Chapter 145 - Hoodlums
The King's passing came as a shock to many. It took a few days for the news to reach each corner of Hidros. Flowers were left as a tribute near the castle, the guards accepted any and all gifts. The day after Gallienne was crowned as the Queen – meetings with nobles, important traders, and companies that made Rosespire the thriving capital for commerce and such were organized.
Many were taken by surprise – her personality changed quite drastically. More often than not when triggered, rather than resort to violence – her demeanor would be calm and understanding. Many saw that side as even scarier. In addition, the Queen Mother grew to be friendlier towards her child. The Royal family now compromised of Gallienne, Sely, and Piers. Since the death of the father, the animosity faded. They grew to be one so that the pain of losing someone special could be borne.
A few days had gone by, almost a week. Daily life steadily became the norm. Staxius stayed inside the shop for the entire duration. An order to not disturb was issued to all the party members. To that, Undrar took charge and guided the others. From quests to daily activities, her times spent with the Silver Guardians came as a boon. Instantly, any problem that could surface was dealt with. Keeping the guys together turned from a task to something natural – they loved her charisma. Two faces of the same coin, Undrar was the good and honest, while Staxius the crude and shady leader. However, it didn't bother anyone – Adete remained at the shop. Lizzie learned the ways of craftmanship. Rather than turning into a fighter, she chose to try and make things that could turn useful for others. Auic and Avon grew inseparable, the girl took a liking to the spirit. Achilles' reputation increased massively, her days working for the guild and saving people out on the street grew more frequent. Many recognized her outside the guild as a true warrior with Deadeyes helping with the quests here and there.
"Finally," the room dark with a red light as the only means for sight; a flask fell and broke. "Keep it down," a quiet voice yelled. "Don't you dare stand up, Adete," Staxius fired back, he used her as a paperweight yet again. The number of notes on the table reached the ceiling, most of which were pointless and rough thesis.
After days of research, the fabrication of God's ale became a possibility. Though, rather than turning the consumer into a slave – it only gave the feeling of never-ending pleasures till the effect wore out. There were side effects such as headaches and addiction, but no care was given. The worst component had been removed – no longer was it needed for one to become an empty shell. Even with that removed, there still didn't have a cure to revert back the effect – that would take months and years to even research. Once it entered the human body, Staxius didn't know what could happen then, interaction with the organs to changing its properties – a mystery that was saved for another time. On top of that, research on Relic class scrolls was half-way done and the process of making potions turn autonomous, with the highest purity being Uncommon.
'The potions can be made into quality higher than Uncommon. But that would make the scroll expendable, I want that item to retain its value. If one wants something of higher quality – then the scroll should be enough,' the mind worked.
*Pssst,* a whistle from the apparatus signaled its completion. "And that is the last one," the last flask was placed into a carton with the Uncommon label. *click,* the light turned on, piles and piles of carton were laid to rest on the left wall. Each box held 30 potions each separated by rarity. Common and Uncommon were the only two available.
"As your first task, you are to try and solve this quandary about turning Mana from an Ethereal substance to one Physical." [Difficulty: SS-Ranked]
A memory came into mind, days before – Clarise came by the shop to deliver a task from the Master Alchemist. A job that the rather limited amount of Alchemist had to do. Their objective still remained the advancement of technology and to unearth different possibilities. 'Turning mana from a spiritual form and into physical. The makers of God's ale have already been doing that – I must say it came as a surprise to learn that the Alchemy division knew not of this.' With a sigh – the problem solved itself.
From researching the substance – the ways of turning mana into something usable also became reality. A process that was tedious to set up but easy to execute. 'Judging by the difficulty, if I turn this paper to Clarise; I can expect them to lay off my back for a while.' Not wanting to have the little girl coming into his shop uninvited – Staxius decided to give the Alchemist what they wanted. "Adete, get up," he spoke. "No," she fired back, the tone filled with attitude. "As you wish," yet again, without any care – Staxius pinched her by the head and placed the girl inside his shirt pocket. "STOP GRABBING MY HEAD, I'M NOT SOME DOLL YOU CAN PLAY AROUND WITH," the voice piercing as she stood closer to the ears. "Fine, I'll stop," with the index finger, he patted her head. *Snap,* a blueish light shone.
