"You two may begin when I say go. Three, two, one, GO!" Crystal watched Alex charge towards her, the bright pattern of a Boost spell wrapping around his legs clearly visible to her eyes. Raising her hand, Crystal activated the mental construct she's been building since she entered the arena.

  "Freeze." A wave of ice originating from her outstretched hand surged forward towards Alex. Alex, without batting an eye, slapped his chest and pulled out a Weave as he continued charging forward. Tugging the weave in his hands, Alex activated the spell, enveloping his body in flames right as the wave of ice enveloped him. After a tense, brief moment, Alex burst out of the ice, chugging down a Mana potion while continuing to run towards Crystal. Undeterred, Crystal continues sending wave after wave of ice towards him, with each one growing increasingly stronger and colder than the last. Keeping an eye on his physical condition, Crystal went on the offensive when she noticed the rate at which his wounds healed started to slow down. Sending one last wave of ice, Crystal quickly mentally constructs a new spell. "Icicle Spear."

  With a snap of her fingers, five floating balls of ice materialized in the air around her that quickly grew and morphed into sharp icicles aimed towards Alex. Bringing down her raised hand towards him, Crystal launched the five spears of ice forward. Eyeing the flying projectiles, Alex continued running. As if he knew where they were aiming before they were fired, Alex only had to slightly tilt portions of his body to move out of the way of three of the icicles, while letting the other two hit his left arm and shoulder. Focusing on maintaining the Icicle spears that hit Alex, Crystal was confused when he grabbed the one piercing his shoulder before watching in shock as the magical construct started breaking apart as the Mana in it flowed out of them and into his body. "Mana Drain?" She muttered softly, momentarily dazed at the display she witnessed. Giving Alex time to pull out the other icicle in his arm, as well as allowing him to get within melee distance of her.

  "I'm surprised you know of it." Pumping the majority of his boosted strength into his arm, Alex shot out a powerful right hook at her.

  "Ice Armour!" Crystal managed to cast, enveloping her body in a tough layer of ice in the shape of sleek iron armour before the punch connected. Seeing her get launched a good distance away, Alex quickly took out a Mana potion and downed it before pursuing after her, making sure to store away the empty bottle as he ran. Sensing her armour breaking apart, Crystal pumped Mana into it to repair it as she felt her body skid to a stop. Getting up on one knee, Crystal quickly raised her arms into a cross to block Alex's heavy axe kick. "Icicle Spear!" Eyeing the ground around Crystal, Alex kicked off her ice armour, jumping out of the way as large icicles burst from the ground, impaling the area where he had just been.

  Standing up from the ground, Crystal was greeted by the sight of Alex downing another Mana potion. Scowling, Crystal raised her hand at him. "Freeze." Immediately after Alex heard her cast the spell, he pivoted on his feet and tossed a potion he was holding in his other hand that Crystal had missed. The potion flew through the air and, upon hitting the wave of ice, exploded in a ball of fire, disrupting the flow of mana as the ice rapidly melted, creating a giant cloud of steam that enveloped the two fighters.

  Despite having her vision momentarily obscured, Crystal continues mentally constructing spells as she tracks the glowing figure of Alex in the steam. Crystal raised her right hand to the approaching figure and opened her mouth to cast her spell. "Free-"Only to be interrupted by an empty potion bottle smacking her in the face, followed shortly by a fiery punch aimed at her icy helmet, smashing through it and only stopping when the fist impacted the thin shimmering barrier covering Crystal's head. Crystal flew a good distance back before skidding to a stop as the steam finally dissipated. Scowling once more at the sight of Alex gulping down another Mana potion, Crystal silently vowed to herself that it would be his last.

  Crystal raised her right hand. "Icicle Spear." Five balls of ice materialized around her, and with a snap of her fingers, they grew and morphed into sharp icicles before launching forward. She lowered her hand. "Freeze." A wave of ice burst forth from her hand and surged across the ground towards Alex.

