Breath catching in his throat, Aohan stared wordlessly at the pill as Eik rolled it between his fingers.

"Y-You are the creator of that miraculous pill?" Aohan had seen it before. The Alchemist Guild of Gimleh had held an hours long meeting to discuss the pros and cons of investing in a single one.

"That's right."

"The Legendary Mystery Medicine?" Aohan asked.

"Yep, although I'm somewhat regretting the name, but, hey," Eik said with a shrug.

"… You made it?"

"That's right, yes."

"And you didn't have help?"

"Yeah, no, that was all me mate."

"You?"

"I'm starting to feel like I should be getting offended here." There was not even a hint of intimidation in Eik's voice and his body language remained as relaxed and friendly as it had been from the beginning.

But Aohan still felt his butthole tighten up at those words. Even though he despised the barbarism of fighting, Aohan had still ventured out on missions. Even an alchemist needed power in order to successfully wrestle with the Ak'ki of the natural ingredients.

Even within the Unified Mass, he was no weakling.

But Eik Magnasen was an A-ranker through and through. A few years ago, he had utterly obliterated the offensive tests in the lower rungs of the Crucible. And those records still stood to this day, completely untouchable by any other challenger.

Most young prodigies tended to fall off as they advanced through the power ranks. Eik Magnasen was a bit of a mystery on that front.

Two years ago he had more or less dropped off the map in terms of public rankings, and instead dedicated most of his time and energy to his business and to the solidification and stabilization of his world on the playing field called the Unified Mass.

He hadn't taken any Crucible tests in the period and that had left a lot of people curious about him.

"No, no, please, I most assuredly did not mean to cause any offense. It's just… I must admit to being somewhat surprised. Do you perchance have a way to prove this claim to me? You must realize that I would be remiss to let you make this announcement through the Alchemist Guild without vetting the legitimacy properly in advance." Unbeknownst to himself, Aohan almost leaned completely off his seat in pure anticipation.

"Hmm…" Eik hmm'd, scratching his chin in thought. "I mean, I'm not going to show you how I make it, if that's what you're hoping for," he said with a gleam in his eye and a mischievous smirk. "That's a trade secret."

Suddenly becoming aware of the greed plastered so clearly on his face, Aohan spluttered. "I— No, of course not! I would— I would never assume such!"

Eik laughed heartily. "Well, then how about this? You know that I first released the pill with Andihar Dayarunar's name, right?"

"I recall, yes, and you're still in booming business with him, I believe."

"Correct. He can vouch for the legitimacy of my claim. But until then, I suppose this might serve to alleviate your doubts a little bit."

And with that, he unhooked the little pouch of holding from his belt and upended it onto the thick desk. Like a waterfall, hundreds of chromatic pills spilled out, bouncing everywhere like rubber balls. Frantically, Aohan tried without luck to keep them from falling to the floor, desperately resisting the urge to pilfer one or two of them for his own pockets. His personal and professional integrity would never allow such shameful behavior.

Like lightning, a blur of blue practically enveloped the entire room, snapped up every single little pill, collected them neatly on the desk, and vanished again. All before Aohan had even had time to register that it had appeared in the first place.

"Why in the world do you keep all of these incredibly valuable creations in a pouch on your waist?" the stunned representative questioned, dumbfounded.

Eik eyes him with amusement. "What makes you think this is all of them? Anyway, does that gain me a bit of trust, at least?"

Appearing to have forgotten the original line of conversation for a moment, Aohan ripped his gaze away from the glittering pile. "Ah! Y-Yes, it certainly helps that you clearly have more or less as many pills as have been sold in total thus far."

Twirling a couple between his fingers, Eik shot the man a grin. "Do you want a couple to take home? On the house."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Eyebrows nearly ramming through his hairline, Aohan almost had to physically restrain his own fingers as they twitched with the urge to snatch up the two pills. "I couldn't possibly… It would be akin to bribery!"

"Bribery? Were you not already going to let me do my announcement?" Eik asked.

"Well, no, I was, but—"

"Then I gain nothing from giving you this, do I? We're colleagues, are we not? Consider it a gift from me," Eik reassured him and closed the man's fingers around the two pills.

"I—… Thank you, Mr. Magnasen," he stumbled, gazing down at his two new possessions. "I must say, I am a huge fan of your work."

Robert chose that moment to push open the door to the office, carrying a tray with two cups of steaming hot chocolate. He froze in the doorway, quite literally unable to believe what his ears were relaying to his brain.

Had Eik reverted to a charisma build or something? What the hell was going on here?

"Your hot chocolates are ready…" He placed a cup in front of each of them.

"Bobby, I love you so," Eik sang, immediately picking up the cup with both hands. "I'm telling you, Aohan. It just doesn't get better than this. Local—or should I say global—recipe right here. I think what we serve here at Eik's Excellent Elixir Emporium is a cut above the rest though. The secret is my sister's A-rank fire magic to boil the milk. I don't know if you noticed our café in the annex on the way in, but I got her to show up for an hour every Saturday just to boil milk. Man, did that take a lot of begging…" he trailed off.