"Good morning Isorin," Staxius spoke, a dazzling light sent the wizard in shock. "Calm down," he spoke seeing the sage leaning back too much, the chair gave way and broke. "MY BACK," he screamed. "My bad," nonchalantly, Staxius opened a flask and dowsed the injured scholar.
"I can't believe you've learned teleportation. What's the reason for this visit?" he stood and spoke. "I'd like to find Clarise," Staxius replied. Both stood inside Isorin's bedroom. "I know not where she is, maybe inside the Alchemy lab?" he dusted off the now dirtied robe. "No worries, thanks for the help," the door opened, a large empty corridor stood.
"Adete, I'm going to use the All-seeing eyes, get ready," the tone quiet so that none could hear. "There's no need to tell me when the ability will be used, the moment it activates, I'll be able to help," she replied sternly. Deep breath in, the left eyes closed. A faint pulsing was felt, the eyes burnt with a scarlet color. 'I'm in,' he could now see what people were up to. From the guild assistant to Isorin, he switched through their sights effortlessly. 'The alchemy lab,' he saw through the master's eyes. 'There's Clarise,' a smirk later, Staxius vanished.
"Now put those drops into the flask and then heat it," Clarise taught the new-upcoming scholars. "Bow down before thine master," Staxius spoke in jest. "What brings you here?" they didn't notice him teleporting. "I've brought back the papers you asked me to complete," the tone monotonous.
"You weren't able to finish it I presume?" her face remained fixed on the demonstration. The students were perplexed about how the little girl could hold a conversation and work at the same time. "Well, unlike you miss prodigy, I've got more time than is necessary – the quandary has been solved," he added smugly. *Poof,* a violet vapor came out the test-tube, a mistake was made.
"You did what?" she lifted her goggles and took a better look at the paper. "Impossible, t-this method, h-how in the world?" her face sunk, "well that's up for your grandfather to decide," in a single flick, the paper was taken back. He walked away, "-also, add some of that yellow substance into the test-tube – the whole experiment should revert back to the norm," the door closed.
The meeting with the grandfather didn't last that long. Staxius wasn't keen on revealing the means for said research. The task had been accomplished and the reward given was ten-gold coins. 'Spare change,' he sighed and teleported back into the shop.
"Welcome back," a figure stood inside. "What are you doing here?" Staxius asked the hand rested above the concealed sword. "No need to fret," the figure came out of the shadows. "I've come to collect the God's ale," the man looked imposing, tattoos ran from the neck downwards. "How did you know?" Staxius asked; he hadn't told anyone about the experiments. "The Dark Guild has more reach than you know, Staxius Haggard," animosity grew – killing intent was felt. 'Should I kill him?' he thought, the left eyes closed. Seeing through the eyes of people he physically saw – became a possibility. At that moment, he saw through the eyes of the strange figure.
Without much thought, Staxius faced away exposing his blindside. "Don't you dare look away from me," the man added with rage in the voice. "Make me," he answered. The figure took out a gun and fired. *Bang, bang, bang,* Staxius knew where he aimed, the first two shots aimed for the head whilst the last one at the right legs. All that was needed to be done was to seamlessly evade. 'Why did I even do that?' he asked, a blueish mist later, the door broke open.
*Splash,* blood splattered across the building facing the shop. "I hate how messy killing someone is," the voice monotonous. "OPEN FIRE," a dozen thugs stood outside – they bore black suits with top hats. "Seriously, Karlson," both eyes closed. Gunfire opened, Staxius vanished, one after the other, using a dagger that laid on the ground, necks were sliced. It looked like fountains till he reached the leader –"Alright, take me to Karlson or else you'd end up like these guys," *stab,* the dagger got embedded inside the leader's right arm. "F-fine, d-don't kill me," he begged – twelve-man just died in a second, anyone who witnessed such a massacre could not but obey.
