NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45: An Emergency Mission
On the south side of Droswen City, there were many potion and weapon shops. People who wanted to buy both usually came here.
The prices weren't too expensive—in fact, they were much cheaper than those in the capital, with the same quality of goods.
Merlin strolled leisurely down the street. To avoid drawing trouble, he wore a gray hood that concealed his appearance.
"So, this is South Street, huh?" he murmured in awe.
South Street was the name of the southern district of Droswen City. It was bustling and full of people, though most of them weren't ordinary folk but those with power—mages, swordsmen, and the like.
Their levels were relatively weak, averaging only between Spirit Core Eight and Nine.
Even so, they were still formidable. After all, they lacked the extraordinary resources that members of noble families possessed.
"[Master, are you really sure about this? Wouldn't selling an A-level potion mean taking a loss?]"
The system's doubtful voice echoed in his mind. Merlin only smiled and gently rubbed the head of Lyserra, who was sleeping soundly.
He infused his mana into her body, and in the next instant, she dissolved into shards of light.
"It's fine. Fifteen thousand SP is a lot, but it's nothing compared to buying a gift for my sister," he replied casually.
In his previous life, he had no family except his grandmother. After she passed away, Merlin lived in loneliness until adulthood.
But now, he had a new life—and the family he had always dreamed of. He had no intention of wasting this chance.
The system fell silent at his words. It didn't truly understand the emotions of living beings—especially humans.
Still, it could sense the sincerity behind his words, so it chose not to comment.
"[In that case, where will you sell it? Do you know the right store?]" the system asked, changing the subject.
"Don't worry. I've studied the Droswen city map these past few days," he replied calmly.
South Street was lined with all kinds of stores. Some were luxurious, while others were shabby. Of course, "shabby" didn't mean terrible—just that their stock of potions or weapons was incomplete.
On top of that, scams were common in those places, and many people had already fallen victim to them.
'If I remember correctly, the biggest potion store here belongs to the Beethoven family. They opened it just three months ago,' he muttered, rubbing his chin.
The Beethoven family was particularly wealthy—richer even than most noble families of the Kingdom of Aldoria.
That wasn't surprising, considering they were a powerful merchant family. They owned the largest trading company on the continent, the Blue Sky Trading House.
Their business stretched across jewelry, potions, weapons, and more.
'Speaking of the Beethoven family, I recall one of the heroines came from there.' His eyes narrowed slightly.
Her name was Margaret Beethoven. She was one of the more mysterious heroines, always wearing a mask since her first encounter with the main character, Abel.
As Merlin recalled, her mask wasn't without reason. Since childhood, Margaret had been afflicted by a mysterious curse that disfigured her face with strange marks.
To conceal them, she always wore a mask—removing it only when sleeping or bathing.
'Tsk! That damn Abel is really lucky. Once the curse was lifted, that cold Margaret stuck to him so much she even became one of the yandere heroines, along with Catrine,' he sighed enviously.
After all, who wouldn't want a wealthy woman as their supporter?
It would be a lie for any man to say otherwise—unless he was born rich himself.
Yet in the novel, it was Abel who received that blessing. If Merlin ever had the chance to meet Margaret, he would snatch her away from Abel, no matter what.
But that was impossible. Margaret would never appear in Droswen City.
Just as Merlin was lost in thought, a sudden commotion broke out up ahead.
"Damn you, swindler! How dare you trick me!?"
Merlin gasped and looked up, spotting a fat man beating a shabbily dressed teenager.
"If you want to sell things, be honest, damn it! You make me sick!" The fat man cursed, kicking the boy in the stomach. The teen curled up, groaning in pain.
The crowd only watched with cold stares, as if it had nothing to do with them. But that was natural—South Street was a place full of scams and cheats.
Besides, some of them had been victims themselves, so they felt no sympathy at all.
Without even glancing at him, people simply walked past. The teenager coughed, clutching his aching stomach.
'Damn… This really doesn't make sense. The potion I made is genuine. How could I be deceiving him?' he muttered irritably.
He stared at the blue potion bottle in his right hand with a depressed expression. The liquid inside didn't look like a typical potion—dark spots still lingered, a sign that it wasn't yet perfected.
From a distance, Merlin watched quietly. Like the others, he felt no pity—swindlers like that boy were all too common on South Street, nothing more than pests to buyers.
But suddenly, a mission panel appeared before him.
"[Ding! Emergency mission triggered! Save one of the supporting characters in the novel, Tharvis Triad! Reward: 4x Level A Spirit Enhancement Potions and 15,000 SP! Do you want to accept it? Yes/No]"
The sudden panel left Merlin stunned in disbelief.
"Emergency mission?" He gulped as his eyes fell on a familiar name—Tharvis Triad.
"System, is this Tharvis Triad, the amazing alchemist?" His heart skipped a beat.
Tharvis Triad was one of the novel's supporting characters. He wasn't a powerful figure, but his talent for potion-making was extraordinary.
In the second volume, he had a fateful encounter with the protagonist. At that time, Tharvis had opened a potion shop, but the quality of his goods was poor.
Abel later realized the potions weren't truly flawed, just incomplete. The reason was simple—Tharvis lacked the proper tools.
From then on, Abel invited him to attend Saint Freya Academy and become a student there. Under the academy's guidance, Tharvis progressed rapidly.
In the latest volume, Tharvis could even craft gold-ranked potions, the equivalent of A-level potions!
To Merlin, that might seem trivial since he could just buy A-level potions through his system. But in the novel, where no such system existed, the achievement was truly remarkable.
Even more impressive, Tharvis hadn't been at the academy for even two years, yet his progress was already that great.
"[Yes, that's the Tharvis from the novel. So, will Master accept it?]" the system asked playfully.
Merlin grinned broadly. "System, how could you even ask? The answer is, of course—accept!"