The Messenger of Death

"If you would come this way please." She walked down the hall and led the way to where she had her cauldrons stored…

They stopped in front of a normal wooden door. Nana opened the door and stepped in, Al followed suit.

The insides of the strange room that Nana had taken Al, to, in the library looked like a storage room. Al was busy checking his surroundings out while Nana removed a white sheet that was used to cover some items.

"These are the caldrons I have. I assume that you don't know anything about Cauldron grades or tiers, right?"

"Hmm," Al responded.

"There are 3 tiers known by most. The mortal tier is the first tier, the earth tier is the second, and the Heaven tier is the third one. In each tier, there are 3 grades."

"From what you have said, there are higher tiers?" Al asked.

"In this world of cultivation, there hasn't been a definite limit to what we can do. There is always something better." She explained.

"I understand. So what's the difference between the grades and tiers?"

"I was getting to that part. The difference between the tiers is clear. You can only use the mortal tier cauldron to concoct supplements within the constraint on the mortal tier. You can use a higher tier to concoct a lower-tier supplement though. Only thing is that higher-tier cauldrons are harder to use unless you have the right technique and strength – or should I say the right cultivation.

The grades are there to differentiate their quality and durability. For example, this one over here is a mortal tier grade-2 cauldron although its durability is inferior to that of a grade-3, it preserves more QI during refinement than that of most of the grade-3."

"So what you are trying to say is that grades don't really matter?"

"No, they do. When concocting supplements, sometimes you need to have the right cauldron to get the maximum result."

"So it's like me picking the right tool for the job. Hmmm."

"Not to be nosy, but what do you need a cauldron for, maybe I can help you pick a suitable one. I am a level-1 worldly alchemist after all." Nana asked.

['Worldly alchemist?'] Al uttered, he felt like he was forgetting something that he was meant to remember.

A part of the memories he got from the Dragnels got a bit clearer. It was information about Alchemy.

'Mortal alchemist, worldly alchemist, heavenly alchemist, and divine alchemist. These were the 4 titles given to alchemist that had reached a certain stage in alchemy. Every title has 9 levels in it. The level an alchemist is at is determined by the tier and type of pills the person can concoct; the purity and effects are also taken into consideration.' Al snapped back to reality. 

"Nothing much, just want to dabble in alchemy a bit."

['Just ask her for the highest grade she has here.'] Alex suggested.

['That's like me telling her that I have money, no.'] Al rejected his offer.

['Just do it.']

"Nana, what is the highest tier you have here?" Al asked.

"Just a grade-3 mortal tier cauldron. Is that the one that you want?"

"I am not sure yet, the price will determine whether I want it or not."

"Hahaha, okay." Nana walked to a corner and came back with a light-blue cauldron that had a right-angle triangle drawn around its body. The cauldron was big enough to fit a person like Al, in it, and Nana carried it like it was nothing…

['That looks like a pot used to cook people.'] Alex commented

"This is it." She dropped it on the floor, right in front of Al. He examined it first, touching the cauldron with his hands.

['Do you even know what you are doing? Now that I think about it, you have never done any kind of reading for alchemy, just because you can assess more memories on alchemy than me still doesn't make you an alchemist, you know that right?'] Alex spoke up.

['Shut up rabbit.']

"How much for it?" He returned his focus to Nana.

"Well the market price for this is 2 green LD-ECs, but since I already agreed to sell it below the market price you can pay 1 green LD-EC and 40 blue HD-ECs."

"I will pay 1 green LD-EC and 25 blue HD-ECs," Al said flatly.

"Hahaha, Alexander, that amount wouldn't do. I have already reduced it for you, why do still have to go that low? Don't you trust me?"

"I don't trust anyone." He said sternly.

Nana smiled at his reply. "Don't worry I am not the type to lie. I wouldn't cheat you, nor will I cheat on you." She said flirtatiously.

