Adam entered Herbs & More while carrying a large wooden barrel over his shoulder. As soon as he stepped foot inside, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Old man, I'm here!"
The few customers inside the store were first alarmed that someone was causing a ruckus inside the mighty Magus' store. But when they saw that it was Adam, they breathed a sigh of relief.
All the regular customers were used to this loud-mouthed brat by now. If it were anyone else, they'd severely reprimand him. But these regular customers knew that Adam and Berger shared a special relationship.
Hence, all the customers inside the store simply ignored Adam and went back to doing what they were doing.
Berger, who was reading a book at the wooden counter, looked at the youth with slight surprise and asked, "Who are you and what have you done to Adam?"
"Hehe." Adam posed heroically and spoke in vanity, "You like my new outfit, don't you, old man?"
Berger rolled his eyes and got back to reading the book. "Don't waste my time, punk. What do you want?"
Adam walked to the wooden counter and kept the barrel on top. He cracked open the lid, following which, a refreshing and intoxicating aroma spread across the whole store. The customers were taken aback by this strong aroma.
Berger's eyes lit up. He came closer to the barrel and sniffed the wine inside. "Oh? Did you add Mangrovian Yeast for fermentation?"
Adam was full of praise. "Nothing can escape your senses."
With great familiarity, he grabbed a ladle and two wine cups from behind the wooden counter and began pouring the wine. "I harvested Enochian wild grapes and used naturally-grown Mangrovian yeast for fermentation. Alas, even with the mana formation I could only age it for four months."
He gave one glass to the old gnome and took the other glass. "Have a sip, old man. What do you think?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Berger swirled the wine in the cup, took a whiff, and finally sipped it. "Hmm, not bad for your first time. But if you had aged it, let's say, for at least 2-3 years, with the help of the mana formation I taught you the results would have been much better."
The old gnome had high standards. So when Adam heard him say that the wine was 'not bad', he knew that he had done really well. Elated, he poured himself another glass and downed it in one go.
"Sir, I'm going to leave tomorrow for the academy's annual mission. I'll probably return to Moon City by the end of the year," he said.
"Is that so?" Berger replied with a bored look as he filled in some tobacco in his smoking pipe. "So what do you want?"
"Nothing." Adam smiled warmly. "I just came here to say goodbye."
Over the past half a year, Adam had interacted with the gnome so much that he had grown very close to him. To Adam, Berger was like a teacher and also a grandparent. He really cherished the time he spent with this grumpy old man.
Seeing Adam's expression, Berger sighed. "Being sentimental with me… You're really asking for a beating."
Adam simply laughed like a spoilt child. He was already used to the tough love shown by the old gnome.
Berger took out a couple of items from the drawer and kept them on the countertop. "Here, take these with you."
Adam asked curiously, "What are these?"
The gnome pointed at the inconspicuous, small, jute pouch and explained, "This is a Holding Pouch. It contains 1 cubic foot of extra-dimensional space and can store organic materials for extended periods. Perfect for storing magical ingredients as well as material components."
"Whoa!!" Adam's mouth was agape. He had naturally heard of space-type storage artifacts before, but they were known to be very expensive. That's why he'd never bothered buying them.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Although the Holding Pouch only had an inner volume of 1 cubic foot, Adam was sure that its market price was still a couple of hundred platinum pieces at the very least. There were also Holding Bags available in the market, but their price range was in the thousands of platinum coins.
Berger then pointed at a small, bronze whistle in the shape of a thin cylinder. "With this, you'll be able to summon Blackie. All you need to do is blow it."
Adam was flabbergasted. He held the bronze whistle with trembling hands. "T-This whistle can summon Blackie?! Unbelievable!"
Berger nodded as he smoked from the pipe. "However, I forbid you to call Blackie to fight in your stead, is that clear? You will never be able to grow as a Magus if you don't fight your own battles."
Adam solemnly nodded. "I understand, sir. Then what do I do with this whistle?"
"You can write me letters concerning Herbalism. Blackie can act as a messenger and deliver letters via the Spirit World," Berger explained. "Moreover, in case of any life-threatening emergencies, you can summon him to come save your useless ass."
"Old sir…" Adam's eyes turned watery. "So, you really care for me after all—"
POW! POW POW!
"Get lost before I take these items back!" Berger roared.
Although Adam's forehead was full of bruises from the thrashing, the bright smile on his face never faded as he ran out of the store. His departing words echoed in the store.
"Thank you for everything, old man! I will see you soon!"
Berger sat back in his seat and started reading his book again. He grumbled under his breath, "Damn punk, who the hell cares for you?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})…
The following day, a small traveling party slowly exited one of the two gates of the South Ward. There were three horse-
drawn wooden carriages. Surrounding it were a dozen mercenaries armed to the teeth.
At the forefront of the traveling party were three sturdy steeds. At the center, Adam was wearing his new black Magus robe and had excitement etched all over his face.
To his right was Edward wearing blue robes, and to his left was Lisa wearing green robes. She was holding a cute white fox in her arms and gently petting it. This fox was Lisa's familiar, Ennea.
SCREECH!
Edward raised his head and saw Aquila flying excitedly in the sky above them. He then looked at his friends and asked, "Shall we leave?"
Lisa simply nodded. Meanwhile, Adam turned around to look at the dozen mercenaries and hesitantly asked. "Do we really need them to come with us? Feels like an overkill, Ed."
Edward explained, "They'll be carrying out all the menial tasks for us. Besides we're not breaking any rules. The academy only prohibited us from hiring Magi, they didn't say anything about hiring mortals."
"But we already have the servants to do all the chores for us. A bigger traveling party will only slow us down," Adam argued.
Edward clicked his tongue. "Just shut up and trust me!"
"Hah… fine." Adam finally gave in. Then, he pulled the reigns of his steed and enthusiastically shouted, "Alright! Onward to Fabio Kingdom!"
