Johan ended his long, lonesome shift and closed the mart early. With most Hunters inside the newly popping up rifts, the foot traffic had reduced. So, after a quick nap of three hours, he returned to Phantasia, as he had decided to call the space.

  Normally, he’d feel the aftermath of yesterday’s all-nighter and the scarce amount of sleep, but with a single vial of a vitality potion, made from the ruby berries, he felt like he had the stamina of ten men.

  Well, not in a literal sense, but it chased away all the tiredness out of his body. The effect was so good that he thought of diluting the potion with a vat of magik water and selling it as energy drinks to salarymen and delivery drivers who used the road to the nearby subway.

  It blows any health product aimed at the classless out of the water. He smelled the money since the berries were readily available after the fog receded.

  However, he had his eyes on another, more profitable market. The food market.

  The scant field of carrots he had before had expanded tenfold in five hours. Potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and even green onions. He planted everything he used to grow in his rooftop vegetable garden. And just like the carrots, the vegetables grown with his skills didn’t disappoint.

  Magik Broccoli

  Grade: D Effects: A broccoli infused with dense Magik, enhancing its natural nutrient profile. Consuming it will boost toxin resistance by 8% for 10 minutes.

  Magik Potato

  Grade: D Effects: A starchy Magik crop packed with earth-aspected energy. Eating it will increase stamina recovery by 7% for 10 minutes.

  Magik Green Onions

  Grade: D Effects: These sharp, Magik-rich shoots invigorate circulation and focus. Consuming them will increase reaction speed by 8% for 10 minutes.

  Magik Cherry Tomatoes

  Grade: D Effects: Small but bursting with condensed Magik. Eating them enhances cell recovery, increasing natural healing speed by 5% for 10 minutes.

  I did have to drink a magik potion, but the results are worth it. Johan looked at his harvest with dollar signs in his eyes.

  A market for magik-infused food already existed, but it heavily leaned towards meat. He used to think it was some overpriced performance the elites liked because they were fancy, just like those fine dining restaurants that served flavoured foam. But when he ate the carrot he had grown, Johan became a believer.

  That single carrot(uncooked) was the best-tasting thing he had put in his mouth. It made him feel like he had lived off dirt and grass till now. Those rich gourmet snobs would have their clothes blown apart, Food Wars style.

  That’s why he expanded his farm to grow other vegetables, thinking of the potential profit once the world gets a taste of magik crops alongside the magik meat. Definitely not because he got hooked on the taste, definitely not.

  “It’s good that the vegetables are doing well.” Johan rubbed his cheek on the fresh potatoes as wide as his face; they were more like dirt-covered watermelons. But when he looked a little further from his vegetable garden, his face dropped. “But that thing isn’t going so well.”

  Johan clicked his tongue at the wilted plant that reached his knees. The stem went limp, and the fan-shaped leaves turned a sickly green, coarser than sandpaper.

  Sherry leaves, that was the name of this common herb used to make Magik recovery potions. They grew perfectly in the herb garden he managed before, but no matter what he tried, they died in here.

  It perplexed Johan. Phantasia had a high affinity with his skills, no, with plants in general. Everything he planted here thrived like never before; even if he didn’t use his skills, the vegetables would grow in less than six hours after sowing the seeds. It was a mystical place that buffed up the growth of plants with magik power, at least that’s the conclusion he reached.

  However, the very first magik herb he planted failed to grow. He sat there in silence. Checking on the seed with his skill.

  Name: Sherry Leaves Seed

  Rank: E

  Effects: A low-quality engineered seed with a trace amount of magik, just perfect to kickstart its growth. The more magik in the surroundings, the higher it absorbs.

  Note: The plant is weaker than normal in the sprouting stage.

  Johan thought over the information and restarted his attempts.

  The first attempt failed. The stem went limp as soon as it broke through the soil.

  The second seed didn’t even germinate. When he dug open the ground, he found the seed had split into four halves.

  The third attempt grew a stem but no leaves.

  The seventh grew leaves, but wilted soon after.

  The eleventh didn’t germinate again.

  By the twentieth try, Johan felt like giving up. He lay down on the grass and sighed.

  “What is wrong with this plant?” He couldn’t help but grumble and went over the information he had in his head for the nth time.

