Arcane Innovator

I found myself standing at the entrance to the Great Hall, my heart pounding with nervousness.

This was the very same place where I underwent the Measuring Ceremony not that long ago. Yet now, it gave off an entirely different vibe.

I hesitantly stepped in and immediately noticed the tension in the air. Rows of dignitaries and nobles stood silently. Their eyes were fixed on me, watching my every move as I made my way toward the center.

Some looked with open curiosity, others with hardly disguised hostility - especially the Alchemists. I could feel their menacing glances boring holes into my back the whole time.

I tried my best to ignore their piercing gazes, but it was impossible. Luckily, before this situation could become unbearable, I had already arrived at the raised platform in the center of the hall.

To my right, I could see the haughty chancellor, the venerable Leopold von Scholl, standing arrogantly in the middle of his peers with a smug smile like he had already won.

My lips curled into a subtle smirk as I gave him a curt nod, silently daring him to try his best.

Although our chances of success weren't high, I refused to surrender without a fight. After all, it was the Count who had the last word.

Everyone in the city perceived him to be a shrewd and pragmatic leader. Still, it was hard to tell how much he was genuinely devoted to his people and how much of it was just an act.

Not to mention, despite the Alchemist Guild's undeniable influence and might, at the end of the day, they were still only mere Alchemists... I, on the other hand, had the talent of a real mage, and a significant one at that.

Sure, in the eyes of the public, my talent was crude and unrefined, and I had a long way to go before I could be perceived as someone formidable. Yet, in terms of raw power, I was unmatched.

That means my potential worth for Ereneth was incomparable to someone like the haughty chancellor. Plus, we could make in a single day as many pseudo-potions as the whole Alchemist Guild in a month, meaning strictly from merit alone; choosing us was a no-brainer.

Still, the chancellor looked confident, as if he was sure of his victory. This made me wonder if he was indeed so arrogant or if he really believed that the power of his mighty connections would be enough to crush us.

This left only one question... will our Lord choose to maintain the status quo by placating the Alchemists, or will he choose the unpopular decision of favoring us upstarts, something that would shatter the current distribution of power within the city but bring him much greater profit in the long run.

Before long, a booming voice of the city's Herald announced the entrance of the Count. Everyone bowed their heads as the liege lord entered, accompanied by his knights and closest advisors.

I watched him walk nonchalantly, taking in the sight in front of him before sitting on his throne without uttering a single word. He then simply nodded at the Herald, who promptly announced the start of the proceedings.

The chancellor's eyes brightened, and he immediately took the stage since he played the role of a plaintiff. "My lord, your excellencies and all honorable citizens who come here today to witness righteous justice being served!"

He theatrically addressed the whole room before finally turning toward me and pointing a finger.

"This arrogant upstart and his Alchemist friend had brought massive harm to our Guild and subsequently to the whole of Ereneth itself! They administered fraudulent potions without Guild's sanction and in direct violation of Guild's directives..."

He then continued to accuse us of every possible crime we apparently committed, painting us like some heinous devils who were luring money from clueless citizens and sabotaging the Guild.

I couldn't help but smile listening to his tirade as he was extremely careful never to explicitly say that our potions didn’t actually work.

I stole a glance at Theo, who was quivering beside me under the immense weight of all the stares directed at us. He was not at all accustomed to being in the spotlight, and I feared his fragile composure would snap under the strain.

Yet it was impossible to leave him out of this one as everyone assumed it was he who crafted all those potions in the first place.

If it came to light that I had crafted them without an alchemist license, it would be total mayhem, and there would be no way to avoid some sort of punishment; thus, I was determined to prevent that from happening at all costs. Even if I had to lie to the Count himself.

Soon, it was our turn, and I assumed the stage as Theo was in no shape to defend himself, so I will be talking for both of us today.

I greeted everyone respectfully, putting on a confident smile before I began my carefully prepared speech.

"I appreciate this most excellent opportunity to defend both my and Theodore's honors before all of you today against those baseless accusations!" I began, my voice echoing throughout the Great Hall.

"Firstly, I would like to state that the accusations levied against us by the Alchemist Guild are not only baseless but also a complete fabrication!"

A murmur went through the crowd, and I could see the chancellor's face turn red with anger. I knew he was not expecting me to take such a bold stance. He probably thought I would beg for mercy or something along those lines.

