Star force origin series.., p.1
Tonic Shop at the Edge of the World: A Cozy LitRPG, page 1
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Chapter 1
The capital city of Prism was so beautiful when it rained. The downtown core especially consisted of tall glass buildings, and when the light and raindrops hit just right, they refracted off the glass in a thousand wondrous colors.
I was especially aware of all those colors as I emerged from the underground train line.
“One side,” a cranky old man snarled as he pushed past me onto the street.
I was a bit like a tourist at the sight of it all, so I sidestepped to let busier people by. It seemed that all the glittering colors were the first good omen I’d seen in months.
My graduation from the Alchemy Academy before the start of summer had none of the pomp and circumstance that was due. That fact still lived rent-free in the back of my head as I joined the bustling crowd and made my way along the streets.
It was hard not to run, as today’s trip was the one silver lining I’d been looking forward to all summer, so I forced myself to slow down. I had as many thoughts that ran through my head as colors bounced off the glass buildings.
As I rounded the corner, I stopped in my tracks as I recognized Fairy Light Brews and Tonics. It took up almost the whole street corner, and its reputation was just as impressive. Everyone in the craft had heard of the shop, but I’d never been inside.
Time to remedy that.
Above the entrance was an array of awnings made of red silk with tassels, and my nose was filled with a thousand scents of various spices and herbs as I stepped off the cobblestone street and took in the sight.
Instead of doors, they had various gauzy veils and walls of beaded strings that the shopkeepers glided in and out of, and one silky veil had a cloud of steam that wafted out after. I had to assume that the true magic, the actual brewing, occurred in that back room.
A plethora of diverse customers came and went, and at the end of the closest line was a pack of witches. They had an array of shopping bags around them, and they seemed engrossed in some hot gossip as they collected their tonics and bustled about their day. A beautiful blonde sorceress slipped her arm lazily around the waist of her High Fae date as they waited for their tonics. A group of goblin men were leaning against a tall shelf as they awaited their orders, and as soon as they were handed a clinking bag of vials, they went back out into the crowded streets.
Behind the satyr at the main counter was a wide array of vials, flasks, and even large and expensive-looking decanters. There was glass, obsidian, bone, and every other material under the sun. The top shelf boasted a wide menu of colorful liquids in the large, glorious decanters, and I wondered how many of their patrons could afford such opulence. Decanters like that rarely sold for less than two-thousand gold.
I couldn’t wait to start work on my own tonic shop.
I would only be starting at Level 1 today. I didn’t have the reputation of Fairy Light Brews and Tonics, or anything my parents set up. I might have some sympathy points that could push me forward a few steps, but I didn’t want to rely on those.
Besides, this particular style of Shop design all felt like a little too much for my taste. I felt that the silky veils and awnings were a bit gauche, and I didn’t want to hide in the back room away from my customers. I wanted a tonic shop for the same reason my father did: I wanted to make people happy with their experience and purchases. How could I possibly ensure that happened if I was tucked away behind a veil?
More importantly, I didn’t want to just shell out vial after vial for people passing through. Sure, the tonics might have been good at Fairy Light, but with how many people valued the quality of their tonics, so much more could be done.
“Not my vibe.” I shook my head and moved along the street.
No, I didn’t want to be merely a grab-and-go service. I wanted to open the kind of tonic shop that people looked forward to visiting, and where people stuck around for a friendly drink or a cozy brew as long as they wished. I wanted to create a real experience, and go beyond what tonics had become under the strict regulations of the Brewmasters’ Guild.
Something so truly unique and innovative that the locals of Prism would gab about it to their visitors from out of town, and insist they had to bring them there.
Not to mention the sheer volume of ingredients that had never been tested to their full potential yet. I’d spent so many sleepless nights poring over botanical texts in awe of plants’ magical properties that my textbooks were dog-eared and covered with my own notes, and I was determined to have the most unique menu on top of the greatest experience anyone could have in a tonic shop.
I would be so busy, the Brewmasters’ Guild would have to grant me a franchise license. I would have to invent something that allowed me to be in two places at once.
I was truly in my own la-la land of imagination as I reached the steps of the Brewmasters’ Guild Head Office. I stopped and soaked in the reality of why I was there as I stared at the ornate building.
It was one of the only buildings in the downtown core that wasn’t made entirely of glass. According to some historians, it used to be a temple of sorts, from a culture that had long since died out. The Brewmasters’ Guild had been respectful of this idea and had kept it mostly preserved in its original state on the outside.
The main hall that protruded proudly was made entirely of red and gold marble, including the massive steps that led up to it. The enormous hallways that protruded from the side created perfect symmetry and left anyone who so much as passed by it in awe. The main hall was roofed with an emerald-green glass dome, which stood out against the sapphire-blue glass roofs of the two side halls.
“Here we go,” I muttered under my breath as I adjusted my coat and headed up the marble steps.
