As Anemone ran back to Father with exciting news to tell, she stumbled upon him selling to their first customer. An apple and a bunch of grapes for five copper. In the end, it might not be much profit if they decided to restock, but no matter what, it took the burden off his shoulders if they got more money.
Not wanting to interrupt the business, Anemone waited for the customer to leave, then arrived by Father's side with a bright smile on her face.
"Father! I have exciting news to share!" she exclaimed.
"What is it, young one?" he said in a bitter tone.
Anemone suspected his tone of voice was either from the customer being rude or him worrying about money. Regardless, she knew the news would make him happy. "The Moonwine could be sold for three gold per liter!"
She watched him choke on his own words, and his face went from despair to hope. He then coughed into his hand, and Anemone could see a smile creeping onto his face from behind.
"Oh really? That is good news! Well, why don't you use the five copper coins we just made and go buy a one-liter pot? Buy a durable one, we don't want customers complaining in case they break the pot, then running back for a refund!" Father said.
Anemone quickly took the money in his hand and ran to a nearby store as fast as she could, wasting no time to return and set the pot down, to the right of Father.
"Thank you, young one. Now this may be difficult, but can you go get the clay vessel of Moonwine from the carriage near the stables?" he asked.
"Of course!" Anemone smiled brightly.
She quickly ran over to the stables, which weren't far when running, and located the carriage. Anemone picked up the vessel, which was hard to hold, so she strapped leather around it, making it into something she could hold over her shoulder. As she walked back carefully, ensuring the pot didn't break, Anemone looked around for anyone who might seem wealthy.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, standing at the entrance to an alleyway, there was a man in a bowler hat, black suit, black tie, and a wooden cane with a piece of white rubber she assumed was at the bottom.
Anemone looked at him and yelled, "We are selling authentic Moonwine if you would like to buy some, three gold per liter."
He looked at her with disgust, like she was lying and trying to get him to fall into a trap. His eyes seemed to tell Anemone, "I'm tired of you merchants faking this stuff." But regardless of what his gaze might have been telling her, the words that came out of his mouth were different.
"That's such a low price for you claiming it's 'authentic.' If you want me to buy some, let me try it," the man said.
"Okay, follow me!" Anemone replied.
She walked back to the cart they used to set up shop and set the vessel down, the man following soon after. Then something he pulled out shocked her; he had an animal horn used as a cup, it was common around here, but it was the first time Anemone had ever seen it.
She walked up to Father and whispered, "He said he wanted to try it first to see if it's authentic."
Father seemed to be expecting this as he quickly replied, "That's fine by me, we will set aside one liter of it for people to try."
Anemone grabbed the horn from the man as Father poured some Moonwine into it. It was a purple shimmering liquid that could only be described as the moon turned liquid. It was dazzling, sparkling; the faint glow emanating from it bounced off the horn, and the purple liquid had white, star-like spots that glowed rhythmically.
The man looked at it, intrigued as Anemone handed him the horn back. He then gulped down the small amount poured into the horn, and his eyes seemed to shake as he drank it.
'I know it has hallucinogenic effects, but it shouldn't act that quickly,' Anemone thought.
Her thoughts were right; it didn't affect him that quickly; instead, he was surprised.
"This is the first real Moonwine I have had in ages. Please give me a liter, and three gold is for watered-down stuff, raise it to six gold," the man said.
Anemone and Father then poured a full liter, giving it to him in return for six gold. They both looked at it like a miracle. They knew this stuff was rare, but Anemone had heard three gold from a barmaid, but now it was six gold? The man then left with a happy expression; he didn't even get out of their sight before drinking more.
They set three gold coins to the side that would be used for emergencies, then used the other three for signs, more stock, a barrel to store more grapes and apples, which seemed to be selling over everything.
As the day came to a close, Anemone hung up four signs on the street, near their shop. Each one said 'Authentic Moonwine for 6 gold a liter.' Along with their other prices. Before she even had them all put up, they sold two more liters of Moonwine. The thing that seemed to be drawing in the customers was the glowing effect that it caused; it was one of the biggest signs for it being authentic, even if it was watered down. They figured that for this drink, it would be better to sell it at night, so instead of closing, Anemone and Father stayed open for another two hours.
As the day ended, with twenty gold made from selling various items, Anemone and Father went to the tavern to sleep. It might have been late, but they bought some food for them to enjoy while having a casual conversation.
"I was worried about the money, young one, but thanks to you finding the price of that drink on day one, we don't need to worry anymore. So two days from now, go apply for the application test in hopes of being able to take the test coming up the day after," Father said with a calm, gentle expression, almost like all his stress had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Anemone looked at him, smiling, "Will do! Just focus on the shop, don't worry about me, and put ten gold hidden somewhere in your room just in case something happens."
They finished their meals after the short conversation and headed to their rooms. Anemone now had five gold on her person, while Father had fifteen.
