The Devil’s Cage

While the crowd of veterans kept laughing out loud, Nobian went over and sat down near Kieran and Lawless naturally.

Sighing, he said, ”You’re really lucky, 2567! Your one-time dungeon rewards have already exceed the rewards of players who have cleared three or four dungeons! I said before that you should contact me if you have anything nice, but come to think of it, that was a little premature of me to say… All your good stuff is too expensive for me!” Nobian mocked himself again.

His sense of humor seemed to resonate with Lawless’.

”I know, right? He’s the luckiest guy I’ve met in a while! If he had been through the beta test with us, he would have become a big name by now!” Lawless said in awe.

”A big name? To me, 2567 has quite the reputation already! If he can maintain his luck, he will overtake all the big names we know! Rachel, a round of honey mead for everyone! It’s on me!”

Nobian snapped a finger at Rachel and instantly the crowd of veterans cheered on his generosity.

When Rachel brought the honey mead over, Nobian stood up with a glass in his hand and proposed a toast. The veterans mimicked him.

Kieran could not resist. He had to stand up as well, as the crowd urged him to.

”A toast! To the future big names! Cheers!”

Amid the clear noise of glasses clashing against each other, Kieran drank the honey mead with a bitter smile.

[Name: Honey Mead]

[Type: Alcohol]

[Rarity: Fresh]

[Attributes: Recovers 10 HP within 3 seconds]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: This is a sweet, smooth wine made by Rachel.]

...

The sweet, smooth taste of the wine made it easy for Kieran to drink. He did not feel the sense of spiciness he had been expecting as he swallowed it.

It tasted more like a soft drink than wine.

Although Kieran had only drunk soft drink once or twice before, the sweet taste of that soft drink lingered on his tastebuds and was imprinted on his mind.

”How is it? Rachel’s honey mead is very famous among us veterans! Not only does it taste good, but it’s also cheap! That’s why I can afford to treat everyone!” Nobian said with a laugh.

”Not bad!” Kieran replied with a smile. He was even more cautious of Nobian now.

Kieran’s memories of that malicious gaze got clearer as Nobian became more enthusiastic.

Kieran was sure that Nobian had approached him with an ulterior motive.

What was his end game? Kieran was in no hurry to find out. The man would eventually show his true colors sooner or later. Kieran had exceptionally good patience when it came to dealing with evil people.

”Where is Lemour? Why is she not here yet? I’m quite anxious to meet her!” Hanses said.

”Right! Wonder what she’s bringing?”

”So much anticipation!”

”I’ve been waiting for her to enchant my items!”

”Me too!”

The crowd of veterans started to talk about the so-called alchemist.

From their discussion, Kieran got an idea of what this Lemour was capable of.

She seemed to have gained the trust of all the veterans present at the inn and have a high level [Alchemy] skill. Not only could she enchant items, but she could also craft some magical items.

Kieran was not satisfied with that vague description though. He wanted to know more.

He turned his eyes to Lawless and got a reply from him in the form of a message.

...

Lawless: Lemour was one of the beta players. She acquired the [Alchemy] skill during the newbie dungeon, and it only took her two dungeons to upgrade it to a considerable level! After that, she started her own alchemist business. She’s quite active among the veterans players. She charges a fair price for enchanting and will also sell some Magical items. That’s why she’s so popular among the veterans!

Lawless: Except for that evil Broker! Some say that the Broker has tried to approach her and recruit her to his forces, but was rejected every single time.

Lawless: Being an Alchemist is not a Unique Title, but most of us believe that Lemour will eventually get a Unique title related to alchemy one day.

...

Kieran gained another layer of understanding regarding Lemour after Lawless’s introduction.

However, Kieran’s jaw still dropped when he saw the Alchemist herself.

She was wearing a greyish-white robe and carrying a pointy wizard staff, and her satchel was filled with potions and materials. There was nothing special about her except for her height.

She was 150 centimeters tall.

Kieran’s eyes widened. He looked at Lawless as if to confirm his doubts, but Lawless and the other veterans had already surrounded Lemour.

As soon as she’d set foot inside the Harvest Inn, she had been flooded by the veterans’ enthusiasm. The only thing Kieran could see of her anymore was her magic staff, which was almost twice her height.

Kieran felt a strange feeling bloom inside his heart as he watched the scene.

”Don’t even mention her height! It’s her taboo!” Rachel’s voice sounded beside Kieran.

Before he could react, the bartender shouted, ”Lemour! Your ‘Flames of the Ice Lake!’”

Two bottle almost half a meter tall popped up on Kieran’s table next to Rachel.

[Name: Flames of the Ice Lake]

[Type: Alcohol]

[Rarity: Fresh]

[Attributes: Recovers your HP fully within 3 seconds just with one sip, will induce a Drunk Debuff]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: This is a liquor Rachel brewed. Normal people dare not even take a sip!]

...

The bottles of liquor was visible to everyone, and its attribute of inducing a [Drunk Debuff] made Kieran frown unconsciously. The reason he did not like alcoholic drinks was because they got people drunk.

Kieran would gladly excuse himself from any drink that affected one’s sanity and ability to think.

He naturally wondered why an alchemist would drink such a heavy liquor.

”Is it perhaps an alchemy material?” Kieran thought as he looked at Lemour, who was able to squeeze out of the crowd thanks to her 150 centimeters.

Kieran’s doubts quickly disappeared when he saw Lemour pull the wine stopper off and take a sniff. She looked very satisfied as she smelled the strong smell of the liquor. From the looks of it, she really did like heavy liquor. Otherwise, she would not have sighed in satisfaction.

Suddenly, Lemour noticed Kieran.

”The name’s Lemour! So you’re this 2567 that Lawless has been talking about! 27,500 Points and 6 Skill Points are quite fair for four pieces of [Soul Shard]s, but since I also need to pay for the ”Flames of the Ice Lake”, I don’t have enough Points and Skill Points to spare. Can we trade in other stuff?” Lemour introduced herself before proposing a new method of trading.

Kieran would not have objected anyhow.

He had a higher priority than Points and Skill Points on his wishlist.

[Potionology]!

Kieran answered with a smile, ”Yes, of course. I am currently looking for a [Potionology] Skill Book. I can pay off any remaining balance in Points as well!”

At Kieran’s words, the veterans around the inn went silent.

They were all looking at him with an incredulous expression.