Adventurer of Many Professions
Chapter 173 - 173: Mr. Rose!

At the moment, they still owed Sylph and Lorene eight gold coins each. The light armor Raymond wore and Arya's archer equipment had originally belonged to the two of them. But because Raymond had spent all his savings enchanting the Dark Moon, he had no way to pay them back just yet.

Thankfully, Sylph and Lorene understood. They knew where the money had gone and didn't push for repayment. Besides, the longbow and the damaged heavy armor Raymond used were trophies from his solo raid on the Crazy Baboon's den, so there was no dispute over those items.

Still, Raymond had every intention of paying the debt. Now that he could earn money by refining potions and forging weapons, it was just a matter of time, certainly within a month.

The only issue was how to explain the sudden income. If Sylph and Lorene got suspicious, it might cause distrust within the team. Raymond figured it was best to wait until the right time, until he could reveal his dual identities as both a Pharmacist and a Craftsman.

Disguised as the underground pharmacist "Rose," Raymond donned a hooded cloak that concealed his entire body and made his way alone to Commercial Street in the South District.

Prostitutes lined the street, striking seductive poses to attract customers, but when they saw his shrouded figure, they looked away. They could tell he wasn't there for pleasure, long experience had taught them how to read a man at a glance.

Without giving them a second look, Raymond made his way through the alleys, turning left and right until he left the main road behind, heading toward the secluded meeting spot he often used with Manik.

The alley was dim and shrouded in darkness.

Fortunately, Raymond had already awakened the "Assassin" and "Thief" classes, granting him night vision. The lack of light posed no difficulty for him. Still, since he was about to meet Manik, arriving in total darkness might raise suspicion. So he took out a "White Stone" and used it to illuminate the path ahead.

From a distance, he spotted a figure sitting on a stone pier in the alley. Thanks to his night vision and the enhanced eyesight of his awakened "Archer" and "Hunter" classes, Raymond recognized Manik instantly.

Manik wore modified light leather armor, designed for ease of movement. A short dagger hung from his waist. Though seated, his posture was alert, only his toes touched the ground, ready to launch him into motion at the slightest threat.

"As expected," Raymond thought. "Manik really has the skills to stay under the radar for so long, even avoiding the Knights."

Manik had retired from adventuring five years ago, taking a long break before starting work as an herbalist. Most people, after years of peaceful living, would lose the instincts honed from danger. Not Manik.

Raymond approached.

Seeing the approaching light, Manik turned toward it. Though the hood concealed Raymond's face, the gray robe was enough for Manik to recognize him at once.

"Mr. Rose! You're here," Manik said, standing up quickly.

"Yeah," Raymond replied with a nod. He glanced at Manik and asked, "Was it any trouble collecting the materials this afternoon?"

"Not at all!" Manik shook his head vigorously.

In fact, it was a relief, and a great joy.

In the underground trade, when a pharmacist becomes dissatisfied with a buyer, they usually come up with excuses: claiming they're too busy to make potions, or that they're leaving town for a while and won't be collecting herbs.

But in reality, they're just testing out a new buyer.

If the new buyer performs better, the old one is quietly discarded. Often, the new buyer is the one asked to inform the previous buyer of the termination. Pharmacists rarely deliver the news themselves, for good reason. In this illegal line of work, a dismissed buyer might respond with violence.

After all, "underground pharmacists" and their "acquisition specialists" operated outside the law of the Kingdom of Atlantis. Losing such a source of income could push some buyers to drastic action.

But ironically, to prevent such retaliation and maintain trust within their ranks, the buyers had created their own underground rule: any buyer who killed an underground pharmacist would be hunted down by all other buyers.

Killing a pharmacist meant death by both the Knights and one's fellow buyers. No escape, no hiding.

That brutal rule had worked. Murders were rare. Those who tried were found and executed by other buyers, serving as a warning to the rest.

Even so, many pharmacists still preferred to have a new buyer handle the transition, just in case their old contact turned out to be the exception, the one desperate or foolish enough to throw everything away.

That's why, when the tavern messenger informed Manik that Raymond needed materials collected today, even though the request came late, Manik wasn't upset. He was relieved; ecstatic, even.

He hadn't been replaced.

The profit margin Raymond gave him was unusually generous, which made Manik nervous that a cheaper buyer might have edged him out. But now, seeing Raymond in person, those fears vanished.

