Emilia or When An NPC Loses His Mind

The Skymoon Kingdom spanned the entire west coast of the Starwood continent.

Its territory extended inland for several hundred kilometres. There were lakes, mountain ranges, desert areas and dense forests.

The inhabitants of this kingdom were happy and were living in peace despite the great number of monsters that reigned in these regions.

This was due in part to a system that favored adventurers and their well-being.

The latter were therefore even more highly regarded than some nobles, and the whole society revolved around them, both economically and militarily. Of course, this did not prevent the kingdom from having its own army.

At the north of the kingdom, in the heart of a forest so dense that the sun's rays could hardly penetrate the leaves, was the capital: Blackriver.

There were countless talents, both from a military point of view in the army, but also from a craft point of view: the best blacksmiths, alchemists, and tanners of the kingdom were gathered in the craft district of this city.

There, many adventurers walked the streets in search of new weapons, armor, or potions. Their work being dangerous, it was better for them to be prepared to the maximum.

However, this does not mean that everything went according to plan all the time.

For example, those two adventurers, one of whom was so badly injured that every second counted for his life.

"Hold on, Karl! We're almost there!"

Their goal? A small shop at the end of an alley.

It was not just any shop. It was a herbalism shop, runned by the best alchemist in the area: Emilia.

On the front of the shop, a small carved wooden sign depicted two potions. Underneath, it was possible to read the following inscription: 'Welcome to Emilia's herbalism shop'.

The two men did not hesitate one second once they arrived at the door and entered.

As soon as they entered, a voice rang in their ears:

"Hello, welcome to..."

"Skip."

Quickly, the glance of Emilia darkened.

"What can I do for you?"

"Major healing potion."

"Excuse me sir, but you do not have enough gold coins for this purchase."

The adventurer was enraged.

"What do you mean I do not have enough gold? I asked you to give me a major healing potion. So give it to me."

The adventurer's gaze had become menacing.

"Excuse me, sir, but you--"

The young man quickly approached Emilia, took her by the collar of her shirt, and tackled her against the wall.

"You're just an NPC, don't piss me off. Worst case scenario, you're expendable."

"... Do not have enough gold coins for this purchase."

Fear could be seen on the saleswoman's face.

"Wouldn't this be a case of atony?" she said, pointing to the dying man.

It was too much for the young adventurer. He unsheathed his sword, placing it directly at Emilia's throat.

"Last chance. If you don't give me the potion, I'll execute you right now."

Emilia was panicked but mostly annoyed. Never before had a customer behaved so violently.

Unfortunately, caught between a wall and a sword to the throat, she was forced to give up her potion.

"Hello, welcome to Emilia's herbalism shop. What can I do for you?"

The young man did not listen to her and snatched the potion that had appeared in the alchemist's hands.

He shoved Emilia, knocking her to the ground.

"Stay down, we'll get to you as soon as my buddy is up and about."

When he turned around to administer the potion to his comrade, a strange phenomenon occurred: a slight sly smile appeared on Emilia's face. A dark and cold smile, able to make shiver and paralyze even the most reckless of the fighters.

The young adventurer approached his friend and knelt down beside him.

He opened the potion, removing the cap. A sweet fruity scent wafted into the room.

He brought the red bottle to the wounded man's mouth:

"Drink this. You'll be fully recovered in seconds."

The dying youth drank the entire potion, leaving not a single drop.

They waited two seconds. Then five. Fifteen seconds. A minute passed, and still nothing happened.

Both began to panic. On top of that the situation was getting worse.

"Gyaah!" *kof* *kof*

The boy's condition was getting worse. He was beginning to writhe in pain, and coughing uncontrollably.

"What did you give him? What is happening?" Shouted his comrade.

However, he did not wish to leave his friend.

"Hello, welcome to Emilia's Herbalism shop."

The dying young man began to struggle more and more, before freezing completely. His heart had stopped.

"Wouldn't this be a case of atony?"

The young adventurer no longer understood what was going on. Thousands of questions were running through his mind.

How had they come to this? Who was this NPC, why was she acting this way? Was it a bug?

Quickly, the young man took fear of Emilia. For him it was the devil in person who had taken human form.

Disguise a poison as a healing potion? Who would be crazy enough to do that? Especially an NPC! Weren't they only there to serve the adventurers?

Then he thought of his comrade. The hours it had taken them to get there.

"You bastard! Because of you, we'll have to start all over again! Hundreds of hours of gameplay ruined by a psycho fucking NPC! Trust me I'm just going to kill you."

The young man picked up his sword from the ground and rushed towards the alchemist, whose look of satisfaction and mocking smile only hurt her assailant even more.

She conjured up two potions, which she drank instantly, and finally a third which she broke and applied the lotion to her hands.

She stood up and faced the adventurer who had already raised his sword, ready to strike.

She too raised her arms, stopping the blade with her bare hand.

Surprised, he released his grip on his sword and took a few steps back.

Emilia took the weapon, it was now her who faced the adventurer.

She raised the sword on top of her head, bringing the blade down on the skull of her opponent.

With his weapon stuck in his head, he quickly collapsed, dead.

Very quickly, the bodies disappeared by themselves, leaving only a few flickering luminous specks of dust that looked like stars shining at night.

"Have a nice day, and I wish you a nice trip!"

She then returned to her office. A new client arrived only a few minutes after this incident.

"Hello, welcome to Emilia's herbalism shop. What can I do for you?"