Purchasing Herbs

Jack was being accompanied by Erik as they both made their way to the commercial part of the city. It was only them two because both Leah and Jadelere were too easily recognised, whereas him and Erik wouldn't attract so much attention. They were, however, followed by a few guards dressed in civilian clothing.

Erik was still new to the city and so had to rely on Jack to lead the way. During the walk, they didn't exchange any much in terms of conversation. Erik was still shaken from the previous day's events and was still ruminating on many of the things he'd spoken about with Jadelere.

Jack, on the other hand, was happy as long as he could continue with things shrouded in a small layer of confusion. The longer he could be without being confronted by those around him, the stronger he would grow.

Furthermore, he was fully aware of the very real possibility that Ichabod was already cognisant of his strength; probably from Leah having told him. Regardless, the fact that he was allowed to leave Hare manor with Erik without any obstruction was evidence enough of Ichabod's tacit acknowledgement of Jack's status and abilities.

Jack felt warmth in him from this acceptance.

After a while they reached the centre of the commercial district, a large plaza with shops of various shapes and sizes on every side. The plaza was rectangular in shape, and there was a small restaurant on the far side of it; an unsuccessful attempt at building up some competition against Ichabod's Wishful Hare.

Jack and Erik's aim for this trip was to peruse some of the alchemical supplies of the area and purchase the materials for Jack to begin practicing the alchemical formulae he'd obtained in the Abyss library.

Although Erik didn't know the Jack's true objective, he came along with the intention to provide guidance and support.

"Where shall we begin?" Asked Erik as he placed his hand beneath his chin and turned to look at Jack.

"Over there." Jack pointed at one of the smaller shops nearby to his right because he'd secretly sent out his spiritual sense and felt the presence of a rare herb in one of its displays.

Erik nodded and walked into the shop with Jack in tow. The smell of herbs was relatively mild and behind the counter sat a bored looking teller, as it was readily apparent that the day had been extremely slow business-wise.

The teller looked up and his eyes lit up when he saw Erik, as he had the appearance of a scholar and they were known to purchase lots of materials for their research. Jack swore he could almost see the coins pouring out of the teller's eyes and he had to fight back the urge to laugh.

Erik was accustomed to such reactions and was able to ignore it, but the teller wanted to ensure a sale and so he excitedly emerged from behind the counter and ran to bow in front of Erik with his hands humbly folded in front of his chest. "Distinguished sir, thank you for blessing this humble establishment with your revered presence." He said in a tone which almost seemed practiced in front of a mirror. "Please allow this humble merchant to show you this establishment's prized possessions."

"Well…" Erik hesitated and turned to secretly glance at Jack out of the corner of his eyes and saw the boy shrug as if it had nothing to do with him. Erik sighed. "Very well, good teller."

"This way!" Excitedly, the teller gently pushed Erik towards one of the walls and began introducing all of the herbs as well as their providence. "This ten-year-old mandrake root was procured with great difficulty from the very depths of the Groam forest as it was pried from the jaws of a pack of demonic beasts that almost completely decimated the mercenary party sent to retrieve it. The party suffered terrible losses and their leader took a direct hit that left him on the brink of death, but they fed him one of the three mandrake roots they obtained and he miraculously recovered on the spot!" He narrated with wild gestures and a crazed look of adoration in his eyes.

"The second root was sold to a great martial artist that was coming through the region and this is the last piece on offer. Its medicinal properties are heaven-defying and the greatest treasure in our inventory. It almost pains me physically to not be able to enjoy its benefits myself…" Sighed the teller as if he was forced to suffer the greatest injustice in the world. "It can be yours for the medical price of fifteen silver coins."

Jack was stunned, the teller had an amazing talent at story-telling. Even Erik, who was used to such tactics in marketing, couldn't help but feel somewhat tempted at purchasing the root after listening to the vehemence and passion the teller spoke with.

Whatever the case, Jack wasn't interested in the mandrake root. Even though it was a valuable herb, it wasn't anywhere near what the teller was implying. Instead, Jack's attention was drawn to a semi-transparent single-leafed sprout that had a bluish hue to it, in the corner of one of the lowest display cases next to the shop's entrance.

Whoever was the owner of the shop evidently didn't know of the value of this herb. It was still in its initial development so it was understandable that it had gone by unnoticed, but once it fully matured its value would only be able to be quantified in the thousands of gold coins.

It was a nine-life sunflower. The number nine came from its nine leaves and the word sunflower was given from its similar shape to one. However, this herb was completely unlike a sunflower. For starters, it only bloomed at night, and it didn't change position following the movement of any cosmic body. Secondly, this herb was immensely valuable for martial artists, as it was one of the main ingredients in a great number of cultivation pills that aided in a breakthrough.

To elaborate, if it was mixed into a pill and consumed right before a breakthrough to another great realm, not only would the martial artist enjoy a boost in the quantity of qi they could revolve in their body, once the breakthrough was over, there wouldn't be any remaining impurities within the person's meridians. In other words, it would be a perfect breakthrough without any side-effects.

To a martial artist, this was a huge boon to their strength and rivers of blood would flow to get their hands on one!

Jack looked down onto the price tag on the herb and almost fainted on the spot. The store was selling this magical herb for the astonishing sum of twenty copper coins!

What the Hell?! Jack turned to face the teller with admiration. The teller, which was already on his fourth story, misinterpreted Jack's look and flashed him a kind smile. Even a run-down store like this can afford to sell a first-rate spirit herb for a meagre sum of twenty copper coins.

The currency of the Alacian empire was simple to follow. Iron coins were the lowest value, equivalent to petty change; one hundred of which were equal to one copper coin. One hundred copper coins was the equivalent to one silver coin; one hundred silver coins were one gold. Above gold coins were purple coins, and beyond that there was diamond coins. However, those were reserved for the highest echelons of nobility and not even Ichabod had laid his eyes on a single purple coin in all his time at the helm of the Wishful Hare.

Put differently, three silver coins were enough for a humble family to survive for three months. As such, the price of the nine-life sunflower was ridiculously low! If someone had told Jack he would one day come across such a bargain, he would laugh in their face!

Jack hurriedly scribbled a message onto a piece of paper and handed it to Erik in a moment that the teller was distracted and couldn't notice it. Erik casually glanced at its contents and gave a slight nod.

"Very well, good teller, you have convinced me." He discreetly disposed of the note into one of his sleeves and gently smiled. "I shall purchase the mandrake root, as well as a few other things."

The teller nodded emphatically and smiled greatly. "Of course, good patron, of course! Pray tell."

After that, Erik pointed out a few more herbs, within which the nine-life sunflower was included, and the teller promptly collected them all before placing them very gently into a few jade boxes and presenting them to Erik. The grand total of the purchase only came up to fifty silver coins. Forty-five after the teller applied a ten percent discount in an effort to lure Erik back into the store in the future.

The two of them left the shop with different feelings. Erik didn't fully understand what Jack had in mind, but he knew for certain that one or more of the herbs they'd bought were of great importance to him. Jack, on the other hand, was exuberant with glee from his unexpected gain.

He turned to the next shop in the hopes of finding another hidden treasure within their walls.