Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

"I think it's still..." Vivian said with an awkward smile. At first, she thought that the arcane archmage Afif could give some better advice, but after hearing that he wanted to use "Red Bull" to make an aphrodisiac drink, she once again categorized him in her mind as a shameless old lecher.

"As expected, the teacher was right. Your idea of ​​building the magic tower in the red-light district of Golden Flower City is quite fitting," she thought to herself, while glancing at her teacher. He was looking down at his cup, seemingly unsurprised that Afif would make such a suggestion.

“No, little Vivian,” Afif laughed heartily, “I know it sounds embarrassing, but you should know that on Perfume Lily Street, the male nobles are willing to spend a lot of gold coins to buy such items.”

"There was a blue pill being sold on the black market before, they called it 'Little Blue Star,' and it was about this size," he held up his palm, pinching his index finger and thumb to show Vivian that the pill was less than a centimeter in size. "Do you know how much it cost? Two gold coins."

"So expensive?" Vivian's eyes widened. She wasn't some aristocratic young lady who knew nothing about people's livelihoods and income. When she was a child, she had even set up a small business guild and played around with it for a while. Although that guild closed down due to losses, it still gave her some understanding of business matters.

“Yes,” Afif smiled and glanced at the Red Bull in his hand, “I don’t know who made or sold ‘Little Blue Star,’ but it was certainly all the rage on Perfume Lily Boulevard. But now…”

He paused for a few seconds, then smiled again and said, "I heard there are some problems with that stuff. The supply is very tight right now, and there might even be a shortage. The price of one 'Little Blue Star' has already increased to five gold coins."

Vivian covered her mouth and exclaimed, "This is insane!"

"For those decadent nobles, they can afford it," Afif shook his head slightly, clearly not very fond of "Little Blue Star" either. "However, while those pills have an aphrodisiac effect, they also have certain side effects. After taking them, men will experience lethargy and weakness in their limbs for a period of time. If they take too much, they may even suffer cardiac arrest."

"But this," Afif said, holding up the Red Bull, "I don't think it has any bad effects. The only adverse reaction, I think, is that it makes me too excited."

"But that's not a problem. In fact, those nobles would prefer that feeling of excitement."

"Thank you for your analysis," Archmage Victor, who had been silent for a long time, interrupted. "We only consider it as an auxiliary tool for restoring mental energy and refreshing the mind. As for the effects you mentioned, they are not within our consideration for the time being."

“No, Victor, old man, you need to understand the future of this stuff. Now ‘Little Blue Star’ is going to disappear,” Afif said, looking at his “old friend.” “Whoever can provide a large amount of Red Bull will become the underground ‘master’ of Perfume Lily Avenue.”

"None of us want to," Victor said calmly.

But a sly glint flashed in his eyes, clearly a sense of victory at finally turning the tide.

"Mr. Afif, the teacher is right. I only got this by chance, and I heard that its production is very limited. It was just cultivated casually by a gardening enthusiast," Vivian said, blinking her big eyes. When Uncle Musa handed her the bag earlier, he said that he could not provide "Red Bull" in large quantities.

"This is really bad news." Afif could only shrug helplessly after hearing Vivian's words. "In that case, it's more suitable for assisting in magic training."

“But this time my teacher and I brought a lot,” Vivian said immediately, her gaze sweeping over the rough cloth bag on the corner of the table. “You should regain your magic soon.”

"Don't worry, little Vivian," Afif smiled. "I'll rest well these next few days and recover as quickly as possible. Then I'll help you with the prophecy."

"That's wonderful, Mr. Afif," Vivian stood up, placed her hands on her chest, and bowed deeply. "My skill in arcane magic is still quite average. So far, I can only divine that my brother's location is in the southern part of Nightmare Forest. If I want to know the exact details, I can only rely on you."

"Don't worry," Afif nodded with a smile, the pink bow on his beard bobbing up and down with his movements, "I'll try my best to find his location for you this time. To be honest, I also want to see what kind of person Charles Mello is."

"You'd like to meet my brother too?" Vivian raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, your brother used to be a celebrity in Plantagenet City." Mr. Afif seemed to have thought of something, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"If I can find him, I will personally bring him back to see you," Vivian nodded solemnly. "Even if it's in the Nightmare Forest, I will personally go into the forest to find him."

"No, child, you should stay in the Kingdom of Fran. Never underestimate the Nightmare Forest." Upon hearing Vivian's words, Afif, unusually, stopped smiling and said seriously, "There are dangers in the forest that you are unaware of."

"Danger? They're just some goblins," Vivian said, clenching her fist. "I can kill one of those little monsters with a single Fireball. If I encounter a group, it'll just be a Fireball."

"Hehehe," Afif laughed, but his eyes glanced at Victor beside him, his gaze seemingly carrying a hint of reproach. "Some time ago, Earl Valentine of the North transported two enormous monster carcasses to Goldfinch City. According to his report, his army went through a lot of trouble to completely wipe out those difficult monsters."

"I've heard of it," Vivian said after a moment's hesitation, nodding.

"And little Vivian, there are more than just goblins and monsters in the forest; there are even more powerful things there." Afif looked calmly into Vivian's eyes.

"The more powerful things, do you mean those monsters?" Vivian asked, turning to look at her teacher beside her.

"And there are more in the forest..." Archmage Victor, sensing Vivian's gaze, leaned back in his high-backed chair and slowly said, "There are also evil gods there."

"An evil god?" Vivian frowned.