Chapter 8
How long had they been walking through the lively market?
Riyan suddenly stopped after feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
"..."
Across the street stood a building.
Blue vines covered more than half of its outer wall.
Its appearance carried traces of many long years.
There was no sign outside.
But the herbal scent drifting from within was familiar.
That must have been what caused the feeling.
"Hmm."
Riyan glanced at Haral.
Haral jerked his chin.
Taking that as confirmation that they had reached their destination, Riyan entered.
"Welco... me."
An elderly man with age spots across his face began greeting them energetically.
His voice immediately weakened when he saw the sword at Haral's waist.
Then he noticed the crest attached to Haral's clothes and tilted his head.
"Rodus Training Center? We haven't received any orders from you."
"Forget that. We're here for personal business."
"Ah. I see. What do you need?"
Haral leaned against the entrance and crossed his arms.
He pointed toward Riyan with his chin.
"This customer?"
The old man spoke politely.
But his expression clearly said:
What does this brat know about herbs?
Riyan smiled faintly.
"Do you have Silvermoon Flower?"
"...Pardon?"
The old man's confusion was only the beginning.
"I need Silvermoon Flower, Whitefrost Mushroom, and Blackmist Grass. I'll also need nettle, belladonna, and thistle, but those are comparatively common, so they should be easy enough to obtain. Finally, I need mountain spring water. High purity."
"..."
The old man stood with his mouth open.
He looked unconsciously toward Haral.
Haral naturally shrugged.
"Why are you looking at me? Your customer asked whether you have them."
Riyan's private room had become familiar enough that it almost felt like home.
After returning from the market, he placed the pouch in his hand onto the desk.
He opened it.
Herbs of different colors and distinct fragrances appeared.
This should be enough.
What was he planning?
Riyan intended to use something he had learned in his previous life.
During the long war, Riyan had accepted many different companions.
Among them were barbarians with unusual customs.
Warriors from tribes whose languages were so different that they frequently clashed with the kingdom's army.
Still, neither side had a choice.
Eventually, they had been forced to fight back-to-back.
Natural, really.
Monsters didn't care about human class or race before attacking them.
The enemy of an enemy became an ally.
After sharing life and death, familiarity naturally developed.
And through that process, Riyan had learned some of the barbarian tribes' traditions and culture.
That knowledge remained in his mind.
A kind of awakening elixir.
Those hot-blooded barbarians drank it when they needed to continue fighting even after using all their strength.
The surprising thing was that it worked on knights too.
When a knight had completely exhausted his strength and felt the helplessness of total depletion, drinking the elixir temporarily restored enough energy to continue fighting.
Of course, there was a severe side effect.
Afterward, the user needed a long period of rest.
Because knights were often sent back into battle after only short breaks, it had rarely been practical for them.
But Riyan's current situation was different.
This is still a match with rules. I shouldn't need to worry much about danger after the fight ends.
Riyan nodded.
Then he began.
First, fire.
He put charcoal into the small brazier purchased from the market.
After lighting it, he placed a medicine pot on top.
Boil the mountain spring water.
He poured in the water.
While it heated, he prepared everything else.
He placed the stirring stick from the herbalist beside him.
Then began taking out the ingredients one by one.
Silvermoon Flower.
A flower said to grow by absorbing moonlight.
It actually stored a form of lunar energy.
Whitefrost Mushroom and Blackmist Grass.
A mushroom that grew beneath frost in shaded places throughout winter.
A black-rooted herb whose tendrils spread like dark fog.
Beginning with Silvermoon Flower, every ingredient carried strongly cold properties.
Once the water boiled, Riyan added sliced Whitefrost Mushroom and thistle.
He let them simmer gently.
Thirty minutes.
After that, he added finely minced Silvermoon Flower and Blackmist Grass.
He boiled the mixture once more.
Finally, he added a small amount of nettle leaves and belladonna berry juice.
The quantities and timing required extreme precision.
Riyan's hands never shook.
About two months until the match.
It might sound like plenty of time.
But it was short if he wanted to build his body into something suitable for battle.
Even so, Riyan was confident.
The fight in the dining hall and the spars against the instructors had confirmed that the power engraved into his soul remained intact.
His real concern wasn't the match itself.
Bubble. Bubble.
Riyan tilted his head while watching the medicine boil.
They said modern knights use Mana.
The history book supported it.
So did Berka.
The Supervisor.
Haral.
It was also reasonable to assume that the Arcana Council had people deeply involved in arena operations.
After all, Berka had said the monster Riyan killed belonged to a permanent member of the Arcana Council.
To them, my appearance could be a major warning. They probably believe the era of knights who used the old power, Aether, ended long ago.
Aether.
Unlike Mana, which was relatively well understood and was said to compose the world itself, Aether was more ambiguous.
Magicians in the past had repeatedly tried to combine the fundamental force called Aether with magic.
Every attempt had failed.
Knights of the old era, however, used that mysterious power as though it had been granted to them directly.
Some people had described it as a force dwelling within the noble souls of knights.
There might have been some truth to that.
Perhaps that was why Riyan could still use Aether even though his body had changed.
