5 More good luck at the Alchemy Hall

As Sydra inserted his insignia into a slot at the bottom of the runic tablet a blue screen appeared in front of him. The screen was laid out like one from a video game, and it had several tabs at the top which were used to get to different information sections.

Tapping on one of the tabs, Sydra pulled up a window that asked him to enter his name by typing it in at the bottom. Pondering for a few seconds, Sydra decided to use his real name, that way when people asked him for his insignia he wouldn't get confused if they called the name written on it.

'Sydra Glass... There we go, now I have officially become part of this world,' Sydra thought while he read through the rest of the screen, which read like this:

Name: Sydra Glass

Species: Nature Spirit

Age: Tree form=Ten thousand, seven hundred and thirteen

Spirit form=Twenty-three

Main Occupation: Lone Wolf Adventurer

Curious about the Lone Wolf Adventurer title, Sydra tapped on it, and a sub-screen appeared. The Lone Wolf Adventurer was a title for those who weren't currently connected to a guild or group. While the danger was higher during quests, Lone Wolf Adventures wouldn't have to worry about splitting loot or rewards with others.

'That makes sense, now to find out if my rank increased or not,' Sydra thought as he backed out of the sub-screen. The next tab he went to was classified as Rank, and tapping on it brought up the letter E with eight stars around, as well as a button for those who wished to have themselves re-evaluated.

After pressing the button, Sydra placed his hand directly onto the runic tablet, feeling impatient as a three-second timer appeared on the blue screen. When the timer hit zero, Sydra felt a wave of energy wash through his body, and the E on the screen turned into a D with two stars above it.

'So I increased by one main level, and four sub-levels, huh. That's pretty good, if I do say so myself," Sydra thought, feeling proud to have an increase in rank.

Pulling out his insignia from the runic tablet, Sydra turned to leave the guildhall, but he found his path blocked off by a massive man with bronze skin, most likely from years of being under the sun. The man was wearing a suit of black and red armor, and strapped to his back was a two-handed war hammer forged from the tail of an Armored Teracorsal.

"Are you the one that brought in the Sunset Fortunes?" The man asked, his deep brown eyes glancing at the insignia in Sydra's hand.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Sydra asked respectfully, in case the man was someone important, "If I do, then I'm sorry as I have forgotten your name,"

"Ah, no. This is our first time meeting," The man said, offering his hand to Sydra, "My name is Robert Guard, and I'm the Guild Master of the Guard Guild. I was simply curious about the person who completed the Sunset Fortune quest,"

"Oh," Sydra said, shaking the man's hand, "My name is Sydra Glass, and I am the person who brought in those flowers. Why were you looking for me?"

"I was hoping to hear about how you came across so many of those flowers, but I'm not asking you to share your secrets freely," Robert said as he glanced outside, "Would you be interested in meeting me for dinner at the pub down the street? I'll buy you whatever you want in exchange for any information your willing to give me,"

Taking a few seconds to think it over, Sydra ends up accepting Robert's offer of a free meal. It would also be beneficial for Sydra to become better aquatinted with the Guild Master, as it might open future possibilities for him.

"Great, then I will meet you there after I close up the Guildhall, which should be around when the Timetower's flame reaches the twentieth mark," Robert said, talking about the tower in the center of the town that told everyone what time it was with a rune controlled flame.

Before Sydra could respond, Robert walked away, leaving Sydra behind to silently shake his head as he made his way out of the Guildhall. On his way out, Sydra heard the man from earlier chose a quest that had to deal with Shadespurs.

Shadespurs were a type of creature that resembled leopards, but they were twice as fast and had stamina that bordered on being classified as unlimited. Along with their silver fur, Shadespurs also had durable sails that emerged from their spines which they used to make sharp turns.

People often hunted Shadespurs for their sails, as two of them placed together could create a shield that increased one's agility. If someone was to also have clothing made from the hide, then they could get up to speeds of one hundred and twenty miles.

'Doesn't seem like a quest that will really help the town, but maybe I'm wrong here,' Sydra thought as he made his way down to the Alchemist Hall. During the walk there, Sydra passed by different stores that were selling items such as enhancement type jewelry, or impressive armor made from rare beast materials gathered by adventures.

One of the shops that Sydra walked past was emitting the rich aroma of cooking meat, causing his stomach to let out an audible growl, 'I don't think the Guild Master is going to have much money left in his wallet after the meal I plan on eating,'

In an attempt to escape the enticing smells, Sydra increased his pace and quickly found himself standing outside of a green building. The building had a sign with multiple potion bottles of different colors drawn on it, with the name 'Seventh Lotus' written beneath it.

Pushing open the door, Sydra was impressed by the lack of herb scents, 'It seems that the Master Alchemist here must be quite proficient at his work, to keep the herbs from losing their essence during refining,'

Walking up to the counter, Sydra pressed a rune-encased bell that rang directly inside the pill refining room. This allowed the Master Alchemist to know when people had arrived, without it bothering his work.

'I should probably get the flowers ready while I wait,' Sydra thought as he brought the flowers out from the Arbor Sanctum and neatly laid them in stacks on the counter, 'This way I won't have to explain where they all appeared from,'

Sydra glanced around, surveying the different potions stocked on the shelves. Each potion had a rune engraved on it, that would cause the potion to explode if anyone tried to take it without the permission of the Master Alchemist.

'I wonder how the Master Alchemist disables the runes to allow people to leave with the potions,' Sydra thought as he picked up one of the potions and studied the rune. Hearing the door open behind him, Sydra quickly put the potion down and turned around, finding a young man walking out of the back while talking to himself.

"Although this Ice Enhancement Pill has pill veins, it is still a level below the Artisan realm. Just a few more tries and I'm certain I can raise to the Artisan Rank, but where am I going to find more Vermillion Icetips?" Looking up from the blue pill in his hand, the young alchemist's eyes meet Sydra's before being pulled away by the abundance of flowers on his counter.

"Have the gods blessed me? The one thing I needed most, and it just appears on my counter... I must have the luck of the gods," Coming back to his senses, the young alchemist tore his gaze away from the flowers, fifteen of which are the Vermillion Icetips he needed, and looked back at Sydra.

"I will give you one-hundred and fifty gold coins for the flowers laying on the counter, upfront," The young alchemist says, pulling out a large pouch of jingling coins. Seeing Sydra's blank look, the young alchemist looked around for a bit before his eyes lit up, "I'll also allow you to pick any fifteen potions in the store, and take them for free. That should work for you, right?"

Sydra was completely baffled by the actions of the young alchemist. On his way here, Sydra had decided to ask for at least one hundred gold coins, but not only was he being offered fifty coins more than that, the young alchemist had also said he could choose any fifteen potions he wanted, the cheapest being five gold coins.

Calming himself down, Sydra accepted the gold pouch from the young alchemist, "That works out perfectly with me, so I will gladly take you up on the offer,"

"Great, then if you don't mind, I will take these with me while you figure out which potions you would like," The young alchemist said as he gathered all the flowers into his arms hungrily.

He then swiftly made his way back into the pill refining room, leaving Sydra to figure out which potions he might need, 'From what I've heard, that young man has been spending the last two years trying to reach the Artisan Rank, and he's the youngest person known to be so close to it,'