Three days had passed since Yuna’s visit. The payment for the potions rolled in this morning as he climbed the stairs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  The days had gotten much colder. He even wrapped a scarf around his neck. Well, the Hunters weren’t affected much; even the F ranks could walk around without so much as a shiver in tank tops and shorts.

  Must be nice for them.

  Johan’s respite came as midday approached. He scanned the potions and printed the receipt as Eugene placed the items in a cloth bag.

  “Here’s your change, Miss Kim.” Johan smiled at the Hunter, who seemed rather happy to see him. Well, at the start, that was.

  “Is everything ok?” Her gentle expression morphed with worry.

  “It’s all fine, why do you ask?” He tilted his head. Johan could not feel anything wrong with his body; it was the same as any other day to him.

  “I see…” Miss Kim seemed rather odd. She was in a hoodie for once, and her hair wasn’t styled. Well, she was never a morning person. She might still be sleepy.

  “Please come shop here again.” He gave his practiced line and turned to the next guy in line.

  They closed the mart soon after that, as the potions had sold out. Johan wanted to increase the number he could sell in a day, especially after watching the line outside disperse.

  But he couldn’t acquire enough potion bottles. He could only get so many from potion bottle recyclers. At this point, he felt like he needed to talk with a production factory. Not to mention a machine for bottling the potions.

  Even with Nunally helping him, he still had to weigh each potion. 100 ml was the sweet spot. Even a little over or under could cause problems. It would be a lot easier if he had the machine.

  At this point, he had to set up the entire infrastructure from scratch.

  As he was in the middle of the paperwork nightmares that his plans would get him in, Eugene came in with a box in hand. Duskin Dunes, it was a famous cheesecake shop in the capital.

  “This is for you, teacher.” He placed it on the counter.

  “Did something good happen?”

  Did Eugene ace some exams?

  “N…No, I felt like you might enjoy it.” He scratched the back of his head.

  “I certainly will.” Johan placed one of the precut slices on a plate and started eating. “They are so good, a bit overpriced but definitely worth it.”

  “You should eat one too,” he said, handing a plate to Eugene and placing a slice on it. “Don’t be shy, eat a lot.”

  “You won’t gain weight as long as you burn all the calories.” Johan believed that his overworking brain would help him a lot with that; if not, the work would.

  “Thank you.” Eugene took a bite; he ate almost like a rabbit.

  It reminded Johan to stock up on treats for Eunally and Nunally.

  After finishing the 2-kilo cheesecake between the two, Eugene left for some special classes while Johan entered the Tower.

  The rabbits were happy to see him, even happier when he offered them treats. The problem was that they didn’t seem in the mood to work today.

  Johan himself was dragged under the shadow of the giant tree in the middle. He could only rest his back against the trunk as Eunally and Nunally had fallen asleep in his lap.

  They looked so cute that he feared even moving a little. Best of all, Cerberious napped near him. This walking attitude adjustment finally understood Johan’s charm; he had gotten closer lately.

  Cerbie even let him pet it; the other two heads looked like they’d bite his fingers off if he tried.

  “Guess today is a holiday?” He muttered, watching glimpses of the sky through the leaves above him.

  Soon, it was the sixth day, and Yuna should’ve left for the Tower today. Johan wasn’t at the shop today, as Eugene had insisted that he take a walk.

  He seemed rather frantic. Is he planning a surprise? He wondered, entering the neighbourhood park.

  Usually, this place had the hustle and bustle one would expect of a park. The young mothers and kids by the swings, the aunties exchanging daily gossip by the benches, and some runners who couldn’t do their exercise in the morning.

  Well, today the place looked empty. Watching the empty swing move along with the wind did give him chills. It was like a ghost story waiting to happen.

  Still, Johan sat on a bench watching a sparrow build its nest with tiny twigs and such. It looked like a coconut without the outer husk.

