Hearing Alexander ask for help, the people at the Guild realized why he had entered with his Familiar. He needed to be carried because of his injuries.

  Seeing the urgency of the situation, the attendants called to the branch’s healing specialist—another benefit the Guild offered.

  "What attacked you?" asked the old specialist at the branch upon arrival.

  "A beast in the 2nd evolution of the scorpion type," replied Alexander weakly. "A {Earth Black-Scorpion}."

  The treatment specialist frowned upon hearing this answer.

  Yet he didn't dare approach Ocean carelessly.

  Seeing this, Alexander asked Ocean to crouch down so that he could dismount and then stand with Diana at the door.

  Assessing Alexander's situation, various expressions and emotions passed over the specialist's face—he had seen things like this before.

  In the end he sighed in relief and commented to one of the attendants: "Better send a group to hunt that thing. It's dangerous."

  "The Guild doesn't need to worry about it," replied Alexander.

  "Why not?" retorted the old specialist, also a former adventurer in other times. "Other adventurers in this city may not be as lucky as you. They will end up dying."

  "It's already dead," replied Alexander. "My team killed it in the Star Forest."

  The old man was surprised and took time to assimilate the last information.

  When he did, he took out 2 bottles and gave them to Alexander to drink. "The first potion will help you get rid of the poison, the other will help you replenish the blood lost on the way here."

  "I appreciate your good intention, yet I don't need antidotes. My body can resist this poison," said Alexander. "What I need is something to help me recover from this injury—like your blood potion."

  The old specialist hesitated a bit, but—remembering Alexander had survived from the Star Forest to that point—he assumed that, despite the grotesque appearance of his veins—swollen, and unnaturally colored under the skin—Alexander could indeed resist the poison.

  "Apply this to your wound every day before going to sleep, and this other one whenever you get up," said the old man while applying the first remedy—which looked like an ointment—and bandaging it. "Don't forget to clean the wound and change the bandage every time you change the remedy."

  Feeling the remedy take effect, Alexander thanked the man, paid for the services, rented 2 rooms—for himself and Diana—and went to sleep to recover quickly, avoiding further commotion.

  Before going to sleep, Alexander gritted his teeth and assumed his goblin form. While his forms had the same attributes, they behaved differently.

  The human form was stronger and more physically resistant than the goblin form.

  The goblin form possessed greater regeneration, dexterity, agility, and affinity with energies—especially those contained in its cores.

  The next morning, Alexander was better—far from fully recovered, but better.

  Non-lethal blows wouldn't kill him easily, especially if he transformed into a goblin.

  His main problem was that—having to keep moving and not being able to transform into his goblin form—the wound took a long time to heal, and he lost a lot of blood. This left him quite weakened.

  After getting up and cleaning himself with |Invigorate|, Alexander returned to his human form and used an [Intermediate Health Potion] to "wash" the inside of the wound. He applied the morning remedy, dressed his wound as best he could, and left the room with Ocean to eat.

  Since Phoenix City wasn't an adventurer city and had few resources compared to other cities, Alexander didn't want to stay there for long.

  As soon as he finished eating, he prepared to go to the local branch of the Black Moon Company—settle his affairs before leaving.

  When he was ready to go there, Diana, Mark, and Stella appeared in his field of vision and began approaching.

  "How are you?" asked Diana.

  "Better," replied Alexander. "The remedy I use during the day has an anesthetic, so the wound doesn't bother me as much as before."

  "I'm glad you're better," said Stella with unusual softness.

  "Thank you for your consideration," replied Alexander. "I'm also glad to see you arrived safely. The direction I followed was a bit off, right?"

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "It wasn't difficult," said Mark. "We found some people nearby when we reached the road."

  "I'm glad we didn't miss each other," said Alexander. "We still have to replenish our supplies and return to the Academy."

  The group expressed some concerns about Alexander's condition, but they knew he was right.

  They were still in the middle of an academy event with a set end date.

  With each group member free to buy their supplies as they saw fit, Alexander stuck to his plan and headed straight to the Black Moon branch with Ocean.

  Arriving at the establishment, Alexander asked Ocean to wait for him in the building's shade and went to the reception to ask for Cristina.

  "Madam Cristina isn't present at the moment," replied the receptionist—narrowing her eyes slightly at Alexander—still maintaining her professional smile. "Would you like to leave a message?"

  "A very brief one. Just say Alexander passed by and wanted to see her for some business," replied he. "I'd better go now. I don't want what's happening outside to get out of control."

  "Alright, Mr. Alexander," said the receptionist. "Your message will be delivered when she returns."

