After conversing with Leyla, Edward left in search of more healing syringes. Each healing syringe was the equivalent of a lifeline, he only had one left, and he needed as much as he could get since he had to face such a dangerous endeavor. He headed to the usual alchemist’s shop where he had bought his previous stock.

When he entered the shop, Edward had the unpleasant surprise to discover that the shelves were half empty. The store was well maintained and didn’t appear to be in a difficult time, but the products on display had become scarce. A vendor approached Edward, recognizing him as the savior of the city. “Sir, it is an honor to have your visit. What may I do for you?” Not so long ago you were ready to throw me out in the street treating me as a moneyless vagrant. Edward thought while maintaining a cold façade.

“I’m in search of healing medicine, especially healing syringes,” he replied matter-of-factly.

The seller’s smile grew rigid. “I’m afraid we run out of stock. It was already a rare commodity before, but with the siege of the city, what little we had didn’t last long. With the current state of affairs, we cannot resupply our stock either.” Sensing an opportunity he added, “However, we are ready to buy ingredients at a premium price.”

“Actually, I may take you up on this offer. What do you need to produce healing syringes?” Edward asked squarely.

The vendor hesitated. “We don’t have the recipe; it is a jealously guarded secret, but I’m sure we can provide you with a list of ingredients, including those needed for healing syringes.”

Edward rolled his eyes. You just want me to resupply all of your stocks. “Fine, but don’t go overboard. My time is precious, and it is in your best interest as well. If I’m unable to solve the crisis currently happening, it is only a matter of time until Gobéliard is impacted as well.”

“But of course,” the vendor replied to Edward in an obsequious voice. He snapped his fingers, ordering a clerk to come over, his tone changing instantly. “Go bring paper and ink.”

Edward only had to wait for a few minutes for the list to be ready and handed to him. He glanced at its content. A Lusus naturae’s liver, Herba viridis, Sage, a black wolf’s heart…The list contained multiple ingredients varying from monsters’ body parts to medicinal plants. I don’t see ingredients coming from high levels monsters, but with their rarity before the surge, alchemists mustn’t have had many opportunities to experiment with them.

“Monsters are easy enough, but I don’t know most of those plants. I need a description as well as their drawings to be able to identify them.” Edward requested.

The vendor was rubbing his hand. “Naturally,” he chuckled. “Usually, our suppliers complain about the monsters, but regarding your case, I can understand why it is not a problem.”

The clerk brought back a volume describing the medicinal plants in question. Edward scrutinized them carefully, committing them to memory.

“How long will it take to prepare the healing syringes once you got the ingredients you need?” he inquired.

“If we manage to get an alchemist to work right on it, it will take three days, sir.”

“You will get an alchemist to work on it as soon as you get the ingredients. I need those healing syringes and this order is a priority,” Edward ordered revealing a glimpse of his aura. I may be a tad overbearing but it is for the good cause.

The vendor nodded and gulped, suddenly looking a lot more serious and not as delighted as before. He may have seen Edward as a golden opportunity until now, but at present, he understood that it also came with obligations.

Edward didn’t lose any time and teleported outside rather than using the door. Within seconds he was in the middle of the Vipin Forest. He took a big inspiration, enjoying the lush air of the forest. This is what nature is supposed to be like. Not confined to a park in the middle of the city where habitations are barely hidden by a few trees. He projected his senses, searching for the ingredients on his list.

He had never really paid much attention to the flora before, hunting monsters and avoiding being eaten had focused most of his attention. But now that he was looking at it more closely, he was impressed by the flora’s sheer variety and diversity. His senses were more acute as well, and from one glance he was able to discern the differences between each species. He could not only identify several species of eye-catching flowers and berries bushes but also ascertain the different species of moss and lichen surrounding him. He had teleported at random, but already some of the wanted ingredients were within reach and he only had to stoop to harvest them.

Herbalists would love it here if not for the monsters. There is enough to study for a lifetime. This may be a nice hobby once all this mayhem stops. Just resting within the woods, sketching the thriving life surrounding me.

Edward smiled fondly before harvesting what he needed.

Some of those plants were supposed to be uncommon, but seeing how many of them are around I guess the mana rise must have helped.

He didn’t want to make a mess so rather than continuing his harvest by moving farther inside the forest, he teleported back to the shop so that they could store the medicinal herbs properly while they were still fresh. When he was only a handful of seconds away from the alchemist store, the time of transportation was negligible.

The vendor was flabbergasted to see Edward reappear without a warning and so soon after leaving. “Sir? Did you forget something?” he asked uncertainly.

“I don’t want to waste good ingredients. Can you take care of those while they are still fresh?” Edward asked, handing him his recent harvest.

