Never Die Extra - Chapter 19

Evan D. Sherden | Anyway, starting a side job (4)

“I hope you don’t have any particular demands regarding the pharmacist, Young Master. It would be impossible right now to find the one covering all the demands put forward,”

Evan nodded bitterly. He laughed inwardly at his fate. The thought of how his life would turn out if they were unable to find one at all was horrifying, to say the least.

“The pharmacist just needs to meet the basic standards, and it’ll be acceptable. Considering we already have the overall plan and the general methods put in place, someone with even a little knowledge of herbs would be a blessing right now,” Evan told the Head of the slave market.

“This will make the job considerably easier, Young Master, you shall have your pharmacist in no time,” the Head affirmed, a huge trustworthy smile on his face.

“I’ll scan the outskirts of the city for a pharmacist or anybody with some herb-mixing skills. Oh, and Master, any remuneration on behalf of Marquis will be welcomed. However, if you’re planning on recruiting a larger number of pharmacists, it would be better to consider any alternatives as the temple will come to hear about this one way or another. You’ll have to face any actions taken on their behalf,” the slaves’ Head told them in a somber tone.

“We’ll handle them personally.”

“Already, the relationship between the temple and the people of the dungeon city is resentful. Anyways, I brought a list consisting of names of some local potion makers on your father’s demand. Would you like to have a look?” asked the Head.

“I’m already planning to lay a map of the land I have to cover, and this behavior is surely surprising even to myself! It’s as if I’m not even a slave market leader at all!” he joked.

He handed over a thick sheet of papers, and Evan took it. He looked at them carefully. There were names on it, categorized according to the residence, age, and gender.

“It would be convenient for all if the pharmacist lived nearby. Rest gender and age; you name it Master. How about Naira, or Eum…” the Head suggested. “Perhaps you’d want to rely on those who are already experienced rather than someone new. But those who are too old don’t have much time left, and it would be a hassle in itself to summon them as they are weak too.”

“Well, yes, you’re right. We would prefer someone in their 40s. It’s technically a mature age, full of physical strength. The communication would be a lot easier too.”

While Evan was going through the papers and Eric watched him, the Head’s eyes gleamed.

“ At least in this matter, it is clear Master Evan has more authority than Master Eric. He is the Second Master, who has currently been granted greater authority than the First Master. Haha, it’s true.”

Since the last time the Head of the slave market had met Evan and struck a deal with him, he was convinced of his greater success in the near future. He thought that he should be on good terms with Evan. After all, he had heard about his plans for starting a business, and now watching him carefully study the list, he thought he was absolutely right.

His gaze then shifted to Shine, who was quietly standing next to him. Shine had changed a lot in only half a year.

He was a child of strong will from the beginning, and little by little, the glint in his eyes only got clearer. Above all, he had developed a muscular body, with a lot of stamina. These things surprised him.

“Are you happy here?” the Head asked.

“Yes. More than anywhere else in the world,” he replied immediately.

He thought for a while then nodded again.

“No matter how you look at it, a slave should always obey his Master and have a good relationship with him. You have taken care of me more than once in the past, and I’m thankful for that.”

“Huh, you’re already starting to resemble Master Evan.” the Head replied.

“A slave cannot begin to compare with his master,” Shine narrowed his eyes as he glanced toward Evan going through the documents.

“I can never be him because he can see things no one else can see.”

“Wait! Whoa!”

Evan checked the named again before his eyes. Then, He took a deep breath to calm himself down, picked up one of the pages, and shoved it in the slave trader’s face. He was pointing to a name on it with this finger.

“This person… Can you bring him to me?” Evan asked, still a little breathless.

“Yes, of course. But this man is currently in his 60s… Hmm, I don’t think he has much life left in him. I know he has medicinal skills of a higher level, but wouldn’t it be better to choose someone else?”

“This man!”

Evan raised his face to the point he could’ve kissed the slave trader, his eyes round with anticipation.

“Unconditionally, this person! It has to be him!”

“Oh, I see Master! I will bring this person before you.” said the Head.

“Bring him to me at all costs but be polite with him. He is crucial to our success.” Evan urged.

The slave merchant was puzzled by this sudden shift in Evan’s spirit.

Evan had read Bernard’s name.

Bernard Garcia was 63 years old. He was a man believed to have some knowledge of pharmacy. He lived in the woods and occasionally came down to sell medicinal herbs and potions in a nearby village. No other details were known about him, but he had such a good reputation due to the fact that he sold the herbs to the locals at a low price.

No matter how much you looked at him, he was not a man with special characteristics. He wasn’t particularly famous for his looks, or his good skills or his age.

“If there is any advantage in choosing this man to be your pharmacist, it’s the fact that his mindset is good and strong. Honestly, the mindset should not be the only thing to consider. There are many other characteristics to be judged by too. By the way, what did you see in him that made you choose him with such fierceness?”

“That doesn’t matter right now. If he doesn’t want to come, then please inform him about our current situation in detail. Tell him we are working to make sure more people can live a healthy life by having a proper medicinal system. Oh, and if he still refuses to come, tell him that if he comes to the city, he may discover alchemy he has never seen before.”

“Master, that means…”

“Did you listen to my instructions carefully, everything I just said?”

“Yes, Master, I have memorized it all.”

The slave Head nodded his Head, completely overwhelmed by the momentum of Evan and the passionate way in which he spoke. Shine started giggling.

“It looks like Master saw something again this time,” he said, still smiling.

“You’re definitely right, Shine,” the slave merchant muttered in a dazed voice. He turned towards Shine, who was now looking at him intently. The slave trader looked down at the documents, which remained unchanged even after being viewed again.

“I am unable to comprehend what’s so special about this old man’s name,” he said.

