Rebirth : The Alchemist's Path

"Feel free."

Sylvus said indifferently.

The pills were on the shelves, and he didn't mind if others wanted to take a look. Besides, the system had its own protective mechanism—no one, except the shop members, could take the pills.

"We want to take a look too."

Corvin's eyes lit up. Despite being in the shop for so long, he had never seriously looked around.

Seeing this, Kennan didn't leave after buying his pills. He was also curious about the miraculous pills in the shop.

"Nine-tier Longevity Pill? Increases lifespan by fifty years after consumption. Is this for real? But the price is steep—one pill costs 100 million magic crystals."

"A Nine-tier Resurrection Pill that can bring the dead back to life? One pill costs 1 billion magic crystals."

"And over here, the Nine-Turn Golden Pill..."

As the three of them looked at the effects of the pills in the shop, they couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

Although there were other potions that could achieve similar effects, none were as direct as these pills.

The best part was that there were no side effects at all!

Sylvus smiled slightly from the side. They were just pills, yet these kids were so shocked.

"Hmm?"

As Sylvus was thinking this, his gaze suddenly shifted towards the alley.

He noticed three men wearing straw hats walking toward the shop. There was a faint killing intent around them.

"Boss, there's something off about those three."

Meylan quickly whispered into Sylvus' ear.

"Interesting."

Sylvus murmured to himself, remaining reclined in his chair, pretending to nap.

Seeing that Sylvus wasn't concerned, Meylan acted as if he hadn't noticed either.

The three men soon arrived at the shop's entrance. After a brief pause, they stepped inside.

Neither Sylvus nor Meylan stopped them. They wanted to see what these three were up to.

The arrival of the three men caught Leo, Corvin, and Kennan's attention.

However, they assumed these were just regular customers and didn't pay much mind, continuing to browse the pills.

*Swish...*

As time passed and Leo took a few steps to the side, the sound of blades cutting through the air suddenly echoed.

The three men's long knives flashed coldly, and their killing intent surged as they attacked Leo.

"Watch out, Third Prince!"

The sudden change caused both Corvin and Kennan's faces to pale as they cried out in alarm.

Leo, however, stood frozen in place, seemingly paralyzed with fear.

"Hmph, I didn't think this kid would be so dumb, frozen in fear. Once we kill him, we'll get a reward of a million magic crystals."

Seeing that Leo hadn't moved, the three men's eyes filled with excitement.

Just one more second, and they'd complete their mission.

*Boom...*

But just then, a terrifying aura exploded, sweeping through the entire shop.

The three men's bodies stiffened in place, their excitement frozen on their faces.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be a spatial mage."

Sylvus glanced at Meylan in surprise.

Even though Meylan had been with him for days, Sylvus hadn't seen him take action before.

So, he didn't know much about Meylan's abilities and had never bothered to ask.

Spatial mages were extremely rare.

Let alone a Nine-Star Saint ArchMage who specialized in spatial magic.

With Meylan's power, even most Mage Emperors wouldn't stand a chance against him.

At this moment, the entire shop was frozen in space under Meylan's magic. Only Sylvus and Meylan could move freely.

"Boss, how should we deal with these three?"

Meylan asked as he approached Sylvus.

Sylvus glanced deeply at Leo in the distance before speaking calmly.

"Investigate their background, then wipe out their entire organization."

These three were at the level of Silver Knights, just one major level higher than Leo.

If Leo had been alone, he would have surely died facing these three.

If Sylvus' guess was correct, Leo had probably noticed them long ago.

Leo had deliberately led them into Sylvus' shop, hoping Sylvus would deal with them for him.

After all, his shop was located in such a secluded alley, the perfect place for a murder.

Although Sylvus realized he was being used, the fact that these men had dared to make a move in his shop meant he had to step in.

After all, Leo was a paying customer—Sylvus' "Ruler."

Moreover, Leo was the Third Prince. Anyone daring to assassinate a prince must have powerful backing.

And powerful backing often meant one thing: wealth!

Right now, Sylvus was in desperate need of money.

As long as they could track down the mastermind, they could ransack their entire estate.

Who knows, maybe he'd end up with enough money to buy everything in the system store.

Meylan nodded and, with a thought, the spatial imprisonment in the shop disappeared.

However, the three men remained bound by an invisible force.

"Boss, I apologize. I led them here without your permission. Please punish me."

At that moment, Leo finally snapped back to reality. He quickly bowed before Sylvus, asking for forgiveness.

Sylvus glanced at him indifferently.

"It's fine. If they had tried to kill you elsewhere, I wouldn't have cared."

With that, Sylvus signaled to Meylan with a glance.

Meylan didn't hesitate. With a wave of his right hand, he tore open a spatial rift, taking the three men with him as they vanished from the shop.

…

---

Afterward, Leo and the others purchased their pills and left.

Not long after, Meylan returned to the shop, but this time his body was filled with the smell of blood.

