Tower Farmer

[Overload69]

Synopsis:

Johan poured years of effort to become a strong Hunter, sacrificing his youth and even university—only to end up working in a Hunter Mart, unawakened.

Until a freak accident awakens his class.

Tower Farmer.

Not a combat role. Not a legend-in-the-making. Just irony.

A class meant for cultivating rare ingredients, accelerating growth, brewing potions, and domesticating magical beasts. A support role overlooked by the powerful—until Johan's harvests and concoctions become impossible to replace.

Now, Mage Towers want to sign him. Clans line up to recruit him. Cults would kill to claim him.

With grit, powerful connections, and a loyal three-headed dog (plus a growing menagerie of fluffy companions), Johan will prove that changing the world doesn't always require a sword—sometimes it starts with a field, a formula, and the right kind of patience.

What to Expect:

• A competent but sympathetic protagonist.
• A grounded look at the Hunter world through the eyes of a support role.
• Schemes, hidden plots, potion making, taming, and a lot of farming.
• A steadily unfolding cast where every connection matters.
• Exploration of how—and why—the new world came to be.

 

[Overload69]

Johan hated the freezer fans.

They rattled and wheezed in the back of the Hunter Mart like dying lungs. It grated on his nerves, a sound that got under his skin and stayed there. Sometimes he thought they were whispering his name. Mostly, he just wished they'd stop.

"Thank you for your purchase." The fake, practiced words left his mouth as he pointed to the poster beside the register, sporting a beautiful black-haired woman. "If you buy two more potions, you can get a poster of the youngest S-ranker i—"

"I don't need it." However, his customer picked up his bagged items and turned toward the door.

"Please come back again!" He bowed politely.

Another afternoon, another thought about quitting the job crossed his mind. But the pay was too good for someone like him. Johan opened the drawer below the register and pulled out the hunter manual. Its spine held together by glue and tape. He read the book again, cover to cover. The contents about rifts, classes, and monsters, imprinted in his head. He had learned martial arts religiously, preparing for the day he'd get his class. Even kept a compact spear on his person.

I want to be a hunter, not do this. He glanced at the poster. Even though he was 25, way past the age of awakening, he still clenched his fists, waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Always waiting.

The bell over the door jangled, and he stowed the book away. The practiced smile returned to his face.

"Welcome to Morgan's Hunter Mar—" However, that smile faltered.

Brandon Haskins walked through the door—a former classmate, current thorn in his ass.

Brandon had the kind of grin that said I peaked in high school and I know it, but I'll make sure you remember it too. He sauntered up to the counter with a can of S.M magik-soda he hadn't paid for and set it down hard enough to make the change tray rattle.

"Look at this," Brandon said, like he'd just spotted a bug under glass. "Classless Johan. Still stuck here. Guess the System does know trash when it sees it."

He stared at the register numbers glowing green in the half-light. He wanted to say something smart, something that would shut Brandon up forever. What came out instead was, "That'll be 3.50."

"Don't I get a free poster of your precious childhood friend if I buy three drinks?" Brandon said, rapping the counter with his finger.

"What do you want, Brandon?" Johan asked, looking the man twice his size in the eye, the red hyena emblazoned on his jacket glowed.

"I still don't like that look in your eyes." Brandon drank from the soda can—still hadn't paid for it.

"Why don't you accept it? You will never become a Hunter. No one expects you to. The teachers, the other friends you had, even your precious childhood friend Yuna—everyone's left you in the dust." Brandon smirked.

Johan's nails dug into his palm, and the smile on his face had already faded.

"What? Wanna try and hit me? Don't you remember how that ended last time?" Brandon crumpled the soda can as flat as a dime and tossed it on the counter.

He trembled with anger, but the only words that came out were, "That'll be 3.50."

Brandon laughed. Didn't pay and walked out, leaving a trail of expensive cologne and smugness in his wake. The bell jangled again, a too-cheerful sound for the way his stomach knotted.

He stood there with the hum of the freezer fans filling his head, his eyes lingering on the poster celebrating the youngest S-Rank Hunter in the country. About the promise he'd made. About how far away all of that seemed now.

Evening came when Johan's phone buzzed—a notification about a delivery. He attached the metallic cylinder he had been fiddling with for the past few minutes to his belt and walked out the door. A grey pick-up truck waited near the curb, its engine roaring.

"You look happy today." The middle-aged driver with grey hair whistled.

"Something good happened." The smile didn't reach Johan's eyes.

"Something good? You finally asked your boss out?"

"Why would I ask out that unreliable woman?" He shook his head. "You should stop having any thoughts about it, too."

"It feels like you're trying to reduce competition for yourself, too bad though. I ain't giving up without a shot." The driver chuckled.

"Yes, yes. Can you shut up now?" Johan spat, reaching into the trunk to get his boxes of potions and survival rations.

However, when he heard no reply from the driver, he peeked from behind with a smile.

"Hey, you're actually shutting up toda—?!" Words stuck in his throat when he didn't find the driver nearby.

The world twisted. That was the only way he could describe it. Not moved, shifted, or changed, but twisted. Like someone had grasped reality at its seams and crumpled it into a physically impossible shape. Just staring at it hurt Johan's eyes.

By the time he could understand, crimson had bled into the sky with long purple gashes filled with liquid shadows.

Over a hundred people filled the empty street, each more confused than the next. From office workers checking their phones, to college students from the nearby cafes, and even school kids on their way to the academies.

"What's going on?"

"What is this?"

"Why did the sky turn red? What's wrong?"

"It's a Rift! A Spontaneous Rift."

"There's no network here!"

"Miss Rui! Miss Rui, where are you?"

"The Hunters! Where are the Hunters?!"

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Panic spread through the crowd. Johan, still at the back of the truck, gulped. His mouth went dry. He had seen this in training videos, but this wasn't a normal spontaneous rift. The rift mirrored the city. The same cold asphalt, a sparse number of cars dotted around. Even the neighboring buildings near the store.

But he didn't find a single Hunter—not the driver, or the ones that patrolled the area, not even the ones that were browsing through the shelves at the store.

A rift that only targets Classless? Cold sweat ran down his back. He had never read about something like that.

However, his analysis ended soon.

The high-pitched roar, almost a screech, sliced through the murmuring panic. Everyone turned to the right, their eyes wide with fear. Something scratched at the high western wall. It crashed into the wall with a dull thud. Roaring in frustration.

Racor. F-Class wolf-type beasts, 4 feet tall, and aggressive as hell. Hiding in the building is best for now. Knowledge from the manual came forward. His eyes swam through the complex roads around him.

"Over here! There's a basement in the mart!" He shouted before the people scattered all over.

The small gathering turned toward the store and rushed to the entrance. Johan wanted to help, but the crowd pushed him out of the path.

They stumbled and pulled without care for those around them. Distant roars and cries of pain bounced off the concrete jungle, causing an even bigger frenzy.

With the scraped palm, he patted the dust off himself. Eyes searching for anyone left behind in that rush from the cover of the truck.

He glanced at the wall. Cracks had appeared. But it held up.

If he hid for only a few minutes and waited in the basement, the Hunters would arrive to save them. But his feet stopped because of what he saw in his peripheral vision. The Racor had blown through the wall.

The growl of a beast followed the cries of a little girl left behind. The five-year-old held the red rabbit plush with trembling hands.

The matted grey fur caked in dust and blood. Its long crimson snout twitched. The little girl, fallen to the ground, trembled as the beast bared its sharp, reddish teeth full of meat and cloth scraps. The beast drooled over the taste of fear. Licking its teeth with the rough, fleshy tongue.

"Mama… hik!" The girl's tears broke out.

The stranded survivors kept running for cover, and the ones who reached safety couldn't find the strength to go out again. But Johan opened the truck's door, jumping inside.

What are you doing? You can't fight that! Brandon's insults echoed in his mind as he grabbed the wheel. You're Classless! Don't forget that! You can't do anything!

"That's right… I am not a Hunter." He slammed his foot on the accelerator. The truck lurched forward. The engine roared.

He hadn't driven anything beyond a compact car. The steering wheel was loose in his hands. The tires screeched. However, maybe through luck or his desperation, the swaying truck found its mark.

The truck slammed into the Racor's side. Metal crumpled against flesh. The beast whimpered. The windshield shattered inward. Glass shards nicked his face. But he kept his foot on the gas. Eyes seeing red. The truck blasted the Racor through a wall and came to an abrupt halt against the counter of a hardware store.

The steering wheel dug into Johan's ribs and cracked them. Blood rushed down his face, covering his left eye. His head swam within pain and shock as he stumbled out of the truck, glad to be alive.

Unfortunately, the Racor lived too. Its bulging eyes, like smouldering pits of fire, locked onto him with burning hatred.

He reached for the metal tube on his belt. The taste of iron brought him back to reality. His hands trembled under the ferocious, raw pressure. With the press of a button, the bottle-sized metal tube extended into a 2-meter spear with a blade on top.

The Racor kicked the truck away like a toy. The front caved in from the impact. Glass shattered. Brown potions painted the floor.

The grey-furred wolf staggered, shaking off the debris from the wall and crumbled metal stuck in the fur. It roared again. Purple blood pooled below his left hind leg; the other stayed off the ground, swollen.

"You damned beast, why are you adding more expenses to the list? What if the government doesn't cover that, huh?" Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He swung the spear with exaggerated motions and loud bravado.

The beast lunged at him with its right foreleg. The sharp claws cut through the steel spear like butter. Johan rolled back. Goosebumps covered his body. The claws swiped a chunk of meat out of his left shoulder.

Before he could stand, the Racor lunged again. Claws reaching for his throat.

How'd things end up like this? He asked himself that question every morning when he looked at his reflection.

He couldn't feel his left leg from the knee down; his left arm had twisted in the wrong direction. The beast came closer. The growls mocked his futile attempts. His torn leg crushed in its sharp, jagged jaws.

If only I had a class. His body trembled against the smashed counter, painted in his blood. Even if he wanted to become a Hunter, he was a hunter mart manager living hand to mouth.

I am sorry, Yuna. I am gonna die first, but I'll take this beast with me! With the last of his strength, Johan grabbed a bent crowbar.

The Racor's sharp fangs closed in, ready to swallow him. He thrust the crowbar into the beast's open maw with his final battle cry.

However, before the teeth could close in on his arm, a gust of wind smacked the Racor away.

Johan flinched; the shockwave knocked his head back. His half-closed eyes saw the Racor's diced body painting the tilted floor in streaks of purple.

"Target destroyed. We need a medic."

Untouched by the toxic blood, he turned his head toward the familiar voice. The voice that he had only heard from the interviews over the last few years.

"Yuna—!" He rasped, choking on blood.

"Proceed with rescue as usual." Eternal Peace Guild's Founder and Guild Master, Yuna Lee, spoke into the mic near her lips.

The young woman stood there with a face as cold as ice. Her onyx-like eyes lingered on him for a moment before she turned away, talking with her team.

"Andre, see to the wounded. The rest of you follow me. We'll sweep the area for any remaining beasts."

His eyes followed Yuna and the team of five behind her. All dressed in black battle uniforms, carrying gleaming weapons and streaks of lightning. He could only look at her back as she rushed to kill the magik beasts, and all he could do was lie flat on the ground after losing to a single F-class beast.

The little girl he once knew had become a fearless warrior who charged into rifts and saved people.

"Brother! Big Brother!"

Hearing the cries of the little girl, Johan felt the weight lifting off his chest. The kid survived.

"I am… glad." With those final words, darkness consumed him.

He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but when he opened his eyes again, he leaned against a tree stump on a bed of grass.

A blue screen blared in his face like an annoying fly.

[Awakening Ritual Possible. Starting the Sequence… retrieving relevant data…]

[Welcome, Johan Askr. Your trial begins now.]

 

[Overload69]

Johan felt at ease for the first time in a while. The current comfort was more than what his second-hand mattress provided.

The hospital must've spent a killing on the mattress, but skipped on the pillow.

His pillow wasn't anything to write home about, but it had never felt as hard as wood, the rough kind that scraped against his skin. At this point, resting his head on the floor would've been better.

Groaning from the neck pain, he tried to yank the pillow from under his head, but his fingers brushed something soft. And it wasn't the mattress.

It was a bed of grass.

His eyes snapped open, wondering what funky hospital he had landed in. However, he didn't see an unfamiliar ceiling, but a canopy of leaves from old, rugged trees.

"What the?" He sat up, fingers sinking in the dewy grass. "Where am I?"

His heart raced. The air reeked of damp rot, as if the mist itself had been fermenting for centuries. A faint starlight shimmered somewhere above, just enough to reveal the ground where twisted roots spread outward like veins, pulsing with decay. Only the rustling leaves in that cold wind made a mutter as a scent of dread stuck in the back of his throat.

Before him stood a massive tree stump, so wide it would take a hundred people linking arms to encircle it. Thick cracks ran along the 3-story high stump, with a putrid scent lingering at the base.

Was this a dream? Johan couldn't help but pinch himself.

The sting felt as real as the translucent panel that hung two feet before his eyes.

[Quest 1.0: Awakening]

Task: Save the Tree

Reward: A Unique Class

Did I want to become a Hunter so badly that I started dreaming about the awakening ritual? He shut that thought down. This wasn't like the dreams he had.

There were two types of Awakening rituals: the first type happened in the real world, and the second type took place in Phantasia, a dreamscape.

People who experienced the second type had a higher chance of receiving a unique class. Only one person could have the particular Unique Class.

The quest window here guaranteed a Unique Class, so why hesitate? Even if it was a dream, he'd know when he woke up.

"Save the tree." That looked like a simple task on the surface, but that was how these trials were.

Jenny Hien received her Paladin class by helping an old lady cross the road. Minashiro Suguru received the Titan class after helping his mother carry groceries from the supermarket.

While Andy Koffman, a USAN war vet, had to go through a simulated war, fighting against three battalions with a platoon, only to get a common class, Commander. It really made no sense.

What can I get from saving the tree? Druid or a Verdant sage? No, it shouldn't be limited to the forest classes; maybe it will have something to do with nature as a whole?

"Stop… don't count the chickens before they hatch." The fear of the chance slipping by gripped Johan; he didn't know what he'd do if this turned out to be a dream. Emptying his head, he channeled his energy into searching for a method to save the tree.

The wide trunk became the center of his attention, but he also kept his eyes peeled in case some beasts jumped him from the nearby shrubs.

If possible, he wanted to complete the quest immediately and get out of this creepy, chilly forest.

However, the conditions limited his methods. Even more so when he had nothing on hand. In this silent forest, he couldn't hear a water source nearby and had nothing to carry it, even if he found water.

The black, gooey rot had spread throughout the trunk. Without tools, cutting such big parts from a trunk this humungous wasn't possible.

Rough grafting it is. Walking alongside the trunk, Johan hoped for any branches.

The first few branches he found had shriveled up, the next one had rotten to the core with dead, vomit green leaves. The more he walked, the more the anxiety grew. But the confidence didn't die down.

If an Awakening ritual appears, it is well within the person's means to complete it.

A famous saying between Hunters came to mind, and it wasn't without merit.

Twenty minutes later, he found a healthy branch.

Thick as his arm, it had two bright green leaves at the end. The brown bark hadn't a single black spot on it or around its connection with the trunk. The perfect branch seemed just as happy to see him. But taking it right away wasn't ideal.

I need to find a good patch of soil and water. But where? This place is ruined! Even without a timer, Johan felt the urge to move quicker when he noticed the rot spreading in real time.

Even if the soil nearby looked alright, it had a sickly, pallid color, and he needed water to replant that branch. With no source, he had to find a substitute, and with luck or grace, it didn't take much time. A gust of wind shook the nearby bushes; the familiar rustling caught his ears.

A three-foot bush grew 20 feet away from the healthy branch, tucked away under a dying oak tree, or a tree that resembled oak at least.

With fuzzy, serrated leaves, the vibrant, crimson berries weighed on the thorny canes. Ruby berries, the main ingredient used in low-level healing potions. Also used in hydrating solutions because of their high-water concentrate.

Its juice does the same for plants and trees. Johan had tried it once in his boss's lab.

He found a passable patch of soil a few meters away from the giant tree and dug a hole with his hands. Clawing away at the cold and dark soil on the surface, he brought up the warm and healthier soil hidden beneath. After a quick prayer, he snapped the branch off the tree trunk and planted it in the small mound he prepared.

Gardening classes to help his boss maintain her magik herb garden. Memorizing the Hunter Academy textbooks, magik beast encyclopaedias, magik herbs encyclopaedias, and Hunter manuals cover-to-cover to get tuition jobs for extra income. Burning the midnight oil flipping through the thesis from the Mage Tower.

If it wasn't for his relentless drive to become a Hunter, he wouldn't have gathered this much knowledge and wouldn't have passed the trial.

The culmination of 15 years of hard work and dedication had shown results.

"With this, my hunter life is going to take off!" He squeezed the ruby berries with his white shirt, uncaring for the bright marks it left.

As the blood-like liquid seeped into the soil, the branch trembled. A golden glow burst from its form. Shielding his eyes, Johan took a few steps back.

The ground around the branch glowed a golden hue, numerous small roots burst forth from the stem and latched onto the existing root underground. He could see them move under his feet like snakes.

In one fell swoop, the smaller roots started absorbing the complex nexus of roots and, in turn, spread their own web.

"That tree stump…" The giant tree stump broke down into specks of golden energy and seeped into the planted branch, brushing past Johan's platinum hair.

A bell went off in his head, followed by a robotic, androgynous voice.

[Quest 1.0: Awakening, completed.]

[Analysing the completion method…]

[Analysis completed, assigning the appropriate Unique Class for Johan Askr.]

[Suitable Class Found, Compatibility 99%...]

A smile appeared on Johan's lips, his excitement at its peak.

A Unique Class was a one-way ticket to A-Class Hunter status at least. 80% of the S-Class consisted of Hunters with unique classes.

[Unique Class, Tower Farmer Granted.]

However, the smile turned into a frown.

"F-Farmer? W-Wait, what?!" Johan's voice cracked, his heart dropped into his stomach.

"No, No, No, No!" Feeling his body pulled out of Phantasia, Johan was on the verge of tears. "Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait!"

"A reroll! Do a Rerolllllllllllll!" His cries weren't answered. All he saw was the branch he had planted swaying in the wind, saying goodbye.

***

Johan's eyes opened wide a second time. This time, he saw an unfamiliar white ceiling with a hint of disinfectant lumped up in his throat. Flat on the hospital bed with a cast around his arm and leg, he kicked the uncomfortable blanket off with the unhurt leg and sat up.

"I want a reroll, damn it!" He screamed loud enough for his throat to go sore.

"What reroll?"

Johan turned to the familiar voice to his left and found his boss, Morgan. Sitting near the window, the setting sun painted her white hair in an orange hue.

"Don't shout in a hospital." She adjusted her round glasses.

"Oh… my bad." Johan would've said a lot. No, he wanted to say a lot.

He had wished the trial he had seen was a dream, but reality blinked bright blue in front of his eyes.

[Status]

Name: Johan Askr

Age: 25

Class: Tower Farmer

Skills: General Knowledge Lv. MAX, Translocation Lv. 1, Accelerate Growth Lv. 1, Seed Sense Lv. 1, Water Channeling Lv. 1, Basic Brewing Lv. 3.

Magik: 20

I am cooked… so cooked. Johan slumped on the creaking bed, pulling at his hair.

All he wanted was a combat class. But a Farmer type class?

He had never heard of it. Labour-type classes were rare, and people who could use them well, even rarer. He had that labourer class now. His hopes of learning any combat skills became zero because of the different skill trees.

"Why? Just why?" Johan muttered like a man possessed. For years, he had worked towards his goal. Yet when he reached the starting line, he tripped and faceplanted.

"Hmm, hunched over and mumbling like a maniac. Extreme mood swings and asking for a reroll. I got it!" Morgan's amethyst eyes flashed with brilliance. She pointed at Johan with a smile and declared. "You just lost money at a gambling den and went into debt!"

"I am disappointed in you, Johan." She clicked her tongue, chiding him like an old aunt.

"Shut up…" Johan didn't even want to retort as it was partly true.

He glanced at Morgan, the woman with fair skin and a model-like figure. She could be on the cover of fashion mags around the world. But this beautiful woman was a hopeless human being.

"Why are you even here?" He asked.

"You didn't come to cook dinner, so I figured something was wrong. I checked my phone the next morning and saw a dozen missed calls from the police. So, I called back and got your situation quickly, impressive, no?" She raised her nose, pleased with herself.

"What's impressive is that it took you a whole day to realize something was wrong, even with the police trying to contact you." Johan deadpanned.

"Well, I am bad with tech." She shrugged.

"This goes beyond being bad with tech, though. And don't act proud of it."

"Anyways, I see that you have awakened at last." Morgan leaned in with a curious gaze.

"…Yeah." Johan looked down.

"Hmm, that wasn't what I expected." Morgan tilted her head. "I expected you to jump around the place and cackle."

"What am I in your eyes? A Monkey?"

"Close. Looks like you didn't get the Class you wanted." Morgan leaned back in the chair. "Tsk tsk, the younger generation is so ungrateful."

"We are three years apart, wannabe grandma."

"It's not about age, but mental maturity." Morgan smiled, ignoring Johan's disdainful look. "But this isn't like you."

"Let me sulk at least a little bit. My dreams just went through a hydraulic press." Johan fell back into the hospital bed, a sigh escaping his lips.

"The Awakening ritual only gives out a class most suited for a person. Even if you don't want it, the class given to you is what you need." Morgan had explained this to Johan before.

But that didn't make the fact any easy to digest. Years of anticipation, countless nights without sleep, days full of hard work, and a couple run-ins with cults and human traffickers.

It all vanished, all futile.

Even after he gave his everything, he failed to keep the promise that mattered most to him.

"I know…" He muttered, fighting back the tears ready to fall.

Yuna left him behind long ago, but Johan didn't forget his promise. He had worked harder, pushed himself to the limits, all in hopes of getting a class that would let him become a hunter.

It wasn't about becoming a strong hunter. Johan just wanted to stand next to Yuna.

But he had no hope of doing that anymore, not with a labourer class.

"Man… being sad blows." Johan's nose stung, but he held it in. Tears wouldn't change anything, and sulking wouldn't either. What was he supposed to do now? What could he even do with his Class?

He had to think. He had no other way but the path before him.

"See? You are already thinking of the future. That's the Johan I know." Morgan read his mind.

Johan turned his head to avoid the smug smile of his boss. He noticed the Lavender in the vase to his right. It looked out of place in the plain room.

When he focused on the blossoms, soft purple and dusted with silver, the faint fragrance drifted through the room. And, a blue window popped up in his view.

[Skill General Knowledge Activated.]

Name: Beta Lavender

Status: Fresh, picked with care, filled with goodwill.

Change the Water to maintain freshness.

Special note: 80% of the buds have higher than average magik value. It could be used to create scented candles that increase the base healing factor by 1%.

Is this the General knowledge skill? Candles that increase base healing factor? Scammers have better hooks than this. Johan cursed, thinking the skill had malfunctioned. Increasing the healing factor wasn't as simple as lighting a candle.

"Who brought these?" His boss wasn't exactly the type to bring flowers, if anything she couldn't stand them.

There was only one person he knew who had a habit of giving flowers.

"They were there when I arrived," Morgan said, lips pressed in a hard line.

I just keep showing her an uncool side of myself for years. He banged his head against the pillow, exhausted.

"Also, this is yours, right? They took it off while healing you." Morgan showed him a thin black chain necklace with a green stone the size of a quarter.

"Hmm?" Johan tilted his head. "Why is it dull? It used to be so shiny."

"That green stone is a magik stone. The disruptive magik frequency of the rift must've messed with it, or it could've run out of magik?" Morgan saw him wear that necklace all the time. "Is it important to you?"

"Sort of, it's like my lucky charm," Johan said.

"It's not working very well now, is it?" She chuckled.

"Piss off."

"That's no way of talking to your boss." Morgan reprimanded him, but only in name.

"Patient privilege." Johan shrugged, but realization hit him like lightning. "B-Boss, about the truck…"

He sweated like never before, gulping hard. The truck he had oh so mightily crashed into the Racor belonged to the delivery company, not to mention the items in the back.

"Ohoho… now you know who the boss is, huh?" Morgan smirked, crossing one leg over the other.

"Ah… well…"

Seeing him stammer over his words should be fun, but she must've decided to cut him some slack. Even though healed with Magik, he had broken several bones and lost an entire leg. If anything, his boss had sympathy in spades.

"Since it was a Spontaneous Rift case, the government is paying for the damages. The truck and the items in the back, too." Morgan continued. "And the kind and beautiful boss that I am, I won't cut your check."

"Woohoo! Long live the government! Long live the President! I will never bash them in YouTube comments anymore!" Johan didn't hear anything beyond the first 'government is paying for the damages'. He howled like a beast, not caring for the time and place.

Johan got scolded by the furious nurses in front of the snickering Morgan. He could only sigh in resignation, waiting for the day of his discharge.

I have to figure out what this class can do.

 

[Overload69]

Three days had passed since the night Johan got an earful from the head nurse. Today, the doctors gave him the green light to discharge. Thanks to the now advanced medical technology and healing skills, he made a full recovery.

"Good as new~!" He tapped his feet on the ground in a nimble dance, waving his hands out of the hospital gown.

As the media paid attention to this incident, the appearance of a special type of rift that only targeted the classless, plus Johan's heroic actions spreading through the victims' testimonies, the government paid more attention to his treatment.

After changing into a loose graphic t-shirt and black jeans, Johan stopped by the nurse station.

The other nurses nearby looked on in confusion, Nurse Kim chewed Johan out after his loud outburst at night that day. Now, the same nurse waved like she was saying goodbye to her son.

Getting along with people is easy. Johan walked out of the hospital and stretched under the afternoon sun.

"Just find out their interests and play into them; they'll forget all about the bad first impression." Granted, he had to pull out a rarity among tea, but Johan got it as a gift himself. So, it wasn't out of his pocket.

I could've gotten some good money if I flipped it. Well, whatever. Johan nodded to himself and got on the subway.

Without a rush of office workers and school kids, the subway commute went by in peace. Even if rifts opened on the other side of the city, life continued as normal.

Salarymen still went to offices, kids still had school, government still functioned like usual. No matter how much Earth had changed in the past 50 years, humanity adapted as always.

Johan, too, had to go back to his routine, even if he got a class. With a sigh, he unlocked the glass door to the convenience store. With the phone's flash, he went behind the counter and turned the lights on. The sign outside, Morgan's Hunter Mart, lit up in bright blue.

On the 11th Parkview Street near sector A's Chinatown, the store was a standalone building with two floors and one basement. The store on the first, manned by Johan alone as the store manager, the previous part-time worker had left to focus on studies. The second floor had storage and his living area. And the basement was the potion workshop.

