Way of the Knights

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What was the sale like?

One word: Chaos.

One would think that because majority of the people who attended were nobles, that the process would be orderly and systematic but no, the truth was far fetched from that.

At the instant that Richard announced that the sale began, all of them scrambled to be the first to reach the registers. They used every means possible to their advantage. Some people declared their specific backgrounds in hopes of intimidating others, some tried cutting through the line, some banded together and send one person to buy tons of supplies. Almost all of the possible ways that one could make their purchase easier was displayed.

None of these people were dumb, they knew that the current stocks of each pills were limited, Moonshine included, but all of them wanted a piece of the pie.

They thought that they could instead use cunning tactics in order to gain advantage over the others but it seems that Richard already saw this coming.

No one was to allowed to purchase more than a crate of each pill, this was the decision they reached after some deliberations. By doing things this way, everyone has a chance to take home their products. The consumers are allowed to buy less than a crate but not more, it doesn't matter whether they came from an overly prestigious background or not, even of they offered to purchase each pill for double the price, the rules doesn't change.

Aside from that, everyone has to show some proof of identity before purchasing, specially if they wanted to purchase some Network Rebirth Pill. This achieves few things…One, it ables them to know if a certain person tries to go on a loop in hopes of purchasing more products and two, it allows them to gauge whether this consumer has a clean background. It was clear that they didn't want their products to land on wrong hands.

That being said though, there are still some ways to bypass this method. So unbeknownst to the crowd, there is one special method that was used by Raven in order to achieve his goals.

Every containers of the products are branded with a green leaf that seems to shimmer under a source of light. This is an inscription mark that Raven personally placed on each containers. On the instance that these products landed on the wrong hands, this inscriptions will activate and completely disintegrate the products contained. With this, the Black Curtain Guild and Mort Family could only dream about getting their hands on their creations.

***

It didn't take long before news of these monumental event proliferated in every corner of the kingdom.The Pill Saint Pavilion was no more, it will soon be replaced by the Sacred Leaf Tavern and they released 6 miraculous pills.The shocking effects of the pills were said to be ever so miraculous that it could change one's life by just consuming it.

The people who got to take home the products sang endless praises about the events, and when they tried it themselves, it only serves as an even more solid proof of this greatness. Many people were a bit sad or offended since they weren't invited into such event, but when they caught news that it won't take long before the Sacred Leaf Tavern opens, most of them felt better and started amassing funds. The news about them recruiting students to learn alchemy spread out like a tidal wave as well. Those people who deigned alchemy as a useless profession couldn't let out even so much of a fart under this shocking news.

The prestige of Alchemy was destined to soar, some people who weren't really adept at fighting started thinking about giving alchemy a chance, after all Richard said that they won't have to pay any fees other than their daily needs.

This was specially true for those who were a common background, they went in search for where the Sacred Leaf Tavern was located and once they did, they flocked over and inquired about the process of getting in. In just a day, at least 1000 people were admitted and enrolled, and this number was still rising as time goes on. But of course, some people had other ideas in their minds.In the end, people had greed rooted deep within their system. With how popular and miraculous these pills were, it was bound for some people to have some ideas about it. Some of them invited some alchemists on their homes to inspect the pills in hopes of duplicating them. Some tried breaking down the pill, some tried to spread out malicious rumors, some tried robbing others, and many more.

But none of them managed to succeed in any of their attempts. And due to this being such an explosive news, of course the Black Curtain Guild and the Mort Family also heard of it.

They too tried get their hands on the pills but as soon as their hands touched any of them, they automatically turn into ash. Not only they wasted their efforts into getting them, they amount of money they lost were significant too. No one was willing to sell their hard earned products if the money offered isn't at least four of five times its original price.

"I don't get this!!!" A fat man roared on top of his lungs after watching yet another batch of pills turn into ashes as soon as he touched them. He threw the pill bottle away, watching it shatter on the ground. His expression was ugly, veins were threatening to explode from his neck. His stomach was aching due to so much anger it held, his chest heaved up and down in severe frustration.

The servants beside him flinched when they saw how angry they lord was. The amount of times that they saw him angry could be counted on one hand but during those times, he becomes the incarnation of a devil. This person was Lord Mort, forcefully calming his raging heart down. Of all the things he hated, having something escape his control was one of the things he hated the most.

"God damn you Alfred! I wish I could suck out your soul and shred it to thousands of pieces!!" Mort slammed his hands on his desk, both of his fists became deeply embedded onto it.

"As if dying wasn't enough for you, you just have to drag my reputation down with your rotting flesh! Look what happened now!? That son of a bitch, Balmung is now breathing down my neck! And to make things worst, you got fooled by your right hand man! Fool! Stupid! Worthless! Scum! Argh!!!"

Mort's anger was at it's peak, he continued ruining everything that he sees in front of him. All that he could see right now is red. It didn't matter if it was an object or a person, he kept hitting things until he was satisfied. When he was done, the whole room was in shambles. Mort might be the richest merchant but in truth, he's also a powerful knight. He's currently at peak of Silver Knight Realm for at least a decade now, just a step shy away from reaching the Golden Knight Realm. From what he heard from his spies, Richard released a pill that could help one to break an absolute bottleneck. This greatly surprised and tempted him.

What was a Golden Knight? These were people who could shatter mountains and overturn seas! Their might alone could destroy a whole city! If he could reach this stage, then his status would become even more solidified and many people would curry favor to him! If he could reach that stage, his future plans would become smoother.

But imagine his surprise when the pills he acquired turned into ash as soon as he touched them. In fact, it wasn't only him. Everyone from his family and clan had the same experience. It was like none of them were allowed to enjoy the benefits of this new products. This greatly infuriated him. He wasn't dumb. He knew that this was a defence mechanism that Richard placed on each pills he created. Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing how this works because any pills he touched will instantly turn into ashes. Nevertheless, he didn't give up. If none of his family members could touch the pill, then he could just hire someone to place it in his mouth so that he could consume it. What a clever idea, however it was destined to fail. Once the outsider place the pill on his mouth, it once again turned into ash, leaving a bitter taste there both literally and figuratively.

This was the first time that he experienced such a defeat. He knew that no matter how much money he placed on the table, it won't change the restriction that Richard placed. And so, he was left to only stare at a distance while everyone was experiencing the products he wanted for himself. But Mort won't let this slide, not like this.

"Shadows! Heed my order!" Mort roared. Suddenly, multiple figures emerged from his back while kneeling on the floor.

"At your service My Lord!"action

"Kill! Kill Richard! Ransack and destroy his hopes! Make it clean while you're at it! If this Lord can't have those pills, then none of these maggots can! I want this done as soon as you can!"