Chapter 24: Heheheh, Finally Alone? Miss Mage
Chapter 24 – Heheheh, Finally Alone? Miss Mage
This... doesn't feel like a joke at all.
Iresha stared at the commission notice before her, her gaze lingering on the line about quality requirements.
Disbelief flickered in her eyes as she spotted the words: [High Quality Required].
Could this man's Potion Crafting really be maxed out?
“What are you playing at?”
Iresha narrowed her eyes, suspicion etched across her face as she glared at the man opposite her.
She needed healing potions—desperately, in fact—but she wasn’t a fool. They’d just argued, and now he wanted to do business with her?
Was he really so desperate for money that he’d toss away his pride?
No matter how she looked at it, something felt wrong. “Relax,” Lin Wei said, waving a hand dismissively. “You just look like someone with some coin to spare, so I figured I’d make a little while I could.”
Noticing the guarded look in Iresha’s eyes, Lin Wei offered an offhand explanation, then reached behind the counter and produced a bottle of healing potion with complete nonchalance.
“Honestly, I don’t find you all that pleasant, and I’ve had enough run-ins with your little subjugation squad. But that hero—Oshu, was it?—he’s not a bad guy. I can tell.”
“So, for his sake, since you need what I have and I need some coin, there’s no reason not to do business. Of course, the price will be a bit higher than usual. Seems fair, right?”
“Not a bad guy?! That Oshu, he—”
Iresha’s already sour mood grew darker at the mention of Oshu. She bristled, ready to snap back, but caught herself. With Oshu absent, she couldn’t let this aggravating shopkeeper see her lose her temper. She forced herself to sit down again, face once more guarded.
“Money isn’t the issue—name your price. But are you really being this generous out of the goodness of your heart?”
“I already told you, I’m just a little short on cash right now.”
Lin Wei set the potion on the counter, his tone utterly indifferent.
His calculating expression made it seem like this was nothing more than a routine transaction.
“The highest-grade healing potion usually goes for about thirty gold coins on the market,” he said matter-of-factly. “But since you seem to be in a hurry, I’ll sell it to you at three times the price... One hundred gold coins, and it’s yours. Fair enough?”
“What? Three times would be ninety, not a hundred!”
This wasn’t some subtle scheme—he was just blatantly fleecing her!
Iresha shot to her feet, furious. Her eyes, already tinged with red, now seemed ready to burst into flame. Being taken advantage of while she was down was utterly infuriating!
“Didn’t you just say money didn’t matter, and I could pay whatever I wanted?”
“So that gives you the right to extort me?”
She glared daggers at him.
It was true—she had just said as much, and to her, there truly wasn’t much difference between a hundred gold coins and a hundred copper coins.
But this... this was outright extortion, and the worst part was, there was nothing she could do about it.
It wasn’t even about the money anymore—it was about her pride.
Whatever suspicion she’d harbored before vanished, replaced with certainty: this guy had no ulterior motive. He was just here to squeeze her dry!
“Of course,” Lin Wei said, just as she was about to lose her temper completely, “if Miss Iresha can’t actually afford it, there are other ways.”
He leaned forward, a sly glint in his eyes.
“If you tell me why you were arguing with the hero and the others—just a bit of gossip, as payment—I’ll cut the price to ninety-nine gold coins. But any lower than that, and the deal’s off.”
“Why should I tell you why I was arguing with Oshu?!”
Knocking off a single gold coin wasn’t just stingy—it was pure mockery!
Even knowing he was baiting her, Iresha’s temper got the better of her. She grabbed a handful of gold coins and slammed them onto the counter, then snatched up the high-grade healing potion and hugged it tightly to her chest.
“You’d better remember this, you country bumpkin! Here’s your money—the deal’s done!”
Just then, Lilia returned from the storeroom, arms full of supplies. She paused at the sight of Iresha’s furious expression, quietly wondering if this woman was actually a child. No matter when she saw her, Iresha always seemed to be in a foul mood, ready to pick a fight at the slightest provocation.
“Here are the rest of your items,” Lilia said, her professionalism prevailing as she set the goods on the counter without comment.