"Cheat on me indeed," Al whispered and scoffed. He knew not to fall for her trick after she had threatened him not too long ago. He folded his hands on his chest, showing no intentions of changing his offer.

Nana sighed. "Okay, 1 green LD-EC and 35 blue HD-ECs." She changed her offer.

"20 blue HD-ECs," Al said flatly.

"33," Nana uttered.

"15," Al responded.

"Okay, 30?"

"5 blue HD-ECs."

"Ahh, wait, sheesh. Okay, I'll take the 25." She pouted and she gave in. "Is this revenge for what I did earlier?" She sighed.

"Here, 1 green LD-EC and 20 blue HD-ECs. I removed the 5, that's me exacting my revenge." Al brought the amount he mentioned and handed it to her.

"Stinginess is a disease," Nana muttered.

"At least with it, you won't get broke easily." Al placed his hand on the Cauldron and sucked it into his storage ring.

['How did you know that she was going to give in to the price you offered to pay?'] Alex asked as his curiosity was piqued.

['Because she was eager to let go of any of those cauldrons in exchange for something useful.'] Al explained.

['And how did you know that?']

['That's easy. The first thing that gave her eagerness away, despite her acting, was the fact that the cauldrons are kept in this store. Left here to wallow in the dust. Also, she claimed that she is a level-1 worldly alchemist and she only had mortal tier cauldrons here; meaning that the cauldrons were not suitable for her to use anymore. Therefore her need to dispose of the cauldron is greater than my need for it, from her perspective.'] Al elaborated.

He looked at Nana counting the energy crystals that he gave to her, slowly. "You don't need to count them like that. Trust me." Al spoke up.

"Coming from someone that claimed to not trust anyone." She looked at him and shook her head.

"Fair enough..."

"What are you still doing here?" Nana asked when she finished counting the energy crystals. "You still want to buy more?" She added.

"Yes, but not cauldrons. What I need now are ingredients to make what I have in mind." Al answered.

"And what is it that you have in mind? Maybe I can help you make it, at a price that is."

['Nice try woman. I can't let you know that what I want to make is poison. If anything happens, she can easily trace it to me.'] Al thought.

"No thank you. I don't need your help with that. What I want to know is where I can get my hands on alchemy ingredients, do you have anywhere I can get them?"

"Yes, but do you even know the basics of alchemy?" She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him.

['What could be hard about it? I have the skin crawler, my brain and talent to guide me… isn't alchemy just like chemistry.'] Al thought.

"If you try to concoct something and make a mistake, you might blow your head or arms off," Nana mentioned.

"Don't worry about me, where can I get them?" Al insisted.

"You can either go to the school apothecary or you can get them from me… at a cheaper price." Nana grinned at him.

"You are more of a businesswoman than a Librarian," Al commented.

"What can I say, a lady's got to clothe herself," Nana said.

['If only she actually wore the so-called cloths.'] Alex uttered.

"Alright, I will write down the items I need."

Nana gave him a paper and pen to write down what he needs. When he was done he gave it to her.

"Huh? 70% of your core ingredient cannot be found anywhere in the western continent, what is it you said that you want to make again?" Nana stared at him dumbfounded. 

"So, I can't get these items here?" Al was starting to feel conflicted, ignoring her facial expression.

"Yeah, but there are substitutes for them here. They might not be as potent as what you plan on making, but they should be effective. The academy restricts what the students can buy in the apothecary, if you had gone there for this then they wouldn't have sold any of them to you."

Nana was skeptical of selling the items Al wanted now. As an alchemist, she had an idea of what the result of combining these ingredients is.

"Okay, I'll get 500 grams of every substitute in the list," Al stated.

"Alright, then. Wait for me here." Nana left the storage room.

['Al, I think she has an idea of what we plan on making.'] Xander mentioned.

['I think so too. But that doesn't change anything. The reason she still chose to sell to me is that she believes at my level, I can't successfully make the poison.']