Morgan owned several of these stores across the city. However, she didn't know how to manage them.

Johan looked at two knocked-over shelves of emergency rations for rifts. His eyes went to the folded white paper on the counter, covered with a thin layer of dust. He opened the paper to face the neat handwriting in green ink.

A stray cat got in and knocked it over. Fix it, Store Manager. —Morgan.

"Why don't you first tell me how the stray cat got inside a closed building?" The paper crumpled in his shaking hands.

After writing some reasonable words on the same paper with a pen, he stored it in the cash register. Donning his brown apron and mask, Johan started his classical music playlist and fixed the mess of the shelves, then moved on to dusting.

Two hours later, he ran a finger over the counter, not of speck of dust on it. Turning the music off, Johan switched the sign at the door to 'Open'.

It's not that I mind doing this job, but with the class I got, do I have a choice? At least my bank account isn't empty. Since Morgan funded the entire operation and didn't beat him up over being in black or red, he got a steady salary no matter the status of the books. She'd even give him bonuses if the store turned a profit.

"Looks like there aren't many rifts opening today." He yawned, closing the new magik herb encyclopaedia he had read for the nth time.

The rush of Hunters depended on the number of active low-level rifts. Since the target customers for Hunter marts were the low-ranked Hunters.

"Well, aren't I a low-level Hunter now?" Johan shook his head. "I doubt they'd consider me a low-level hunter if I went for registration."

Even with a class, he had no combat skills, basically a decoration.

In the last three days, he had checked every nook and cranny of his skill descriptions. Reading them over and over again under the magnifying glass.

General Knowledge: A skill that helps fill in gaps in the user's knowledge. (*Class-specific skill)

Translocation: Moves the user to the marked location. (*Class-specific skill)

Accelerate Growth: Increases the growth rate of the crops planted by the user. (*Class-specific skill)

Seed Sense: Increased understanding of the types of seeds. (*Class-specific skill)

Water Channeling: The user can form water in his hands by using Magik.

Basic Brewing: Makes brewing tasks easier and has a small chance of increasing quality.

"Even with the four class-specific skills, this is hopeless." Johan sprawled on the counter.

As hopeless as the situation seemed, one skill in particular had caught his attention. He couldn't stop thinking about it during his time in the hospital, but he couldn't use it there.

"Translocation… how does this skill work exactly?" He muttered, curious about its use.

Without further thought, he tried activating it.

A warm energy rose from behind his belly button; it traveled upwards towards his mouth and finally the lump sat on his tongue. That was magik power.

"Translocation," Johan said the skill's name, and the magik gave the word power.

[Location has been selected.]

[Would you like to continue?]

"Yes."

What happened next left him wide-eyed. The soft ticking of the clock behind him halted. The store walls, the very air around him stretched till they became long colourful lines. Dizziness hit his head as the stretched surroundings reformed before him.

In place of shelves were tall, green trees. The grey wall had turned into a rockface. And the tiled floor below became a bed of lush grass.

"Wait… this place is…" Fighting the vertigo, Johan gulped.

"Phantasia? Why am I here again?"

The branch he had planted had sprouted more leaves, all swaying in the gentle wind, greeting him. The dark aura and thick fog that had covered this place before had receded into the distance.

The dead bushes he found before had sprouted healthy leaves, and the blackened bark of the trees now had a brown sheen. Above all, he could see the sun beyond the blanket of leaves above his head. The warm rays fell on his face with the calm wind kissing his face.

It almost felt like a new place. Like, what he had seen during his trial was a dream. However, proof that it was the same place stood before him. The branch he had planted before stood tall. Almost taller than him now.

Why did relocation bring me here? No matter how much he thought over it, this didn't make sense.

Phantasia wasn't a real place; it was a stage created by the system to see which class suited the Hunter. But if he wasn't in Phantasia, why and how did he get there for his class trial?

Or did his class create this place to mirror a test because it was a necessary part of his class?

Well, it is a unique class. So, it could be possible? He only had a few clues to go off on, but if his hunch was correct, the class Tower Farmer wasn't as simple as it looked.

First the classless rift and now this. Johan felt like someone had cursed him, or blessed him? To experience two back-to-back first-time phenomena that could flip the Hunter society on its head.

Just then, a blue window flickered before his face. The system had given him a new quest.

[Quest 1.0: Start a Farm.]

Time limit: 1 hour

Reward: Class-exclusive Skill: Farmer's storage

Farmer's storage: The skill holder can store anything the Tower Farmer grows and collects from his farm. Weight Limit: 100 kgs, will increase with skill level.

Johan's eyes almost popped out of his sockets. A storage skill with a 100 kg limit at level 1?

"A storage bag with that weight goes for about 10 million. But a person with such a skill…" He fell to the ground, his head hung low.

Johan could've had long lines of reputable Hunters begging him to go into rifts with them. They'd bring him cases of cash and expensive wines as tributes, not to mention the commission he'd get as they'd fight over just to book him for a day.

However, the reality hit hard.

"Why is there such a condition?!" He could only store things he had grown on his farm. If only he could collect anything in sight.

"I could've used it to drop meteors on magik beasts and laugh all cool. Why did this class have to take that away from me?!" Drying his tears, Johan stood up.

Now wasn't the time to cry when he didn't even have the skill. Since he had to start a farm, he needed tools. And above all, seeds.

"Translocation!" Johan shouted.

His vision blurred again, and he found himself in the convenience store. He looked at his shoes, now wet with dew from the green grass, his hand full of dirt he had picked to test things.

"It's not a dream or illusion." He smiled, rushing up the stairs near the bathroom.

Gardening tools from the building's terrace, compost, some cardboard, and carrot seeds from the storage in the back. This time, he closed the front door of the store and used Translocation.

Back in the forest, Johan felt a sense of lethargy. It wasn't too strong, but he felt sleepy. Placing the items on the ground, he opened his status and found the reason.

Magik Power: 5

Each use of translocation used 5 magik power. One more and he'd run out. Johan closed the status and slapped his face to chase the sleep away.

He slipped the used, brown gloves on and picked up the dirt-stained shovel. His eyes looked for ground without grass. It didn't take long; the bald ground was only a few meters away.

With a deep breath, Johan dug with his shovel. Surprised by the dark and crumbly soil, he touched the soil and looked at it with awe. This same soil had such a horrible look to it before; it had such an awful texture that Johan almost gave up hope on passing the trial. Now, it had transformed.

Even if he just sowed the seeds at that moment, Johan thought that the carrots would sprout; that's how good the soil had become. But he still mixed the compost in; he didn't want to half ass it and fail. After mixing, he brought his hands forward. Hovering them above a bucket.

"Water channeling." He used the skill; it cost him two magik power.

A stream of clear water sprouted from his palm and gathered in the plastic bucket. In only a minute, it filled half the bucket. Grinning at his fast progress, Johan poured water into a watering can and sprinkled it onto the aerated mixture of soil and compost.

With a gardening trowel three shallow trenches formed, each 1 foot apart and 5 feet long, in the now wet soil. He ripped the seed packet and sprinkled them into the trenches with a steady hand, then covered the seeds with some soil. Finally, he covered it with cardboard.

However, when he looked at the quest window, there was no reaction.

"Did I miss something?" Johan looked at the farm; although small, it should qualify as one.

Unless there is another condition?

What was a farm? It was a place where the farmer grew vegetables, fruits, and other crops. But at what point does a land become a farm?

Does it become a farm when a farmer buys the land? When it is tilled? Or when the farmer sows the seeds? Johan thought over the questions and soon a smile spread across his lips.

He removed the cardboard from the soil and gathered all his focus. Magik power gathered in his mouth, his bare hands on the wet soil.

"Growth Acceleration!" Johan's words carried the magik power to the ground; this skill cost him 2 magik power for a single cast.

Even with blurred vision, he kept himself steady. Soon movement arrived, a tiny green stem broke out of the soil. The tiny life reached for the sunlight and spread its green wings, the leaves. These leaves gathered the sunlight, already packed with magik power from Johan's skill and water. Along with the nutrients from the soil, the tiny white stem grew inches in a matter of seconds and turned into a vibrant green.

It usually took 7-10 days for carrot seeds to germinate, and about three months before one could harvest them. However, Johan pulled on the 10-inch cluster of stems and leaves growing out of the ground.

He held a bright orange carrot as long as his forearm, smothered in dirt. But it answered his question.

Magik Carrot: It has absorbed a lot of Magik and transformed into a magik crop. Consuming will increase the sharpness of one's vision by 10% and boost vitality by 5% for 10 minutes.

Grade: D

A piece of land becomes a farm when it grows a crop that can be sold for profit. Johan looked at the new blue screen flickering before him.

[Quest 1.0: Start a Farm. Completed.]

[Status]

Name: Johan Askr

Age: 25

Class: Tower Farmer

Skills: General Knowledge Lv. MAX, Translocation Lv. 2, Accelerate Growth Lv. 2, Seed Sense Lv. 1, Water Channeling Lv. 2, Basic Brewing Lv. 3, Farmer's Storage Lv. 1.

Magik: 1

When the skill appeared on his status, Johan succumbed to the vertigo. He fell on his back, drenched in sweat. But his smile stretched ear-to-ear. Johan could see a way forward.

Just because he didn't get the class he wanted didn't mean he could sit on his ass his entire life and cry about it.

"I can use this… I can use this class." Johan closed his eyes, feeling the warm sunlight blanketing him.

However, he had no idea that this small farm of his would change the Hunter society forever.

 

[Overload69]

Around midnight, Johan re-entered the space through translocation after having carrot soup made with the carrots he harvested that day. The effect worked well; at least he didn't have to squint to read the ingredients on the back of ramen packs anymore.

He also felt refreshed, like he had stepped out of a warm bath. And, a new wave of energy followed through his body, which would be screaming for the bed about this time.

"Does the sun not set here?" Johan muttered, stretching his stiff arms after a lonesome shift.

This forest looked about the same, aside from the small piece of ground he had dug up before, along with the sack of compost and seed packets. However, what really caught his attention was the fog.

It had receded substantially. Before, he only had about 70-80 meters of circular space. But now it had doubled. And, it revealed a different tree.

With a trunk white as bone, it stood out compared to the other trees. Sunlight passed through its conical auburn leaves that swayed in the gentle wind. However, the fruit this tree bore had Johan slack-jawed.

"I am not dreaming, am I?" Johan immediately used his skill after pinching his arm enough to turn it red.

[Name: Golden Pear

Rank: E

Condition: Fresh.

A fruit made by a special tree that feeds on nature's life force. Used in healing potions and special salves, depending on their age and freshness.

Note: To be used shortly after harvest, or the quality would deteriorate.]

"Fuck… It's actually the golden pear!" Johan clenched his fist, excitement filling his heart.

Golden pears were rarely found in the rifts, but when they were, auctions began. Even the wrinkliest golden pears, ones that had lost most of their vitality, cost as much as a decent car.

The one in front of Johan would have alchemists around the world killing each other; it was in even better condition than the one they used in textbooks. The golden lustre alone made one feel healed, not to mention the sweet, enticing scent lingering around it.

If I sell one, I will be swimming in money. Johan circled the tree and found five of them.

After taking note of the location of the small farm, Johan reached for the pear hanging at his eye level. The fruit felt warm against his palm. Like holding a candle on a cold night.

He carefully snipped the fruit's stem off with scissors and walked back to the farm, his lips turning into a wide smile that bordered on creepy.

"Selling this will be good… but I am not here to make chump change."

With translocation, he went back to the Hunter Mart and entered the potion workshop in the basement.

The room smelled like burnt chemicals and spicy herbs that stung the eyes. However, it all disappeared the moment Johan cut into the pear. With the translucent flesh covered in golden skin, he turned on the burner, heating 100 ml of holy water.

It was time to test his potion brewing skills.

***

The moon drifted away, and the sun peeked over the horizon when Johan exited the workshop, crawling up the stairs with panda eyes.

After drinking a bottle of chilled water from the fridge, he sprawled on the counter. His bloodshot eyes remained blurry, but the smile stretched ear to ear. The reason for that was the potion bottle before his eyes.

The round glass bottle, a cheap item, however, the golden liquid swirling inside was worth more than what normal people would make in their lifetimes. Now, it rested in his palm.

However, like all commodities, the money would come after the sale. The question was, who would buy such an expensive potion from a no-name Hunter Mart worker like him?

No hunter in their right mind would even try this. Scams like these have surfaced multiple times. So, Johan decided on a different way, a way every well-established company uses when launching a new product.

A young woman came to the counter, brushing her loose strand of blonde hair sticking to her glistening forehead. Her striking red eyes matched the crimson baseball jacket.

This is what I have been waiting for. Johan took the basket full of low and mid-level magik recovery potions and kept his work smile, his eyes locked on the woman's familiar face. There's been a rise in rift activity, so they must be pooling up potions for the hunting teams. This is perfect for me.

"Are these all the potions you have?" The woman asked after reading a message on her phone. "If there are some in the back, I'd like those too."

"We don't have any more of the low and mid-level magik recovery potions, but I have a special healing potion if you are interested." Before even waiting for an answer, Johan pulled out the golden potion from the drawer, placing it right next to the low-level potions.

The brown potions looked like gutter water next to the liquid gold. But the woman's eyes widened when she saw the paper strung around the neck of the bottle.

"40% HP and Magik recovery in an instant? Is this a joke?" A frown took over her face. "Are you trying to scam me?"

"Why would I do that?" Johan laughed it off, though the pressure from the woman did make his legs tremble; that's what he expected from a B-rank Hunter.

He might've been in trouble if he were a scammer; however, he had made that potion with the best ingredient, and his skill confirmed its effects.

All he needed to do was push it a little, and his plan would work perfectly.

"I plan to give this potion to Miss Hunter as a trial product." Johan sprinkled the sugar. "You don't have to pay for it, just use it, and you'll know its true value."

"You sound like a shady drug dealer right now." The woman shrank back.

"That's true, now that you say it. How about this? You can have it tested by your guild's alchemist before using. I am just trying to make a name for myself in the market." Johan said with a genial smile.

It feels too good to be true. But as he said, there is no loss for me if I have it tested. And if it turns out to be real, the guild would have a connection with an unknown master alchemist. The woman looked at Johan's smile for a moment and looked away. It's impossible to lie with a face like that.

"If something is wrong with it, you will have to face the consequences." She said, swiping the potion with a blush.

"You know where to find me if something is wrong." Johan, still smiling, handed over the bag full of potions and bowed. "I look forward to meeting with you again, Miss Rosewood."

"Sure…" Surprised by the recognition, Rosewood paid for the potions and left the store.

Confirming that she had entered her car through the glass door. Johan pulled out his phone and searched for the keywords 'Cara Rosewood' on the net.

Articles about the Red Bear guild appeared on his screen; most of the articles talked about the guild's participation in joining the effort to clean up the increasing rifts alongside their parent clan, Agni Clan. It took a while, but he found another article on a less popular portal site.

[Cara Rosewood, last year's valedictorian from the S.K. Hunter Academy, is set to join her first big mission with the Red Bear Guild.]

The Agni clan scouted her. How did she end up in the Red Bear Guild? Are they trying to give her some experience in a less dangerous situation? Johan thought she was still with the Agni Clan.

It would be a lie if Johan wasn't scared. At the end of the day, he was but a non-combatant. But fortune followed the bold.

"I hit the jackpot with this one." He could already see the long lines that would wrap around the block three times.

"Please advertise the product well for me, Hunter Rosewood!"

***

Inside a B-Rank rift on the fifth street of the G.S. housing complex, the Red Bear guild advanced through a narrow path unwinding through a mountain.

Only two men could walk abreast without scraping their metal armour on the sheer rocky walls. The rift had landed them in the middle of a green forest, it had long trees with bitter green leaves and gloomy brown trunks.

They had fought a flock of bulls the size of aurouchs in that cramped space. Now, they had to chase after the runaway boss with the help of their tracker.

With two tanks in the front and mages in the back, Cara found herself in the rear to watch out for possible ambush as the tracker led the way.

How did that minotaur even fit through here? She grumbled at the narrow, uneven walking path, pebbles crushed under her steel-toed boots. However, her eyes stayed peeled for any sudden movement.

"The exit is before us, just hang on a bit more," The team's leader, Adrian, following after the tanks, said.

"Yes, boss."

"You got it."

The hunting party of 10 people answered back; they had barely broken a sweat. They had hunted over a dozen minotaurs by now; that's why they could stay so casual in that situation. However, the situation changed when they exited the narrow valley.

Before them was a wide green plain that stretched into the horizon, meeting the azure sky. To the right was a small pond with a giant rock shaped like a tombstone. Squigally words etched on it without rhyme or order. And beside that tombstone was the minotaur, his heart pierced with a knife made of black stone.

"It killed itself?" The tanks inched closer, as confused as the rest of the team.

"But if it's dead, then why isn't the rift clear message here?" Adrian muttered, his serious brown eyes even sterner.

The whole situation seemed strange. Almost like a setup. And the first to notice it was the mage. The magik in the air behaved strangely and started to concentrate at one point, the minotaur's heart.

"It's a ritual, everyone retreat!" He shouted, clenching the wand in his hand.

"What?" The tanks looked back at the mage, but saw a shadow looming over them.

Before they could even turn around, the minotaur's muscular arm struck them at the waist. The metal armour crumpled and bit into their chest, tearing through the boiled leather underneath.

Seeing his tanks flung away like toy soldiers. Adrian jumped back to avoid a sweep from the monster. The wind from the attack made him grimace. His eyes turned grave at the sight of the beast before them.

Unlike before, the minotaur had grown over 15 feet, almost double in size. Its skin burned red, releasing pure magik from the pulsating muscles. The beady black eyes looked between them as the crooked maw drooled with blood.

"Attackers, get ready!" Adrian commanded as the minotaur got on all four like a savage.

It burst forward like an arrow released from a bow. Straight and true. The attackers hesitated. They didn't have the defence to take that charge head-on. Their only defense, boiled leather armour and metal shoulder guards.

So, they attacked. Metal flashed. Swords bite into flesh. Streaks of purple blood flew.

"What! This beast!"

"It's not stopping!"

Even when swords and spears impaled him, the minotaur rushed forward without a flinch. Dragging the hunters along like ants clung to an elephant.

"I can't pull out my sword. He's contracting his muscles around it!" Adrian groaned, his sword snapping.

Panic set in as the Minotaur's horns turned towards the mages. With its excellent physical resistance, the only thing it feared was magic.

The three mages in the back trembled in the face of that charge. Their legs turning into jelly. However, Cara jumped before them.

"Start your spells, I'll stop it somehow!" She growled, summoning every bit of courage within her.

This isn't gonna be easy. If I mess up… I might die. She took a deep breath and allowed her magik to run.

She had fought a minotaur before, but this one was on a roid rage. Cara didn't have strong attack skills. She could barely kill a C-class monster in one strike. However, she had something else that made up for it.

"[Aegis], activate." A seven-layered barrier sprang in front of her, glowing an emerald green. Each layer thicker than the last stared down the crazed charge.

Other hunters jumped off the minotaur before it clashed with the barriers. The horns brimming with magik tore through the first shield. The second barely lasted. The third showed some resistance. Fourth slowed its pace. The fifth made it falter. Sixth made it stumble. And, the seventh halted the rush.

"Attack it now!" Adrain commanded, plunging his broken sword into the beast's left knee.

"So, it came to this." Cara cursed as the seventh barrier cracked.

The minotaur roared. It blasted the magik gathering in its horn into the barrier. Shattering it like a pile bunker. The sharp horn came closer to Cara. Instead of running away, she embraced it.

The horn that felt like cold, hardened steel pierced through her stomach. But she wasn't pushed back.

"That hurts, you son of a bitch." She growled, holding the struggling minotaur in place with a headlock. "Now!"

"Binding vine!" Ropes of green vines jumped from the grass and tangled around the minotaur's limbs and body.

"Ice lance!" Precipitation in the air gathered and formed a ten-foot ice spear above the beast.

With a swing of the mage's hand, it fell like a guillotine. The spear blasted through the source of the Minotaur's magik, the heart, and slammed it into the ground.

Still enraged, the beast thrashed in pain but couldn't break out of the suppression. Finally, it breathed its last and went limp.

"It's dead right?" Cara asked the mage over her shoulder.

"Yes… The magik has scattered." The mage confirmed, and along with it came the system window.

"Thank god." Cara stumbled back, blood gushing out of her gaping stomach.

"H-Healing… you need healing!" The mages panicked, but Cara just waved it off.

"Just magik recovery potions will be fine for me, my skill will heal me. It might leave a scar, though." It was another Tuesday for her.

The mages looked at the wound and saw the minute tendrils of flesh wriggling about. They had already stopped the bleeding and were working on the regeneration of organs and flesh.

Watching them hold back their hurls, Cara just scratched her head and stumbled away. Just because it was healing didn't mean it didn't hurt. It burned so much that she wanted to cry, but she lay down nearby and decided to drink some magik recovery potions to replenish her skill.

However, unlike the brown potions she had prepared in advance, she opened the golden potion in her dizziness.

Were potions always this sweet? It was like a glass of warm milk after a hot spring. A cloudy blanket enveloped her body, tickling her from head to toe. It felt weird, but also good. Too good.

By the time she fixed her sloppy expression, everyone had their eyes on her.

"W-What?" She blushed fiercely.

"What potion did you drink?" Adrian asked, surprise on his monolith-like face.

"What do you mean?"

Cara became even more confused when they pointed at her stomach. But when she looked down, the potion bottle slipped out of her hand. The injury she expected to take half an hour to heal vanished in an instant. And there was no scar to boot. Only fair, unblemished skin.

It was only when she saw the round potion bottle that she realized what she had done.

I drank an untested potion!!! She jumped to her feet, touching her body for any weird reactions.

"Hey, where did you get that potion?" The mages pressed, their eyes shining brighter than the sun.

"W-Well…" Cara shrank back in the face of those expectant eyes. "From a handsome scammer?"

"Huh?"

Thus, the hunter society came to know of a healing potion that didn't just heal fast, but also tasted super good.
...
if you spot any mistakes or have any advice, pls comment below. Thank you for reading.

 

[Overload69]

Johan ended his long, lonesome shift and closed the mart early. With most Hunters inside the newly popping up rifts, the foot traffic had reduced. So, after a quick nap of three hours, he returned to Phantasia, as he had decided to call the space.

Normally, he'd feel the aftermath of yesterday's all-nighter and the scarce amount of sleep, but with a single vial of a vitality potion, made from the ruby berries, he felt like he had the stamina of ten men.

Well, not in a literal sense, but it chased away all the tiredness out of his body. The effect was so good that he thought of diluting the potion with a vat of magik water and selling it as energy drinks to salarymen and delivery drivers who used the road to the nearby subway.

It blows any health product aimed at the classless out of the water. He smelled the money since the berries were readily available after the fog receded.

However, he had his eyes on another, more profitable market. The food market.

The scant field of carrots he had before had expanded tenfold in five hours. Potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and even green onions. He planted everything he used to grow in his rooftop vegetable garden. And just like the carrots, the vegetables grown with his skills didn't disappoint.

Magik Broccoli

Grade: D Effects: A broccoli infused with dense Magik, enhancing its natural nutrient profile. Consuming it will boost toxin resistance by 8% for 10 minutes.

Magik Potato

Grade: D Effects: A starchy Magik crop packed with earth-aspected energy. Eating it will increase stamina recovery by 7% for 10 minutes.

Magik Green Onions

Grade: D Effects: These sharp, Magik-rich shoots invigorate circulation and focus. Consuming them will increase reaction speed by 8% for 10 minutes.

Magik Cherry Tomatoes

Grade: D Effects: Small but bursting with condensed Magik. Eating them enhances cell recovery, increasing natural healing speed by 5% for 10 minutes.

I did have to drink a magik potion, but the results are worth it. Johan looked at his harvest with dollar signs in his eyes.

A market for magik-infused food already existed, but it heavily leaned towards meat. He used to think it was some overpriced performance the elites liked because they were fancy, just like those fine dining restaurants that served flavoured foam. But when he had the carrot he had grown, Johan became a believer.

That single carrot(uncooked) was the best-tasting thing he had put in his mouth. It made him feel like he had lived off dirt and grass till now. Those rich gourmet snobs would have their clothes blown apart, Food Wars style.

That's why he expanded his farm to grow other vegetables, thinking of the potential profit once the world gets a taste of magik crops alongside the magik meat. Definitely not because he got hooked on the taste, definitely not.

"It's good that the vegetables are doing well." Johan rubbed his cheek on the fresh potatoes as wide as his face; they were more like dirt-covered watermelons. But when he looked a little further from his vegetable garden, his face dropped. "But that thing isn't going so well."

Johan clicked his tongue at the wilted plant that reached his knees. The stem went limp, and the fan-shaped leaves turned a sickly green, coarser than sandpaper.

Sherry leaves, that was the name of this common herb used to make Magik recovery potions. They grew perfectly in the herb garden he managed before, but no matter what he tried, they died in here.

It perplexed Johan. Phantasia had a high affinity with his skills, no, with plants in general. Everything he planted here thrived like never before; even if he didn't use his skills, the vegetables would grow in less than six hours after sowing the seeds. It was a mystical place that buffed up the growth of plants with magik power, at least that's the conclusion he reached.

However, the very first magik herb he planted failed to grow. He sat there in silence. Checking on the seed with his skill.

Name: Sherry Leaves Seed

Rank: E

Effects: A low-quality engineered seed with a trace amount of magik, just perfect to kickstart its growth. The more magik in the surroundings, the higher it absorbs.

Note: The plant is weaker than normal in the sprouting stage.

Johan thought over the information and restarted his attempts.

The first attempt failed. The stem went limp as soon as it broke through the soil.

The second seed didn't even germinate. When he dug open the ground, he found the seed had split into four halves.

The third attempt grew a stem but no leaves.

The seventh grew leaves, but wilted soon after.

The eleventh didn't germinate again.

By the twentieth try, Johan felt like giving up. He lay down on the grass and sighed.

"What is wrong with this plant?" He couldn't help but grumble and went over the information he had in his head for the nth time.

"Sherry leaves are found in low-ranking rifts… so it shouldn't be the magik messing up the growth. Even the Mage Tower's recommended growing guide for Sherry Leaves says to use magik supplements for the soil. I don't have to do that because of my water skill, on top of that, this place already has an abundance of magik…" It was like a thunderbolt hit him. Johan sat up and muttered. "This place has an abundance of magik…"

Effects: A low-quality seed with a trace amount of magik, just perfect to kickstart its growth. The more magik in the surroundings, the more magik it absorbs.

Note: The plant is weaker than normal in the sprouting stage.

The skill window came to his mind. He gulped a magik recovery potion and rushed back to the store to swipe the clay pots from the terrace before making his return.

