Second Life: Welcome to Gaia

Chapter 37: Partnership?

The library isn't far from the Alchemists' Guild, so Ye Yan resolved to go there and look at the prices. He is a little afraid the items would be too expensive for him now, mainly the Rejuvenation Potion, that he never saw in the potion shops before.

After becoming a fighter, the guards of the Alchemists' Guild don't look down on him as much as before, but he still could see the disdain in their faces, because, for them, he isn't up to standard yet. He entered the guild and went to speak with one of the attendants from a balcony further inside, that is responsible for selling the items created and produced by the guild.

"Hello. I would like to know the prices of the alcohol, vinegar, and Rejuvenation Potion." Ye Yan said politely.

The attendant looked at him with so much disdain that he thought the attendant wouldn't answer.

"If you are poor, you shouldn't be here. We are here to sell things to serious customers that have the intention of buying our items and not to waste time on some nobody that come here only to look around and don't have money to purchase anything." The attendant said arrogantly.

Ye Yan cursed the NPC a thousand times in his mind but instead of giving voice to his thoughts, he took a deep breath to calm down and spoke seriously.

"If I want to know the price, it means that I have the intention of buying it but even if it wasn't the case, you still are an employer of the guild and should serve its customers, all of them. Being snobbish isn't good for business. Please tell me the information I want to know or I will have to speak with Zhong Mingyu about the lack of manners of the guild's employers. Humpf." Ye Yan used the manager's name to put some pressure on the NPC.

When the attendant heard Ye Yan say the manager's name as if he is close to him, the guild's employer knew he is in trouble, then, his attitude changed completely, turning from disdain to a flattering expression.

"I'm sorry, sir. I have eyes but fail to recognize Taishan[1]." He said while bowing and rubbing his hands. "The vinegar cost only 20 coopers for a bottle. The alcohol normally can't be sold to non-affiliated alchemists because there are so many cases of illegal production of alcoholic concoctions by ordinary people that caused intoxication on the population, even some deaths were registered. Because of this, the Emperor decreed that selling it to common people is to be considered a crime deserving of getting hanged, then we can't sell it but if you speak with the manager maybe he can help you." He said with a sorry face. "And the Potion of Rejuvenation can only be made by grandmaster alchemists and they only sell it to people with high status but maybe, the manager can help you with this too."

In other words, he should speak with the gnome manager. That guy will try to take even his underwear for this help and Ye Yan still would be owing him a favor. Ye Yan sighed.

"Could you tell Zhong Mingyu that Jun Xie wants to speak with him?" Ye Yan asked. He is in the Alchemists' Guild already, he can, at least, know how much blood these favors will cost him.

"Wait a moment, sir." The attendant said and went to speak with the manager.

Five minutes later, the attendant came back and asked Ye Yan to follow him to the manager's room. He entered and closed the door.

"Did you find another good item?" The gnome asked with a face written rogue all over it.

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"Not this time. I came here because I need two items to prepare a potion from a recipe in my possession. The attendant before said that maybe you can help me. I need alcohol and Potion of Rejuvenation." Ye Yan told the gnome the objective of his visit.

"Hum. And what potion is it?" The gnome asked him before answering his question.

"Wonder potion." Ye Yan didn't think there is a problem in saying it, so he answered honestly.

"Did you said Wonder Potion?" The gnome asked with his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Yes." Ye Yan said, nodding his head.

"Hahahahaha! This recipe had been lost a long time ago and the only information I have about it is that someone in the palace knows its whereabouts. I would never expect to finally find it. Hahaha!" The gnome looked to have become crazy. he started to laugh and speak as if the recipe already belong to him.

"Let me see! Let me see!" The gnome said, stretching his right hand for Ye Yan to deposit it there.

[Swindler! He is a fucking swindler!] Ye Yan couldn't stop thinking that this gnome is a big cheater. If he let him see the recipe, he will learn it and Ye Yan himself would get nothing. He probably only let the information about the rarity of this recipe slip because of his overexcitement.

"Sorry, but I can't show it to you. This recipe is very precious as you know." Ye Yan said as a way of increasing the price of the recipe. And he needs to complete the quest yet too, so he will only negotiate a copy of the recipe, not the original. In the game, the alchemists, cooks, blacksmiths, and other professionals just need to know the content of the recipes, so he can make any amount of copies of the recipe as he wants as it would make no difference in the creating process.

