The bell above the door jingled softly as Dom stepped into Willow & Root.
The shop radiated a cozy warmth and a hint of organized clutter, with shelves filled with jars, boots, and dried herbs.
A delicate scent of jasmine intertwined with the faint aroma of aged paper, creating an inviting atmosphere.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the large front windows, casting a warm glow that illuminated tiny dust motes drifting lazily through the air, resembling flecks of gold.
Morgan was behind the counter, her back turned as she carefully measured dried lavender and pieces of dried chamomile into a rustic, glazed ceramic bowl with a practiced hand, a skill honed over many years of tending to her herbal remedies.
“You’re late,” she remarked without looking up.
“I’m actually five minutes early,” Dom replied.
“By my watch, you’re late.” She set the bowl down and finally turned to face him.
Her white hair was pulled back, a few stray strands framing her face.
The loose apron she wore did little to conceal the enticing curves beneath.
“Sit. I have news for you,” she said with a hint of excitement.
Dom took a seat at one of the small tables.
“The Tear?”
“Fully analyzed.” She reached under the counter and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, sliding it across the table toward him.
“The purity is exceptional. Legendary-grade, as I suspected. But it’s just one component. To synthesize a True Elixir, you’ll need the rest.”
Dom unfolded the crinkled paper, revealing a meticulously written list in sharp, precise handwriting that cut through the fading ink with its clarity:
Frost Wyrm Heart — to be harvested from a mature wyrm, preferably one that is still living or recently deceased, as the fresher the specimen, the more potent the essence.
Void Lotus — a rare plant that flourishes exclusively within powerful rifts where the ambient mana is at its peak, often near the very center of corruption zones.
Its retrieval is highly dangerous due to the unstable environment and the creature’s hostile defenses.
Starfall Essence — exceptionally rare and elusive.
I have only read about it in ancient texts and forgotten tomes.
Locating a genuine sample will require extensive research and possibly venturing into uncharted territories to identify its current whereabouts.
He fixated on the list of three ingredients, each more elusive and perilous than the last.
Yet, despite the dangers, it offered a tangible, navigable path forward, a clear trail to follow amid the uncertainties.
“Thank you,” he murmured, voice subdued.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Finding them is the easy part. Crafting an Elixir without killing yourself, that’s where it gets tricky,” Morgan said, arms crossed, leaning casually against the counter.
Morgan studied him intently before speaking.
“Tell me about your family,” she asked, her tone calm yet probing.
Dom blinked in surprise.
“What?”
“Your family. The ones you’re doing all this for,” she clarified, as if it were the most natural question in the world.
“I know about your mother, the Elixir wouldn’t be for you otherwise.” She paused, her crimson eyes unreadable.
“But the rest of it, those who shaped you, made you the way you are, I’m curious.”
“Why do you want to know?” Dom asked cautiously.
“Because I told you about Kiera, it wasn’t easy,” she said softly, tilting her head.
“The least you could do is humor me.”
Dom leaned back, silent for a long moment, weighing his words.
Then, slowly, he began to speak.
“My father was one of the first hunters. The source of this chapter is g.com.
He died when I was just ten.” His voice was flat as he recounted the events: “There was a dungeon raid, a gate that needed closing before an outbreak.
His team went in, but something went wrong.
The rift started collapsing.
He held the exit open long enough for the others to escape.
They survived.
He didn’t.”
Morgan’s expression remained unchanged, but I noticed a faint softening around her eyes.
“He was a hero.”
“He was an idiot,” Dom muttered with a bitter smile.
“He left behind a wife and two kids. But yeah, he was a hero.”
She looked at me, voice gentle.
“And your mother?”
“She got sick a year later, Mana Congestion Syndrome. The doctors said it was from exposure during those early days. She’s been in a containment facility ever since, costing three thousand a month to keep her stable which meant taking a predatory loan. I’ve been paying both ever since.”
“That’s a heavy burden for a Young boy.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” he replied quietly.
“You had options. You simply chose the hardest path.” Morgan’s voice was calm but weighty.
“Your sister?”
“Lucy.” A brief flicker of bitterness crossed his face, then was replaced by warmth.
