I’m being followed. Left and right, I can feel my stalker’s sharp gaze on me while I can’t look back. The feeling of being ogled all over is well… surprisingly new. I’ve worked with crowds, I’m a big attention whore, but this is one person staring at me. I’m usually followed by a whole gang of stalkers wanting to ‘play’ with me.

I think it started right after I left Dane’s shop. I felt glares from the crowd. My spine gave myself its usual tickle, then I felt an urge to lean to the side and managed to dodge a knife thrown at my face. I’m grateful to my attacker, since they gave me such a nice present. It had the kingdom’s emblem on it and a note I can’t read.

Thankfully, a symbol near the bottom speaks the entire message. An eye, “I’ll be watching you” or something like that. I would love to escape from this stalker, but I haven’t spotted anyone fishy. I’d stir unnecessary trouble if I attempted to shake them off. All I know, as long I stay inside buildings, their prying eyes won’t reach me.

By giving out their presence, they’re testing me.

“If it’s a chase you’re looking for, I’ll give you one.” I said while smacking my lips. Whoever they were, my guts tell me they weren’t serious about killing me. It would help me kill time.

Is there a possibility they’re using magic to throw my senses off? How are they finding me whenever I take a shortcut or hide myself inside crowds?

Hopefully, they didn’t notice my scheme. I better lure eyes away from the store when the guard brings them there.

-

-

I look to a performer singing. His voice inspired me to sing a piece that resonated in my head. Children gave me blank stares, their guardians quickly carry them off away from me.

"Oh! I have all my fingers

The knife goes Chop Chop Chop

If I miss the spaces in between

My finger will come off

But all the same I play this game, cause that's what's it's all about!"

I fucking love this song, especially when I play a game based on this song with my friends back home. Now that I think about it I don’t have any friends. Why? They died! Then what about my enemies? I just let them live longer then my friends. As they say, bring your friends close, your enemies closer. Now that I think about it, I think I took that phrase literarily.

Yeah, I don’t make a lick of sense. Then again, when do you expect me of all people to make sense, am I right?

Two hours… I have a stalker that I need to find in that time. I don’t want to make anything grand that’ll effect my deal with the blacksmith. I’m at a lost, I need to create my own advantage. For now, I’ll go by the information shack again. I really need to start learning this world’s words. I can’t read this map.

“Hey.” I call to the soldier stationed by the information shack. “I’m back and need your charitable assistance once again!”

“You’re that kid who took a map and ran. I remember you.” She shut her book and relaxed on her chair with her arms crossed. I think I made a bad impression on her. I have to be more careful. Her job requires her to know things. Right now, she is my ‘go to’ for gathering the basics of this world. I don’t want to upset her.

“I really appreciate your help, it’s just that my friend was in trouble at that time. Will you forgive a piece of trash like me for my rude behaviour?” I lowered myself.

“H-hey! Don’t lower yourself, you’re going to get me trouble! C’mon, it’s embarrassing. Stop that! I’ll help, so j-just stop!”

“Perfect, here is the map you handed me. Can you point me to a place where a person can find interesting books or learning materials?”

“Weird way of saying library.” The information clerk dipped her quill. “There is another place where you can get books if you’re interested in learning how to craft medicine. The apothecary is here, and the library is around the corner over here-.”

“Thanks for your assistance again, I’m off!” I snatch the map away and ran.

“Wha- again!?” She shrieked.

People's expressions are priceless, but what makes my blood filled with happiness are the faces people create to antagonize one another. While I'm making my way towards the library I'll stop by the apothecary first. Now where am I? "Turn left~, right-. Ouch! What gives?"

The bracelet on my arm refused my entry to the crowded street in front of me. So this is what the king meant by restricting me to some areas. Bastard’s making me take the long route to my destination. The information clerk didn’t happen to remember I have this bracelet on me. I wonder what’s keeping me from entering this street.

I see weird totems placed at the beginning and the end of the street. They emit some form of magnetic field repelling my bracelet. Well, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll take a detour to the apothecary then the library.

It sucks being illiterate in an unknown world. I can only match the symbols on the map to navigate the city. I’ll have Dane teach me the basics when I return to see his progress.