“Oh, and…” Evan hovered the rest of the list in moderation and pointed at another name.

“We need an assistant. I would like it to be this person. Hanna.”

“She is a 19-year-old girl. Her father is an ordinary farmer, and her grandfather worked as a pharmacist. She has followed in both of their footsteps and has considerable skills compared to her age. She has already mastered the collection, mixing, and management of many herbs. She’s good at her work and definitely one of those which I would recommend. She has no reason to be ignored. It is said she is very gorgeous too so she might be helpful in customer service.” said the slave trader.

“Well, that’s exactly what I chose her for,” Evan blurted.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“No, its nothing. So now, as both of them have been chosen to help us in our business, let us bring them in right away!” Evan said with excitement in his voice.

He was constantly muttering to himself. He couldn’t hold his feelings of excitement, and his face kept changing due to the struggle of not showing it to the others. He had a huge smile on his face, but he tried to harden it, thinking, “I can’t smile, I can’t!”

In the slave trader’s perspective, the series of occurrences and events could not be explained that had led them to this point. But in the end, it benefited all, so it should be a win-win situation.

Its definitely going to be!

“So Evan, do you know anything about Bernard Garcia? After all, what kind of a person is he?” Eric asked Evan the moment Head of the slave trade had left after assuring them he would start right away.

At the sudden question, Evan tried to keep a clear expression on his face.

“Its just intuition.”

“Huh. Just intuition? So you have a strong feeling that if we bring this man, it will surely turn out to be beneficial for all of us! You are talking like a very superstitious old man!” Eric exclaimed.

“Uh-huh, so…?”

“You are so confident about this!”

And now it struck Evan. He had used the word “intuition”. He was supposed to be only a child. Now there was a cold sweat on Evan’s forehead, but he couldn’t think of another simpler word instead of “intuition”. It couldn’t be helped as the arrow had already left the bow.

“Yes, it shall work! I believe in you, Evan!”

“Thank you, brother! let’s work hard together in the future!”

“Whoa, I keep forgetting how cute my younger brother actually is.”

At this, Evan smiled brightly. Eric, who couldn’t control his affection any longer, hugged Evan tightly, lifting him and swinging him everywhere in the embrace.

Shine, who was watching them, laughed inwardly. He knew very well that it wasn’t just intuition that Evan was moving with. “Bernard’s skill and expertise must have been foreseen by him. Otherwise, Master may not have stated those words with such confidence.” he thought.

Shine was very close to the correct answer, but unfortunately, he could not reach it. Rather than thinking about the future, if he had thought about the past, he could’ve arrived at the correct conclusion.

Because Bernard Garcia is not a character that will only become important in the future, he is already one of the most important characters in the past!

“Hmm, Bernard Garcia. I didn’t know if he was still alive,” Evan thought.

Bernard Garcia is a character in Yoma War 2, which is set decades before the story of Yoma War 3. He was one of the regular characters who had great influence. He also showed outstanding talent, especially in the field of alchemy.

If someone had to pick the best competent pharmacist NPC from the entire series, everyone would speak the name of Bernard Garcia without any hesitation!

However, at the time of Yoma War 2, he was not only working for the warrior party under a pseudonym but was also wearing a special mask made by alchemy to hide his identity. Due to this, only the protagonist of Yoma War 2 knew his real face, name, and identity.

“Bernard had excellent personality and skills, undoubtedly. If the player hasn’t found him, he can’t measure the true extent of his skills, but there is a catch. You can’t easily find out about his existence. Moreover, the downside to the finding of his existence is the reveal of this girl Hanna. She is a coward, and you can’t even speak to her first. The whole situation is a Headache as Hannah does not inflict damage to the enemies while she is supposed to be protecting the protagonist!”

One of the most iconic and famous scenes include the subjugation of the Yoma King, where everyone joins forces against him. Another one is where the alchemist Bernard breaks his alliance with the protagonist.

Both of them fought side by side in the final battle with extraordinary determination, ready to sacrifice themselves. Both were able to survive and were victorious. The show of friendship and self-sacrifice made the fans of the Yoma series a little emotional than necessary!

Evan has been a big Yoma fan for a long time.

As a fan of the entire series, he was thrilled on the return of Bernard. He suddenly realized.

“Wait. If that’s the case, then I can not only meet Bernard, but also important people from other series…? No, not only that but also the villains who were lucky enough to survive the previous works…?” These thoughts were racing through his mind, making him exasperated.

Originally, in Yoma War 3, the main artifacts and characters of the previous works are only mentioned in the documents and do not appear directly. The game itself is limited to several dungeon cities, including Sherden.

“But this was not a game now, it was the real world! If that’s the case and I’m able to meet characters from the past, that should mean I may be able to meet characters who will appear in the series in the future…!” it dawned on Evan.

“Why did I just come up with this thought now? I’m a fool to not have considered this already! While recording the events of the Yoma War series, why did I ignore the characters from other installments in the series?” Evan became urgent. “I should reinforce the whole collection of the series in my diary, right now!”

“Brother, I’m going to write my diary now,” Evan told Eric.

“What? Yes, I got it. Don’t do any mischief!”

Evan went to his room. “Shine, you stand outside and make no one come in!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Maybel, you go out too.”

“But, what are you writing in your diary, Master?”

Evan expelled everyone from his room and locked the door. Of course, in the meantime, he had to focus on doing his slime training, the basis of his life!

After three days, the slave trader brought the people whom Evan had pointed out from the list.

“Is this kid the one who summoned me? You said something cheeky about knowing alchemy, which was unknown to anyone else?” Bernard said in his wizened voice.

“You can’t just call the Marquis’ son ‘kid’!”

Here he was at last. A hero of Yoma War 2, Bernard Garcia standing right before Evan’s eyes.