  Leaving the Black Moon branch, he called Ocean, who was surrounded by people wanting to see her—a rare 2nd evolution familiar.

  As soon as they took a few steps, the store receptionist called them, quite embarrassed.

  "Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Alexander," said the receptionist. "Madam Cristina just returned and said she can attend to you now."

  "Seems it's my lucky day then," said Alexander while following the receptionist without showing any negative emotion—even knowing Cristina was probably always at the establishment.

  When Alexander returned to the Black Moon branch, Cristina was already at the reception to receive him.

  Seeing his "commotion," she explained: "Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against your familiar. Yet having her crowd people at the door or walking inside the store would be somewhat inconvenient…"

  "One of the Adventurers Guild's business rooms would be a more suitable place for us to talk," Cristina finished.

  Since Alexander saw no problem, they went to the Guild and rented a private room to discuss the transaction he wanted.

  Entering the room with her bodyguard and sitting on one of the sofas, Cristina's face became completely expressionless. She went straight to the point: "So, what would be the subject of this meeting?"

  "The truth is I have an order complicated to get—even in stores located in large cities," confessed Alexander. "Since you have connections with the Black Moon Company—which spans various places—it would be easier to get my request."

  "What would that request be?" asked Cristina, still not accepting or denying.

  "I need more than 10 cores with the highest energy levels of their respective 3rd evolutions—as if the creatures were just half a step from their 4th evolutions," replied he.

  "This is a very difficult request to fulfill in a single shipment in most stores—even at Black Moon," agreed Cristina. "Yet it's not entirely impossible—especially if you wait and plan a bit."

  "The quantity isn't the problem. The problem is the types in my request," said Alexander. "I want 10 {Water Dragon} cores, 1 {Treasure Silk Moth} core, and 1 {Devourer Slime} core. All at the peak energy of their respective 3rd evolutions."

  "…" Cristina.

  She was so surprised by the request she forgot to hide her reaction for a few moments. "Sorry for my loss of composure. Your request is quite… complicated."

  "It would take considerable time to gather them, the costs wouldn't be low, but it's possible," said Cristina after thinking a bit. "Since they would be extremely difficult to obtain, a dragon core in those conditions would be quite expensive—costing as much, if not more, than a common 4th evolution creature's core…"

  "What do you think of the value of 1 small black diamond coin for each dragon core?" asked Cristina with total naturalness.

  Alexander already knew the price wouldn't be low and thought he was prepared, his stomach almost turned when he learned each dragon core would cost 1 small black diamond coin. Based on the market value he researched, some complete 3rd evolution creatures don't cost the value of a single dragon core.

  "This value is a bit higher than I expected," said Alexander. "It's not completely inconsistent with the information I gathered at the Adventurers Guild… I accept."

  "How much for the {Treasure Silk Moth} core?" asked he.

  "Treasure silk creature cores in general are rare on the market, yet they don't cost as much as dragon cores," pondered Cristina. "3 large platinum coins should suffice."

  "And the {Devourer Slime} core?" asked Alexander.

  "That's a problematic request," said Cristina while frowning slightly. "Finding a {Devourer Slime} by itself is already problematic. Locating one with your specifications even more so."

  "I need them available within a maximum period of 6 months," pointed out Alexander. "Is it possible?"

  "That amount of time seems feasible to me," assured Cristina.

  "Alright then," agreed Alexander.

  "Since we agreed on the deadline, I'll be direct about the cost of the {Devourer Slime} core," said Cristina. "7 large platinum coins."

  Alexander gritted his teeth at Cristina's relentless prices, but in the end he accepted and finalized the delivery arrangements and other details.

  "I just need your help with a few more things," said Alexander upon remembering something. "My situation is as follows…"

  Cristina shot him a strange look and fanned herself slightly to hide her smile. "That won't be a problem. Besides you proving to be a great client, a small service like this won't be a problem…"

  "Our payment methods—which can vary a bit for large orders like yours—require a substantial initial amount for the order to be officially accepted and presented to Black Moon," explained Cristina.

  "Don't worry," said Alexander. "I'll pay for everything now."

  Hearing him, Cristina furrowed her brow again.

  She had presumed he was there just as an intermediary for someone to use their "connection" in that order.

  "I can imagine what you're thinking," said Alexander, awakening Cristina from her thoughts. "You're underestimating how much those academy nobles are willing to spend on their ridiculous bets."

  Cristina did some quick mental calculations with the little information she had and concluded it was indeed possible Alexander had become rich by betting in a place inhabited by many wealthy people. This also made her reevaluate her opinion of him.

  To win people's money in a place like the Twin Combats Academy and still be alive and kicking, one needed to have at least a certain level of skill and power.