Water Elemental Heart

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper went straight inside without another word and brought out an iron chest. Some runes were carved into it, evidently placed there to protect its contents. The shopkeeper set it on the table, then produced a Strange Key and placed it on the chest. Something magical happened: the key shone, dispelling the magic protection on the iron chest, then inserted itself into the keyhole and opened it.

Allen had never seen anything like this and stood there stunned. Inside the open chest lay a pearl the size of a baby's fist. It was deep blue all over, its perfect curves forming a full, round sphere, and it radiated powerful waves of magic. Allen was immediately captivated. He stared fixedly at the pearl, as though he could see a roaring tsunami within it.

At that moment, the shopkeeper spoke. "This is the most precious thing in our shop, a treasure left behind when a powerful deep sea elemental died. You should know its name: a Water Elemental Heart. A perfect Water Elemental Heart. Unless you're willing to pay a hundred thousand gold coins, we couldn't possibly sell it."

Allen abruptly came to his senses. Only then did he find the shopkeeper strange. Why show him something he couldn't possibly afford? This was the shop's prized treasure, too. Shouldn't it have been kept safely hidden? He grew wary and said to the shopkeeper, "Sorry, I couldn't possibly afford it. Don't you have anything smaller?"

The shopkeeper had already put it away. He said to Allen calmly, "We only have a Water Elemental Heart this size." "All right, I'll ask at some other shops." With that, Allen turned and left.

After leaving the shop, he immediately left the district and returned to the inn. He had already guessed that the shopkeeper had shown it to him deliberately. He just didn't know what scheme was involved, but it was best not to get mixed up in this sort of thing.

Sure enough, not long after he left, someone emerged from the back of the shop. She held an unusual staff and wore a voluminous black robe. Judging by her figure, she seemed to be a woman, but the powerful waves of magic she radiated made her impossible to underestimate.

"My lady, that boy seems to have noticed something," the fat shopkeeper said respectfully to the Black-Robed Man. "It doesn't matter. Aren't there four others? All that matters is that word gets out." A woman's voice did indeed come from beneath the black robe. "Rest assured, my lady, word will certainly spread. Your plan will soon be realized." The fat shopkeeper dropped excitedly to his knees.

The black-robed woman paid no heed to this and told the kneeling shopkeeper, "I'm taking it with me. Remember, if anyone comes looking for you, tell them that the Whisperer, Lillian Chris, awaits his arrival at the Nine-Ring Tower." As she finished speaking, powerful waves of magic instantly spread out, and the magic runes that followed blazed with light. The next moment, the black-robed woman vanished. Still kneeling, the fat shopkeeper shouted excitedly, "Yes! Your command will be obeyed, my lady!"

Meanwhile, Allen had begun studying the Healing Potion formula. After seeing the Water Elemental Heart in that shop, he felt that it was simply the best possible magic source for making Healing Potions.

As it happened, he had one himself. He had merely forgotten about it amid everything that had happened lately, and now that he remembered, he hurriedly took it out. The Water Elemental Heart he had obtained was far smaller than the one he had seen in the shop. His was smaller than a finger and was not round, but irregularly shaped like a stone. Still, he had no choice now.

He still had to find somewhere he could make potions, as well as buy some equipment and raw materials.

It was difficult to find a suitable place in the city. The laboratories were generally expensive; every inch of land in Dalaran was worth a fortune now. So he planned to rent a house in the outer city. Although it was farther away, it was cheap, costing only about one gold coin a month. He also favored the outer city because that area had few residents and was usually quiet. Afterward, he could buy a set of Alchemy Equipment and raw materials at the market and begin trying to make potions.

Next, he began estimating all the expenses. Short of money as he was, he had no choice but to budget carefully.

First, renting a house would cost one gold coin a month, with a deposit of roughly three times that amount, making four gold coins in total. Buying a standard set of Alchemy Equipment would cost somewhere between a dozen and twenty gold coins. As for the main ingredient for Healing Potions, there were many options, such as duskweed, glowweed, silverleaf, and so on. Of course, silverleaf worked best and was also the most expensive.

Most Alchemists used duskweed. Its effects were average, but its low price made up for that. He intended to use this ingredient too. Using duskweed with various other ingredients would cost about a hundred silver coins per portion. Buying thirty portions would cost three gold coins. Everything together would come to roughly twenty to thirty gold coins.

After that, he calculated the profit he could make if he successfully produced the potions.

