potions

"Get your hands off me," I forgot all about the danger he just put me through and remembered the innocent baby dragon whose core I absorbed a few hours ago, "how could you kill a baby and let me absorb its core without even telling me about it?"

Lucile let go of my hands, walked to a chair, and sat down, seemingly not fazed by my anger, "first of all it wasn't me who killed it, it was your father."

"still…"

Not letting me talk, he continued, "Secondly, be thankful, that beast could have been born to be even more formidable than its mother which was on the brink of destroying earth."

"Wha..."

"Thirdly, you should thank your heavens for having the opportunity to absorb a level two mythic core as your first core. In all of existence, there are no more than four known people that have absorbed a mythic core, much less a space element one, and as their first core."

"but…" This time, my tone wasn't as angry as I wanted it to be, surprising myself.

"No buts, your father sacrificed one of his most valuable treasures to sneak that core from under the nose of the most powerful beings in the world without them knowing about it.

Just be thankful and remember that if we don't kill them, they will kill us."

Looking at him for a few seconds, I finally opened my mouth, "But the baby was innocent."

"No, it wasn't. You don't understand, for a monster to be at level two while still a fetus, it must have distorted many laws and killed many people. I don't want to get into details and don't think you want me to either, but know this: that dragon deserved nothing but what it got."

"But it seems so peaceful…" I muttered.

"What do you mean?" Lucile jumped up from his seat, looking at me in horror. "Don't tell me… did you get a soul egg?" 

"What's a soul egg?" I asked, instantly regretting opening my big mouth.

"Do you see an egg with a beast in it when you enter your core space?"

"Yes, and there is a baby inside, sleeping…"

"What's its race?" Lucile asked before muttering to himself, "No, that doesn't matter, its race can't be determined at this stage. I must wait until he is at least at his fourth foundation level..."

As he was muttering a bunch of bullshit to himself, I sneaked toward the elevator and entered it without him noticing.

I looked at the distracted Lucile and pushed the elevator button which attracted Lucile's attention.

"Where do you think you are going? You still haven't shown me your skill. Get back here…"

Not wanting him to catch up to me, I started pushing the button faster, then when I was sure that he wouldn't get to me, I smiled and said, "You know, I would have settled for one thousand MPs…"

"you little shit… get back here." In the last second, it seemed like Lucile remembered who he was and what he was capable of, suddenly, he was in front of the elevator, but thankfully, it was still too late.

_

As soon as I got out of the building, I started running in a random direction until I felt relatively safe and could breathe again.

I entered an ally and sat on the ground with my back to a building's wall.

I raised my left hand and looked at the ring on my finger.

With a simple mental command, a small holographic window appeared in front of me showing the sweet number, "5000"

"You get what you deserve…" I muttered and called, "Sarcasto."

The blue line appeared in front of me, "Don't call me that, or else I would ignore your calls."

"Don't answer my call if you can," I rebutted and got straight to the point, "get me to the nearest potion store."

"F*ck you," the line cursed but still started guiding me through the city to a fancy building that seemed to sell potions.

I felt a buzz in my left hand and saw the hologram appear, showing the number, "4950"

"50 MPs just for directions?" I shouted, attracting passersby's attention.

"That's what you get for messing with me," the line said and disappeared before I could say or do anything else.

I sighed dejectedly and decided to postpone my revenge for now and entered the store.

As I stepped through the glass doors of the luxurious potion-selling store, my senses were immediately overwhelmed with the scent of rare herbs and spices. The shop was decorated with elegant chandeliers that cast a warm glow over the space, highlighting the perfectly placed glass shelves that held countless potion options in various hues and shapes. The floors were made of gleaming white marble that reflected the light of the chandeliers, adding a touch of more luxury to the already lavish environment.

The potions themselves were arranged like works of art, each bottle carefully positioned to catch the light and showcase the rich colors and swirling patterns within. The rarest potions were kept in glass cases, protected by locks and alarms to prevent theft.

Every potion was accompanied by a detailed label that listed its ingredients, rarity, and price, which was often exorbitant. Beneath the shelves were drawers full of rare ingredients, some of which were priced so high that only the wealthiest customers could afford them.

The staff were dressed in elegant, sharp uniforms that perfectly matched the refined atmosphere of the shop. They moved gracefully and quietly between the shelves, offering advice and assistance. The experience of this store was a true luxury, made for those who demanded the finest and most potent potions for their needs.

"How can I help you sir?" An attractive tall girl, not much older than me approached me and asked.

"Hello, I wanted to purchase some healing potions. Can you tell me a little bit about the criteria for their pricing and what you think is best for my use?" I asked, ready to be thrown out of the shop but to my surprise, the girl only smiled and started explaining.

"Certainly, potions are priced based on a few factors such as the alchemist that made them, the materials used in them, supply and demand, and most importantly their rank.

Potions can be ranked from 1 to 9. If I want to give you a ballpark estimate of the pricing based on their rank, the price could range anywhere between 50 to 1,000,000 MPs.

There are, of course, potions that are cheaper but consuming them is not advised. And as for the potions that cost more than a million MPs, well…. Let me just say, they are too rare to come by and nobody is willing to sell them under normal circumstances."

Hearing the detailed explanation, I felt a little embarrassed to ask for a simple healing potion. However, I asked anyway, "I want to buy a few healing potions. Can you recommend one that matches my budget?"

Contrary to my expectations, the girl still smiled and answered, "Certainly, may I know your budget?"

"About a thousand MPs."

This time, the girl's eyes couldn't help but twitch. It was clear that she expected a much much higher number.

But still, she kept her composure and started guiding me toward a different section of the store, showing me a dark blue potion, "this is a rank 2 healing potion that costs 300 merit points per bottle.

People usually buy them in bulk. In this price range, this is one of the most effective healing potions and can heal almost all light and some heavy injuries.

There are a few other cheaper options if you feel this is expensive and doesn't match your budget. However, my personal recommendation is to buy this one because it has a secondary effect of enhancing your energy regeneration."

"Then I want four of them please."

I knew that it went a little above my budget, but its secondary effect really caught my eye. With all the shit Lucile put me through, I believed that this potion could help me accelerate my healing process.

I wanted to give two of them to Nill as a thank you and one was for my mom. As soon as I found out that there was a healing potion in this world, I was thinking of buying one for my mom. This seemed like the best option within my price range.

Since the healing potion was designed to heal fighting wounds, it was definitely more than enough to heal my mother's bruises and help her with some of her physical issues.

 The girl brought out a tablet and touched it a few times before putting it in front of me, "please read the details of your purchase and confirm it. You can pay by putting your ring on the tablet."

It seemed like the girl knew I was new to this world since she even explained the tiniest details about the transaction to me.

Wanting to show my gratitude to the girl, I added an extra hundred MPs as a tip which certainly improved the girl's impression of me.

I knew that I was spending too much but it felt good to be wealthy for once in my life and since the money didn't come from hard work, I didn't find any harm in spending a little too much to feel better about myself.