Arcane Innovator

I sat in a dimly lit tavern deep within the city's slums, across from Sam, who was grinning at me mischievously. Almost palpable greed shone from his eyes. "I will take you to someone who would be very interested in this potion of yours..."

I furrowed my brows, not liking where this was going. "Who is it?"

Sam just shrugged his shoulders. "You'll see... Meet me here in two days at dusk, and I will take you to him..."

I released a sigh as I leaned back in my chair, contemplating my predicament. I didn't like this development one bit. But it was also my only clue for selling the potions...

In the end, I simply smirked at Sam and nodded. 'If he wants to lure me into some dark alley and rob me, he can try... I will give him a nasty surprise of my own.' I was getting up from my chair as I thought we were done, but Sam grabbed my arm, stopping me from leaving.

He then grinned at me. "However, as an intermediary, let's discuss my provision from the sale... I think fifty percent will do just fine..."

'He probably expects me to haggle for the size of his share,' I thought amusingly. 'Too bad for him; I'm not just some stupid kid...'

Instead of entertaining him, I pulled out a shiny coin from my pocket—a whole silver mark—and placed it on the table between us.

"Well, it's true that you would normally get a share from the sale..." I said while returning his smile. "But that would be true only if you administered the whole deal yourself on my behalf... Since you will be just taking me to someone with whom I must negotiate myself, that means you are just providing me with information, so here is a payment for it..."

Sam scowled before quickly grabbing the coin. Although it was incomparable to the price of a healing potion itself, a silver mark was still a fortune, especially for the people in the slums.

'Hmm, judging by his reaction, I could have paid him less than this, but whatever, it doesn't matter... Soon, hopefully, I will be swimming in coins.'

He chuckled as he looked at me. "You look like any other kid out there, but you are too clever for your age... All right, that will be all. Meet me here in two days." He finished and gestured for me to go.

I simply nodded, put the cloak back over my head, and left the tavern, quickly making my way out of the slums. 'Hmm, interesting. He was fine trying to scam me for a provision, but he never offered to administer the sale himself... I wonder who this mysterious buyer is.'

***

The next two days flew by quickly, as I spent them working in Isadora's shop in the morning and then working again in my room, making potions long into the night.

'Huh, who could have thought that being reincarnated into a fantasy world isn't any fun at all? Instead, I have to work double shifts as a child laborer...' I thought bitterly.

'But if everything works out, I'm gonna be so rich... So rich that I won't have to worry about money ever again.' I happily hummed a tune as I was finishing another batch of potions.

However, even if I have a lot of money, I will still have to keep my herbalist job. I need it to keep up appearances, among other things. If I were to abandon it, I would lose my city resident status, and in the worst case, they might even ship me back to the village...

That is why I need to grit my teeth and keep up with this crazy working schedule for as long as necessary. I was already getting pretty good at making the potions since I managed to perfectly memorize the complicated essence pattern. Meaning I can now start making the potions en masse.

I managed to save close to 300 umbrifila herbs during the course of my expeditions in the past few months. To make one vial of potion, I need two herbs. That means I can make around 150 potions in total just from my current stockpile of herbs.

I can, of course, gather or purchase even more herbs if it comes to that. The only limiting factor remains the mental strain of the process itself. But if I take a safe approach and give my mind enough time to regenerate between each infusion of essence, I'm confident that I can make around 30 potions per day.

That alone would be a mind-boggling amount for any alchemist. In fact, I can make about as many potions per day as all the alchemists in the city put together. So far, each potion is regarded as a rare treasure, and very few people can afford to buy them. This, of course, poses an important question...

Should I flood the market with cheap potions for a quick profit or sell them slowly over time, ensuring that the price stays high? I guess I will decide how to approach this issue after the meeting with the mysterious buyer...

***

As the sun started to disappear below the horizon on the day of the supposed meeting, casting an orange glow over the city, I made my way back to the slums.

Sam was already there, waiting at the corner table of the tavern where we had met before. 'It must be his favorite spot.' I thought briefly before his eyes met mine, and he nodded, silently acknowledging my arrival.

Without exchanging any words, he led me outside into the evening's embrace. Under the cover of darkness, we navigated the winding streets of the slums. There weren't any lamps like in the rest of the city, which meant we traversed in almost total darkness.