Instead of going to the Twin Jellyfish Bar, the man walked deeper into the heart of the dark guild's district. The sight of hoodlums grew frequent, they all were armed to the teeth. Staxius looked even scarier than most – appearance mattered. After a few buildings, a shady apartment came in view. They climbed up; the lights barely worked. Despite being day time, it felt as if it were evening. M.o.a.ns and screams grew commonplace, graffiti on the walls, they reached the top floor. "Karlson is inside that room," he pointed forward, a room guarded by two mercenaries.
"Ay, who stands there," one of the guards asked, "someone who wants to do business," Staxius fired back. "the boss said ain't nobody doing buidness today," the same guy replied. "Tough shit," *Bang, bang,* two shots straight in the head. The guards fell, he used the gun from the guide. Once inside, the hostage was thrown on the couch. "Excuse me, you can't go inside," a female voice asked to which Staxius glared – her head unwillingly lowered.
*BAM,* the door broke open, the room filled with girls and Karlson in the middle. "WHO THE F.U.C.K IS THAT," he asked whilst reaching for a gun. *Ancient Magic: Teleportation,* a cold piece of metal rested on the head. "Looks like fun."
"Is that you Staxius?" the voice felt familiar. "Don't you f.u.c.k.i.n.g move," a headlock with a gun at the back of the head, "-right now, tell me why was there a platoon of thugs waiting to ambush me," the tone cold but deadly. "I'm sorry, but orders came from the top. I had to give a report to whomst I sold God's ale to, and so your name got brought up,"
"Do you expect me to believe that?" *BANG, BANG,* the girls who stood ran out as soon as the gunfire was heard. "Calm down," Karlson asked with fear in the voice. "Calm down, he says," the gun pressed even further. He gritted with pain, "fine, what do you want?" the voice close to breaking down.
"Tell me who's responsible, I've got business to discuss," the voice firm. "I-I c-can't, if I tell you the name, then it's my head they'll be after," he refused. "Well either you tell me, or the next thing on this bed will be that lifeless body of yours," having come this far, Staxius wasn't going to back away without answers.
Many were taken by surprise – her personality changed quite drastically. More often than not when triggered, rather than resort to violence – her demeanor would be calm and understanding. Many saw that side as even scarier. In addition, the Queen Mother grew to be friendlier towards her child. The Royal family now compromised of Gallienne, Sely, and Piers. Since the death of the father, the animosity faded. They grew to be one so that the pain of losing someone special could be borne.
A few days had gone by, almost a week. Daily life steadily became the norm. Staxius stayed inside the shop for the entire duration. An order to not disturb was issued to all the party members. To that, Undrar took charge and guided the others. From quests to daily activities, her times spent with the Silver Guardians came as a boon. Instantly, any problem that could surface was dealt with. Keeping the guys together turned from a task to something natural – they loved her charisma. Two faces of the same coin, Undrar was the good and honest, while Staxius the crude and shady leader. However, it didn't bother anyone – Adete remained at the shop. Lizzie learned the ways of craftmanship. Rather than turning into a fighter, she chose to try and make things that could turn useful for others. Auic and Avon grew inseparable, the girl took a liking to the spirit. Achilles' reputation increased massively, her days working for the guild and saving people out on the street grew more frequent. Many recognized her outside the guild as a true warrior with Deadeyes helping with the quests here and there.
"Finally," the room dark with a red light as the only means for sight; a flask fell and broke. "Keep it down," a quiet voice yelled. "Don't you dare stand up, Adete," Staxius fired back, he used her as a paperweight yet again. The number of notes on the table reached the ceiling, most of which were pointless and rough thesis.
