Chương 93: The Art of the Deal

With a smile, Cal set down the last vial of Chef's Kiss, a honey colored glowing syrup. He turned back to his workbench, eyes falling upon the final set of ingredients. His supply of glimmerdew was nearly gone, but the more pressing issue was the velvet-lined box Selara had given him. Inside rested their stash of F-tier nature stones. Elemental stones, he corrected himself, recalling Aurelian's lecture. A rare mutation: a spirit stone that crystallizes into pure elemental energy instead of essence.

They were prized as catalysts in advanced crafting, but served no purpose in personal progression. Oh yeah, and they were also notoriously difficult to work with and very expensive. The Veils' small stockpile was a lifeline, but once it was gone he would have to find his own. He took a deep breath, centering himself before beginning the most difficult craft he'd yet attempted.

Starting with the glimmerdew, he used [Extract Essence] and [Purge Impurity] to draw and filter its yellow-green energy into the spirit cauldron. He then turned his attention to the first of the nature stones on the cauldron's rim. In his mind's eye, the stone was a storm contained in a pebble. Forming the ten-rune construct for [Harmonize], Cal directed its twin siphons at the extracted glimmerdew essence and the nature stone itself.

The moss' essence flowed smoothly into the Spell's binding chamber, but the stone's energy fought back like a cornered animal. The magic latched onto the wild power, and for a moment, he thought he had it. A blast of energy shot from the stone and ripped into the glimmerdew essence, annihilating it. The nature stone on the rim went dark, a tiny crack appearing on its surface. Inside the cauldron, the potion turned into useless sludge. Cal blinked. Crumb, that was harder than I thought.

Twenty gold worth of potential just… gone. Sighing, he took a moment, forcing his frustration down. The energy was too volatile. I can't just force it into the Spell. He analyzed the memory of the failed casting, [Savant of the Mind] replaying the sequence. The Spell hadn't been strong enough to contain the initial surge. He was glad Selara had insisted he take all of their elemental stones… apparently he needed the practice. Cal cleaned the cauldron with a blast of [Scour] and began again.

After extracting the essence from a new portion of glimmerdew he placed another nature stone on the rim. This time, there would be no finesse. Abandoning the delicate touch, he formed the construct for [Harmonize] once more. He opened the floodgates of his Mana font, escalating the flow from a steady stream to a torrential out-pour. Feeding the Spell until it burned with blinding intensity, he used brute magical strength as a cage for the stone's wild energy. The nature stone's chaotic power finally yielded.

Under the magical onslaught the volatile essence was subdued, ripping loose from the stone and being guided into the glimmerdew's essence. A grinding pressure began to build in his head as he fought to keep the unstable concoction from tearing itself apart. The newly formed concoction was not only potent, but it was also thick with the stone's impurities; a nuance to working with elemental stones and the required order of operations. He immediately began the next step and cast [Purge Impurity].

The Spell struggled against the combined essences. Its filtering function worked sluggishly, and sifting out the spiritual grit took more than twice as long as normal. Nonetheless, he guided the concoction through this last step as the pressure in his head worsened into a dull ache. His vision blurred slightly at the edges, a haze of static creeping in, but he forced his concentration to hold until he completed the brew. The completed purification draught shone pearlescent with streaks of light green.

He decanted the draught and then pushed through crafting the recipe twice more in quick succession, each brew only yielding enough for a single spirit glass vial. Exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Cal capped the final vial and appreciated his handiwork. The potion's aura radiated a spiritual purity that was anathema to the Contamination in him. A stabbing pain behind his eyes throbbed in time with his pulse. Looks like that's it for now.

He straightened slowly, his breathing evening out as he assessed his work. Fifteen potions: three healing, three stamina, three meridian liners, three purification draughts, and three Chef's Kiss elixirs represented a small portion of the reagents he'd stockpiled. The only thing he was running vanishingly low on was the glimmerdew moss. He was ecstatic about the outcome, even if he did consume the three Mana potions he'd made to produce the rest.