Twenty minutes have passed since I was wandering aimlessly on the passages the bracelet allowed me to pass. I finally found an apothecary hidden on one of these streets. Who the hell designed this city? The architect scattered all these random dead ends everywhere. I wonder if I blow up all these buildings, will they reform the layout? Probably not.

Hey readers. I know I’ve been whining and complaining, there’s also times I want to break things but you have to know I have zero resources available to me. Nada. None. I’m trying to set some foundation at the moment and it takes time you know.

Cling da ling-

““Oof!” “Ouch!”” An impatient customer bumped into me at the entrance into the apothecary.

“Watch it!” He yelled at me. He was cloaked. Beside him, his purchases piqued my interest. Three books laid on the ground, one with a thunderbolt symbol, another with a green bottle and the last with a blue bottle. His receipt was laying exposed beside the bag of books. “Shit, they’re dirtied because of you.”

Chack-chack. I had an urge to snap a photo of his goods before he panickily hides them.

Something about how this guy’s behaviour rubbed me the wrong way. When the two of us stood up, I spotted a small wound on my palm. Nothing big, just a small cut that gave me an idea.

“Ow! There’s a cut on my hand!” I suddenly cried and pretended to be in immense pain.

“Go see a doctor. I don’t have time for this.”

“You bumped into me, you do something! I’m just a tourist!” Without attracting the cloaked man’s attention, I stretched the cut with my knife and squeezed the back of his cloak. I made sure to grab hard enough for my blood to soak a stain of his overall as an insurance if I think what I think this store is. That bloodstain on his cloak is going to attract the guards and hopefully my stalker.

“Screw off!” He brushed my arm aside and marched away. I can see he exposed a bracelet much like mine on one of his arms. He dropped his receipt. It might prove useful so quickly took a picture of it then called out to him. He snatched it off my hands without a thanks, how polite to someone trashy like me~.

"What's with the ruckus- hello young lad, how can I help you?" The shop keeper poked her head out of her shop.

“I want to make some purchases from your store but one of your customers rudely bumped into me. Mind if you let me browse your store?”

“Go ahead.” The store clerk is an old lady, from my guess she is in her 50-60s. Though she is old I can tell from her stance, her habit of walking silently piqued my interest. She’s hiding something.

The books in her store are only simple medicine recipes with a roman numeral (I) or (II) on the sides. The man I saw was carrying at least (IV). There is a chance it may represent volumes. I can smell something fowl in the air and it was not the smell coming from her smoke pipe.

For now, I purchased a roll of bandages to wrap around my hand. I scrolled through the isle for books. I don’t understand any of the words on them.

"Hey granny, can you help me?" My voice clearly reached her but she won’t answer. What an annoying granny. She’s being an ass when a customer is asking for assistance. Let’s try a different approach. “Hey lady.”

“What?”

This calls for a revaluation. She’s those types of people. “What do the numbers represent on the covers?”

“You’re that age and you don’t know? Do you even go to school?”

“Never paid attention to my classes~.”

“They’re the difficulties of stronger and more dangerous recipes. By law, all stores need a licence if we want to sell higher level of books.”

“And what’s the highest level you’re permitted to sell here?”

“Ones and twos.”

“What about fours?”

"So you're here to cause trouble eh? Get lost lad before I call the guards."

“What’s with shopkeepers assuming I’m trouble because of a question? First the blacksmith, now you… is this city friendly to tourists?”

“Boy, you don’t know what you’re asking for. Do you really not know what you’re even trying to buy?”

“I seriously don’t. I’m new to this city and I’ve recently taken an interest to create my own potions. Say, what’s legal and illegal on the market? Will you help a lowly alleyway boy like me understand?”

Wow, I didn't even expect myself to do an innocent kitty face… I surely have to pay attention to what kind of faces I'll be making in the future. At least it was effective enough to convince the old granny to give a sigh and grab a quill and paper.

“Fine, but it’ll cost you. Grab a stool and pay attention to the slate.”

“Awesome! You’re the best granny-!”

“Lady.”

“Lady.” I corrected myself. “Could I also ask you to explain the symbols of all kinds of books?” I readied my phone to take pictures of her lecture.

