The Herb King

After getting the ownership of the Golden Lake Manor, Aethelwolf familiarized himself with their new home and the nearby market. Because he was new to the place, he asked one of the manor's servants, a middle-aged man named William Paul who worked as a coachman and bodyguard to give him a tour around the district. William was a Perfect Stage Foundation Establishment Esper. He was already close to being promoted to Core Formation. Among the servants of the manor, he also possessed the strongest power. He said that the Golden Lake Manor had powerful servants before, but they perished along with the former owner. The mayor being a long-time buddy of the former owner took care of the manor in remembrance of his friend.

At this moment, Aethelwolf was riding a carriage that was pulled by an Earth Dragon Horse, a magical beast with a dragon bloodline. The appearance of this carriage didn't attract too much attention. It was quite common in the market which surprised Aethelwolf.

"Lord Aethelwolf, which place would you like to go first?" William asked while keeping his eyes on the paved road. He had to be careful since there were a lot of people on the street.

"I'd like to take a look at the biggest pill shop in the market. Can you take me there?" Aethelwolf didn't want to give up on making his pill shop. He wanted to see if there was room for him in this business.

"The biggest pill shop in the market is owned by Lord Nolan of House Ballard. He is the heir of the Ballard Family." William said.

"Ballard Family? How are they compared to the Suliman Family?" Aethelwolf asked. From William's tone, he guessed that the Ballard Family was quite powerful in Northern Trance.

William's voice suddenly turned serious as he spoke. "In Northern Trance, there are five noble families, the Suliman Family, Ballard Family, Bridgeman Family, Cromwell Family, and the Worthy Family. Each family has their territory, but the largest one is occupied by the Suliman Family. This is closely followed by the Cromwell Family, then the Ballard Family, and Bridgeman Family. The smallest territory is owned by the Worthy Family. My Lord, you have to be careful when dealing with anyone from these five noble families." 𝚋ｅ𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖｅ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

Aethelwolf nodded his head in understanding. "Thanks for your reminder."

Aethelwolf didn't ask anything after that. He just curiously observed the market.

Soon, they arrived in front of a three-story building named Ballard Pill Shop. The building has a classical design with high ceilings and double-height windows.

Aethelwolf saw many customers lining up to enter the pill shop. From this, he could already tell that business was good.

Aethelwolf alighted the carriage. He put on a hat and walked towards the shop. William asked someone to take care of the carriage before he jogged towards Aethelwolf.

The entrance of the shop was closely guarded by two intimidating warriors. From their aura, Aethelwolf sensed that they were Core Formation Espers with Hollow Cores. No one dared to cut in line under their strict supervision.

When it was their turn, the two warriors took a fleeting glance at them before letting them in.

"Greetings, guests! I'm here to assist you." A beautiful girl in sexy attire bowed to them. Her bountiful cleavage was fully exposed, but Aethelwolf's eyes were focused on the items of the shop.

There was a gleam in the girl's eyes when she noticed Aethelwolf's indifference, but she quickly put on a professional smile.

Aethelwolf turned his gaze at the girl and said. "It's my first time in your shop, can you tell me what kind of pills you sell here?"

"Yes, dear guest. First, let me introduce myself…" The beautiful girl smiled as she started her sales pitch.

There were three kinds of pills available in the shop, Foundation-Grade Pills, Core-Grade Pills, and Nascent-Grade Pills. They also sell herbal medicines and rare magical fruits.

Aethelwolf attentively listened as the beautiful girl brought him to the third floor where all the Nascent-Grade Pills were displayed.

Everything was very expensive and the cheapest was a pill called Pronil. It can increase the absorption rate of Nascent Soul Espers, making them cultivate faster. This pill was priced at 1,200,000 Orbes which was more than a tenth of his overall wealth. The young lord and young miss of the Suliman Family gave him 10 million Orbes for saving their lives. This was already a huge sum. The prices of pills were just too expensive.

While looking around the third floor, Aethelwolf saw a pill called Agalsistar. It can increase the chances of breaking through the Nascent Soul to about twenty percent.

Aethelwolf was already a Golden Core Formation Esper and he only needed a slight push to reach the next realm. If he had the Agalsistar, perhaps he would be promoted to the next level. The only issue was the price of the pill. It cost 4 million Orbes, an amount that was almost half his entire wealth.

Aethelwolf was in a dilemma. He wanted to buy the pill, but he was hesitant because he needed the money to make his shop.

The beautiful girl noticed his expression and a crafty smile appeared on her face. "Dear guest, this Agalsistar was made by the best Alchemist of the Ballard Family and I can guarantee its quality. Other pills can only increase the chances of a breakthrough by about 20%, but this pill can increase the chances to up to 25%!"

Aethelwolf didn't know if she was speaking the truth and he wasn't foolish enough to believe her words.

After some hesitation, Aethelwolf gritted his teeth and bought the pill.

"Thank you so much for your support support! Please come again soon!" The voice of the beautiful girl drifted into Aethelwolf's ears as they went out of the shop.

Aethelwolf had a gloomy look. He came to the shop to observe the business, but he ended up buying one of their products.

"My Lord, where's our next destination?" William carefully asked.

Aethelwolf sighed as he kept the pill he just bought. He then replied to William. "Let's go back to the manor first."