The Flying Emporium

This didn’t come as a total surprise to Severin. He still remembered that upon his arrival in this world the System prompted him to choose a first subclass, clearly suggesting that at least a second one should be available to him at some point in time.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t excited.

Right now, no matter what the System said his main class was, and no matter that the sign outside, almost mockingly, called this little hut an ‘Emporium’, he knew he wasn’t anything more than an [Alchemist]; At best.

With an additional subclass or profession, this would most certainly change. Just thinking about the possibilities, he ever so slightly trembled.

Sadly, he wasn’t granted the opportunity to take his time to process the presented information. As if he hadn’t already been busy enough this day, the door opened once again and a few perfunctory glances every now and then were the most he could spare.

For a moment he was tempted to close shop for the day, but given that he had just revealed the existence of several new items, he knew that this course of action would simply be asking for unnecessary trouble and bad blood.

At first, no one thought too much about Andreas’ strange behavior, if they even noticed him leaving in the first place. Everyone was busy in some way or the other. Quite a few of the Eagles were dead set on challenging the seemingly indestructible dummies, feeling taunted by them. Others wanted to spar and get familiar with the newly acquired products that way. The regular customers belonging to the Lion’s Head guild either decided to join the fun, enjoy the spectacle, or try to make some new contacts. Andreas’s absence wasn’t felt in any way.

This was especially true when Markus, Samuel, and Mylana also joined the crowd. The first of these three people, after making sure no one had seen him embarrass himself, directly headed towards one of his group’s trusted healers and asked for a report.

The [Berserker] got his hands on his two mentees and shortly after challenged one of the dummies himself.

Seeing this bigshot display even just a portion of his might further lightened the mood and captivated the audience of ecstatic adventurers. All appearances of their previous discipline had already long disappeared and made way for loud cheers, shouts, and swearing.

The old woman also headed for the training ground but seemed more interested in the barrier that appeared from time to time. She carefully examined the threshold between the grass and pavement, the spot where the barrier had sprung into life, and then disappeared again.

Not being able to find any hints of it, however, she soon became frustrated again. Just like Timothy before her, when he had witnessed its bigger counterpart deal with Simon, she tried to make it appear again by swinging her cane; To no avail. In the end, she could only call for Samuel to stop holding back so much and to unleash some of his few but powerful area-of-effect skills to force it into existence that way.

That was until, at some indefinite amount of time, the long-expected missing member of the Lion’s Head guild finally made his way back to the top of the floating mountain. Only then, when Harold inquired about his fellow officer’s whereabouts, did some people become curious and start wondering about Andreas's prolonged absence.

As a result, the additions to Severin’s product range didn’t remain secret for much longer.

Chaos ensued. The stress was immense.

On one hand, there was the mental pressure caused by more than fifty people impatiently waiting for their turn to get their hands on the newest wares.

On the other hand, quite a few of those people who finally got their hands on said potions started to complain about the fact they had no more combinator charges left. Especially the potions with a heal over time effect fueled their imaginations.

And then, of course, there was the Purifier. With no further prerequisites to use, besides the golds costs, there was nothing that stopped people from using the machine over and over again, almost resulting in several quarrels even between people belonging to the same guild.

And since Samuel and co. had originally brought a ton of items to experiment using the combinator, until they learned of the stat-elixirs and rethought that approach, there was no lack of items for them to use.

In this situation, not even the impressive amounts of gold he was earning could placate Severin. Only Em trying her hardest to keep her curiosity regarding the choices of subclasses in check and keeping her inquiries to a minimum, somewhat gratified Severin. Otherwise, he might have snapped and simply blacklisted everyone.

Only in the evening did he finally manage to close the shop for the day without receiving too many complaints.

Only then, looking at the backs of the last group of customers finally leaving, did Emily and Severin breathe a sigh of relief. They both grabbed a chair and went outside, but didn’t follow them any further. They stayed directly outside of the store and relaxed for a while, not uttering a single word.

The two observed the group of adventurers. For the most part, the Malcos Eagles stayed behind on the mountaintop and mingled with Andreas’ group, gathered around a large campfire. Some would even spend the night there; The others would sleep aboard the docked flying ship.

“Shall we…?” After regaining some of her energy, Emily finally couldn’t wait any longer.

“Yeah.” Severin was no different and finally summoned the screen showing his available choices of subclasses. A few stood out to him.

[Cook]. This was a class he had originally looked down upon. Now it looked especially tempting to Severin. For several reasons.

First was his planned inn. At this crossroad right now, it would be foolish to simply insist on sticking with that plan and not to reevaluate his options, but being able to cook would most certainly speak in its favor, for obvious reasons.

Second was simply the prospect of once again being able to eat food. Severin might not currently feel any hunger or thirst, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss the taste of good food. Hell, even terrible food would do.

And third, food would allow him to actually leave the mountaintop. At least theoretically. There was still the issue of him being a stranger in this world, in an area overrun by vicious monsters, and no actual means of traveling.

Thinking about the last part, Severin’s eyes focused on another class. [Artificer]. Sadly, the System’s descriptions of the classes were pretty much nonexistent. But in Severin’s mind, if there was actually a class or profession which would allow him to craft flying artifacts, like the one anchored in the distance, then it was surely this one.

Another option was [Blacksmith]. For this one Severin didn’t mind the missing explanation, it was very much self-explanatory.

Even he had to admit that the System never disappointed when it came to the quality of produced items. From that point of view, if Severin chose this to be his second subclass, he didn’t doubt for a moment the impact his forged goods would make. Be it weapons or armor, every single adventurer worth his salt would seek him out.

‘Also. Didn’t that hag suggest that the combinator might work with certain enchanted metals and the like as well? Both [Artificer] and [Blacksmith] should be able to take advantage of that.’ Severin remembered Mylana’s point earlier that day.

Among the other available choices, especially notable ones were [Enchanter] and [Beast Tamer].

The former, simply because of Severin’s gaming background, giving him a rough idea about its usefulness. At the same time, he was aware that even the worst [Enchanters] could demand enormous amounts of gold for their services. After all, wasn’t that the reason Xander had set out a more affordable alternative when he stumbled upon Severin’s little store in the first place? Back then, even the cheapest enchant was quoted at one thousand gold coins per weapon, with no guarantee of them even surviving the procedure.

The latter choice, [Beast Tamer], simply sounded intriguing to him, but this time he had no clue what this class would entail whatsoever. Would those beasts then act as pets? As battle companions? Maybe as mounts? Was there something else entirely to it? And to ‘tame a beast’, wouldn’t he have to leave the mountain and knowingly put himself in danger?

He very much liked the idea of having a loyal animal companion, but the number of unknown variables seemed rather large. Still, Severin didn’t immediately dismiss this option.