“Alchemist?” the whisper spread across the square.

  “ Alchemist?!” The woman lowered the hand holding the whip, which she had already raised for another strike.

  Two strong men standing beside her suddenly stepped forward, shielding her with their bodies. Most likely, they were her guards. A small gray shadow slipped between them, and everyone in the square heard the loud crunch of bones followed by a woman’s scream. The guards had only just begun to turn, reacting to the threat, but immediately collapsed, clutching their slashed throats. The small gray shadow was several times superior to them in strength.

  The shadow finally stopped, revealing a lean warrior clad in tattered leather armor and a conical hat made of white straw. With a swift motion, the warrior returned two curved daggers to the sheaths on his thighs and grabbed the woman, who was still screaming, by her hair.

  “Lord Alchemist, I have carried out your request, so if that’s all…”

  He spoke as he dragged the woman along the cobblestones like a sack of filth. Finally, he threw her at the alchemist’s feet.

  Valm, still holding his hand to his chest, though the wound had long since healed under the effects of medicine, extended a pill to him.

  “Thank you! This madwoman would have beaten me to death if not for your help!”

  “It’s nothing, always glad to assist.” The warrior took the pill and held it up to his eyes. “ And it really is fifth-class! Lord Alchemist, if you ever need my services again, just use this!”

  He placed a small signal flare in Valm’s hand.

  “If I’m in the city, I will come, no doubt about it!”

  “Thank you, and your name is…”

  Valm wanted to ask the warrior’s name, but he was already gone. Shrugging, he tucked the signal flare into his storage and looked down at the woman at his feet, who was now moaning softly, placing her broken limbs on her stomach.

  “You’re already dead, scum! My father… he will tear you apart in the city square for this! You bastard, you’ll die in agony!” she hissed upon noticing his gaze.

  “Indeed, that’s possible…” he replied thoughtfully.

  Valm retrieved a vial filled with brown liquid from his storage and uncorked it. He leaned over the woman, who had already turned green from pain, and, grabbing her by the lower jaw, poured the liquid down her throat. She choked but swallowed.

  “But then you’ll die as well.” Valm said, dropping her head onto the cobblestones. “ Remember, your father has only one way out—negotiating with me. Without the antidote, you’ll die in three weeks. And you will die in such agony that you’ll regret ever being born! Do you understand?”

  He nudged her ribs with his foot and, stepping over her motionless body, walked toward the gates of the Merchant Guild.

  Turning back one last time, Valm saw the ratman—the same one the woman had been mercilessly whipping just moments ago—carefully lifting her in his arms and carrying her away.

  What an idiot. Valm shook his head. He wasn’t even sure whether he meant the servant or himself. Getting into trouble for no reason—now that took some skill.

  The guards at the guild gates let him through without a word, despite the spectacle he had just put on. On the move, Valm pulled out a wide cloak and threw it over himself to hide his tattered and bloodied clothes. Wasting time to return home and change would have been impractical, he reasoned as he ascended the wide gray stairs.

  “I would like to sell third-class restoration potions to the guild,” he said to the girl at the information desk. “ Would such goods interest you?”

  “Of course, Lord Alchemist!” a male voice sounded from behind him. “ Apologies that the guild did not intervene in that unfortunate incident, but it took place outside our gates, so, formally, there was nothing we could do.”

  Yeah. Nothing they could do…

  Valm turned and looked at a slender, dark-haired man in his thirties with a handsome face and an expensive haircut.

  They were just watching, unaware that I was an alchemist…

  “My name is Manager Pak. May I escort you to my office to discuss your proposal?”

  “Well, let’s go…” Valm said obediently.

  The manager led him from the foyer down a dimly lit corridor to a pair of tall wooden doors and opened them.

  “Please!” he gestured invitingly toward the wide chairs. “ How should I address you, Lord Alchemist?”

  “My name is Valm.” He pulled the half-full vial of potion from his pocket. “ And this is my product.”

  Pak carefully took the vial, uncorked it, and brought it to his nose.

  “Excellent, Lord Valm! Your potion is impressive! And… how much are you willing to sell to us?”

  The alchemist smiled.

  “If we agree on the price, Lord Pak, then… forty vials, let’s say. At five gold coins each. Would such a deal suit you?”

  “The price is quite high, Lord Valm…”

  “But you won’t find this quality anywhere else in the kingdom, will you, Lord Pak? I know the worth of my product. So, it’s five gold per vial, or I’ll find another buyer.”

  Instead of answering, Pak slowly began stacking columns of gold coins on the table.

  “Exactly two hundred…” Pak said, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers. “ You are not an easy man to do business with, Lord Valm.”

  The alchemist placed forty vials beside the coins, took the money, and moved on to the main reason for his visit to the guild.