"Alright, pay attention, I won't repeat again. By the way, what is that thing you're holding?"

“A magical device to take notes. Don’t worry about it~.”

“Whatever.”

The granny scoured her messy drawer of receipts and empty glass vials. Writable paper must be expensive. I’ve came to this conclusion from the amount of chalk she had more than one bottle of ink and the wear of the slate she had constantly used. Right now, this isn’t important. I zoned out for a bit and when I’ve come to reality, she had already written symbols to differentiate different potions.

-The colored bottles; depending if they’re green, red or blue, they can replenish stamina, health or mana. For now I should focus on stocking stamina potions since I clearly lack athleticism.

-The arm symbol references as strength boost. Steroids in a fantasy world?

-Shield symbol references as defence boost.

-Boots references as Speed boost potion. Wait, in this world you drink something and you get to move faster? How does that even work!?

Snap, snap. I took photos for each symbol she drew.

Finally her explanation reached the more difficult and dangerous potions that require higher ranking licences to sell. These books teach the reader to make status aliment inflicting potions.

“What’s wrong boy? Your smile is disturbing.”

“I’m learning. I love learning!” I cover the lower part of my mouth, also stretching my cheeks to calm my wicked smile. “I’m very happy you’ve gone your way to teach me this.”

“Hmph, I don’t want to bore myself.”

“You’re too kind~.” Indeed, she is too kind to help someone as helpless, worthless trash like me. It makes it sweeter when I use this knowledge for something wicked.

“Hey.” The old granny snapped her fingers in my face. “Pay attention. If you’re going to pursuit your dream as a pharmacist you should remember these ones thoroughly.”

She wiped the slate with her rag. Each time her shaky arms smudge over the writing board, her bracelet scratched the board and makes an irritating sound. I’m very bothered by that noise. I can see why her slate doesn’t have much longer to be intact any longer.

-Thunderbolt, in terms of some mobile rpgs I played, they usually represent paralysis and in this world too. I need to somehow get my hands on this but the bracelet on my wrist won’t let me into shops that could legally sell this.

-Droplet, poison. In my old world, I’ve never consider using poison. I rather make loud noises. Oh, how I would love to grab some explosives! However, I may need to add poison in my arsenal until I can get large quantities of explosives.

-Rock, slow potions. Yeah, no. I don’t need this- maybe during tortures. Does it also affect inanimate objects as well?

-X on an eye, blind. Can’t I use smoke bombs for this?

Now that I grabbed some information, it’s time to test my wits against the granny. I need her as a stepping stone to go against my stalker chan~.

“Say, I remember the man bought a book with a yellow thunderbolt symbol on it. Aren’t those illegal in your store?”

“Kid, you’re imagining things. If you’re here to bring trouble, get out.”

Okay, good. I’m glad she hasn’t lost composure this early. I’m just testing the waters. Let’s see how she fares before the guards discover the cloaked man. However, I’m very keen to spot signs of anxiety. The granny’s avoiding all eye contact and a small bead of sweat formed on the side of her wrinkly face. GOOD! GOOD! Entertain this scum for a while, it’ll be worth to savor the expression.

I’ve already won without ay effort.

“Right, I must’ve imagined it.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Or not.” I unlocked my phone and push the image towards her.

The owner’s eyes widened when she saw the exacted customer and the goods on the screen. Oh, what a perfect reaction! She’s trembling in fear’s chilling grasp not knowing what bit of information she gave me was used against her. If you think I’m only going as far to interrogate you, you’re dead wrong. I have another surprise that will surely give you a heart attack!

“T-that’s fake! You conjured a fake image on your magical device!” She argued.

“I agree. In this world, the concept of photography might not exist.”

“Fo-to? What devilry are you talking about, troublemaker? I’ll call the guards on you this instant!”

“Do it. I’d love to tell the guards about this. After all, I didn’t just take one photo.” With a gentle swipe, I show her a slideshow of pictures, including the man’s face who now owned the books. “They’ll find him and interrogate who was the vendor of those books. What excuses will you make? I have evidence. I wonder if the guards will believe me?”

