Meeting Raymond

Honestly, Devin is not a nosy person or a true "nice guy," but he couldn't deny that he recognized the look in the boy's eyes. It was the same look he had in his previous life when he felt helpless and powerless.

Devin followed the boy to a run-down house, and as the boy entered, he turned to Devin and asked cautiously, "You've been following me. What do you want?"

"If you keep going to the pavilion like this, I think you'll end up losing your life before saving your sister," Devin warned.

"What do you know? If I had any other means, don't you think I'd try it? But nobody cares about us lowlifes living in the slums," the boy bitterly cried out.

Devin sighed, seeing the bitterness and resentment in the boy. "This isn't the place to talk, and your injuries need to be checked," Devin reasoned.

"Why do you care?" the boy questioned.

"Call me nosy if you want, but you reminded me of someone. Besides, at this point, you could use any help you can get," Devin answered honestly.

The boy peered at Devin, sensing neither pity nor contempt in his eyes. With that observation, he allowed Devin to enter the small room.

Although the room was small, it was tidy and well-maintained. Devin handed the boy a medium-grade Golden Sore potion.

"Are you sure you want to give me this potion?" the boy asked, clearly surprised.

"Take it. I'm a junior pharmacist, and I can still give this," Devin reassured the boy.

"Thank you," the boy expressed his gratitude as he took the potion. Almost immediately, his wounds began to heal, and the pain subsided.

Devin noticed the surprise in the boy's eyes, but he quickly tried to mask it. "Interesting," Devin couldn't help but think. The boy didn't even show surprise at encountering a pharmacist in the slums, which was quite uncommon. There had to be a story behind his circumstances.

"Now that you're feeling better, can you tell me what happened?" Devin asked, hoping to uncover more about the boy's situation.

The boy nodded as he began recounting what happened. Two weeks ago, his sister Rose had seen that the Green Valley Pavilion was hiring and decided to apply. To their surprise, Rose was chosen for the job, but they later found out that it wasn't actually to work at the Green Valley Pavilion, but somewhere else. They were not informed of the exact location, as the nature of the work required secrecy. The boy had mixed feelings about the job, but they needed the money, and with the Green Valley Pavilion as the intermediary, Rose thought it wouldn't be too dangerous. The Green Valley Pavilion was backed by one of the Elders in Elysium City and was also a Medicine Commander. In the entire Oasis continent, there had been no record of a Medicine Saint in recent times. Most people were stuck at the level of Medicine King, unable to bridge the gap to become a Medicine Saint.

Devin knew that even in Elysium, the holy City of pharmacists, there was only a Medicine King at the helm.

The boy continued his narration, "On the first day, my sister came back and said the work wasn't as hard as she had anticipated. They only needed to handle some medicinal materials. This reassured me because she had been working for a week without any issues. Then, this week, my sister didn't come home. At first, I thought maybe they had a lot of work to do, so I didn't panic. But when my sister didn't return or even send a message for three consecutive days, I knew something was wrong."

"Why do you think so?" Devin asked. "She could be swamped with work. I mean, you said it yourself, they told her the job had to do with secrecy," Devin analyzed.

"If it were someone else, I wouldn't worry. But my sister wouldn't stay away from home for three days straight. It's just not possible," the boy insisted.

"Why do you say that?" Devin inquired.

"I can't tell you, but trust me, my sister wouldn't do that unless it was a matter of life or death," the boy adamantly replied.

Devin knew that the boy wasn't revealing the full truth, but he still believed him.

"Okay, I believe you. But you must know that in cases like this, you can't act rashly. Have you reported this to the authorities?" Devin asked.

"The authorities? You think too highly of Elysium City," the boy scoffed. "Don't be deceived by this beautiful, self-proclaimed 'healing city.' It's rotten to its core. They don't care if we, the bottom-feeders, die. They would actually prefer it if we all disappeared. If it weren't for the benevolent facade they present, they would have made it happen long ago," the boy bitterly remarked.

"What's your name?" Devin asked.

"Raymond, but you can call me Ray," the boy replied.

