"An agent? Why would I need one?" Edwyn asked back. "I'm selling potions just fine on my own. Why let someone else take a cut?"
"No, no, no, you misunderstood me," Kevan waved his hands quickly. "I don't want a cut of your profit. I just want the sales rights. All potion profits go to you, I won't take a single Mana Stone."
"Not a single coin? Then what do you gain?" Edwyn locked eyes with Kevan. "And you still haven't answered the core question: Why do I need an agent?"
"For safety. Because you have a feud with Joseph. Because you've hurt his business. Because you have the girl he wants. And because he has enough Mana Stones to pay someone to put a curse on you." Kevan met Edwyn's gaze head-on, his voice calm and firm.
"And having an agent? That's your shield. Your warning bell. Any curses that come through the potions will hit me first."
Kevan's reasoning struck home, and Edwyn couldn't ignore the weight behind it.
"I need time, Kevan," Edwyn stood up. "I have to verify what you've said. If you've lied even the tiniest bit, this deal is off."
"Every word I said is true. I swear it on my family name," Kevan said, raising a hand solemnly.
…
56th Floor, Central Black Tower:
"An agent? Yeah, that's a real thing," Chayle said, sipping his wine.
Since Agnes had gone dark while working on Edwyn's custom machine, Chayle was the only senior available to answer questions.
"Why do you ask?"
"Someone approached me. Wants to be my agent. Says he'll take the hits from any curses." Edwyn sat across from him, drumming his fingers on the table. "He doesn't want any profit, just the right to sell."
"That's normal. You should agree." Chayle shrugged. "Everything he told you is true. An agent can intercept curses. If there's a curse, they're the canary in the coal mine. You get some warning."
"And they're not doing it for nothing either."
Edwyn frowned. "What do you mean?"
Chayle' eyes flashed with sharp insight. "Kiddo, Focus Potions are in high demand. Not everyone can get their hands on them. Once you give him the supply, he controls who gets what. All he needs to do is hold a few bottles in reserve and he can trade them for favors, Mana Stones, whatever."
"I see," Edwyn nodded.
"This is a win-win. I'd suggest you go for it. Even though Lady Susanna teaches two schools of magic, at the apprentice level she's mostly focused on Evocation. Having someone like Kevan as a meat-shield is a smart move."
Edwyn stood up. "Alright. Thanks for your time, Chayle."
"Not a bother at all," Chayle waved him off. "Stick around the academy long enough, you'll learn all this too."
Edwyn returned to Kevan's room and signed the agent contract.
He gave Kevan the exclusive right to sell his Focus Potions, though he retained full control over pricing. The contract also allowed Kevan to buy up to 10% of the total monthly production, just enough for Kevan to earn some favors of his own.
After that, Edwyn dove into material testing. Strange and exotic substances were delivered one after another by Kevan. Around this time, the machine Agnes had been building was also completed.
It was an odd-looking device in Agnes's eyes. Roughly the size of a wardrobe, the machine had two main components: an upper storage tank for ingredients, and a lower section containing the cauldron.
The tank dispensed ingredients through a small chute. Once the cauldron received them, it triggered a stabilized mana conduit to infuse mana. A mana probe inside the cauldron measured energy levels. When the desired threshold was reached, it cut off the flow and activated the next ingredient release.
After the potion was brewed, the bottom of the cauldron opened, filling a vial and beginning the next cycle.
Each activation cost three Mana Stones and could brew ten potions.
It wasn't fully automated, but it drastically freed up Edwyn's time, allowing him to focus more on testing and study.
With the machine in hand, Edwyn set his monthly Focus Potion output at 100 bottles, a high yet reasonable amount. According to Joron's notes, he still lagged behind some of the High Apprentices from the past.
Even so, Edwyn's standardized, industrial-quality potions dealt a heavy blow to the commercial district's hand-brewed alternatives.
…
"Diddy! Did you get one?!" a student shouted outside Agnes's shop.
"Got it!" Diddy held up a bottle of Focus Potion, grinning with excitement. Around him, other students surged forward in envy and urgency.
The reputation of Agnes's shop for high-quality Focus Potions had spread across campus. It had become the number one destination for apprentices in need.
Moments later, a booming voice came from inside:
"Focus Potions are SOLD OUT. Come back next month!"
The students who missed out walked away crestfallen. Those in desperate need started asking around, offering higher prices to buy one secondhand.
Meanwhile, the once-popular Ulrich Alchemy Workshop now stood nearly empty.
It was as if students had completely forgotten it used to be the go-to spot for Focus Potions.
…
"What did you say?!" Joseph roared at the apprentice in front of him. "You said half my potions didn't sell?!"
"Focus. Potions. Aren't. Selling?!"
He slammed his hands on the table so hard it nearly shattered.
Two years ago, he had proudly declared at the apprentice social gathering that the Ulrich shop would produce at least fifty bottles of Focus Potion per month.
Back then, every student who heard it had cheered.
That declaration led him to spend massive amounts of time each month brewing potions, even putting his alchemy studies on hold.
And now, just two years later, his Focus Potions weren't moving?!
The apprentice winced under his glare. He was just an employee, not about to argue with the owner's heir.
"S-Sir, the potions are all sitting right here. I wouldn't dare lie."
"What the hell is going on?" Joseph growled, barely holding back his rage. Focus Potions were always a hot commodity, there had to be an outside factor.
"S-Sir…" the apprentice spoke carefully, "Don't you know? You're not the only one selling Focus Potions anymore. Edwyn, Joron's apprentice, is selling them too. And…"
"And WHAT?!" Joseph's eyes blazed. The apprentice looked like he might be incinerated on the spot.
"And his output is higher than yours… and the quality of his potions is… more stable."
"Stable?! STABLE?!"
Joseph was nearly apoplectic. He, the noble-born mage apprentice, raised in magic since birth, beaten by a wildcard nobody who had only been studying alchemy for a few years?
Edwyn stealing his girl? Fine.
As Joseph had always said, knowledge and Mana Stones are the foundation of a wizard's power.
But now Edwyn was trying to steal his Mana Stones?
That bastard is trying to steal my stones?!
"…Sir, do you need anything else?" the shop apprentice asked timidly.
Joseph waved him away. As the door shut behind the apprentice, Joseph exploded in fury, smashing tables, breaking vases, tearing paintings from the walls. He wrecked the entire room in a blind rage.
When it was all over, he sat in the ruins, staring blankly at the wall.
Was his anger gone? Not at all.
He stood up, straightened his robe, and walked to a locked cabinet, withdrawing several stacks of academy currency.
After confirming the amount, he put on a black cloak and headed to a restaurant in the living quarter called Corner Alley.
"Sir, may I take your order?" a waiter greeted him.
Joseph coldly replied, "Medium-rare Blackstone beef steak."
"…And who should it be delivered to?" the waiter asked, flipping open a small notebook.
"Edwyn. Apprentice under Master Joron."
The waiter paused, frowning. Even his writing hand stalled.
"That's a big-name target."
"So you won't do it?" Joseph asked, his tone icy.
"We'll do it," the waiter replied, jotting down the name and tearing off the slip. "But it'll cost extra."