"Okay, you can stop smiling now." Rather than giving this order as soon as they left the building, Sebian held with it until the shop disappeared behind other architecture of the city. In fact, he dared to do so only once he ascertained that no one was sent to tally them.

"Uff, it was starting to get tiring. But don't tell me…" Clearly incapable of connecting the dots of Sebian's actions into some kind of grand scheme, the girl could only ask her temporary employer, "Is that all?"

"All? You must be joking!" Sebian said while shaking his head in disbelief. "The fun part is only about to start." After several minutes spent pointlessly roaming around the town, Sebian finally decided on a direction.

And as surprising for the girl as it might be, they instantly started moving back towards the very same shop they left a few moments ago.

But rather than going all the way to the shopping hall, Sebian once again took a stop beside the rundown alchemy shop. But this time, rather than leaving with disgust, he actually moved forward and pressed the doors open.

"What the hell is this…?" As soon as Sebian's foot appeared inside the building, his face twisted with disgust. Recognizing the same act that he did back in the shopping hall, Aina shivered.

'Is he set on turning the entire city into his enemies? Or does he look for some fancy way to die?' Puzzled by the man's behaviour, the girl ultimately decided to just stay and watch how the events unfold.

"Excuse me?" Alerted by Sebian's sudden shouting, the front-desk attendant moved his eyes towards the duo. Even though the disgust on Sebian's face was quite clear, the youth's eyes still flashed with anticipation. Standing up, he raced to the duo before bowing his head and starting, "sir, is there anything I could help you with?"

Looking to the side, Sebian cast a quick glance at the youth before shaking his head with even greater disappointment and moving his stare right back to the various sets of pills and concoctions displayed on the old shelves.

"Sir?" Clearly not excepting the silent treatment, the youth attempted to force Sebian into discussion once again.

"If I were to be in your shoes, I would just shut the hell up and pray for mercy." Shutting the young man down, Sebian didn't even bother to look at him while doing so. With his eyes constantly scanning next sets of local products, his unsatisfied grin only continued to deepen.

"As expected, the only reason to buy such inferior products is the distance from the shop"

"How could one's product be so botched?"

"Who even does alchemy like that?"

Although Sebian was using a small voice to mutter those comments, the still air within the workshop transmitted his voice pretty well.

'Who could've thought… I came here to cause a scene, but for their products to be actually so bad?' Shaken by what he saw on the shelves, Sebian could only shake his head in disbelief. If this was the level of local products, then the average power level of this area…

"I can't. I just fucking can't!" It was a storm several minutes in the brewing. When Sebian finally reached the climax of his act, the back door of the shop opened up, revealing two figures.

"What might be the problem, sir?" Stepping forward, the older of the two approached the invading duo.

"Are you the owner of this place? The head alchemist?" Looking at the elder with clear scorn and wrath in his eyes, Sebian stepped two paces forward.

"I prefer the term of an Apothecary, but I guess we dabble into alchemy as well." Refusing to acknowledge Sebian's clear provocation, the elder bowed his head and greeted. "My name is Sheeren. This young master here is Zan." Clasping his hands together, Sheeren bowed lightly.

"Normally I would say my greetings," stepping forward, the younger of the duo placed his hand on the handle of his sword before finishing, "Uncle Sheer, I won't allow this altitude thrown right in your face." Still keeping his sword sheathed, Zen proved that his actions were fueled by loyalty and inner rules rather than arrogance or pride.

"So you claim to be my peer?" Rooting the younger man in the spot so rapidly that his white robes fluttered, all signs of anger or disgust suddenly vanished from Sebian's face. Replaced with an amiable smile, the alchemist then leaned his head to the side.

"Huh? Sir is…" Only slightly surprised by the revelation, Sheeren raised his eyebrows just by a bit.

"Fine, or rather, no. It's actually perfect." If one were to look at the situation from a perfect perspective, he could see how for every bit that Sebian's smile grew, Aina's face filled with even greater dread.

'Isn't that…?!' Rooted in place, the girl even forgot about her previous order. Clearly giving away her mental state, she could only continue to stare at the three men in front of her. 'What is the goddamn elder of the Gloryhouse here?! And it just had to be him!' Panicking out of her mind, Aina could feel her feet giving up. Shaking on her knees, she almost darted out to the front, only to kowtow on the ground and ask for forgiveness.

'Wait…' For the third time ever since she met that strange man, Aina suddenly stopped. 'Just why am I so attached to this sect? What makes me…' even before her thought could properly form, her eyes suddenly widened. A huge bruise appeared across her entire forehead, as her knees finally caved in.

"Huh? Aren't you…?" Alerted by the sudden development, Zen quickly glanced at the girl's face. His pupils grew a bit more.

"Gotcha" Stepping backwards, Sebian grabbed the girl by her waist. Holding her up, he looked at her pained face. 'Again… Is it…?' Thankfully, returning to her senses in just a moment, the girl came to be only to notice the worried look of the duo from the shop and the nonchalant one from her temporary employer.

"Let… Let me thank you, teacher." Swallowing her initial words, Aina suddenly changed her narration. 'What was I thinking about just now…' A silver of a headache still paralyzed her head, but even unable to recall her exact thoughts, Aina could still feel the intent behind them. 'Wait, what in all hells did I just do?!' Once again, Aina's eyes widened in terror, only for her vision to suddenly turn blurry.

"Here, you should be alright already." Unceremoniously lifting the girl up, Sebian quickly retracted his hands from her stomach before turning back to the alchemist duo.

"Since we can be considered peers, let me put it in those words." Stepping forward and leaving the girl where she stood, Sebian didn't appear to pay any mind to her. His thoughts, on the contrary…

'This might be a great opportunity!' Holding himself back from glancing at the fragile girl behind him, Sebian pushed forward. In this moment of opportunity, those who took the action would be victorious!

"Every pill that's present in this shop is an insult to all the apothecaries in the world. Just looking at those poor ingredients botched into this cursed form makes me want to vomit." Holding both his natural aura and his mental killing intent, Sebian smiled. Right now, the one thing that held back Zen from slashing the alchemist open, was the pure force of the shock he received. "But since we are peers, let's settle our opinions with a bet and a duel."

Pushing even further, Sebian was far from wasting this opportunity. "If I will manage to best you on the field of alchemy, or in other words, craft a better pill, you will cede this shop to me, while promising to keep working under my directions." Stating the insane demand, Sebian smiled once again, before reaching to one of his bags hidden underneath his clothes. "If I lose though, I'm bound to offer something equal in value. To be fair, this is what I'm willing to put on the line."

Pulling out his hand from underneath his furs, Sebian placed one of the many stones he obtained from his early days in the forest.

Grade four magic stone. The cheapest of them all.

And in an instant, all eyes in the room glued to the faint glow of the greenish piece of crystal.