Black String of Fate

In the ever-bustling adventurer's guild, there was a new entertainment that the free adventurers had cooked up.

"Oi Longnose, what was your bet?"

"3 days. It's a "D-" Ranked quest this time. Surely he can't do it sooner."

"Hey hey, you're thinking with common sense. Looks like you did not learn from last time, that shit does not work on him! In the first place, he's not even supposed to be able to attempt these quests.

I say that he'll be back any moment now. I can just smell it."

As soon as he said that, a black-clothed boy with a velvet cloak walked in carrying a sack. On his side, a well-made sword hung, its blade weathered with the signs of use.

Just as he walked in, a loud cheer rose up in the whole adventurer's hall. There were both cheers of joy and shouts of curses, some aimed at the boy, and some aimed at their party members.

"Longnose! I fucking told you! Now pay up that damn 50!"

"Damn it! I'll get you next time…"

'These jobless fuckers have made a game out of me.'

Xavier sighed and ignored them all, heading straight for the reception. He put the sack on the reception counter, announcing his return.

"D- Ranked quest, extermination of the Magera Boars, complete."

Once again, a cheer resounded across the hall, and this time, Xavier turned around with an irritated face. Of course, that did nothing to stop it.

"Tsk. How annoying."

"They are just cheering you on, let them be."

A receptionist walked in and started handling the sack while talking to Xavier. She started sorting out the contents inside with efficiency and familiarity, showing that this was not the first time she had done this. Since she was already acquainted with Xavier, she started handling most of his quest management.

"You won't understand, Susan. It gets repetitive after a point."

"Haha, it's your fault for being so incredible."

"What then? Should I start wearing a mask?"

"You'll still be recognized. In fact, it might even add to your popularity, you should try it sometime."

"Ugh."

Xavier stopped talking and gazed at the boar tusks that Susan, the receptionist, was counting.

"The cuts are not smooth and many tusks are chipped. This might lower your reward."

"It's fine. Fighting them was a worthwhile experience, these tusks are just a bonus. Moreover, it's too much to expect clean kills on Elite Monsters from an Uninitiated…"

"I'm not condemning you. The fact that you come back alive from D-ranked missions at all is something that astonishes me."

Susan finished counting and took out a sack filled with coins.

"2,570 Roubles. That's all I can give you."

"Hm? More than I expected. I'll take it." Xavier grabbed the pouch and was about to leave, but then, suddenly, Susan called out from behind.

"Oh, a parcel addressed to your name came today. It's from the-"

"The Mage's Association? Finally, it came! I've been waiting for so long…"

Xavier cut off Susan mid-sentence, showing an excitement she had never seen on his face. She smiled and brought out a small black box.

"It's locked, even I can't open it. It's meant to be opened only by you."

Xavier grabbed that box, and when he tried to pull apart the lid, the box opened easily. Inside, there was a small vial with a clear liquid inside, along with a small, folded-up note.

Xavier took the box and sat down at a relatively quiet corner of the guild. He opened the note and started reading it.

'To the one who brought me the recipe.

Greetings, I'm bad with names, so at the time of writing, I have forgotten yours. I'll check the records and find out soon. I wanted to thank you for the recipe, it has given me the opportunity to grow as an alchemist. Making a potion that had long been considered impossible by the whole alchemist community is a matter of pride and honor that I'll never forget.

I wanted to say, your intuition of using the mutated Azalea Magica was impressive. I tried brewing the potions with normal Azalea Magica, but although it still worked in making an exceptional magical foundation, it was of subpar quality. It could not deliver the promised results of forming a perfect magical foundation. Only with the mutated strain of this herb was the perfect potion made.

Since there aren't many strands of the mutated herb present, I've just crafted one potion and planted the rest in a top-quality herb garden. You will be the first person in this era to have a perfect magical foundation, so the whole mage's association will keep up with your news and whereabouts. It's not a bad thing, think of it as being popular.

Anyway, I wanted to give my thanks. If you ever feel the need to have a special potion made, contact me through the Alchemist's Association.

-Hamza Rufus'

"...I'm forming unexpected connections everywhere. Well, it's not a bad thing. More importantly…"

Xavier held the potion vial and looked at it from high above. It was reflecting the lights of the chandelier that the guild hall had, making it look like a liquid crystal.

'It's finally here, the potion of the perfect magical foundation. I could've started my journey quite some time ago with a normal foundation, but no, I persevered with my patience. All this wait better be worth it…'

He left the guild hall and went to the inn he was staying at these days. After getting into his room, he opened the bottle, took a deep breath, and gulped the whole thing down. Despite the normal feeling temperature of the vial, the potion was ice cold.

He waited for a few moments for something to happen, bracing himself for pain, but he felt nothing.

'Hm? Was it supposed to be like this? Was Salazar skilled enough to even make the process completely painless? I must say, I'm once again impressed-'

*THUMP*

Xavier felt a sharp pain in his heart. He clutched his chest with his hands tightly, his fingernails dripping with blood.

*THUMP* *THUMP*

The sharp pain became more frequent, and eventually, he couldn't hold it together. The pain was so intense that he could neither breathe nor scream. Eventually, he fell unconscious, his mind unable to bear the pain.