Viers wanted to buy poison but he still had to go to class. When he was changing his clothes, he felt hard objects among his pile of laundry. It was the pouch that he got from the mage he killed. Inside there were only two things, one Mana crystal and a ring which he didn’t know its function. He himself put those inside the pouch and he had forgotten about their existence all this time.

I forgot about those, the crystal I can keep for now but what should I do with this ring? I should ask Nakala later, perhaps she could guide me to an appraisal shop. Viers put the ring in his pocket and went to class, he went alone.

Some kids always went together with their friends, they all lived together in the dorm so many kids made the trip to class together with their friends and talked about stuff along the way. Viers always went alone, some kids that were close to him like Max, Terry, Farley, and Paina had invited him many times before but he refused their invites most of the time.

It was just routine now, learning theories and practicing. The kids were starting to adapt to the new lifestyle and all is well, but not for Viers. He didn’t feel he was progressing fast enough. He used every stretch of time practicing, whether it was Mana practice or physical exercise. It didn’t feel like a chore to him, as someone from Earth the idea of turning into a superhuman tempted him greatly. He exerted his effort greatly to become so.

After Nakala class was over he approached the chocolate-skinned teacher after she was away from the other kids so Viers could have some privacy. “Ms. Nakala, can you tell me what this ring do?”

Viers asked while showing the ring to her, Nakala took it from his palm and looked at it intently. “A magic ring, well, well Mr. Viers, quite the unusual things you have… you don’t know what it is?”

“No, I picked it up on the road,” Viers answered.

He met Nakala's eyes; he knew she didn’t buy his explanation but Viers’s gaze told her he had no intention to tell her the whole story. Nakala seemed to let the problem passed and returned her attention to the ring. She channeled her Mana into it, it activated something and she made a water ball floating on top of her palm with her other hand.

“This should be a concealment aura ring. After you activate the ring, it masked your excess emission while you prepare your spell. Unfortunately, this can't be used consecutively… to put it simply, after you activate the ring you can ambush your enemy more easily; since while you're preparing a spell your enemy don’t know about it. Of course, there are exceptions. Vigilant humans and monsters with high sensitivity to Mana can still realize you are preparing a spell.”

“Your second spell receives no such benefit so it’s only effective for the first attack, good for ambushing or sneak attack. It’s a bit unusual but not rare as far as magical accessory effect goes. Still, it’s a good thing to have. Keep it hidden and don’t flaunt it around. I know you realized that this ring can be used to seriously injure someone, so use it responsibly,” Nakala said while giving the ring back and dispelling the water ball.

Viers expressed his gratitude to Nakala before they separated, Viers was thinking about the ring as he played with it using his fingers inside his pocket.

Ring for sneak attack hmn? Only good for the first time but it needed Mana to activate so I can’t use it right now. I hoped it was an inventory ring or something similar but how could I get something as good as that after I only had my first battle, and this ring effect is a bit lackluster… I got it from the bandit mage, he wasn’t a rich person if he had to rob caravans so how could he have something overly good on him? Sigh… why it wasn’t an OP ring like that other protagonist with coil motif dragon ring.

The mage should be using this effect when he first attacked me in the past. While I didn’t have any Mana sensing ability, I felt something dangerous back then. The sensation was strong enough as if seeing a person was going to chop off my head with an axe… Is it the flower effect? I have a sixth sense? More testing required.

He didn’t go to the pool with the other water-types and went to town. He didn’t get any obstruction along the way, the trainees were free to leave the compound if they want.

Well, it’s not like modern school rules here, free reign to leave whatever you want. You already paid the fees after all. The Training Centers provide guidance but it’s up to trainees whether they follow it or not, the TC already did its part.

Viers went to town while half sightseeing as he walked the streets.

Where can I find a shop that sells poisons? There was no convenience store here to buy rat poison and I don’t want to buy that kind of lethality for my first test. It’s my own body damn it… pharmacy, potion shop, alchemy shop. These three should have them, I wonder if they all exist here in this world? There are potion shops, but previous Viers wasn’t clear of what kind of potions available.

Viers asked around and after a while managed to find a potion shop. There was a sign with drawings of three vials put on top of the door with the name of the shop, the Colored Roots. It was a bit far from the main streets thus it wasn’t a big shop. There were a few potion shops on the main streets with more customers but Viers chose this shop because it was more remote. He preferred doing things hidden from prying eyes.

When he entered the shop he smelled a great number of aroma, bitter, sweet, pungent fragrance jumbled and mixed together. Inside the shop, there was a middle-aged woman mixing various herbs and powders with a mortar behind a long desk. There were various jars inside the shop, some were empty while others containing plants and some parts of animals. Behind the woman, there were shelves displaying various bottles containing colorful liquid. Noticing the new arrival, the woman stopped what she was doing and she spoke while facing Viers.

“Welcome to Colored Roots, what are you looking for, child?” the woman asked. She was a plump woman wearing long grey robes. Her black hair with streaks of grey was tied in a bun. Her face had no wrinkles and her smiling face was very gentle.

