The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 43: Old Man Anthony

Damian broke the eye contact and turned around to leave, he did not want any part in this mess. Jumping down the building Damian ran back to his inn and tried his best to forget the events that had happened that day.

The city was a huge place, finding a single boy was like finding a needle in a hay. Not that Damian was that important to the scarred knight captain he didn't even know he was there, he was just an odd kid with his first job at an early age, nothing special. And after all this fiasco he hoped that the knight captain won't waste time thinking about him at all.

Nothing had changed, he just had to lay low and ignore everything. He didn't even have to sell potions anymore so he could just deliver in the morning and just stay in the library for the rest of the day. Hopefully the princess won't be there anymore. Thinking such thoughts Damian worked on the runes for a while and then fell asleep.

Next day he followed his routine and made another batch of the Basic healing potion, storing them in one crate Damian put it in his spatial storage and walked in the busy streets to find [Easy Remedies].

Damian noticed the brand new painted board of the apothecary from far away, it was on the shop that looked recently renovated and had some really colorful looking potions with many tools and raw ingredients. Removing the crate of potions in the alley behind, Damian picked it up in his hands and entered the shop.

The same owner was there writing things in the book while two pretty looking women were cleaning around the shop.

Damian greeted the owner and gave him the potions. After checking for some minutes and calculating on a paper the owner gave Damian 9 gold and 6 silver which was his total. Damian looked around the shop for a while and decided to leave, not finding anything useful for his needs.

Done with his work Damian walked slowly to the library while looking at people putting up their stalls and shops in the early morning.

He crossed just two streets and realized someone was following him, the mana was non existent in the body of the follower so Damian had naturally ignored him but now it was more obvious. Damian turned at one street and waited for his follower to arrive, and just as he predicted the hooded figure ran a bit and turned around the street just to be stopped by Damian with one hand.

Getting pushed back the hooded figure fell on the street on his butt, leaving his hood to fall back and reveal the old weathering face beneath it.

"You..."

"Kid... You recognize me right..? You saved my life back in the Ravensong..."

"I can't help you man, go away."

Damian turned around and started walking away but the old man instantly got up and grabbed his shoulder.

"Just a second, please hear me out. If you don't wanna help after that, I won't bother you..."

Damian really just wanted to flick his hand and run away but the pleading look in the old man's eyes was just too much for him to bear. Hearing him out wouldn't cost much, if nothing else he could help him with some money at least.

Damian stopped and sighed. Then he walked towards a tavern nearby and the old man walked besides him. Ordering a breakfast for him and the old man, Damian sat back on the chair relaxed looking at the man in front of him.

"Go on.."

"Thanks kid... You saw Sam yesterday didn't you..?"

Damian nodded.

"I.... I.. I need to save him..."

"What? Are you that tired of living old man..? I knew this was a waste of time..."

"Please wait... I'm not insane I have help... Just listen..."

"Let me start from the beginning..."

*****

Anthony looked at the four people walking in front of him and sighed. Why did he have to make promises to people while being drunk? He hated to follow them through when he was sober. These four blocks, two of which were even those beastmen folks with tails and ears and all.

If someone had told Anthony that he would be dungeon raiding with beastmen he would have laughed so hard he might have dropped dead holding his stomach. But life was bizarre and unpredictable and most of the time unfair, Anthony had learned that at very young age.

He was the weirdest one among the village kids, just because he preferred to lay down and sleep beneath the trees instead of playing in the scorching heat. And so with a first chance to get out of the village and make big money in the city far away Anthony left his young sister and the annoying parents behind to become rich.

His parents were not poor, they always had enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear with his father being a soldier and mother a maid in the lord's service.

People in the city were just as slave to their work as the people in the village he realized in just a few years doing this and that in the city. Yes, he made money but the same city that gave him a chance to earn money also snatch it back with the women, gambling, booze and overall cost of living in the big city.

Anthony was just as poor as the day he had left his home until this day when he woke up from his drunken stupor and a group of people dragged him to tackle a freaking dungeon saying that he already took advance from them and drunk even more booze with that money. Anthony had doubts about the whole thing but he kept it to himself seeing the swords and spears on his compatriots hands and backs.

He was supposed to carry the bag and collect the monsters and their mana stones, of course Anthony had done this kind of job many times for parties who ventured in the forest to fight monsters and collect materials but never in a dungeon.

"Are you guys for real..? A forgotten dungeon of a forgotten lord..? Who told you such absurd tales..?"

Anthony said at last when they had walked for hours in a barren land and still had to see even a trace of a ruin.

"It's in the ancient books my friend... Why don't you leave the 'Worrying for dungeon' part to us and you focus on your 'Carrying the baggage' part..?"

One of the two human man said while being slightly annoyed. They were really walking for a while now.

"Stop ! It's here..."

"Are you sure..?"

"Yes, I feel it."

Anthony heard the muscular bear beastmen and the pretty feline beastwoman talk among themselves. Anthony thought they had gone insane but the things that followed after that made him question the validity of his own eyes.

The feline beastwoman said some kind of chanting and a huge stairs going down in the middle of the desert was revealed as if it was just waiting for the newcomers to come by. Anthony could not believe his eyes, and neither could he believe the rest of the insane dungeon fighting and bloodthirsty monsters with deadly traps.

He was completely sober by now and he did his life best to just collect the materials and storing them inside the invaluable spatial bag, also cooking and doing other menial jobs for days upon days till they finally reached the final beast chamber and fought the worst fight of their lives.

Anthony did not enter the insane room, after two days of mind numbing waiting only the beastmen duo returned all bloody and injured. The bear beastmen was missing a whole left arm while the pretty feline had lost an eye. The two humans were nowhere to find, Anthony could only guess what happened to them.

But the beastmen duo despite being on the brink of death looked happy and content with themselves, specially the feline looking at the new ancient sword in her hand which ignited in flames on her command and brightened the whole dungeon corridor. Making a picture so divine and exquisite that Anthony would never forget as long as he lived.