  “ I heard, Lord Pak, that the guild can procure monsters…”

  “ That’s correct, we have many riding beasts, even some rather exotic ones if that interests you…”

  “ Wait, you misunderstand me.” Valm pulled out a piece of paper folded in four. “ I don’t need domesticated monsters. I need wild ones. This paper details exactly which ones and in what quantities.”

  Pak narrowed his eyes but took the paper from the alchemist’s hand.

  “ Lord Valm, you know as well as I do that the transportation of live wild monsters into densely populated areas of the kingdom…”

  “ Lord Pak, I am not asking you to break any laws. Are you aware of the construction along the western road a few kilometers away? I need them there.”

  The manager carefully reviewed Valm’s list.

  “ I don’t even want to imagine what you intend to do with them, Lord Alchemist, but that’s none of my business. The guild can, of course, fulfill your request, though I can’t give you a price or timeline just yet… I’ll need a few days. Can you wait?”

  “ Fine, Lord Manager, I have the time…”

  Valm smiled. Everything had gone exactly as he had planned. Hiring high-ranking adventurers to hunt first-to-third-class monsters would have been foolish. Expensive foolishness. That’s why he had chosen to brew the potion—to meet the Merchant Guild’s manager personally and place this order with him. Everyone wants to have good relations with alchemists. The Merchant Guild was no exception.

  A few minutes later, after escorting the strange alchemist to the gates, Manager Pak returned to his office and sat deep in thought. Until today, he had never heard of alchemists being interested in live monsters.

  Could this spell trouble? After all, his personal well-being depended entirely on the prosperity of this city.

  Shaking his head, he reviewed the paper Valm had left him once more.

  Meanwhile, the alchemist, quite pleased with himself—except for the incident at the guild gates—returned home and immediately set to cooking dinner. Today, he had taken another small step toward his dream.

  At the mayor’s estate, however, chaos reigned. Ever since the ratman had brought his daughter home, no one had found a moment’s rest. Servants ran from one healer to another, but none could understand why healing pills weren’t working, and why the young woman’s body convulsed in fits at random intervals.

  “ Tell me again, are you sure that young man is an alchemist?!” the mayor shouted at the scrawny one.

  “Yes, Mr. Mayor! I saw with my own eyes how he gave a fifth-class pill to the warrior who crippled your daughter! And then he made her drink some potion when she started threatening him! And also…”

  The ratman fell silent in fear, staring into the mayor’s furious eyes.

  “What else?! Speak!”

  “He told your daughter that she would die in three weeks if you didn’t make a deal with him!”

  “ Bastard!” the mayor roared, kicking the ratman in the stomach.

  He was furious but powerless to act, which only drove him madder. The mayor knew all the alchemists in the city, and none of them were young men. So who had his daughter encountered that she now suffered so much and might even die soon? Clenching his fists, he headed for his daughter’s room. He had to find that scoundrel! The ratman had said that after the skirmish, the alchemist went to the merchant guild… Well, that was a place to start.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  The next day, the entire city was buzzing with gossip about the mayor’s daughter and the young alchemist. People gossiped endlessly, twisting the real events into absurd rumors, claiming that the unfortunate alchemist had poisoned his lover because she had betrayed him. And that lover turned out to be the mayor’s daughter. It was a good thing Valm didn’t hear it himself, or he would have been utterly dumbfounded.

  The mayor was traveling outside the city, accompanied by a small guard unit. He had cooled down somewhat after speaking with the head of the merchant guild, who advised him not to try solving this matter by force. Manager Pak persistently recommended that the mayor negotiate, as an alchemist as skilled as Valm surely had powerful warrior patrons. It had always been that way. And if harm came to him, it could lead to unpredictable consequences.

  That Valm possessed exceptional alchemical abilities was also confirmed by the three old cranks whom the mayor had dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to examine his daughter. Two of them were fourth-level alchemists, and the third was fifth-level. And none of them had the slightest idea what poison the mayor’s daughter had consumed.

  And so now, all he could do was obediently travel and seek a meeting with Valm. He would have gladly ordered the boy dragged to the town hall with a hook under his ribs, but… that would be an unjustified risk. And that was precisely why the mayor was now silently guiding his mount along the western road to the construction site, escorted by his guards.

  Valm was watching from his favorite hill as the builders removed scaffolding around the Citadel when he caught sight of an armed squad approaching the construction site at a leisurely pace. He immediately understood what was happening but decided not to make any unnecessary moves and simply continued observing.

  The squad reached the gates, where one of them started talking to a builder. After a while, the man gestured toward the hill where Valm sat in a folding canvas chair. The squad turned and headed toward him.

  Valm swallowed an antidote pill and clenched a small black vial in his palm. If things went south… all it would take was a single break of the fragile glass, and within a fifty-meter radius, every living thing would perish in an instant.

