Day 86
In the past few days, thanks to his hard work killing Dumas, concocting, and selling the acid potions he made, Ery had earned enough spirit stones to obtain everything he needed to take back to Earth.
There was just one thing that was still attainable; The recipes for his gene bloodline, which according to what Bob the frog said to him before, the potion recipe he would help him increase the purity of his fey wolf genes.
[Bloodline Gene – Fey Wolf]
[Gene Classification – Legendary Bloodline]
[Bloodline Limit : Rank 6]
[Current Rank]
[Rank 3 -The Fey Warden]
[21% fey wolf essence found]
From what he knew so far, Ery believed that, if he was able to purify his gene essence to 30%, he would be able to upgrade his fey wolf rank. This was the path that even the headmaster himself thought would be the best for him.
If he managed to obtain the recipe, he could try to create the serum himself. Ery rembered the patriarch's words – when he managed to reach rank 4, he could beco an alpha wolf and help the other fey wolves. This path of progression would be nothing but beneficial to him.
Unfortunately, even with all his efforts, the matter of spirit stones still troubled him. He didn't have enough spirit stones to purchase the recipe and, even if he traded all his contribution points into spirit stones, he would only have 107.165.
The day of his return to earth ticked even closer, and Ery was left with three choices.
One, he could forget about the research for recipes, save up his money and contribution points for later, then he could resu the research 3 years later, when he would probably have more spirit stones to comfortably do so.
Two, he could join the Wellenstein faction and get 100.000 spirit stones right away. However, joining would render his objective moot, as he would not be able to co back to Earth to experint with the serum to his brethren.
Three, he had the choice to beg for so kind of deal with Bob the Frog and get parts of the recipes or more spirit stones out of the deal.
The more Ery thought about it, the more he realized his only choice would be the latter one.
"Maybe this can work." Ery muttered, trying to be optimistic about his own half-baked plan.
He woke up early in the morning, got dressed and went to Zodiac City without wasting as much as a second. Upon reaching the city, Ery went directly to the alley with the familiar building he had visited before.
Right as he was about to open the door, Ery heard a massive ruckus going on inside. The sounds of sothing being thrown around were clear, even from there.
"Kkrrr… Why is this happening! This is a disaster!"
Bob's enraged cursing could be heard even from outside, probably even across the street.
Ery's expression turned full of concern and he quickly walked into the shop. A lot of potion bottles were scattered on the ground and the previously well-stocked shelves were much more empty than usual. Colorful stains from various potions covered the floor, so even hissing and smoking against the ground.
Clink! Clink!
The bell resounded as soon as Ery ca in and not long after, Bob cursed again.
"GET OUT!! You are not welkom! The shop is klosed now!"
Ery was a little bit afraid of disturbing him, but there was no ti left and with each second, he grew more desperate. Only 4 days were left before he would need to return to Earth and he needed to get all his affairs in this world in order before then.
"I am sorry, Mr. Bob. It's , Ery Ambrose… I ca to ask about the wolf gene recipes."
Bob the Frog stopped throwing the things around in anger and actually looked up, to see Ery's concerned face staring at him. "This ti you ca at the right ti!" Bob looked at the back room and shouted. "The boy is here, niece!"
After shouting, he turned back to look at Ery and whispered. "My niece has been waiting for you for quite a while… you…" Bob shook his head. "Argh, forget it, just be quick. We are in a hurry, okay?"
Ery stared at Bob in confusion. What does he an by waiting? However, he had no ti to ask Bob that, as he was quickly shoved to the back room by the frog-man. Inside the back room, he saw a white-haired girl standing right in the middle, her gaze drilling into his soul.
"Ah, it's you, Silva! You… Niece… Uncle… Frog?" Ery was so surprised, he was not even able to form a coherent question and had to resort to mumbling under his breath.
"Ery, co closer!" Silva said, her tone serious.
One question answered, two thousand more new questions popped up. Silva outstretched her hand and pulled Ery closer while confusion was still evident on his face. Though he had always known Silva was a serious, no-nonsense smart acolyte, Ery could feel from her gaze she had sothing important weighing on her mind.
Ery decided to walk a few steps closer to her. "What is it, Silva?"
Silva kept staring at him and it took minutes for her to answer the question.
"Ery, this place is run by the Oroboros clan. My clan. And Bob is… My distant uncle."
"Ah, I see…" Ery was relieved, delighted to hear that, even. He knew Silva to so extent and, by knowing her, perhaps the negotiation he needed to do today would be easier. They could be referred to as friends or sorts, their complicated relationship making categorizations confusing.
