Chapter 103: Accidental Master

Chapter 103: Accidental Master In the southern district of Rock Sand City stood a small alchemical shop: Pergina’s Alchemical Treasures. The shop had only a few small display stands, with a woman energetically selling products to her only customer. "Ma’am, this alchemical mask has really powerful concealment effects and can easily change your voice. Absolutely worth every penny!" The customer looked at the rather steep price and shook her head. "The price is a bit high. The shop two streets over is one-fifth cheaper than yours." "Ma’am, it is a bit pricey, but this mask I crafted is absolutely top-notch in all of Rock Sand City. Look at this material, this craftsmanship, this design... which other shop can compare? And look at this technique..." The woman held the alchemical mask in her hands, showing it from every angle. At the same time, she spoke non-stop, explaining what hidden alchemical methods she had used, how many failures she had endured, before finally creating this excellent mask. Under the woman’s sales pitch, the customer felt a bit dizzy and couldn’t help but nod. "It does seem pretty good." Hearing this, the woman’s mouth curved up. Feeling this sale was in the bag, she decided to strike while the iron was hot and close the deal completely. "Please try it on—I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!" As she spoke, she was about to put the alchemical mask on the customer... Just then, with a snap, the door was suddenly pushed open. "Teacher! I’m back!" The voice was loud and excited. The shop sign above the door fell in response, crashing to the ground and breaking into several pieces. The sign’s quality was pretty lousy. Inside the shop, the woman was startled by this sudden commotion. Her hand slipped, and the alchemical mask fell. "Crack!" This ’high-quality alchemical mask’ shattered into a pile of fragments when it hit the ground. The woman and customer both looked down at the scattered mask pieces on the floor. The scene went dead quiet... "This is what you call ’worth every penny’!?" Anger flashed across the customer’s face—she had almost been taken for a ride. "Ah... this... please let me explain... this one is a sample, the real one..." The woman looked embarrassed, struggling to get her words together, trying to smooth over this sudden disaster. But the customer, feeling conned, no longer wanted to hear her explanations and said angrily: "Pergina, do you think I’m a fool!" She turned around furiously and headed for the door. When passing the shattered sign, she ’accidentally’ kicked a piece away, then quickly disappeared... Pergina hurried to the doorway, shouting loudly: "Hey! Don’t leave! I can give you a discount! Ten percent off? Fifty percent? One percent off—how about that?" At the doorway, Demi, who had just barged in, saw her teacher putting on the performance of a third-rate alchemist struggling to make ends meet so convincingly. She couldn’t help but feel moved: "Teacher is such a great actress! If I hadn’t learned about Teacher’s superior work quality from that lord this time, I would probably still think, like before, that Teacher is just a third-rate alchemist." ... The retention attempt failed. Pergina cursed under her breath: "Damn it, I hope you get ripped off blind somewhere else!" After cursing, she kicked the ’culprit’ who was grinning like an idiot. "You really are my prize student! Just coming back and you’ve blown a big sale for me!" "Teacher, this isn’t my fault. Who told you to make that mask with such crappy quality..." Pointing at the fragments on the ground, Demi defended herself. "Crappy quality?" Pergina’s face looked ugly. This mask was something she had painstakingly crafted with blood, sweat, and tears. She hadn’t expected her prize student to call it crappy quality upon returning. Did she think her wings had grown strong enough to fly solo? Watching her teacher’s ’performance,’ Demi had an expression of someone who had seen through everything: "Teacher, you did it on purpose, didn’t you? Deliberately using poor-quality alchemical items to hide your true skill level." "???" Pergina looked completely lost. What did this mean? She couldn’t quite understand. Hide? What did she have to hide? Seeing her teacher still putting on an act, Demi suddenly stepped forward. Her gaze was unprecedentedly sharp, like a sage, with the corners of her mouth turning up. "Teacher, stop hiding it from me! Now I know everything. Especially just how high your alchemical skill level really is!" "???" Pergina was completely baffled. Had she hidden anything in the past? Her skill level was high? How come she didn’t know? After going out once, why couldn’t she understand what this kid was saying? Pergina fell silent. Demi mistook this for her teacher being shocked that she had discovered her true skill level, and couldn’t help feeling secretly proud. "Teacher, don’t worry! From now on, I’ll definitely study hard and absolutely won’t let down your reputation!" To cement her position as the sole student, she made her vow with determination. At the same time, she stared at her teacher Pergina with boundless admiration. "..." Pergina instinctively reached out and felt her student’s forehead, murmuring: "Not hot. Could her soul have been damaged?" "Oh my! Teacher, you don’t need to put on an act in front of me anymore!" Being patted on the head like a child by her teacher, Demi felt somewhat awkward. After all, she was an adult now. She shrank her head, dodging her teacher’s hand. Pergina thought subconsciously: "Although I don’t know why, this is a golden opportunity to build up my perfect image!" So she withdrew her hand, sighed lightly, her voice carrying a hint of melancholy: "Sigh, I didn’t expect you to figure it out after all." Demi raised her chin slightly and straightened her back. Her teacher really couldn’t keep up the charade anymore! She perked up her ears, listening carefully to Pergina’s words. "Back in the day, I was honored as a guest by the leadership of numerous human city-states... Countless powerful Psionics desired the alchemical items I casually whipped up..." Recalling past ’glorious years,’ Pergina sighed repeatedly. In her narration, her eyes occasionally glanced at her student Demi. Discovering that Demi’s eyes were already sparkling with admiration, and her expression was excited, as if she had lost herself in those ’glorious’ years, Pergina spoke with even more enthusiasm. "...Even now, numerous city-states are still desperately hunting for my works..." "Teacher, you’re incredible!" Even knowing her teacher’s alchemical skills would be really powerful, Demi hadn’t expected her teacher to have such a glorious past. This... this was too amazing! As her teacher’s sole student... hehe... Demi gradually fell into a daydream... "Ah, those are just past matters not worth bringing up." Pergina waved her hand, seemingly dismissive of her former ’glory.’ "Teacher!" At this moment, in Demi’s heart, her teacher Pergina’s image was unprecedentedly tall and mysterious, far surpassing other objects of admiration. Follow current novels on freewe(b)novel.c(o)m