Arcane Innovator

The following day, right after breakfast, I went back to the dimly lit archive to finish the Task. 'Let's get this done with!' I thought eagerly. With the class suspended until after the test, I now had plenty of time to get everything done in a timely manner.

The clerk was all too happy to see me. It looked like I pulled a thorn from his side by doing so much work yesterday. Well, I didn't mind the work. The more I did, the more soul coins I earned, so it was a win-win situation.

I was aware that displaying my impressive essence capacity here might attract some unwanted attention, but this time, I was willing to take the risk.

Sure, not sticking out was all well and good, but if I always just stayed in the back, I could miss out on various opportunities like extra resources or a chance to advance my rank.

'That's right!' Improving my rank was still one of my top priorities right after mastering the advanced elements.

I had a feeling that the upcoming test might help me with the former, while finishing this Task should provide me with enough funds to fuel my research into the latter.

With that, I figuratively rolled my sleeves and dived into the silent world of magical contracts once again. It took me several hours, but I managed to complete the Task shortly before noon.

In the end, I checked and refilled 35 contracts. I felt like I could push it all the way to forty if I really wanted, but I didn't want to end up completely drained of essence in the middle of the day.

Nonetheless, I finished a job that would usually take an average third-year novice ten days in less than two.

After administering the reward, the clerk then informed me that as long as I didn't turn in the completed task at the Assignment Hall, I could continue it indefinitely for the stated bonus rate of one soul coin per five scrolls.

Hearing such great news brought a smile to my face. This meant I could basically exchange a quarter of my essence for a soul coin.

And if I, for example, resolved to do ten scrolls a day from now on, which was about half of my essence, and kept at it long enough, in a few months, I would be rolling in cash.

'What a steal…' I hummed a happy tune as I made my way back to the fifth floor.

With the funds secured, it was now time to finally move forward with my little quest to master the magic of life. That meant it was shopping time!

First, I needed to buy some potion-brewing supplies. 'To think I could now just go into any store and buy whatever I want instead of having to trudge through a forest, picking them myself.' I grinned while walking through the main plaza

The plaza was lined with a plethora of shops. Here, they sold everything one might think of, from exotic-looking food all the way to powerful artifacts.

Before, I had only a cursory look at the broad selection, but upon closer examination, I noticed that the majority of them catered toward Labyrinth divers.

The alchemy shop was one of them. And by the look of it, it was one of the busiest shops around. 'This is not that surprising as not many people know healing magic.' I observed.

However, when I joined the steady stream of older students and made my way in, I frowned - I couldn't see herbs anywhere.

'Well, now that I think about it, why would there be any? It's not like anyone has any reason to buy them.' After all, mages looked down upon alchemy as an inferior job.

Undeterred, I approached the smiling young woman behind the counter. "Excuse me. Can I buy some herbs?"

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"Herbs? What do you need them for?" The apprentice tilted her head, giving me a puzzled look.

"Oh, just doing some research into plants and how magic may affect them," I said, giving the excuse I came up with before.

As far as I knew, it was not forbidden for mages to dabble in Alchemy per se. However, I had no intention of being looked at as some sort of weirdo, so I prayed the excuse I gave was believable.

"Well, that's the first I've heard about something like this, but alright, I have herbs in the back." To my surprise, the apprentice shopkeeper simply nodded and went to the back room.

It seemed she was accustomed to getting all sorts of strange requests, and I was more than glad for it. When she returned, she presented me with a neatly packed bundle.

"The expeditions always bring some back with them, so I keep them here until I have time to deliver them to one of the alchemy workshops in the city. You're in luck because we had a fresh delivery this morning, and I haven't had time to sort through them yet."

'Oh, well…' I did not specify which sort of herbs I wanted so as not to give away my true intent. I was hoping I would be able to pick the ones I needed myself, but it seemed that would not be the case.

"Thank you," I said, paying for the lot. This was like an herb lottery, so to speak, but I didn't mind. Since they weren't sorted and dried yet, they came cheap—a whole bundle for only two fragments.

Elated, I said my goodbyes to the helpful shopkeeper and was on my way. 'Excellent! Now, all I need is to find a place to brew the potions, and I'm golden.' I thought eagerly.

However, this last step ought to be the most difficult one. For one, I couldn't do it in our room—not only was it small and cramped, but even if I chose a time when my roommates were out, the smell would linger, bringing some uncomfortable questions later on.

No, I needed to find some other venue. The problem was that I didn't yet have access to the specialized classrooms on the sixth floor that could provide the much-needed privacy.

In my current situation, the best option would be the basement. There were plenty of empty storerooms around the kitchens, and I could also "borrow" some cooking utensils there.

The only issue with this was that to go to the basement, one needed a pass, like the one we got when we took on the hauling job with Gil.

However, I couldn't pick another job until I turned in the current one. Besides, I had an inkling that after the incident, the security down there would undoubtedly be much tighter, thus preventing me from "getting lost" in the kitchens.

'What to do, what to do…' I wondered. But then I hit me. 'That's right!' After all, the basement didn't have the only kitchens around.

There were also those on this very floor - the Eateries! All I needed was to somehow convince one of the proprietors to let me borrow their kitchen for an hour or two.

'That could work!' I instantly perked up, not finding any obvious issues with the plan. Still, pulling this out would be a tall order, especially for me. I knew my abilities quite well, and eloquence wasn't one of them.

In the open world, I relied mostly on either money or my social status to get things done, and if that didn't work, coercing people with a bit of magic usually did the trick.

But here, I had no such tools. Money-wise, I had about as much as the next person, and as status went, being a first-year novice was about as low as one could get, only slightly above the indentured workers.

Luckily, I knew someone who could help me out with this. After all, who would be better to solve this than our silver-tongued gossiper—Gil? Besides, he still owed me a favor for his evening magic crash course.

Locating him wasn't too hard - he was happily chatting and drinking with a group of older novices at his favorite place. It was the very same tavern where he tried to feed me the Abysmorph eggs the other day.

I shook my head, dismissing the unpleasant memory as I put on my best smile and went to greet him. "Ah, Darian! Come join us! …Let me introduce you to my good friends." Gil began as soon as he spotted me pushing my way through the lunch crowds.

The tavern buzzed with midday clamor—clattering plates, sizzling meats, and people, lots and lots of people. 'This reminds me why I don't like going here during the rush hour.' I sighed with exasperation but didn't let any of my displeasure show on my face.

Sitting down, I let Gil introduce us, although I didn't bother to remember any of the other students' names as I didn't expect to be spending much time with them in the future.

Not to mention, I barely even remembered the names of the people I ate breakfast with, and I had no illusion I would be able to remember any more than that.

"It's kinda rare to see you out here on your own without me having to drag you out, so what's up?" Gil pointed out after the pleasantries were over with.

I grinned, pointing toward the busy-looking kitchen. "I want to cook something, so I was wondering… Do you know a place that would let you rent out their kitchen for a bit?"