382 [Bonus chapter] A Fight Inside the Potion Shop
Shyvana left after making sure everything was okay with the avatar’s transformation. Jane, Wisa, and Arthur were still in the house.
“So, what are our next steps?” Jane asked, sitting cross-legged on their couch.
Arthur had his hand on his chin and said, “we need to start our moves, or else we may lose the extra time we got. First, we need to hire more people to care for the shop.”
Jane and Wisa would leave the city with Arthur, returning to the dragon’s mountain to get more followers, reach rank four, and end the war.
While they were doing that, Arthur’s avatar would go to the vampires and get stronger there while also getting clues about Sybille.
That was their initial plan, and they hoped no problems would arise soon.
“I believe we should keep Alessia in charge of the shop, and we only need to come here from time to time to see if everything is correct. She is smart and trustworthy,” Wisa said, giving her opinion about Alessia.
Arthur shared the same thought, Alessia worked well; she was an elf — a race known to be noble and follow ethics.
Also, it would only be for a short time, as they planned on closing the shop when winter comes, in four months or so.
“Will we reopen the shop after winter?” Arthur asked.
He was almost sure that would not happen, but he wanted to hear his wives’ thoughts.
pA(nD)A no ve1 The shop was for them to earn more money and for Arthur to practice his potion-making skills, which he would focus on more now that he had nothing to worry about except reaching rank four.
Arthur moved from side to side inside his house and said, “we earned a good amount of mana stones here, and the dragons have many of them, too, so we don’t need to worry about money. So let’s get the most precious ingredients, as I plan on making potions inside the valley where the dragons live, drink them and meditate.”
Jane and Wisa were okay with the plan, as the two wanted to get stronger, perhaps reaching rank four before making their moves.
“Husband, you pack up the things we need to bring. Jane and I will speak with Alessia and hire more people.”
“Hire people in the middle of the night? Would someone do an interview this late?”
“Oh, you bet. People are desperate for jobs, especially in the Frostpeak Potion Shop. Also, I thought about hiring only one person, seeing the job will close when winter comes. Is that okay?”
“If you think only one person can sell the potions inside the shop, that’s okay. You have more experience than me on this so I will take your word for it,” said Arthur.
Arthur’s wives left the shop while he searched on the shelves, looking for all the crafted potions that could help him and the ingredients one could use to make more of these potions.
There weren’t many of those. Potions that could help rank three mages reach rank four were extremely rare and expensive. As for the ingredients, Arthur also only had a few, but it would be enough for him to get rank four in the upcoming year or two, but his wives? For them to get rank four, too, he would have to find more of those ingredients, or else that would not be possible.
“Let me get this, and that, and.”
Arthur was putting the things inside his magical pouch when he heard noises from upstairs again. It was like when the three hunters broke in and turned his friends.
But, differently from before, the noises were silent, and Arthur only heard that because his hearing was that good.
“These people are professional assassins. Who could they be? The vampires?”
Vampires were the first option Arthur thought about, making sense as he went inside the city using his appearance when in the Coldharbour castle.
“If this is the case, they watched me and waited for everyone to leave the shop, so I am all alone… Wait, my vampire body is still here, which means I need to kill!”
The vampire avatar did not leave with Jane and Wisa, so Arthur had to finish those vampires before they discovered his secret.
Arthur used his invisibility and hid behind some crates with a dagger in his hands. The sounds of footsteps entered his ears, and judging by how they sounded; it meant the vampires were going down the stairs, joining in the basement area.
The good thing was the basement’s layout, a tunnel with a door at the end, so the vampires could not go around and attack him.
It was not a good spot for them, and in typical situations, there was no way the vampires would go there, but in that case, they did.
They planned to kill Arthur while he was inside the city, which could only happen in some specific places where there would be no guards, like inside the shop.
An opportunity they could not miss but that would lead them to their downfall.
Arthur put his avatar in front of the cauldron, mixing some ingredients on it, acting as if he was brewing potions. When the vampires opened the other, that was the first thing they saw.
For a moment, they were scared they had messed up, and Arthur was not alone but with someone powerful, someone they did not sense before going in.
It turned out that was not the case, and the only reason they did not sense the person brewing potions was simply that that person was too weak.
Arthur’s avatar kept faking it, acting as if he was not seeing the vampires who entered — they had invisibility spells on. So they opened and closed the door so fast that ordinary people couldn’t notice it.
They could not speak aloud, but it was a team of four vampires who specialized in assassinations and had worked together for years. There was no need for words, but they could also speak mentally.
“Let’s go closer and check if that elf is indeed weak. We cannot suffer a sneak attack.”
The vampires approached Arthur’s avatar to make sure it was not a threat, but that was the worse decision of their lives. Arthur saw them from behind a crate and took the chance to strike like a snake pouncing on its prey!
A shadow so quick not even the vampires could see it, wielding a dagger that shone with the moonlight, and it was as sharp as the teeth of a terrifying beast.
Arthur slashed horizontally with his dagger, and the head of two vampires fell to the ground, killing them in an instant. Those were the two weakest, who were at the peak of rank two, but the remaining two were already at rank three!
“I must keep going and take full advantage of the surprise attack!”
The two vampires quickly turned around to face Arthur, believing the elf brewing potions was not a threat, but they were again wrong.
Although the avatar was weak in combat, it still had many memories from the Blood Monarch, and there were many sealing spells.
Arthur’s avatar moved its hands, making hand signs like a ninja. It happened fast, and before the vampires could react, the entire shop was affected by a sealing spell, which would cut off the mana from everyone inside!
The invisibility spells ended, and the two remaining vampires looked at Arthur and said, “you cut off the mana from everyone? So what? Spells were your only advantage. We, vampires, are masters of combat, and our bodies are powerful!”
Arthur looked at them with a mocking smile and said, “is that so? Are vampire bodies stronger than a dragon’s?”