  “Sherry leaves are found in low-ranking rifts… so it shouldn’t be the magik messing up the growth. Even the Mage Tower’s recommended growing guide for Sherry Leaves says to use magik supplements for the soil. I don’t have to do that because of my water skill, on top of that, this place already has an abundance of magik…” It was like a thunderbolt hit him. Johan sat up and muttered. “This place has an abundance of magik…”

  Effects: A low-quality seed with a trace amount of magik, just perfect to kickstart its growth. The more magik in the surroundings, the more magik it absorbs.

  Note: The plant is weaker than normal in the sprouting stage.

  The skill window came to his mind. He gulped a magik recovery potion and rushed back to the store to swipe the clay pots from the terrace before making his return.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Shovelling the soil in the emptied pots, he used normal water from the plastic bottle and sowed a single seed in the pot the size of his head.

  With a deep breath, he used his skill and accelerated its growth. Within seconds, a bright green stem shot out of the soil, as thick as his finger, with numerous branches spreading on both sides like wings. And within minutes, it had its first leaf.

  A leaf so bright green that it seemed unreal. Then the second came, and the third, and the fourth. In five minutes, there were about fifty leaves on the plant, each more vibrant and verdant than the last.

  “Everything has a lethal dose… guess that applies to Magik too.” Johan almost chuckled when he saw sherry leaves twice the size of what he had ever seen before.

  The eight hours of work seemed to pay off in the end. Harvesting the leaves took less than ten minutes, plus the five magik recovery potions blew up his three months’ salary. But it didn’t hurt as much since he figured out a way to grow better sherry leaves than what he could buy. And better raw materials led to better products in good hands.

  As someone who had brewed hundreds of basic magik recovery potions, the result was obvious from the moment he ground the dehydrated leaves in the mortar. Once the 100g powdered sherry leaves mixed into 1 litre of magik water, ten magik recovery potions were produced.

  Name: Basic Magik Recovery Potion

  Rank: D+

  Effects: Upon consumption, restores 20 Magik and increases magik recovery speed by 20% for 20 minutes.

  Johan giggled like a madman as he opened the store for the day.

  The few customers who came by felt unnerved by his smile and quickly made their purchases before scurrying away.

  But the day only got better. Around midday, Cara Rosewood entered the store.

  “Hunter Rosewood, it’s good to see you.” Johan’s bubbly tone made her recoil, but she cleared her throat.

  “I-It is… um, well…” Her eyes darted around the place before she gathered up her courage to speak. “I used the potion you gave me.”

  “Oh… did it help you?” Johan returned to Earth, nervous about the result. Although he knew the effects, he didn’t think Cara would land in a situation where she’d have to use it.

  “It did… Honestly, I am very grateful that I got it. But you know, I just have to ask.” Cara looked him in the eye. “Do you like… have a crush on me or something?”

  “I beg your fucking pardon?” Johan almost fell.

  ***

  The bustling Phoenix Street of Sector A turned into a light show as the orange hue bathed the tall buildings.

  With numerous stalls lining the streets full of hustle and bustle, a single Korean barbecue shop refused customers. It wasn’t the owner’s wish, nor the lack of people willing to enter. Just that the presence of two suited muscular men over 7 feet stood near the iron door like gargoyles.

  Their silent, empty gazes turned everyone away. Adrian passed by them, responding to their courteous bows with a nod.

  The inside wasn’t any better.

  Among the rows of empty tables, a single man occupied a single grill, using the pale blue flame from his hand to cook the thin slices of meat. The cold grill in front of him crying in despair.

  He had blonde hair that sparkled under the white light with some red streaks here and there. Comfortable in his faded blue hoodie and sweatpants, he slouched on the table and chewed the sizzling meat with a sesame dipping sauce.

  “H-Here’s the soju, sir.” The waitress placed two glass bottles of alcohol on the table. Her face flushed because of the man before her, but it wasn’t fear. “Can I get an autograph? I’ve been a huge fan of yours since your Blackstreet era!”

  “How about a selfie too? You’ll have something to remember the moment.” He said, a smile hanging on his red lips.

  “Thank you so much!” Bowing, the waitress skipped away, giggling.

  “I meet fans everywhere I go, can’t even eat in peace.” He said, his rosy eyes sparkling.