The night passed, and the next day was smooth with another twenty-seven gold made. Four liters of Moonwine were sold, worth twenty-four gold, and that day they sold all of their bread and lots of herbs and mushrooms, leaving them with thirteen liters left. They also restocked what herbs they could, and the day quickly ended.
Time quickly passed, and it was now the day for the application. Anemone woke up around 10 in the morning and grabbed her satchel. The walk, which she took on the main road, was about two hours at a consistent pace. As she walked, the castle came into view; it was majestic to say the least. It had four large watchtowers made of stone in the northeast, southeast, southwest, and the northwest, placed in precise areas to ensure no area was unguarded. The side Anemone could see in the distance, the south, had a large wooden gate that had two stone golems with glowing cores on either side.
As Anemone walked up to the building she was told the application would be at, she was underwhelmed and surprised. It was a small, stone mage tower, with a purple cone-like point as a roof. It had two large windows, one at the top with a red banner with a flame embroidered onto it. The bottom window had a design built into it, it was an icon mage hat, with a starry pattern.
Anemone began to walk up the few steps leading to the entrance to the building, and to the left and right of the elderwood door were two large bird baths, each had moss inside the basins, which were filled with water, one had a pink lotus and some lily pads, the other had a black lotus, standing alone.
Anemone arrived in front of the large door, and it swayed open; a creaking sound filled her ears. No one pushed it open; instead, it happened by some magical force.
'Makes sense looking at where I am,' Anemone thought.
A bright light emanated from the open door, and it seemed to blind her as she walked inside the building. Her feelings turned from disappointment to amazement.
'Space magic,' she thought.
The inside was much larger than the outside; it was ornate, very well decorated, and beautiful. Anemone looked around to see many people in this library-looking place, it was so quiet you could hear someone breathe. She began to explore, and it was truly a library. At the end of every aisle was a potted plant, each had one glowing pink bulb plant on a green stem, with roses, lilacs, lavender, and other plants growing beside it.
'Beautiful and smells delightful due to the lavender,' Anemone thought.
She then walked up to a librarian sitting at a large wooden desk, with glasses at the tip of her nose, and her brunette hair was in a ponytail as she was engrossed in her book.
'That's the same book I'm reading!' Anemone thought.
The librarian grabbed the string at the back of the book, sliding it into the page she was currently at, shutting it, then looking up at Anemone.
"Welcome to the Limitless Tower. What can I help you with, miss?" she said, smiling.
"Yes, I'm here to apply for the Adventurers Guild. I was told that since I am a mage, I was supposed to come here. Though I do have a question..." Anemone said.
The librarian seemed to read her mind as she answered Anemone's question before she could even ask it.
"You don't need to apply for an application test, as a mage, you would just take the application test here, whereas if you were not a mage, you would take the application test somewhere else in the city. It is designed to give necessary information to the Adventurers Guild, where you will take the placement test, such as name, core color, aptitude with meditation, aptitude with embracing, or gathering external mana in the air, and many other things," the librarian explained.
"Okay, where do I go for the application test?" Anemone asked.
"Second floor, go through the door to the left of the entrance, that's the path to the next floor."
"How can the first floor connect to the second flo... Never mind, I forgot where I am," Anemone said.
She turned around, walking up to the door the librarian described, opened it, and walked through. Again, a blinding flash filled her eyes, and it didn't hurt.
'This flash must be so you don't get nauseous from suddenly teleporting,' Anemone thought.
After the flash went away, Anemone was in a completely new room, and this time it seemed to be fused with nature. In the center of the large space was a large tree that grew past the dome-shaped roof. Surrounding it were many benches with people sitting comfortably. Anemone saw lanterns floating in the air as she sat down, looking around to see many assumed to be applicants walking through one of the twenty surrounding doors, besides the entrance door, and some even went to the second floor to go through some of those doorways.
'So many entrances,' Anemone thought, her jaw dropping in amazement.
She sat there, waiting as she took in as much information as she could, then suddenly she heard a voice in her head.
"Go through door twenty, and complete the papers," the voice said.
Suddenly, each entrance had a number on it, and Anemone found the corresponding one and opened it. Surprisingly, no bright light; instead, it was a room with two lanterns hanging by chains from the ceiling, a painting of an elderly man, a grey beard down to his chest, a grey mage hat sitting in a professional position with his face blacked out. Some distinctive features that popped out to Anemone were the large staff beside him that he was holding, with a blue glowing jewel at the top, and the other was at the bottom of the painting, 'Malrek Thayne. Water Savant.'
'What is a savant?' Anemone asked herself as she continued snooping.
There was a desk with a single chair, shelves behind it with multiple books embedded, the desk had multiple papers, a quill and ink, and a lantern sitting there shining brightly. Beside the door was a chest which Anemone did not bother opening.
Suddenly, again, the same voice entered her head, but it was more distinct this time as she paid attention; it was an authoritative, elderly male voice that spoke slowly.
"The Seven Savants are the most influential mages of each generation, earned through respect, reliability, and strength."