"Yes, I need the potion!"
Behind the counter, filled with the scent of potions and perfumes, Walter Tye forced a smile at his new customer. Why does everyone have to make this joke?
"Welcome to Tyee's Cauldron, Leonis' finest magic items shop," the caster repeated his usual sales script, "What are you looking for? Healing Ointment?"
"Yes, Ty," the customer replied. It was a swordsman wearing a black cloak that was too long for him; another "Japanese guy," based on his facial features, "Can I call you Tai?"
"Okay, you've done that, why stop here?"
No one calls him Walter. Everyone calls his surname Tai because the name of his shop says: "Tai's Boiling Pot". As the best craftsman in town, the alchemist has a steady clientele, with most local adventurers visiting his shop at least once.
This complements his other businesses well.
"Is there something on my face?" Tai asked, and the customer fell silent. Because he has white hair, pale skin, and crimson eyes, most people mistake him for a vampire at first glance; even though a few vampires he knows have enough taste to wear anything other than shirts and pants. clothing.
"You look weird."
"Just a mild case of albinism," joked Tay, who had black hair throughout his life. "Nothing wrong with that."
"What advice do you have for a dangerous adventure?"
"(Healing Potions)," Tai replied, "A lot. I think your HP will be depleted faster than a witch at a cremation."
"Got it," the customer replied with a smile, glancing at the impressive rows of potions and trinkets on display. Over the course of his life, Ty amassed a vast collection of magic items, from amulets to animated dolls; half of which he made himself. "Which class are you in?"
"Mainly [Alchemists]," he replied, leaving out a key detail, "and some Spellcaste
Other levels of career. I try to keep a balance between the two. "
"Ah, craft class," the customer replied, his tone betraying his true thoughts on the matter. Dick. "I thought about taking one, but goddesses only go out with strong warriors."
Ah, a new Earthling. The newcomer continued. They are the worst customers, expecting the world to bow to them because they died doing nothing in a previous life and were given a [sacred weapon] for their troubles. The few who survive the first mission either become more insufferable or mature, but it's like a coin toss. Could that person live that long?
"Are there any rumors in town?" the customer asked.
Did he mistake him for a bartender or an innkeeper? "There's always something new in Lyon, so I'm not sure what you would be interested in."
"I'm going to do the dungeon," the customer continued as Tai packed eight healing potions into a bag, enjoying hearing himself talk.
Can't walk down a narrow corridor with a sword that's too big? He'll die. "You should get a shorter weapon," Tai suggested, because the customer is everything.
"Nothing can compare to my holy sword," replied the poor fool. Well, Tai tried it! "I'm hunting a necromancer."
"A necromancer?" Tai raised his eyebrows, suddenly interested. this is new. "Isn't this some dark wizard's trick of bringing the dead back to life?"
"The guild believes there is one at the bottom of the dungeon," the man replied. "How else would the undead keep replenishing their numbers?"
"Maybe they just kill and convert the fools who keep trying to challenge them?" Tai replied dryly.
The man replied, "No, he is a magician. I can't wait to chop off his head and take it back to the temple." I bet he has a goatee. "
"Oh, oh, well, it sucks to have you as a barber." If the sword didn't seal the boy's fate, it was his words. "There's a very powerful 'Dulahan' out there. Maybe you should start with him."
"Isn't Dullahans headless?"
Yes, that's the joke. "That's four hundred gold coins, sir..."
"Echizen. Echizen Ikki. When I become famous, you'd better remember this sentence." Tai was unwilling, but he still accepted the rookie's wallet. "Bye Tae!"
The alchemist failed to mention that he replaced one of the potions with a [laxative].
No one suspected the owner.
Thankfully, the next customer was a beautiful witch with shoulder-length brown hair and gray eyes. She was almost 17 and entered the Royal College of Art a year earlier than most students. "Hello there!" She waved to him.
"Anne," the alchemist smiled kindly at her. He had not seen her since she went to the capital, "are you back in the city?"
"We hunted orcs near the mountains," she answered. As a student at the Royal Academy, she was required to participate in her class's "field training missions," which usually involved clearing the countryside on behalf of the royal family. These missions prepare them for an even more dangerous convergence, when the nine kingdoms form an alliance and monsters invade the human world. “I always see my favorite shop owner when I walk by!”
"Thank you." The attention made Tai very happy. "How is your class? The one at school?"
"Amazing! I've made so many friends and the princess is with us!" she replied. "She's so talented!"
"Oh, really?" Tai listened intently, just in case, "Don't the king's heirs have to receive private tutoring?"
"Her brother was, but because she was second in line and was good at magic and swordsmanship, the king sent her to the academy," Anne said, then added proudly, "But Archmage Calvert said I was better Arcane Potential.”