After carefully packed everything but the culinary concoctions into his pack. Leo's present went right into his belt pouch. Time for the next step. In the storefront, Aurelian and Selara were holding a discussion behind the counter. They looked up as Cal approached and placed one of the purification draughts on the counter between them.

"A question," Cal said.

"Do you know the efficacy of this potion against Spiritual Contamination?" The twins exchanged a brief glance before Aurelian arched an eyebrow, his lips pressing into a thin line while Selara grimaced and sat down on a nearby stool.

"We've never had a need for one, Cal. Our family has only ever used essence stones, and they're not really something we've made to sell." Cal smiled wryly.

"Ah, right. The good stuff. Must be nice." Her mouth twitched.

"Second question," Cal pressed.

"Would you be willing to sell my surplus F-tier potions? I've built up a small surplus and plan to make much more than I will personally use." Aurelian scoffed.

"The Golden Mortar doesn't deal in such pedestrian wares." Selara's response was more measured but equally final. She crossed her arms, giving Cal an even stare.

"Ever since coming to Deadfall we've only sold D-tier concoctions, catering to a very small percentage of the village's population." She leaned away.

"It's what our shaky truce with Zarven is built upon, and selling F-tier potions would create a direct challenge to the man in his primary market. That's not a fight worth picking." Eyeing him sideways, she finished, "It's certainly not a fight you should be picking either." Cal absorbed their words before letting out a slight sigh.

"You're right, of course. I just thought if…" He stared blankly for a moment, realizing his plans for monetization were more complicated than he'd realized. Selara softened her features.

"You understand why, don't you?"

"I do. Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." With a small wave, Cal turned and left the shop, his mind already formulating a new plan as he walked out into the cold. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less. Fair enough. That means I need a partner who is either too desperate or too greedy to care about the danger. The bell above Jakob's door chimed as Cal pushed through, and Jakob raised his head from behind the counter, looking equal parts curious and excited when he noticed who'd come in.

"Master Valorn, my friend! What exceptional needs can I fulfill for you today?" Cal paused before approaching the counter, glad to see the store was empty.

"I need a blue spirit stone." Jakob smiled widely.

"Another investment in the mind, is it? Excellent choice! The path of intellect is a noble one, and I have just the thing." He produced a small, faintly glowing blue stone from beneath the counter, placing it on the scarred wood between them.

"One gold, and it's yours." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Placing the coin on the counter Cal took the stone, then stepped away from the immediate transactional space and consumed it without ceremony. [Wisdom has increased by 5. 00%; from 30. 00% to 35. 00%] [Spiritual Contamination has increased by 10. 00%; from 7. 00% to 17. 00%] He pulled one of the purification draughts from his satchel, uncorked it, and drank.

The liquid was cool, tasting faintly of crushed pine and fresh rain as it spread through his spiritual channels in a cleansing wave, dissolving the cloying feeling of contamination. A second notification appeared. [Spiritual Contamination has decreased by 17. 00%; from 17. 00% to 0. 00%] Cal lowered the empty vial, his mind blanking for a moment. Wow, that was incredible! And also… overkill. The potion felt like it had far more power than was needed to clear seventeen percent. How much more, I wonder?

He looked up at Jakob in excitement.

"I need four more." The shopkeeper's mouth slackened and eyes went wide.

"Four more? Are you certain, my friend? That's quite the—""Four more, please." Jakob closed his mouth with a click. His hand vanished below the countertop, re-emerging with four additional blue stones, albeit slower this time.

"… four gold." Cal counted out the coins and consumed the stones one after another. [Wisdom has increased by 20. 00%; from 35. 00% to 55. 00%] [Spiritual Contamination has increased by 40. 00%; from 0. 00% to 40. 00%] The effect was immediate. Thought became muddy, the connection between will and action lagging as a layer of spiritual grit fouled the gears. Cal drank the second draught. The restorative effect was stronger this time and burned through the Contamination fiercely.

The sluggish feeling lifted, his thoughts clearing as spiritual pathways were freed once more. [Spiritual Contamination has decreased by 40. 00%; from 40. 00% to 0. 00%] It has a bit more potential. But how much more? Cal met Jakob's bewildered gaze.