"Uh, well, Mr. Magnasen, color me intrigued!" the man said with a confused smile, going in for a huge chug, completing the image of a cocoa beginner with the perfect chocolate mustache. "Oh, wow! What absolutely magnificent richness! And such a deep sweetness with just a hint of bitterness! Is this your own invention as well?"

Eik laughed. "Nah, I'm just a big fan on a mission to spread it throughout the cosmos."

"You simply must allow me to bring some back for my children then! We will all become regular tourists of Earth if this is what we can expect to be served," the previously snappish man exclaimed.

Just… what?

Robert stared in utter confusion. A curse! Eik must have cast some manner of curse on the man! Nothing else could explain such a complete one eighty in demeanor.

Had hearing the purpose of today's meeting really cause such a transformation? It must have been pretty shocking to hear that the origin of the Legendary Mystery Medicine was this backwater town, but still…

Robert stuck to the corner of the room for the rest of the meeting, only occasionally giving his input when Eik asked for it. He let the two men nerd out over alchemy for what felt like a significantly longer time than this otherwise impatient Mr. Aohan had originally been scheduled to stay. At one point, Mr. Aohan's own assistant cracked the door to peek inside but quickly retreated once he saw his boss laugh out loud. Poor guy.

When finally Aohan stood up, he drained his second cup of hot chocolate and threw his coat over his shoulders. "Well, Mr. Magnasen, it has been a pleasure. I'll await a letter of verification from Andihar Dayarunar in the near future."

"But with that we're all good to go?"

"Oh, yes, if, after what you showed me today, I receive confirmation from the person under whose name the pill was initially released, I would be comfortable letting you have a venue. You're not the first person to keep secret the specificities of a recipe," Aohan assured him with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Great! I'll look forward to seeing you again soon then," Eik said and pulled a surprised Aohan in for a friendly hug. The guy was determined to turn everyone in the Unified Mass into huggers.

"Likewise. And if I may ask, Mr. Magnasen, since my son and daughter are both big fans of your records in the Crucible. Have you considered making another appearance there? I know for a fact that many, not just my children, have been wondering about you," Aohan asked.

"I have actually been considering it, yes," Eik admitted. "I'm getting tired of people trying to test themselves against me."

Aohan hesitated at that. "… Test themselves against you? What do you mean?"

"Yeah, how many did we have last week, Bobby?"

Robert narrowed his eyes for a second as he recalled the information. "Only two, I think."

Eik tilted his head from side to side. "Only two, huh? I thought it was more than that. Maybe they're getting tired of it."

"I doubt it," Robert grumbled. "It's bad for business."

"They think they can make a name for themselves if they defeat me. I'm pretty sure they think I've gotten soft," Eik clarified.

"And you haven't?" Aohan asked before he could stop himself.

Robert snorted a laugh. "Not even close."

"So what do you do with them then?"

Eik looked at him as if he was crazy. "Try to talk them out of the idea, of course!"

"And when talking doesn't work?"

Pursing his lips, Eik looked away and offered only a noncommittal shrug in response. Aohan waited for a more complete answer but when none was forthcoming he took the hint. This overly relaxed guy full of smiles might have a side to him that wasn't quite as jovial as what he had seen today.

Good to know, he thought, swallowing hard.

This was a genuine A-ranker whom he had now found out was also the inventor and sole manufacturer of a pill that could permanently enhance one's power, seemingly without limits or diminishing returns no matter how many one took.

"Actually, why not?" Eik finally said. "I've been holed up in the company for too long anyway."

"Please make sure to tell me when you intend to go then," Aohan reiterated. "My kids would kick me if I let them miss your performance," he laughed as he opened the door.

"Will do. Have a safe trip back. Oh, and do go to our café and pick up some hot chocolate to go. On the house for both of you, of course," Eik said with a smile at the assistant, who nodded back with puzzlement.

"You're too kind," Aohan said as he left. "Till next we meet."

Robert stared at Eik from the moment the door closed.

"What?" Eik asked.

"You're unbelievable, you know that? He was about to bite my head off, and then you show up and just…" he trailed off, throwing up his arms in exasperation when he couldn't find the words.

"I'm sorry, man," Eik said, sincerity seeping into his voice. "I really am. I know I rely on you more than I should. I'll definitely shape up, just… please don't leave me."

"Why on Earth would I leave?"

"Well, because… I'm annoying?" Eik half asked.

Robert chuckled. "While you can definitely be one of the most frustrating people I have ever known, you're also the best boss I could ask for, not to mention that I consider you a close friend. Leaving is the last thing on my mind."

Eik nearly had to wipe a tear at that. "Thanks, Bobby."

"But do be on time for stuff from now on."

"Yep."

Robert's expression grew somber. "Are you really going to participate in those tests again?"

"I need to stretch my legs again, I reckon," Eik grinned. "Plus, who doesn't like numbers going up?"

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