  Come to think of it, he hadn’t noticed any bird life around his farm either. He hoped it’d stay that way unless the birds were friendly, as friendly as Tower beasts could be.

  Lost in his musings, Johan’s attention went to his buzzing phone. Seemed like Morgan had remembered how to use the message app.

  His nose scrunched up the moment he read the string of text.

  Johan sighed, he felt super fine. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even feel tired these days.

  “What’s with everyone asking if I am fine?” Was it an elaborate prank?

  “It’s because you look like you haven’t slept in weeks.” His murmurs were answered soon.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Johan turned and saw Merilyn in her white qipao and high heels.

  “Got time for a short chat, dear?” she asked, all smiles.

  “Right now, I’ve got plenty of time.” Johan beamed. She had sat next to him before he could even nod. “Not that it’d matter much.”

  “Hmm, are you saying you’d drop all work if I call you?” she tilted her head.

  “Not everything.” Johan had boundaries.

  “Aren’t you the cutest?” She smiled, but she soon dropped the teasing tone. “I had a meeting with the Elders of the Mage Tower. They seemed rather pleased when I told them we couldn’t grow the Night Bloom Flower. The smile almost split their proud faces.”

  In the article, the method of Master Adelan’s treatment wasn’t mentioned. Johan could only guess that Merilyn had hidden it to protect him.

  “Sorry for stealing your thunder this time.” She confirmed his guess but soon giggled. “I can’t wait to see their faces when it all comes to light.”

  Women could hold a nasty grudge, that much he knew. Still, he didn’t know what the Mage Tower would do when they found out.

  Well, what can they do? This was a law-abiding society, well, for the most part.

  “They won’t assassinate me, right?” He shivered, looking around, but he only found normal trees and bushes.

  “You’ve been reading too many novels.” Merilyn shook her head. “At most, they would recruit you and then brainwash you into a loyal minion. Killing you has almost no benefit. Well, after they get all the info about how you make those golden potions and such, they might discuss it.”

  “That sounds way worse.” Johan wondered if it was too late to become a hermit.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t let them try something like that. Though I would have an easier time protecting you if you were a part of the Association or any guild/clan, that would serve as an extra layer of protection. The Mage Tower will think thrice before they even try to intervene with your business. After all, you did reproduce the potion fairly.” Merilyn gave him a reassuring smile. “I was here to discuss that, but it looks like you need a few days' rest before you can make a coherent decision.”

  “Do I look that bad?” Johan deadpanned.

  “Well, bloodshot eyes and dark circles are very solid tells. Paired with your sagging face, I am surprised no one has tied you to a bed yet.” She chuckled at his confused blinking. “To think you’d end up like this shortly after I helped you, too, I wished you would find your footing after that.”

  “You can do it again, right?” Johan didn’t think it was such a big deal. He hadn’t had the full idea of her skills, but it took away all his exhaustion already.

  “There’s always a price for everything. No one can make all your troubles go, poof, not even you yourself.” She flicked his forehead; it was more of a light tap. “When I take away someone’s damage into myself, I also take a part of the person’s lifespan as the cost.”

  “It can be from as much as a second to a whole year, depending on the severity of the damage extracted.”

  “Whoa…” Johan’s mouth hung open.

  To think a class like that existed. Still, considering what happened to him, he had an inkling of what she did. Even with the trade-off, that was a very strong class. Most likely a unique class. Most people would think that way.

  However, Merilyn’s lips pressed into a hard line as she leaned against the bench.

  “The lifespan you take…” Johan was too scared to complete the sentence.

  “Yes, it is added to mine. The days of youth I enjoyed belonged to those I wanted to help. If any living organism within my eyesight gets an injury, it activates on its own. That’s why I started wearing this.” She caressed the cloth over her eyes. “For your case, I took four minutes out of your remaining lifespan.”

  “Does that mean you can see everyone’s lifespans?” He leaned forward, eyes full of curiosity.

