Around two years later

Aohan wasn't a particularly patient man.

Some would say that was odd for someone who was so dedicated to the study and practice of alchemy. After all, what was success in alchemy if not a measure of one's patience? It was a slow and deliberate art.

Unlike most other boys his age, he had rejected the idea of adventure, exploration of never before seen places, and heroic combat before it had even come time for his body to Awaken to the cosmic power that eventually took hold of everyone to allow them to develop powers beyond ordinary limits.

Far beyond.

And that was the problem. Aohan didn't like Awakened. Well, that might be a bit of an overstatement actually. Considering the fact that nearly all sentient organisms going through adolescence would experience an Awakening, he could not rightly claim to dislike Awakened as a general rule.

After all, he had a wife, parents, a few friends, and a son and daughter whom would soon be Awakened themselves.

What he could say, however, was that he disliked the way some Awakened flaunted their power once they got a taste of it. Despite the existence of countless individuals across the cosmos who possessed unimaginable might, so many whelps felt like they owned half the world just because they were the strongest in whatever backwater family they had come from.

Whether the man he was supposed to have a meeting with today was one such person he had no idea, but he already disliked him nonetheless.

Because besides his distaste for power harassment, Aohan was, first and foremost, not a particularly patient man.

And Eik Magnasen was late.

***

"… —k. Eik. Eik, hey! Wake up, Eik!"

Eik groaned sleepily and rolled over to bury his face in the pillow, but slender hands pulled him back over.

Fine. If it was going to be like that… With a movement the speed of which she had no chance of defending against, he pulled Ihasu into an embrace. Giggling uncontrollably, she struggled to free herself but it was a futile endeavor. His embrace was like that of two lengths of reinforced steel as thick as the trunk of a redwood.

"Eik, I'm serious!" she said, voice muffled against the skin of his shoulder. "Don't you have that meeting today? What time did you say it was?"

With a gasp, he shot up, eyes wide open. "Shit! What time is it now?" he asked her frantically as he pulled on his pants.

"Thirteen minutes past nine. What time was i—"

"Nine. Fuck! Why the hell didn't the alarm clock wake me up?"

"Well, it did try to," she noted, gesturing to the nightstand with an arched brow. On it was a lamp, a book, a glass of water, and a device that looked like it had imploded after being exposed to the immense pressure of the deepest parts of the ocean. "Is that my alarm clock?" he asked her.

"I believe so."

He sent her a sheepish glance. "… And did I—"

"Squeeze it into scrap metal again? Yes, I believe that it also the case."

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry about that and hurry up and get to your meeting. Robert is probably going to scold you again."

"Crap, you're right. Does he have to always be such a hard ass? I mean, loosen up once in a while, you know?"

"Uh huh," she drawled, shooting him a skeptical eye. "Or maybe he feels like he has to be like that because you do stuff like be late to a meeting with the representative of the Alchemist Guild of Gimleh, Eik? In the two years since you returned from your imprisonment at Moon Shall Swallow, you've made a name for yourself and a huge difference for the people, and I'm so proud of you, but you have to be careful."

He shrunk a little at that. "You think?"

"I know you're one of those 'chaotic' geniuses, or whatever," she said, doing the air quotes that she had recently taken to. "but if Robert leaves one day, you're in real trouble, buddy. You know he's good enough to go anywhere he damn well pleases too, and they would welcome him with open arms."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Eik swallowed hard at the thought of having to run Eik's Excellent Elixir Emporium without the managerial machine named Robert Barnes. "Actually, on second thought, forget running there. Would you be so sweet and open a fracture to my office? As quickly as possible, please."

***

Aohan tapped his fingers on the thick walnut desk. It was more than ten minutes past the appointed meeting time and yet the only person who had bothered to show up besides himself was Eik Magnasen's nervous assistant. He had introduced himself as Robert Barnes and then proceeded to apologize profusely for his boss' tardiness.

Now he stood silently next to the heavy office desk, clutching a bunch of documents as they waited. It was a nice office to be sure. Various plants lined large, clear windows with a view of a luscious herb garden. They gave the room a pleasant scent.

Unlike most other offices Aohan had visited in his capacity as public representative of the Alchemist Guild of Gimleh, Eik Magnasen seemed to have enough sense to keep his office space reasonably sized. It was place for work, after all, not to throw late-night parties willy nilly.

His opinion of the man improved. Slightly.

As he had been guided to the Eik Magnasen's office, Aohan had also witnessed a healthy office environment with smiles, laughter, and creative and professional freedom. Despite how many times he had heard the word 'uptight' used to describe his personality, Aohan was a firm believer in comfort and enjoyment as one of the core tenets of healthy business practice.