The vendor’s eyes grew as big as soccer realizing that Edward had already managed to harvest this much in less than two minutes, a time frame so short that a normal adventurer wouldn’t have even been able to reach the forest in so little time. Additionally, the Vipin Forest was not safe and could be considered a forbidden zone. With the dramatic increase in monsters able to rival adventurers at the predator stage, only the master of the two noble families and Edward could travel freely through it.

As quick as he appeared, Edward teleported back to the Vipin Forest. I feel like I’m working in the wrong order, beating the bosses and only then moving to harvest quests. He couldn’t help but laugh. While this would have been a dangerous task for anyone else, for him it was but a stroll. He wasn’t even bothered by monsters. The few in the surroundings were deterred by the strength of his aura and preferred to stay hiding. As for the ones strong and prideful enough to dare fight him, Edward was not staying in a place for a long time, so by the time they found the courage to confront him, he was already gone.

I wonder if the monsters in this forest were more numerous before the surge happened. Normally they should have prospered and multiplied with the increase in mana but I have exterminated so many of them. I’m not sure if their increased reproduction has managed to offset the number that I have slaughtered.

It wasn’t as if the forest was devoid of monsters either, with the help of his aura Edward was able to pick up the monsters he needed as easily as if he was doing shopping. For weak monsters like black wolves and Lusus naturea, he only had to teleport to them and swing his dagger once for the job to be done. The ease at which he was proceeding actually gave him an idea.

Those monsters are useless to me. Even creatures at the Wyrm or Regal Wolf level don’t provide me this much essence. However, Marcellius is right, with the increased availability of strong monsters it is a perfect opportunity to groom more predators. Right now, the situation is unbalanced with the arrival of the Vega family, they have more predators in their crew than Gobéliard as a whole. Even though I did my best so that they behaved while I’m gone, it would be better if there were a few more people at the predator level to keep the situation in check.

Edward was thinking of Leyla and their group of friends. It won’t take much time to carry them to the next level, let’s do it.

He quickly finished gathering what the store needed to prepare more healing syringes. It had taken him less than half an hour to collect everything. The vendor paid him as promised, even though he still looked stunned by the speed at which Edward had completed his task.

The latter, sent a message to his friends through telepathy, asking them to meet in front of the city doors. My teleportation, the range of my aura, and my telepathy are saving me some time for sure. Edward had the leisure to wait for them while meditating, ever slowly increasing his mana reserve. With the Andherians invasion already ongoing he couldn’t afford to waste his time.

Ten minutes later everybody reached the meeting point. “As you all know, I won’t be able to spend much time in Gobéliard,” Edward began with a stern voice before continuing more jovially. “However, while I’m here, I thought it would be best if I made good use of my time. So, I thought it was a good occasion to level you up.” He winked at the blinking group in front of him, not quite sure if Edward really meant what they thought.

“Wait here, I will be back shortly,” Edward said teleporting away under their dismayed gazes.

He teleported rapidly inside the Vipin Forest, searching for monsters strong enough to at least be able to use aura. Coupling his teleportation with the range of his aura it didn’t take long for him to find what he was searching.

A Wyrm was slowly slithering among the trees, itself in search of prey. After Gobéliard’s battle, I feel like the ecosystem is unbalanced. The Wyrm population has become more prevalent compared to the other monsters since so many of them chose to flee the battle after I took care of that one-eyed creep variant.

Noticing Edward’s presence the beast accelerated, rushing at him. However, Edward didn’t bother to move from his position, he simply gathered his aura on his blades, letting the Wyrm come to him. As the beast hurled itself at him, its maw wide opened. Edward only sidestepped, his speed fast enough to avoid the monster’s attack. Before it could correct its trajectory, Edward stuck his daggers together, a three-meter aura blade prolonging them, and chopped at the monsters in one mighty blow. It was enough to overcome its aura armor, killing the creature in one blow.

Now comes the difficult part. Edward seized the whole carcass with his aura making it levitate a few centimeters above the ground with a grunt of effort and keeping it within the range of his domain. This thing is heavy, it could benefit from a diet.

He teleported away, carrying the carcass with him. Hell, yeah, it works. But I feel like I’m popping my figurative joints. Taking something this large and heavy with me is straining my teleportation.

Edward had to wait longer than his usual two seconds delay before teleporting away. From a speed of nine hundred kilometers, he was reduced to a speed of only one hundred eighty kilometers per hour. This didn’t change significantly the time he needed to go back to Gobéliard, only adding a few minutes to his travel.

He appeared in front of his waiting friends with the slain Wyrm in tow, dropping it and lifting a small cloud of dust. “Enjoy the meal!!” He declared with a bright smile.