"Mr. Rose," Manik said as he pulled a cloth pouch from inside his coat, "here are the herbs I gathered today. I didn't have much time, so I couldn't collect everything."

Raymond accepted the pouch, opened it, and sifted through the contents. His expression changed slightly.

"Hm?" he murmured.

Inside were eight stalks of Blue Spirit Grass, far more than he had expected. Considering he'd only sent the request around 3 p.m., and it may have reached Manik even later, this was impressive. They were meeting at eight o'clock, giving Manik less than four hours to work with and late afternoon was far from ideal for herb gathering.

Raymond had expected five stalks at most. Eight was a surprise.

Seeing his reaction, Manik quickly explained, "Don't be surprised, Mr. Rose. I pay the best price for herbs, higher than any other buyer. Once word gets out, adventurers are happy to sell to me."

"I see," Raymond nodded thoughtfully.

That wasn't untrue, but it wasn't the full story either.

Manik knew that simply spreading word so late in the day wouldn't yield that much herb. What he didn't say was that, after more than half a month of staying low, he had gone out himself this time, personally seeking out adventurers to gather as much Blue Spirit Grass as possible, knowing it was the key ingredient in the Primary Magic Recovery Potion.

This time, Manik didn't feel exhausted or strained. On the contrary, he felt genuinely happy.

He had gone out of his way to collect those herbs, not only to fulfill Raymond's request but also to make a good impression. Judging from Mr. Rose's surprised reaction, it had clearly worked.

Raymond then took out three vials of Primary Magic Recovery Potion and handed them to him.

"I used up several bottles from the last batch," Raymond explained. "These three are all I have left. You can sell them tomorrow."

"Alright." Manik accepted the vials with care, but inwardly, he was startled.

Last time, he had delivered enough materials to produce eight potions, yet this time, Raymond only had three.

Raymond claimed he had used the rest, which was entirely plausible. It might really have been an urgent need that used up five potions. But another possibility crossed Manik's mind, one that made his stomach twist.

What if Raymond had actually found a new buyer during that time? What if that buyer received the full batch of eight potions to sell... and Manik had just been called back as a fallback?

Maybe the new buyer underperformed, perhaps they'd only managed to gather enough ingredients for three potions. That would explain why Raymond ultimately returned to Manik.

The thought made Manik break out in a cold sweat. If that other buyer had done better, he might have been replaced completely.

Memories flashed through his mind, his former life of trudging through streets, trying to buy herbs at low prices, constantly rejected, scraping together a few silver coins after an exhausting day. He never wanted to go back to that.

It was then that he fully appreciated the decision he'd made earlier: taking the initiative to go out himself and collect as many herbs as possible. That effort had paid off, he'd gathered enough for eight potions in just a few short hours, whereas the potential new buyer had only brought in three.

Was this a test? Manik wondered. Did Mr. Rose want to see who could perform better under pressure?

If so, he was relieved. Raymond's expression when he saw the eight stalks of Blue Spirit Grass had clearly shown surprise and approval.

Just before leaving, Raymond turned back and added, "By the way, starting tomorrow, you can collect enough for eleven potions."

This caught Manik off guard, but his face immediately lit up with joy. Every additional bottle meant more gold in his own pocket as well. More importantly, more potions meant more recognition in the underground market. His reputation would grow.

What astonished him even more, however, was the rate of progress.

They'd only been working together for just over half a month, yet Raymond had increased his production capacity from eight potions to eleven.

Each potion required 100 points of magical energy to craft. That meant Raymond could now handle 1,100 mana, an increase of 300 in just over two weeks.

That kind of growth was almost unbelievable.

Even Arya, the famed "female archer" who had recently joined Raymond's team, and was now the talk of Witte Town, had a magic affinity of 4.2. And even she couldn't raise her mana by 300 points in such a short span.

Which meant one thing: Raymond must have already had over 1,100 mana before.

Still, a question lingered in Manik's mind: If he had that much magic power all along, why is he only now increasing the material quota?

He had many questions but wisely kept them to himself. His job was simple; do it well, and don't get greedy with knowledge that wasn't his to hold.

"Yes, Mr. Rose!" he replied immediately.

With that, he watched as Raymond faded into the shadows of the alley.