The large golden doors were already open for business as I entered the busy and bustling building. I glanced up to see that the dark, cloudy sky was tinted green through the roof. I’d been in this building so many times before, but today felt like the first time all over again. The floor on the inside was still the same colored marble, but the refraction from the glass ceiling highlighted the immense Brewmasters’ seal in a silvery-green color.
In the center of the seal there was an ancient-looking woman etched into the marble, who was dressed in sorceress robes. Around her were the words:
“Alchemia Vita.”
That was the official motto of the Brewmasters’ Guild, as well as the Alchemy Academy.
Alchemy, and the practice of tonic brewing, was once considered a black magic, but as the wildest corners of the world were settled and more strange and unusual adventures and opportunities cropped up, the need for travel-safe brews became more dire. Then came the territorial disputes and attacks from even more dangerous places beyond our borders, and tonic brewing became the solution. At first it became acceptable to use healing tonics and brews to staunch the number of casualties. Then people began to invent buffs and brews that had other uses, and soon Alchemy was considered an essential science.
They became useful trading tools with more powerful beings, such as witches, and banshees and the like, but soon the call for regulating such a nuanced and necessary science was made loud and clear.
That was when the Brewmasters’ Guild stepped in and took over all regulations pertaining to tonic brewing, and nothing had been the same since.
“Hey Mason!” a kind-faced woman from my graduating class greeted me. “How was your trip?”
“Could have been better.” I winced. “But I managed.”
“Glad you are here,” she said, and she cast a sad glance at an older woman beside her who looked like she must be her mother. “I’m sorry about your parents. Your mom was a hero of mine.”
“I hear that a lot.” I grimaced but did my best to shift it into a polite smile.
I should have been celebrating this momentous occasion with my parents, and it panged my chest to know they’d be standing right here next to me as well, if it hadn’t been for that horrible explosion.
They hadn’t even gotten to see my graduation ceremony. If they’d only lived another three weeks, they’d at least have witnessed that, but no. One freak explosion had ended everything for us.
It had been deemed an ‘accident.’
But my parents didn’t have accidents.
They were legends among the Brewmasters’ Guild. My father was famous for his innovations when it came to mood influencers. Nothing made him happier than to lift the spirits of people around him, and he was exceptionally talented. The Sunshine Spritz, which dispelled fear and boosted happiness, was his most noteworthy achievement, and he was widely celebrated for it.
My mother, on the other hand, had a preference for healing potions. She was noted for inventing Moonmilk, which could cure most common sicknesses in the span of two days. She was also, according to some of my professors who knew her, a famous beauty. Most people tended to forget her accomplishments as they remembered her looks.
I just thought of them both as Mom and Dad. I remembered how they taught me that their achievements couldn’t be mine. If I wanted the same reputation as theirs, I had to earn it for myself.
And I’d be damned if I didn’t, especially now. If I faltered just because I lost them, then it would be a dishonor to the
“I’m going into tea brewing,” my classmate said as she seemed to notice how gloomy I’d become. “I’m hoping to create more medicinal teas to combat the lepric-pox outbreak in the south. So many innovations are being made there.”
“I’ve heard the same, and good luck to you,” I replied as she waved and trotted off toward a hallway that was marked ‘Tea Brewers.’
I hoped she’d do incredible things as she started in her first Shop. The majority of my classmates were seeking steady, basic careers as brewers of one kind or another, but some, like myself, truly wanted to discover new things and make a difference in their chosen field of alchemical work.
At the age of twenty, pending our Basics School results, we could be admitted to the Alchemy Academy. The entire program was seven years long, in order to produce the most qualified graduates.
Every graduate of the Alchemy Academy was entitled to receiving a Shop Assignment according to their academic records, and today was the day I’d receive my very own.
Despite my family tragedy, I still looked forward to the culmination of all my hard work.
I had entered the school with a strong determination to live up to my parents’ legacy. I didn’t want their name alone to be the reason for my success. Jealous classmates would sneer and insist that I only got ahead because of ‘Mommy and Daddy.’ If I had the marks and the work to back it up though, then it didn’t matter what bullshit dribbled off their chins.
As a result, I graduated as the Valedictorian, but I was allowed to avoid giving a speech, on the grounds of my parents’ recent and untimely death.
I drew a deep breath as I tried to ignore how many happy graduates I saw milling around me with proud partners, friends, or families trailing after them. They’d all spent the full three months of summer celebrating and enjoying their successes. While I’d spent the summer in self-exile, tending quietly to my family’s garden and planning for my future.
“Hey, Kumen!” I called to my friend as I saw him enter.
He was a cheery, dark-skinned, twenty-seven-year-old human, and he was one of the few people at the academy who didn’t immediately assume I was going to squeak by on my name alone. Kumen had decided to keep himself clean-shaven after a first-year mishap had caught his goatee on fire. He still had the burn scar on his chin to prove it. He could have had it medicated to disappear, but he insisted that he liked it. He called it his humility badge.
“Mason!” He caught me in a bro hug. “I’ve barely seen you all summer. How’re you holding up?”
