Challenging the Hall

The red sunset spilled into the room, staining the bottles on the shelves gold.

Each bottle stood quietly in place, their labels clearly printed with the names and effects of various plants.

The air was filled with a faint herbal scent, making one feel peaceful and relaxed.

Enri walked slowly between the shelves, occasionally picking up a bottle to wipe away non-existent dust before placing it back in its original spot with satisfaction.

His expression was one of contentment mixed with a hint of pride; he was the grandson of Lizzie Bareare, the best Pharmacist in E-Rantel. Having lost his parents at a young age, he followed in his grandmother's footsteps to become a Pharmacist, and he was also famous for his rare talent.

However, to Enri, he did not take pride in his talent, but rather in being a Pharmacist. At only sixteen, he was already capable of using second-tier magic.

Although to others he had already reached the same level as Lizzie Bareare, Enri knew he still could not compare to his grandmother.

The potions from Lizzie Workshop contributed greatly to the nation, and thanks to E-Rantel being a fortress city at the intersection of three countries, the workshop's potions were sold far and wide to other lands.

The reputation of his grandmother, Lizzie Bareare, was akin to the status of Fluder of the Baharuth Empire among Magic Casters.

After taking inventory of the potions on the shelves, Enri nodded with satisfaction. Many potions had been sold today; even the blue magic potions, priced at 1 gold coin and 10 silver coins, were completely sold out.

Of course, the reason for this price was not greed, but because the materials for making such blue potions were not cheap and required the use of magic to craft.

Compared to potions made from herbs, the production of potions made with magic was tied to the Pharmacist's mana pool. Even if Enri and his grandmother used all their mana to produce these blue potions, they could not mass-produce them.

Furthermore, they still needed to produce ordinary healing potions, which lowered the output even more. As the saying goes, scarcity creates value, so the price of these blue potions naturally reached the level of gold coins.

With nightfall approaching and the day's business coming to an end, Enri was preparing to close the door when he heard the chime of the entrance bell.

"Welcome."

Enri said instinctively. Aside from him and his grandmother, they did not hire any help at the workshop; both production and sales were handled by them personally.

"Are you looking to purchase potions?" Enri turned around to look at the youth who had walked in.

"Yes." Hades nodded and asked, "What kind of potions do you have here?"

"They are all right here. Please take a look, guest; the names and effects are listed on them." Enri stepped aside, revealing the display case behind him.

Hades stepped forward to look at the items inside the glass cabinet. He had never seen the names of those potions before; they were likely not potions from YGGDRRASIL.

As his gaze moved, he read the descriptions on the labels. Although they were explained in great detail, in his eyes, they were all trash—not a single one was a valuable potion.

"May I ask which kind of potion you need?" Enri asked from the side. This youth looked to be about his own age, but his hair was black rather than the common blonde, somewhat similar to people from the southern regions.

However, since E-Rantel was at the intersection of three countries, people of all kinds could be found there, so he did not find it strange.

"I heard you have that blue potion here. Why don't I see it?" Hades asked. He had learned about this potion from Brita.

Brita was an adventurer he had struck up a conversation with at the adventurer's inn. However, she had been very guarded against his advances. After Hades stated his intentions, Brita said her party was full and they were not looking for new members.

Hades had no choice but to give up, but having no better person to chat with, he continued to try and get close to her to learn about this other world.

But Brita had no desire to chat and guarded against him as if he were a thief. Hades felt a bit awkward, but seeing her tightly gripping a bottle filled with blue liquid, he used that as a starting point for conversation.

He later learned it was a healing potion, which surprised him. Were there blue healing potions? He had never seen one.

However, this revealed a new business opportunity. Compared to magic scrolls, the production of healing potions was much simpler.

When making magic scrolls, one needed not only materials but also a spellcaster to infuse the corresponding magic into the scroll. Therefore, two people were required for production; if one had no companions, one could use summoned mercenaries to act as the spellcaster.

But healing potions were not like that. As long as one had the materials, a single person could complete the production.

Since there was no suitable adventurer party, he might as well check out the potion workshop of this world. At the rate he was spending the money he borrowed from Nigun, it would be gone in a few days.

Thus, following the information he got from Brita, he found this Lizzie Workshop, which was very famous in E-Rantel, just before the sky turned completely dark.

"You mean the magic potion." Enri's face showed an apologetic expression as he said, "I am very sorry, we have sold out of that potion. But if you are in a hurry, please come back tomorrow morning; I will rush to make a batch tonight."

"You mean, that blue potion is made by you?" Hades eyed Enri. His long hair obscured his eyes, and his voice was gentle and quite shy.

"Yes." Enri added, "Though it is not entirely me; my grandmother also makes some when she is not busy with research."

"Are you a Pharmacist?" Hades asked, already having a plan in mind.

"You could say that." Enri nodded shyly. Although he was indeed a Pharmacist, he believed he only deserved the title once he caught up to his grandmother's skill—a standard he had set for himself.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Jimi. To be honest, I am also a Pharmacist, having come here from the southern regions." Hades casually fabricated a name, and he had heard from Brita that people from the southern regions had black hair.

"You are a Pharmacist too?" Enri was startled.

"So, should you know why I came here now?" Hades asked.

"Um, are you looking to exchange knowledge on potion-making with Grandmother Lizzie?" Enri asked. That seemed to be the only reason; after all, Grandmother Lizzie had a great reputation, and many Pharmacists came to visit her.

Hades nodded. "That is exactly it."

Originally, he had intended to say he was here to challenge the shop. As long as he could see how the other party refined potions and what effects the resulting magic potions had, he would simply admit defeat after observing enough.

If it were an ordinary customer, they probably wouldn't agree to such a rude request, but if it were a challenge, the other party would inevitably have to demonstrate their skills once they accepted.

But it seemed there was no such thing as "challenging a shop" in this world. Still, as long as he had a starting point, that was enough.