“She’s eighteen now. Scholarship student at UIC. Currently managing my streaming career.” A genuine smile broke through.
“She’s the smartest person I know, also sometimes the scariest. She negotiated with Dante’s people once and walked out with better terms than I’d have managed.”
“She sounds like a force of nature,”
“She is. I’d be dead in a ditch without her.” He paused, the smile lingering.
“She’s destined for greatness. Even if she awakens I know you’d be great as a hunter too, even though I’d like to keep her for ever getting hurt.”
Morgan nodded slowly.
“And the system? The ears? The streaming?”
Dom’s expression tightened.
“That’s… different.”
“I’ve seen the videos.” A faint smile crossed her face.
“My niece sends them to me. She thinks you’re hilarious. I followed the Fracture stream, too. Found it… fun.”
“You watched the Fracture stream?”
“You danced in front of a Railweaver Queen and then got branded as her mate. That’s better than most television.” She shrugged.
“I was entertained.”
Dom fixated on her, a puzzled look in his eyes.
“You’re the quirkiest alchemist I’ve ever met.”
Morgan smirked.
“Actually, I’m also the only alchemist you’ve met.”
A brief silence settled between them.
Dust motes shimmered in the air, and somewhere outside, a car’s engine gradually faded into the distance.
“The system glitched,” he explained.
“I was clearing a D-rank gate, expecting a Clear Crystal. Instead, I got the ears.” He hesitated.
“And the Phoenix Tear, same glitch. A quest reward that shouldn’t have been there.”
Morgan’s gaze sharpened.
“Sounds a lot like you have something a lot of people would be jealous of,” she repeated, voice edged with intrigue.
“I’ve got a collab coming up,” Dom said.
“Aegis. Big guild-backed streamer. We’re doing a dungeon run in a few days.”
Morgan paused, her gaze steady and unreadable.
Then she murmured, “Be careful.”
Dom blinked, surprised.
“What?”
Her expression guarded.
“The collaboration with Aegis. Be careful.” Her voice was tinged with distaste.
“Why?”
“That’s a story for another time.”
“Why not now?”
“Because I’ve got work to do, and you’ve got an ingredient list to worry about.” She turned back to her bowl, tone brisk.
“Now get out of my shop. I’ve already been too generous with my time.”
Dom rose to his feet but didn’t move toward the door.
“Morgan.”
“What?”
He hesitated, then softly said, “I didn’t realize I needed that talk as much as I did. Thanks.”
She kept her gaze unfocused.
“Don’t read into it. I was just curious.”
“I know.” He approached the door but paused, his hand hovering over the handle.
“Still.”
“Get out, catboy.”
He withdrew, and the doorbell chimed softly behind him.
The afternoon sun cast a pale, cold glow over the sprawling cityscape, its muted rays barely penetrating the haze of urban dust and pollution.
The city hummed with activity, car engines, distant conversations, and the clatter of footsteps, yet it seemed indifferent to the vulnerability he had just revealed, fragments of himself he usually kept hidden behind a tough exterior.
Their conversation had been light, almost banter, but beneath the surface, it subtly shifted something, not only between him and Morgan but within himself and his perception of the world.
Morgan knew more than she let on, her eyes glinting with unspoken knowledge.
For the first time, Dom didn’t mind carrying that secret.
He had no idea where to find a Frost Wyrm Heart or a Void Lotus, rare magical ingredients known for their potent properties, but Morgan had offered him something even more valuable: a sincere, unguarded conversation, a moment of release where he felt truly seen and understood.
The countdown to the upcoming collaboration had begun, five days until the Aegis project launch.
The system still hummed with an eager, almost electric energy in the back of his mind, already calculating and ticking down to the deadline.
For now, he continued walking, his footsteps echoing softly on the cracked pavement.
The city’s pulsating hum surrounded him, alive, restless, full of unseen stories.
In the distance, a small, quiet tea shop sat nestled between tall, aging buildings, its owner, a woman with silver hair pulled into a neat bun, carefully measuring a blend of rare herbs and dried flowers, her brow furrowed as she pondered the meaning behind the whispered news she had just overheard.