  Keeping his sights on Crystal while he finished his potion, Alex patiently waited before crouching down, narrowly dodging the first icicle right as it was about to hit him. He used the empty bottle in his hand to knock away the next two icicles. Alex then threw the Fire potion in his other hand at the ground in front of him, stopping the approaching wave of ice as well as melting a good portion of the frozen ground. "Ugh," he groaned when the last two icicles pierced him in his left leg and right shoulder. Pulling out the one in his leg, Alex had to roll to the side to dodge another volley of icicles, which inadvertently pushed the other one deeper into his shoulder. Grabbing the icicle, Alex used Mana Drain to pull out and interrupt the flow of Crystal's mana that was maintaining the construct form before crushing it into small pieces.

  Slamming his palm against his chest, Alex pulled out another finished weave and activated it. The weave came together and solidified into a fiery whip. Grabbing the Flam Lash, Alex swatted away Crystal's next wave of icicles. He then quickly wrapped it around his fist and punched the ground in front of him to stop the approaching wave of ice, before using the fiery whip to melt the ice ahead of him and dashing forward.

  As he ran, Alex noticed Crystal slowly retreat while she continued to attack him. Quickly thinking of a plan, he defended against her next set of attacks before springing into action. Pulling back his Flame Lash, Alex then flicked it forward, the fiery whip flew through the air and, despite Crystal trying to avoid it, wrapped tightly around her arm. Then, with a boosted tug, he pulled her towards himself. Seeing Alex ready a powerful looking punch at her as she flew towards him, Crystal angled her caught hand down. "Ice Barrier! Gah!" Crystal screamed as she slammed into the newly created wall of ice. Feeling the fiery whip fade away, freeing her arm, Crystal pried herself out of the wall of ice and backed away.

  Determined to fulfill her self-made vow, Crystal quickly prepared her next spell while cutting the Mana flow of her previous one. She raised her arm towards the softly glowing silhouette she could see through the wall in front of her. "Icicle Spear!" She cast right as she cut off the flow of Mana going towards the wall of ice, causing it to crumble away. However, as if he was able to see the attack beforehand, Alex was already in position to dodge the projectile with minimal movement. Caught off guard, Crystal couldn't react fast enough, finally allowing Alex to close the distance between them. "Ic-" Crystal tried to cast only to be interrupted by a heavy punch to her gut, knocking the wind out of her. He then followed up by grabbing her neck with his fire-covered right hand and slamming her to the ground. Getting on top of her fallen body, Alex smashed his knee on her stomach, shattering the icy armour protecting it.

  "You surrender?" He asked while pointing an Icicle Spear of his own in his other hand directly at her eye. Crystal tried to break free, but eventually gave in when the grip around her neck tightened as the fire grew hotter and the icicle aimed at her eye was brought closer. Seeing her nod and her body relax, Alex released his hold around her neck, dismissed his spells before getting off of her. Feeling the sudden weight get lifted off her stomach, Crystal sat up and started coughing.

  "Need a hand?" Looking up, she nodded and grabbed his hand. With Alex's help, Crystal quickly got off the ground.

  "Y-Cough- You have -Cough- Arance Sight?"

  "Hmm? Why do you think that?" Crystal cut off the flow of Mana to her ice armour, letting it crumble away into nothing.

  "-Cough- I started suspecting that you had it when I noticed your eyes would sometimes glance where I positioned my spells, even before they finished materializing. At first, I thought you were looking at something else; I couldn't see, but it quickly became clear throughout the battle that you could see my spells forming." The duo started slowly, making their way back to the others. "I also know that you're not the type of person to have your sight wander off your opponent unless you have a good reason to. Once I had those two facts in mind, I started paying closer attention to your actions when I started casting spells. Afterwards, I was able to quickly conclude that you had a form of Arcane Sense, more precisely Arcane Sight, like me."

  "Hmm, really? What are my tells?"

  "Well, the way your eyes track my spells before they should be visible is an obvious one. The way you were able to know where to be to dodge my attack, even when a solid wall of ice was blocking your sight, was another. Oh, and you sometimes squint your eyes when I cast a paternally powerful spell. Which is a habit I have, and am currently trying to break." Alex clicked his tongue.

  "Damn, am I that obvious? Looks like I need to work on my subtlety."