She deserves it. Such a kind and hard-working girl. After a brief exchange, the alchemist learned that she was going to hunt a [Yobei Shaman]. An ideal target for novices, dangerous, but no match for a well-equipped team.
"I have a [Cursed Amulet], perfect for dealing with goblin spellcasters," Ty suggested, "and a [Potion of Low Fire Resistance]. I'll give you a discount."
"Thank you!" Annie said happily, her bright smile reminding him why he loved this job.
"If you have a chance, recommend me to the princess." Tai winked at her. This might be an opportunity he can't pass up.
Annie promised he would return once he was done with the mission, and the shopkeeper watched the student leave, his smile fading as she disappeared from sight. "[Lock and key]," he said, and the magic seal locked the front door of the store after she left.
The alchemist went to the basement behind the shop. Cleverly disguised as a pure storage area, with barrels of potions, bags of raw materials, and boxes full of magical seeds waiting to be transformed, this area is unremarkable to the uninitiated.
No one will notice the hidden secret door in the back wall, nor the slightly gray stone that serves as a switch.
Ty pushed, and the wall collapsed, revealing a staircase leading to the darkness below…
How long did it take before he met Ryoma?
That night, after the service, Ty opened the basement door and walked down to the dungeon.
In the early days of the kingdom, the city of Lyons once relied on a thriving mine to survive until they dug too deep, opening up the ruins below. While the discovery of dungeons makes mining impossible, the promise of hidden treasure attracts adventurers and tourists alike. If anything, it's good for the town.
Much of the upper level of the dungeon is the remnant of an abandoned mineshaft, with only flickering torches and no lights in the narrow stone corridors. But that didn't bother Ty, whose nature allowed him to see well in the dark.
Patrolling this place [D
aug
] Zombies and [Skeleton Warriors] left him; mostly because they were mindless and therefore would not attack other undead, even those disguised as humans. The living dead recognized themselves.
He encounters a crazed, purple apparition that's more a wailing echo than substance. "Hello, chief," said the ghost, recognizing him.
"Hello, Ghost String," Tai also greeted the ghost, "What's going on down there?"
Hagen caught a prey. The live flesh caused a stir and caused a stir. Poor ha. He is good at conversation. Use this brain, use that brain..."
"The best among us always die first," Tai said deadpan, turning and walking back to Hagen's hunting grounds.
Not long after he walked, he found the Headless Horseman standing next to Ryoma's corpse. His old friend Hagen, an animated, headless suit of black armor, was deprived of his life by an executioner's axe; they met in the underworld of Helheim, after Tai rescued them , they have been together.
He'd killed quite a few people since they'd taken over the dungeon.
"Hello, boss," Hagen greeted his old friend, "Look what I killed today!"
"Let me guess," Tye said, glancing at the disarmed body, his weapon just feet away from his hand. Ryoma must have hit the wall with his blade, causing it to fall from his hand. "sword?"
"Swords," replied Hagen, who himself carried a shorter sword and a small shield for maneuvering in the tunnels, "they'll never learn."
"Well, if they survive, they usually will." Sometimes, like him, they "come alive." "But now he's dead."
"Are you going to raise him?" Dullahan smiled. "You're wasting your time. I caught him taking a shit. In the dungeon."
"If he hadn't wanted me to get hurt, I would have raised him a long time ago," Tai replied, "I'm going to try this variation of my idea (meat puppet)." After perfecting it, he has been working hard to find a permanent way to prevent corpses from decaying. Sentient zombies usually go crazy as a result.
Witchcraft is hard work.
Ty doesn't mind helping his community. He added the undead, which threaten no one unless disturbed, and was paid to equip suicidal adventurers who wanted to test their skills. This brings tourists, which boosts his town's economy and creates jobs. Everyone wins.
But he didn't do it out of greed. An Immortal's research laboratory costs a lot, especially since he cannot purchase most of the necessary materials through regular channels without alerting the guild of his true activities.
One day, once he perfects the immortality process and creates the perfect [resurrection] spell, the world will finally recognize him as a visionary, but, alas, he will have to wait a long, long time.
"Hey, I'm Ryoma," Tai grabbed the corpse's head and let his lips move on their own, "I like brains. B
aaaaaaaiiiiiii
ss !beeaaa
s!"
Hagen looked at Ty as if he were crazy; which was not easy since he had no brain. "No?" asked the alchemist, "did I hear my voice correctly?"
"Boss, you scared me."
"Everyone's a critic now," Tai complained, "Can you help me carry him to my lab?" I swear the Earthling is getting heavier the longer it takes. "As for the sword, since only Earthlings can use it, he will either sell it on the black market or study it.
"Unless I can keep a toe as a trophy."
"trade".
All I did was kill Death, Tai mused as he and Dullahan dragged the body through the tunnel.