After days of research, the fabrication of God's ale became a possibility. Though, rather than turning the consumer into a slave – it only gave the feeling of never-ending pleasures till the effect wore out. There were side effects such as headaches and addiction, but no care was given. The worst component had been removed – no longer was it needed for one to become an empty shell. Even with that removed, there still didn't have a cure to revert back the effect – that would take months and years to even research. Once it entered the human body, Staxius didn't know what could happen then, interaction with the organs to changing its properties – a mystery that was saved for another time. On top of that, research on Relic class scrolls was half-way done and the process of making potions turn autonomous, with the highest purity being Uncommon.
'The potions can be made into quality higher than Uncommon. But that would make the scroll expendable, I want that item to retain its value. If one wants something of higher quality – then the scroll should be enough,' the mind worked.
*Pssst,* a whistle from the apparatus signaled its completion. "And that is the last one," the last flask was placed into a carton with the Uncommon label. *click,* the light turned on, piles and piles of carton were laid to rest on the left wall. Each box held 30 potions each separated by rarity. Common and Uncommon were the only two available.
"As your first task, you are to try and solve this quandary about turning Mana from an Ethereal substance to one Physical." [Difficulty: SS-Ranked]
A memory came into mind, days before – Clarise came by the shop to deliver a task from the Master Alchemist. A job that the rather limited amount of Alchemist had to do. Their objective still remained the advancement of technology and to unearth different possibilities. 'Turning mana from a spiritual form and into physical. The makers of God's ale have already been doing that – I must say it came as a surprise to learn that the Alchemy division knew not of this.' With a sigh – the problem solved itself.
From researching the substance – the ways of turning mana into something usable also became reality. A process that was tedious to set up but easy to execute. 'Judging by the difficulty, if I turn this paper to Clarise; I can expect them to lay off my back for a while.' Not wanting to have the little girl coming into his shop uninvited – Staxius decided to give the Alchemist what they wanted. "Adete, get up," he spoke. "No," she fired back, the tone filled with attitude. "As you wish," yet again, without any care – Staxius pinched her by the head and placed the girl inside his shirt pocket. "STOP GRABBING MY HEAD, I'M NOT SOME DOLL YOU CAN PLAY AROUND WITH," the voice piercing as she stood closer to the ears. "Fine, I'll stop," with the index finger, he patted her head. *Snap,* a blueish light shone.
"Good morning Isorin," Staxius spoke, a dazzling light sent the wizard in shock. "Calm down," he spoke seeing the sage leaning back too much, the chair gave way and broke. "MY BACK," he screamed. "My bad," nonchalantly, Staxius opened a flask and dowsed the injured scholar.
"I can't believe you've learned teleportation. What's the reason for this visit?" he stood and spoke. "I'd like to find Clarise," Staxius replied. Both stood inside Isorin's bedroom. "I know not where she is, maybe inside the Alchemy lab?" he dusted off the now dirtied robe. "No worries, thanks for the help," the door opened, a large empty corridor stood.
"Adete, I'm going to use the All-seeing eyes, get ready," the tone quiet so that none could hear. "There's no need to tell me when the ability will be used, the moment it activates, I'll be able to help," she replied sternly. Deep breath in, the left eyes closed. A faint pulsing was felt, the eyes burnt with a scarlet color. 'I'm in,' he could now see what people were up to. From the guild assistant to Isorin, he switched through their sights effortlessly. 'The alchemy lab,' he saw through the master's eyes. 'There's Clarise,' a smirk later, Staxius vanished.
"Now put those drops into the flask and then heat it," Clarise taught the new-upcoming scholars. "Bow down before thine master," Staxius spoke in jest. "What brings you here?" they didn't notice him teleporting. "I've brought back the papers you asked me to complete," the tone monotonous.
"You weren't able to finish it I presume?" her face remained fixed on the demonstration. The students were perplexed about how the little girl could hold a conversation and work at the same time. "Well, unlike you miss prodigy, I've got more time than is necessary – the quandary has been solved," he added smugly. *Poof,* a violet vapor came out the test-tube, a mistake was made.
"You did what?" she lifted her goggles and took a better look at the paper. "Impossible, t-this method, h-how in the world?" her face sunk, "well that's up for your grandfather to decide," in a single flick, the paper was taken back. He walked away, "-also, add some of that yellow substance into the test-tube – the whole experiment should revert back to the norm," the door closed.
