The Demon Lord And His Hero

Syryn and Luci were completely taken by the awesomeness that was the waterfall whose course defied the laws of nature. With a deafening roar, it rushed up towards the sky where it curved over the relief of the plateau. The alchemist was made to feel insignificant as the immense waterfall loomed over his puny presence.

The avians had constructed an elaborate architecture of mechanical connections across the waterfall. Thick metal chains were suspended from pulleys that transported goods to the top of the plateau by using the force of the waterfall. Powerful winged avians flew back and forth checking on goods between the top and bottom of the waterfall.

"Wouldn't it be devastating to the nuans if someone were to destroy that?" Syryn commented to Akida."It would take a long time to build it back from scratch."

"It's not my problem to worry about," Akida told Syryn. "But safeguards are in place should any enterprising enemy get so far."

Unbeknownst to Syryn, Lucien had been watching a human merchant directing his workers at the bottom of the fall. His crimson eyes were fixed on the man with interest.

"Hey, you, beautiful human man," Syryn heard an avian calling from behind him. He turned around because it was obvious who he was referring to.

"This is a rare medicine from Nua," the avian told Syryn. "I dont usually sell it to random people but I saw how handsome you are and I was inspired to take out my last bottle of it. Look, it's made from Avis Ichor."

Avis Ichor came from a plant with the same name. It was a seasonal carnivorous plant that produced a purple coloured liquid that was chock full of rich nutrients and sought after for its health-boosting properties. It was rare not only because of how fast it sold but also because the plant could not be cultivated.

"Avis Ichor, you say?" Syryn received the bottle.

"You probably shouldn't buy it," Utsui suggested lightly.

The seller of the Ichor had a bootlicking smile for Utsui. "Young sir, my business is perfectly legitimate. I dont sell fake and adulterated goods."

"But this is adulterated if not fake," Syryn replied as he held the glass bottle up to the light after shaking it a few times.

"Sir, are you an alchemist?" The avian asked.

"No," Syryn answered. "But I have some knowledge of alchemy."

"Then how can you make such an assertion? You're slandering my reputation, sir." He sounded very upset. "If you dont want to buy it, that's all you had to say."

Syryn could see the pressure that the avian was putting on him to buy it. "Your ichor bubbles at the centre. The real deal bubbles at the edges and settles down. Will you still keep insisting that it's real?"

"Like I said, if you don't want it, there's no need to slander me." The avian snatched back the bottle of ichor and left them alone.

"Do you actually know about the properties of ichor?" Ursula asked. "Have you used it on your patients before?"

"I've come across Ichor before though I never used it on my patients."

Syryn was facing Utsui so he failed to notice the return of the seller. This time, he came with another man.

"This was the foreigner that insisted I was selling fake goods," he pointed to Syryn. The man was back to cause trouble and make a profit out of him.

"With what authority does an outsider make such a claim?" The other avian asked.

"Hey, move it," Akida warned them. "I'm only gonna say it once."

"Sir, this is a matter of me losing my reputation. Can I not defend myself?" The seller self righteously asked the guard.

"Akida, let's see what they want," Syryn told the guard. And then he turned to the two avians. "So you want an apology?"

"Yes, apologise to me," the seller told Syryn.

"No, he should buy the ichor as compensation for his rudeness if he can't prove his words," the other avian insisted. "I am an alchemist and I know that this is indeed real. The positioning of bubbles does not determine the quality of Ichor. It just means that they've been mixed in different bases."

He made a good point, Syryn conceded, but he didn't say it out loud. "You're an alchemist?" The teen blinked at the proud avian.

"Of course I am. You should understand that careless words like yours only being trouble when they're held against the expert words of an alchemist like myself."

Syryn nodded at the avian. "You're right about that. Ignorant people shouldn't argue with an expert."

"Syryn," Utsui tried to intervene. "Please let me take care of this."

"No. A gentleman can't take back what he's said. I'll take care of this myself. Thanks for offering Utsui," the alchemist smiled like a fox. There was some fun to be had with the troublemakers.

"So then, are you going to pay this man or not for slandering his good name?"

"You say you're an alchemist but you don't have proof. Why don't we test your skills and then I'll apologise?" Syryn innocently asked. "I may not be a certified alchemist but I have some knowledge about it from reading and teaching myself of its principles. How about we decide this with alchemy?"

"Syryn, there's no need for that," the young man by his side worriedly told him. Utsui didn't know much about alchemy but he was aware of how difficult it was to become a certified alchemist. And as smart as Syryn was, the avian did not believe he had it in him to beat a real expert. He didn't want to think that the teen was being arrogant but it was starting to seem like it to Utsui. Nevertheless, he wanted to help him.

"Utsui, please stay out of this. I can take care of myself," Syryn told the avian arrogantly and loud enough for the others to hear. The confrontation had gathered around them a crowd of curious avians. "I've read three books about alchemy, and I didn't even need a teacher to show me how to make the potions. My mother recognised my genius and suggested I try for a certification."

The looks of ridicule that the surrounding avians gave him made Akida's gaze flicker towards the smiling alchemist. What trouble was he stirring up? The guard wondered. He had seen and had also heard enough from Rei about Syryn that he knew just good the teen was at his art.

"Very well, young genius, let's put our skills to test then shall we?" The avian was a certified alchemist and he had been buying avis ichor from the seller at prices lower than at market price. When the seller had come to him for help, he couldn't refuse because it was also a direct insult to him. Fake ichor? He would have realised it if the product he had been buying was fake. There was a lot of phoney ichor being peddled on the streets but he believed that his source, the seller, was definitely original.

"Then where do we do this? I don't have a cauldron because I left it at home," Syryn told the man.

"We'll provide you with one," the alchemist replied smugly. It was a chance for him to shine. Maybe someone important would notice him when he taught the presumptuous foreigner a lesson.

"I don't like brewing in a cheap cauldron. Make sure that mine is expensive," Syryn haughtily told the avian alchemist.

"We'll both use cauldrons made of the same material so you don't have to worry about me taking unfair advantage of you."

"Good, all of you come as witnesses," Syryn pointed to the crowd. "I won't stand back and be mistreated by an unscrupulous street peddler. I have connections with some important members of Nua's nobility so don't think that I won't hesitate to complain to them about this."

His words put some fear into the hearts of the seller and the alchemist. Did he actually have connections like that? They wondered. It became even more imperative then that they won in an alchemical test against him. If they'd paid closer attention to the silent guard that accompanied the prince whenever they caught sight of him from a distance, the avians would have recognised Akida and realised just how high Syryn's purported connections actually were.

The seller had however recognised Utsui so he assumed that this was the connection that Syryn was talking about. The young genius was well known for his fairness and level head so the seller knew he wouldn't cause trouble for them when they beat the arrogant foreigner in a fair test.

"Syryn, are you sure you want to humiliate yourself in front of a crowd?" Utsui asked in a low whisper. He was more concerned than upset by the teen's arrogance. Utsui hoped that Syryn knew what he was doing. He had faith in the teen's medical knowledge but it didn't extend to alchemy. No one that young could be a master of both.

"I learnt alchemy too. I practised it for a few years so stop worrying so much," Syryn said it loudly. "In fact, I'm really good, good enough to even perform better than Nua's best alchemist," he cockily declared. "I challenge him to a brewing competition. Can Nua's best contend with me?"

"Has he lost his mind?" Utsui asked Akida. The young man wasn't just disappointed, now he was angry. He respected Syryn and had considered him someone to look up to despite his age. So why was he acting so crazy?

Somewhere in Elysium at that moment, Rowan was going about his day wondering if Syryn was making use of his advice about staying low key and using diplomacy.