End of the Magic Era
chapter-104

'It seems like I'll have to live with this cousin for a few days…' Lin Yun chuckled and told a servant to take very good care of his older cousin before leaving for the Gilded Rose with the old butler.

The development of the Gilded Rose had been very quick recently. The old butler had opened thirteen branch stores in the past ten days, which now covered all of Thousand Sails City, but most of the time people would call these branch stores something like the Lion King Street Gilded Rose or the Quality Research Street Gilded Rose... Only the store on the Victorious Return Street would be directly called the Gilded Rose.

By this point, the Gilded Rose was already considered a giant on the Victorious Return Street. It occupied a whole street and was comparable in size with the Sage Tower it was facing.

But whether it was the old butler or Lin Yun, they both felt that gathering too many alchemy items in one location wasn't good.

Thus, a part of the street was rebuilt as a technology center, a great number of alchemy workshops and a great number of alchemy laboratories, so that every Alchemist had the best work environment possible. As for the storefront, all that remained the same was the original Gilded Rose so that when people came for the first time, they couldn't see that it was the 1st Gilded Rose alchemy shop of Thousand Sails City.

After Lin Yun entered the Gilded Rose, he went to the 2nd floor after greeting a few alchemists.

Since the Gilded Rose was booming, it had been a long time since Lin Yun had made something himself. Even if he occasionally got a few precious magic materials, Lin Yun would give them to Faleau and wouldn't bother asking if they'd been wasted.

Like this, he would be able to reduce the amount while letting Faleau accumulate a lot of experience.

That young Alchemist broke through his bottleneck two days ago to become a true Great Alchemist.

This was the first Great Alchemist of the Gilded Rose besides Lin Yun.

Lin Yun came today to chat with Faleau so that they could plan his path from here on.

After all, the Great Alchemist rank was very important. At the peak of the Magic Civilization, becoming a Great Alchemist was considered taking the first step on the path of alchemy. If someone took improper detours on their path, it wouldn't be as easy to fix as before. Some paths might lead a Great Alchemist with boundless prospects to fail and be unable to get any decent achievements.

Lin Yun waited for a bit in his laboratory before a knocking sound echoed at the door, but when the door was opened, Lin Yun was surprised by the newcomer. Instead of Faleau, it was Remy.

"Remy, what is it?"

"It's like this… Boss Merlin, there is a guest outside. He said he was your older cousin. He said that you had to go down immediately… To go down to meet him…" Now that he had officially become an Alchemist, Remy couldn't help feeling nervous when facing Lin Yun.

As one of the oldest employees of the Gilded Rose, Remy's understanding of this young boss far surpassed that of these new Alchemists. Remy had seen Mason eat a glass bottle, and he had seen a Great Mage getting slapped twice by his young boss.

Remy was more aware than anyone else that this smiling young boss was far less good-natured than he appeared to be.

"..." Lin Yun could feel a vein throbbing on his forehead. That William fellow still wasn't done!

After taking a few breaths, Lin Yun repressed his urge to curse and only replied with a sullen expression, "Okay, Remy, I understand. You go first."

Lin Yun quickly went downstairs and discovered quite a few people already standing in the lobby. Faleau, Hauss, Remy, William, and a forty-year-old man wearing a black robe.

William seemed to be a bit impatient as his expression wasn't good, and when he noticed Lin Yun, he coldly snorted, "I'll say it once, my time is limited, and you already made me wait twice. I hope there won't be a third time."

"..."

"I hope you won't make the same mistake, otherwise I'll leave Thousand Sails City and won't care about your situation." After William strictly tossed out those words, he took a look around the Gilded Rose, sizing it up with undisguised disdain on his face. "Mafa, I have to say, your Gilded Rose business is very bad. Look, your father left you a golden spot for a shop, and you barely manage to keep it. I have to ask, do you even have a hundred alchemy products in this place?"

"There should be over a hundred…" Lin Yun thought about it very seriously, as it seemed like there weren't many left. Ten days ago, dozens of carriages filled with Nether Iron Ores and Magic Gems had piled up their contents in the storage of the Gilded Rose. In order to make space, the old butler had sent all the items in the lobby to be delivered to various other branches. Now, only a hundred or so items were left here.

"So you do know that there are only a hundred items?" William was watching Lin Yun strictly, and his look expressed his disdain for Lin Yun failing to meet his expectations. "I already investigated, this place is called the Victorious Return Street, the best location in the Gilded Rose. You are occupying such a golden place, yet you only have a hundred items here, how weak is the alchemy skill of your Gilded Rose?"

"Hey, watch your words!" Faleau intervened before Lin Yun could even speak.

The current Faleau was Thousand Sails City's youngest Great Alchemist, Lin Yun excluded of course. The day he broke through and became a Great Alchemist, almost all the forces of Thousand Sails City had expressed their congratulations. Many of them had directly expressed the intention to hire him, giving him all kinds of beneficial conditions. Even after working for the Black Horn Auction for many years, Faleau hadn't been able to resist being shocked at what they offered.

But after the initial surprise, Faleau didn't even hesitate and directly refused all invitations.

Because Faleau knew that the reason behind him becoming a Great Alchemist in his twenties was neither because of his own natural talent nor his hard work. It had happened because he was working for the Gilded Rose, and more specifically for a boss called Mafa Merlin. It was this simple.