Zion gave Eirik a small nod, confirming the old man's question without hesitation.
The faint medicinal fragrance drifting through Apollo Apothecary immediately brought back memories from his previous life. The scent of dried herbs, the mixture of bitter roots and fragrant flowers, even the subtle smell of medicine lingering in the air, all reminded him of the childhood he had spent surrounded by physicians on the Xynnar Continent.
The elders who had raised him were all legendary physicians whose names alone could shake entire cities. Their medical skills had reached a level where they could pull a dying person back from the gates of death with a single silver needle, yet those same hands could administer a poison so subtle that the victim might never realize what had happened.
Zion had grown up following them everywhere.
He had learned medicinal formulas before ordinary children had even learned their poems, and he could identify herbs by scent before he was old enough to understand most of the stories adults told him. While other children spent their evenings playing in the streets, he would sit beside medicine furnaces beneath the dim light of candles, identifying ingredients by touch while ancient manuals were piled around him. Whenever he made a mistake, one of the old masters would be quick to correct him, sometimes with a sharp knock on the head.
That had been his childhood.
It had also been the foundation of his greatest skill.
As the years passed, Zion gradually surpassed the people who had taught him. Before he had even reached adulthood, his reputation had begun spreading throughout the Xynnar Continent, and among physicians and pharmacists, he was already regarded as a frighteningly talented young master of medicine.
Confidence was something Zion rarely lacked when it came to medicine.
Eirik stared at him for several moments after hearing his answer before finally letting out a slow breath.
"Such talent at such a young age..." The old treasurer shook his head in admiration. "Young Master's future will certainly be extraordinary."
There was no trace of the empty flattery Zion had become accustomed to hearing from nobles. Eirik genuinely meant what he said. As a scholar who had devoted his life to studying herbs, he naturally respected genuine ability more than status or reputation.
His expression soon brightened as he gestured toward the shelves filling the apothecary.
"What herbs does Young Master require? Apollo Apothecary carries nearly everything, from ordinary medicinal ingredients to rare treasures. Simply tell me what you need."
Zion nodded and began walking along the rows of cabinets.
His fingers occasionally brushed against the wooden labels as his eyes moved from one ingredient to another. At first, his expression remained calm, but the farther he went, the more unusual his expression became.
Something was wrong with the prices.
Very wrong.
Several herbs that had once been so common that they practically grew beside roads were now being sold for surprisingly high prices. On the other hand, ingredients that had once caused pharmacists to fight over them at auctions were sitting neglected in corners for prices that were almost laughable.
Zion slowed down as he examined another shelf.
Could this really be the result of the thousand-year gap?
His gaze settled on a few familiar names.
Blood Coagulation Herb.
Sage Grass.
In his era, both had been abundant enough to be considered nearly worthless. Yet here, their prices had multiplied several times over.
Meanwhile, genuinely precious ingredients had lost their value simply because nobody remembered what they were capable of.
Then Zion's eyes suddenly stopped on a small stalk resting inside a crystal container.
A faint white light pulsed from its green leaves.
His breathing nearly caught.
Star Sage Grass.
Not ordinary Sage Grass, but its highest evolved variant.
In the ancient pharmaceutical arts, Star Sage Grass was a treasured ingredient used in countless advanced pill formulas. During Zion's time, major powers had been willing to spend astronomical sums merely to obtain a small amount of it.
Yet the price displayed beside this one was...
One silver coin.
Zion stared at it for a moment before turning toward Eirik.
"Treasurer, this Star Sage Grass only costs one silver coin?"
Eirik glanced at the herb and nodded.
"Yes. Star Sage Grass no longer has any practical use nowadays. It is rare, but rarity alone isn't enough to make it valuable. If Young Master likes it, I can simply give it to you."
Zion almost wondered whether he had heard correctly.
Give it to him?
An ingredient that ancient pharmacists had once fought over was now considered useless merely because the knowledge surrounding it had disappeared.
For a moment, Zion genuinely didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
These people really had no idea what they were sitting on.
Suppressing the urge to immediately snatch the herb from its container, Zion coughed lightly and said, "I'll buy it."
He then quickly named several other ingredients before Eirik could change his mind.
"Blood Coagulation Herb, Immortal Peach Fruit, Spirit Vine Root..."
"Right away!"
Eirik happily began gathering the herbs while Zion's attention kept returning to the Star Sage Grass.
The thousand-year gap had changed far more than he had expected.
By the time Zion eventually stepped out of Apollo Apothecary, the afternoon breeze brushing against his face still felt somewhat unreal.
He had actually purchased Star Sage Grass.
For one silver coin.
One silver coin.
Zion couldn't help grinning as he walked down the street.
"Since crossing over, this world really does keep surprising me."
During his conversation with Eirik, he had already realized something far more important than the cheap herb itself.
Over the past thousand years, countless ancient pill formulas and pharmaceutical techniques had disappeared. Modern pharmacists still existed, but compared with the knowledge of the ancient era, their inheritance had become little more than scattered fragments of a once-complete tradition.
That explained the strange prices.
The herbs themselves had not necessarily become less valuable. The knowledge required to make use of them had simply vanished.
And Zion happened to possess that knowledge.
Every ancient formula he had learned in his previous life remained inside his memory. As long as he could identify the ingredients, he knew how to turn many of these forgotten treasures into valuable medicines and pills.
Nobody would compete with him for them because nobody else understood their true worth.
While others looked at Star Sage Grass and saw nothing more than an obsolete herb, Zion saw a treasure.
It almost felt as though heaven had personally dropped a fortune into his lap.
Unfortunately, having access to treasures and having enough money to buy them were two very different things.
The excitement on Zion's face gradually faded as he touched the small pouch hanging from his waist.
There wasn't much left inside.
The herbs he had purchased had already consumed most of his savings, yet he still needed Bone Flower, a medicinal furnace, and several other expensive materials if he wanted to continue strengthening his mana core and cultivate Summon Magic properly.
When he counted what remained, he found only five gold coins.
Zion stared at the pouch for a while.