. On top of this, a master apothecary used her mastery in creating this potion. This is the most precious potion in our store. It is called the Earth meridian potion. This allows your meridians to expand so that the elemental energy flows better and there's also a certain purifying effect on the Earth elemental energy." The shopkeeper explained with pride.
Arthur was awed listening to the shopkeeper's description. He knew it was out of his league just hearing the shopkeeper's description but he was curious. So, he couldn't help asking. "How much does this potion cost?"
"Ten silver coins." The shopkeeper replied.
One silver coin was worth a thousand broze coins. Arthur thought back to his time in the village. Ten silver coins would probably take him more than 30 years of his life to earn. And a single potion was worth the same amount of coins.
Although he knew that the gifts that the headmaster had given him were priceless, now he could slowly realize it. A potion that just widened the meridians a bit and slightly improved the purity of his elemental energy was already so expensive!
Even a hundred such potions couldn't hold a candle to the boost that the Realm stone provided.
He again reluctantly moved away from the shop. This time, he had a slightly different thought in his mind.
Forget adventuring! If I master alchemy, I could be rolling in silver coins in no time!
He continued strolling through the street coming across many shops. He would glance at some, inquire about a few things in others, and just walk past some kinds of shops which he had already seen.
As he was walking, he saw a huge store which was crowded with people. As he reached closer, he could see that this store sold weapons and armor. He was about to enter the shop when he was stopped by a guard just standing near the door.
"20 silver coins!" The guard extended his hand as he looked towards Arthur.
"What? I haven't bought anything yet!" Arthur was confused.
"This is the security deposit you have to pay to enter the shop. If you don't even have this much, there's no point in you visiting the store." The guard was now trying to send Arthur out as he understood that he was just casually looking and didn't have any money to actually buy anything,
20 silver coins to just enter? Are you freaking kidding me! Does that mean all these people paid 20 silver coins just to enter the shop? How poor am I!
With one last sigh of reluctance, he turned away, accepting his fate—at least for now. His mind buzzed with everything he had seen, each price tag a reminder of how far he had to go.
Not just for himself, but for his mother. Although the headmaster had promised to make arrangements for her mother till he could do it himself, he didn't feel comfortable making him take her burden. He would give her the life she deserved with his own hands!
By the time he collapsed into bed after a simple meal, exhaustion won over ambition and worry, and sleep took him in an instant.