"Well, Ray, I may not know much about Elysium City, but I do know a lot about dealing with powerful people. If we're going to find your sister, we need to be discreet and avoid making any rash decisions," Devin advised.

"Thank you for being willing to help me find my sister," Ray expressed his gratitude.

Just then, a system prompt sounded:

[Task release: Help Raymond find his sister and investigate the truth of the matter. Reward will be calculated based on completion.]

"You're welcome, Ray. It won't be easy since I'm not familiar with the city, but I'll assist you in investigating and gathering any useful information," Devin assured him.

Devin left Ray's house and made his way back to the market where their stall was located. It was already afternoon, and he knew Ethan must be hungry, so they needed to grab lunch. Devin had initially believed that selling potions and expanding their business would be effortless in Elysium, but he quickly realized that most markets were already dominated by others, and even the few remaining stalls had been marked by competitors.

As he approached an empty stall, Devin let out a sigh and headed back to the hotel where they were staying. He pondered on the words of encouragement he could offer Ethan.

When Ethan spotted Devin, he had a cheerful smile on his face and couldn't contain his excitement. "Where have you been? I closed a major deal! Someone is interested in our potions and bought everything we had displayed in the stall!"

Devin was taken aback by the news but couldn't help but feel a surge of happiness within him.

"The person said they're part of a large adventurer group and would like to place a substantial order if it's available," Ethan shared excitedly.

"I instructed the man to meet us at the stall later in the evening, but he didn't want to meet there. Instead, he wanted us to meet at another location, claiming that the market wasn't conducive. It seemed suspicious to me, so I didn't make any promises," Ethan explained.

"That's quite odd, especially considering that this city isn't as safe as it appears," Devin remarked.

"I know, right? I didn't agree and told him to come later to meet you, so you can decide," Ethan replied, handing 340 gold coins to Devin.

Devin counted 40 gold coins and gave them back to Ethan as his share. Since Ethan had put in most of the hard work for the potions, they had agreed on a 10% cut of the sales. Devin added an extra 6 gold coins to encourage Ethan and show his appreciation for his efforts.

"Thanks, leader," Ethan said, using the name the others had begun calling Devin.

"You deserve it," Devin replied, before adding, "Let's have lunch and wait for the buyer at the stall. Selling all of our potions early is a positive thing for us. It will allow us to focus and prepare for the competition."

"It's disheartening to think that the gold coins we paid might go to waste," Ethan complained.

"Don't dwell on it," Devin reassured him, filled with regret.

The two of them arrived at the stall early to wait for the buyer's arrival.

Jasper didn't keep Devin and Ethan waiting for long as he approached them. "How is it, pharmacists? Have you made a decision?" he asked.

"We don't know you, and we don't have a reason to follow you to a secluded place," Devin responded.

"I have my reasons, and I assure you, it's for both our benefit," Jasper replied.

"Give me a good reason to believe you," Devin challenged.

"This market isn't as simple as you think. Haven't you noticed that your stall is in a poor location, with very few people visiting?" Jasper questioned.

"I believe you're about to tell us the reason," Devin responded.

"It's simple. You've been marked because you didn't pay the protection fee, and you don't belong to any faction. There are individuals operating in the shadows who will ensure that people don't buy your goods, even if they're good. Furthermore, you're under surveillance," Jasper explained.

"You know all this, yet you're still considering doing business with us?" Devin questioned.

"It's because I don't like to see injustice happen," Jasper replied.

"Nonsense. It must be because you've seen the benefits of our potion. Not that I really care about reasons, as long as you're paying. We can make a deal, but let's talk somewhere else this time, at a location of my choosing," Devin suggested.

Jasper pondered on Devin's request, knowing that Devin was suspicious of him. However, he agreed since it would facilitate the deal. Their potion was truly remarkable. After taking it a second time, their boss's body had been cleared of the poison. In addition to the detoxification potion, their group needed the acceleration potion. If their boss had possessed such a potion, he could have escaped the pursuit of his assailants. Obtaining the acceleration potion had become a priority for Jasper.