"It is indeed precious but the items you want are not simple to get either. And if you are interested in making this potion, you should know that it requires a master alchemist at the very minimum. But don't worry, in front of you are a master alchemist that is willing to help you." The gnome said to him smiling but Ye Yan could see the glee and greedy behind that smile.

"So, what is your offer?" Ye Yan resolved to not beat around the bush anymore and asked.

"I thought of a way that will help both of us. What do you think about a partnership?" The gnome said, smiling very sweetly and blinking his eyes faster.

When Ye Yan saw the gnome's expression, he felt goosebumps all over his body. He is really afraid about what he will say after trying to throw his gnome's charm at him. He shuddered just thinking about his expression.

"What kind of partnership?" He asked.

"You will give me the recipe and sign a contract stipulating that you will never pass this recipe to anyone else. In return, I will concoct the potion for you as much as you want, providing that you bring the ingredients required to me. What do you say? A good deal, right?" The gnome said smiling.

[The Hell it's a good deal! Swindle! Cheater!] Ye Yan cursed the gnome's nine generations in this mind. The gnome gets the exclusivity to use the recipe and he not only just get the potion, but he has to bring the ingredients for him to make it as well.

"It's not acceptable. I am the leader of a guild and my guild members should need it in the future. There is the person that told me about this recipe too. He probably just wants the potion but I need to make sure first." He resolved not to say that this contact is from the palace or the gnome could say that he only entered the palace because of him and try to take advantage of it.

"Humm. You go speak with this person and if he only wants the potion, you can sign a contract with me for the rights of this potion with a clause about the use by your guild only. But if the contents of the recipe are leaked by your guild, you will have to compensate me." The gnome proposed.

"This is still not fair. The exclusive rights value is higher than what you are offering me." Ye Yan knew he has to bargain or he would get almost nothing. He truly pities those people that don't know about the need to bargain with the NPCs yet. The new players will enter the game with the notion that NPCs should always be honest and without hidden meanings to their actions. Only those with game experience know a little about how high the NPCs A.I. can be.

"1 gold and that is my last offer!" The gnome said after thinking a little.

"Three gold, minimum." Ye Yan made his counteroffer.

"Hum. I accept your offer. Now go speak with this contact of yours and come back soon." The gnome said opening the doors gesturing for him to get out. The gnome practically shooed him away from his room.

Looking at the gnome expression, he is sure that he got swindled once again. Ye Yan sighed and left the Alchemists' Guild.

On his way to the palace, he stopped by the Auction House to see if any of the ingredients could be found there, but with not much hope.

As he predicted, not even the deer's antlers were put for auction. He browsed for a while to see if he has luck in finding something good but with no success. The only thing he got from going to the Auction House was the money, totaling 18 copper coins, from the Phlegm Helmet that he put for auction some days ago. He became really surprised to find someone interested in such an item. He had asked for 20 coppers as starting price and it looks that someone bought it with no competition. It was sold for 20 copper coins, deducting the Auction House tax, he got 18 coppers.

After leaving the Auction house, he went to the Purple Palace, the home of the Yan Empire's Emperor. The place looks a little more lively than last time, with many officials going in and out of it.

One hour after he asked to speak with the eunuch Hao Haoxue, he appeared and led him inside the palace. Ye Yan told him that he got the recipe and about a part of his deal with a master alchemist.

"I only need the potion. I was worried before and thought about asking you to contact an alchemist for me, now I'm relieved. When you get the potion, bring it to me immediately and I will reward you handsomely." The eunuch said, putting his right hand on his own chest.

"Good." Ye Yan spoke a little more with the eunuch while he took him to the palace Gate again. They passed by some official on the way out and Ye Yan recognized some of them that didn't change appearance. He had seen them on tv before. The most important person among them is the governor of the province he resides in real life.

Ye Yan had heard before that many officials passed to do their reunions in the game but he didn't know if it were true until now. He never thought he would be in close proximity to the governor someday. Life in the game is something else, even influential people like them are not out of their reach.

He left the palace and went back to the Alchemists' Guild while hoping the gnome wouldn't try anything funny about the contract.

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[1] This expression means he failed to recognize a great person. Taishan is a prince from a Chinese story or History(I'm not sure) that was mistaken for a common people. Because Shan means mountain, sometimes it is translated as Mt. Tai.