  He wasn’t a celebrity, but more than that. Lucas White. The Head of the Agni Clan, and one of the seven S Rank Hunters in the country.

  “You don’t seem to mind it much, Lucas,” Adrian said, sitting across the man so clearly admiring his own face on the soju bottle.

  “It’s a joke, man, learn to laugh a little. No wonder your daughter cries when you hold her.” Lucas said.

  “She… doesn’t cry.” Adrian deadpanned.

  “See? Gosh, you are making me lose my appetite.” Lucas sighed. But soon shook his head and ate another cut of wagyu. “So, how much did you find out about that potion?”

  “Cara said she got it as a trial product from a Hunter Mart worker,” Adrian added. “I’ve seen the thing work myself; it is on par if not better than the S-Rank potions made by the Mage Tower, at least when it comes to healing speed. I would’ve known better if I had tried it, but the effects written on the tag surpass anything available on the market.”

  “A Hunter Mart worker? Any chance he is a mule?” Lucas’ eyes narrowed.

  “We’ve kept an eye on the store. He barely leaves the place, and the customers are usually low-ranking hunter parties or solo mid-level hunters. Nothing suspicious on that end.” Adrian pulled out a stack of paper from his bag and slid it across the table. “What I do find suspicious is where he acquired the ingredients for the potion.”

  “Morgan’s Hunter Mart… She is…” Lucas looked at the photo of Morgan and her ID.

  “Do you recognize her?” Adrian leaned forward because, as much as he hated to admit it, he barely got information on Morgan.

  “My oh my, I would like to know her.” Lucas whistled. “She’s super pretty. Like, look at that small face and nose, her eyes are like gems! How can one look so good in their ID picture? I look like a damn squid in mine.”

  Noticing the cold eyes from Adrian, Lucas cleared his throat and flipped through the pages.

  “She has no background before applying for citizenship here, huh.” However, Lucas threw the stack on the table lazily. “That’s nothing new; more than half of the countries have been lost since the cataclysm. Maybe she is one of the people who wanted to make a fresh start. Weren’t we the same?”

  “That is true. However, I suggest we must proceed with caution. We have no idea how they are making the potion; if it has any relation to illegal activities, we should cut all ties with it.” Adrian found Johan’s method to reach them highly suspicious, but he had to commend it.

  Because it did exactly what he intended. It caught their attention, more importantly, Lucas’ attention.

  “Once I see him, we’ll get all our answers.” Lucas’ eyes gleamed along with his smile.

  “You don’t have to go,” Adrian said.

  “I absolutely have to. It seems fun.”

  There he goes again. Adrian gave up.

  “Also, how is Cara doing at Red Bear?” He asked.

  “Miss Rosewood is doing her job wonderfully. She has become an important member of the Rift attack team 1.”

  “That’s good. Let her get some more experience in the low to mid rank rifts; it should help her warm up.” Lucas wrapped up the grilled meat in lettuce.

  “Please don’t make light work of the tasks; if someone overhears, it could cause another incident.” Adrian sighed.

  “Isn’t it practically a vacay? Even you got chubbier since you went there.” Lucas laughed, but Adrian didn’t.

  “Man, your face is gonna kill me one day.” Faced with the silent, empty glare, Lucas shifted in his chair till his eyes went to the wrapped meat in his hand. Without a single thought, he offered it to Adrian. “Here, eat it. I am sorry, ok.”

  It took a full minute of Lucas holding the wrap near Adrian’s lips, almost pushing it into his mouth by force, for him to finally eat it.

  “So, when will you go see him? Next week?” Adrian still had access to Lucas’ schedule.

  “Why next week? I am going tomorrow.” Lucas ate a wrap he made for himself.

  “You have a meeting with the Hunter Association President tomorrow.” Sweat rolled down Adrian’s forehead.

  “Just tell her I have a stomachache or something?”

  “You think she’ll buy that?” His stomach twisted now. Every time Lucas acted like this, someone ended up in a hospital.

  “What else can she do but buy it?” Lucas smirked, mixing beer and soju in a tall glass. “Ahaha, this is the stuff! More, bring another plate and three more bottles!”

  Watching the overtly jolly boss downing one glass after another, Adrian started to feel sorry for Johan. For he didn’t know that he had caught the attention of Hunter society’s biggest troublemaker, Lucas White, more commonly known as the Fiery Imp.

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