  He was confident that, at least for now, these people had no hostile intentions. But the possibility of them using force still existed. And the gods favored the cautious. The alchemist sat motionless, as if completely unbothered by the approaching dozen armed soldiers.

  The mayor, riding within his loyal warriors, watched the young man in the folding chair carefully. He saw no trace of concern or fear on his face. He must have strong patrons to be acting so calm, the mayor decided. A weak alchemist wouldn’t dare remain in place when an unfamiliar armed squad approached… So who the hell was backing this guy, that he felt so confident in their shadow?!

  The monster riders reached the top of the hill and surrounded the seated alchemist.

  “ You’re blocking my view.”

  Valm casually told the warrior whose mount was obstructing his sight of the Citadel. The man hesitated, glanced at the mayor, but eventually moved aside to avoid irritating Valm.

  The mayor was tense. He understood that he had to address this man politely, but it infuriated him. His only daughter was slowly dying because of this bastard… And he was supposed to show courtesy?!

  “Master Alchemist, I am Gorp, the mayor of this city…”

  Valm turned his head and looked him calmly in the eyes.

  “ So what?”

  Bastard! The mayor ground his teeth inwardly.

  “Never thought anyone would dare tear down that scammer’s den and start such a grand construction project in its place!” The mayor gestured toward the Citadel.

  “You weren’t supposed to.” Valm rubbed his temple. “ You’re the mayor in the city, but here… here, you’re just an ordinary citizen of the kingdom.”

  The alchemist decided to set things straight immediately and put Gorp in his place.

  “You speak the truth, Master Alchemist. But I’m here for another reason. Yesterday, an unfortunate incident occurred with my daughter - she accidentally offended a respected man, and they say… They say that man was you, Master Valm. And that you showed remarkable kindness, not taking her life immediately and instead choosing to resolve everything directly with me. So what do you want?”

  “Accidentally? An unfortunate incident? Mr. Mayor, are you mocking me?! Your daughter whipped me like a dog in front of hundreds of people! Am I right in understanding that you call that an “unfortunate incident”?”

  “Master Valm, perhaps you misunderstood me. I’m here precisely to resolve this matter, not to escalate it to the point where it becomes deadlocked! I agree with your words that my little girl made an unfortunate mistake in offending you, but she is still young. Who hasn’t made mistakes at her age?”

  The alchemist grimaced at those words.

  “ Deliberately whipping people is an unfortunate mistake, in your view? And if I weren’t an alchemist, I would have died at her hands right there in the square? Is that what you’re trying to say, Mr. Gorp?”

  Valm clenched the black vial in his sweaty palm. A part of him wanted to end this conversation with it right now.

  “No, Master Alchemist, no! Just tell me what you want so we can resolve this problem and part ways—if not as friends, then at least not as enemies.”

  “ The mayor of a provincial town thinks himself worthy of being my enemy?! And where does that confidence come from?! The only reason you’re all still breathing is that I’m not as bloodthirsty a bastard as your daughter, Mr. Mayor! You want to settle this matter? Fine, I have one condition. You do love your daughter, don’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come here…”

  Gorp clenched his monster’s reins. Tatan was the second-largest city in the kingdom, and this bastard called it a provincial town… Just who the hell was he?!

  “State your condition, Master Alchemist…”

  “I will give your daughter the antidote, but only after I whip her with the same lash she used on me. In the same square. How do you like that condition?!”

  The mayor frowned. He already understood that this wouldn’t be an easy negotiation, but this…

  “ Master Alchemist, your condition is unacceptable! She is the mayor’s daughter, and every strike against her is a strike against the mayor’s reputation in this city. You must understand that!”

  “Your daughter’s entire life is one continuous blow to the mayor’s reputation. And yet, you are still the mayor. So enduring a few lashes on your daughter’s skin shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

  For Gorp, this was truly an intolerable condition. In his mind, he saw himself tearing this wretch’s head off with his bare hands, sinking his teeth into his throat… The mayor shook his head, chasing away these thoughts. No, he couldn’t do that, not now. If this bastard died, there was no guarantee his daughter would be saved.

  Valm tossed him a thin vial filled with orange liquid.

  “ When your daughter’s convulsions become unbearable, give her this. It will buy you a few more days to think my offer over. Now get out of here while you still can!”

  Gorp clenched the vial in his hand. He knew he had lost the first round of negotiations disgracefully. Perhaps coming here today had been a mistake. Maybe he should have waited a few days, a week, until the alchemist cooled down, and then… But watching helplessly as his daughter writhed in pain…

  “ Let’s go!” the mayor barked at his escort, turning his monster around.

  Valm sighed in relief as they rode away, putting a few hundred meters between them. He stood up, folded his chair, and stashed it away. During their conversation, the workers had already gathered the remains of the scaffolding. Now, the mages could activate the Citadel’s protective seals, and the alchemist wanted to see it with his own eyes. He slowly descended the hill.