Shovelling the soil in the emptied pots, he used normal water from the plastic bottle and sowed a single seed in the pot the size of his head.

With a deep breath, he used his skill and accelerated its growth. Within seconds, a bright green stem shot out of the soil, as thick as his finger, with numerous branches spreading on both sides like wings. And within minutes, it had its first leaf.

A leaf so bright green that it seemed unreal. Then the second came, and the third, and the fourth. In five minutes, there were about fifty leaves on the plant, each more vibrant and verdant than the last.

"Everything has a lethal dose… guess that applies to Magik too." Johan almost chuckled when he saw sherry leaves twice the size of what he had ever seen before.

The eight hours of work seemed to pay off in the end. Harvesting the leaves took less than ten minutes, plus the five magik recovery potions blew up his three months' salary. But it didn't hurt as much since he figured out a way to grow better sherry leaves than what he could buy. And better raw materials led to better products in good hands.

As someone who had brewed hundreds of basic magik recovery potions, the result was obvious from the moment he ground the dehydrated leaves in the mortar. Once the 100g powdered sherry leaves mixed into 1 litre of magik water, ten magik recovery potions were produced.

Name: Basic Magik Recovery Potion

Rank: D+

Effects: Upon consumption, restores 20 Magik and increases magik recovery speed by 20% for 20 minutes.

Johan giggled like a madman as he opened the store for the day.

The few customers who came by felt unnerved by his smile and quickly made their purchases before scurrying away.

But the day only got better. Around midday, Cara Rosewood entered the store.

"Hunter Rosewood, it's good to see you." Johan's bubbly tone made her recoil, but she cleared her throat.

"I-It is… um, well…" Her eyes darted around the place before she gathered up her courage to speak. "I used the potion you gave me."

"Oh… did it help you?" Johan returned to Earth, nervous about the result. Although he knew the effects, he didn't think Cara would land in a situation where she'd have to use it.

"It did… Honestly, I am very grateful that I got it. But you know, I just have to ask." Cara looked him in the eye. "Do you like… have a crush on me or something?"

"I beg your fucking pardon?" Johan almost fell.

***

The bustling Phoenix Street of Sector A turned into a light show as the orange hue bathed the tall buildings.

With numerous stalls lining the streets full of hustle and bustle, a single Korean barbecue shop refused customers. It wasn't the owner's wish, nor the lack of people willing to enter. Just that the presence of two suited muscular men over 7 feet stood near the iron door like gargoyles.

Their silent, empty gazes turned everyone away. Adrian passed by them, responding to their courteous bows with a nod.

The inside wasn't any better.

Among the rows of empty tables, a single man occupied a single grill, using the pale blue flame from his hand to cook the thin slices of meat. The cold grill in front of him crying in despair.

He had blonde hair that sparkled under the white light with some red streaks here and there. Comfortable in his faded blue hoodie and sweatpants, he slouched on the table and chewed the sizzling meat with a sesame dipping sauce.

"H-Here's the soju, sir." The waitress placed two glass bottles of alcohol on the table. Her face flushed because of the man before her, but it wasn't fear. "Can I get an autograph? I've been a huge fan of yours since your Blackstreet era!"

"How about a selfie too? You'll have something to remember the moment." He said, a smile hanging on his red lips.

"Thank you so much!" Bowing, the waitress skipped away, giggling.

"I meet fans everywhere I go, can't even eat in peace." He said, his rosy eyes sparkling.

He wasn't a celebrity, but more than that. Lucas White. The Head of the Agni Clan, and one of the seven S Rank Hunters in the country.

"You don't seem to mind it much, Lucas," Adrian said, sitting across the man so clearly admiring his own face on the soju bottle.

"It's a joke, man, learn to laugh a little. No wonder your daughter cries when you hold her." Lucas said.

"She… doesn't cry." Adrian deadpanned.

"See? Gosh, you are making me lose my appetite." Lucas sighed. But soon shook his head and ate another cut of wagyu. "So, how much did you find out about that potion?"

"Cara said she got it as a trial product from a Hunter Mart worker," Adrian added. "I've seen the thing work myself; it is on par if not better than the S-Rank potions made by the Mage Tower, at least when it comes to healing speed. I would've known better if I had tried it, but the effects written on the tag surpass anything available on the market."

"A Hunter Mart worker? Any chance he is a mule?" Lucas' eyes narrowed.

"We've kept an eye on the store. He barely leaves the place, and the customers are usually low-ranking hunter parties or solo mid-level hunters. Nothing suspicious on that end." Adrian pulled out a stack of paper from his bag and slid it across the table. "What I do find suspicious is where he acquired the ingredients for the potion."

"Morgan's Hunter Mart… She is…" Lucas looked at the photo of Morgan and her ID.

"Do you recognize her?" Adrian leaned forward because, as much as he hated to admit it, he barely got information on Morgan.

"My oh my, I would like to know her." Lucas whistled. "She's super pretty. Like, look at that small face and nose, her eyes are like gems! How can one look so good in their ID picture? I look like a damn squid in mine."

Noticing the cold eyes from Adrian, Lucas cleared his throat and flipped through the pages.

"She has no background before applying for citizenship here, huh." However, Lucas threw the stack on the table lazily. "That's nothing new; more than half of the countries have been lost since the cataclysm. Maybe she is one of the people who wanted to make a fresh start. Weren't we the same?"

"That is true. However, I suggest we must proceed with caution. We have no idea how they are making the potion; if it has any relation to illegal activities, we should cut all ties with it." Adrian found Johan's method to reach them highly suspicious, but he had to commend it.

Because it did exactly what he intended. It caught their attention, more importantly, Lucas' attention.

"Once I see him, we'll get all our answers." Lucas' eyes gleamed along with his smile.

"You don't have to go," Adrian said.

"I absolutely have to. It seems fun."

There he goes again. Adrian gave up.

"Also, how is Cara doing at Red Bear?" He asked.

"Miss Rosewood is doing her job wonderfully. She has become an important member of the Rift attack team 1."

"That's good. Let her get some more experience in the low to mid rank rifts; it should help her warm up." Lucas wrapped up the grilled meat in lettuce.

"Please don't make light work of the tasks; if someone overhears, it could cause another incident." Adrian sighed.

"Isn't it practically a vaca? Even you got chubbier since you went there." Lucas laughed, but Adrian didn't.

"Man, your face is gonna kill me one day." Faced with the silent, empty glare, Lucas shifted in his chair till his eyes went to the wrapped meat in his hand. Without a single thought, he offered it to Adrian. "Here, eat it. I am sorry, ok."

It took a full minute of Lucas holding the wrap near Adrian's lips, almost pushing it into his mouth by force, for him to finally eat it.

"So, when will you go see him? Next week?" Adrian still had access to Lucas' schedule.

"Why next week? I am going tomorrow." Lucas ate a wrap he made for himself.

"You have a meeting with the Hunter Association President tomorrow." Sweat rolled down Adrian's forehead.

"Just tell him I have a stomach ache or something?"

"You think he'll buy that?" His stomach twisted now. Every time Lucas acted like this, someone ended up in a hospital.

"What else can he do but buy it?" Lucas smirked, mixing beer and soju in a tall glass. "Ahaha, this is the stuff! More, bring another plate and three more bottles!"

Watching the overtly jolly boss downing one glass after another, Adrian started to feel sorry for Johan. For he didn't know that he had caught the attention of Hunter society's biggest troublemaker, Lucas White, more commonly known as the Fiery Imp.
...
If you spot any mistakes or have any advice, pls comment below.
Thank you for reading.

 

[Overload69]

The Cara Rosewood Johan knew of graduated from the S.K. Hunter Academy last year as the valedictorian. The same honours Yuna Lee achieved before she went on to write history. However, things weren't always good for this girl.

She had joined the academy as one of the worst students. It was in her last year that her hard work paid off. She went on to top her class and even got scouted by the Agni Clan before graduating.

The Cara he had seen in the interview was a friendly girl next door who would warm anyone's heart with her cute smile and patient behaviour.

"What did you want to gain from me?" However, the Cara in front of him was full of suspicion.

But he understood her situation; the potion was worth 1.5 million, more on a good day. As someone who drank it, Cara understood its worth more than anyone else. It was an extra life for Hunters who danced with death on every mission. No one would give that away without hoping for something in return.

"I have no backers, and I am not in a good relationship with my clan. I used my money to buy my own house and car. I can't give you anything that might be useful." She said, almost venting.

I feel like I heard something I shouldn't have. Johan grimaced, but he cleared his throat and signalled her to stop.

"I did have something in mind, but it's not money." He assured her.

"Are you after my body after all?" She shivered, stumbling back.

"Put the brakes on, woman!" Johan huffed. "I have no thoughts about that, either."

"So, what is it?" His clear anger seemed to calm Cara; she leaned on the counter, looking at him with her doe-like eyes. "Since that potion was helpful… I am willing to listen."

"I wanted to get the potion checked with the Agni clan's alchemists. I thought they'd come and inquire when they confirm that it is genuine. I didn't expect you to use it yourself and slander me like this." Johan sighed.

"Why didn't you take it to the Alchemist Association? They handle the certification, right?" Cara said, unsure of the whole debacle.

"I would, if I were a member." A headache arose when he thought of it again.

"Are you a criminal or some mad scientist expelled cause of inhumane experiments?" Goosebumps rose on Cara's body. "What did you make me drink? Was it made by draining human vitality? Or was it Magik Beasts?"

"Drop the Hunter gig and join a news outlet." Johan deadpanned.

"The potion is as illegal as you." He didn't have any other way to explain his circumstances. "It's just that I have my reasons." He didn't mention the fact that the association would blow him off, since he didn't have an Alchemist class.

He could see the gears turning in Cara's head before she started nodding to herself. It didn't take long before she looked at him with a big smile, patting his shoulder.

"I understand your situation."

Understand what exactly? Johan's lips pressed into a hard line, but he didn't want to argue over it. And he felt glad he didn't.

"My team's leader said he'd visit soon to ask about the potion," Cara said.

Start with that, then! Johan almost cried remembering the side eyes from the few customers that happened to hear Cara's opening outburst, his reputation seemed to tank by the day.

It was a welcome news nonetheless. Although he expected to see someone from the Agni Clan at least. But beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Oh…" However, her expression changed after she checked something on her phone.

"What happened?" Johan's stomach twisted.

Was it because he thought a raid team leader was too low in position that this happened? He didn't know what he could do to repent.

On the other hand, Cara seemed to have brightened up. "The team leader will visit tomorrow around noon. Is that time ok?" She asked.

"…More than ok, tell him I'll prepare some refreshments too." Johan recovered, showing his service smile.

Cara sent a text and looked back at him with a nonchalant look.

"I will be going now."

"Ok."

"I am really going." She turned around near the door.

"…I heard you the first time."

"Bye."

It's almost like she's disappointed that I didn't ask her for anything. Johan shook his head. Maybe he just overthought it?

Regardless, he reached the first step of his plan. Though he wondered if he should continue the item, he wanted to show the Agni clan member.

An apple appeared in his hand; however, unlike the usual red, this one was icy white, like fresh snow. A trail of white rose from the fruit the size of a shotput, but not because it was hot. A thin layer of frost formed over it in a matter of seconds. Johan had to juggle it between his hands. Even holding it was a chore.

Name: Nefel's Blessing

Rank: D

Details: Created by the Witch Nefel for her children. Consumption by humans is not advised; death is imminent.

He stumbled upon them while looking for more ruby berries and almost fainted.

It's so dangerous I don't even want to hold it, but it's important for the potion needed to hook the Agni Clan. Johan didn't know if he should still make it; after all, he could only meet the team leader from the Red Bear guild.

"Like grandma used to say, do tomorrow's work today, and today's work right now, or something like that." The glint of curiosity shone in Johan's eyes. This would mark his first attempt at the said potion. "Let's give it a spin."

With a new spring in his step, Johan entered the basement again.

Unlike the basic healing potion, Johan had to adopt more caution with this new potion. Although rare, the potion's recipe was readily available thanks to Morgan. Flipping through the pages of the Alchemist Compilation Vol III, Johan landed on the exact one.

Basic Ice resistance potion, Van Fer Van Method.

The process was rather basic, as the name suggested. He first crushed a quarter of the apple into paste and poured it on a black filter paper. With a careful hand, he used a glass spoon to press the paste. The clear juice dripped into the dish below the stand.

Once he had all the juice, he placed the pulp in the dehydrator. Now, he needed water infused with magik. Usually, it cost around 500 for one litre, but he could create it for free with his skill.

He poured a litre of water into the beaker and took a deep breath. Although the recipe asked for 20 ml of juice, he only took 10 ml in the dropper.

For two reasons.

First, the book said the juice would be cloudy, but this turned as clear as liquid glass.

Second, with his experience from the basic recovery potion, he understood that the ingredients he got were too potent because of where they grew.

The healing potion wouldn't have damaged me, but this one might freeze me to death if it explodes. If it fails, I have enough fruit to try a dozen times. With trembling hands, he dropped the apple juice, drop by drop.

The first drop gave no change.

The second gave birth to a snow crystal on the water's surface.

The fourth expanded the crystal.

The seventh broke the crystal, and grey bled into the water.

The ninth drop turned the water cloudy.

The tenth made it shine in an icy hue.

Seeing the sign of success, Johan grabbed the glass spoon and inserted it into the beaker. Frost covered his gloved fingers, and the spoon struggled to move through the crushed ice like liquid.

This one had a golden pattern running down from the stem all the way to the lip. The archaic lines and symbols shimmered in the water. But they truly came to life when he used his skill [Basic Brewing].

The spoon, now empowered with magik, facilitated the bonding between the magik water and apple juice. Turning the cloudy water into an icy blue from the spoon's tip. The stirring became much easier each second as the blue colour soon filled the beaker.

Johan looked at the shimmering liquid before him in awe, almost forgetting to breathe. Liquefied aquamarine, that's what it looked it. And flowed like so as well. Particles of silver dropped to the bottom like gentle rain.

Succeeding on the first try was good. But the completed potion alone filled him with satisfaction. The sound of money jangled in his ears.

Name: Basic Ice Resistance Potion

Rank: D+

Description: A potion made by the careful hands and strong curiosity of a novice potion maker.

Effects:

1] 40% increase in ice resistance for one hour.

2] All damage from the ice element magik is reduced by 30% for one hour

Note: Effects are not stackable.

"Holy hell!" Johan jumped around like a bull possessed. He only stopped out of fear of dropping the potion, after placing it on the table with utmost care, his legs moved faster than any dancer he had seen.

"Too bad that I can't sell this to the Agni clan right now." He pouted; the possible profit made him drool. But he had to wipe it off. "I promise you, Basic ice resistance potion-Chan, you will see the light of day. I won't let you rot away in this dark place."

"The world will see your true worth one day!"

Johan's theatrics continued until midnight before he finally decided to hit the bed.

I hope it doesn't take long to meet my fat shee—people from the Agni clan, I can't wait to see them.

***

Johan had closed the store early and went to the meeting spot on the roof.

Why?

His room was too cramped. The storeroom was no place to meet important guests. There was no employee common room. And the potion workshop? Too messy.

In a last-ditch effort, he threw chairs and a table on the rooftop under the shade of a nearby towering building and called it a day. It wasn't a bad meeting spot, all things considered; they could get their sunlight and enjoy refreshing drinks with the fresh, purified air by the pots of vibrant vegetables and leafy greens he hadn't cared for in a few days, or so Johan had thought.

Along with Cara and the tall, stone-faced man, whom Johan assumed to be her team leader, Adrian, a third guest popped up.

"Sorry for dropping by unannounced." It was none other than Lucas White, adjusting his red Tom Ford leather jacket like he was in a photoshoot. "You don't mind lil ol' me, do you?"

"… It's ok. You can come anytime." What else was Johan supposed to say?

This was an S Rank, a fucking monster. There were only seven of them in the country, and they could go anywhere without a heads up, even the Blue House if they damn wanted.

Johan's stomach twisted. He did want to meet someone from the Agni clan, but Lucas White? The literal top dog wasn't on his bingo card. He wondered why Cara didn't say anything to him. But the thought only lasted for a moment.

Her condition isn't any better than mine. Cara had become as pale as a sheet of paper. Hang in there, Cara. He couldn't help but cheer for her, and for himself.

"Damn, this is good stuff." Lucas smacked his lips after taking a sip of iced tea Johan had prepared. He turned and gave a glass to Adrian. "Try it. This shit is way better than the horsepiss those S.M. bastards sell."

"Please mind your language, sir." Adrian's face turned icy, but when he took a sip of dark red tea, his face softened considerably. "This is calming, I have to agree, but still, language."

Cara drank the glass of tea in one shot and kept spamming thumbs up; the tea had a much stronger effect than he knew of.

"I'm glad you liked it, sir." Johan felt relieved to know that he wasn't the only one who liked the taste of oolong tea mixed with Sherry leaf extract, with the dehydrated pulp from last night, for a subtle sweetness.

"No need for sir, just call me Lucas." Lucas licked his lips and crossed his right leg over the left, magik coursing through his body like blood. "So, shall we get to the real part?"

Seated face-to-face with an S-rank, Johan could feel the heat. Although the temperature should've been on the colder side today, Lucas' magik spread out of him like a red haze. The aura alone made one tremble, but Johan had a mission today.

Since he cast the die, he had to move the piece.

"A tough guy, I like that." Lucas nodded, then leaned forward to place a golden cauldron on the wooden table. There was nothing special about the cauldron itself, but the pale blue flame inside it was a different story.

"I won't beat around the bush with you, bro. I will only ask you one question, and you have to answer it truthfully." Lucas passed a folded piece of parchment that contained said question to Johan. "However, if you lie, it will cost you your life for wasting my time. Fair, isn't it?"

Like hell it is! Johan could only cry and take the piece of paper.

Although Lucas didn't explain it, he understood with the setup alone. The Trial of Agni, that's what Johan had to face.

However, the moment he unfolded the parchment, his pupils dilated.

This guy… he's a madman. Johan looked at the smiling Lucas, chills climbing up his spine.

 

[Overload69]

The Trial of Agni. Lucas had shown it off on 'Late Night Show with Falcone' because the Association president had requested it. The trial helped Lucas identify whether the other person told the truth or not.

The episode went viral, and Lucas gained a lot of fame and an equal amount of fear from awakened criminals.

It is a total hoax. Adrian's eyes swept over the flashy setup, but he couldn't deny the intimidation factor it provided, especially the signature blue flame.

However, Lucas could tell if a person lied or not from the shift in their body temperature. He could predict someone's fever in advance with a narrow margin for error, but he never went into detail.

Adrian had talked with Lucas over what question he'd ask Johan last night, but the stubborn man only smirked while drinking. Now that the hour had come, he couldn't help but wonder why Johan looked horrified.

As if responding to his wish, Johan read the question, bewildered and worried.

"Can you provide a steady supply of the healing potion? P.S.: I don't mind if it is illegally made ." He even enacted the wink while showing them the note.

Adrian looked at Lucas, grinning, his stomach ache rising.

"I really don't mind." He said, pleased with himself.

Johan, however, sighed and fed the parchment to the flame. He looked Lucas dead in the eye and gave his answer.

"I can make five of them a week. Also, there is nothing illegal about the production method; it is in line with the Alchemist Associations' rules."

The statement was like a bomb. Adrian's eyes widened; he could scarcely believe his ears.

Five potions of that level a week? Even the Mage Tower only made one a month because of the material costs and labour-intensive process. The claim was as ridiculous as the last conman, but his eyes went to Lucas.

"Cash or card, my friend?" Lucas already had his card in hand, banging it on the table.

That reaction told Adrian everything.

"How many are you buying? They are made to order, but I have some inventory. It still might take a day or two to acquire them." Johan said. Most likely an attempt to calm down Lucas, who had almost leaped over the table, but it only intensified the situation.

For a day or two, there wasn't a Hunter on Earth who wouldn't go red-eyed when hearing about this deal.

"I'll take ten, I'll make half the payment now and half at delivery after two weeks. How about it?" Lucas had never been this accommodating with anyone, aside from the Mage Tower. But even they rarely saw this level of enthusiasm from the man.

Lucas wrote an amount on the paper, and looking over his shoulder, Adrian nodded. The payment was fair, no cutting corners, no haggling. He liked it when Lucas was like this, which was never.

"How about this much?"

Lucas handed the paper to Johan. The latter's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"T…This is the full payment?" He tried to cover up the crack, but it was clear as day to them.

"That's only half. I can transfer it to you right now." Lucas looked back at Adrian, but he had already sent a message.

"Already done." Adrian showed the picture of the transaction that went into motion while Lucas handed the quote over. "We've already notified the bank and government authorities, so you won't have to worry about any legal problems with the transfer." He added the last part out of consideration for Johan's shock.

"How did you know my bank details? No… never mind." Johan looked at the notification on his phone. "…Ten million… just like that? Crazy."

It was only him muttering, but Adrian and Lucas heard him loud and clear. Adrian had many questions, but it wasn't his place to ask them, and Lucas wasn't one to bother with such details.

"Don't worry about the chump change, you are in the big leagues now." Lucas gaffed; he probably found Johan's reactions a breath of fresh air.

"Man… I only came out on a whim and to thank you for the potion you gave to Cara, but it seems like I've hit the jackpot."

Adrian thought so too. Since Lucas acted this fast, no doubt remained in his head that Johan was the real deal. Most importantly, they were the ones to make the first deal with him; that's all he could infer from the young man's reaction to money.

"Looking forward to a pleasant business with you, partner." Lucas extended his hand over the table.

"…Me too." Johan took the hand, sealing the deal. But before they could leave, this mysterious alchemist wanted to show them another potion.

"What do you think about this one?" He handed Lucas an aquamarine potion with a giant ice crystal inside. An Ice resistance potion.

The effects on the tag had Adrian worried if he should get his eyes checked, but the healing potion deal wasn't ordinary either.

"Are these effects true?" Lucas' tone dropped. A level of seriousness he only showed inside rifts.

"You can have it appraised if you don't believe me," Johan said, almost too innocently, but there was a calculated calm behind his clear eyes.

Lucas sighed, but that soon turned into a cackle. A cackle that sent shivers down Adrian and Cara's spines.

"Dude, you wanna get kidnapped or some?" He said as Johan retreated. "'Cause I am super tempted right now."

"I'd rather not," Johan said, rightfully terrified.

"Don't worry, man, my basement is super comfortable, it's my gaming space, you see. I'll get you a five-star chef and the works. What do you say?"

"Please don't take the joke too far, sir." Adrian stepped in before Johan got the wrong idea. But Lucas only tilted his head.

"What joke?"

Before he could scare Johan into hiding, Adrian pulled Lucas out of the Mart and stowed him in the car outside. He bowed to Johan and handed him his card.

"Our Clan Master tends to get carried away often; he won't kidnap you," Adrian said, but Johan only pointed at the car.

"Are you sure?" Lucas looked at him, face pressed against the window, like a lion stalking a grazing gazelle.

"I'll try to convince him." Adrian felt a headache rising.

"Please try hard." Johan ran back into the store like a mouse.

Adrian sat in the passenger seat, and the driver stepped on the accelerator.

"You spooked him too much." He said.

"He's just that desirable." Lucas shrugged.

Adrian couldn't refute. Johan's value had risen too much in their books, and others would soon come to know of that value too. In a way, Lucas wanted to protect the golden goose before someone sliced it open.

"Do you really think he is unprotected?" Adrian expected Johan to have strong backing that would protect him. Although on paper, he looked like a small fry. A high school graduate who worked in a Hunter Mart, a run-of-the-mill guy with nothing special.

"You've put together the report on him; your guess is as good as mine." The ice resistance potion in Lucas' hand stole his attention, his right hand touching his left shoulder in a trance.

"I didn't expect him to have a potion like this ready," Adrian admitted. Even he couldn't hide his surprise back then and considered Lucas' proposal to kidnap Johan. Though he wouldn't say that out loud.

"I planned to ask him for something similar after checking the delivery of the healing potions, but to think he had one in advance. And here I thought I had the drop on him." Lucas chuckled, but the amusement soon wore off. "After the effects of this potion are confirmed, we have to rethink this partnership."

Adrian nodded. Since his debut seven years ago, Lucas had cleared over three hundred rifts while leading the Agni Clan, and he had only failed once.

Mahapadma, The Eighth Hell.

"A revenge match is in order." Lucas grinned, grasping his shoulder, rubbing the injury carved into him by the SS-Rank rift.

If this potion helps Lucas clear that rift. Johan will become more than a business partner. Adrian touched the raised scar, akin to flower petals made of sandpaper, running along his bicep. He'd become blood.

And it was the Agni Clan's creed to protect their own, even if it meant death.

***

After Adrian and Lucas left, Cara also said goodbye and took off.

Now, left alone in the convenience store, Johan stared at his banking app in a daze, "Hehehehehe!" the maniac-like laughter echoing in the store.

Although he felt alarmed by Lucas's suspicious actions and words, the money made him forget it all. The money he'd never scrape together, even if he worked several lifetimes, now sat in his bank. And this was half.

"How much will I get after they order the Ice Resistance potions?" Johan danced on the counter, uncaring of the people who saw him through the glass door. But he had to stop for one reason only.

"I better get to work and make the potions before the deadline." He rushed to the basement, fearing what Lucas might do if he failed.

But the bigger issue at hand was the number he mentioned. Although he overshot compared to his biggest competitor, Mage Tower, he had to do that much since Lucas White showed up.

Johan had to make himself worth investing in as a man with no background or backing. If he had Lucas' protection, the biggest troublemaker in the Hunter industry, no one would dare pick on him.

"One golden pear yields four potions; the tree grows a fruit every 24 hours. And the number of golden pears I have at hand is…" Johan counted the fruits on the tree, a slack smile on his lips. "Thirty. 150 potions… 200 million outright and then 8 million a day." Money had become his bonus, definitely not his main motivation.

His cheeks hurt from smiling so much. But he didn't want to flood the market like that. The news had covered Mage Tower's potion capacity a dozen times, which was why he settled on five a week. His plan wasn't to just supply the potions to the Agni clan alone; he had another idea.

"High-quality potions help Hunters clear dangerous rifts; the more rifts cleared, the safer it is for me. Plus, I get to make sweet profit, hehehe!" Johan's hands were itching. "It is only a matter of time before I take over the world with my potions!" He coughed, ending his embarrassing display.

That confidence came from the sapling he just watered. Its pure white stalk swayed in the gentle breeze along with the verdant leaves. After seven tries, he found success with the Golden Pear tree's seed.

"Grow big, my money tree. Make Papa richer." Johan hugged the pot, a malicious smile on his face.

That same night, Lucas placed an order for thirty Ice Resistance potions, each valued at 2 million, and the total of sixty million paid in full.

Johan's laughter echoed in the neighbourhood, but he got a sore throat from laughing too much the next day. But his plotting didn't stop.

