26 Deja Vu

It had been five days since Adam started studying at Clover Academy. Apart from the basics of arcane magic and other foundational knowledge required for the Mana Extraction Technique, nothing else was taught.

All the new students were told to focus on extracting mana from the surroundings and nourishing their bodies. After all, this was one of the most important things one had to practice on the path of a magus.

The first academic week served as a sort of warm-up for the new students to get used to being a Magus as well as the complex subjects that they would soon have to study.

On this day, Adam and Edward were walking back to their dorms from the last class of the day. It was Friday and they were free to do whatever they wished for the weekend.

"I remember you said you wanted to buy a few things from the herb store, right?" Edward asked curiously as he munched on a sweet bun.

"Yeah," replied Adam excitedly. "Let's keep our stuff back at the dorm and then we can head out."

He needed to buy a special type of water solution. If he were to mix this solution with the Body Cleansing Essence Oil—which was one of the rewards he had gotten—the effects would be much more potent.

Naturally, he knew of this special method because of the memory he had absorbed.

Apart from that, he also needed to buy a set of apparatuses to start brewing his own potions. This would be a really big investment for him, however, once he started selling his own potions, he would make loads of money.

The two of them kept their stuff back at their dorm and immediately left campus. They walked through the bustling streets of South Ward and made their way to the market by the harbor.

The sun had already set and the city was bathed in the glow of artificial lights. In the distance, the Lunar Bridge radiated starlight in a spectacular fashion. It was only at night that Moon City truly came alive.

The duo made their way through the crowded streets and finally arrived at Herbs & More. Adam, all of a sudden, thought of something, and a mischievous light flashed through his eyes.

He bowed exaggeratedly and made way for his friend. "After you, Lord Edward."

"Eh?" Edward was momentarily stunned but then laughed in satisfaction. "Hehe, my dear roomie, Adam. Have you finally realized my greatness? Very well, I will lead the way and you shall follow behind me."

"Yes, yes, my lord." Adam bowed even more and said in reverence, "Your greatness knows no bounds."

"Hmm, you're not so stupid after all." Edward raised his chin and entered through the door. But the moment he stepped foot inside, he froze.

In front of him was a three-headed dog that was staring at him ominously. Edward was scared shitless! Not a word escaped his lips as he stood there frozen. And before he knew it, the demonic dog had already pounced at him.

"Eeeeekkkkk!!" Edward screamed in an extremely high-pitched voice and fell on his bum. "Somebody save me!!"

However, the pain he expected never arrived. Instead, all he heard was boisterous laughter.

"Hahahaha!" Adam was unable to control himself. "Ed… you… you… hahaha. You're too funny!"

"Son of a bitch!" Edward slapped his thigh when he realized that he had been fooled by his friend.

Adam helped him to his feet while still laughing. "The look on your face was priceless."

"Hmph!" Edward harrumphed and stomped inside the store. He wanted to scold the person who cast the illusion but then realized that if the other party could create such a life-like illusion, then they had to be a Magus.

Upon this realization, his anger deflated like a balloon and he glared at Adam with resentment. "Just you wait! I'll get back at you, hmph!"

After apologizing to his roommate a few more times, Adam walked up to the counter where the old gnome was sitting and smoking from his pipe. He pressed his hand against his chest and bowed like a gentleman. "Good evening, Sir Magus."

The gnome replied in a bored manner, "Looks like someone managed to teach the cheap caveman some etiquette."

Cheap? Caveman? Me? Adam thought to himself helplessly. However, he had indeed been taught some basic noble etiquette by Edward in the past few days.

Thinking of this, Adam introduced his roommate. "This is my friend, Edward."

Edward peeked from behind Adam and curiously looked at the gnome who almost made him pee in his pants. "H-Hello, Sir Magus."

The gnome raised his eyebrow. "Oh? Viktor's son?"

Edward was taken aback. "Sir, you know my father!?"

"Stupid boy." The gnome rolled his eyes. "Who doesn't know your father in Moon City?"

Edward slapped his forehead and stuck out his tongue. "I meant to say, how did you know I'm my father's son?"

The gnome's voice softened. "Who do you think your father's been buying medicine from to cure your mother's illness?"

Edward was stunned and then his eyes reddened. "So you're the one who's been concocting mother's medicine all this while…"

He came forward and bowed sincerely, tears rolling down his face. "If it wasn't for you, my mother would have… She would have…"

POW!

The gnome smacked Edward on the forehead with his smoking pipe. "Don't get sentimental with me, boy."

"Y-Yes." Edward nodded his head while forcing himself to stop crying. He wiped his tears and asked, "Sir, may I know your name?"

The gnome took a puff from his smoking pipe and replied succinctly, "Berger."

Edward bowed once again. "Thank you, Magus Berger."

Berger waved his hand. He then looked at Adam and asked, "What're you here for, boy?"

Adam respectfully handed him a list that he'd prepared beforehand. Berger grabbed the list and gave it a look. He asked with slight surprise, "You're finally going to start brewing potions, eh?"

"Yes, sir!" Adam replied, unable to hide his excitement.

"Hmm, not bad." Berger nodded, having already expected this. "Very well, the total will be 450 gold pieces."

"What!!?" Although Adam had expected that he'd have to pay a large sum of money. But this was simply too absurd.

"Of course, I can give you a discount…" Berger's lips curled up into a mischievous smirk.

Adam had a feeling of deja vu.

"W-What do you want in return?"