“Well enough,” I admitted. “I’m just glad this day is finally here.”
“Oh, I bet.” My dark-skinned human friend cringed. “This’ll be the first win for you in a while.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I still have a lot to live up to, though.”
“It’s strange not to have the House of Sun and Moon around anymore,” Kumen said with a sympathetic look. “Most folks are finding it hard enough to get used to that, I can’t imagine how it feels for you.”
I nodded as I tried not to remember how beautiful my parents’ shop had been before the explosion.
The House of Sun and Moon had been given to them jointly after graduating from the Alchemy Academy all those years ago. My mother and father had been young students when the first territorial wars started to rage, and tonics were more necessary than ever. That was when Dad invented the Sunshine Spritz as an antidepressant for those who’d lost friends and family during the battles, and around the same time, my mother invented Moonmilk.
Their contributions were so well-received that they actually graduated early, and they’d grown and developed their skills further together for years and years after that. The House of Sun and Moon instantly earned a high reputation, and it grew quickly into the best Tonic Shop in the entire city of Prism.
Now it was nothing but ashes and a closed-off ‘danger zone’ in the city.
“It’s definitely been hard to get my head around,” I agreed. “It’s even harder not to have Mom or Dad anymore.”
“I’m so sorry buddy,” Kumen sighed. “Let’s meet up for lunch or something after this. We can talk about our shops, or we can talk about nothing. Let’s just get you out of your dark cloud.”
“That sounds great,” I agreed as Kumen dashed away for his own shop assignment.
He had decided early on in our studies that he wanted to be a brewer for defensive buffs specifically. Both his parents were warriors who were killed near the end of the most recent war, and he was convinced that they could have been better protected if they had a wider variety of buffs available to them. I hoped that our shops would be able to collaborate one day.
I earned a few pitiful glances from members of the guild as they passed through the great hall. Most of them were quite wrapped up in their own business, so they didn’t stop, but I could feel their eyes as if they couldn’t avoid me.
I did hear their whispers, though.
“Isn’t that Indigo and Chava’s boy?” one older woman tittered.
“Yes,” her companion confirmed. “Poor dear.”
“I’ve only just realized,” one of my professors said in a hushed tone. “Mason looks so much like Chava. Except the eyes, those are all Indigo.”
I tried to ignore the whispers, even if the last one was entirely true, as I caught my reflection in a glass. My dark blond hair was a direct reflection of my mother, and people also said I had her naturally kind expression.
But while my mother had warm, dark brown eyes, I had inherited steely-blue eyes from my father. I’d styled my hair like his, faded around the neck, but full on the top of my head. I’d also filled out more like him as I’d worked nearly my entire twenties in the greenhouses and herb gardens of the Academy.
I straightened as I brushed an invisible crumb off my overcoat. I’d worn my father’s dark blue tweed suit for the occasion. I knew it was just fabric at the end of the day, but the sentimental value gave me an extra boost of confidence.
“Mason?” a familiar female voice echoed over my shoulder.
I turned around to find Professor Sye Lantro, my first-year herbology teacher.
She was a sweet, grandmotherly type half-human half-fairy, whose pink hair was laced with silvery white as she aged. Her eyes and mouth had the distinct laugh lines of a woman who’d lived her entire life with a cheery disposition.
“Good morning Professor.” I smiled.
“Oh, dear me!” She hugged me briefly. “Mason, you’ve grown up so much in the last seven years. I can’t believe how they’ve flown by.”
“They didn’t fly by for me,” I replied with a light chuckle.
“They never do for the young.” Her hazel eyes twinkled with the wisdom of age. “How have you been, considering everything?”
Professor Lantro’s face was sympathetic as she broached the sensitive topic. If I had to talk about it with anyone, I would certainly prefer someone like her who wouldn’t pepper me incessantly about it.
“Rough.” I grimaced. “The funeral was hard, when you consider that there was nothing left of them to bury.”
The old half-fairy cringed and nodded in agreement.
“Yes I remember that,” she said. “I don’t think anyone knew what to say to you at that moment.”
“I don’t blame them.” I shook my head as I remembered the somber occasion. “I’m just honored so many people showed up to pay their respects. It would’ve meant a lot to them to see so many friends and admirers.”
There was a plaque up in the main hall now, with their names and contributions on it. It was the only sort of memorial that could be given to them, and no one seemed like they felt able to voice it out loud how tragic that was.
Everyone except Gakob Hylengal. That fucker seemed a little too distraught.
It was a known dirty little secret that Gakob had never gotten over my mother’s outright rejection of his advances. That he’d be sad at her sudden demise was understandable enough, but that he would out-mourn me over my own parents felt suspicious.
“Are the police still sure it was an accident?” Professor Lantro asked. “It sounds a bit too easy to me, your parents were too sharp for that sort of thing.”
“They can’t make out the source of the explosion.” I rolled my eyes. “There were too many ingredients and fermenting brews around that they couldn’t narrow it down.”