Yes, the healing potions were enough for the big clans. But a majority of the Hunter population consisted of the mid to low Hunters that barely scraped by diving into the rifts every week. They didn't have the big bucks, but they made up for the 70% sales in the potion market.

No way Johan would leave such a large herd of shee—potential customers unattended.

After finishing Lucas' order in ten hours, he began experimenting with a single bottle of D-rank healing potion. Simply put, he watered it down.

Why? Because his ingredients were too high-quality to make low-level potions. If he used too little fruit, the brewing skill won't trigger. That's why he took a completed potion and watered it down by 100ml at a time, noting the change in properties.

Through Furber's method, from Advanced Alchemy Vol. 1, he ended up with two lower-quality versions of the Basic healing potion that he could use.

The first one was for the mid-level hunter from C-Rank and B-Rank. Costing only 80,000 a pop, fifty times his salary. But these Hunters had a lot of leeway to spend on potions and gear.

Name: Watered-down Basic Healing potion.

Rank: E

Effects: 20% HP recovered over 10 minutes, best used for deep lacerations and stabs. It will leave scars.

Note: This potion cannot regrow limbs or replenish lost blood. The effect is not stackable.

The second one was for the low-level hunters from F-Rank to D-Rank, costing only 10,000 for one. Johan had priced this one lower than the ones sold by Mage Tower, so the penny pinchers wouldn't want to miss out on the sweet deal.

Name: Super Watered-down Basic Healing Potion

Rank: F

Effects: 10% of total HP recovered over 10 minutes, best used for minor injuries and shallow cuts. It will leave scars.

Note: This potion cannot help with severe injuries. The effect is not stackable.

Now, someone might question why he went through the trouble of doing this instead of making it like any other alchemist.

There were two reasons.

First, he had to find a supplier for the ingredients needed for said potions, who would then take a cut for their services. Reducing his profits.

And second, it was the look. Yes, the potion's color.

If two potions sat on the shelf, one a murky brown and the other a glimmering gold. Both are priced the same, but the latter was 20% more effective and didn't taste like muddy water. Which one would the Hunters pick?

"Can I get three of these, please?" Miss Kim, a regular of the store and a D-Rank hunter, confirmed his guess.

"Absolutely. Here you go." Johan's radiant smile matched the potion.

"Did you get a new supplier? The effects are stated very clearly." Miss Kim asked, paying with her card.

"Yes, we just got a chance to collaborate with a hidden genius alchemist who made potions easier on the stomach. If the effect is even 1% below the stated or it tastes bad, you can get a cashback." Johan grinned; of course, that was sophistry, but he knew his product.

"That's some confidence. I guess we'll see." Miss Kim, in her full leather gear and warbow, stepped out of the shop full of smiles.

Johan only had a few customers that day, but his aggressive sales pitch didn't stop. The second day went by in peace, and so did the third. He saw an increase in customers by the fourth day, but nothing too crazy.

It wasn't until the fifth day that Johan realized his mistake. A long line, reaching the end of the block, awaited him when he opened the Mart's door to flip the sign.

The dozen or so hunters locked onto him with their predatory eyes, breathing heavy like some starved beasts.

What the hell is this?! Goosebumps covered Johan as he pinched himself, wondering if he was still in a dream.

 

[Overload69]

Hunter Net. A leading forum site that contained everything Hunter-related. From Monster catalogue to secret spots for quality items, even rifts guides and hunting spots, the anonymous on this forum traded information every hour of the day.

Johan used this site frequently to access his study materials and kept up with the gossip; however, Phantasia was all he thought about for the past week. That was the reason he missed the currently trending post about a Hunter Mart on 11th Parkview Street in sector A, selling Golden healing potions.

Yes, it was the Morgan Hunter Mart where he worked as a manager. The one who made the post? Miss Kim, his first customer, of course. It talked in detail about the new type of potion that had incredible healing speed, affordable, and had a fruity taste. 70% of the ten-thousand-word post described the taste alone.

The post surfaced the day after her purchase and slowly gained traction. Some Hunters, likely the ones who made purchases after her or thanks to her post, concurred with her opinion or made their own long posts delving deeper into the potion's taste.

It had gotten so bad that half of the forum's potion page consisted of posts that thought the potion tasted like apples, while the other leaned towards the pear. Both called the other wrong, pitchfork in hand. But every post mentioned the location of the store without fail, calling the potions a must-have for rifts alongside the S.M. emergency meal pack and Hunter Association's Survival kit.

"I am happy for the free adverts, but please do it in moderation." Johan, now collapsed on the counter of the closed Mart, had almost withered away.

The midday had arrived, but he had to close the store because all the potion stock vanished faster than water in a desert; no, it was worse. The look on those hunters' faces was akin to druggies who had heard of a new, stronger drug, all rushing to get their hit. Johan understood that the Hunters always complained about potions being too unappetizing, not to mention the stomach aches that followed consumption.

It wasn't that the alchemists did it on purpose; the problem stemmed from the potion materials' poor shelf stability. Some materials, like the Golden Pear, were rarely found shortly after they had dropped from the tree.

To these tortured souls, Johan's potions, made from materials fresh off the branch, had become an oasis. Not to mention they were easy on their pockets with better performance, they would be stupid not to buy.

However, knots formed in Johan's stomach when he saw the new posts flooding Hunter Net. A popular Magik food blogger had even released a thirty-minute-long video titled, Apple or Pear? What is the truth?

He had no strength to look at his phone anymore. Johan stumbled to the cash register; the apple he was about to have for lunch just killed his appetite. Operating the digital screen, his eyes calculated the sales for the day.

He only sold two items that day.

Watered Down Basic Potion x 30

Super Watered Down Basic Potion x 200

"Hehehehehe~!" Johan's face twisted into an inhumane smile. He could've made so much more if he hadn't run out of stock. Not to mention the stares of the Hunters that didn't get potions, which were half of them.

"From tomorrow, I have to limit purchases to 3 potions per person." Johan typed his plan on the phone's notepad, sipping on his special tea to regain focus and some stamina. "1 basic healing potion can be diluted to 10 watered-down potions, and 100 super watered-down potions each. I can also add basic Magik recovery potions; there were a lot of mages in the line, too. I don't think watering down will work on ice potions, and there isn't much of a market for that… ice type rifts are rare, after all."

His mutterings and the keyboard's sound echoed in the closed mart till evening when he completed his great plan.

Materials? He could grow as much as he wanted. Potion making? All he did was make basic potions. Customers? He had more than he could account for. Competition? None in sight.

"With this plan, I will become the Potion Mogul!" Johan proclaimed, much to the disappointment of the white cat passing by the mart's door.

With a new fire in his eyes, he dove into the basement and started brewing potions, cackling through the night. That night, he created forty Watered Down Basic Healing Potions and four hundred Super Watered Down Basic Healing Potions. Confirming his daily inventory.

In addition to that were one hundred Basic Magik Recovery Potions.

Name: Basic Magik Recovery Potion

Rank: D+

Effects: Upon consumption, restores 20 Magik and increases magik recovery speed by 20% for 20 minutes.

They outperformed the competition by a solid 20% while costing eleven hundred a piece, a hundred dollars cheaper.

The next day, Johan placed a digital sign at the door, which displayed the new rule. Three potions per customer. He did hear some disgruntled murmurs from the hunters who had lined up from 4 A.M.

Suck it, scalpers, did you think I wasn't watching you, hmm~? Johan only found out about them from a trending post that very morning. They sold his potions for twice to three times the price, and his blood boiled with jea—righteous anger. Yep, righteous anger.

Needless to say, the new addition, Magik recovering potions, sold out fast. All the potions vanished in two hours since the mart's opening.

Johan looked at the cash with glee; he made a lot and couldn't help but look forward to the next day.

That was but the start of his first ordeal.

***

A week later, Cara arrived at the store to pick up Agni Clan's order. Johan greeted her near the back door. Handing over three metal suitcases, bundled up in a blanket. His nose was stuffy, and his chest burned.

Cara opened them, took a glance at the ten potion bottles lined up in the foam for extra protection. She nodded like a drug cartel boss and gave him a satisfied smirk by taking off her shades in style. However, the smirk soon twitched.

"You've seen better days." She said, probably noticing the dark circles below his eyes.

"Believe me, my days can't get any better." Johan suppressed his sneeze, still hearing the jangle of the cash register.

"Did you not catch any sleep?" Cara's eyes narrowed.

Sleep? Johan hadn't slept in for two days. Between making potions and bottling over a hundred potions a day, he had to keep his eye on the plants in Phantasia. Brewing a litre of potion took about an hour, then diluting it took another hour, even if he closed the Mart as early as afternoon, by the time he did his tasks, he could only get a short nap of an hour or two after getting some delivery food. Then he had to open the mart to the horde of hunters that needed but half a reason to break in.

"Sleep… hah, sleep is for the weak." He snickered.

"Say that without swaying, please." Cara rolled her eyes. She loaded the suitcases in her car before giving him a look over. "If you are having trouble manning the shop and making potions, why not look for a part-time timer?"

"….You," Johan's red eyes widened. "Are you a genius?"

"No, you are just sleep-deprived." Cara hopped into her red 718 Spyder with a shrug and gave him a wave. "See ya later, panda. Don't die on me, or my Team Leader wouldn't leave me alone."

Waving back in a daze, Johan stumbled back into the mart, bumping into juice boxes and sacks.

Why didn't he think of hiring a part-timer to handle the sales?

Well, if he really had to list his reasons, it would go past ten thousand words. But it boiled down to a few details, namely, trust and authority.

His potions had become a hot topic among the Hunters of the capital city. People drove over 3 hours just to get their hands on three potions, standing in line for hours. Where could he find a reliable worker to trust these potions with?

Second was much simpler; Morgan did the hiring for this mart. Even as a manager of the Mart, Johan had no say in the process, more like he removed himself from the task because it seemed troubleso—because Morgan did it better. She had a real eye for talent.

So, when he said that his first ordeal was the red-eyed hunters breathing down the glass door like hyenas that spotted a cheetah after his successful hunt, he lied. The actual first ordeal was convincing Morgan to hire a part-timer to handle the counter.

With a deep breath, he dialled her number on his phone. Morgan, being Morgan, took a few calls and messages to pick up the phone. It was probably on silent while she watched her cartoon reruns.

"Hey, Boss, have you had dinner?"

"No… I just woke up from a nap." The haggard voice replied, stifling a yawn.

Must be nice, he thought, shaking his head. Johan planned to use the technique every corporate employee had used to get what they wanted, the special technique, Buttering the Boss.

"That's perfe—I mean unfortunate, I happened to make too much food for dinner, I'll bring it over." He hadn't made anything yet; the stove's been cold for two weeks. It had probably started to question its existence.

"Don't bother, just set up the table." She said, ending the call.

"Oh shit!" Johan scrambled to the kitchen, getting things in order.

He barely placed the chicken soup and fried rice on the small table when Morgan entered his room, still yawning. Her untied hair spilled over the grey cardigan like a waterfall.

"At least knock." He quipped, wiping the sweat off his face with his t-shirt.

"What is there I haven't seen about you?" She said, dusting the floor before taking a seat.

"You should really mind what you say; people can easily misunderstand that."

"What is there to misunderstand?" She tilted her head, spoon already in the soup bowl.

Sitting across her, Johan scratched his head. How should he start? Or more precisely, where should he start?

So much happened in the past two weeks that he felt like months had passed since he last saw Morgan at the Hospital.

However, unlike him, wracked in worry, she had already taken the first spoonful of the steaming red soup. Since he wanted to impress her properly, he used the magik tomatoes and carrots. Once blended, they gave the most vibrant red he had seen; it felt like the soup itself shone with brilliance.

Now's not the time for this! He caught himself, with violent headshakes to remove the grogginess, and he pulled his focus back at Morgan.

Only that this time she also had her eyes on him, more than that, she held her emptied soup bowl in front of him. Licking her pink lips, Morgan said her piece.

"I approve."

"Approve what?"

"Whatever you were gonna ask for, I approve." Her voice became sterner. "Now, can I get more soup, rice too?"

"Oh… yeah, of course." Johan scrambled to his feet; he didn't even notice when she ate the rice, but she had. Even his portion.

But after that, he paid attention to her speed, and it impressed him. If he didn't know any better, he'd have believed she was a speed type Hunter. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes, and she had her fifth cup of soup, or was it seven? He forgot.

"You have a lot on your mind." She said, chewing on shredded chicken.

"Don't you have any questions?" He asked.

"About what?" She questioned back.

"About everything."

Johan wasn't that naïve. As a certified Alchemist, Morgan should've discovered the specialness of the vegetables he used in the food, and should've heard about the new type of potion being sold on her property. Most of all, as a potion maker herself, she should know the value of said potions and how much they differed from anything on the market. So, why? Why would she not ask him anything?

"Do you remember the day I found you, Johan?" Morgan placed her spoon in the bowl.

"Of course I do." Johan couldn't forget the day, even if he wanted to. As a fresh high school graduate without a roof over his head, he was desperate for a job. And among the dozen places he tried, only one bothered to listen. "What brought this on?"

"It's just that back then you had such good eyes, eyes set on reaching somewhere, achieving a goal, no matter what." Morgan smiled. "I wanted to see you reach that place with my own eyes. I saw the sincerity and passion you had for that dream. But you were stagnating lately, that really saddened me."

"What are you even saying?" Johan sighed. She became unstoppable in this mode.

"Just an elder's musing, I am happy to see that spark back. Although the dream you had back then might be an impossibility." She nodded to herself, like a mother watching her child grow up. "You are finally moving forward."

"Forward? I am just trying to use the hand I got." Johan shook his head. Since he got the class, might as well make the most of it. What use would moping around have? Even if he complained, who would listen? Who would care?

"Huhu, is that really true?" Morgan leaned forward. "Because it looks different from where I stand."

"I am too tired for your riddles." Johan suppressed a yawn. "So, do you truly approve?"

"Yes, I will look for a good part-timer that can take up the register for you, and I don't mind you continuing the sale of the potions. We are certified by the Alchemist Association, so use my name if needed. But in return, I want something."

Johan gulped at her wink; of course, she wouldn't do it for free. That was only correct. Johan already planned to hand over 10% of his profits as a location fee; considering the risk Morgan had to bear, it seemed appropriate. If she wanted more of a cut, he wouldn't mind either.

However, the request Morgan made was a very Morgan-like request.

"Make a meal like this for me once a week."

"That's all?" He blinked.

"Yes, that's all." Morgan nodded.

"…" Johan took a hard look at the impossibly perfect face of his boss, only one thought running through his tired brain.

"Did you just think I am a sucker?" Morgan folded her arms, visibly upset.

"I…I didn't." Johan couldn't face the stern gaze and hung his head. "Sorry, I kinda did."

"This new generation is truly beyond disrespectful. These old bones need quality nourishment, so run along." Morgan huffed before calming down in the next instant. "I know the world isn't as kind as it might've been, maybe it never was, but I for one don't believe in taking advantage of the innocent youth."

Innocent Youth? Me? Somehow, he felt more embarrassed at that moment than during his shenanigans.

"You are stunned, as expected." A smug smile appeared on Morgan's lips. "My reliable elder energy must be off the charts." She puffed out her ample chest.

"The stocks just tanked." Johan deadpanned.

"Aww…" Now sullen, Morgan demanded more food. Much to Johan's regret, he wasn't in a position to refuse.

He didn't know about her being a reliable elder, but Morgan was the best boss he could've asked for.

That Johan believed.
...
Tell me what you think in the comments, I look forward to them.

 

[Overload69]

"Brandon Haskins, D-Rank Hunter from Wild Dog Guild." A Hunter Association employee slid the Hunter ID through the glass window of her counter.

"Yes, that's me." Brandon took the ID with snark, rubbing the dust off it with his fingerless gloves. The air here was especially dry.

"Thank you for your visit to the E-Rank Rift, Ka'har Mines. We look forward to your next…"

Brandon had already started for the door of the office without letting the young woman finish. Swaggering past the others in line, he went out the side door and found others from his team. Everyone still caked in red dust, coughing away their week-long dive in the rift that stared them down from the cave a little distance away.

"This is only 1,500, we agreed on 3,000!" A boy with dirty brown hair shouted. He was pretty lanky, a bit of acne, and a lot of energy, maybe a high school student. But Brandon didn't care; he only sniggered as the hunched-over old man Yorn turned red.

"Look at this pickaxe!" He started, waving around an iron pickaxe too fast for the human eye to see. "It is specially made to mine the ore here, but you handled it so roughly that cracks have appeared. Do you know how much this thing costs?!"

"I didn't even d-!" The boy tried, but Yorn clicked his tongue.

"The youngsters have become really shameless. Back in my day, we would have to forfeit the entire pay and reimburse the employer." The ten people listening to Yorn's ramblings, including Brandon, knew that the man had hands as soft as a woman's. He had never held a pickaxe in his life. The pickaxe? He purposefully gave out old ones on their last legs.

"Be grateful that I am only docking half your pay." Yorn snorted.

"Old Yorn sure is nasty today. Did he fight with his missus again?" Azek, vice captain of the raid team, came out, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"She made him sleep on the floor before he came; bet he's been waiting to do this all week," Brandon smirked.

"Don't doubt that, he found an easy target, after all." Azek gestured with his chin as the boy, too overwhelmed by the rapid fire of words and spit, rooted in his place. In the end, he walked away with only 1,000.

"Big bro, have we divvied up the money?" Brandon asked.

"You know how slow those employees are; makes you wonder how they end up hired. But we have a number on our hands." Azek stomped out the cigarette bud, blowing out smoke from his nostrils. "You landed a new girl or some?" He smiled, poking at Brandon.

"You'd know if I did." Brandon smiled. "It's just a toy."

"A toy, eh? New?" Azek lit another cigarette, eyes narrowing.

"Nah, an old one. It's a toy I wanted for a while."

"Well, don't go too overboard. It cost a fortune to get you out of the lockup last time." Azek patted his shoulder. "Your pay for the week is 50k, after the guild's cut, that'll be 35k. Take it from Anna when you come by the building later."

"Thank you, big bro," Brandon said as Azek walked back into the small Association Office, waving.

Without wasting a second, Brandon took his car from the parking lot nearby and started down the mountain. His toy awaited him after all. This toy that used to be a pain in the ass; it cost him a good amount to find him again. But Brandon was glad he spent it.

For as long as he could remember, people either avoided him or feared him. This was especially true in school. However, one stuck-up punk dared to go against him. A scrawny kid, all bones and sneaky. A useless thing, really.

But aside from Brandon, everyone liked him. Teachers, principal, students, janitors, and even guards. Johan this, Johan that, they yapped all day long, making him the model student. Parading him in front of other parents, cause the fucker didn't have his own. Of course, he didn't.

He hated the fact that this kid was off limits, all because of another stuck-up brat who shadowed him. However, that shadow had long left him. Now, he was alone and weak. No teachers, no friends to protect him either. No one cared for that nobody now.

"I wonder what type of face he'll make this time." Brandon stepped on the gas of his Benz, gliding down the road.

Other drivers honked at his reckless turns, but he didn't care. He ran a red light; the fine was only 300 anyway. Like a ball of enthusiasm, he rolled into 11th Parkview Street, the tires halting to a screech in front of Morgan Hunter Mart.

However, he tilted his head at the current state of the street. The formerly quiet road had dozens of cars and a long line of Hunters that circled the block twice. Why would this many hunters show up at one place on a weekday?

"Did Lucas White show up or something?" Brandon stepped out of his car, leaving it awkwardly parked in the handicap space.

The reason for these Hunter gathering up? Irrelevant. Brandon threw his shades on, walking towards his target. Johan, still unaware of his presence, walked along the line with a pen and paper for some odd reason. But that didn't matter either.

Reaching the classless trash, he placed a hand on the latter's shoulder, squeezing the little muscle he had.

"Hey now sunshine, no need to get handsy, at least ask me out first—." His oddly friendly chatter stopped the moment he turned around. "It's you, wait… Who are you?" Johan rubbed his eyes, trying to mock him.

"You think that will work on me now?" Brandon scoffed.

"That tone…" Johan's fist hit his palm. "Haskins Jr, why are you here again? I know your father is rich, but you shouldn't be that free, right?"

"This bastard is rather talkative today." Brandon ground his teeth; that nickname brought unpleasant memories. But that was good; he needed some fresh rage to hit Johan with.

"Excuse me, what is going on?" Someone spoke from behind.

"Nothing to worry about, I'll open the mart in a bit." Johan turned to Brandon, writing a number on the notepad and handing him a piece of paper that read 345. "The line starts near that red tree, Haskins Jr, no, hmm…" He rubbed his eyes and looked back, pointing in the opposite direction, "Oh my bad, it's that way. You don't mind, right?"

"You are crossing the line now, fucker." The thick paper crumbled in Brandon's palm. His magik flared, and all he saw was red.

"Hey, man, what do you think you are doing?" A voice came from behind again.

"Who is this bastard yapping?" Brandon turned around, his hands clenched. However, all he saw was a head full of curly black hair.

"Did you just say bastard?"

Brandon looked down, a dark-skinned man a head shorter than him glared back, his lips quivering. But it wasn't fear in his sharp brown eyes that he saw.

"I've been in this damn line for two days, two fucking days, and I arrived early today for the potions." Eli, a famous solo B-Ranker called the Bulldozer, stood before him with bloodshot eyes. "What I didn't come here for is your lousy ass running around like a wet muppet!"

"No… It's because of this bastard here…" Brandon shrank back in the face of the expanding yellow aura, and not just him; other hunters also sensed the danger.

"Say Bastard again, say it one more time. I dare ya, I double dare ya!"

Brandon's body refused to move once Eli's eyes locked onto him. Sweat dripped down his brow like he stood under the sweltering heat.

The only one who could stop Eli was someone stronger than him, and that seemed impossible as the Hunters moved away. But someone slipped past the frozen Brandon.

"Sorry about the commotion, Mr. Myers." Johan slithered in with his smile. "I am sorry you had to wait for so long. Do you have the waiting line number for the past two days?"

"I have one, lost the other," Eli showed the crumpled paper with the number 450 on it, fist clenched but tone polite.

"I have confirmed it. As an apology for the inconvenience, I would like to give you two extra potions when you enter." Johan said, marking the note and handing it back.

"Thank you for that." Eli broke into a smile, his previous anger vanishing like mist.

"No, sir, thank you for thinking so highly of our product. I look forward to your continued patronage." He looked towards the other Hunters and spoke again, his confident voice echoing in the now silent street. "If anyone else has previous waiting line tickets, keep them in hand; each ticket is one extra potion."

Finishing his piece, Johan faced him, leaving the scrambling hunters behind. Brandon couldn't believe the calm face this bastard had; he was almost, no, definitely smirking.

"As you see, Haskins Jr, I have work to do. So, you'd better run along and wait in the line if you want to." He smiled, stepping close and whispering. "Or I can run a little discount offer and have these Hunters chase you off. You of all people should know how lenient the police are with small skirmishes between Hunters."

"Well then, Bye-bye. Hope I don't see you again~." Johan walked away, not even waiting for a reply.

"This bas—!" Brandon shut his mouth and escaped from Eli's piercing gaze.

Back in his car, he finally saw the reason for the commotion and the reason these Hunters protected a weakling like Johan.

"Special potions that you can only buy here, huh?" He read the articles, a smirk marring his face as the phone became a ball of scrap in his hand. "Enjoy your fucking time while you can. No one will care if the cashier changes."

Brandon vowed to pay back the humiliation a hundredfold. However, as he planned his revenge, someone knocked on his window.

He saw a behemoth of a man in a black suit, his gaze burning through the black glasses. When Brandon lowered the window, the man spoke in a calm, gravelly tone.

"Step out of the vehicle, please. I'd like to have a word with you." The words were polite, but this wasn't a request. It was an order.

The man's posture allowed no refusal. His magik aura did the rest.

What the hell is even going on today? Brandon wondered why the world hated him today.

***

"Two middle-grade healing potions and one Magik recovery potion. Here's your receipt, miss." Johan handed the bag to the last customer of the day, his practiced smile turning weary, but he pushed through.

"Thank you." The brown-haired woman smiled before leaning in to hand him a napkin. "If someone stirs up trouble, don't hesitate to call me. I'll come running."

"I can't thank you enough for the thought." Johan bowed. "I look forward to your next visit."

As the last customer left, Johan turned the shop's sign to 'closed'. The napkin went into the drawer next to the cash register, where a lot of these napkins with contact details had gathered.

Was it a new trend? Johan couldn't wrap his head around it, and honestly, he didn't want to. Maybe they wanted to get close to him because he was the only worker in the mart?

If so, they'd better stop dreaming about discounts and deals from him. So far, no one knew the connection between Johan and the potions. He liked it that way; who knew when someone with less restraint than Lucas would pop up. The thought alone made him shudder.

He turned his attention to the sales to get his dopamine hit. The trembling legs barely held him up. The situation had gotten worse because of the ever-increasing Hunters that wanted his potions; the line increased by tens every day.

But Johan didn't want them to stand in line for hours and go back empty-handed. These were Hunters after all, humans with the strength of elephants and much more. It would only take a cough from someone like Eli to make Johan vanish.

"That part timer better arrive fast, or the Hunter society will lose its most precious gem." He yawned, fixing himself lunch by reheating soup from two days ago.

Even after two days, the soup hadn't lost its essence. The sweet carrots and tangy tomato packed the chicken with so much flavour, not to mention the potato, honestly, the star of the show.

After supper, he jumped back into the potion lab, but not to work. Instead, he sorted the boxes of brand-new apparatus that had arrived that morning. With sips of magik recovery potion, he moved the twenty boxes along with two large tents into Phantasia within an hour.

Building a storage unit for the potions in Phantasia was the original plan, but a tent would do for now. He couldn't sleep well out of fear that some thief would break in and steal his product. Johan didn't want to lose a single penny.

Well, first, he needed to gather strength to make the storage unit, but that would come after he could catch his breath. All of that hitched on the part-timer. Johan planned on stepping down from manning the register and leaving the miscellaneous tasks that he had done alone.

The part timer, one with experience around Marts, could handle them easily. Even if they sold a lot of items, Johan's potions accounted for 99.59% of the sales done in the past week. They didn't have to care about other things, as long as the part timer handed the register, Johan could get proper sleep for once.

Just as Johan drooled over comfortable sleep, the electronic chime entered his ear. Standing by the door was a young man with blue hair, wearing a navy-blue blazer emblazoned with the crest of elite S.M. high school, his spotless, pressed white shirt and fitted navy pants to match the Oxford shoes. Just the cloth alone screamed 'Money', not to mention the boy's pearl-like skin and silky hair.

"Sorry, kid, we are already closed." Johan pointed at the sign, wondering if it had shut down.