Ery did not expect her expression to beco more grave, but Silva did just that and took out a parchnt from her ring before showing the parchnt to him.
"Ery, you ca here for this gene recipe, right?"
Even from a glance, Ery was able to discern the paper contained the recipe he was looking for.
"Then, tell , do you have the 200.000 spirit stones I asked for?" Silva asked directly, cutting into the heart of the matter. Unused to such a direct confrontation when it cos to trading, Ery stuttered.
"No… No, I can only provide half of it… By tomorrow, I will… Wait, I thought-"
"No deal, then." Silva cut him off before he was able to say anything.
Ery stared at the girl. From back when they first t to now, Ery was always confused about her behavior. Why did she act so an towards him only to treat him better later?
Before Ery could ask, Silva handed a piece of parchnt to him.
"Here, you can keep it, free of charge!" Silva looked away, making sure Ery did not see her reddened cheeks.
"Why are you-" Ery asked, but Silva cut in before he managed to finish.
"I don't have much ti to explain, just… Just keep it, it's yours!"
On one hand, Ery was glad for the gift, but on the other hand he rembered the three-year contract that was offered to him before in order to let him pay for the recipe indirectly.
"No, Silva… Tell , what should I do in return for this gift?"
"Ery, you truly are… The biggest moron, ever." Silva breathed out on him. "You know, if soone offers you sothing for free, you should just take it as asked!"
Yet again, Silva handed the parchnt to Ery, however, Ery kept on refusing, not wanting to accept such a valuable gift without giving her sothing in return. Ery was about to offer sothing again, but Silva scread in irritation.
"Arrrggghhh!"
The sudden outburst shocked Ery. The scream was followed with the voice of panting breath. Instantly, Ery's expression turned worried.
"Silva… are you okay? What is it? You can tell ."
"Urghh why are you such a guy Ery! Why did you worry about ? You know nothing about ! Just take the recipe and go!"
"No Silva, tell ... "
Before Silva could answer, a voice could be heard from outside the room.
"Niece… Niece!! kkrr… All is ready, let's go!"
Silva snapped out from her previously emotional expression. With the straightest face she could manage, she said to Ery.
"Ery, trust , you will really need this. No one else is as good as uncle Bob, let alone better than him when it cos to gene sequencing… Actually, this recipe was only half-complete, but it should be enough for you… If you end up being able to master this, you can find the frog people later on."
Silva placed the parchnt on the table and said.
"You can take it, you can throw it away, the decision is in your hands. Think of it as a farewell gift from …"
"Farewell? ...What do you an?"
Silva looked down, an awkward silence settled between them. From her expression, it was clear she was feeling emotional. The force swirling behind her gaze was much more powerful than her usual playful anger at Ery, a gaze of worry and sadness. Silva took one deep breath and slowly said.
"I… I really can't say anything… Good bye, Ery."
Silva turned around and started walking away, only for Ery to grab her hand.
"Calm down, Silva. Tell-"
To his surprise, Silva turned around, but she threw a handful of powder to his face, causing Ery to cough and slowly lose his consciousness.
Ery could roughly tell Silva didn't leave right away. She helped him to take a seat on the chair, stared at him and moved her face closer. She whispered in a careful manner. "Ery, please… I hope you won't believe what they said about us."
The last thing Ery could rember was a soft, loving touch on his lips right before everything turned dark.
Ery had no idea for how long he was unconscious, but when he managed to regain clarity of mind, he saw that the room had already been emptied. He could feel a pit forming in his stomach.
He had nothing but a bad feeling about this.
He walked towards the table and saw that the parchnt containing the recipe part was still there.
Right as Ery tried to read it, a notification ca into his mind.
[Fey wolf gene enhancer recipes acquired.]
[You have learned a new recipe!]
Ery felt a rush of new information and with them ca knowledge he previously lacked. Most of what he received was too advanced and Ery was unable to make heads or tails of it beyond the fact that they were so sort of apothecary related technique.
Though Ery had received such a good boon on this unusual day, he was still worried about Silva. But there was no way to find any more information about her. All he could do was hope nothing bad ever ca to her.
Ery went back to his residence and woke up the next day to see Magus Xion at the appointed ti. The magus did not recomnd everyone to co to the etings and thus only Ery and Julian ca to join the Magus
The two walked past the portal and into the headquarters for the alliance of n.
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Written and Directed by Avans, Published by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,
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