New Store
Alfred found the office of the Blue Tower on the west side of the square.
He showed his ID card and applied for a potions license, which is something new introduced in Elysion.
Applicants have to give a written test and a practical test of brewing potions to get the license. But apparently, Rank 4 Mages have a high enough standing to bypass that.
After getting a Rank 4 potions license, which can be used to sell potions of Rank up to 4, Alfred asked for any empty shops to buy. The employee, who was a Rank 2 Spell Mage, hurriedly pulled out a stack of land deeds for Alfred to browse through.
After going through them in detail, he found a small three-story shop situated in a quiet street just north of the Town Square.
After paying the fee for the service, Alfred headed for the shop.
The street was called Oak Lane. Walking down the cobbled path, Alfred found the hustle and bustle of Town Square decreasing. The houses and shops on either side were old and made of wood, filled with a sense of history.
Alfred quickly found the shop he was looking for. The building was surprisingly made of Dark Iron Wood and looked expensive. The storefront had stained glass windows, and Alfred could see many books through them. Looking up, he found the signboard reading “Lenny’s Bookstore.”
Seeing a “Closed” sign on the door, Alfred knocked on it.
A few minutes later, an old man opened the door. The man had haggard eyes and a messy attire, indicating clearly that he had not been keeping well recently.
“How can I help you, Sir?” he asked with a dry voice.
“My name is Alfred Steelheart. I have come here with the intention of buying this shop, if everything is to my liking.” Pulling out the land deed, Alfred introduced himself.
The old man’s eyes lit up upon hearing that, and he quickly invited Alfred in. “Welcome, Sir Alfred. You can call me Old Ren.”
Alfred looked around the ground floor. The walls were adorned with shelves made of the same Dark Iron Wood. They contained old books covering almost everything. The rest of the shop was decorated with beautiful wallpaper, and the furniture appeared to be antique.
Suddenly, Alfred felt the presence of death from the far end of the shop.
He turned around to look at the old man again. The man had grey skin and a pair of ram horns atop his head — the characteristics of the Demons.
Thinking about it again, Alfred ignored the feeling. The main religion of the Demons is the Church of Spirit. Their main deity is the Tree of Souls. So it is not uncommon for some lingering souls to be attracted to them.
“Can I look around the upper floors as well?” Alfred asked Old Ren, who was excitedly following him.
The first floor had living quarters and the top floor was a storeroom.
Alfred loved the quaint neighborhood and the beautiful shop. So he immediately decided to buy it.
He asked the price.
“If you can pay upfront in crystal coins, you need to pay only one thousand of them,” Old Ren answered.
Alfred was surprised. One thousand crystal coins are equivalent to ten thousand gold coins. He estimated the property to be worth at least forty thousand gold coins.
The currency in this world is as follows: one crystal coin equals ten gold coins, and one gold coin equals one hundred silver coins. Some countries also use iron coins as the lowest denomination. And although the design of the gold and silver coins differs by nation, the crystal coins are the same everywhere.
The crystal coins are actually crystallized mana formed under high pressure and temperature, which can be mined. These coins are useful to everybody, as they can also be used as fuel for Magic Artifacts. Spell Mages can also utilize them while practicing their breathing exercises.
Now, while the rest of the world needs to acquire these crystals from mines, Alfred can create them himself. By channeling Vita Fons to convert his inexhaustible life force into mana and then compressing that mana into crystal form, he can mint his own coins at will. So he is basically cheating in terms of money.
Counting the coins, he paid them to Old Ren, who put his signature on the land deed.
“Thank you, Sir. Please give me a day to relocate. You can pick up the keys from the office of the Blue Tower tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Alfred gave a handshake and left.
He returned to his inn and had his lunch.
In the afternoon, he decided to take a walk around the town.
“Come to think of it, that elf Elisa should be taking her entrance exams at the National University today,” he thought. “Shall I take a look around there?”
Alfred boarded a carriage and rode to the southeast part of the city called Silver Heath.
Due to the wide and well-paved roads, the carriage drove swiftly at about fifty to sixty kilometers per hour and reached the destination in about forty-five minutes.
Getting out of the carriage, Alfred was shocked to see a greater hustle and bustle than the Town Square.
“Well, Elysion is the modern center of education. People from all over the world come to study here. You shouldn’t be surprised,” Milo chimed in.
Strolling around for a few minutes, Alfred found the crowd congregating in front of a large gate. A giant signboard above read — “National Elysion University.” But Alfred heard the people referring to it as The New.
Looking around, he saw majestically decorated carriages parked on either side of the road. Apparently, many noble kids from surrounding nations also came to study here.
Elysion does not have nobility. Laws are passed by a council of Mages representing the four Towers, and an election is held every ten years to rotate them.
Alfred easily got inside the campus by showing his Rank 4 ID card to the guards.
The campus was huge, with massive gardens and large granite buildings scattered here and there like a maze.
Looking around, he felt violent mana fluctuations from a colosseum-like building situated closer to the gate. So he headed there first.
Taking a seat in the stands, he watched the battles below.
After eavesdropping on the conversations of the other viewers for some time, he came to know that the practical part of the entrance exams was happening here.
In the arena, a muscular and blonde human youth was battling against an orc youth.
The orc youth seemed to have endless stamina as he swung his mace around in a relentless wave of attacks. However, it was the human youth who was surprising everybody with his precise blocks and parries. His control of the long sword he was wielding was commendable. He handled all the attacks with minimal effort while counterattacking his opponent.