All I could do right now was put my faith in Sam, hoping that he knew where he was going. Nevertheless, this whole time I remained vigilant, prepared to react at the slightest sign that Sam was trying to betray me, but to my relief, nothing happened during our journey and we arrived at our destination—a seemingly abandoned warehouse somewhere in the city.

Sam glanced at me with something akin to apprehension in his eyes. "We are here," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

I nodded in acknowledgment. "So when are you going to tell me who we are meeting?"

"You'll find out soon," Sam smirked as he opened the worn-out doors, their creaking breaking the eerie silence that surrounded the warehouse.

I reluctantly stepped inside, and the room revealed itself to be dimly lit by flickering torches, casting long shadows on the dirt floor. I caught a glimpse of several figures, some sitting and others standing, in the center of the room. The one in the middle beckoned us to come closer.

When I got a better look at him, I figured that he must be their leader. He exuded an aura of authority; his cold eyes were sharp and calculating. As I approached, the gang leader's gaze met mine, and a wry smile played on his lips. "So, you're the one with the potion..."

He observed me with keen interest while the men behind him were throwing amused looks my way. This whole scene screamed trouble. The only thing that kept me from running away was my faith in my own powers. I tried to steady myself as I warily responded, "Yes, I am."

The gang leader leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Very well, child. Show me what you've got."

'I don't like this. I don't like this at all...' I kept repeating to myself as I cautiously stepped closer to the center of the room before pulling out one of the potions from my satchel and setting it on a table in front of the gang leader. Who then lazily stood up and came closer to take a look at it.

With a hint of suspicion in his eyes, the gang leader examined the potion vial filled to the brim with velvety red liquid. After a short while, he squinted his eyes as he turned his head toward Sam, who stood behind him. "I must admit that it looks like a genuine potion... Do you swear it's real?"

"Yes, Dominic I swear it's real! I saw it with my own eyes." Sam nodded enthusiastically.

The gang's leader, who was apparently called Dominic, smirked, "Then you wouldn't mind testing it yourself, right?"

"Eh?" Sam wasn't given any time to respond. Before anyone realized what was happening, Dominic suddenly leaned forward with a knife that appeared in his hand out of nowhere and stabbed Sam right in the belly.

"B...Boss?" Sam stammered with a pained expression.

"Here, drink this." Dominic grinned as he gave him the potion.

Sam threw an angry look in my direction before he quickly grabbed the vial and gobbled it all up at once. He then tightly clutched his bleeding belly as he desperately waited for it to take effect. I slightly widened my eyes when I saw such a ruthless spectacle take place, but I made sure not to let anything show on my face.

After a short while, which felt like an eternity, Sam's pained expression gradually loosened, and he closed his eyes. His belly started to shine with a subtle red glow, and the grievous-looking wound sizzled and began disappearing at a speed visible to the eye.

I released a sigh of relief. I was sure my potions worked just fine, but I had no idea if they would be able to heal such a grave injury. Soon, a completely healthy Sam stood in front of us once again.

'He could have just cut his finger like I was doing and not wasted a whole potion...' I thought bitterly but decided not to dwell on it. Rather, I retrieved the last two potions from my pocket and placed them on the table.

"Now that you know they are working, would you be willing to buy them?" I smiled at him brightly.

Dominic turned back to me with greed visible in his eyes. "Tell me... What stops me from simply slitting your throat right now and taking them for myself?"

I instantly became alert, mentally preparing to burn the whole place down if he tried anything funny. But I didn't let it show; instead, I forced a smile and decided to play upon his greed: "Well, that would only get you two potions... I can get you much more than that."

He furrowed his brows. "Tell me... Who gave you all these potions?"

'It's good that it didn't even cross his mind that it was me who made them; otherwise, he would certainly try to kidnap me and force me to work for him...' I thought somberly.

"Ah, you see... I'm friends with a very talented alchemist's apprentice who wants to get some money on the side, but he is too afraid to go to the slums himself... That's why I offered to help him sell his potions in his place..." I said as I quickly tried to come up with a believable story, and by Dominic's looks, it seems it worked pretty well.

'Luckily, he seems not only greedy but shrewd enough that he can appreciate the benefits of long-term cooperation...'

Dominic thought for a while about it before he smirked at me and said, "Well, child, I think you got yourself a deal..."