"I am not here to buy anything, sir." The boy said, polite enough to bow in apology.

Why else would one enter a store? Was he lost? Since S.M. Academy was a long way from here, Johan thought the boy must be visiting a friend nearby. This area wasn't any less than a maze to navigate.

"Well, what can I help you with?" Johan tried to hide his tiredness behind the work smile.

"I am here for the part-time job." The boy smiled; a pleasant smile only a young boy could have. But Johan didn't have the leeway to read more into it.

"A job here?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever done something like this before?" Johan prayed but…

"No." His prayers weren't answered.

Boss… what is the meaning of this?! He regretted trusting that unreliable woman.

 

[Overload69]

On a Wednesday of a very busy week, Johan faced the real first ordeal. He stared at the young man roaming between the shelves like a child in a candy shop and anxiously called his boss.

Morgan, as always, wasn't the fastest to pick up phones in emergencies. She had no idea how to use most of her phone features, but turning it to silent? She was a pro at that.

When the tenth call wasn't answered, he face-palmed, audibly fed up.

"Is there a problem, sir?" Eugene, finally done exploring the modest store, came back.

"My Boss is rather, no, very unreliable," Johan said.

"Miss Morgan did seem a little different," Eugene added with an awkward smile.

Of course, Morgan was different; how else would she allow a kid like Eugene for a Hunter Mart job? Eugene Smith, the name alone screamed well-bred and wealth. Not to mention his attire.

He could allow such a kid to work in a Hunter mart; he felt he might get yelled at by some woman in Gucci glasses, Eugene's mother, in a mink coat that would get offended just by breathing the same air as him.

Just as Johan was about to politely decline the kid, his phone rang. Morgan finally checked her phone.

"Are you bad mouthing me again?"

"How can you notice that but not see your phone ringing is beyond me." Johan sighed.

"Its bad manners to talk behind people's backs." She clicked her tongue like an old grandma.

"It's also bad manners to not pick up calls."

"I was in the shower." He could see her elderly look of disapproval.

Johan had a lot to say, like why would she shower at midday on a Wednesday? But through the grogginess, he remembered that this woman owned assets worth millions across the city; she made more in a month than most mid-level guilds and clans from the comfort of her home. Meaning she could do whatever she wanted. Plus, she's his boss, as problematic as she may be.

"So, what's the problem?" He thought she'd never ask.

"The kid, we can't hire him." Johan didn't even bother to whisper, as disappointed as Eugene looked. "You should know the dangers surrounding a Hunter Mart."

Hunters were basically superpowered elephants on roids running around in a sugar glass zoo. A little mishap could put anyone in the past tense. Johan continued because he had no other options, and he had paid for that mistake a few times.

"He's awakened, as for his safety, did you not see his uniform?" Johan wouldn't miss that with his eyes closed. You could smell it; that was the level of the elite high school this kid went to.

"He's still a kid." He saw Eugene pretending not to hear the conversation while reading some ingredients on the back of a soda can, a polite kid, he must say.

"Picture this, you are worried about a kid who receives training to fight Magik Beasts under active Hunters and has been inside Rifts to experience real combat," Morgan added. "Have you been sleeping well?"

"2-3 hours." Johan pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Thomas the Tank Engine says that you should get a proper eight hours of sleep every day, no exceptions."

"I don't think he ever said that." Johan deadpanned.

"Well, the point is, don't try to be Gordon." She added. "Also, the kid is a fan of yours, so don't let him down, ok?"

"What do you mean by fan?" Johan asked, but he only heard a familiar bouncy melody in the background.

"Thomas and friends, time, bye."

Johan looked at his phone after the call ended and shook his head. Why was she watching reruns when he gave her the file that had all the episodes?

The thought lasted short as he saw Eugene creeping closer, he seemed anxious about his hiring, but didn't want to disturb. What a good kid he was.

Since Morgan chose him, Eugene's hiring was set in stone. He'd hear no end of it if he refused here. What Johan worried over was that he wouldn't get as much free time as he expected. However, another part caught his attention, all of his attention.

"You said you were a fan of mine?" Johan coughed, looking at the anxious boy with one eye open.

"Miss Morgan told you that, now I am embarrassed." Eugene rubbed the back of his head with a shy smile. "Truth is, I use this street often on my commute. So, I was nearby when the rift opened up here."

"You were?" Johan didn't remember much of that day; truthfully, he didn't want to.

"Yes, Hunter Course students are taught to carry out evacuations and such during times of emergency. I was helping that day."

Elite high school students moved differently, Johan marvelled. His school didn't have a hunter course, so all he learned were basic drills and general knowledge about rifts.

"So, how did you feel? It must've been different when you were with teachers, right?" Johan leaned on the counter.

"It was, and I am not proud to admit it, but I got overwhelmed. I couldn't even move." Ashamed, Eugene looked at his shiny boots. "But, when the Hunters returned, I heard that you saved a young child, even when you didn't have a class. That truly opened my eyes, for the first time I felt like I wanted to learn from someone."

Facing the glimmering eyes, Johan could only look away. Unknowingly, he had become a hero to a promising young man; how could he let him see that he had been corrupted by wealth?

"Please hire me, I swear I won't get in your way, Teacher. I am a quick learner, and I have high stamina." Eugene bowed, arms straight by his side.

He had that youthful fervour and innocence. Johan felt like an old master in the mountain approached by the young main character. A Hunter Mart job may not help with a lot of things, but it did help one get used to the Hunter's aura. That nasty wave of magik that caused nausea.

At the start, Johan used to tremble like a newborn fowl even in the face of F-Rankers, although a Hunter fresh off a rift run or before wasn't any less than a wild animal in hunting mode. But with time, he grew used to those overwhelming presences, as dangerous as they were.

He believed Eugene could benefit from that exposure. Still in High school, even though in the Hunter Course, there weren't many opportunities for authentic experiences. And, Johan needed help, or young Eugene might lose his hero to something as deplorable as workplace exhaustion.

"You're hired," Johan said, after agonizing over the decision. The fact that Eugene spoke so highly of him did not affect this decision; it definitely didn't.

"Thank you, I won't let you down, teacher." Eugene smiled, and watching that joy, even Johan began to feel his lips move upwards.

The next day, Eugene arrived at 7 o'clock, an hour before the mart opened. He wore the shop's uniform, a light blue cotton shirt with a beckoning white cat on the breast pocket and simple navy-blue pants, along with his polished shoes; he looked more like a manager than Johan.

Although the mart had the uniform, Johan only wore the shirt over some bleached jeans or sweatpants. No one bothered or cared about the dress code, but Eugene seemed hellbent on following it.

The kid should've been more worried about the fact that he worked in the mart during school hours. When Johan asked, Eugene simply showed him his daily timetable.

Two hours of mandatory physical training every morning, which he did from 4:30 to 6:30. Since he was a hunter course student, Eugene didn't have to worry about normal subjects. He only had to attend the special training held thrice a week, all of which happened after noon.

And by noon, or even 11 o'clock, Johan's potions sold out.

It takes longer to package them than to sell them. Johan grimaced, changing the sign to closed.

"Even after so many hours, there are hunters in the line." Eugene looked at the dispersing line through the glass door; most didn't seem happy about missing out. "So many Hunters line up for your potions, you're amazing, Teacher!"

Johan wondered if that was true. He only brewed basic potions; that's all he could do without an alchemist class. The quality came from the ingredients he got from Phantasia. But he could only enter there thanks to his class. So, he was the only one who could make potions like these. In conclusion, he was amazing, wasn't he?

"It's nothing." Faking humbleness, he went back to the cash register to check the sales.

After confirming the amount and separating Morgan's share, Johan was about to send Eugene away and get a quick nap, but notifications from Hunter Net started to appear.

And not just Hunter Net, articles from Hunter News and other news outlets started to pour out. Even Eugene looked at his phone, eyes widening.

Johan stared back at the new discussion thread on Hunter Net. The big, bold words made him gulp.

Hunter Lucas White challenges the SS-Rank Rift Mahapadma for a second time!

***

Lucas felt good today, better than any day from the past two years. In the back seat of the limo, his finger tapped on the tinted window to the tune of the piano. A song from his homeland, the only memory he had of that place.

In front of him sat three more Hunters, all top A Ranks of the country, all survivors of the previous attempt at Mahapadma. Their faces contorted, less because of the music but mostly because of the reporter swarm they escaped from.

"My eyes still sting." The lanky man seated across from Lucas pulled his green hood down. "How do you deal with them, Luc?"

"I was born for this." He ran his fingers through the extra silky hair, still posing.

"This is what happens when you don't step out of the basement for a year, Sae." Brima, sitting on the hooded guy's left, scoffed.

"I don't want to hear that from a shadow dweller. Have you even showered? The stink is burning my throat." Sae whispered.

"Say that again, a bit louder." Brima glared, her black leather cloak fluttering.

"You heard me." Sae continued to whisper as sparks flew.

"Place your bet, Adrian, my money is on Sae this time." Lucas poked the man deep in his thoughts.

"Can we not do this for once?" Adrian, in the middle of his prayers, turned solemn.

"That's a tall order." Brima shrugged.

"Truly." Even Sae agreed.

"He's gotten too used to home. Adrian always been a sucker for stability." Lucas leaned back into the heated chair, one leg crossing the other. "Did you at least say your last goodbye to Seema?"

"Don't start this again." Adrian looked at them, his eyes more serious than ever. "No matter how much you try to tease me into leaving, I am coming along." His hands clenched as he looked at them. "I am still the bruiser of this team."

"Uncle next door suits you better." Brima shook her head.

"A fat uncle past his prime." Sae nodded.

"A soft, pudgy uncle that can't stop eating homemade cinnamon rolls every day." Lucas pointed at the leather breastplate extender Adrian had on. Though it wasn't because of fat, the uncle had gotten more muscular.

"You guys…" Veins popped up on Adrian's forehead as the other two chuckled silently.

Lucas looked at his team, a team he used to lead personally. A team on its way to recover two of its members from the icy hell. The car came to a halt, and he stepped out first. They had passed a military checkpoint near the capital three hours ago, and before them was a barren wasteland with a single road that went back to the city.

The day was as sunny as it could get, no clouds in the sky, just dry wind at the peak of summer. However, the wind here carried a chill. A chill from the other side of the rift in front of them. The crack in space spilled icy blue into the world, as jagged as a slash from a crooked dagger, covering a kilometre around it in a layer of frost.

When Lucas stepped on the frost that permeated the very earth, it started to disperse. Air itself sizzled. Lucas couldn't help but express his displeasure.

He hated a few things. Liars, disrespectful people, and those who got in his way. At that moment, three hunters stood in his way.

"The Association President didn't tell you, I take it." Ares, a S-Rank Hunter from the International Hunter Association, smirked. His golden armour with rose filigree glimmered in the midday sun, reflecting light into his eyes.

"I told you she won't buy it," Adrian commented.

Lucas cursed inside. How could that woman be so vengeful over a little delay in meeting? Truly, the older women get, the worse their temper becomes.

"Did they send you to clear the rift?" Lucas laughed. "Was Herc busy or something?"

"He has too much work, and for a rift like this, I alone am enough." Ares shook his head.

"Lucas, stay calm," Adrian whispered from behind.

"I am totally calm." Lucas tilted his head to the right.

"He's not calm," Brima muttered.

"Totally not calm," Sae whispered his acknowledgement.

He didn't know what they were on about. Lucas had always been calm. Just a bit of flaring magik wasn't that big of a deal.

"You can join, leave the rabble behind, though." Lucas passed by Ares, glancing at the sweating A-Rankers he brought along. "I don't plan on having any more casualties in this rift."

"Sure, sure." Ares dismissed the two hunters from his guild and glanced over his shoulder. "Are you sure you can handle the rift? I mean, you failed once."

Lucas stopped in his tracks and turned around, his lips curled in a smile.

"Man, for someone named after a God of War, you seem awfully afraid." He patted the man's shoulder, burning off the gathering frost. "If you are too chicken to follow, you can stand guard at the entrance. I'll still say you entered with us, so you can finally have an SS-Rank Rift on your resume."

"Very well then, don't cry for help later." Ares's smile turned venomous.

"I am into making others cry." Lucas turned around, facing the icy blue crack.

He closed his eyes for a moment before taking a step forward, a message flashing before his eyes as the world stretched out at the seams.

[You have entered the rift, Mahapadma.]

[Objective: Kill the Warden of Mahapadma.]

[Time Limit: None.]
...
Here's the invite link. I hope to see you there soon: Discord
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[Overload69]

Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a good day.

This post is in regard to Tower Farmer's launch on Royalroad.

If you have an account there, don't forget to follow the story and leave a rating based on your experience. I would love to see you there.

Here is the link Tower Farmer

Thank you for your support.

 

[Overload69]

Adrian had heard the Association President had plans to seek help with the International Hunter Association to clear the continuously unstable rift, Mahapadma. That's why Lucas wanted to meet her and see if he could join in the raid. However, their plans changed the moment Johan pulled out the Ice resistance potion.

Still, he didn't expect to run into Ares, a Hunter ranked 90th in the world. This was the worst match-up against Lucas, ranked 89th. The two got along as well as cats and dogs.

So, the moment he stepped into the rift, Adrian expected to see the two in a fist fight. However, Lucas stood at the forefront, and Ares observed from the back. Distasteful his gaze was, but they weren't making things worse.

One less thing to worry about, Adrian thought.

Sae met his eyes from under the hood, manipulating a steel contraption of his creation. Brima had sat down on the steaming, cracked land, eyes closed in concentration.

Fire field, Lucas's first skill, they stood in that semicircle. Beyond it was a wasteland as white as bone, jagged spines rising on the horizon where blizzards swept through more often than sunlight. In truth, this rift had no sun, just a dark, cloudless sky above. The only bit of light came from distant stars that shone irregularly.

In ten minutes, the snow had almost covered Lucas's 3-meter-tall barrier, but with a swipe of his finger, it all melted like fresh snow under the sun.

"How much longer, Brima?" Every minute here was a dent in Lucas's magik reserves, but he stayed calm.

"Five minutes, I remember his Magik pattern, but the magik here is a mess." Brima, who had been their scout in the last run too, growled.

"Sounds like a skill issue to me," Lucas said.

"I am so gonna kill you after this." Brima snapped, magik flaring.

"Don't miss~."

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Sae came to Adrian, pulling his hood deeper.

"Be my guest." Adrian gestured towards the bickering duo with his chin.

"So… about the landscape…" Sae changed the subject, and he welcomed it, "We are at a different entry point from before, or so I believe."

"That's tricky, this place is too vast…" Adrian's brow crinkled. They had suffered because of that large area last time, too, not to mention that they had to navigate to the entry point once again.

"Laughable, I've been to a rift that randomized every Hunter's entry point, and we still faced no casualties." Ares butted in from behind.

"No one asked, peacock," Lucas said without turning back.

But before the sparks could fly, Brima stood up.

"1,800 miles down south." She said, stretching her arms.

"Much closer than before," Sae whispered, his voice barely audible against the never-ending hail beating down the barrier.

"The bastard's gunning for us," Brima smirked.

"The Boss Monster is leaving his zone?" Ares raised a brow.

"It's a warden, dumbass. A warden's job is to keep the prisoners from escaping." Lucas added. "This rift is a prison, and we are the prisoners."

"So, the entire rift is his zone," Ares muttered. "Just like the Crete Labyrinth."

"You can monologue in the back. We are about to pick up the pace." Lucas cracked his stiff neck. "Try and keep up."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Ares smirked, his golden greaves glimmering.

So, the chase began. Brima led the way to the Warden, followed by Ares and Lucas. Sae and Adrian kept pace in the back as the fire field ploughed through the thick, piled-up snow like a bulldozer. Leaving behind a river that froze over the moment they passed.

The Warden wasn't the only beast in the rift. Mahapadma had another beast, an A-Rank Ice ogre taller and wider than mining trucks. Their cerulean skin cracked and peeled back, blooming into a dozen red lotuses all over them.

Normally, they'd rush into swarms of hundreds, stopping their advance. But not today.

"Kirek—!!!"

The beasts turned into balls of blue flames the moment they came into contact with the fire field. Leaving behind hundreds of these beasts as path lighters, they pushed onwards.

"So extravagant." Ares gaffed.

"I have the luxury to be wasteful this time." Lucas smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Adrian, Sae, and Brima stayed silent. They couldn't say a word, not when they could see his magik flaring under that calmness. It carried anger, untamed fury, but not for others.

In an hour, they passed the jagged ice mountains that dwarfed Everest and looked at flat ice sheets before them. If a hurricane-like blizzard raged through the entire rift, this area was the eye.

Under the clear night sky, which sparkled with a million stars, the warden floated above a frozen ocean as sparkling snow, akin to crushed diamonds, fell down.

The warden wasn't a magik beast, but a creature they didn't know how to classify. A cubic crystal body wider than a mountain, with a cobalt tip the size of the pyramid in the middle. Its seven bone wings unfurled, feathers made of deep blue ice as sharp as knives. The eighth wing lay below the warden, its joint scorched black.

"Yo, uggo." Lucas smirked, glaring at the warden. "You haven't changed at all."

Adrian, Sae, and Brima drank the ice resistance potions. Lucas's fire field shrank down to cover his body alone, leaving the rest to brave the blistering cold.

It's working. Adrian looked at his skin; there were no signs of cracking, no blood. Only a slight frost he could expel with his magik, but only for ten minutes. The closer they got to the warden, the stronger the ice magik's effect. But things went as planned, and they could finish things after the second potion. The current resistance was enough for them to survive.

"This is a nice change of weather." Ares whistled, but everyone could see his magik working hard to counter the frost that wanted to freeze them to the bone.

"You're right about that one." Only Lucas looked unbothered, facing the icy magik like standing before an air conditioner. That was his power; that's what made Lucas different.

Wrrrrr—

The Warden finally moved; its wings fluttered once. Sending millions of ice feathers at the group. Brima and Sae ran to the left and right, concealing their presence as best they could. But the warden ignored them, gunning for Lucas and Ares.

Lucas raised both his hands and erected a flame wall.

"Warm the fella up for a bit." He closed his eyes, his breath visible.

The ice feathers turned to steam against the blue flame, but that's when Adrian moved. Deep blue icicles the size of skyscrapers flew through the curtain of flames, their surface emitting steam that crystallized in an instant.

Facing the first icicle, Adrian clenched his hand. The metal gauntlet clinkering under his grip. Rousing his magik from the core of his stomach to the tip of his fist, he twisted his hip and threw a punch. Sweltering metal connected with the reinforced ice. The latter shattering into bits. Then came the second. The tenth. The fiftieth. They all met the same fate.

As a bruiser, punching was the only thing Adrian knew. Punching was the only thing he could do best. It was the only reason he survived this long. So, he did just that. He did it till his gauntlet slipped off his broken hands, taking the crushed fingers with it. With his cracked palms, Adrian drank the healing potion and got ready to punch again. For once, he drank the potion with a smile. The warm energy gathered at every cut, every cracked bone. Like an experienced masseuse.

"Don't push yourself too much, unc." With Brima's voice came a curtain of shadow.

The shadow draped over the warden like a velvet cloth. Thick and heavy, anchored to the ground with steel spikes.

"You've gotten too pudgy, go home to your loving wife." Sae's metal chains jangled, and a silver cage rattled over the beast.

"Look at yourselves, you brats." Adrian saw the blood spluttering from their noses, yet they smiled. A smile that mirrored his own.

Even after exhausting their magik to the limit, even after hurting their internal organs. They only backed off after fulfilling their roles.

They were never the main characters of this fight. That cheeky bastard had quietly built up his magik over the past ten minutes. Now, he finally opened his mouth.

"Seven tongues, three-faced flame, one verdict." Lucas's words echoed.

"A full chant, huh." Ares jumped back as the frozen ocean beneath them started to melt. "You are getting serious."

"Ash and dawn, oath and ember." Lucas's towering magik retreated into his body, his fire field expanded in a hazy sphere as he hovered over a steamy well, inhaling all the heat there was.

A class-exclusive skill to Lucas's Unique Class, Agni. A skill he had only used once since his awakening. A skill that had created the base of this frozen ocean, he flew over.

"Judge of the Living Flame, receive this sacrifice." Lucas ended his chant as his magik exploded outward before rushing inwards, collapsing at a point. The blizzard around them wavered as heat seeped into the frosted air.

The warden tried to break through the cage; however, it held him back. Only for three seconds. One and a half seconds longer than last time.

But that was enough.

Lucas reached out, his hand miles away from the warden. Even then, the prints of thick, calloused fingers appeared on the creature's crystalline body. A hand made of haze, a heat so strong that it could only be felt, squeezed the warden.

The melting warden tried its best, but couldn't break free of the hand. In the end, only a cracked cobalt crystal remained to show its existence. A magik stone worth billions.

However, Lucas walked past it like it was a roadside pebble. Brima, now healed with the potion, led the way for them. It took them three hours to reach the distant mountain, or at least that's what the ice structure looked like from afar.

It was a frozen beam the size of a city. The final attack the warden threw at them last time. And under it was a human, a robust man as built as a grizzly, holding up a battered silver shield. The old man with grey sideburns looked as lively as he had two years ago.

However, he stood encased in ice. No warmth, no magik, no beating heart, not even the wide smile he had. Just trunk-like arms shielding his daughter from the attack that claimed their lives.

Sae, with his metal contraption, dug out Selena, his fiancée. His hood to low for them to see his face. Meanwhile, Lucas faced the old man Ivan, the founder and first clan head of the Agni clan.

"I am here, old man." Lucas touched the ice beam, turning it into a cloud of steam. A steam that condensed into a warm shower over the two.

With that warmth rushing down his face, he faced the still-standing man. The man who was a father figure to them. The man who raised them all from the slums.

"I am sorry it took me so long," Lucas whispered.

[Rift Mahapadma has been cleared. Countdown until disappearance: 22:01:67.]

***

After Eugene left for his afternoon classes, Johan lay flat in his bed. Scratching his hair, he rested. Eyes on the grey ceiling. However, every few minutes, he refreshed the top thread on Hunter Net. Trying to get the latest information about Lucas's dive into Mahapadma.

He had been at it for hours, biting all his nails clean. Mostly because he didn't expect Lucas to run into the rift this quickly. The man had done so trusting his potion, so Johan felt responsible. Actually, he just wished the raid ended in a success, or Johan might get burned at the stake. Maybe not, since both Lucas and Adrian entered the rift.

Cara is still out, isn't she? He shuddered at the thought; people loved a good witch hunt, no matter the time. Won't she sell me out?

It wasn't until another hour passed that news spread through Hunter Net, articles poured out, and even Hunter news channels ran special segments.

To summarize, the Agni Clan had cleared Mahapadma. The SS-Rank rift that had been on the verge of breaking in the near future. The biggest threat to the country. The best part, Ares admitted that he only observed the raid and had no part in it. Agni clan and their affiliates' stocks rose.

Johan regretted not buying some in advance.

Discussions exploded, praise poured in. Hunters and citizens cheered, but they also mourned. Cause along with Lucas came two bodies, casualties from the previous attempt. The S-Rank Ivan Kuznetsov, The Mountain. And his A-Rank daughter, Selena, the Enchantress.

Their deaths were the reason Mahapadma gained the SS ranking; no one at the time had thought that the Agni clan would fail. However, the end wasn't a good one.

Johan now wondered how Lucas felt after clearing the rift.

Was it satisfaction? Emptiness after revenge? Grief?

Johan wouldn't know. He had no power to kill the magik beasts that trampled his hometown. Even if he did, it would make no difference; those beasts were long dead. That SSS-rank rift? Long closed by a legendary Hunter.

So, what would he do even if he had power? Wasn't his current class pretty good? He could sit back and earn money through potions, more money than most Hunters. Yes, it was a little hard work involved. Yes, he could never blow away a building with a breath, but so what?

Wasn't I doing ok till today? Didn't I get over it? Johan felt the void in his chest growing. His eyes went to the lone poster in the grey room, the poster of Yuna Lee. The cold black eyes stared into his lilac ones.

Yuna also lost her hometown with him; she lost her home, her pet, her school, her favourite candy stop, and her family. Same as him.

But she was an S-Rank; she could slaughter magik beasts the size of buildings with a swing of her sword, a Hunter at the top. A Hunter born once a century.

"What does it feel like, Yuna?" Johan waited for the answer that would never come.

In the end, he got to his feet because he would never know. He wouldn't understand even if she told him. Because Johan wasn't a Hunter.

"That's enough moping for the month." Johan stretched till his eyes teared up. With a final sigh, he activated Translocation and entered Phantasia. "Work Work! I am the busiest person in the world!" He sang.

In the lush forest, he looked through the two odd tents. The first one had his brewing setup, beakers, flasks, tubes, the works. The second one he used for potion storage. After seven hours of back-breaking work, he finished brewing and bottling the potions for the next day.

Name: Johan Askr

Age: 25

Class: Tower Farmer

Skills: General Knowledge Lv. MAX, Translocation Lv. 3, Accelerate Growth Lv. 5, Seed Sense Lv. 3, Water Channeling Lv. 5, Basic Brewing Lv. 7, Farmer Storage Lv. 4

Magik: 27

The blue screen stung his eyes; the skills had levelled up a lot from repeated use. It was the current skill level times 100. The Hunter Net didn't lie to him.

Even his magik reserves grew from draining his magik and chugging recovering potions to the point that his stomach almost burst. Another thing he learned from mages on the Hunter Net.

Most mages disliked doing this because the recovering potions tasted like a more bitter version of matcha, but that wasn't a problem for Johan. A bit of dehydrated winter apple pulp, and it became as sweet as nectar.

Just as Johan lamented over the fact that everything indeed had a lethal dose, the bushes near the tent rustled. He jumped back and looked at the bush, the one under a blackened tree, sweat running down his brow.

The bush, a relatively normal ruby berry bush, continued to move like never before. And, in a few moments, came the culprit.

A rabbit as white as fresh snow, its beady black eyes stared at Johan. The little creature tilted its head, scratching its long ears with its paws. Even the tiny horn on the forehead did nothing but add to the charm.

However, if a certain anime had taught him anything about cutesy rabbits with horns.

It was to run away from them.

"Translocation!" So, Johan did just that.

It was only after he returned to the store that he remembered he hadn't brought the bottled potions with him. Sweat rushed down his brow.

With three hours left till Mart's opening, Johan wondered if he could take a short vacation. But the line outside said otherwise. Eager Hunters stood in line, coffees and lattes in hand. Some were even doing their morning exercises out there.

"They won't stab me, would they?" Johan gulped, caught between a rock and a hard place.
...
Here's the invite link. I hope to see you there soon: Discord
If you have any questions for me, you can ping me on Discord anytime, and I will contact you ASAP.

Want to read chapters early or support the novel directly?
Check out my Patreon
You'll get advance chapters, exclusive content, and help keep this story going strong!