“Hi aunty, I want poisons, some of the non-lethal kind and the lethal kind, one for prank and one for hunting animals.” Viers said it to her straight.

“Well now, I surely hope the non-lethal kind would be the one used for the prank, or have I guessed wrong, hmn?” She smiled.

Viers didn’t answer, he replied with a smile and waited for the woman's response.

Seeing Viers didn’t answer she didn’t seem to mind. “Alright, I have many varieties of both kinds. I’m sure you can find some that suit your needs,” she then picked a few bottles and put them on the empty area of the table, she explained a few.

“This causes loss of senses, sight and touch mostly. It is easy to dissolve and mix with other drinks or food, should be taken orally,” while pointing at a pale yellow potion.

“This one causes difficulty to concentrate. It's not difficult to mix with other substances. A pinch of this to someone’s drink and they won’t be able to remember much despite a whole day studying... or doing anything really.” she showed a white powder inside the bottle.

“This one causes bleeding, coat this on your sword and the wound would bleed profusely. Great for taking down beasts,” she took up a bottle with blood-like red liquid.

“This one causes itching rashes, this one causes paralysis, this one causes chest pains…” The woman continued to display her wares, Viers didn’t anticipate she had so many varieties. He wondered if he went to a poison shop instead of a potion shop.

“Alright alright aunty, slow down a bit, these are enough, let me pick a few,” Viers said.

After he picked what he needed Viers asked for the price. The potion aunty gave a reasonable price and Viers was happy. “Aunty, you need a large variety of ingredients right? If I have some would you buy them?” He asked while organizing his newly bought stuff.

“You can call me Somaya, young child. You were among the new children from the Training Centers, were you not? You kids will be allowed doing quests after you learned the basics, so you indeed might found some unique ingredients during your time outside.”

“You can show it to me first, I can buy some from you should I needed it. Oh, if you're able to find monster cores bring them to me. I will give you a higher price than the guild. Monster cores are very sought after and they are always in high demand.” Somaya said while putting the unsold bottles back to the shelves.

“Thank you Aunty Somaya, call me Viers, as for your request I will see what I can do. By the way, please keep my presence here a secret. Is that okay?”

“Of course, I always keep the customers in confidence. Farewell child, do come again,” Somaya said while giving goodbye, she went back to her work.

Viers managed to accomplish his objectives and he went straight to the dorm. Along the way, he thought about his encounter with the potion aunty.

That was simpler than I thought, a 15-year-old can buy poison here without ID or guardian accompanying him? Such situations are unthinkable on Earth but it serves my purpose now so all is well. With these various harmful ingredients, I can test how my healing factor fares against poisons. If it was good, I can start foraging to the wild areas outside of town…

Oh right, I should buy a map too. Maybe the guild has them… I should ask them first, I refuse to believe the Adventurer’s Guild whose activities spanned the whole Coalition didn’t possess any detailed map. Though, perhaps copying or buying from them will require money or must be an adventurer.

Viers took a bit of detour to the guild. When he arrived, there was a hubbub and the guild was more crowded than usual.

What's going on? Is there an event? 2X EXP or something like that? Viers wondered as he lined up for his turn, this time all three receptionists were busy and there were a bunch of veterans inside the guild. Viers was now certain there would be an event.

When it was his turn, it was not Sherry but another receptionist. He waved at Sherry beside the receptionist and Sherry nodded back with a smile; she curtly nodded because she was busy talking with another person.

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild, apologies for the delay. How may I help you?” The blonde receptionist politely asked.

“Good afternoon miss. I was wondering if I could buy a map of the surrounding area of Luxore town,” Viers asked.

“Certainly, the latest version of the map surrounding Luxore town is twenty copper. Would you like to make a purchase?” The blonde receptionist asked.

“Yes please, and the guild is very lively today. Did something happened?” Viers took out the money from his pouch.

“Yes, tens of monster boars were roaming the area. they seem to come from red zones to the south. We afraid this may be the prelude of a beast tide. The guild is forming a subjugation party of veteran adventurers to eliminate the threat. Please refrain from going outside the town until the threat is dealt with. This is your map, thank you for your patronage.”

Viers returned to the dorm, it was his turn to help with the cooking today. He helped Yisha with the cooking preparations but his mind was elsewhere.

Boars, the south is dangerous for now… but waiting around isn’t my style. I can’t wait for who knows how long, beast tides could be dangerous to villages but there was no news of a town fall to a beast tide for decades. Peja town was attacked by a beast tide every few years but it was always safe inside the town. Peja was smaller than Luxore so I am probably safe.

But there was no need to concern myself with this, what I must do didn’t change. Test my poison resistance, then consume biomass outside… I will go to the north, it was a green zone so there would be minimal risk, can’t be afraid to take a calculated risk, without risks how could there be gains, balance is the key.

“Viers,” Yisha called him.

“Yes, Mrs. Yisha?”

“It’s dangerous using a knife absent-minded, get your mind back from the clouds.”