  "I think you're fine. I doubt anyone would notice you were tracking their spells unless they were actively looking for it, especially in the middle of a battle. Though now I'm curious. I thought everyone with Arcane Sensces is put into a special class together."

  "Hmm," Alex took out a Mana potion and took a few sips. "They typically are, it's just that I failed the test, so I didn't get in." He answered, swirling the potion in his hand.

  "Test? I didn't know there was a test, nor do I remember taking one."

  "During the welcoming assembly, do you remember a flashing light?" Crystal's eyes grew wide.

  "Was that what the light was?"

  "Yup." He gave a quick nod. "During the assembly, they activate an artifact that periodically pulses a burst of Mana of various strengths. Whether or not you notice the pulse, and how you react to it, determines whether or not you are put into the special class. I'm guessing from how you immediately asked if I had Arcane sight, you have it as well." She nodded. "Well, like you, I noticed the pulse of Mana as blinking lights. Though, as you can tell, unlike you, I failed to react in a way that would put me in the class."

  "Interesting." She gave his explanation some thought. "How did you come across this information?" He gave her a dismissive wave of his hand.

  "It's not that hard. All you need to do is ask some of the older students, and they would tell you everything I said, along with the fact that they apparently use the same test for finding people with Arcane Senses every year, except with a few minor adjustments."

  "Really? Hmm, that's good to know."

  "That was an awesome fight!" Mari cheered when the duo arrived back with the others.

  "What were you two talking about? It looked like a pretty serious discussion." Jack asked, handing Crystal an Energizer he got from Sera. Thanking both of them, Crystal took the potion and started slowly drinking it.

  "I learned that Alex has Arcane Sight." She answered after a few sips.

  "Really?/ Really?!" Jack turned to Mari. "You didn't know?" She shook her head.

  "Why didn't you tell me you had it?" Mari asked Alex.

  "I didn't?" He asked with a tilt of his head and a clear expression of confusion on his face.

  "Didn't you?" She asked with a more unsure tone in her voice, clearly confused as well.

  "I thought I di-" Alex's eyes glazed over. "Huh, I guess I didn't." He shook his head while rapidly blinking as if he was waking up from a daze. "Though in my defence, you never asked."

  "Hmm, you got me there." The five students proceeded to spend the next several hours resting, sparing, and generally hanging out. It was only when their allocated time on the training ground had ended, and the next group of students arrived, that they decided it was time to leave. After a quick shower and change of clothes at the gym's showers, the five students finally left the academy grounds. After getting some lunch at a local restaurant, the five of them started loitering at a nearby park.

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  "Hey, you guys want to head over and go meet my potion supplier right now?" Alex asked after a few rounds on a swing.

  "I thought we were going to meet them on Monday?" He shrugged at Crystal's question.

  "Eh, I figured we might as well do it today, unless any of you have anything better to do right now." The others looked at each other before turning back to Alex and agreeing with his suggestion. Walking around, Alex guided the others to a relatively small shop a good distance away from the academy.

  "Triple E?" Mari read out loud.

  "Short for Enchanting Elxiers of Every Kind," Alex explained.

  "-Gasp!-" Turning towards the source of the gasp, Mari, Alex, Crystal, and Jack saw Sera running up to the shop window, or more specifically, the sign attached to it. "This shop is officially graded as a tier seven potion shop by the Alchemist Guild?!" She turned towards Alex. "You know a tier seven alchemist!" He gave a simple nod.

  "Is that a big deal?" Asked Jack.

  "A big deal?" Sera rapidly shook her head. "It's a major deal! The average grade given by the Alchemist Guild is around three to four. You need to be at least graded tier five to have your potions sold in certified shops. Owning your own named shop is a dream of every budding alchemist who specializes in potions that only a few would ever accomplish after countless years of perfecting their craft. And getting that shop certified by the guild would be a great honour that only those graded at least tier six can begin to dream of."

  "Wait, the shop is tier seven, and the alchemist is also tier seven?" Mari asked, trying to get all the numbers Sera had been saying in order.