Thanks for reading, and see you in the next chapter!

 

[Overload69]

Johan paced around the store like an anxious man while his wife was in labour. No, that didn't make sense. It was more like a man whose child was undergoing open-heart surgery.

Why am I thinking of useless situations?! He fought back tears as his brain tried to entertain him before the army of hunters outside turned him into a kebab.

Well, not literally, but he needed those potions asap. To do that, he had to go back, an option he wanted even less of.

Fight the magik beast? No thanks. Johan knew how that ended.

An F-Rank beast almost put him in the past tense; that horned rabbit was an E-Rank. Even though looked like a kid's toy, that thing hit as hard as a car. Johan had been hit by a car once. It didn't kill him, but his right arm and shoulders weren't in good shape.

If he had any courage left at that point, the rabbit was an omnivore that ate anything that moved, named Gluttonous rabbits.

Johan shivered as the line outside grew. Facing one E-Rank magik beast vs a horde of druggie hunters? The choice was an easy one.

"It's gotta be the rabbit." He nodded sagely. "I can't let it invade my only safe space!"

It wasn't a foolish move, just a short-term gain. Right now, he needed the potions he had left in Phantasia. If he could retrieve them, he had enough golden pears in his storage to last a week. The rabbit would run away by that time, he hoped so. After it ate all the vegetables in the fields, there wouldn't be much left to sustain it. They were called gluttonous for a reason.

In truth, Johan had a way to deal with the rabbit for now. But he needed to make a few preparations before he tried.

"Good morning, teacher." Eugene walked in with his bright smile and perfect hair, truly the picture of youth. "Is something to matter?"

"I need some armour." Johan grabbed the young man by the shoulders; this was his last hope because non-awakened weren't allowed to purchase armour and weapons. "Can you get me some?"

"…Sure." Eugene tilted his head. He seemed a bit shaken but didn't ask too many questions. "Do you need it right now?"

"Yes." Johan nodded so fast he saw three Eugenes. That didn't sound so bad, actually.

"The mall isn't open, but I can get you my set if that's ok?"

"Sure Sure, anything will do." Johan made up his mind to increase Eugene's wage.

Eugene left for his house and came back in 30 minutes, covered in sweat, probably ran both ways. His hefty bag held a leather jerkin, steel shoulder guards, and a helm, along with leather gloves and greaves.

"These can handle up to D-Rank beasts' bite." Eugene pointed at the few marks on the supple black leather, made from a magik beast's skin. The metal helm looked a bit dented, but Johan didn't have the luxury.

Unlike alchemists, blacksmiths numbered even lower. The fact that he could get these was already a blessing.

"Thank you, put a board outside that we'll open in an hour." Johan held the hefty jerkin and took in a deep breath.

Eugene nodded and left after wiping his sweat. He was such a sweet boy. If only that rabbit were like him, Johan cursed. His legs turned to lead when he reached the basement and put on the equipment. Although top-heavy, Johan felt a tad bit safer.

Not that wearing iron armour helps when you collide with a car, but he didn't want to focus on the negatives.

With a sharp exhale, he summoned the weapon in his left hand. Through the grills of the helm, the orangeness of the carrot seemed to shine, like a rare drop. But Johan had a box full of these. Holding that ten-kilogram box, he activated his Translocation skill. If he failed, he could retreat again.

But the moment his feet landed on the dewy grass, Johan's eyes met the rabbit's. The little critter had stood in the same spot. That helped Johan more. With the potion tent behind him, Johan tossed the carrot box in the air.

It only flew a few meters because of his lack of strength. The box crashed with a thump. But the carrot rain had the rabbit's attention. It ignored Johan and leaped for the nearest carrot. Already nibbling at the carrot mid jump.

Johan ran into the tent with all the swiftness he could find. The boxes of potions were still intact, much to his joy. He caught his breath and hefted the first box, full of watered-down healing potions.

"Translocation!"

His skill had a limit. He could only carry twenty kilograms at once. It also cost him 1 extra magik power. Along with the jerkin and helm, which came to nineteen kilos. Each potion weighed 100 grams, bottle included. And he had to move 300 super watered-down potions, 40 watered-down potions, and 100 basic magik recovery potions.

That was 440 kilograms. About 23 translocations one way. Even if he drowned in magik recovery potions and drank till his stomach exploded three times, he wouldn't succeed. So, why? Why was he working this hard?

Was it really the fear of Hunters? What could they do to a Hunter Mart employee? Only a few knew that Johan made the potions. Cara, Lucas, Adrian, Morgan, and Eugene. No one else knew. No one would know who to go after if he stopped selling.

He had enough money to live in comfort.

So, why?

Why was he putting himself in danger?

The answer to that was rather simple. In the time Johan had been questioning his life choices, he had transported over 10 boxes of potions. Each time he came back, he peeked out of the tent to check on the rabbit.

He saw the beast there for the first few times; it chewed away at the carrots with the small, but sharp teeth. Looking all cute and innocent. The rabbit might've eaten about ten or twenty carrots, but after that, it sat outside the field. As if waiting.

Johan would've used translocation that very instant if not for the blue window blinking in his face.

[Quest 1.2: First Friend]

[The Gluttonous Rabbit, Eunally, wants to become your friend.]

[Accept/Decline]

Reward: The Skill Tame.

Failure: —

Johan, of course, pressed accept as fast as humanly possible. If the blue screen was real, he might've poked a hole through it.

Tame, the class-exclusive skill for Beast Tamers. Any beast under the skill's effect would obey the skill caster without question. That meant it wouldn't attack the skill caster either.

Did he know why he could get that skill? No. Was he too glad to care about it? Yes.

"Was the carrot that good?" Johan let out a hollow laugh as Eunally cooed in response.

Name: Eunally

Age: 5

Class: —

Skills: Dash Lv.6, Gathering Lv.7, Danger Sense Lv.8, Sharp Ears Lv.7.

Magik: 30

Eyeing the status that he could see after taming Eunally, Johan understood how lucky he was. He had read that tamers used different ways to tame beasts; food was one of the ways.

His chest swelled with pride as he saw a potential market.

The little furball had been rubbing itself against Johan's leg this entire time. Was this called marking the territory?

It would be a lie if he didn't want to pick up the thing and bury his face in the white fluffy coat, but his mind held on by a thread of reason. In truth, it was the fear of the Hunters waiting in line.

"I'll be back in a bit, don't go anywhere." Johan tried the command through Tame, and to no one's surprise, Eunally nodded, taking a seat outside the tent.

With all the potions transferred, Johan saw Eugene bowing to the customers outside, apologizing for the delay. The poor boy was almost in tears as rough-looking hunters kept questioning him.

Truly, Hunters were far more dangerous than magik beasts. That Johan understood.

***

After the heated Hunters entered the open mart, late by an hour, they went their ways after getting their fix. Johan sighed behind the counter as the last of the customers went away. Thankfully, no one said anything after entering; they must have been in a hurry to reach somewhere.

From what he understood, most low-level Hunters bought potions on the day of the raid or a day before. Most Hunters already had their favourite spots to buy from, areas close to their houses, near the rifts, places that give discounts, or near their guilds, if they had joined one.

But that heatmap had started to change because of Johan. The Hunters that bothered to wait a few hours in line started to buy their other items from the Morgan Mart too. It was efficient and hassle-free, since the normal products scarcely differed from shop to shop.

Johan felt a lot better that the mart's profit went up, Eugene now handled putting items on shelves. He was a quick learner, memorized things, and got used to the duties much faster than when Johan started.

Although he did have a bit of aversion to the aura of other Hunters, Johan saw slight improvement in that, too. All in all, the day had been great.

After Eugene left, Johan entered Phantasia again. His setup looked clean and polished, with empty crates he brought from the mart and shiny glassware he just cleaned for the next brew.

But another addition awaited him.

"I thought it was going to be a tragedy." Johan picked up Eunally, the five-kilo fluffball, and vented about his day. It indeed helped a lot.

"Uoo." Eunally tilted his head and blinked, a direct attack on Johan's heart.

He wanted to put his face in the fluff that fingers had sunk into, but the moment he stepped out, the thought died.

Carrots sprawled all over the dirt, with the collapsed box he had thrown. Swallowing a groan, he took a new wooden box from the tent and started packing the poor carrots he had thrown so inconsiderately.

"If only someone helped me with this." He wiped each carrot with a cloth, cleaning the dirt before dropping it in the box. The task could've taken half an hour if Eunally hadn't helped.

The little thing was a blur, gathering the carrots in a neat pile near the box. Looking at him, the beady eyes asked Did I do well?

"You did very well." Johan scratched Eunally behind the ears and gave him a few carrots as a reward. It was at that moment that he caught himself.

Did they just communicate?

"Eunally, do you understand me?" Johan's eager eyes moved to the rabbit.

The rabbit turned around, blinked once, and nodded its chubby face.

"…" Johan stood rooted, his eyes sweeping over the farm around him.

Still small in size, but he had planted some vegetables around. It took him hours to harvest it himself.

But what if Eunally could do it for him?

"Eunally, gather the vegetables in the farm." Hearing his command, the rabbit stepped into the farm for the first time.

At least that's what Johan presumed, seeing the small piles of potatoes, tomatoes, spring onions, carrots, radishes, and sweet potatoes. In mere 10 minutes, the rabbit stood in front of him, his eyes shining with the question Did I do well?

"You did so well!" Holding the E-Rank Magik beast in his arms, he twirled around. Like a father watching his child do their first chore.

Johan gave three vegetables from each pile to Eunally and stored the rest in the tent. He only kept a kilo of each vegetable in his storage. He had to use the Golden Pears right after harvest. Nefel's blessing, Sherry leaves, and Ruby berries had long shelf lives.

In truth, the storage had little use at the moment. Noticing the piles of vegetables, Johan decided that he had grown enough for the time being. Most of them were grown only so he could test different combinations of his skills.

Like what would happen if he only used growth acceleration? What if he added the magik water before and then the growth acceleration? What if he only used the magik water and let it grow on its own? He had noted the cases in a thick notebook.

Each vegetable had its own quirks; potatoes and sweet potatoes didn't like growth acceleration. The new Bell peppers had problems with the magik water. But the tomatoes loved it. Carrots and radishes liked both the magik water and growth acceleration. It differed from case to case in vegetables.

On the potion ingredient side, ruby berries liked twice as much magik water as others. Golden Pear didn't like growth acceleration, magik water didn't affect them. Sherry leaves were the biggest beneficiary of growth acceleration by far, growing large and fuller if used with magik water. And Nefel's blessing was fine with anything; it would grow no matter what you do.

Johan eyed the Golden Pear sapling he had planted. It had grown as high as him now. The white branches held the fresh leaves, soaking in all the sunlight.

He spotted Eunally running southward, holding a few carrots in his mouth. The reward pile he had given the rabbit had vanished.

"Is he stockpiling it? How cute." Johan chuckled.

Feeling the crumbly earth below his feet, he looked at the azure sky and drew in a deep breath. As the fresh air filled his lungs, the cloudy mind started to clear.

He did something dumb today. The same mistake he made during the classless rift. As urgent as it was, he shouldn't have rushed into Phantasia like that. Did he trust himself to use his skill that fast?

Johan sighed. His eyes hurt, and even his head felt a little light. Maybe it would've been safer if he hadn't taken the risk. But if he didn't, nothing would change. He'd have to return to that silent room. He didn't want to do that. Above all, if he hadn't come here, he wouldn't have known he could tame beasts. That alone was worth it.

"I should rest a little after brewing the potions." Eyes set on the future profit, Johan's skipping steps sent him back to the tent.

That night, he got a full eight hours of sleep, as Thomas the Tank Engine suggested. However, when he saw the herd in front of the mart the following morning, Johan wondered if he had gone mad.

"Teacher…" Panicked and hiding under the hood of his jacket, Eugene walked into the mart under flashes of cameras. "There are reporters outside."

The trouble had multiplied, and Johan had no idea why.
...
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[Overload69]

The day after Mahapadma's second raid, the Agni Clan organised the funeral for Ivan and Selena. As per the rules, the Association had already declared the two dead two months after the first raid. But Lucas declined to accept that decision.

In fact, he had ripped the death certificate in the Association President's face. Just thinking about the time Adrian's head throbbed just thinking about it.

For today, he placed his feelings aside and held his daughter, a small thing, barely two years old, in front of Ivan's portrait. On the platform, full of lilies, carnations, and roses. He placed a box of Reese's Pieces. The old man enjoyed it even when he had a peanut allergy. It would help build up resistance, he used to say.

"Uncle, this is Seema." Adrian introduced his daughter. She seemed more interested in the flashes going on behind them, peeking over his shoulder. But his eyes looked forward. "As you guessed, she got her mother's face, but my eyes and nose… I…"

Unable finish his words, he looked at Lucas. He was handling the representative from other guilds, wearing a suit for the first time, and those big glasses to hide his eyes. Adrian felt his own eyes sting a little. Maybe because he had grown older, he tended to feel more emotional. The old man had predicted that too.

"Thank you for raising me, thank you for giving me the chance to hold my child." He bowed to the picture and moved along, giving Brima a chance.

A little distance from Ivan was Selena's picture, Adrian left the bouquet of her favourite flowers, and the vodka. As pretty as she was, she had more vodka than water in a day; they even joked that she had more vodka in her body than blood.

Sae sat near there, out of it; he seemed drunk. He never drank before.

With the ever-increasing number of camera flashes, Adrian sent his wife and daughter home. It had been a year and a half since he stepped down as the vice guild master. Partially because he had to take care of his newborn child, mostly because he couldn't continue anymore.

He had already planned to ease up after the Mahapadma raid, but the way he left made him feel bitter. Even more so when Lucas was so understanding of it. At the time, he knew Lucas wasn't stable; it showed in the news and his actions.

But he seems rather grown up today. Adrian looked at him talking with the people from the Association; he seemed very calm. That was until Lucas spotted him.

"Yo, pudgy unc." He ran over, shouting annoyingly.

"Hope truly is cruel," Adrian muttered under his breath.

"Hey now, these vultures have been annoying me all day. Lemme joke around a little." Lucas whined; he seemed more childish today.

But he had to agree, a lot of reporters had gathered. Most of them just wanted a story; Ares had fed them well. Leaking rift info was a sensitive topic, but he didn't blame the man in this incident.

"Someone talking about me?" Ares butted in, full black suit, and was a head taller than Adrian. Even though it was a funeral, this man was sparkling like it was a celebrity dinner.

"Is this what they call an attention whore?" Lucas whispered.

"Maybe look in a mirror sometimes?" Ares rolled his eyes, and Adrian could only agree with that.

"Why are you here anyway?" Lucas changed the subject, elbow on Adrian's shoulder.

"About the Rift, it wasn't an SS-Rank, right?" Ares lowered his voice so no one else could hear him, especially people from the Association. "That witch, she lied about the ranking to get quick help, didn't she?"

"No point whispering, she'll hear about what you said," Lucas said.

"Has her network expanded till here?" Ares looked around, checking every door and window in the hall.

"No No, I'll tell her." Lucas smiled.

"Huh?" Ares malfunctioned for a moment. Adrian couldn't blame him.

"Me." Lucas wagged his finger and pointed at himself. "I'll tell her that you called her a witch."

"…" Ares glanced at Adrain, but he could only shrug.

"Anyway, it's not a lie that Mahapadma was exaggerated to SS-Rank status, but it holds some truth. The rift was growing unstable, so measuring its rank wasn't easy, plus the danger to the country if it did break," Lucas added. "But the biggest danger in that rift wasn't the boss or monsters, but the environment inside the rift. An environment that justifies the re-evaluation."

"That cold, huh?" Ares nodded, even though he hadn't faced it for long because of Lucas. He seemed to understand.

Adrian's arm still stung; the memory wasn't a pleasant one for him. He had lost an arm, his father figure, and his sister that day. But it also reminded him how much of a blessing Johan's potions were this time.

And, no doubt, Ares understood that too.

"That potion you lot drank." He threaded in the real reason he had even bothered to show up today. "Where did you get that from?"

Olympus was a clan five times the size of Agni, both in Hunters and in backing. They held the EU in their palms. However, Adrian believed that this was a personal interest from Ares; the news about Johan's potions had only spread in the capital and the areas around it.

"That's a question I'd like an answer to as well, if you don't mind." A genial voice cut in.

Adrian turned to see a short man, short relative to them. He was an average guy with an average build, a simple suit, and black-framed glasses, with 70-30-part black hair. His presence matched his looks, average. Easy to overlook even. But the man wasn't that small in status.

"If it isn't the Black Moon himself." Lucas threw his arms around the awkward fellow, who could only laugh in mild embarrassment. "Never thought I'd see the day I hold information that the leader of the most notorious information-gathering guild doesn't have." He seemed proud of that.

"I must say I have been lacking lately." Black Moon adjusted his glasses. "So, if it isn't too expensive, I'd like to buy that information."

The fact that he had reached here already said enough. Black Moon, he knew his way around the back alleys and shadows. But the fact that he couldn't find Johan seemed to worry Adrian.

How deeply was that guy's supply chain hidden?

"Let's not talk about money between us." Lucas patted the man's shoulder, a smile tugging at his lips. "Let's just call it an exchange."

"That seems reasonable." Black Moon showed his sharp smile, drying his sweaty palms. "I prefer it that way."

He could see the plot already. He already knew that hiding Johan was like covering the sun; his potions held that much value in the Hunter world. So, Lucas and Adrian had agreed on something before the funeral. A plan to shoot Johan's potions into the limelight.

"I am sure you've heard of this potion shop in Sector A that's been popping lately," Lucas smirked, taking out the last remaining healing potion. The effects written on the paper tag wrapped around the bottle's neck. "I got this beauty from there, along with the ice resistance potion, made to order."

Adrian could see the switch in Ares and Black Moon's eyes. The colour and appearance of the potion was one thing, but the effects, if Adrian hadn't experienced and seen it himself, he wouldn't believe it either.

Till this point, only Cara, Lucas, and Adrian knew of this potion. He had imposed a gag order on the team that saw Cara use it. And, Johan seemed more occupied with the lower to mid-ranked hunters these days, so he hadn't sold this to anyone else.

Now, that potion was about to make a debut on the main stage.

Although he felt sorry for putting Johan on the spot. But in the Hunter world, there was no bigger blessing than being in the limelight.

And Johan's potions had just left the world's blind spot.

***

In the alley behind the mart, there was a small area hidden from the sun, a single lane for gathering trash and cardboard. Most of the shops nearby had kept the place a bit messy. Boxes thrown around, leaky dustbins missing their hoods, and the rotting stench. But Johan made it a point to clean the space attached to the mart every day.

Because he didn't want to get shit from the Association's health inspector, who dropped by irregularly, but also for the dozen or so cats that gathered there on the regular.

The reason for the cats was none other than his boss, Morgan. The woman kept a separate budget in each Mart for feeding stray cats; it fit her personality. And Johan himself didn't mind the incarnations of cuteness and danger hanging around. Over time, they had become a way to soothe him after long, weary days in the mart.

The strays that hung out here when he started had long passed on; the current ones were their kids, the ones he had seen grow up. Every day, he left several large bowls full of cat food, and he'd find them empty by morning, not a speck left. There was never enough food for the cats as their numbers just kept growing, but they never complained, at least.

However, Johan decided to use the money in his account now. The first thing he had used it for was cat food; the thought alone made him laugh as he bought boxes of good-quality cat food. Happy that, for once, the cats might have enough supper to go around.

If only there weren't these vultures stalking the place. Johan grimaced. He spotted the camera angled down from the neighbouring roof.

Two days had passed since the swarm of reporters. At first, they came into the mart, asking questions and whatnot about the mysterious alchemist who made the potions Lucas White used in Mahapadma. It took a while for them to understand that the employees did not know, so they started hawking the alleys, trying to catch anyone entering or leaving.

So far, they had only caught the distressed Eugene and annoyed Johan to no end. They were smart enough to be at a distance, so he couldn't report them for disrupting business.

Though he felt amused by imagining what sort of expression they'd make when they realized that the mysterious alchemist stood right before them. That thought had helped him get through the days.

But he lost it when their presence deterred the cats from coming by. Johan suffered from cat withdrawals, a severe case it was. He wanted to punch their camera lenses into their faces, but he held back; the cameramen were packing too much muscle for no damn reason.

Wasn't the reporter meta leaning on a sleek and slim build? Why was everyone macho now? Johan could only shake his head, waiting. He waited for the lone cat warrior that wasn't scared of these clowns, a cat hero risen from the bowels of cat hell. Or should he say a Feline Queen?

Just as the clock ticked 3, she arrived in the alley, smacking the reporter with her fluffy tail. The six-foot-tall guy jumped high, like a scared little girl.

By height, she wasn't taller than a normal cat, but her presence was bigger than any bodybuilder the world had ever seen. Her snow-white fur stood out against the black alley, not a speck of dirt on the pristine coat.

With a walk that could mesmerize any supermodel, she stopped in front of Johan. Her ocean blue eyes narrowing.

Where's my food servant? He could hear that in her low purr as she bared her fangs.

"Here you go, Misty." Johan laid the bowl, a special one with her name on it. Half of the cat food budget was usually spent on this cat's food, cause apparently, she only ate a specific brand, the damned Hermes of cat food.

Morgan had spoiled her much, and Johan couldn't complain. Just watching the little thing eat, as royally as a cat could, he felt the burden on his chest lighten.

Although a cat, Misty was a mini version of a snow leopard, just pure white.

Was it Pointy? Johan recalled the breed's name; the name was quite funny, but the reason wasn't. People named the breed pointy because they didn't leave behind pawmarks, just points.

As obvious as it was, she wasn't a breed from Earth. Misty's proud ancestor had come through a rift with the mages of Mage Tower. After settling here, that male cat, just like any last male of its species, went on a rampage.

Misty was the result of that rampage.

Why was he wasting time on trivial info? Though he wanted to pet her as he did with normal cats when they ate, past experiences had taught him otherwise.

So, like a good gentleman, Johan waited until Misty finished her meal. She seemed satisfied from the way she licked her paws, closing her eyes with a small sneer.

"You are such a handful." Taking the sign, Johan scratched misty behind the ear. As always, she let out a purr of acknowledgment and licked his fingers as he touched her chin, eyes still closed.

She seemed in a good mood today. Johan could've gotten to brush that fluffy, smooth tail, but the cameras killed the mood. The feline queen started her march back, probably to get some sleep in her royal quarters somewhere.

Slipping back into the Mart, he entered his room and collapsed on the bed. Pulling the shades to hide from the reporter next door, trying to act like he was drying clothes.

I see the damn camera around your neck, fool. Johan sighed. Good thing he had moved everything in Phantasia and changed the apparatus in the basement workshop with new ones. Even if someone broke in, they wouldn't find a trace of the potions or the maker.

It was a relief that they couldn't trace the potions to him for now. He didn't rely on the Alchemist Association for sales or materials, not to mention that his production was self-sufficient. But there was a weak point in that chain, the place of business.

For now, Johan could only produce enough to sell at the mart where he worked. That made it a single point of focus; with so many eyes watching, someone would catch the inconsistency.

The inconsistency being that no one delivered potions to the mart, before long, they'd theorize that someone inside the mart brewed the potions. And the one who stayed here the entire time was Johan.

So, he came up with a plan last night. A plan to expand the number of marts that sold his potions. He wanted to supply the potions for the entire Morgan Hunter Mart Chain.

Easier said than done. He shook his head, but hadn't lost hope. The entire plan hinged upon his brewing skill. With each level, the brewing time lowered a little, and the volume increased by a little.

Thanks to that, Johan had already shortened the brewing time by 10 minutes from the initial one hour per potion, it would only go down when he upgraded the skill after it reached lv. 10. As for bottling, he planned to get a bottling machine with Morgan's help. Good old smuggling, hehe.

But wouldn't that make this mart even more of a center for attention? The potions would go out from here; they'd catch up to that, too.

"I gotta figure this thing out soon." With his rest done, Johan jumped to his feet. But before he could open the door to his room, he felt a prickling sensation on his neck. Like someone had held a dagger against his bare skin.

Covered in cold sweat, he turned around like a cranky machine. He swore he could feel eyes on his body, eyes that saw through the curtains on his window.

When the curtains moved and the sunlight poured in, Johan only found a pigeon on the ledge. Startled by his eyes, the poor thing flapped away.

Leaving Johan alone in the chill and a blue window from the system.

[Conditions met. Skill Danger Sense, acquired.]

Looking at the mechanical, cold screen, he could only gulp as he saw a Rolls-Royce pull up in front of the Mart.

Lucas had arrived again.
...
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[Overload69]

Johan sat across from Lucas in the storage room because of the reporters outside. They couldn't have another meeting on the roof. And he didn't exactly feel safe in his room at the moment.

So, a quick setup of plastic chairs, boxes of rations serving at the table between them, he guided the two high-level hunters into the storage room.

Johan felt his stomach twisting.

Lucas had come in a very flashy outfit once again. Blue baseball jacket and jeans ripped near the knees. Truly an outgoing person.

With Adrian in the back, looking as calm and professional as ever.

It wasn't that their presence bothered him; it was the reason for the visit. It felt weird, but he could sense it. Maybe because of the skill he got. Something felt off and dangerous.

As he had guessed, Lucas started with a light talk. Passing over thank you and praise for the potion. He also admitted to releasing a little info about the mart. It stung Johan, but he couldn't really say anything back.

It was inevitable, considering the buzz, Johan concluded. Then, after all the small talk, the reason for his stomachache arrived.

"Please, have a look through this." Adrian handed him two things: one single sheet of paper, and the other a stack as thick as his head.

"Is this a contract?" Nervous, he looked at them, eyes bouncing between the papers.

"In a nutshell, yes." Lucas didn't mince his words; he only pointed at the single sheet of paper.

Johan read the 5 points written on it. Salary, protection, housing, increments, and status. He would've fainted at the salary itself, but the housing and increments jolted him awake.

Not to mention the status. Lucas wanted to make Johan the chief alchemist of the Agni Clan, a position that other alchemists in the country would kill for. However, as with all things in this capitalist world, everything came at a cost.

Namely, the protection clause. He didn't even have to look into the thick stack to understand the implications.

"Would you stop me from selling my potions to other guilds?" Johan asked the only point that mattered to him.

"It's no—" Adrian started, but Lucas raised his hand.

"We will allow it under specific conditions." He leaned forward, supporting his chin with his left hand.

"Conditions? Like, whether they are close to your clan or not?" Johan had already placed the papers on the makeshift table.

"More than that, it is for your protection. If it were up to me, I'd keep you safe in some basement. But that is not a good option considering how you are." Lucas removed his shades, a smile tugging on his lips.

