The Potion Maker

Surprisingly, Clay's workshop was in the same building as Dyno's shop. It was on one of the basement levels.

"Clay likes to keep to himself. We have known each other since before."

I didn't need him to explain what he meant with 'before'. Most people referred to the times before the towers showed up as such. While some liked to pretend that it never happened.

I could pretend like my life was better before, but I would be lying to myself. Even with the dangers of the dungeons in the towers being what they were, I knew that my life was much more exciting now.

The elevator opened up into a semi-dark hallway. It felt like we were stepping into some kind of horror movie, but I took a breath and followed Dyno into the hallway until we stopped in front of a door painted green. I could tell whoever painted it either was in a hurry or did not care too much as the paint was streaky and missing in places.

Dyno knocked twice before opening the door and stepping in. Plastic hung blocking the path past the entryway, obscuring the rest of the room. For once, Callie was quiet as she had a hold of the fabric of my jacket clutched in one hand, while she cowered behind me.

"Take your shoes off. Here are some slippers."

Dyno set some plastic slippers in front of us and moved the plastic aside, before disappearing into the next room. I quickly slipped off my boots and stepped into the slippers before following after Dyno.

Behind the plastic was what you would expect to see in a university chemistry lab. Glassware was everywhere, with strange substances in them. I could see Dyno arguing with someone in the corner of the room. Clay did not seem ecstatic that he had brought in uninvited guests.

I was impressed with the professional setup of the lab. There was a time in college I had thought about taking classes for a medical-related field, but chemistry class had ruined any hope of that.

I ran my fingers down the black tabletop and waited for the two men to stop arguing. Eventually, the man Clay dropped his shoulders and followed obediently behind Dyno. I knew that defeated expression well and decided I would never argue with Dyno if I could help it.

"This is Clay. He makes the potions I sell in my shop." Dyno shoved Clay forward and held up his arm towards me.

Stifling a giggle, I shook the hand and introduced myself. "My name is Kai Richards, and this is Callie."

Callie was still half hidden behind me, but she made sure to utter a brief hello. Something about that cute greeting made me want to pat her head, but I refrained from showing such affection in front of a stranger.

"I'm sorry for barging into your lab. I know you do not like meeting strangers, but I would like to at least introduce myself. I also would like you to appraise these herbs we collected in the tower."

Clay had seemed like he wanted to escape a few moments before, but at the mention of herbs a spark of interest showed in his eyes. Every crafter I had ever met in my past life had but one weakness that I could remember. They loved new materials.

Confident I had finally earned some kind of good points from Clay, I began unloading the large amounts of herbs we had picked on the first dungeon floor, since we had cleaned it hundreds of times. Unlike monsters, herbs and other rare items in dungeons do not respawn over time. That is why each time we picked the dungeon floor clean we had to leave and come back.

Of course, we were mainly focused on training Callie and gaining experience for her weak build. I was trying to impress upon her the importance of gathering everything possible when going into the towers. So we had gathered quite a bit of herbs.

"I could make a bunch of potions with this much!" Clay was picking up each bundle of herbs with an overjoyed expression.

I could see Dyno standing next to him with his arms folded over his chest. He rolled his eyes at the display Clay was putting on. I could just see him scolding Clay about looking too excited about a product someone was gonna sell.

"Um… Mr. Clay, do you really like herbs?" Callie had made her way to the table and was barely tall enough to have her shoulders over the edge.

Her hands were on the counter and you could tell she was standing on tip toes trying to view the herbs and Clay's inspection of them the best she could. Having a cute little girl questioning him about his preferences seemed to open the final door to his heart.

"This is unbelievable. I never get this many herbs at once! Not only that, but each bundle is appropriately proportioned and there is no damage whatsoever to the roots. I must have them all!"

"So I picked them correctly?"

"Yes! So perfectly I must ask that you only bring the herbs you gather to me."

"Kai, you were right. All those lessons on how to handle the herbs paid off!"

Callie was now hugging my midsection as she rubbed her face into me. Personally, I think that my bag had the deciding factor in the freshness of the herbs, but I couldn't let such a cute reaction be spoiled. So I patted Callie's head and told her that she did well.

"Clay, I would be happy to sell these herbs to you. As you can see I am training this one how to get resources out of the dungeon. So the standard market price would be fine."

"No. I couldn't possibly pay the market price for such well-preserved herbs. I insist on buying them for a premium."

That is right, remember how valuable I can be to you. I could see Dyno pressing his forehead into his palm behind the excited Clay. I was beginning to see why he typically didn't meet with customers now. However, I didn't want to take advantage of a talented potion maker. I wanted to build an exclusive relationship with him.

"No, I couldn't possibly take that much for them. How about this? I will bring whatever herbs I find directly to you and you can make my potions for me from now on."

"Take the deal, Clay." Dyno put his hand on Clay's shoulder and I could finally see the reverie that Clay was exuding fade away. It was as if he snapped back to reality.

"Right. What was the market price for these herbs again?" I saw Dyno's grip tighten on Clay's shoulder and a dark expression came across his face.

"Honestly. What would you do if I were not here? Where is your association-issued tablet?"

Dyno took Clay to a desk on the opposite side of the room where they wrote up a receipt and let me scan my association card for payment. Everything was now traded in association points or contribution points as they liked to call it. It was strange how easily the masses accepted this new form of digital currency.

As we left Clay's lab I glanced back to see him rubbing his new purchases across his cheek. Aside from the fact of how creepy his face looked at that moment, I felt like my new acquaintance was very lucky for me. We parted ways with Dyno in the lobby and he waved to us as we left the building.

"Callie, are you ready to go back to the first floor?"

"Again? Don't you think it is time for me to experience the second floor by now?"

I guess Callie was getting bored with entering the same place again and again. Perhaps, I should show her what other dungeons were like. The second floor would definitely be off limits. I didn't need to see another of my party members mauled by that tiger. In fact, I refused to see it.

"The second floor is…" How could I explain to her how dangerous that floor was, even to regular hunters? "It is too difficult at your current level."

"But Kai…" The whining tone of her voice reminded me of a small child and with her face the look was completed.

Sigh. If she didn't want people to think she was a child then maybe she shouldn't act in this child-like fashion.

"Callie, I have already lost one party member to that floor. Don't make me lose another."

Maybe it was the look on my face or the fact that I had lost a party member before, but her expression paled and she straightened her back. A rush of relief filled me. I didn't want to be unnecessarily harsh with her. The monsters of the tower would do that in time.

I wanted to keep her angelic smile as long as possible. I would not budge on going to the second floor for now, but maybe experiencing an easy difficulty dungeon would be a good experience for her at this stage.

"The second floor is out, but I am sure there is another dungeon we can explore together. For today, let us do one more day on the first floor of the tower here and I will look into other towers that are fit for your level."

"Really?" Callie's face lit up at my suggestion and I felt that strange prickle in my chest once more.

Being around Callie felt like I had gained a little sister of sorts. I needed to be sure to protect her. Smiles as beautiful as hers should be protected at all costs.