Chapter 9: The Hidden Expert
Every gaze turned toward the entrance.
A figure stepped inside with the morning light shining from behind him.
Shrank's eyes widened until they nearly popped out.
'It's him!'
He jabbed Arum in the side and whispered in a voice barely above a breath.
"That's him! The man from yesterday!"
Arum immediately rose and examined the visitor.
Shrank had described him accurately.
Greasy hair, shabby clothes, and soot stains scattered across his body. He looked exactly like a beggar from the slums.
'That man is an Alchemist from headquarters? Has Shrank lost his mind?'
Arum's brow furrowed. His suspicion was about to turn into certainty when two heavy figures entered behind the man.
Thud. Thud.
They wore black combat uniforms, and snake tattoos coiled around their thick forearms.
'The Black Serpent Syndicate?'
They were enforcers from the infamous organization that controlled the back alleys.
Yet the two men stood behind the filthy visitor as though they were his personal guards. Their expressions were fierce, but they somehow appeared restrained in front of him.
The truth was much simpler.
The Black Serpent Syndicate's men had intercepted Elliott after he left his home to collect the debt.
Elliott had boldly told them, "Follow me. I'll make the money right now."
The confused men had followed him without understanding what he intended to do. They were merely standing there with their usual threatening expressions.
To Arum, however, the scene looked entirely different.
'He brings the Black Serpent Syndicate's men around like decorations?'
This was no ordinary man.
Arum's mind began calculating at a frantic speed.
The shabby appearance might be a disguise. Powerful experts sometimes behaved strangely on purpose to conceal their identities.
Arum secretly circulated his Mana Energy and examined Elliott's presence.
'Hmm?'
It was faint.
At most, he appeared to be a One-Star Adept, First Stage.
An ordinary observer would have clicked his tongue and dismissed him. Arum's thoughts moved in the opposite direction.
'Incredible. He has concealed his power perfectly.'
Someone important enough to be dispatched from the Celestial Light Consortium headquarters should be at least a middle-stage One-Star Adept.
For a person of that level to imitate a low-ranking Adept so perfectly could only mean his control was extraordinary.
'And look at those men behind him.'
Arum's gaze moved toward the two muscular enforcers standing awkwardly behind Elliott.
The infamous members of the Black Serpent Syndicate stood as quietly as obedient sheep. They looked like hunting dogs waiting for their master's instructions.
'He disguises himself as someone from the very bottom while keeping the predators of the back alleys beneath his feet.'
This was entertainment.
A powerful expert wearing the skin of a weakling and mocking the world around him.
It was a twisted and unpleasant hobby.
'He's completely insane.'
Once Arum reached that conclusion, he naturally lowered his posture even further.
Elliott walked directly toward the counter.
His gaze passed over the frozen Shrank and settled on Arum.
"The owner has returned."
His voice was dry.
Without realizing it, Arum straightened his clothes and bowed politely.
"Welcome. My name is Arum, the owner of the Hundred Herbs Apothecary. It is an honor that someone of your standing has visited such a humble place again."
He decided to lower himself first.
Until he understood the other man's cards, matching his mood was the safest way for a merchant to survive.
Elliott did not react to the excessive respect.
Instead of answering, he removed more than ten medicine packets from inside his clothes and dropped them onto the counter one after another.
"That is enough greeting."
Elliott gestured toward the packets with his chin.
"As promised, I brought you a proper product."
"What is this?"
"The quality of the Hundred Herbs Apothecary was so miserable that I decided to demonstrate it myself. You have eyes, so I assume you can tell the difference."
"Yes, of course. Let me examine them."
Arum was displeased by Elliott's sharp words, but he remained obedient on the surface.
His rough fingers carefully removed the waxed paper wrapped around one of the packets.
Red powder appeared inside.
Arum's eyes trembled.
As though enchanted, he lowered his face and deeply inhaled the powder's scent. He then rubbed a small amount between his thumb and forefinger.
'There's nothing.'
There was no harsh burnt smell that stung the nose, and no coarse grains caught against his fingertips.
The powder did not merely lack impurities. Every grain contained a clear trace of Mana.
Cheap Blood-Staunching Powder sold on the market usually had the dark, clotted color of old blood.
The powder before him shone like fresh blood drawn directly from a vein.
'High grade? No, it is almost top grade!'
Arum swallowed.
Blood-Staunching Powder was essential for the Arcane Beast hunters struggling at the bottom of the world of Adepts.
Most of them were only low-ranking One-Star Adepts. Their bodies did not possess any remarkable regenerative ability.
Severed arms and legs did not simply grow back like the limbs of a lizard. Such things belonged to the Supreme Adepts of legend, or to monsters who had reforged their bones and bodies after reaching the level of a Two-Star Adept or higher.
For ordinary hunters, severe bleeding could mean stepping directly into the grave.
That was why Blood-Staunching Powder was indispensable. It forced blood to clot almost instantly, as though the wound had been sealed with fire.
The problem was its side effects.
'There is no trace of the scorch toxin that normally plagues Blood-Staunching Powder.'
Ordinary Blood-Staunching Powder retained strong fire properties from the refinement process.
It might stop the bleeding, but the flesh around the wound could rot or suffer terrible burns.
The lower the quality, the stronger the toxin. There were even cases where someone stopped the bleeding only to have the injured limb amputated afterward.
The product Elliott had brought was entirely different.
Its impurities had been removed so completely that it could probably be applied to a newborn child without causing so much as a rash.
Yet the medicine's effectiveness was not what truly shook Arum.
'To think that Blood-Staunching Powder could have such quality.'
The contradiction behind the product disturbed him.
A skilled high-ranking Alchemist could certainly produce high-grade Blood-Staunching Powder.
The problem was that none of them would bother.
It was not profitable.
Producing high-grade powder required countless attempts, large amounts of medicinal herbs, and the time and effort of an experienced Alchemist.
Blood-Staunching Powder was too insignificant to justify those costs.
Its main customers were poor hunters. Who among them would pay an enormous premium for the finest Blood-Staunching Powder?
At most, they would purchase a mid-grade product.
It was not even consumed every day, so demand remained limited.
The market had an obvious ceiling in both demand and price.
No Alchemist with any sense would devote his life to refining Blood-Staunching Powder.
Yet this man had done it.
'There are only two possibilities.'
Either he was a fool who had thrown time and resources away merely to display his overwhelming skill.
Or his ability was so far beyond common understanding that producing high-grade medicine required no special effort at all.
Whichever possibility was true, the conclusion remained the same.
This was no ordinary Alchemist.