Meanwhile, I continued my speech. "Our new elixir is entirely a herbalist concoction in nature. In his brilliance, Theodore invented a new process that unlocks the herb's true potential, thus enhancing the effects of a regular elixir tenfold! And he did it all without using any Alchemy whatsoever..."

I then grinned at the chancellor and declared. "This, in turn, means that this matter is entirely outside the purview of the Alchemist Guild and, as such, comes under the Merchant's Guild's agenda as any other new product would!"

I could see a slight surprise in the Count's eyes as he saw me talking so confidently despite the majority of nobles gathered here opposed to us, and I felt a twinge of satisfaction in my chest. It seems I had managed to catch his attention with my words, after all.

I paused for a moment, gauging the reactions of everyone. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost palpable, and I could feel the gazes of the whole hall directed at me.

"I can assure you that our new elixir is genuine and effective, as can be testified by the hundreds of people who have already tried it. And I'm sure that the honorable Magistrate can testify that even though he invaded the sanctity of our home without a proper warrant, he didn't find anything incriminating. That is all I have to say..."

I finished and stepped out of the stage as the whole hall submerged into utter silence. I could see the Count contemplating my words, his brow furrowed as he thought deeply.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he raised an eyebrow in amusement and addressed the chancellor. "Well, Do you have something to say to this?"

"My Lord! Those are clearly potions! We couldn't find out how they are making them yet, but I can recognize a potion when I see one!" The chancellor spat in clear annoyance.

"Yet you didn't find any evidence of any Alchemy being used, is that right?" The Count asked.

The chancellor turned toward me with a smirk. "Then we demand to reveal their methods to the public so we can assess its merit!"

I simply smiled as I expected something like this. "Well, you want me to reveal my secret, yet you keep all your recipes and alchemical formations a guarded secret yourself."

"Hahahaha! He has a point, venerable master." The Count burst out laughing.

"That's outrageous! generations of Alchemists built our knowledge over many centuries, and this arrogant upstart thinks he can simply come and put everything on its head!" The chancellor angrily replied, and I could see all his colleagues nodding in agreement.

The Count must have noticed it, too, as he sighed and said. "Very well, as you all seem unable to come to a compromise, it is up to me to declare a verdict..."

Everyone tensed up, waiting for the Count’s next words with bated breaths. But when he finally spoke, the whole hall gasped in surprise.

“After carefully weighing all the evidence… I found the Alchemist Theodore and Aspirant Darian not guilty of any crimes. They are, therefore, acquitted of all charges levied against them!”

I couldn’t help but blink in confusion as, at that point, I was almost sure we would lose, seeing the overwhelming opposition from all the nobles present. Yet, for some strange reason, the Count chose to favor us.

Thus, in the end, we somehow prevailed, much to the dismay of the Alchemists. However, it wasn't without certain provisions in place that ensured the continuation of their Guild's monopoly on potions.

Firstly, it was declared that we cannot use the word "potion" in any correlation with our product or advertisement or that we can't utilize any alchemical knowledge during manufacturing, including using an Alchemist mark on the vials. This was mainly a formality as we were already doing just that.

However, the main concession we had to make was that every physician in the city must use only official healing potions in any treatments requiring the use of a potion and that our elixirs can't be used as a substitute in any form.

I couldn't help but smile hearing this. Sure, it would prevent us from any future contract with Ereneth's army or the Beast's hunter Guild, who were the two biggest consumers of potions in the whole city.

Yet this would also only affect the nobles or the wealthy as they were the only ones who could afford the services of a physician in the first place.

Everyone else could simply learn of our elixir by word of mouth and buy them themselves to cure their ills. This means that the Alchemists will be literally shooting themselves in the foot here.

Soon, the nobles will be asking themselves why they are the only ones who had to pay ten times more for what was basically the same treatment, and many, alongside the physicians, will begin to buy our product in secret as well, bypassing the Alchemists altogether.

It will also affect the herbalists as all their elixirs and ointments will become useless. But I could simply offer them to sell our product, giving them a portion of the profits to compensate for that.

Those who would be too stubborn to cling to their own pride would, of course, inevitably go bankrupt, which in turn would allow me to buy out their workshops for cheap, thus expanding our own production.

But despite our unquestionable victory, I couldn't help but get a cold shiver every time I remembered that unsettling cold smile the Count cast in my direction right as we were leaving the Great Hall.