“Keep the change!” Iresha snapped. “Goodbye!”
After making sure everything was in order, Iresha shot Lin Wei one last venomous glare, slapped a few extra gold coins onto the counter, and stormed out.
Her crimson hair trailed behind her, swaying as her figure quickly disappeared into the crowd.
“Hmm... So they really did have a fight, huh?”
That was all the confirmation he needed.
Lin Wei took a final sip of his black tea, his eyes glimmering with anticipation.
Judging by what Iresha had purchased, it looked like she planned to tackle the labyrinth alone next.
As for Oshu and the rest of the hero’s party—even if Lin Wei didn’t know their exact whereabouts, one thing was certain: they wouldn’t be accompanying Iresha.
Yes... Now was finally that golden moment when she’d be all alone.
“Um, what just happened, Mr. Lin Wei?” Lilia asked, curiosity lighting up her face as she noticed the pile of gold coins on the counter. She leaned in, eager for answers.
“Nothing much,” Lin Wei replied, slipping one of the commission notices into his pocket. “Just sold her a high-grade potion and squeezed a few extra coins out of her, that’s all.”
“That means one less order to fill today. I’ll handle the rest tomorrow—let’s go submit these for now.”
“No problem at all~” Lilia chirped, relieved. No wonder that woman had been so furious—Mr. Lin Wei had actually managed to make money off her!
After all, unless the guild sent in special supplies, there wasn’t a single person in the region besides Mr. Lin Wei capable of brewing potions of that caliber.
That awful woman totally had it coming. Honestly, if she ran into some goblins and got dragged off during her adventure, it’d serve her right!
With a wicked little grin, Lilia turned her attention back to processing the remaining commissions.
◇
“Damn it! Bastard! That lousy country bumpkin!”
“Taking advantage of me when I’m down—argh, I’m so mad I could explode!”
Thirty kilometers outside Aurens Town, at the entrance to the labyrinth.
Iresha stormed toward the gaping maw of the dungeon, her face twisted in frustration as she muttered curses under her breath.
The occasional chatter of other adventurers drifted across the grounds, but even with the yawning darkness of the cave before her, Iresha felt no fear.
Compared to that infuriating country bumpkin, what truly rankled her was Oshu!
She’d been in Aurens Town for over half a week now.
With the strength of the hero’s party, even the Level 70 monsters prowling the borderlands were no match for them. But boredom had set in, and it was only natural she’d asked Oshu to join her for an adventure in the famed Pascal Labyrinth near Lotai.
“And what does he say? ‘Eileen needs to work on her skill levels, this labyrinth is too complicated, and it’ll waste too much travel time for now.’”
“He promised to come with me when we first arrived in Lotai! That woman’s just flaunting her chest, hovering around Oshu all day—when I’m the one who’s known him since we were kids!”
“Damn it! Fine, go hang around Eileen, you cow! It’s not like I can’t clear a labyrinth by myself.”
Fuming, Iresha stalked forward, slamming her fist into the wall as she walked. She made sure to wrap her hand in magic first—no sense in injuring herself.
The labyrinth’s normal difficulty was hardly worth mentioning; the only interesting thing was how the layout randomly shifted at intervals. Besides, the Adventurers’ Guild had already mapped out safe routes through the first three floors.
“What’s so complicated about this place, anyway? He promised to come with me! Has Oshu been bewitched or something?”
Bang!
Just as that thought crossed her mind, a sharp metallic clang rang out beside her ear.
“Huh?”
Iresha halted, peering curiously at the wall.
The once-smooth surface now bore a fresh dent where she’d struck it—and all around her, the air filled with a chorus of grinding, clacking mechanical noises.
Before she could react, a faint ring of light appeared beneath her feet. In an instant, it expanded outward into a massive magic circle.
This... This is spatial magic?
“Not good—!”
Iresha’s eyes widened in alarm. She tried to leap out of the circle, but it was already too late!
A blinding light swallowed her whole.
The very next moment—
The dented wall sprang back, returning to its pristine state.
Silence fell over the corridor, as if no one had ever been there at all.