Vicente said goodbye to Nova as soon as they had agreed on the terms of their deal and left the Mazzanti estate to pursue his previous plans, satisfied with his conversation with her.
As much as the deal with Nova was more beneficial for her, it was also good for Vicente. With her on his side, he would have more influence with an informant within the army and no longer have to probe the army for information when using his real identity.
Meanwhile, he did not have any interest in acting against innocent people. Getting a promise from Nova without having to promise something too difficult for him to keep had been a bonus for Vicente!
Anyway, he would soon be on his way to change his identity without attracting the attention of the locals, leaving the city as Cesar and returning a few moments later as Vicente.
But with this move, Vicente realized he had attracted the interest of army soldiers, who narrowly avoided starting a chase against him.
Fortunately, he quickly changed his identity and began to return to Millfall with his level suppressed, without the mask and clothes he wore when he acted as Cesar.
Riding a horse he had picked up where his men had left the animal for him earlier, Vicente watched with curiosity the soldiers' movement outside Millfall.
'These are not local soldiers...' He thought as he noticed people he didn't know moving about. 'These are members of the battalions that came to the city to hunt the basilisk. But why did they try to chase me a few moments ago?'
Vicente looked at his spatial ring as the soldiers ignored him while they searched for Cesar and clenched his fists. 'Is it because of the herb?'
Days ago, the soldiers had interrupted his fight with Bart and forced them to flee.
Thinking about it, Vicente connected the dots and saw that it had to do with the herb he had collected.
'Shit! I need to get rid of this weed as soon as possible. As long as I keep it in my possession, I'll be a target for those greedy bastards!' He controlled himself not to show his nervousness as he made his way through the streets of Millfall.
'I'll try to meet Liam before I go after Shelby.' He changed his destination and soon had his horse running faster as he headed for the address of Liam, the alchemist who had sold high-purity items to him and Rory months ago.
Vicente already had all the information he needed about Liam to go to the alchemist's residence and make an offer tempting enough to convince him.
Thinking that Liam would be his way to solve at least part of the problem of the 3rd-stage herb in his spatial ring, the young Fuller soon found himself in front of a simple house on the west side of Millfall.
Liam Young was a talented 1st-stage alchemist when Vicente met him months ago. He was not a member of any local family and was a student of Millfall's greatest alchemist, the owner of Botanica Magica.
When Vicente met him, Liam was close to advancing a level and was selling his 1st-grade items at a discount to raise funds for his advancement.
After weeks, Vicente knew that Liam had advanced and became an Acolyte, having gone into seclusion before even searching for the second pentagram to learn as much alchemical theory as possible before absorbing his new essence.
Aware Liam was still in Millfall and was currently in that simple estate in front of Vicente, this black-haired man knocked on his door.
"Liam, I'm here on business." He said without identifying himself, figuring that saying his name wouldn't get Liam's attention.
After a minute of waiting, Vicente listened. "Who are you? What exactly do you want? I won't cook pills by the hour. Find another alchemist!"
"I'm Vicente Fuller. I did business with you a few weeks ago." He said with a smile, imagining Liam would soon open the door for him. "I have a proposition for you. If you agree to listen to me, I feel your destiny as an alchemist will change 180 degrees.
What I have with me will help you immediately improve your alchemist position!"
"What makes you think you're right?" Liam asked, his voice louder and closer to the front door of his house.
Vicente said. "Give me a minute of your time, Liam. If I do not have enough to convince you, I'll leave without further insistence."
After he had finished speaking, Vicente saw the door in front of him open, revealing the interior of the small dwelling, which had a strong medicinal scent, something common to alchemical refining places.
Liam, the alchemist with the unusual magical form and brown hair, looked at Vicente and remembered he had met this person before.
Vicente's face was not unfamiliar to Liam because he was one of the last customers he did business with before going into seclusion.
"So? What do you have for me?" Liam got right to the point.
After entering the house and ensuring they were alone, Vicente saw Liam close the door and said. "I want you to join my family and be my exclusive alchemist. In exchange, I'll give you something in this spatial ring that I know will interest you."
Seeing Vincent throw a spatial ring in his direction, Liam narrowed his eyes. But he understood what this strange person wanted.
'You don't want to remove what's here so as not to attract attention...' Liam looked at Vicente, holding the ring in his hands.
Curious, he put a strand of his mana into the ring, from which Vicente had temporarily removed the security 'padlock.'
When he sensed what was inside Vicente's ring, Liam Young's expression immediately changed, ignoring the gold coins and 2nd-grade artifacts to focus on a green cocoon emitting a strong sensation.
"That... Is that what I think it is?" He muttered as he looked at Vicente with a shocked expression, not believing the man in front of him was carrying something like that.
"Yes, this is a 3rd-stage herb."
"It's not just a 3rd-stage herb!" Liam shook his head negatively. "This is a Cavern Galangal! As a living being, it can form Magic Pentagrams, but not only that, its cultivation method increases the density of mana in the environment. That means magicians of all kinds can progress faster in their meditation by having such a plant around them.
When dead, a single plant of this type can be used as the main ingredient to produce at least 10 different types of pills and potions, and it is even possible to use it to refine 3rd-grade resources.
When used with 2nd-grade resources, it can produce 2nd-grade pills and potions that are almost 100% pure!
But that's not all. Its use can significantly benefit the alchemist who manipulates it!"
Vicente listened to Liam talk about the great effects of that herb and realized it was even more valuable than he had previously thought.
