The Herb King

Anna read the list of herbs in her hands and checked if she missed something. After seeing that she had gathered everything, she smiled and immediately went to the counter. "I wonder what that guy would use these herbs for. Some of these herbs have strong medicinal properties and they are mostly used to treat severe internal wounds, but the remaining herbs are totally different in nature…"

Anna soon arrived at the counter as she mumbled to herself. She then separated the herbs and placed them individually in small containers before putting them inside a huge box. After doing this, she finally noticed that the handsome customer wasn't present. She furrowed her eyebrows as she checked every corner of the first floor. However, after inspecting the entire floor twice, she didn't even see his shadow. "Did he leave?" She muttered to herself with a dark look.

Anna went outside the store and asked the two guards if they saw the customer leaving the shop, but they told her that they didn't see him going out of the shop.

Anna frowned and walked to the second floor with heavy footsteps. "I clearly told him to wait for me at the counter. Did he become bored of waiting and decided to go to the upper floors?" Her voice contained a hint of annoyance.

When she arrived on the second floor, she checked every nook and cranny but she still didn't see Leric.

"He must be on the third floor. Oh no! He might break the container of the Soulscream!" Anna jogged to the third floor and suddenly paused with a stunned look on her face.

She saw the handsome customer with his right palm facing the sky and her grandfather who was looking at him with an indescribable expression. What made her dumbfounded was the golden flame flickering on top of the guy's palm. It was beautiful!

"Golden Pill Fire!" She yelped and immediately covered her mouth. When she calmed down, she noticed that her grandfather had fainted out of shock and he was now in the handsome customer's arms.

'Waah! Why is it not me in his arms?' Anna cried out in her heart as she sprinted to them.

"What happened?" She feigned ignorance as she looked at Leric's handsome face. This man was a Level 4 Esper! How amazing!

Leric didn't notice her earlier since he was nervous about the old man suddenly fainting after seeing his golden flame. "Miss Anna, don't worry. Just stand back for now." He said as he smiled at her.

Anna nodded her head lightly and took a few steps back. She wanted to see what Leric would do in this situation.

Leric didn't mind this. He gently placed Johann on the floor. He then grabbed the old man's right arm and checked his pulse with his eyes shut tight. He focused his senses on observing the condition of Johann's body.

With his expertise in medicine, he could even cure terminal illnesses that most modern doctors were stumped with. A small fainting case was too easy for him.

'Weak pulse and shallow breathing. No other abnormalities in the body. Wait… I see. Now I know why he is looking for life-extending herbs… What type of parasite is this? It can actually absorb the blood vitality of a Level 4 Esper without dying… The parasite has already attached deeply to his heart and it is almost impossible to take it out by normal means. Hmm… Someone actually forced the parasite to sleep, but this isn't enough to stop the issue. The parasite is still absorbing small amounts of blood vitality in its sleeping state. If it is awake, just how much blood vitality would it absorb? Terrifying…' Leric opened his eyes and stared at the peaceful face of Johann with a look of pity. This old man must have suffered a lot because of the parasite.

He then looked at Anna and asked with a serious look. "Miss Anna, do you know about the shop owner's condition?"

Anna revealed a sad look and nodded her head. "Grandfather once mentioned that there is something wrong with his heart. We invited Lord Karman to check his condition, but he only managed to alleviate his grandfather's pain. His condition is slowly worsening…"

Leric was quite surprised to learn that Anna was actually Johann's granddaughter. It was a good thing that she knew about her grandfather's condition so she wouldn't feel suspicious if he begins his healing procedure later on. "Alright. When I checked his pulse earlier, I noticed that there is a parasite inside his heart. This parasite is absorbing your grandfather's blood vitality, causing his body to slowly turn weak. I'll be doing a healing procedure, but I need to be extremely focused on doing it since the heart is a very fragile organ. I suggest that you close the store for the time being while I do the operation."

In truth, it was not difficult for him to remove the parasite from Johann's body, but he had to be careful since it was his first time doing this operation on a cultivator. A normal person's body does not contain world essence. A cultivator's body contains world essence and they also have a sturdier physique, making it very difficult for a normal scalpel to cut through their skin.

Anna nodded her head gravely upon hearing this. Her grandfather was actually suffering from a parasite living inside his heart! "Please save my grandfather, sir!" She kneeled with a pleading look.

Leric smiled at her reassuringly. "Of course. Don't worry. I'll take care of this."

Anna nodded with tears in her eyes. She then walked away when she saw Leric taking out a bunch of equipment from who knew where.

"Luckily I have a storage skill. Now, I just have to make a scalpel from this knife. And a few other tools." Leric dismantled the knife he got from the army camp.

You have learned the skill [Dismantle]

You have learned the skill [Crafting]

You have gained the talent [Blacksmith]

Three new prompts appeared in his Status Screen, but Leric ignored them for now. He carefully smelted the metal portion of the knife using his Flame Manipulation. He then removed the impurities in them. He had to make sure that the smelted metal was clean and free of any contamination.

After smelting the blade of the knife, Leric got a ball of metal. Now, next was moulding the metal ball into the shape of a scalpel.

He didn't notice that Anna had already returned after she closed the store.

Leric was extremely absorbed in the smithing process and it didn't take long for him to produce a bunch of operating tools. Although the tools didn't look that great, it was enough as long as he could begin the operation.

After making all the tools he needed, Leric cooled them down with his Ice Manipulation skill since they still had the residual heat from the smithing process.

While Leric was smithing, Johann woke up and the first thing he noticed was Leric who was making a bunch of tools. His granddaughter Anna was also there. He signaled for his granddaughter to remain quiet.

'Aside from being an Alchemist, he is also a Blacksmith?! What a prodigy! An absolute genius!' Johann almost fainted again, but luckily, he was prepared this time.

Leric wiped off the sweat on his face and smiled lightly as he looked at the tools in front of him. "Not bad." He muttered and turned to face Johann only to see that he had already woken up.

"Sir Johann, I didn't know that you were already awake." Leric told himself to never craft in an unfamiliar place and to always be careful at all times. It was a good thing that Johann and Anna were righteous people.