"People may not know who you are right now, but they'll find out soon. You have no powerful allies. I know you are a childhood friend of Yuna Lee, but you haven't told her anything, have you?" It stung how easily Lucas had found that out, but that was the world they lived in. "Why didn't you tell her? How do you make those potions? How you have stayed under the radar till now, none of those really matter to me."

"I am simply a businessman looking to invest," Lucas added. "And I want to make good on my investment, that's why I'll treat you with respect. So, what is your answer?"

Even though he sat in front of Lucas, Johan didn't feel any aura or pressure. There was no coercion, just as Lucas had said; this was a business deal where both parties were on equal terms. There was enough money on the table for Johan to live carefreely, but that didn't matter.

He closed his eyes, remembering the day of awakening. He felt so disappointed that he had gained the class Tower Farmer. After Morgan left, he cried in the hospital that day, even though he had tried to put up a brave front.

But he also decided something.

There was no doubt that Lucas and Adrian meant well. He could say that with certainty today. But Johan had decided to use the class to its full potential.

"Sorry." Johan started, pushing the papers back to Lucas. "This is not the offer I am looking for."

"For real?" Lucas blinked.

"For real, real." Johan nodded.

Lucas raised his hand. Johan flinched a little, but soon realized it was aimed towards Adrian. The man, as tough as stone, clicked his tongue for the first time.

"Gimme gimme." Lucas continued to wave his hand with his snarky tone.

"You won." Adrian handed over what seemed like a Pokémon card.

Johan happened to see the words on the case 2000 Pokemon Charizard Base II Holographic #4/130 Graded PSA 9 Mint. He had no idea what it meant, but Lucas was over the moon.

It took him a solid minute to look back at Johan. Adrian had already collected the papers, disgruntled.

"By the way, I want to place an order for twenty healing potions. Is that possible?" Lucas said, almost as if that was the side quest. Maybe for the Clan head of Agni, it was one?

"I'll have them ready by the end of the week." Johan showed his business smile.

Lucas paid half in advance and left, a new spring in his steps. Watching the rolls Royce move out, ignoring the flashing cameras, Johan let out a sigh and collapsed in the chair in his room.

He had half expected to get kidnapped when he refused, but Lucas was a good sport about it. Recalling the salary, a pang of pain shot through his chest. The zeros alone made his mind go in circles. But Johan believed he could make more.

Not to mention other problems that would come with the contract. The excessive protection was one thing, but they won't let him continue his work at Mart. The foot he had wrenched into the door of the potion market would be for naught. And he didn't want to leave without paying back Morgan and Eugene.

But a mansion in Sector H, the most luxurious area in the capital. Johan almost called Lucas back. Good thing he held back.

It's not that I don't want to settle down; I need an understanding partner. Johan twisted in his bed, now facing the poster of his friend Yuna Lee.

He should've told her. Her number in his phone stared at him. But he hesitated to press the call button. Maybe she had changed her number. She most likely did.

"I'll tell her," Johan vowed, "when I meet her."

When would that meeting happen? Johan didn't know. What he did know was that he had an order to complete.

"Time to earn my keep." He said, going to the basement as the bank notification popped up.

***

On the way back to the Agni Clan, Lucas sat in the backseat alone. He had a lot on his mind. But for the time being, he felt content just looking at the Charizard card in his hand.

Adrian seemed less than pleased with the situation, glancing back at him at fixed intervals. But the side eyes won't get him the card; Lucas had his eye on it for a while. He had no plans of letting it go, especially not out of pity or generosity.

It wasn't until another thirty minutes had passed that Adrian spoke.

"How did you know?"

"About what?" Lucas tilted his head, pointing at the Pokémon card. "This?"

"About Johan," Adrian spoke through his clenched jaw. "How did you know he'd refuse?"

"Oh, that?" Lucas leaned back into the heated seat. From the moment Adrian had started drafting the contract, he knew Johan wouldn't agree.

It wasn't that the contract had a fault. Adrian was as meticulous as they came, even more than top-tier lawyers in the Hunter field. And he only had good intentions for Johan; there wasn't a single trap or loophole in the contract, unless Johan's life was in danger. All in all, it was a contract that would have anyone else in the country drool.

"Did you see it?" Adrian asked, and they came to a halt as the traffic lights turned red.

"More like felt it." Lucas yawned, pocketing the card. "I already felt that he wouldn't agree to join our clan the first time I met him."

"Why?" The creases on Adrian's forehead deepened; it was a small wonder why this troubled him so much. "Does he not know how valuable he is?"

"Oh, he knows." Lucas chuckled. "That guy knows his value well. If he didn't, he wouldn't have tried to reach Agni Clan through Cara."

"If that wasn't enough, you can see the moves he pulled into the lower bracket of the potion market." He could only laugh when he read about it. "That's a guy who knows what he is capable of and is aware of it. He knows exactly how he is affecting the market, even the dangers that come with it."

"If he knows that much, why won't he sign with us?" Adrian turned to face him; he didn't care if the lights had turned green.

"Because he doesn't want to." Lucas shrugged at the blank face Adrian gave him. "If I have to put it in simpler words…"

"He knows his role, he has somewhat accepted it, and he knows he can do well in that role." Lucas looked at the tinted window with a slight smile. "He just doesn't want to admit it yet."

"Sounds like another person I know." Adrian shook his head, grasping the steering wheel again.

"Pray tell, who is this magnificent man?" Lucas leaned forward, stuck to the driver's seat. "Come on, tell me."

"Clan Leader, please show some decorum." Adrian cleared his throat as they rolled into the parking lot of the Clan building.

"Such a mood killer." Lucas fell back to his seat, crossing his arms.

Though he had to admit, the arrow had struck true. His eyes landed on the cloak to his left. A rough-spun crimson cloak with a golden border, one that Sae, Adrian, Selena, Brima, and he made from the scraps.

On the surface, it was a basic cloak without much value, but to the Agni Clan, it was the symbol of the clan leader. The old man used to wear it with pride, as shabby as it was. Now, Lucas had to wear it.

Maybe Johan was also waiting for that moment. Waiting for the point where he had no other choice but to admit his role.

As the car settled into the parking, Lucas picked the cloak up and turned to Adrian.

"Increase the surveillance around him, just follow the usual codes." He yawned, stepping out under the dull light of the parking lot.

"You aren't leaving him alone?" Adrian raised his brow, checking the locked car door.

"It was never for him to decide if he had joined the Agni clan. If I say he is a part of our clan, he is." Lucas threw his shades on. "Jokes aside, he is still an important business partner; we can't lose him."

"And I'd be damned if I make the same mistake as the idiots from the Round Table." Lucas walked to the elevator coolly, at least he wanted to. But his phone started to ring.

"Oh my…" Lucas stopped after reading the name.

"Who is it?" Adrian caught up.

"The witch, who else?" Lucas turned the phone towards him.

"You aren't gonna answer that?" Adrian began to sweat as the ring went off a few more times.

"Imma send her to voicemail."

"Lucas, that's the Association President, you don't send the Association president, who controls all the Hunters in the country, to voicemail." Adrian's voice cracked.

"Watch me." Lucas sent her to voicemail.

"Today is such a beautiful day."

Carrying the cloak in his hands and leaving behind a terrified Adrian, Lucas walked away in his usual swagger.
...
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[Overload69]

After what seemed like a long day, even though the sun had yet to set, Johan stumbled his way into the potion workshop. Closing the heavy door with extreme caution, he checked every corner of the green-tinted room before letting out a sigh of relief.

A sense of urgency settled in his chest like he had walked on eggshells the entire time. The danger sense he had acquired seemed like a passive skill, and Johan felt a small gratitude but an immense hatred toward the constant pings going off in his head.

Ignorance was truly bliss.

When he entered Phantasia, nothing threatened him under the azure sky. The fresh, gentle air kissing his hair urged him to take a dive in the lush grass under the tree's shade and sleep like no tomorrow.

He would like that, he really would.

But Eunally hopped up to him. With alert ears, he chewed on a carrot, his lunch. But beside him was another rabbit, pretty much a carbon copy of him, from the fur to the eyes and the horn. The only difference was that this rabbit had floppy ears that rested on his, err, her back?

[Horned Rabbit (Female) wants to be your friend.]

[Accept/Decline]

Eunally had found himself and Johan a new friend. From the little crumbs around the new one's mouth, he had no doubt shared his food. Johan felt a bit happy, no, he couldn't stop the smile rising to his lips as he accepted. Since the rabbit didn't have a name, he decided to come up with one.

"Eunally… so, Nunally might be good?" He muttered to himself as another blue screen jumped into his vision.

Name: Nunally

Age: 4

Class: —

Skills: Borough Lv.8, Organization Lv.7, Danger Sense Lv.6, Swiftness Lv.6.

Magik: 29

"So, I can name them, that's neat," Johan confirmed another effect of the tame skill.

But his attention was more on the skills the two had. Maybe they knew each other from before?

Eunally seemed like the gatherer, and Nunally should be on base duty. Were they actually a couple? Johan looked at the two rabbits cooing to each other, Eunally moving his arms around rapidly, trying to explain the farm space to Nunally, who nodded in a calm and collected manner.

If there are two, there can be four; if there are four, an army isn't a dream. A sharp glint appeared in Johan's eyes. If he had an army of E-ranked beasts, he could have them chow through D-ranked beasts, Re: Zero style. Though he might need a blindfold and a strong stomach medicine before giving the order.

"Time for work, the world is waiting on my potions!" He had wasted enough time for the day.

Johan had entered Phantasia with a mission today. He looked at his skills, and a single one stood out among them.

Basic Brewing Lv.9

With a level-up formula, current skill level x 100, he had somehow reached level 9 for this skill. As it was the one most magik efficient and also the one he used the most.

Now, he needed to use the skill 900 times to reach level 10 and meet the first upgrade requirement. The number alone made Johan dizzy; the time needed for this wasn't small. But he had that luxury now.

The mart had seen a slight decrease in customers as of late. Low Rank Hunters treated their potions as a last resort, mid rank hunters were a bit generous, but they only went into rifts once or twice a week. Johan had expected the drop, but the damned Hunter Net extended the hype on his potions, and Hunters from all over the capital started to gather, turning it into a mess.

Although in tears, he still liked and shared every thread about his potions. But the hard times were gone, for now at least. Johan could focus on maxing out the brewing skill. The only problem was that he might run out of containers to store the potions by the time he finished.

"Future me will figure it out." Johan tee-hee'd and jumped into the brewing tent.

He started with Lucas's order of 10 basic healing potions. The process wasn't much different from before, but he could now do it blindfolded, not that he'd dare to. With the brewing time cut to 45 minutes, after reaching level 9. He could make the potions much faster. However, what surprised him was the discovery of another potion type.

In the bottle, a shimmering golden potion housed a single star, the star turned silver, swaying in the viscous liquid but never sinking, just hovering.

Name: Basic Healing Potion

Rank: D+

40% HP and Magik power recovery in an instant, 5% chance of doubling the next skill's effects.

Notes: Best used for severe injuries or loss of a limb. The effect is not stackable.

"What in the RNG!" Johan got flashbacks, as an F2P, they weren't pleasant in the least.

The trauma lasted for a moment as Johan started to wonder if this was the effect of his skill level up too. Because if it was, it took too long to show up.

"Luck-based things are the worst." He shuddered like a leaf.

But curiosity burned inside Johan, since there was a D+, there should be a D- rank for this potion too, right? He hadn't seen it until now. Maybe he was such a genius that his potions wouldn't show a minus? That might be it. Well, it was the ingredients, but guess where that came from?

Pleased with himself, he pocketed the new potion and brewed another for Lucas's order, setting them aside in a metallic suitcase for presentation.

The rest of the brewing went naturally; one thing that surprised him was Nunally. She saw him put a finished potion in a crate once and started to do it on her own. The smart kid could even cork the potion and store it in a single motion, not wasting a drop.

And as soon as the crate filled up, Eunally would appear out of nowhere and carry the 20-kilo crate, overhead, to the storage tent like it was a single carrot.

And I tried to face that with a leather jerkin. God help me. Johan could only wipe his cold sweat away, and Nunally rubbed herself against his legs.

Did I help? Her eyes seemed to ask.

"You helped a lot." Johan caressed her little head, feeling her long ears flap under her hand. He only had to brew and bottle the potions; the two rabbits helped him save hours of back-breaking lifting.

Considering how weak he was, maybe he should consider weight lifting a little?

Watching Nunally close her eyes and stick her head into his palm, Johan felt like he could pet her all day. That was until he heard an empty crate landing on the dirt with a thump.

Eunally stood frozen as the world had collapsed. He crawled closer, sat beside Nunally, and looked at Johan with questioning eyes.

"You did well, too, Eunally." Johan chuckled, both his hands occupied.

Eunally grunted; he still seemed a little upset. So, Johan decided to give him some extra carrots.

As he watched them carry the vegetables to their secret borough, Johan smiled and sat down under the very first tree he had planted in this place.

The small branch had turned into a trunk that would take four of him to circle. He had no idea how it grew so quick or why. Johan hadn't done anything but water it in regular intervals.

But that was ok, not everything had to make sense. If he looked for logic in every little incident, he'd stress himself to death. As long as things progressed, Johan didn't mind the lack of clarity.

Work kept him busy. Actions always had results. That type of life wasn't bad, especially when he had two rabbits running around him like little children.

Is this the start of my healing life? Johan wondered.

But reality had a cruel way of waking people up.

When Johan returned to the mart around midnight, it felt like he had misjudged the clock and arrived at daytime. Light blasted in through the window of his room. It wasn't sunlight, but from the camera flashes.

Reporters surrounded his mart like ants to a mound of sugar. Station cars moved busily as aunties with their curlers complained about the noise and lighting.

Johan, however, had his eyes on his phone screen. A hot article had dropped when he was in Phantasia. An article from the acclaimed Hunter/Reporter, Shadowman.

[Breaking News: The Alchemist that had shaken the capital city over the past month, with long lines of Hunters and the one Lucas White credits for his success in Mahapadma, his name is….]

The title ended in a cheap attempt at a cliffhanger, the writer's signature style, but the photo below the title filled in. It was a shot of that same afternoon, the time when he fed Misty. With the name written in capital bold letters, so no one could miss it.

Johan Askr.

"I am fucked, aren't I?" Johan Askr said to himself.

***

Yuna hadn't had a happy day in a long while, but good days, she had her share of them. Every successful rift raid and a plate of katsu curry without a camera following her, she considered the day a good one.

The past three days had been good ones, a new record. But today seemed different. She had her steaming espresso at the counter of the small café in front of her guild, and for the first time, she didn't have to worry about the reporter shadowing her.

The rich aroma tickled her nose as she stirred the shot from top to bottom. A glass of water later, she enjoyed the slight bitterness, followed by a sweet tone, and a subtle acidity.

With the velvety texture and lingering aftertaste, she walked into her guild. A small two-story building, formerly a convenience store. Yuna was the first to arrive, as usual, feeding her Hunter ID into the system.

Walking past the reception, she turned the building lights on, the ones she had installed herself with her guild members. Though called a guild, what she had was one single team. But that was enough for a start, she believed that much while going through their rift record from the past month.

With salaries and utilities paid for, the guild still had funds left for other tasks. She considered the month a good one.

In the cushiony chair, she enjoyed her afternoon coffee, feeling the warm sunlight on her skin through the big windows. The same windows she usually kept covered to hide from the scaling cameramen.

Today truly was a good day. But Yuna couldn't muster a smile despite that. Instead, her lips pressed into a hard line; she didn't want a good day, but more. And to make that, she still missed an important factor.

"Guild Master!" The burgundy doors to her office flew open, hinges screaming. "Have you seen this?"

The extremely upbeat intruder, the one who shoved an iPad in her face, was her junior from S.K University days. The team's youngest member, and the one in charge of info gathering.

Was she hiding in her dark room again? Yuna squinted at the extremely low brightness screen, against the sun's glare, and made out the title of the article. But more than that, a name echoed in her head.

"Johan…" She murmured.

"Yes, it's Johan Askr. He is the one Lucas White credited; he made those amazing golden potions I brought in the other day!" Sasha seemed beside herself at the reveal. And most of the internet was with her.

According to Shadowman, Lucas had visited the Morgan Hunter Mart, the source of potions that had become the talk of the town, and at the time, Johan was the only one present in the building. It seemed the two had a secret meeting about another order of the special potions.

Though a lot of people quoted the invasion of privacy, Yuna knew how slippery this reporter was. He had a skill similar to sonar, a skill that'd become very valuable for maze-type rifts; even normally, it would make Shadowman a great scout.

But the person was more interested in being a reporter.

"Do you think Lucas was in on this plan?" Sasha's brown eyes glinted, like she had found a new puzzle.

"Impossible." Yuna had seen firsthand the hate Lucas had for reporters; there was no way he'd team up with the worst of the bunch. "Shadowman must've scanned the building after following Lucas, and run away before he noticed. This article is half shot in the dark, not that anyone cares."

"Isn't Shadowman like really creepy?" Sasha hugged herself, shaking her head, and her short brown bob with it.

"It is easy to catch him," Yuna said, her eyes full of confidence. "When he uses Sonar, you can feel the vibration when it passes through solid matter, and when it lands on your skin, you just can't miss it."

"Guild Leader, you know that normal hunters don't have perception that strong, unless they have a perception-based class." Sasha showed a wry smile.

"I don't have perception skills either," Yuna added. "It is easy once you get the hang of it. Wanna learn?"

"I'll pass." Sasha slipped away. "See you later, Guild Master!"

Why would she run away? And what was that gaze? Was there something scary behind Yuna that she didn't sense? That wasn't possible.

Scratching her cheek for a moment, she looked back at the pink iPad left behind by Sasha. Yuna increased the brightness and saw the face again.

Squatting in an alley, he was feeding a white cat, but he had enough time to throw a peace sign for the camera. That was Johan.

Has it been 6 years? Yuna closed her eyes; it took her back to the high school graduation every time she did.

Admitted into the S.K University with a full scholarship, she felt happy that day. Excited, she ran out of the principal's office to find Johan. Her feet were sore, and the shoes were a size smaller. But she had forgotten all about that,

Johan had also tried to enter the S.K. University for a major in rift studies. She knew he was smart enough for it; she had seen him study for nights on end.

"I was rejected, guess you need a class to even study rifts, ahaha!" Hearing that upbeat laughter, her stomach twisted. "But I haven't given up yet, I'll try next year again after I get my class, and the year after that if needed."

"Just go ahead, I'll keep our promise." She believed him; she always did. Because Johan never broke a promise. "When I get my class, I'll tell you first. Then, we'll be hunters together."

Yuna should've known at the time when he didn't look back at her. She should've known. His swaying black hair and trembling shoulders were the last she remembered of him.

Years passed, she graduated, and formed her own guild. But she didn't hear from him. She waited for his call, but it never came. Until she found him by accident, his black hair had turned platinum. He seemed much paler, much thinner. He had changed a lot.

But he still had the heart to risk his life to save a helpless girl.

She smiled when she saw him in the hospital. The wisp of magic coursing through his body, she could feel it. Johan had awakened his class that day.

She left satisfied, holding her phone in anticipation since that day. She still had it in her hands, still waiting.

Opening her eyes, she looked at his stupid face, acting like he had all the time in the world.

"…Liar." She muttered.

The door to her office opened again, gently this time. Yuna placed the iPad on the table, facing Victor, the auburn-haired young man. Since he came directly, it only meant one thing.

"Emergency, Riverside Avenue. Rift Rank B." He yawned, not bothering to hide his dark circles.

"Tell them I am on my way." Yuna already had her sword in hand.

She rushed out of the guild building, jumping over skyscrapers and stubborn traffic.

There was a lot she wanted to do, there was a lot she was meant to do, but she was never meant to do this on her own. With her phone still in hand, she rushed down to her destination faster than the wind.
...
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Check out my Patreon
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[Overload69]

Johan sat under the golden pear tree in Phantasia. The gentle wind rustled through the leaves above. A sound easy on the ears. With soft grass under him and the cool trunk to his back. Normally, he would feel sleepy around here.

But today, he sat in a fetal position, blowing into a crinkled brown paper bag. It was his way to calm down. To say the least, it wasn't working this time.

Johan had expected the media would find him eventually, just not this fast. Curse that damned Shadowman. If he found that bastard, he'd drown the creep in sewage water. If he found him.

Shadowman had a sonar-like scouting skill and even stealth to boot. Johan had a higher chance of catching a misty off guard than that mosquito. The worst part was that Shadowman himself had released info on his skills. Taunting his victims and future targets, saying Catch me if you can.

Johan had no real way of catching the person, and even if he did, the damage had already been done.

Yes, since it already happened. No point mulling over it. He shot to his feet, scaring Nunally and Eunally, poor things had stayed near him, trying to figure out what happened.

"It's nothing, don't worry." Johan fed them a few carrots, and they seemed assured.

But he wasn't so calm on the inside. He had stayed in Phantasia for 15 hours now, after messaging Eugene to skip work for a few days.

It felt like those lawless reporters would break down his door if they saw a little movement. Well, not really, since laws were strict on these actions. Police had already arrived last night because of the complaints from nearby residents.

First Hunters and now the reporters, somehow Johan had seen the worst side of them since he awakened his class. However, there was a silver lining even in this.

He wasn't sitting around having a mental breakdown for the full 15 hours. In fact, he had continued his skill grind to take his mind off the problems. And that worked in his favour.

[Your skill Basic Brewing has reached max level.]

[Conditions for skill upgrade: Brew a D+ Rank potion, Basic Brewing Lv.10]

[Conditions met.]

[Would you like to upgrade the skill Basic Brewing to Intermediate Brewing?]

"Upgrade!" Johan proclaimed, hoping the dopamine hit would wash the nervousness away.

But there wasn't anything grand to skill upgrade as he had expected. There was a stir in the magik power that gathered in his body, but aside from that, only the skill section showed a change.

Intermediate Brewing Lv. 1

That's all she wrote. Deflated, Johan scratched his head. Forced to think about the problem in the outside world, he decided to do the only logical thing.

"Let's just stay here, in Phantasia." Johan beamed, tying a hammock for himself.

Why bother with the nasty reporters outside when he could enjoy the ever-sunny days and fresh air here?

He could spend his days farming vegetables and playing with his cute rabbit friends. The real start of his healing life.

Or so it was meant to be.

Today, Johan learned another fact about Phantasia. The time limit. The time he could stay in there was 16 hours a day. After that, he'd get transferred back by force, just like right now. Like a game shutting you out for playing too long, asking you to rest.

"Eight hours?! What am I supposed to do with eight hours?" Johan banged his fist against the marble floor of the basement workshop, hearing a blue tank engine laughing in the back of his head.

Already resigned to his fate, Johan climbed the stairs like a goblin. Peeking over the mart counter. The orange from the evening came through the windows. He had covered them with wet newspaper last night. The outside seemed calm on the surface, but he couldn't find the courage to check himself.

"The reporters are hiding around the alleys." Someone said.

"Aahhhh!" Johan screamed, a very high-pitched scream, and almost tumbled down the stairs.

Almost. Because the one who spoke grabbed him in a hurry.

"Teacher, are you ok?" Eugene spoke in genuine horror.

"I am, but I think my dignity is dead." Johan slumped, his eyes blank.

After a moment, Johan and Eugene both sat under the counter's shade. The boy got worried about the message and the article online. In the end, he sneaked himself in with the spare key, dodging all the reporters in the way, at least he tried. Indeed, a capable and caring kid.

"I am truly sorry." Eugene apologized for the nth time.

"It's ok," Johan assured him, but his dead eyes didn't help much. Thankfully, his rumbling stomach came to the rescue.

"I'll bring you some beef bone soup." Eugene jumped to his feet, ready to head out, but he stopped.

And Johan couldn't ask him why either. He gulped, like sitting on pins and needles. That familiar stinging sensation returned, this time covering his entire body.

With a trembling hand, Johan clutched the counter's ledge and peeked over it. He hadn't heard the door open, but two people had entered as the lights illuminated the mart.

"What are you doing over there, bro? Playing hide and seek?" First was Lucas, casual as usual.

The problem wasn't him, but the woman next to him. With striking violet hair and equally striking red cloth over her eyes, she smiled, as if she could feel his fear.

She stepped forward, heels clacking on the floor, the black trenchcoat on her draped over her shoulder, flowing back. Showing the long purple dress. This woman was the epitome of maturity. And Johan had a weak point for these types.

She rested her elbows on the counter and leaned forward, hovering over Johan. So close that he could smell the classy perfume and count each pearl on her necklace.

"Johan, right? Name's Merilyn. But I suppose you already know that." The Hunter Association President smiled, her earrings clinking softly.

***

Johan had always pegged himself as somewhat of a rational individual. No matter how much he delayed a problem, he'd inevitably come around to deal with it.

But, as he observed Merilyn sitting on his bed, one long leg over the other, drinking tea from a China cup he didn't even know he had, Johan wanted to run away as far as he could. He would've tried if the woman in front of him wasn't the very face of Hunter Circle in the country.

With the glass skin and fair beauty, she looked as young as him, no, even younger. Even if he knew that she had been the Hunter Association President for forty years, if she said she was just a few years his elder, he would've nodded along.

"Hmm," She faced him, the red lips forming a measured smile, "I'll allow it."

"Allow what?" Johan almost backed into the corner of the room, not that it would help much to be honest.

"Most of the people who first meet this hag think the same thing; she's used to it," Lucas answered him, after inspecting Johan's meager game collection.

"What I ought to get used to is disciplining you more often," Merilyn said, resting the empty teacup on the bedside table.

"Cut me some slack, I am still mourning." Lucas formed a not-so-pitiful expression.

Landed in between them, Johan could feel the tension, the clash of energies. It wasn't too dramatic. Just alien. Like a strict aunt facing her taciturn nephew. He wondered if his brain was alright, trivializing the situation like this.

Lucas was an S-Rank, and Merilyn, although there had been no reports on her abilities and rank, gave Johan the same sense of danger he felt from Lucas, if not more.

"Excuse me, a question." Johan raised his hand, feeling like a guest in his own home.

"Go on." She turned to him.

"Why are you here, Hunter Association president?" He gathered his courage to ask.

"Merilyn is fine," she said.

"I don't think I ca-"

"Merilyn." Her tone dropped a little.

"Ok, Merilyn." Authoritative women were truly his bane.

As if pleased by his compliance, she nodded.

"The reason I am here, there are many," Merilyn added. "I am here to meet an Awakened that didn't register his class, I am here to meet a potion maker selling potions without a license, I can go on, but you see the point, right dear?"

Hearing her call him dear while listing those things sent a chill down Johan's spine. But it seemed like she wasn't done.

"Don't misunderstand, I am not here to punish you for such trivial matters. I am here to seek your expertise." She placed her elbow on her thigh and rested her chin on the back of her hand. "So, do I have your attention, Alchemist?"