  "The shop's grade depends on two factors: the average quality of its products and the owner's tier. This means that for the shop to be rated as tier seven, the owner must also be at least tier seven, and it must sell enough high-quality potions to maintain its score." Mari nodded, deciding to give up on trying to understand what Sera was talking about and have Alex explain it to her later.

  "Wait, does that mean you think Alex knows the owner of this shop? I don't remember him saying that; there is a possibility that he is just good friends with an employee," Crystal spoke up. Sera opened her mouth to respond, but realized she had a point, which caused some of her enthusiasm to fade.

  "No, Sera was right the first time. I know the owner of the shop." Alex interjected, causing Sera's enthusiasm to return in blazing glory.

  "Y-you do?! A-and we can meet w-with them?!" He raised a perplexed brow at her question.

  "Isn't that why we're here? Come on, we shouldn't block the sidewalk." Motioning them to follow, Alex entered the shop.

  "To think there was such a skilled alchemist close by and I never knew about them! And to think I'm about to meet them!" Sera gushed as she and the others followed right behind him.

  "Welcome to Triple E, Enchanting Elxiers of Every Kind!" Greeted Nick behind the counter. "Oh, hi Alex!" He waved at him.

  "Heya, Nick," Alex said with a small salute. "I'm here for the usual and to introduce you to some people." He motioned towards the others behind him.

  "This is Mari, a brawler, fighter and combat addict," Alex said with a dry tone while he placed a stack of Credits on the counter.

  "Sup." Mari gave a small salute of her own. Jack, Crystal and Sera looked at her, surprised that she was fine with his introduction of her.

  "Jack, swordsman and decent fighter."

  "Heh, yeah, that sounds right." He chuckled. "Hey." Jack waved at Nick with a good-natured grin.

  "Crystal, ice Mage and walking blizzard."

  "Nice to meet you, Nick." She greeted with a small bow.

  "And last but not least. Sera, budding Alchemist, potion brewer and combat medic.

  "I-i-i-its nice to meet you!"

  "Oh, no need to be so formal," Nick said while he grabbed various potions from the shelf behind him. "Any friend of Alex is a friend of mine!" Putting the potions on the counter, Nick took the Credits Alex had placed and put them into the register without even counting them. Grabbing the potions, Alex put all but one into his Storach pouch before downing the last one. Crystal and Sera cringed at the sight.

  "Is it normal for Alex to immediately gulp down extremely bitter potions after buying them?" Asked Crystal.

  "Pretty much!" Nick chuckled. "You see, Alex was my first ever true customer, and I was ecstatic when he bought a Mana potion, but imagine my surprise when he immediately drank it right in front of me. He proceeded to buy a batch of assorted potions before advising me to go to the Alchemist's Guild."

  "You didn't know about the Alchemist Guild? I thought it was a big deal for Alchemists." Nick scratched his cheek and let out an embarrassed chuckle at Jack's question.

  "Well, I was mostly taught potion brewing by this elder in my village who said he saw talent in me. When he was teaching me, the elder passed down what he knew about potion brewing, material preparation and other skills any Alchemist needs. So, after a few years under his tutelage, I decided to move to the city and open up this shop, not having a single clue about the Guild or even how to sell my wares. In fact, I think without Alex's help, I wouldn't be here today, following my dream of opening my own shop and selling potions. So I'm very grateful for all the help he gave me."

  "I wouldn't say that." Said Alex after an embarrassed cough. "I'm sure you'll have done well enough on your own." Nick shook his head in disagreement while dropping the subject for now, knowing Alex wouldn't budge on his opinion. "Well, this is it," Alex said to his classmates, trying to move the conversation along. "This is where I buy potions. The products are arranged where the price and quality of the potions gradually increase the deeper you go in the store. The highest quality and thus most expensive potions are either stored in the back or are only custom-ordered, so you have to negotiate with Nick if you want to get those. The ones I usually get are typically around here." He motioned with his hand at the shelves near the counter. "And there." He then pointed to the shelves behind Nick.

  "Custom-ordered? You mean you sell custom-made potions?" Asked Jack.