“Y-you’re trying to blackmail me by falsifying c-claims?”

“What if they already know?” I grinned. “I left quite a bloodied mark on the customer that was holding to all those illegal purchases. It’s sure to attract some guards to do an inspection check on his belongings.”

“Y-You demon! Were you aiming to tear down my shop from the beginning!?”

The owner fell on her bottom frightened, grasping tightly on her chest. I really hope she is having a heart attack. My appearance what seems to be devilish in her eyes. I want to savor that expression but another surprise is coming soon, you better not die yet granny!

*BAM BAM BAM*

“This is the guards, open up! We suspect the trading of unlicensed goods came from this store. We have apprehended the man and he confessed he brought his items from this specific store!”

HAHAHAHA! My luck couldn’t get better! This insanely great timing couldn’t get any better, I’m having a blast! Check, did I climax? Nope. Okay, I’m still good. Seriously, this twisted luck of mine is as insane as I am!

“N-No! I can’t go to jail! I still have little Suzie to look after!”

“Do you want this trash to save you?”

“I refuse! How do I know you won’t threaten me any more after this!”

“You’re right, you won’t know. Unfortunately, you don’t have much of a choice, so this degenerate will offer you two choices. Either get punished by the guards or repay this trash that will free you from these hellish chains.”

She looks around the store trying to find someone else to help her, but it’s only the two of us present in the shop. Since she couldn’t turn to anyone her eyes pointed at me and begged for mercy.

“So? What will it be? HAHAHAHA!”

“Please… please help me.”

“I can’t hear you~.”

“Help me! I'll do anything, you want the books I sold to that man right? I'll give it to you, please help me! Please!"

Well duh, of course she would have wanted my help. She even got on her knees and begged desperately.

“Then don’t make a noise. I’m going to do something dangerous, so take cover.”

I need a stage. I kicked opened the back door then ran near the bookshelves and threw all books off the shelves. My plan was to create as much disturbance to startle the guards not to frighten them away but to encourage them to charge to the shop. From my phone, I quickly scroll to the sfx app to add noises to the mix.

I quickly brush my hand over dusty tomes and gave myself a worn look. The owner was exactly where I wanted her to be, hidden underneath her desk. Then, lo and behold, the brave guards tore down the front entrance and rushed in with their weapons drawn. They found me buried underneath a pile of books.

“H-hey! It’s that kid! Help him out now!” It’s the same group that lead my former classmates to Dane's Blacksmith. That makes it easier to manipulate them.

Time to put on a mask… and show time!

“-Cough-cough- The… culprit…”

“Culprit…? Tsk, not now, are you okay?”

“No! The person… he threatened the owner… he tried to store some illegal goods here… until I arrived and tried -cough- stopping him.”

“So… a smuggling was forcibly taken place here?”

To be honest, I did not think of a story. I’m thankful the guard got mislead. Sure, let’s go with his idea.

Still, it really is uncomfortable being buried underneath all these books. Their edges aren’t sharp enough to cause pain.

“Ugh!” I cried when I felt my leg cramping. “Hurry! Go catch him! He escaped through the back!”

“Right! You two, let’s hurry!” The guard called his partners and ran out the back. I can’t believe my bullshit actually worked.

Now for my prize.

“Granny, come out. I think I deserve something after that act I put.”

She sweat like a pig as she crawled out from the desk. She's tougher than she looked, I thought she would've fainted with all the commotion outside.

"M-my shop…”

"Don't be so tense, I did as you ask and drove the guards away. That’s left is for you to make an epilogue to this act I’ve just created.” I laughed. “Although I am what people hate, I still show mercy to people who I made deals with. Now, I'll need you to pay the fee for my services. I'll take the thunderbolt and some health, stamina, poison books with a alembic set. Oh, and prepare two bags, please and thank you.”

Whoo! Two schemes in one day. It's pretty tiresome if you ask me. I had granny handed me two sacks and I inspected the contents. I checked the time and it seems it is time for me to check into Dane's Blacksmith to plunder as much gold as I can from that guy.

“Granny, I’ll leave this bag here. I’ll come pick it up later.”

My stage is set, I can go deal with my stalker.