Primordial Draconic Incubus With A Gourmet Chef System

As he had done previously, Lucian tore the quest off the quest wall and walked back to the receptionist's desk.

"I want to accept this quest," Lucian said as he handed the receptionist the quest.

When the receptionist saw the quest he had chosen, she nodded her head with a small smile. "Good. The Ember Lion Pride. A C-Rank quest is much more suitable for a solo adventurer like you."

She then briefly paused to sort out her thoughts before continuing, "For your safety, I'll explain what the guild currently knows about the Ember Lion Pride. As of the last reported sighting, which was last week, they attacked a merchant caravan. There were three of them — two young men and a middle-aged man.

The young men were both in the Mid-Tier Blood Tempering Realm, while their boss was in the Early-Tier Tendon Tempering Realm. Their boss is who you need to watch out for. If possible, take him out before going after the other two. He seems particularly fond of them, almost like they are his children.

During their last ambush, the youngest was severely injured by a sneak attack from one of the caravan's guards, causing the boss to be enraged and not even hesitate to swallow a Berserker Potion."

The Berserker Potion granted immense battle prowess for a limited duration. Depending on the grade of the potion, it could even boost a Mage by several Ranks. However, the power came at a steep price. While under its influence, the Mage would lose all sense of reason, driven purely by instinct to attack anything in sight, regardless of whether they were friend or foe.

Even worse was the toll on the body after the potion's effect wore off. The Mage would become severely injured, possibly even die, due to their Mana Veins — and, if they had one, their Mana Core — being unable to sustain the powerful Mana from the potion.

'Hopefully, he's severely injured, or even better, dead.'

With that in mind, Lucian asked, "How often did the Ember Lion Pride attack merchant caravans before the Boss swallowed a Berserker Potion?" Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

The receptionist was silent for a few moments.

"Before the incident, roughly every two days for about three weeks."

'Heh. If that's the case, I don't believe the bandit boss is uninjured... maybe he's even dead.'

However, if he was still alive after the ordeal and managed to recover within a week, Lucian had to be careful, especially if he had more Berserker Potions.

Remaining indifferent on the outside, Lucian thanked the receptionist, "Thank you for the warning, I'll keep that in mind."

After that, the receptionist quickly recorded Lucian's acceptance of the quest in a recording Artifact. When she finished, she stamped the quest with the Adventurer's Guild official seal before handing it back to him.

"I wish you the best of luck. If you need any supplies before you go, the merchants in front of both gates should have everything you need." She said.

"Thank you," Lucian replied before walking out of the Adventurer's Guild.

Weaving through the bustling streets, Lucian headed for the northern gates, the opposite of where he entered the city.

The northern gates were closer to his destination, retracing his steps would only be counterproductive.

During his journey, Lucian imperceptibly glanced left and right. After noticing there were no pairs of eyes on him, he slipped into a deserted alleyway.

Moments later, an old man with gray hair, black eyes, and a wrinkly face walked out of the alleyway Lucian had entered.

Of course, the old man was Lucian, who had changed his appearance using his Shape-Shifting Skill, which did not require Mana.

Continuing his journey as if nothing had changed, Lucian soon arrived at the gates. It was just as the receptionist had said, small groups of adventurers gathered around merchants, haggling for supplies.

But Lucian did not come here for the merchants, not currently, at least. He looked around before his eyes stopped on a particular building — Alchemist Yen's Shop.

In this world, most Alchemists belonged to the Alchemy Guild — a prestigious organization that regulated the trade and crafting of potions. However, it was not unheard of for Alchemists to open their own shops,

There were many downsides to this independence, though. For one, it meant fewer resources and connections to higher-Grade herbs that Guild membership could provide. But the main advantage was that it allowed potential buyers to request potions directly from the Alchemist without having to go through the Alchemist Guild's heavy investigation.

As soon as Lucian opened the small store's door, a wave of medicinal fragrance rushed into his nostrils.

If possible, he would have liked to block his nostrils from the toxic fumes most found pleasant, but unfortunately, he was Manaless.

'To whoever was the previous owner of this body, sorry.' Lucian joked as he stepped foot into the store. 'You should have been born a Dragon.'

Just then, a young lady came to greet him.

"Welcome to Alchemist Yen's Shop, sir. How may I help you?"

Turning to the young lady, Lucian went straight to the point. "I need two items, an Alchemist's jacket and a potion that changes my aura to that of a Blood Tempering Realm Mage."

His voice was elderly, perfectly matching his disguise.

The young lady blinked her beautiful eyelashes, dumbstruck by the odd list of items. This was her first time since working here, she received such a strange request.

The young lady looked him up and down. 'What is he planning to do? Con someone as a fake Alchemist? But he doesn't look like a thief.'

[Host, I have those items! Why don't you buy from me?]

[You're too expensive. If you lower your prices, I'll rethink my decision.]

[... I can't.] The System sounded depressed. It had no control over the System Shop's prices. If it did, it would have set the prices to zero.

[Then, that's that.] Lucian mentally shrugged before he brought up the real reason behind his decision to come to Alchemist Yen's Shop.