"How do you like the shop's layout, Sir Aleister?" Phisvaelte asked.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Aleister said as he walked up the stairs from the cellar.

The deed for the property Luo Yun handed him belonged to a pawnshop that had long gone under due to the owner having died from mysterious circumstances. Well, at least that's what some of the local passersby and shop owners said. However, even though the place hadn't been opened or used in some time, the insides were well maintained and only required a few days of maintenance to restore it to its prime.

If he ever gained the opportunity, he would change the slightly dated and, in his opinion, ugly-looking grey hardwood which plastered the interior. The color set was dull and not appealing to him at all, even though Syn said she liked it.

After the carpenters restored the shop, he invited Phisvaelte to work at the shop and she agreed. With her help, he decorated and rearranged the furniture on the first floor to display all the goods he planned to sell. Right now, he had brewed about fifty inferior potions of healing and twenty minor potions of healing. Both of which should do the job for now. These were the main staple of his shop and thus placed in windowed displays to where anyone who passed by the shop could see them. The problem is that even though he would eat some of their cost; they were still quite premium in their price. This is why, with Syn's help, he created even cheaper healing potions.

These couldn't be directly consumed, though, and its effects were not as instantaneous. Instead, one would have to mix the contents of the bottle into their bath water and let their body soak in the water for an hour or two. The potion would soothe and relieve their pain, along with speeding up the healing process for cuts. The other edition of this potion didn't heal the user, but instead used a variety of herbs and spices to create a complex aroma pattern, allowing for maximum relaxation after a hard day of work.

After some thought, he moved a batch of these potions up to the window display as the much cheaper price of two silver would attract a customer base, otherwise not interested in the shop

Syn only gave him the recipe for this potion after he created a bunch of other low-tier remedial medicine that would help heal wounds, cuts, bruises, reduce the rate of a coughing fit, and other such more common issues.

In another corner of the shop, where the herbs in Phisvaelte gathered since the last time he saw her. He could identify a good number of them at this point, but Syn still helped him to organize each herb into separate baskets. Along with this, he also created several surprise packs of herbs. The idea behind them was quite genius in his mind, as it would tempt customers by having the reward be based on their luck. Of course, he rigged most of them to make sure they were mostly full of the least popular and used herbs, but still equal to their purchase price. Only a select few had herbs of any value.

Behind the purchase counter, he put up the alchemical potions he brewed up for sale as well. Originally, he didn't plan on selling these, but he could use the money, and Syn's logic on their purchase base was sound, anyway. This also prompted him to create some non-remedial-type potions and pills. However, he didn't have the ingredients to purchase some additional ingredients required of him and thus he skipped on them for now but put up a banner in sign along an empty wall advertising future products.

Aleister tapped up a hiring sign outside the front window and placed a bunch of flyers in a rectangular basket outside that people could grab.

"Now all that's left is to go get a permit from the alchemical guild," he said to Syn while walking through the streets.

"What will you do if they don't give it to you?"

"Well, first of all, they will as long as I cut them into some of my profits."

"And if their cut is too high?"

"I'll just ask Aunt Emi to exert some of her influence, but, it won't be too high because Ossetia's Alchemical Guild is barely existent in the first place."

"That's the first I'm hearing of this."

"Well then," Aleister stopped in front of a small run-down building before shortly entering it. "I asked around when I first arrived at the shop, but the reason is there aren't that many people who are alchemists in the first place, and those that do choose to chase after that profession, don't stay in Osetia. Instead, most travel to Mirror Mountain and study alchemy at the place called the Mirrored Tower. "

"Institutions, where different skills are taught, are common, but usually those students spread out and return to where they came from."

"You would think so," an old man said, walking from behind the counter. "But the Mirrored Tower has a policy where you must study under a professional practitioner for a decade before you obtain certification."

"And thus tying them down to the Mirror Mountain location as permanent residents."

"That's exactly right."

"And that's why the Alchemy Guild here in Osetia is, uh—" Aleister glanced around at the broken down building, "Facing some troubling times?"

"Potions and medicine originating from Mirror Mountain are hard to compete against. Even after travel taxes, their prices are cheaper and their quantity large. Combined with their reputation and a special seal from the Mirrored Tower which indicates their authenticity and origin, it's a difficult business for us that still choose to stay here in Osetia."

"Then, why do you choose to stay here?"

"Just take a look at me," the old man said with a smile. "Most of us aren't young like you. We're tied down by prior obligations such as our family, and the cost of travel and then purchasing a residence at Mirror Mountain is more than what we're willing to bear. Besides, it's not as if that place doesn't have its own issues and strifes. Thus, most of us choose to stay here, and in the case of an emergency, provide our services if need be."

Aleister nodded. After all, healing potions are still quite the niche product. Perhaps I should rebrand myself as a general apothecary and sell even cheaper products that have a much larger mass appeal. I didn't think Mirror Mountain would have had such an appeal and hold over the market like this. Honestly, it's quite annoying. But perhaps I can use this to my advantage. No doubt there are people who would be attracted to locally created Osetia potions and remedies that are evenly priced.

"What did you come here for, young man?"