"Boss, they were from the Black Sea Mercenary Group. This time, they took on a mercenary mission with a reward of one million magic crystals. They didn't even know they were supposed to assassinate the Third Prince; they just thought he was an ordinary Grand ArchMage."

Meylan said to Sylvus.

"So, you didn't find out who issued the mercenary mission?"

Sylvus narrowed his eyes and asked.

"I questioned the higher-ups of the mercenary group. They did provide the person who issued the task, but by the time I found him, he was already dead."

Sylvus nodded, realizing that the mastermind behind this was thorough in covering their tracks. With the informant dead, finding out who was behind it would be difficult.

"Boss, there are only a few people who would want to assassinate the Third Prince."

Meylan continued.

"I'm aware of that, but without evidence, it's not wise to act."

Sylvus replied.

The key issue was that Sylvus didn't want to get involved in the royal power struggle.

Although he wasn't afraid, it would be troublesome.

All he wanted was to quietly run his shop and sell his pills.

"Any spoils?" Sylvus asked.

"The Black Sea Mercenary Group is a third-rate organization with little wealth. I only managed to scavenge three hundred thousand magic crystals."

Meylan handed a ring to Sylvus as he spoke.

Three hundred thousand magic crystals?

Sylvus frowned. That was far too little. What he needed was a billion.

"It seems I'll have to target that little fatty again."

Sylvus thought to himself. Of his few customers, Corvin, the little fatty, was the wealthiest.

Sylvus lay back in his chair, continuing to run the shop.

Meanwhile, the news of the Third Prince's assassination attempt reached certain ears.

---

In the First Prince's palace:

"Your Highness, we've just received word that the Third Prince was attacked in the Holy City. His Majesty has likely heard about it by now."

Upon hearing this, the First Prince, Nat, showed a bit of surprise.

He furrowed his brow, a cold gleam in his eyes as he gazed outside.

"Second Brother really is ruthless, playing this kind of trick on me!" Nat snorted coldly.

He had anticipated that the Second Prince, Stan, would try to suppress the Third Prince, but he hadn't expected him to resort to assassination.

This move would likely make many believe that he, Nat, was behind it.

After all, he had been trying to make contact with Kennan over the past few days.

Many people had seen it, but unfortunately, Kennan had continuously rejected him.

Now, with the Third Prince being attacked, many would think that Nat, furious from being rejected, had ordered the assassination out of rage.

"What's the situation with Father?"

Nat asked.

"There's no word from His Majesty yet. If there are no surprises, His Majesty should summon you soon."

Nat snorted again.

"If we wait for Father to summon me, my position as Crown Prince will be in jeopardy. Prepare my clothes."

"Your Highness, should we send someone to check out that shop?"

"No need. My dear brother will go there himself."

---

In the Second Prince's palace:

"Your Highness, the assassination attempt on the Third Prince has failed. There's an old man in that shop with considerable strength. Not only were our men killed, but the entire mercenary group was wiped out in less than fifteen minutes."

"Oh? There's such a powerful person in that shop?"

Stan raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He hadn't expected the assassination attempt on the Third Prince to succeed.

Success would have been great, but even if it failed, it wouldn't affect him much.

However, he hadn't anticipated that such a powerful person would be hidden in a small shop.

"My dear brother is probably already on his way to see Father by now. I think I'll personally go check out this shop and see what's so special about it."

Stan smiled slightly, then made his way outside.

---

At Sylvus' shop:

"Meylan, it's about time. Close the shop for the day."

Sylvus said as he prepared to stand up.

*Tap, tap, tap...*

"Make way! The Second Prince is arriving!"

At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the alley.

The surrounding commoners quickly made way.

Soon, a man, surrounded by soldiers, arrived outside Sylvus' shop.

"What's going on? Why is the Second Prince headed to that small shop?"

"The Steinway family was here recently too. But aside from those expensive pills with unclear effects, there's nothing special about that shop."

"Let's just watch. From the looks of it, the Second Prince might be here because the shop offended him."

The nearby commoners began to gather, curious to see what would happen.

"The Second Prince is here! Why aren't the two of you kneeling to greet him?"

One of the guards, dressed in armor, pointed at Sylvus, who was still lying in his chair, and questioned angrily.

Sylvus glanced up but said nothing.

The Second Prince?

A mere prince daring to demand that he kneel—who did he think he was?

Meylan naturally didn't care either. As a Nine-Star Saint ArchMage, he didn't even have to kneel before an emperor, let alone a prince.

Besides, just a few days ago, he had personally crippled the Third Prince.

Now, if this Second Prince displeased him, he wouldn't hesitate to cripple him too.

"Seize them both!"

Seeing that Sylvus and Meylan hadn't moved, the guard snorted coldly.

*Swish, swish, swish...*

At his command, the surrounding soldiers drew their weapons.

The mages among them began chanting spells, and a wave of pressure descended upon the shop.

"Stand down!"

Just as Meylan was about to make a move, the Second Prince, Stan, dismissed his men with a loud command and walked toward the shop with a smile.

However, as Stan's right foot was about to step into the shop, Meylan quickly blocked his path.

...