Chapter 14: Suddenly Meeting Old Acquaintances

Arriving at the Ambrosia market, Jayven held a list of what he needed to buy.

'For starters, I need potions. I'll just stop here weekly to buy food since I don't want it to spoil.'

He rode his bicycle, and again he arrived at the usual secluded area.

"Hmm. That's strange; there's a billboard up there, and it's the shop's sign. Will this really work?"

Questioning himself, he started to think about why the store owner needed that billboard sign for his shop.

"Well, if he gets customers, it's fine. After all, his potions have great effects; the only problem is their location."

Continuing on his path, he arrived at the store, where there were really customers, although there weren't many. Having one or two customers a day is quite a business for this store.

Not like what it used to, where it only had 10 customers a month—close to nothing a day. So having this number is quite lucrative for the store.

Jayven waited till the customers left, and when they did, he stood at the front of the counter and was greeted by someone other than that old man.

"long time no see Pipsquek. Then he heard the voice of a woman, and then I felt a surge of annoyance."

"You... I thought you enrolled at a famous college institute after the national exam two years ago."

"I did, and it is very fun being there."

"If so, then why are you here? I remember you saying that you would not come back to this dump of a place."

Jayven stared at the person in front of him with eyes of exasperation. 'Why the heck is she here? I mean, she is the old man's niece, but come on, why do I have to face someone who kept bugging me with alchemy competitions?'

That's right, the girl in front of him is the niece of the owner of this alchemy shop. And her name is Claire.

'I was so glad she left, though I thought I would not see her face for a long time. But it is kind of nice seeing her after such a long time.'

'Although it was kind of annoying how smug she looked when she said she was recruited by a top-class school, I'm still glad she is doing okay; it's not like I will tell her, though.'

"Heh, I am just here because some business with my classmates is up, and I was going to leave after we are done."

"Wow, great, but I don't see why you have to be here for that business." Jayven said that in a clearly annoyed tone.

"And here I thought you had matured a bit." She shook her head and looked at me like Jayven was pathetic. "You're still the same small brat you used to be."

'Okay, that does it. Just because she is older and taller than me, that doesn't mean she can look down on me; I am still growing.'

"Great, then I'm leaving." Turning his back, Jayven headed to the door.

"Aaaww, the little guy can't take a joke? I guess this is the full extent of what you can do. Then I guess you'll never be a hunter." Seeing him leaving, he taunted him again.

Hearing that Jayven's mana started to leak.

"I can't let her get to me. I survived a dangerous struggle yesterday, so this is nothing."

As he reasoned to himself, he started to calm down, stopping his mana from further leaking.

'Phew, she is still as annoying as ever. For now, I'll just buy at another store; it's not like there's any difference to begin with.'

And as Jayven was about to leave, the owner of the store stopped him.

"Hey Wait! huff, huff."

"Uncle, you were done sleeping?"

"The heck were you doing, Claire? I told you to wake me up if he was here."

"But you told me last night not to wake you up if it's not important?"

"That's besides the point; you can just let him stay here for a bit. Why did you try to taunt him? And here I thought you had matured, but when you left my tutelage, you became even worse."

"Hmph, if it weren't for my friend's request, I wouldn't be here right now."

"That's because your skills are inadequate, that's what."

"What did you say, old man?

Seeing as the fight was about to escalate, Jayven intervened.

"Excuse me, As much as I like to hear you guys bickering with each other, I need to buy something, so if you're not up for it, I'll be leaving."

"Wait, wait, sure, I'll sell you what you want. So what is it?"

Hearing that Jayven pulled out a paper and handed it to him.

"Oh? So 20 each of Mid-rank Health Potion, High-rank Mana Potion, And High-rank Stamina Potion. And all of them are recovery type not instant effects right?"

"Yes."

"These would cost you about 6.2 Million ACC, But Let's just round it upto 6 Million ACC."

"Thanks; here's the payment". Hearing the amount, Jayven reached for his phone to get the payment scanned.

"I guess you really did improve; is it because of your second awakening?"

"How did you know?"

"Just a hunch. Oh yeah, before you leave-."

"Wait, wait, wait! What's going on here that he has that much money and a second awakening because of that? Isn't his skill a junk skill?"

When the alchemist store owner was about to tell him something, he was interrupted by his niece, Claire.

"Why are you so confused?"

"Because of what happened just now. Where did he get that amount of money, or, more like, how did he have his second awakening?"

"You're being rude; you know that."

"Just answer me. Did you teach him some secret alchemy technique you haven't taught me yet? I am your niece; we are blood; how could you? I'll tell mom."

"Hey, don't bring my big sister into this. And no, I didn't teach him some secret alchemy move. Or, more like, I taught you everything you need to know more than what I taught him."

"So what is it, then? What did my rival do before I was here? Wait, I don't want to know. Jayven, Let's have a match now!"

Not being able to say a thing, the turn of events was suddenly and instantly decided.

'She is always like this. I always got carried away by her whims, but not anymore.'

"Sorry, but I am not an alchemist; I am a hunter. I'm leaving."

With that, he left the store in a hurry. But as he got out of the store, the store owner came following him.

"Jayven, I almost forgot to tell you."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"Old Man Zed is looking for you."

"Grandpa Zed?"

"Yeah, good thing you are here. Go meet up with him."

With that, he got back in his store as he left Jayven, thinking about what he heard.

"Grandpa Zed, huh? It's been a long time since I've seen him."

~~~~~~~~~~

Returning, the Alchemist Store Owner faced a question from his niece.

"So he became a hunter, huh?"

"I guess so. He answered so."

"Hmph. Someone like him who doesn't have the ability to be a hunter but wants to become one is just committing suicide."

"Well, what can we do? I kept on urging him to change his mind, but he was still stubborn about his path."

"It's because you didn't try hard enough."

"That might be so, but you really are worried about him, huh?"

"Huh? Me worried? As if. I am just thinking that it would be a waste of his ability to be a hunter, that's all."

" Uh-huh Sure."

"It's true, in fact, that right now I won't ever, and I mean never, treat him as my rival. He lost his qualifications to become one now that he became a hunter."

"If you say so. Anyway, I am almost done with your friend's request; just send me the money after I finish the last batch today."

"Sure, I'll tell her when you're done."

"Phew, I'm beat. I need my coffee before I start."

"Ugh, fine, just wait for a bit."

As the old man stated his state of mind, her niece started brewing the coffee. But as she was preparing to serve it, a thought came to mind.

'I hope you will be as determined as you are right now. You don't know the danger you will face. But if you do give up, just know that you can always rely on us.'

With that in mind, she hoped for Jayven's success. Even if she doesn't show it, she does worry about his future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking around, Jayven finally arrived at a store where a sign called the Zed's All-Around Repair Shop was hanging at the top.

'And that's no exaggeration; he can really repair anything, including plants, old devices, clothing, and all kinds of shoes. That old man can even do surgery on humans. Just remembering it gave me goosebumps.'

"What are you standing there for, you brat? Come in."