My Skills Can Evolve Infinitely in a Game-Like World

Chapter 21: Mia & Mysterious Man

As Aurelius turned around to meet the voice’s owner, a youthful face entered his sight. It belonged to a beautiful young woman.

With long orange hair and similarly colored eyes, she stood at the entrance of a run-down shop, waving her hand back and forth in an attempt to attract his attention.

As his eyes moved, the girl seemed to realize that she might have overreacted.

Her hand got a little slower, though the smile on her face showed that she was still quite happy to see Aurelius.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Aurelius failed to recognize her.

It was only after several moments, when he repeatedly sifted through his memories, that he finally matched the face before him with a name in his memories.

A faint smile crept up his face as he calmly approached her.

"Mia, how are you? What are you doing here?" he greeted politely, matching her tone.

"Aurelius! I haven’t seen you in a while! You haven’t come to Ernst Academy since that incident!"

A trace of shame flashed across Mia’s face.

"It’s all my fault," she sighed.

"I shouldn’t have told Selene about our friendship. It seems that she misunderstood your intentions. Really... we two are just friends."

Aurelius’ smile faltered upon hearing this.

Mia was Selene’s best friend, the woman he had once grown fond of and pursued while giving up on Selene.

Yet unlike the intelligent Selene, who quickly grasped what he was trying to do, Mia was completely oblivious.

At least, based on their previous exchanges and her present apology, she had no clue regarding what had happened.

Several thoughts flashed through Aurelius’ mind.

Mia, seeing his silence, believed that he was embarrassed.

Therefore, she wisely chose to change the topic of conversation.

"As for why I’m here..." she smiled, pointing at the wooden sign right above her head.

"This is my father’s alchemy shop."

"Come on. Why don’t you enter and take a look around? You might be able to find something that piques your interest."

Aurelius followed her finger and tilted his head to glance at the sign.

Marrow’s Alchemy Shop.

It took him quite a while to make out the words.

The letters on the sign had worn off, with clumps of dry paint peeling off and threatening to fall to the ground.

Seeing him look at it so intently, Mia suddenly remembered the shop’s condition.

Her face flushed crimson.

In an attempt to hide her embarrassment, she gave no time for Aurelius to respond.

She clasped his hand forcefully and pulled him into the shop.

Aurelius didn’t resist and let the girl do as she wished.

Soon, he found himself inside the shop.

Row after row of bookshelves and display cases were scattered all over it, with items piled atop one another beneath a thick layer of dust.

Mia waved her hand, awkwardly clearing some of the accumulated debris in the air.

"Have a look around the shop. You’re quite fortunate. My father is away for today."

"If you find anything you fancy, I can give you a discount. Consider it as an apology."

Although Aurelius wanted to say that there was no need, he swallowed the words that came to his mouth when faced with her sweet smile.

He simply nodded.

Then, he started to go through the items.

His expectations were relatively low.

There were many alchemy shops in Blood Sun City, some of which he had visited in the past to pass some time.

Unfortunately, he had never been able to find anything of value in them.

This small, ruined shop that should have long gone out of business didn’t seem ready to shatter his expectations.

A few seconds later, Aurelius stopped in front of a pile of metal objects and reached out.

After rummaging through the scraps of metal and nearly cutting himself during the process, he was able to retrieve an item from inside.

It was the broken half of a silver dagger.

It closely resembled the one he had found on Selene, except that it was significantly worn down.

Faint cracks and rust covered its surface.

As Aurelius waved it through the air, the cracks only expanded even further.

This made him speechless, especially when he saw that his movements had scattered dust everywhere.

It wasn’t that he was trying to be picky.

In fact, this was the most well-maintained item he had found in the entire shop.

Thinking that searching any further would be a waste of time, Aurelius was about to walk up to Mia and say goodbye.

But just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind him.

"Young man, you have quite a keen eye."

"Although this dagger is slightly damaged, it used to be a precious weapon in the past. Even Awakeners would not dare underestimate it."

As Aurelius spun around, he discovered that these words came from an elderly man.

With long hair and an unkempt beard, he looked like a hermit—or a homeless man.

He bore some semblance to Mia.

Combined with the remoteness of the alchemy shop and the fact that no customer would ever enter it, Aurelius managed to guess his identity.

Mia’s father. The owner of the alchemy shop.

Aurelius nodded politely and was about to greet him.

But before he could do so, the man casually waved his hand and interrupted him.

"There’s no need for pleasantries. You should be Mia’s friend," he prefaced his next words before reaching into his clothes.

"Kid, I happen to be in a good mood today. Since you’re this month’s first customer, I’ll give you a gift."

The words left Aurelius stunned.

Not because of the promised gift or the man’s attitude, but because he claimed that he was the shop’s first monthly customer.

One had to know that it was the 29th day of the month!

Just how poor was this shop? Could it be that it was a front to launder money?

Just as Aurelius was feeling pity for Mia and was imagining the naive girl behind prison bars, the old man finally managed to retrieve what he sought.

Three pieces of white parchment. With a wave of his hand, he tossed them to Aurelius casually, who instinctively reached out and grabbed them.

He originally intended to refuse this gift, claiming that there was no need.

Yet just as his hands came into contact with the paper, several notifications rang out.

As he read through their contents, Aurelius’ words stuck in his mouth.

Instinctively, he raised his head, focusing his gaze on Mia’s father.

The information that appeared only shocked him even further.

[Homer Marrow—Level ??? Alchemist]