Johan wouldn't call himself an expert in potion making by a long shot. If anything, he knew the theory and planned to put it all into practice. But hearing the Hunter Association President address him as Alchemist, he couldn't hide his rising mood.

"What can I do for you?" Would it be Healing potions? Ice resistance potions? Or others? Johan had the confidence he could supply them with ease now that his brewing skill had levelled up.

"A Detoxifying potion, can you make one?" Merilyn asked.

A Detoxifying potion, a potion to remove poison and some status effects stemming from it. Johan had read about them. He knew the process. But he could never try making them.

"The Mage Tower has a monopoly on Night bloom flowers." They didn't allow the trading of that flower, and people hadn't found them in rifts. Only the Mage Tower grew it in secrecy, so were the rumours on Hunter Net.

"Hmm, what if I can get you the Night bloom flowers?" she mused.

"Before that, can you tell me what you'll use it for? Because I feel like I am getting involved in a big conspiracy here." Johan doubted the Mage Tower would hand over the flowers they had kept secret for so long. And Merilyn's method would be less than savoury, he could already tell that.

As the shrimp that could get caught between whales, Johan wanted out of the eventual fallout.

"That makes my job easier." She sounded a bit pleased, but maybe that was his imagination. "Have you heard of Master Adelan?"

Of course, he had; that was the Master blacksmith of the Round Table in the UK. There was no photo or interview of him, but he was one of the few in the world who could produce magik weapons and imbue skills in them. Hunters paid enormous sums and waited for years just to get a single piece. He was a legend, just like Merilyn in front of him.

"What about him?" Although Johan asked the question, he felt uneasiness building up inside his chest.

"Two weeks ago, someone poisoned Master Adelan. It's a poison from the S-Rank four-eyed basilisk, a slow-acting agent that paralyzes and petrifies the affected over time." Merilyn said calmly. "They had tried the Mage Tower's potion, and they had employed the best healer, but it didn't help. That potion cannot deal with both the poison and petrification at once, same with the healer. And both effects cannot work at the same time through different mediums."

"That brings me to you." She stood up and straightened her dress. "I've confirmed that your healing potion and ice resistance potions surpass the Mage Tower's best. And I came here hoping it is the same with the Detoxifying potion."

She stood before him, as tall as him in her heels, her hand reached for his face. The cold fingers brushed against his cheek as a smile formed on her lips.

"I'll reward you generously if you make that potion for me." She whispered.

"Back off, you hag!" Lucas jumped the two, his mouth twisted with disdain. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Negotiating, of course." Merilyn showed a peppy smile.

"What negotiation? You are making him uncomfortable! Right?" Lucas turned to face Johan, but blinked in confusion.

"It wasn't that bad." Johan scratched his heated face, much to Lucas's shock. "Sorry, Merilyn, I couldn't focus well." He tried to laugh it off.

"No offense taken." She chuckled. "In fact, I am pleased."

"Now I feel like the weird one," Lucas grumbled.

"Anyway, about the potion, I think I can give it a try if I have the flowers." Johan coughed, eyeing the crossed-armed Merilyn. "But about the reward, if it ok if I ask for something aside from money?"

"Sure." She agreed a bit too fast; maybe she could already guess what he wanted.

But that didn't matter. Johan looked at the boarded-up window in his room. The reporters were definitely hiding outside, but he didn't fear them anymore.

To deal with a force, you needed an excessive force! Johan could get that right now.

"No worries then." Johan stepped forward this time, extending his hand. "I agree to the deal."

"A wise decision." Merilyn met his hand with her own, her slender fingers wrapping around his palm.

Just you wait, reporters, I'll show you what Law and Order means in this country! Johan smirked, ready to enjoy his peace again.
...
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[Overload69]

Cats were curious creatures. They could be warm and friendly when they wanted, and aggressive when it suited them. Trying to judge their mood wasn't easy. One minute, they could be eating, their tails swaying as you pet them. The next minute, they'd run after you, hissing because you scratched a spot they didn't like.

People often likened cats to women, though Johan begged to differ. He hadn't faced trouble with women in his life. With cats? He got scratched so many times that he stopped counting. Some, in particular, were real nasty, always going for the face.

But despite all those problems, Johan had to agree that watching cats eat in the back alley was a blessing he didn't want to miss.

A day had passed since his unexpected deal with Merilyn, and he had to say the woman was as competent as she was beautiful. The mass of reporters had vanished the very next morning like smoke.

The peace of the neighbourhood returned, and the cats with it. That itself was a sign. They indeed had a sharp sense, that's for sure. Though he felt a bit disheartened, they didn't help him with the reporters, but there wasn't much they could do realistically aside from giving him moral support.

But they provided that in spades today. And they took their payment in full. A 15-kilo case of cat food had vanished within an hour.

As for why he had been thinking about the fickleness of cats, that's thanks to the last visitor of the day. Misty arrived as always and ate her fill. However, when Johan tried to pet her, she hissed. Swatting his hand away like handling a flea.

"What got into her all of a sudden?" Johan could only wonder as he tidied up the area and entered the store long after Misty left.

Eugene had already left for his classes, and the place looked normal. Very peaceful, he must add. Fingers of sunlight poured in from the clean windows, landing on the stacked shelves full of instant meal packs and empty potion baskets. The freezer fans seemed bearable. He did call a technician, but the guy said there was no problem with it. Maybe he should just change them?

Anyways, thanks to him grinding skills, he had enough potions to last for a while. So, no pressure from addicted Hunters for a few days.

The last few days had been so stressful that the sudden calm turned overwhelming. It all felt like a bad dream, but reality was a nasty thing.

Although not in his view, the articles about him appeared on the portal sites, and there was a new section in Hunter Net, added just for Johan and his potions.

The threads discussed his potions and other unrelated things. Like Johan's face card, which he didn't mind in the slightest. Though some things did bother him. Like how the internet had somehow decided that he liked Pepsi because of one photo he had to post.

Cok, err, Coca-Cola with fried chicken all the way. He caught himself before an incident.

After a rambunctious few days, Johan leaned at the counter and smiled at the sudden peace. However, as always, peace came with a price.

Merilyn's call came with a package for him.

"There are only seven seeds in there, so don't fail, ok deary?" She hung up before he could say anything. Success was mandatory.

The task he had to do wasn't easy. Growing a plant with little information and a limited number of tries. Although he had agreed to it at the moment to get rid of the problems looming on his head, he sort of regretted doing that now.

As a wise man on the internet once said, if you face a problem your past self left to you, leave it to your future self if possible, if that's not possible, curse him and get to work. Johan couldn't do that, so he shoved the thought to the back of his mind for now. What's done was done. Simple enough.

In the potion lab, he opened the cardboard box with a small knife and removed the grey, wooden box from the foam and bubble wrap. Inside the box, as big as a tablet, were seven seeds on a bed of white cotton.

Rather than normal seeds, they looked more like the pit of an avocado, just rougher to the touch and a deep black. There was a lingering smell of old coins on it, though. Almost felt like a lump of coal, good thing they didn't leave residue.

There was little to no information on Night Bloom flowers in the books. Mage Tower had excluded it all in every way possible, those bastards. And there had not been any reported sightings of it in any rifts so far.

Is it an artificial flower? Johan thought that was a possibility. If so, growing it would only become more difficult.

What he feared more was how Merilyn had acquired the seeds. Maybe the Mage Tower had given it away on purpose, thinking there was no way for others to succeed?

That kind of made him want to succeed even more. His Class was all about farming, wasn't it? There was a farmer in its damned name for crying out loud. What use would it have if he couldn't even grow this?

Granted, he had spent a lot more time brewing potions than farming. But he didn't neglect his other skills either.

Name: Night Bloom Seed

Rank: —

Information: A seed to grow the Night Bloom flower, a flower used for the Basic Detoxification potion. A flower that thrives in poisonous ecosystems.

Even if he didn't use it much, his skill General Knowledge was a great asset. From what he understood, the skill would take information he had and supplement a little from its own.

Although it needed a base of knowledge, it was useful in times when he had little information. But this wasn't all.

"Seed Sense." He used the most suitable skill he had to extract more information.

Name: Night Bloom Seed

Rank: —

Information: A seed to grow the Night Bloom flower, a flower that thrives in poisonous soil with heavy metals or bio-poison. Exposure to Sunlight is harmful.

"This is a good start," Johan noted the information in a fresh book.

Considering a month had passed since Master Adelan's poisoning, Johan had to assume he had another month at most. Thankfully, the poison was a slow-acting one, probably to slip under the radar. And Master Adelan's magik and physical resistance, along with healers and potions, should stretch out his remaining time. In the worst case, he had two weeks. Every second mattered, and he had to make even the failures count.

But before he could plant the seed, he needed to create the environment it needed. Johan rushed to the storage room and picked up a tent. A tent for a party of ten hunters. It was as wide as the mart.

It came with a black tarp durable enough to withstand kitchen knives and sword pokes.

With the tent's skeleton and ten tarps, he entered Phantasia. Eunally and Nunally weren't around. So, he stopped near the fog border, without losing sight of his farm and tents, and placed the tent's first pole in the clearing.

It took him a while to erect the skeleton, and screwing in those bolts became a hassle even with a ladder. It wasn't the safest option to use on soil, but it worked out.

Good thing no strong winds raged through this forest, so he could layer the black tarps over each other with ease. It took seven tarps, less than he expected, to shroud the inside of the tent into pitch black. He used the remaining three to cover the ground and held them in place using stakes, much like the other tarps.

Inside, Johan couldn't see his hand if he pressed it against his face. However, this was the basic requirements done. The biggest hurdle was the poisonous environment the flower needed.

If it were Phantasia during his class awakening ritual, it may be a good fit. But the current one was too vibrant and full of vitality. Each breath here made him feel healthier; the smoke from the city that wracked his lungs for years was getting cleansed or something.

Since he couldn't find poisonous soil, he could only create it. With a headlight strapped to the yellow construction helmet, he brought in a clay pot he once used to grow aloe vera on Morgan's request. Wide enough to be a baby's tub, but too deep for it. It was within the skill's weight limit. He made sure to plug the hole for water drainage with a seal and filled it with the soil from Phantasia after much contemplation.

As it was a magik flower, normal soil wouldn't be suitable for it, he concluded.

Now, the first real task was also a challenging one. He had to figure out how exactly should he poison the soil. There was a mention of heavy metals, so could the flower be a hyperaccumulator like Alyssum Murale?

Considering it grew in a poisonous environment, that made sense. Herbivores would avoid it, and in a soil with heavy metals, other plants wouldn't grow, leaving the scarce nutrients for the Night Bloom flower alone.

But the skill also mentioned bio-poison. Like the one affecting Master Adelan. There were plenty of poisonous magik beasts, and the Association did buy poison sacs from Hunters. So realistically, he could try both.

If he were a registered Awakened, that was.

Back in the store, Johan found a trader on Hunter Net and negotiated with a broker. He couldn't exactly call the Hunter Association president to get some poison sacs; he feared he might go missing.

The cunning bastard did try to fleece him, but Johan knew the normal rates thanks to Miss Kim. F-rank poison from the acid grasshopper was around 100 per sac, E-rank poison of the red-eyed frog was around 300, and D-rank poison of the Black-spotted snake cost 500. Considering the difficulty of hunting them, this was too cheap.

He bought five of all three, and the delivery arrived within an hour. If he tried to buy this from the Association's building, he'd need a Hunter or Alchemist ID, but the brokers on Hunter Net would look the other way if one paid them extra.

Money does make the world go round. Johan signed the papers, a disposable mask over his mouth and face, though he doubted the dead-eyed delivery guy would care even if he showed his face. But he wanted to be careful at least.

As he expected, the guy stumbled away without looking back.

Now, the true question was, biological or heavy metals, which should he try first? The answer came soon.

"Let's do both." He placed a second clay pot on the tarp-covered ground.

First, Heavy metals. Iron fillings, copper shavings, and trace lead. With gloved hands, the mixture came together well with a side of compost. Although not pleasant to the eyes, he feared the second pot more.

"This is important, I can't run!" He spoke through his gritted teeth as the pungent poison mixed with the soil and crushed insects.

It felt like a slimy mixture, like the mysterious meat people thought fast food joints used. Just a tad more grotesque and blinding to look at. His nostrils burned even after he had stuffed them with perfumed cotton swabs.

He didn't have to torture himself for long. It only took him 30 minutes to finish. Longest 30 minutes ever. Leaving them in the tent, he stepped out for some much-needed greenery and fresh air.

If it's this bad now, how much worse would it be by tomorrow? He shuddered at the thought, but had to live with it.

"Eunally, Nunally, you're back!" Johan rushed the two rabbits, hoping to recharge some energy, but the two furballs retreated.

"Huh? What happened?" Confused, he stood rooted. Why would they run away?

He got his answer when his sense of smell recovered. Although he had brief contact with the soil, it had done its damage.

"Will a hazmat suit help?" Scrubbing away the smell and hiding his tears under the cold shower, Johan could only shake his head.

No one could blame the two rabbits since they had sensitive noses, but it did hurt when even the cats kept him at a distance the next day. That hit him right in the heart. He even wore cologne for once. Maybe that drove them away?

Regardless, he entered the tent after 24 hours had passed, this time wearing a hazmat suit with an SCBA for extra precaution. Maybe he went overboard, but better than being sorry later. Though he couldn't smell the soil, he saw the small fumes rising from the second pot. Was it because it reacted with the magik in the soil, or was it because it burned the crushed insects?

There were tiny holes on the soil's surface where these fumes escaped from, shimmering in green, but the soil still seemed to hold moisture.

The heavy metal pot looked much the same, just a bit discoloured and clumpy.

Johan took two seeds from the box and planted them both in the middle of each pot. He added magik water from his skill and allowed it to seep to the bottom, then levelled the surface.

Then, after a deep breath, he cast Growth Acceleration on the second pot. He noticed a reaction from the beast poison pot, a reaction that happened a bit too fast.

An audible pop echoed in his ears. Followed by the cracking pot. He felt it in his soul when the soil bubbled. From the wet clay-like soil, a pale smoke rose from a single hole with a sharp hiss.

"Shit!!" Johan booked it as soon as his danger sense flared.

The moment he threw himself out of the tent, the pot exploded. The explosion almost uprooted the tent, but didn't reach outside.

One day into the experiment, he almost got himself killed.

"What a perfect start." He cursed.
...
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[Overload69]

Johan had oftentimes wondered how his skill Growth Acceleration worked. From what he learned and observed, it promoted cell division and nutrient absorption that happened over days to a few seconds. That meant it released the byproducts from those reactions in that short window, too.

So far, he hadn't faced any problem with the skill, since he used it on normal vegetables and simpler magik plants. And, Phantasia carried hard.

However, this time it exploded in his face, well, almost.

Out of the hazmat suit, he lay on the bed of grass nearby. Slick in sweat and trembling. But his mind kept working. The bio-poison pot. Why did it explode as it did?

Before running away, he had seen the clay-like soil dry up before it cracked. Growth Acceleration had worked as intended. It drew in all the essential things for growth and gathered them into the seed, promoting fast growth. However, in doing so, it packed the soil tight by taking in all the moisture, leaving no way for the gases to escape.

"That was almost like a grenade. Can I use it in combat?" He laughed, covered in cold sweat.

He didn't want to try with bio-poison again.

Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. Johan was a staunch believer in that saying most of the time.

That's how the first and last Bio-poison test of Night Bloom Flower came to an end. But before he could proceed with the heavy metal test, he had to clean the mess inside. Which wasn't an easy task, both physically and mentally.

Even with four layers of protective suit, his skin stung. The heat and mist trapped inside the tent made it unbearable. But the mist soon congealed into a brown liquid on the half-melted black tarp, so he mopped it all up with prayers and removed the few burned layers.

What he gathered wasn't anything less than a chemical hazard, so Johan couldn't exactly toss it in the back-alley bin and call it a day. At times like these, connections helped.

A quick dial to Adrian brought a truck to his front door with Cara trailing behind in her own car.

"Not a Mad scientist, you said." Her gaze stung, but the words hurt more.

"I am not, I swear." If Johan could, he wouldn't go near this project again. But his peace was riding on it. If Master Adelan died, the top Hunters wouldn't know how to fill in the gap. That man raised the Hunter's strength by 30% with his equipment alone.

"Sure, buddy, whatever you say." Cara patted his shoulder with a smirk and left.

Apparently, Adrian had found himself so worried that he decided to keep a disposal team on standby outside the mart. He even suggested sending a few of the clan alchemists to help, but Johan couldn't accept that, as kind as the gesture was.

It's not like I can take them to Phantasia. Maybe he could build himself a lab outside at a later date? That would help a lot. He was lucky the poison didn't spread outside the tent.

"Let's do that after I finish Project Night Bloom. No wait, why am I thinking of doing something like this again?!" After giving it a name, Johan added to his only page on the Bio-poison experiment while holding back tears.

Unfortunately, he needed to restart the heavy metal experiment from scratch. The poison landed on that soil too. The good part was that the seed was safe. As for the one in bio-poison.

"A clean four-way split, what a grenade." The loss pierced through him. He couldn't find much, even after the failure.

But that was ok, he reassured himself with some hope core videos after mixing the soil with heavy metals once again.

He sowed the same seed the next day and made sure to poke some holes in the soil's surface with a needle. Exploding pots was a novel experience; he wanted it to stay that way.

"Growth Acceleration." His skill activated, the dim light and missing magik power confirmed it.

However, that was all. Minutes turned into hours before he finally dug into the pot. The seed was still intact, no cracks, no change.

Did it turn inert because of the explosion? That could be possible. But the Seed Sense would tell him if that happened. Regardless, he took a new seed from the case and retried.

However, the outcome remained the same.

"So, the seed isn't the problem." Johan looked at the soil, which could be the only culprit.

Was the soil in Phantasia too good for the Night Bloom flower? It was an ideal soil for any crop, especially because it had high nutrients for plant life. It was fertile soil, even if he used heavy metals.

The red-purplish carrot in his hand confirmed that.

Name: Poisoned Carrot

Rank: D-

Effects: Will cause extreme diarrhoea for a day, and cloudy eyes for an hour.

The soil still had nutrients to grow normal vegetables, err, not exactly normal. But he could see the problem, at least he believed so.

Perhaps Night Bloom flowers don't require the typical nutrients that other plants need. What if it fed on the magik in the soil, along with the metals? In that case, the soil of Phantasia was the worst match for it, no matter how much he tried.

Sometimes being too perfect could backfire.

"Would soil from a rift work?" Johan muttered.

A soil not suited for agriculture, clumpy, and rich in magik power. It did meet the requirements. But how should he acquire it?

"Soil from a rift? No problem." Adrian spoke in his usual calm over the phone as he had asked for some chicken nuggets. "Any additional points I should know?"

"It would be helpful if I could get samples for different ranks of rifts." Although Johan knew that might be pushing it, considering he did reject their offer, he had to ask since the way revealed itself.

"Noted, samples from Rank-F to Rank-C should arrive before midnight, but Rank-B and A will take it until tomorrow morning because of some mandatory procedures," Adrian added. "If you need anything else, do not hesitate to tell Cara."

As the call ended, Johan wondered if this was Merilyn's doing. Maybe she expected he would need help and asked Agni Clan to cooperate? Then again, this could just be Adrian and Lucas trying to help in their own way.

I'll give them a big discount on the next order. Touched, Johan handed the phone back to Cara.

Her gaze burned into him. She didn't even have to say a word; she didn't need to.

"For the last time, I am not a mad scientist." He sighed.

"Why are you so against it? If I were one, I'd say it proudly." She laughed, donning a white lab coat from God knows where. "Hi, I am Mad Scientist, so cool! Sonovabitch!"

"Please don't say you know me if the ethics court catches you." Johan shook his head.

"So cold." She pouted.

He would've laughed at the reference any other day, but he had a lot on his mind regarding the task. Since he had undertaken the task, he had to complete it. There was no way he could say he failed after getting so much help.

If the fate of the world's best blacksmith wasn't a big enough pressure, he just piled more onto himself. But that was ok, Johan worked best in high-stress environments.

I have to succeed, no matter what. Under the LED lights of the store, he made his vow with clear and bright eyes.

***

A week had passed since Johan made his dramatic promise to himself. Now he lay on the bed of grass outside the experiment tent in Phantasia. His eyes had turned red and blurry, dark circles expanding into his cheeks.

"Yeah… let's give up." A shaky laugh came from his dry throat as he rolled over, coughing.

In the last week, he studied the rift soil, more studying, and guess what? Even more studying. Even the sight of papers made his stomach juices bubble up.

Johan had paid immense attention to the soil from the rift, its composition, the magik density in it, and what grew in them.

F-Rank rift soil wasn't much different from soil on Earth, aside from one key factor. The Magik power reader showed a reading of 1.8 per 100 grams of soil. The same reading one would find in the areas around the rift.

E-Rank rift soil experienced a jump, reaching 10. But normal grass and weeds still grew in the rift, at least from the pictures he had seen.

D-Rank rift soil was a weird one; the grass's colour changed here due to the excess metal in the soil, copper. With a reading of 100, this soil was enough to give normal humans mild headaches if pressed against their faces for a minute.

Johan had tried to plant the seed in this soil, and to his initial happiness, it germinated. However, the white stem's growth halted the moment it broke through. Before he could even do something, it blackened and turned to dust.

Worried about his limited number of tries, he skipped C-rank rift soil and landed on B-Rank.

With a magik reading of 10k and the lack of grass made it look promising. Johan felt confident since the heavy metals were present in the soil. His confidence translated into the growth of the first stable stem.

The finger-thick stem had a cloudy colour, and it was the first to sprout a leaf. A leaf as wide as Johan's palm. It was a deep red with purple veins and an oily surface, like someone had put on too much moisturizer.

Johan expected to see success, but only saw the leaf fall from the stem like his dreams. Soon after, the stem curled up, blackened, and turned to dust.

Johan felt a bit stumped. But he understood something important when he checked the moisture and magik reading of the soil before and after planting the seed.

"Water and magik, it needs a lot of both." Johan thought that maybe it needed more water to lower the heavy metal concentration. What was Magik's role then? Did it substitute sunlight in the reaction? If so, how did the reaction go?

Johan didn't have many chances to figure the whole thing out. He doubted he could even if he did. But he could get some key hints thanks to the data he gathered.

Name: Night Bloom Seed

Rank: —

Information: A seed to grow the Night Bloom flower, a flower that thrives in poisonous soil with heavy metals. It kills all nearby life. Exposure to Sunlight is harmful.

Additional Information: Soil's Magik Reading should be between 30k and 50k.

According to the report from Agni Clan's Lab, the current heavy metal concentrations in the soil were Nickel: 15,00 ppm, Zinc: 5,500 ppm, and Cadmium: 900 ppm.

Even a tenth of this would kill any other plant, magik crops included. But somehow, the Night Bloom flower needed an even more toxic environment.

Another thing he found out was that the more he learned and tried, the more information he unlocked in his skills. So, with enough tries, he could nail down the process 100%. This seemed like a hidden advantage of the Seed Sense skill. But he had a hunch that random bullshit go won't work. It was a crutch, but relying on it too much wouldn't help either.

After that, Johan worked a full day to create the soil base again. To increase the magik reading, he used the B-Rank rift soil as a base and mixed in soil from the A-Rank rift little by little. The method worked out well. So, he did the same with heavy metals, though that took more delicacy than just mixing soil.

After a day of work and many mistakes, he planted the fourth seed in the soil. This time, he wasn't shy with magik water and gave the soil a muddy consistency.

The seed germinated much faster this time, almost too fast. The stem became translucent, not a hint of cloudiness. And the oily leaves increased, reaching four. Johan could see the glimmering liquid crawling up the stem, reaching the tip.

And slowly but surely, the colourless bud started to turn pink. Soon it became redder than blood and grew as big as his thumb. But before it could open, the leaves started to crack. In a matter of minutes, they wilted, and the entire stem collapsed on itself.

The water content didn't seem like an issue, as Johan had continued to add water whenever he saw the soil drying. The roots of Night Bloom flower were fibrous ones, perfect for high absorption. The magik reading also didn't show a problem, since the water kept replenishing it.

So, he retried with the fifth seed and went to the high end of the heavy metal limit.

This was the most promising growth Johan had seen out of any of his attempts yet. The bud formed four deep black petals with specks of glowing purple. The centre of the flower was a pale white, almost cream-like colour with darts of pink.

However, before Johan could even rejoice, the flower wilted away.

With only two tries left. Johan racked his brain for three whole days. No matter how he thought or tried to hypothesize, it just wouldn't click.

In the end, he wasn't a professional in this. Just someone trying to do a pro's work, trying to copy a method that he had never even seen. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten cocky over growing a few carrots and a golden pear tree; the jump in difficulty was too high.

"Coo…" Maybe sensing his falling mood, Eunally and Nunally arrived beside him.

They were tapping their warm paws on his face. He would've stayed and enjoyed it a bit more, but he just had to hit the time limit at that moment.

Curse this thing. Won't even let me have a relaxing moment. He fought back a yawn and looked at the clock. Only a few hours before the Mart's opening.

Stumbling up the stairs, he reached the counter. Eugene was already there, wiping the shelves with a cloth. The floor already looked wiped and shiny.

"Hello, teacher." He waved all jolly.

"Doing good today?" Sometimes Johan wished he had that cheerfulness. Or maybe that was asking for too much.

"Yes, after training, I feel more motivated." He came over to the counter, a look of doubt on his face. "Are you alright, teacher?"

"Not really, I can't figure this problem out. It seriously blows." Johan slumped on the counter, so tired that he could sleep right there.

"Is it about the thing you have been working on for the past nine days?" Eugene's footsteps went farther, and the freezer's door opened.

"Yeah, it might be the death of me." He sighed, rubbing his eyes against the sleeve of his old, sweaty t-shirt.

When his blurry eyes readjusted, Eugene stood before him, holding out a chilled energy drink.

"Maybe you should take a breather, teacher." He said, placing the can on the counter.

"Breather?" Johan tilted his head.

"Yes, like a breath of fresh air. Our Rift combat teacher says that it always helps if you are under too much stress." Eugene popped the can, and the fizzy foam shot out and landed on the counter. "Sorry, let me handle this!"

Eugene turned to get the cloth. But Johan stood straight.

"A breath of… fresh air?" His previously groggy eyes now wide open. "That's it… right, fresh air!"

Leaving behind a confused Eugene, Johan rushed back into the basement.

Water, magik, no sunlight, and heavy metals, Johan thought he had covered all the points. But he had neglected one, and probably the most important one, when it came to Night Bloom flowers. Maybe… No, he could definitely figure this out if he nailed this last point.

The moment his call went through, he poured all his emotions in.

"Cara, get me some metal salts!" His words echoed in the potion workshop.

...

Here's the invite link. I hope to see you there soon: Discord
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