All are remaining silent as the liquid pours down the exhausted young man’s throat.

My breath catches in mine when he starts coughs from drinking too quickly. Some people step back, assuming the drink to be flawed.

I hurriedly assist him and tell him to slow down, despite his excitement.

Once he slows down, everyone’s heart seems to settle down and realize it was just a mistake on his part. All that’s left after this is a waiting game which only takes 2 minutes.

He speaks his symptoms out loud.

“I feel warm. Like I’m covered in some kind of Fur.”

He slowly stands straighter, as the exhaustion in his eyes almost visibly melting away. Even the dark circles under his eyes seem to lighten, with his skin color turning pinker.

It’s from this point that he turns jumpy, containing boundless energy

Now is the best time to give him a prompting and what he should do.

I motion for him to run and before I even finished my motion, he just takes off running up the stairs.

Everyone watches him as he goes up, up, up the stairs until he disappears into the distance, becoming only a speck that only someone like I could see.

Things remain silent and no one else spoke until he finally disappeared into the distance.

Interrupting the silence is one thing that probably should have been asked earlier by the young man.

“What are the side effects?”

A regular person in the back asked, but since they didn’t seem to have any special background and it’s a question anyone would want to know, I just direct the answer to the crowd.

My scan tells me it would be effective to pause to think on it, before stating minor headaches.

A rumble goes through the crowd, as some are in disbelief. Another merchant raises her voice to challenge this assumption.

“Are you saying your concoction is better than the pills that many of us have?”

My eyes automatically squint at her because of their wordage.

This is a trap question. Not only to cause more animosity between me and the Alchemist Guild, who most certainly produces those pills, but also between anyone who’s taking those pills as well. Making them feel Like their purchase wasn’t worth it.

A sentiment that could easily be turned to anger at a specific person.

If I say no, they can question the value and usefulness of it. Either way, I must use caution when answering this.

With this knowledge in mind, I make sure to word my response carefully.

I need to start with a clear response, and then explain.

“No. My concoction isn’t better than the pills that you and others here might have. Just different.”

I can practically feel the sigh of relief from some nobles and merchants.

However, the merchant woman pressed further, trying to get me to slip up.

“Why just different, though? Wouldn’t your concoction be superior to the normal pills, since the side effect of the pills is muscle exhaustion and headaches?”

I can’t help but give an incredulous look at the person while slightly shaking my head.

It’s a normal question, but I wonder about that intent behind it.

What I did not anticipate was that other people would start giving the same look to her, almost a mirror of my actions.

I quickly realized it’s the beautiful person effect.

The fact that many people are attracted to me now causes them to be more predisposed to believe me and trust what I say.

Dangerous stuff.

Nonetheless, I answered her question in a hopefully disarming way. And even throw some positive light on the alchemy guild.

“That’s an excellent question. The reason my pill isn’t superior, but just different, is that they built it with different goals in mind. The pills the masters at the alchemy Guild had made, are meant to be long lasting and able to survive a variety of conditions outside the norm.

“If you think about it, do you really think about all the different things that people’s pills may go through? It takes a special process to make sure that such items can survive rigorous conditions and extended time within storage.”

I nod my head and I can see others subconsciously agreeing. There are many that are waiting for the non-obvious point.

“My concoction is not meant to be long lasting or to survive different conditions. In fact, I made it to only survive five days, as well as the general conditions that we have on this mountain.

“Because of these reduced requirements, I’m able to put in other things to lessen the strain on a person’s body. To do the same thing with the pills while maintaining the other aspects would raise the cost by a tier.”

And then I fall silent.

While the merchants and nobles understood most of what I said, many of the commoners and regular people didn’t fully understand what I was describing.

Dang. Just fell into the flaw of using an intuitive version of the conversation/public speaking scan. It gives me an idea of what to say and how, but ultimately I decide on what to say.

I shouldn’t have used negative terminology or complicated words. Keeping things simple and positive is a lot more impactful for uninformed buyers.

The only good thing about this is that this will show the nobles and merchants that I know what I’m talking about.