"Six more." Jakob stilled briefly before slowly reaching out of sight again, his expression approaching alarm.

"Six more? Cal, what in the name of—""Six. More." He smiled.

"Please." The merchant worked his mouth silently for a moment before he complied, stiffly pulling the remaining blue stones from his stock.

"Six—" Cal paid and consumed them right there, all at once. A large wave of mental energy flooded his core, and his Wisdom surged upward as his Soulspring stretched to new limits. [Wisdom has increased by 30. 00%; from 55. 00% to 85. 00%] [Spiritual Contamination has increased by 60. 00%; from 0. 00% to 60. 00%] The effect was catastrophic. Metaphysical sediment felt like it had almost solidified inside him, making the mobilization of his spiritual energy nearly impossible.

The shop's ambient noise felt muted, filtered through a layer of gray fog that slowed his thoughts to a crawl. Need to.. take… the potion… Clumsily he uncorked and drank the final purification draught. [Spiritual Contamination has decreased by 50. 00%; from 60. 00% to 10. 00%] Cal lowered the empty vial and sighed in relief, his breath steadying as the mental fog dissolved. Selara was right; another stone or two and I would have been a vegetable.

The draught had cleared a full fifty percent of the contamination, a stunning success. He now had a method for managing the brutal influx of spiritual sludge from consuming spirit stones… assuming he had the resources. The sounds of the storefront receded as his mind spun through the math. With the Veils' gifted nature stones, his only expense was the glimmerdew moss and the five gold for the spirit stones themselves.

He could gain twenty-five percent attunement for a fifth of the market price of pure essence stones. It was an incredible shortcut. His triumphant grin faded into a thoughtful frown. For now. The Veil's stash of catalysts would run out and then the economics would change drastically. A twenty-gold nature stone combined with five gold in spirit stones made the cost functionally identical to buying essence stones for the same amount of power. He shook his head. No wonder nobody makes these things.

He'd not gotten the long-term cheat code he was hoping for, even though the recipe was effective. Unless he could hunt the rare elemental beasts himself or get a discounted supply, this path was just another one of many. Hunching his shoulders, he leaned against the counter, lost in thought. This method would help him catch his mental attributes up to his physical ones, at least. A crucial step he'd been lagging behind on. But it wasn't the grand solution to the Sovereign's Toll he'd thought it'd be.

This was just another grind, trading the danger of the hunt for the tedium of the alchemist's bench to generate wealth. Was the entire path to power just an endless cycle of acquiring and consuming stones? There had to be a faster way. He turned his attention back to Jakob, who was still standing behind the counter, staring at Cal with an expression caught somewhere between awe and fear.

"What... what in the blazing hells did I just witness?" Jakob whispered. Cal shifted into business mode. He straightened and squared up, looking Jakob in the eye.

"Let's call it… a demonstration of my alchemical prowess. Which brings me to my primary reason for being here." A deliberate pause for emphasis.

"Who's your potion supplier?" Jakob cooled instantly.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm about to offer you a business proposition," Cal said, "and I need to understand the landscape." Jakob wrinkled his nose, his gaze darting toward the door before returning to Cal. When he spoke, his voice was careful, stripped of its usual enthusiasm.

"Zarven Mault supplies everyone. His prices are the only prices." Cal reached into his pack and placed a healing potion on the counter.

"I can supply you with F-tier potions for less. Take them on consignment. No risk to you. You sell what you can, and we split the profit eighty-twenty. You take twenty percent." Jakob recoiled from the potion as if it were a snake, his right hand rising unconsciously to rub the stump of his left pinky finger.

"Are you insane?" he hissed, glancing nervously toward the entrance again.

"Zarven would ruin me." He swallowed hard.

"Or worse." Cal pat the air with his hands.

"Don't stop buying from Zarven - you should keep your weekly quota unchanged. He sees his money, he stays happy."

"Then what's the point? How does this help me?" Leaning forward slightly, Cal dropped his voice to a conspiratorial level.