An ordinary Healing Potion containing magic sold for around seven hundred to a thousand silver coins. Conservatively taking the price as seven hundred, subtracting the hundred in costs left a profit of roughly six times the cost. His brewing success rate therefore had to exceed one in seven for him to truly avoid a loss.

He currently had about sixty-two gold coins to his name. Half would have to go toward Alchemy Equipment and rent, and another ten gold coins had to come out of the remaining half for living expenses. In the end, he would have roughly twenty gold coins to buy ingredients. Twenty gold coins would buy about two hundred portions, which meant he had to successfully brew a potion as soon as possible within those two hundred portions, with a success rate no lower than one in seven. Otherwise, he would fall into a financial crisis-or, simply put, go bankrupt.

After working out the figures, Allen began to feel that this was a daunting task, but he had no intention of giving up. He had done many jobs before, but they earned money far too slowly. If he didn't take a chance, he would still end up destitute. Rather than that, he might as well take the risk and give it a try. Perhaps he would succeed.

Having made up his mind, Allen did not wait until tomorrow. Instead, he immediately headed for the outer city to rent a house, then move his belongings there. First, he found an agent. After Allen slipped him some silver coins, the agent took him to the outer city. There were few people there, so it was not as crowded as the inner city, and the houses were scattered far apart.

He and the agent had not walked far before they reached a residential area. They then called over the person in charge of the houses, and Allen began bargaining with him. In the end, he rented a house on the eastern side for eight hundred silver coins a month. After paying three months' rent and a deposit, Allen moved his belongings in.

The house was fairly large, but a little old. Several roof tiles had fallen from the beams, leaving a large hole. Allen neither complained nor changed houses. He simply cleared away the dust and rubbish inside, then used some planks to block the hole. It was evening by the time he finally had everything sorted out.

That night, he did not return to the inn, but stayed there instead. The next day, he went into the city, planning to buy a set of Alchemy Equipment. At the market, he did not browse the stalls one by one, but went straight to the vendor from whom he had often replenished his supplies. He was already very familiar with this vendor and knew that he sometimes obtained good things that others couldn't get. That was why he went straight to him.

Upon reaching the vendor's stall, he wasted no words and stated his purpose directly. The vendor thought carefully for a few minutes, then said, "Do you want new equipment or used? If you want new, you'll probably have to buy it in the eastern district. Only the shops there sell it." Allen did not understand the difference, so he asked, "Is there any difference between new and used?"

"What difference could there be? It's just been used by someone else," the vendor said casually. "You know, every year plenty of mage apprentices learn alchemy to earn gold coins, but most of them fail. I hope you won't be one of them."

In the end, he decided that used equipment would do. Then he asked, "How is the price calculated?" The vendor answered immediately, "That depends on how old the equipment is, of course." Allen nodded in agreement. "All right, I'll take a set, but not one that's too old." The vendor was immediately delighted. "Sure thing! Don't worry, you'll be satisfied."

After paying the vendor a deposit, he asked whether he could obtain ingredients for Healing Potions too. This put the vendor in a difficult position. Looking as though he had missed out on a great deal, he replied, "I'm very sorry. Healing Potions may be the most ordinary potions around, but their main ingredient, duskweed, has always been controlled by Dalaran's mages. At most, I can get the other, secondary ingredients."

Allen was disappointed too. "All right, then. How much of the other ingredients can you get?" Hearing that there was still business to be done, the vendor immediately brightened. "The others are no problem. Give me a week, and whatever it takes, I'll gather enough ingredients for around fifty portions. How does that sound? I'll give you ten percent off, too-a special price for how long we've known each other."

The vendor looked at him with shining eyes. Allen also knew that he probably wouldn't find a cheaper price elsewhere, so he simply agreed. He told the vendor that he would return in a week to collect the goods.

After leaving the market, he went straight to the Alchemy Association. He directly told the receptionist that he intended to buy duskweed. The receptionist was not at all surprised. Every year, some mage apprentices would try brewing potions, but unfortunately, few had ever been seen to succeed.

The receptionist quoted him a price of a hundred and ten silver coins per portion. This was somewhat higher than his earlier estimate, but there was nothing he could do. This was the only place in Dalaran that sold it. Sure enough, only a monopoly yielded such enormous profits.

He placed an order for fifty portions in one go. Rather than merely paying a deposit, he paid the full amount on the spot, without the slightest worry that they might renege on the deal.