  “Unless the person has a unique class, I can see it.” She seemed rather troubled by his enthusiasm, as if she had faced something similar before.

  Wasn’t it like that one death god?

  “Also, talking about my class is prohibited by international law, so don’t tell anyone, ok deary?” She coughed, as if reading his thoughts. “Only presidents of the major countries know, and they can only pass it down through a letter after their term ends, and even they are punishable with death if they ever leak it.”

  “Why would you even tell me this then?” Johan shuddered. A secret like that was too big for a potion maker. Plus, he was weak to torture.

  “It’s because I hate this class of mine, just like what you feel.” She looked at him. It’s like they locked eyes through that cloth. More so, her voice had weakened. “A class like mine might sound like the dream, but how many of my comrades and friends do you think had their lives cut short because of me?”

  “Worst part, I never wanted a class like this.” She muttered, looking ahead.

  “What class did you want?” Shifting in his place, Johan turned to her. He didn’t know what to say. What could he even say to someone like her?

  “A healer, I really liked doctors, have been around them more than my parents.” She smiled as a purple butterfly rested on her outstretched finger. “I can save people for sure, but not the way I wanted.”

  As the butterfly flew away, she turned to him, arms crossed under her bosom.

  “I am certain I won’t die anytime soon. When I do, there’d probably be no one around me that I know, or anyone who knows me well enough, for that matter. I have a ton of regrets, but I’ve made my peace with that. I am too far down the path to change anything.” She raised the cloth from her left eye, revealing the gem-like pupil. “What about you, Johan? Are you ok with carrying those regrets in the future?”

  “It’s not like you can live without them.” Johan had understood that much at least, no matter what, he’d always have regrets. As he twiddled his thumbs, he could only try to compose himself. “Still, how can you flip this to me. I was feeling so much sympathy for you.”

  He couldn't even imagine what Merilyn felt like, even more so when her playfulness vanished for the first time.

  But in a single moment, she forced him to confront everything he had tried so hard to suppress.

  “You should’ve seen it coming when I sat down.” She shrugged, unfazed by his narrowed eyes. “Trauma dumping works well in such situations. Do-Yun used it on me after tricking me into the Oath.”

  “Do-Yun? As in Park Do-Yun, The Seer?” Johan didn’t expect to hear the name of such a legendary Hunter. The very Hunter whom he looked up to the most.

  “Yes, that cockroach-like bastard.” Merilyn cursed under her breath. She didn’t have much respect for the guy, it seemed. “Well, what has happened can’t be undone, but you are different from me. What is in the past for me, is still your present.”

  He couldn’t help but look at her as she untied the cloth, the blue eyes full of genuine concern. He hadn’t even known her for long, and even she could see through him with ease.

  Wasn’t he good at hiding it? At least he thought so. But lately, he couldn’t even do that.

  When he said that he had given up on being a Hunter, even he didn’t believe it. Even if he couldn’t fight, there was more he could do aside from that. He had confirmed that with his potions.

  That was the very reason he even reached out to Cara, when he saw Lucas close the SS-Rank rift thanks to his potion, when his potion saved Master Adelan, he felt happy. He even took a loss by diluting his potions, seeing the lines outside and the threads on Hunter Net.

  The world valued him; they valued his class. But he also felt scared, because he understood that he could help others with this class.

  Maybe not the way he wanted, but he could still make a difference. That much was obvious, but accepting that was much harder than facing the Tower’s Guardian beast.

  “What should I do?” He turned to Merilyn, hands clenched.

  “That’s your decision to make, dear. Not mine.” Merilyn took his hand into hers, and the fatigue in his body started to slip away.

  However, unlike last time, he didn’t feel sleepy. His mind started to clear up. As if all the negative and spiralling thoughts had turned to smoke in an instant.

  Giving him a clarity that almost seemed inhuman.

  “The reason you two promised to be Hunters, do you still remember?” She asked.

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