"You sell my potions to trusted, premium clients. Under the table and off the books. Zarven's network is built on volume and intimidation, so he wouldn't bother tracking individual sales. He only cares that his quota is met. You skim the cream off the top and he never knows the difference." The fear on Jakob's face wavered as his mind processed the idea. He looked from the crimson light back to Cal, a war between terror and ambition playing out behind his eyes. Slowly, the ambition won.

The merchant's posture shifted as he drew himself up, his hands smoothing down his unwrinkled vest. The perpetual pitchman resurfaced, but his voice was curt and shrewd.

"Consignment… can work. The plan is good. The split, however, is garbage." He leaned forward, reclaiming control of his space.

"You'd be selling these at the Golden Mortar if you could - everyone knows about your relationship with the Veils. The fact you're coming to me means you can't. You need me, my friend. You need my business and my clientele, my reputation and my connections." He gave Cal a playful grin." And my confidence. Without me, you're just another apprentice peddling potions out of a satchel. And Zarven will have none of that." Jakob was right. He needed a partner, and Jakob was the best option.

"Fine. Seventy-thirty." The shopkeeper shook his head slowly.

"Fifty-fifty. That's my final offer. I'm putting my business - and maybe my neck - on the line for this little venture of yours. It's an equal partnership, or it's no partnership." Cal stared hard as the silence stretched between them, but the man didn't flinch.

"Fifty-fifty. We have a deal." Extending his hand over the counter, Jakob gripped it firmly.

"Deliveries through the back entrance," the merchant said.

"During off-hours only. We keep it completely off the books and out of sight. I'll have this done right or I'll not have it done at all." Cal nodded as Jakob continued.

"I can't forge Zarven's seal on the vials, but I'll personally vet every client who walks through that door - premium adventurers only, my friend, the sort who understand that discretion is worth its weight in gold." Jakob grinned devilishly.

"People I trust to keep their mouths shut and their coin purses open." He waggled his eyebrows. Reaching into his pack, Cal lined up two more healing potions next to the first, as well as the three Stamina potions. Their ruby and emerald light cast a pleasant glow across the worn countertop.

"Let's start with these." The merchant lit up with glee. He scooped the potions under the counter quickly, and when his hands reappeared, they held three gold coins. He placed them on the wood with a clink.

"An advance," he said, the salesman's charm returning.

"To a magnificent new partnership." Cal pocketed the coins and began turning towards the door, "Thank you—""I also want to know what those potions you were drinking are, considering you stood right there and consumed enough spirit stones to kill yourself. I should think to sell them too." Cal had expected the question. A man like Jakob caught every detail, especially when they smelled of profit.

"They're called purification draughts," Cal explained.

"The recipe is built around F-tier nature stones, though, and you need one nature stone to clear fifty percent Spiritual Contamination. With those going for twenty gold apiece on the market there's barely a profit margin left. As you can see," he gestured to his empty vials, "I'm consuming what I'm able to create." Jakob grinned, his eyes gleaming with avarice.

"Market price is for amateurs, my friend. What if I could help with the logistics? Find you stones from desperate adventurers who need quick coin and don't know any better?" Cal considered for a moment. A reliable source of cheap catalysts would change the entire equation, turning an economic dead end into a potential gold mine. He met the man's shrewd gaze.

"If you can source the stones, I'll make anything you want." He tossed him a wink.

"Fifty-fifty, right?" The bell chimed brightly as he pushed out the door, the sound almost triumphant. Crisp winter air hit his face, bracing after the warmth of the shop. He walked a few steps and stopped, summoning his status with a thought. The translucent blue screen materialized and his eyes were drawn immediately to his Mental attributes. | WIS | 85. 00% | F | Holy mackerel, that was a nice boost, Cal thought, laughing in spite of himself. Then another thought occurred to him, causing him to wince.

Good thing the twenty percent rule doesn't seem to apply to Wisdom. Or at least… for me. The combination of rapid advancement, another method to whittle away the Toll, and the new partnership with Jakob filled him with a giddy sense of victory. A win. Even if it's not exactly what I was counting on this is a huge win, and a win deserves to be celebrated! His thoughts went to the carefully wrapped vials in his belt pouch. A wide grin spread across his face. Right. Time for a party.