Mana Pills III

"He's strong? Pfft! I'll put him against Lhod and see him crumble." Aurora's father scoffed.

Aurora didn't bother with his mockery. "Pardon but if he was to fight with the younger version of Lhod, I mean when Lhod just awakened, he'd take care of three Lhods."

The smirk on his face vanished. "Are you serious?"

Aurora went on to explain. "Have I ever joked about people? How many newly awakened Chosen are able to take care of two three-ringed rabid jackals? Lhod couldn't though. He'd be torn to shreds. So will I."

Her father refused to understand her. "So you're saying he took care of two three-ringed rabid jackals? I've heard of over fifty people who could do that when they newly awakened like you."

Aurora tried not to raise her voice but it ended up higher than she'd expected anyway. "Are any of them in the family? Well, if you include my step-brother then yes. But he left the family, didn't he? Ah, I didn't say he took care of two. He fought with a pack of those beasts by himself."

"When he rescued us, he didn't kill the rabid jackals. He captured two of them and took them back with him to train a friend. And by the time we were ready to leave, he killed two White Oncas by himself." By the time she finished, her father was getting convinced.

"When we arrived at the camp where we would return from, the head guard of the portal made another guard spy on him because they suspected he was stronger than normal. Well, that was true because he somehow hid most of his strength." Now, this last statement piqued her father's interest.

"And what is the name of this young man you speak so highly of? What family is he from?" He raised his two eyebrows.

Something he always did when aroused by something. Aurora noticed it and smiled. "His name's Luke. For some reason, he didn't tell anyone his family name. I suspect he's not from a big family though. He didn't even have one of the IDs we get when we awakened, meaning he sneaked in."

"We don't know his family name. All this was in vain then." Her father scolded her.

"I don't think so." She replied with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Her father asked.

"I gave him one of our crests. I always took one with me and I gave it to him before we parted ways. He'll be visiting in the future." She said with confidence.

"That's a great idea, my dear. You've proven yourself. I'm so proud of you." Aurora's father, the strict family secretary said with a smile deeply engraved on his face.

"I'll bring this news to the family head. Now, I have to leave." He replied and stood up from his chair.

Aurora rose from the chair. "I'll take my leave too." She bowed and walked out of the room with a smile on her face.

*****

"Achoo…" Luke sneezed in the middle of the streets.

"Someone must be talking about me." Little did he know that his name was spreading in one of the great families.

"Sorry sir, do you happen to know where I can get a twenty-year-old woodiil?" Luke asked a small shop owner by the market road.

The white-bearded old man pointed to another shop about a hundred meters away.

"Thank you, sir." Luke thanked him and headed to the shop.

"Excuse me, I need a twenty-year-old woodiil." Luke spoke to the old man he met at the counter.

"You're in luck because we just got fresh supplies and a few woodiil plants were among them. The supplier said they were quite old with an age tag on them. I haven't checked but we should have one over twenty years old." The man stood up from the counter and walked toward a huge table that was spread over ten meters in diameter with plants all over it. Luke followed behind him.

"Here they are." The man pointed to a green plant that held four blue egg-like things in its center.

He picked the tags and looked at them one after another. "Fifteen, eighteen, twelve…"

Luke thought of taking one that was eighteen years old when the man finally saw what Luke needed.

"Ahh, twenty-one. Here's one for you." The man called to Luke from the other side of the table.

"Well, thank you. How much does it cost?" Luke asked the old man.

The man raised two fingers. "It's usually two golds for every extra year."

Luke did the maths. "Then this one's forty-two golds?"

"Usually, but I'll sell it for forty." The old man replied with a smile.

"Here," Luke sighed and handed forty gold coins to the old man.

He had come to the market thinking the ingredients wouldn't cost much but so far, he had spent over two hundred golds just getting six ingredients and he had four more ingredients to buy.

"Phew… now, all that remains is the Bodhi plant, the five-leaf clover, the moonflower, and the two-scut rabbit." Luke continued his journey through the market.

Luke stopped and spoke to himself after gathering nine ingredients leaving only one. "Well, I'll have to come back for the rabbit since I'm already pretty late."

He took a carriage back to the store he worked at.

He was surprised to see Old man Jarod in the shop this early. The old man usually arrived a few hours before the shop closed but this time, he was several hours early.

"Ah, the right timing. Come over here, kid. Help me take this inside." Old man Jarod spotted Luke dropping from the carriage and called out to him.

Luke didn't bother asking anything and just did as the old man had insisted.

"Good morning old man." Luke greeted after lifting the box.

"Good morning kid."

The rabbit came to Luke's mind at that moment and he decided to ask the old man. "Ah, by any chance, have you ever heard about the two-scut rabbit?"

As they walked into the store, the man answered. "Well, yeah. They're rare and quite expensive. But if you've got the right amount, you can get it. What do you even need it for?"

Luke shook his head. "It's a secret old man. I tried getting it at the market today but I couldn't find one."

Old man Jarod laughed and tapped his belly. "Silly kid. You can't get one in that market unless you meet the right people."

"Welcome back old man. Good morning to you, Luke." Seth greeted them both as they entered the door.

Luke turned to Seth. "Good morning." He turned back to the old man. "So, where can I get one, and how much is the right amount?"

The old man walked to his usual seat before replying. "The black market. They've got everything and a two-scut rabbit should cost at least three hundred."

Luke smiled wickedly. "Well, I think I now have a reason to visit the Forever Gang again."

*************

Thank you guys for continously reading even with my inconsistent release of chapters. From now henceforth, I'll do my best to drop a new chapter everyday.

Expect more chapters in the future. Thank you all.