The orc youth gave up after a few more tries. Next came another human youth. He was a Rank 1 Stage 1 Spell Mage — basically a newly advanced mage. He maintained his distance and attacked with the few spells he knew. After emptying out his mana, he left the arena. The blonde youth stood there without any injury.
Alfred himself was a swordsman, so he was interested in the swordsmanship technique of the youth. “At first glance, it looks like the Imperial Swordsmanship from the Darksun Empire. But it is not. Even I haven’t seen this form of swordsmanship.”
Alfred observed him some more. “But this seems to be just the basics. Even the youth has barely scratched the surface of this technique.”
Milo also watched the matches. “He is a good seedling. A hero of the new age.”
“He has yet to grow up,” Alfred added.
“Certainly. There have been countless geniuses in history.” Milo continued after a pause. “But let us be optimistic for once. The future is bright and belongs to these young heroes.”
After a few rounds, Alfred left the way he came.
“Sir… Sir Alfred!” Suddenly Alfred heard a shout from behind.
Turning around, he saw the elf Elisa walking towards him at a brisk pace to catch up to him.
“Greetings, Miss Elisa.”
“You said you did not want to join the university.” She covered her mouth and gave a teasing smile.
“Indeed. I am just taking a stroll,” Alfred answered with a confident smile. “I have already arranged for my potions store.”
“Really?” She was in the mood for teasing again. “Where is it located? I will definitely visit it in the future.”
“You are welcome. The new store will be called Milo’s Potions. You can find it on Oak Lane, Old District.” Alfred had already decided on the name of the store.
“Milo’s Potions, Oak Lane, Old District,” Elisa pronounced it again to memorize.
“By the way, have you already taken the entrance exam?” Alfred asked.
“Yes, I gave the written test this morning. I am on my way to look at the results now. If I clear this, I will have to take the practical exam tomorrow,” she answered.
At this moment, a fat human youth dressed in luxurious robes approached them. It was clear that he was a noble from the surrounding countries.
“Greetings, Miss Elisa. We meet again.” He extended his hand after approaching her. But Elisa did not accept the handshake and greeted back with a bow instead.
The round youth didn’t mind and asked her again, “Are you here to check the results? Should we go together?”
Hearing that, Elisa stole a glance at Alfred and said with a smile, “Sir Alfred here will be accompanying me. So I will have to apologize.”
At that moment, the youth looked at Alfred for the first time, as if Alfred had never existed there before. His face was dark.
Alfred lampooned inwardly, “I am not your competitor here, foreign young master.”
After exchanging another round of greetings, the round youth finally left.
“Sorry about that, Sir Alfred. I met that foreign noble during the written test in the morning.” She apologized with an unapologetic smile.
“Sigh. Some things never change,” Alfred said.
Elisa giggled. “You sound like an old man.”
Alfred couldn’t help but lampoon again, “I AM old.”
She continued, “Would you accompany me to look at the results, Sir Alfred?”
“Alright.”
They walked towards the central square of the university. Searching for Elisa’s name on the notice board, they found her at the top. Alfred congratulated her and gave his best wishes for the practical exam.
Since she was majoring in potions, her practical exam was also about brewing potions. So on their way back, they found themselves talking about it. Her questions appeared very basic to Alfred, but he answered them clearly like a teacher.
Alfred parted with her midway. Apparently, she was staying at the guest house of the university. Her brother had been admitted to a nearby school. And Knight Tisha had joined the Church of Life in Elysion.
The education system in Elysion is far more developed than any other country. Here, any child of any race between the ages of ten and fifteen can attend one of the government-managed schools for free. There they are taught literature, mathematics, history, and general knowledge.
After that, they can join either the vocational schools run by the guilds or the state-managed universities to grow as a Mage. And everything is free if one is talented enough to get admitted.
The only catch is that they have to serve Elysion in their field of expertise for a minimum of ten to a maximum of fifty years.
While Alfred was lost in thought, the round noble from before blocked his path near the gate.
“You! What is your relation with Miss Elisa?” he demanded with a fuming face and his wand pointed at Alfred.
Alfred almost let out a laugh. But suddenly, he noticed another person walking towards them. He smiled.
The round noble, who was collecting mana at his wand-tip, felt a slight chill behind his back. The moment he was distracted by his goosebumps, the temperature in the surroundings suddenly dropped.
Feeling the presence of someone behind his back, he slowly turned around with a gulp. With great shock, he stammered, “Professor Eva! Gree… greetings.”
“Hello, little one. Is there something bothering you?” asked Professor Eva with a wind-chime-like voice.
“Nothing. Nothing is bothering me,” the round noble answered with a frightened voice. “I will be on my way, Professor.” He turned around and walked off at a brisk pace.
The round noble had been in Elysion since his school days. Hence, he knew the fabled Professor Eva.
Miss Eva then turned to look at Alfred. In fact, she had actually been looking for him. When she returned to The New, the guard at the gate had notified her that an unknown person with a Rank 4 ID had entered the campus. The guard found it strange because the person looked far too young to be a Rank 4. This piqued her intrigue.
“He is indeed very young — doesn’t look a day older than twenty-five. But…” She studied him more carefully. His body radiated an almost imperceptible warmth, the kind of vitality that only the most powerful Body Tempering practitioners possessed. And the density of it was staggering. “A Rank 5 Battle Mage! Such talent — almost the same as me.” Eva was lost in her thoughts as she observed him. ”…Or is he using some artifact to change his looks?”