The meeting with the grandfather didn't last that long. Staxius wasn't keen on revealing the means for said research. The task had been accomplished and the reward given was ten-gold coins. 'Spare change,' he sighed and teleported back into the shop.
"Welcome back," a figure stood inside. "What are you doing here?" Staxius asked the hand rested above the concealed sword. "No need to fret," the figure came out of the shadows. "I've come to collect the God's ale," the man looked imposing, tattoos ran from the neck downwards. "How did you know?" Staxius asked; he hadn't told anyone about the experiments. "The Dark Guild has more reach than you know, Staxius Haggard," animosity grew – killing intent was felt. 'Should I kill him?' he thought, the left eyes closed. Seeing through the eyes of people he physically saw – became a possibility. At that moment, he saw through the eyes of the strange figure.
Without much thought, Staxius faced away exposing his blindside. "Don't you dare look away from me," the man added with rage in the voice. "Make me," he answered. The figure took out a gun and fired. *Bang, bang, bang,* Staxius knew where he aimed, the first two shots aimed for the head whilst the last one at the right legs. All that was needed to be done was to seamlessly evade. 'Why did I even do that?' he asked, a blueish mist later, the door broke open.
*Splash,* blood splattered across the building facing the shop. "I hate how messy killing someone is," the voice monotonous. "OPEN FIRE," a dozen thugs stood outside – they bore black suits with top hats. "Seriously, Karlson," both eyes closed. Gunfire opened, Staxius vanished, one after the other, using a dagger that laid on the ground, necks were sliced. It looked like fountains till he reached the leader –"Alright, take me to Karlson or else you'd end up like these guys," *stab,* the dagger got embedded inside the leader's right arm. "F-fine, d-don't kill me," he begged – twelve-man just died in a second, anyone who witnessed such a massacre could not but obey.
Instead of going to the Twin Jellyfish Bar, the man walked deeper into the heart of the dark guild's district. The sight of hoodlums grew frequent, they all were armed to the teeth. Staxius looked even scarier than most – appearance mattered. After a few buildings, a shady apartment came in view. They climbed up; the lights barely worked. Despite being day time, it felt as if it were evening. M.o.a.ns and screams grew commonplace, graffiti on the walls, they reached the top floor. "Karlson is inside that room," he pointed forward, a room guarded by two mercenaries.
"Ay, who stands there," one of the guards asked, "someone who wants to do business," Staxius fired back. "the boss said ain't nobody doing buidness today," the same guy replied. "Tough shit," *Bang, bang,* two shots straight in the head. The guards fell, he used the gun from the guide. Once inside, the hostage was thrown on the couch. "Excuse me, you can't go inside," a female voice asked to which Staxius glared – her head unwillingly lowered.
*BAM,* the door broke open, the room filled with girls and Karlson in the middle. "WHO THE F.U.C.K IS THAT," he asked whilst reaching for a gun. *Ancient Magic: Teleportation,* a cold piece of metal rested on the head. "Looks like fun."
"Is that you Staxius?" the voice felt familiar. "Don't you f.u.c.k.i.n.g move," a headlock with a gun at the back of the head, "-right now, tell me why was there a platoon of thugs waiting to ambush me," the tone cold but deadly. "I'm sorry, but orders came from the top. I had to give a report to whomst I sold God's ale to, and so your name got brought up,"
"Do you expect me to believe that?" *BANG, BANG,* the girls who stood ran out as soon as the gunfire was heard. "Calm down," Karlson asked with fear in the voice. "Calm down, he says," the gun pressed even further. He gritted with pain, "fine, what do you want?" the voice close to breaking down.
"Tell me who's responsible, I've got business to discuss," the voice firm. "I-I c-can't, if I tell you the name, then it's my head they'll be after," he refused. "Well either you tell me, or the next thing on this bed will be that lifeless body of yours," having come this far, Staxius wasn't going to back away without answers.
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