  "Yup!" answered Nick. He took out a large binder from under the counter before dropping it in front of him with a loud thump. "This binder contains every potion I'm authorized and able to make, along with their ingredients, how long it would take to make them and their estimated cost."

  "Authorized to make?"

  "Some potions are too dangerous to be readily available, like Bone Venom potions," Sera explained. "So you have to get the authorization from the Alchemist Guild to make them or risk getting into serious trouble with the law." Nick nodded in agreement.

  "Yep, exactly. Wonderfully put, Sera." Nick opened the binder and started flipping through it, completely missing Sera's happy expression at his compliment. "It's a long and hard process to get the authorization to make restricted potions. Even after you get it, most restricted potions aren't allowed to be stored out in the open and thus require being sold soon after they are made. A good example being the Bone Venom potion that Sera mentioned earlier." Stopping at a certain page, Nick turned the binder over to give the others a better view.

  Bone Venom Potion

  Effect:

  -Primary Effect: Liquify the bones of anyone who drinks the potion. Lasts 10 hours.

  -Secondary Effect: Those who can withstand its effects would start to develop very poisonous bones for the next 6-9 months, depending on the amount of potion consumed. Bones stay poisonous for 3-6 weeks when removed, or once the potion's effects wear off.

  Warnings: The potion's effect is 10-80% less effective on monsters, depending on their strength. Must be consumed or applied to bones to be effective.

  Required Ingredients: 1 Vial of Black Spotted Spider Venom, 2 Fire Fang Lizard Fangs, 1 Vial of pig blood, 1 Fire Lilly, 150g of Black Sand, 1 Mana Infused Eyeball, 32 Moon Petals and 1 chicken liver.

  Cost: 500 Credits or 250 Credits if you supply the Ingredients. Additional effects can be added for the listed price below or for free if the ingredients are provided.

  Optional Ingredients:

  -100 to 500g of Grounded Vile Centipede/10 to 50 Credits: Increase Secondary Effect duration by 1 to 5 weeks.

  -1 Fire Fang Lizard Eyeball/100 Credits: Makes the affected person feel like they are on fire when under the potion's Primary Effect.

  -1/2/3 Rotten Slime Core/ 25 Credits per Core: Increase potency of Primary Effect by 1.5/2/2.5 times at the cost of a 25/50/75% reduction in duration.

  -1/2/3 Venom Jungle Slime Core/ 25 Credits per Core: Reduce potency of Primary Effect by 1.5/2/2.5 times to increase duration by 25/50/75%.

  Jack let out an impressed whistle. "That's a potion all right. I can see why something like that would be restricted."

  "Yup, though not all potions in here are dangerous like the Bone Venom potion. Some like Lightning Armour potions are just too costly to make unless there is already a buyer. While other potions, like Magma potion, require specialized storage requirements that my store isn't equipped to handle. In those instances, the buyer is responsible for safely storing the potion once I hand it over."

  "Can I see other potions you have?"

  "Oh, sure, be my guest!" Nick pushed the binder towards them. Jack, Crystal, Mari and Sera took turns looking through the binder, with Crystal and Sera noting down some they are planning on buying. During the downtime, Jack was waiting for his turn with the binder. He looked around and noticed something.

  "I'm surprised how empty it is here. I figured, from the amount of praise you've been singing about this place, I would see more customers. The stores back at the academy are usually packed around this time." Jack noted out loud, causing the other three to stop what they were doing and look around.

  "That's because the ones back at the academy are general stores that sell everything from pre-made meals to potions to daily supplies." Sera defended before Crystal could answer. "You can't compare that to a dedicated potions store." Crystal nodded in agreement.

  "It's also because this store is in a bad location," Alex added. Jack, Crystal, and Sera turned to look at him, shocked that he would say something like that to his friend's shop.

  "It's true," Nick agreed, surprising the three teens. "I initially thought I was lucky to buy this place for such a low price. However, I later found out that the reason it was so affordable was that the previous owners had gone bankrupt due to a lack of customers. This place is close enough to the main shopping district to get little foot traffic, but far enough to be inconvenient for people to walk here. There aren't enough shops or sights nearby to make it worth someone's time, nor is it a necessary area to pass through on the way to the city's more popular spots. In fact, most of my sales are from orders at other shops. The only people who frequent here are Alex and people wanting to make a custom order."

