This was Darius' second choice in dealing with the blight infection. A purification potion was something he had seen in one of the Alchemist shops during his shopping spree, but they were hardly used because very few were mad enough to enter the Plains of Death before today.

Darius held the small bottle up to his eye level and Analyzed it.

[Common Purification Potion - Consumable

Durability: 5/5

Description: An average quality creation of Alchemy that cures all simple and intermediate curses, debuffs, or illnesses when drunk. It can cleanse blighted land in an area of 20 meters around the poured down area. Can also deal damage to darkness-aligned beings.]

Darius nodded with satisfaction. It wasn't particularly powerful, but it was cheap and useful. He proceeded to change many of his useless health and stamina potions, only leaving mana potions.

His leveled up Heal spell was far more effective than drinking any potions. Gunner was already a beast in terms of Endurance, so Stamina mattered little to him as well.

For the two of them, nothing was more crucial than mana, and Darius seriously realized that he absolutely needed more of it.

Really, there could never be enough, just like CP. He placed the purification potions into his inventory after clearing out his CP for the day, moving to lie on the bed as it was now evening.

Darius heard a knock on the door and frowned. He sighed with exasperation as it was most likely Emily and her enthusiastic but masochistic friend, Fashina.

Although he found Emily attractive and quite a good lay, he was quite troubled by her antics. She was too 'fixated' on Darius specifically, as if she never wanted to let him go.

It wasn't affection or love, just pure lust because his juvenile form was a perfect representation of her fetish. How many people in their lives could meet a person that perfectly captured all they wanted in a sexual partner? Very few in fact.

So in essence, Darius was a sexual object to fulfill her desires. It would be fine if it were mutual, but she also got paid for it, making Darius' inner merchant feel miffed because he was getting a bad deal here.

As such, when he opened the door to see that it was the sexy dark-skinned duo as he expected, he shook his head. "Gunner and I will not be requisitioning your services tonight."

Emily and Fashina, who had been smiling and about to bow, were left stunned where they stood. This must have been the first time either one of them had been solidly rejected at the doorstep.

Fashina looked devastated, but Emily was sharp. She quickly assuaged Darius. "Lord Stone, if it's about our fee, we can waive it. We really enjoy spending time with you and Master Gunner, so please reconsider."

Now Darius was put in a tight spot. It wasn't that he was broke, but he just disliked deals that favored the other party more than him. Now that Emily had waived the fee, everything was on level ground, but agreeing now would be a bit…

Darius turned to look at Gunner who was seated on his bed with a smile. He nodded to Darius and the old soul sighed, opened the door for the two ladies to enter, who wasted no time in doing so.

Fashina quickly embraced Gunner and pushed him down, her hands roving his body hungrily. As for Emily, she was much more controlled and gently helped Darius undress.

Darius also assisted her in doing the same before she began servicing him. He was a bit surprised to note that Emily wasn't as rushed as usual, fully focusing on his needs first and foremost, which was a new experience for him.

And yet, from Emily's point of view, it was the best thing to do. His earlier rejection had made her feel threatened! Not in the sense that someone would do her harm, but in the sense that she might lose the chance to satisfy herself with Darius!

Working as an escort, Emily's EQ was extremely high and she could understand the thoughts of others pretty well, allowing her to instantly pierce through Darius' concerns.

It was actually her strong point, which usually kept her doing well, though in recent times she had lost it due to her fixation with Darius.

After being metaphorically splashed with a pail of cold water at the doorstep, she understood what she had done and what she needed to do.

As for Fashina, though her EQ wasn't as high, she had also felt something similar, so this evening she took the lead. Fortunately, Gunner had no problems with her, so she wasn't in the same kind of trouble Emily was in.

As such, the night passed in the throes of pleasure and sexual enjoyment, slightly more intense and rewarding than usual.

In the morning, Darius washed up with Gunner and went down to have breakfast. As usual, he was served by Emily, but he noticed that the dining area was not as full as usual, though he could easily ascertain the reason why.

Emily had also noticed the phenomenon and thought to inform Darius. As such, she explained to the amused duo about the announcement yesterday as well as what had happened later.

Darius thanked her kindly for the information, which made Emily pleased. She had decided to court favor with Darius and keep his feelings for her at a positive level without being detrimental to his activities.

After breakfast, Darius and Gunner headed towards the central market square. Today, Darius was planning to fully outfit Gunner in the best gear money could buy, since he could not wait for his Transmutation to level first like before.

However, he was skeptical as to whether a mere Andrato Kingdom could even have items at the level of his needs and expectations, but he had to check to be sure.

Luckily, there was a large shop in the market square that dwarfed any other. It enjoyed the best reputation for quality within Listo.

Its name was the Polivar Treasure House and it was a shop owned by the Superiority Faction spread in every central market area throughout Andrato.