Luck seems to be on my side, as many of the regular people look at the merchants and nobles, nodding their heads and speaking positively about what I said. Many of them seem to be convinced because the nobles agree with what I’m saying.

I can hear another voice float up from the crowd, another person.

“What do you want for it?”

“Nothing.”

The crowd collectively looks at me skeptically. Another person calls out.

“Young Master, we can’t just take something like this for nothing. Surely you have some aims.”

“It’s James. And this is something that anybod…”

My scan warns me away from completing that statement. I’d make a lot of enemies with that.

If I state that this is something that anyone should do, what does that mean about the nobles and merchants who have a surplus of pills?

To say something like that would make them all lose face. Regardless of the truth of the situation.

However, many of these regular people have literally nothing to give. Except their bodies, of course.

Many are even suspicious of such offers that I gave to the other two people on my way up the stairs. They would be unwilling to commit to a deal which requires them to give everything up and put themselves at risk.

A strategy that works for some people may not work for others.

I need another option.

My scan works up something that would be acceptable to me. Unprecedented for this sect, but still possible.

“Well. There is one thing you can do.”

My tone has changed and caught interest of some doubters.

“I’m forming a coalition of like-minded people. People who try to help each other out further than we normally would, no matter what your station is. If you join my coalition, I’ll try to help you when I can and you’ll try to help me when you can.”

“One of those ways would be giving you this concoction so you can make it up the stairs. The key behind this coalition is working in good faith with each other. If we can provide a little benefit to each of us in a transaction, then we’re both better off.”

I shrug my shoulders.

“Of course, if you want to have much closer ties with me, I’ll provide you a much deeper level of support. I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of to the best of my ability. However, that denotes the same level of dedication that the others have taken on, that you saw earlier today. Full commitment.”

My scan shows I should say and do something that is a little strong for my tastes.

As we are standing next to the wall of the Fort, my hand slams onto the side of the walls, as I slightly lean against it

“If you want that from much from me, then I want all of you.”

Shockingly, many of the women’s thighs seemed to clench for a second there, with several bit lips.

I placed an emphasis on the last three words of that, in accordance with what the scan suggested.

Why do you make me do this, scan?

Why?

A loud yell interrupts my thoughts.

“I’LL DO IT!”

One woman from Shi Ji’s (the noblewoman from earlier) group yelled out her dedication. Shi Ji’s head snapped over to her. The woman automatically realized her mistake and backed down, but the damage has been done.

She fucked up, but this could work. Her dedication is pretty exceptionally high. She’s also a noblewoman, albeit one at a weaker standing than Shi Ji.

I give a light hearted pretty boy laugh, to regain attention and calm the situation.

“Well, since you are friends with such an esteemed woman such as Shi Ji, I can definitely put you on the fast track to having my support. And of course, being in my personal group doesn’t mean that you remove your treasured relationships with others.”

It’s a slightly dangerous move, since this still could be considered poaching from her group. I’m relying on the fact that she has a fancy for me to ignore that and that the woman has made a mistake, causing her to lose favor, anyway.

It also allows me to place value on the woman by marking her relationships. Showing that I am still requiring something in return. I can always backtrack this to other situations.

Shi Ji blushes at my compliment and nods, giving her the go ahead. The woman, realizing her chance, tries to recoup face for herself by staying over with Shi Ji and briefly whispering to her.

Shi Ji speaks for her and her group.

“Me and my friends would be happy to join your coalition. And if any would like to join your personal group, I shan’t stay in their way.”

This automatically places an additional value on the coalition.

It’s a step removed from being in her personal group, but still a way for normal people to establish relations with a noblewoman like herself. And for Shi Ji, it’s another way to get closer to me.

I’ll remember this. She’s making a lot of good faith efforts. I know it’s out of her attraction to me… but still.

Right as I do this, I can sense the two people I had picked up yesterday, Ming, and the absurdly curvy woman (whose name I discovered was Yan), coming towards me.

Alright. I’ve set the foundation in place. After helping these two, we can get moving.