Any employer who didn't even know how to treat their workers well didn't deserve whatever position they reached, and were stabbing themselves in the feet every day they didn't remedy it.

Now, as he had walked through, the fact that he had only caught a brief glimpse of the inner workings of Eik's Excellent Elixir Emporium, as it was called for some reason, obviously meant that his conclusion were not set in stone. But he had visited enough companies to instantly spot a facade put on to impress him.

Most of the people here didn't even seem to know who he was. A little too lax, perhaps?

Robert saw the impatient finger tapping and fidgeted anxiously, his palms growing even sweatier than they had already been. Where the hell was Eik? This meeting was too important to miss, and he couldn't exactly run out of there to get a hold of the guy, could he?

And he had even told him to be on time! He had really made sure to tell him properly this time! Ah, shit! If only the representative of the Alchemist Guild hadn't been here, he would have been free to throw his documents into the air in frustration.

'Go to bed on time,' he had pleaded. 'Yes, alchemy is fun and you're very good at it, and yes, practicing and experimenting with your abilities is also so fun, but please, for the love of god, go to bed on time this time' he had pleaded.

And what had such sincere begging amounted to?

Nothing. Robert wanted to cry. If Eik hadn't possessed such an inexplicable ability to make more money than he knew what to do with, Eik's Excellent Elixir Emporium would have been nothing but a footnote already.

Eik didn't even know how much money he had at this point. So long as a majority of it was invested into Earth as well as various charitable causes, he was happy. And since Robert was in charge of the books, he would make sure that another charitable cause was added to that this month.

A fat bonus straight into his own pocket.

His body tensed when he noticed that Aohan was staring at him, shifting impatiently in his chair. "Can I expect your employer to show up today, or should we perhaps reschedule? I have other matters to attend to, to be clear," he said with a click of his tongue.

"No, no, there's no need to go that far!" Robert tried to assure him, raising his hands placatingly. "I'm sure he's just around the cor—"

A jolt went through his body as a fracture rippled into existence right next to him. The sigh of relief that escaped him quickly shifted into a groan as Eik stepped through the fracture, still trying to pull his shirt over his head.

With a bright smile, he marched over to a befuddled Aohan, who was still seated, and grabbed his hand to shake before he could even get up. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, Mr. Aohan. My name is Eik Magnasen and I simply cannot tell you how lovely it is that you agreed to come here to meet with me today! Please, have a seat."

"I am sitting."

"How about some hot chocolate? I never skimp on quality in anything I do, you know," he said with a wink.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Aohan said with a tired sigh. He was already exhausted and he had only been in the same room as the man for a little over fifteen seconds. Was this guy really supposed to be one of the most prominent rising stars in the business world right now? He appeared to be no more than a tardy, bumbling fool to Aohan's eyes.

"Bobby, could you ask Nancy to heat up some milk real quick? She finally learned that fire skill she's been hoping for recently, didn't she?" Eik asked, Robert more than happy to have an excuse to get out of that pressured room. "Oh, and make sure to find something nice for her as a celebratory gift. She's always working so hard," Eik called after him.

"I must say, I do not appreciate having my time wasted like this, Mr. Magnasen," Aohan snapped. "I do hope you will refrain from such tardiness should we ever meet again."

Eik smile faltered and he offered a bow. "I apologize, Mr. Aohan. I had some… technical issues. I assure you it won't happen again."

"Good. Thank you," Aohan said with a nod.

"So," Eik said, slinging himself into his comfortable chair and folding his hands on the walnut desk—the spiritual descendant of his beloved walnut countertop that Rock Fist Bart smashed on the day they first met. "as you know, I would like a venue at the Alchemist Guild of Gimleh to make a special announcement and have asked for you to meet me here to speak my case."

"I am aware, yes. What type of announcement are we talking about here?"

Eik sat back and gave it some thought. "I suppose it's to claim ownership of a certain invention—a revelation of identity, if you will."

"Oh?"

"I am well aware that this particular item is still a topic of eager speculation even now, more than two years after I initially brought it to market. I think it's time to put those speculations to rest."

Interest now ignited in earnest, Aohan leaned forward. "What? What is the creation?" Before being a businessman, Aohan was a proud alchemist, and he could discuss theories and ideas of alchemy for hours on end.

"This," Eik said nonchalantly and produced a small, chromatic pill from a belt pouch of holding. Vivid colors swirled beneath the surface. The Legendary Mystery Medicine.

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