  Gorp spurred his monster toward the city, sparing no effort. He was powerless. And furious. But what could he do? Capture the alchemist and torture him until he handed over the antidote? And if that didn’t work? If he died under torture, then what? Or if his patrons found out? The wrath of powerful warriors… There would be no escaping that. It could cost him his entire bloodline.

  For the first time in many years, the mayor felt trapped.

  “ Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!” he screamed on his way back to the city.

  But no amount of shouting could calm him. The storm in his soul only grew stronger.

  “ Find out everything about this bastard! Who he is! What he is! Who he sleeps with, what he eats! I want to know everything about him!” he roared at his men.

  Gorp needed this information to plan his next moves. Whipping his own child in the square, in front of all those commoners and slaves… No, he couldn’t allow it. Not this.

  Valm suspected that the mayor would start digging, trying to uncover his true identity. He grinned. Sooner or later, he would learn the name of his late alchemy master. And then he might reconsider making an enemy of Valm. “Toxic Dragon”—that was what people called his teacher.

  Valm passed through the gates, where an old mage was just finishing one of the defensive formations. The alchemist closely examined the deep carvings in the dark gray stone, filled with pale blue paint. Even unactivated, the formation pressed against him with its magic. Valm once again regretted that he lacked an innate talent for it.

  “Master Valm, give me one more hour, and I’ll show you my work in all its glory!”

  “Oh, take your time. Quality over speed, Master Mage.”

  Valm moved on. The inner courtyard was nearly complete, as was his new home. Only the laboratory and some technical rooms remained unfinished. But Valm decided that if the Citadel’s defenses were successfully activated today, he would already be spending the night here—all his furniture and belongings from his old apartment were safely stored in his ring.

  He walked through the residential quarters of the Citadel. Empty bedroom, study, kitchen, living room, and bathroom. Each step echoed through the rooms. The alchemist pulled a table from his storage and placed a few fruits on it. That’s better, he thought, sitting on the edge of the table.

  Outside, workers were clearing the last of the pavement stones, loudly arguing over whose job it was.

  Valm smiled. Despite the quarrel, they were doing it together. That was something he had never been capable of—working as a team. The alchemist poured his whole being into any task he took on, so he expected the same level of dedication from others. But people… They were not known for their devotion to work. Many preferred to ride on others’ backs. It frustrated him and always led to shouting matches. Eventually, Valm concluded that it was better to work alone. That way, he had only himself to blame for any failures.

  “Master Valm, I’m finished!” the old mage peeked into the room.

  The alchemist jumped off the table and hurried over.

  “Master Alkuss, show me!”

  The mage handed Valm a thin metal bracelet.

  “ With this device, Master Valm, you have full control over all of the Citadel’s defensive formations. I just need a drop of your blood to activate it.”

  He quickly fastened the bracelet around Valm’s wrist, then pricked his other hand and ran the finger across the bracelet’s surface, leaving a thin red streak. In an instant, the metal seemed to come alive, absorbing the blood, and faint blue flames flickered along its edges.

  “ Now just press here lightly to open the Citadel’s projection. See? Aha. And from here, everything is intuitive. If you do this, it raises a protective barrier over the entire structure! It’s polarized—you can choose defense from the outside or the inside, or set it to work both ways… Try it, Master Valm!”

  The alchemist followed the instructions and felt a faint hum beneath his feet. He looked out the window and saw a thin, translucent blue film rising from the walls and closing over the sky like a dome.

  The old mage conjured a third-circle spell—a frost spear—and hurled it at the barrier. The shield merely trembled slightly, but the ice spear exploded into dust with a loud blast.

  “This was only a third-circle spell, but believe me, the barrier can withstand multiple sixth-circle magical attacks with ease. I can’t demonstrate that now because using such magic inside is dangerous. And one more thing—I zoned the protective dome so that when attacked from one side, you can focus more energy into that area. This will raise the protection level of the chosen zone by an entire tier, Master Valm!”

  Valm was impressed. He rarely got to witness high-level magic in action. But now, before his eyes, was just that. This old man had cast a frost spear so effortlessly… And he spoke of the Citadel’s defenses as if it were an everyday affair.

  “ Master Alkuss, you’ve done incredible work!”

  The old mage smiled with satisfaction. He was the best defensive magic specialist in the kingdom, and he knew it.

  “ As agreed.” Valm pulled a small wooden case from his storage.

  “ Wait a moment!” Alkuss exclaimed.

  He spread his arms and snapped his fingers, raising a mana barrier around them.

  “One must be cautious with such things, Master Valm.” he said, accepting the case.

  The old mage held his breath as he lifted the lid. Inside, resting on a dark violet cushion, was a translucent pill, glowing faintly, filled with swirling multicolored clouds that seemed to flow in a circle.

  “ Panacea…” the old mage whispered, unable to take his eyes off it.