"So, Boss, what should we do? Buy Ki Crystals directly or go for Copper Chests?" the woman asked the middle-aged, bulky man.
"The idea of buying Copper Chests isn't half bad," the boss of the hunting party replied, "but Gray, did you forget how expensive they are?"
"How expensive can Copper Chests be?" Gray asked, confused. "Just in the past ten days alone, we found three Copper Chests."
Although Gray had heard of treasure chests being sold, he had never bothered to ask about the price. How expensive could they be? After all, their party of three had found more than ten treasure chests over the past two months.
"Idiot," Kelly said, "a Copper Chest sells for 4 to 5 Gold coins."
"What?! That much?" Gray was shocked. "Boss, please tell me we sold all the Copper Chests we found!"
After the initial shock, a worrying thought crossed his mind: What happened to the chests we found? I hope the Boss sold them all.
"I'm not an idiot like you," the Boss replied. "Aside from the few chests you rushed to open, I sold the rest. How do you think we could afford those Skill Books?"
The Boss added with a hint of regret, "Selling Copper Chests earned us the most money. I still regret the time you rushed ahead and opened one without asking."
Although the loot they got from those chests was good, the Boss still felt they had suffered a loss.
"Anyways, boy, what hunting party are you in?"
While Kai was waiting for his food and listening to their conversation, the Boss turned to him and asked.
"Me? I don't go hunting. I'm an Alchemist," Kai replied, a little surprised. He hadn't expected them to talk to him.
"Wait, you're an Alchemist?" Gray exclaimed, clearly shocked. Even Kelly and the Boss looked surprised.
"Yes. Is being an Alchemist that rare?" Kai asked, noticing their expressions.
"What do you mean, rare? It's extremely difficult to become an Alchemist," Gray said.
"We tried to become one but were kicked out because we didn't have enough talent."
Gray, Kelly, and the Boss had all met while learning alchemy at a Sky Pill Shop.
However, after a month of exploding too many furnaces and wasting large amounts of herbs, they were kicked out.
With no other way to make money, they banded together and formed a hunting party.
"Are you still learning, or can you already refine pills?" Kelly asked, remembering her own time training in alchemy at the Sky Pill Shop.
She had been injured several times due to furnace explosions. Thinking back made her a little regretful—after all that suffering, she still hadn't become an Alchemist.
"I can basically refine all Grade 1 pills and potions."
The moment these words escaped Kai's mouth, Gray, Kelly, and the Boss were thunderstruck.
Since they had tried learning alchemy, they knew that although alchemists who can't perform [Herb Weaving] are called Apprentices, the ability to refine Grade 1 pills is essentially the benchmark for becoming a Rank 1 Alchemist.
It seemed the words of Master ClearSky were true—talent is essential for learning alchemy, and they were simply devoid of it.
Remembering those words from Master ClearSky, a gloomy atmosphere settled over the group.
"What… what's wrong?" Kai asked, confused by the sudden change in their expressions.
"You wouldn't understand. How could someone talented like you possibly understand the pain of talentless people like us?" Gray said in an exaggerated, dramatic tone.
"Stop it, Gray."
The Boss turned to Kai. "Friend, we're just surprised. As Gray mentioned, we also tried learning alchemy, but we were kicked out for property damage and wasting too many herbs."
"Still, Gray is right about one thing—you really are talented. Becoming an Alchemist in just three months is no small feat," the Boss added.
Just as Kai was about to say something polite in response, a Fairy flew in to take his order.
"What would you like?" the Fairy asked, hovering near Kai's face and handing him a menu.
"I'll have the usual."
Without even glancing at the menu, Kai gave his order. As a resident of the inn, he enjoyed a few perks—one of them being that the Fairies remembered his usual breakfast and dinner choices.
"Your food will arrive soon."
Seeing Kai, the Fairy knew he was one of the humans living at the inn.
"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm still an Apprentice—I haven't mastered [Herb Weaving] yet."
As the Fairy flew away, Kai turned his attention back to the trio.
"So, did you get the Knowledge Sea? Can you show us your Soul Powers?"
Kelly asked, remembering the Sky Pill Shop's contract. As long as an alchemist could refine Grade 1 pills, they would be granted a Knowledge Sea.
"Knowledge Sea? I'm not rich enough to buy one."
Kai found Kelly's words a bit strange, but still answered honestly. After all, a Knowledge Sea cost 100,000 Honey Points—around 50,000 gold coins. Based on his current skills, even if he worked his whole life, he'd never be able to save that much.
"I wasn't talking about buying a Knowledge Sea. I meant the one you're given by the shop after successfully refining Grade 1 pills."
Kelly clarified, feeling Kai might have misunderstood her question.
"I've never heard of getting a Knowledge Sea after refining Grade 1 pills."
Kai frowned slightly. Something about Kelly's words felt off. The contract he had signed with the shop hadn't mentioned anything about receiving a Knowledge Sea.
"Which pill shop are you working at?"
This time, the Boss asked, remembering the rumors he had heard.
"Honey Pill Shop…"
Before Kai could finish his sentence, the way the trio looked at him changed.
"That can't be... you're working for that place that loves collecting slaves?"
While Kelly and the Boss were still feeling sorry for Kai, Gray couldn't help but start running his mouth.
"I heard they don't tell newcomers all the details and trick them into signing slave contracts. Did they also force you to sign one?"
Hearing Gray's words, Kai began thinking about the contract he had signed. There was a clause that stated if he failed to complete the tasks assigned by the shop for ten consecutive days, he would become a slave of the shop for ten years.
"I don't think I signed a slave contract…"
Although the clause was harsh, weren't all contracts written like that?
"Boss, didn't you see their contract yourself?"
Before going to the Sky Pill Shop, the Boss had visited the Honey Pill Shop to learn alchemy. But due to a certain clause in the contract, he couldn't bring himself to sign it.