  "Well, you can expect us to come here for our potion needs," Jack said with a good-natured grin.

  "Aww, while I do appreciate the thought, you don't have to go out of your way for me," Nick replied while scratching his cheek, his face slightly flushed.

  "Don't worry about that," Jack reassured with a good-natured grin. "With how frequently Alex downs his Mana potions, I'm sure we won't be disappointed with what we get here." Crystal and Sera nodded in agreement.

  "We have another reason for being beside me, introducing these guys to you." Alex cut in when he noticed the lull in the conversation. "As I said, this is Sera, a budding Alchemist, potion brewer and combat medic." He motioned to Sera with his hand, causing her to slightly panic from being put into the spotlight. "Though for this situation, a budding Alchemist and potion brewer is the important part." Not sure what to do, Sera did the first thing that came to mind.

  "H-hi!" She greeted again with a slightly squeaky voice. "P-please d-d-do you have any tips for an amertare potion brewer?"

  "Well, yes, as you can guess. We're also here because Sera would love to talk to a fellow potion brewer, especially one as skilled as you and see if you have any tips for her."

  "That is, if it's not too much trouble!"

  "Nonsense, I would love to give you some pointers." Nick chuckled with a bright smile. "It's been ages since I've been able to talk about potion brewing with a fellow Alchemist. If you want, you can come over anytime during opening hours, and if I'm not currently busy, I can show you a thing or two of what I know."

  "I-it would be an honour! And thank you in advance!" Sera gave Nick a deep bow. While they were on the topic, Sera and Nick chatted with each other about potion brewing while the others wandered around the shop. Once they were done, they paid for the potions they picked out and got ready to leave.

  "Oh, before you guys leave, here, take these." Nick handed each teen three potions. "One Energize and two Grade 5 Health potions for Sera, Mari, and Jack. Three Grade 5 Mana potions for Alex and Crystal."

  "You sure you want to give us these for free?" Nick nodded.

  "Consider it a gift and a free sample of what you might expect from my other potions." Not wanting to be rude, Jack, Crystal, and Sera accepted the gift. In contrast, Alex and Mari took them without a second thought, while giving him a simple thank you. Storing two of the given potions, Alex opened the last one and gulped it down.

  "Ah." Letting out a pleased sigh, Alex closed the bottle, wiped his mouth and handed it back to Nick. Used to his quirks, Nick accepted the empty bottle. "Cerry with a hint of strawberry." He smacked his lips. "Is this apple I'm tasting as well?"

  "Yup! I knew you would notice it."

  "It's good. Though personally, I still prefer the banana flavour of your last batch."

  "Noted, I'll make sure your next order is banana flavour."

  "Thanks in advance."

  "Oooh, are these flavoured?" Mari asked, eyeing the potions in her hand.

  "Yup! It's a recent creation of mine. For a premium cost, you can get flavoured versions of the more common potions, like Health and Mana potions. For example, you can get Mana potions that taste like banana, vanilla, cherry or blueberry. And Health potions that taste like chocolate, apple, mint or honey. You can see other available potions and the flavours they come in here as well." Nick patted the binder on the counter.

  "Th-th-that's so cool!" Sera shouted, surprising the other students by her sudden outburst. "To affect such a core aspect of a potion like its taste, while keeping its initial effect, is amazing! That's not even taking into account the amount of trial and error it must have taken for you to achieve this!" She gushed, causing Nick to blush with embarrassment.

  "O-oh, you d-don't n-n-need to go that far. R-really, I just wanted to make the potions Alex keeps buying a bit more pleasant to drink."

  "And I really appreciate you for it," Alex said while sipping another potion he took out of his Storage pouch. "Well, it's getting pretty late, so we should probably get going." He suggested, knowing that it would be at least another hour before they leave, if he let the two Alchemists start another discussion on potions.

  "Yeah, we have classes again tomorrow, so we shouldn't stay up too late." Crystal agreed. Bidding goodbye to Nick, the five students left the store and gradually went their separate ways.