When the three of them walked out of the auction center, a figure suddenly came approaching them and caught Emery off guard.
It was a humanoid life form that at first glance appeared to be made of wood and roots. Emery could also see a greenish glow radiating out from its inside, reminding him of the flame of a lantern.
At first, Emery thought of it as a summon that someone had conjured, Its gestures, however, looked just like a human and made him rethink his assumption.
As soon as the figure stopped in front of the old man, it swiftly bowed its body in a respectful manner. Seeing this, the old man had a soft smile on his face and spoke to it in a gentle tone.
"Ah, yes.. Alba, we will be having guests today. You may go home first, tell the others"
Alba, the wooden humanoid figure, didn't say anything when he heard the old man's words. After performing another respectful bow, his figure slowly sank into the ground starting at his feet, and gradually dissipated to the point where Emery couldn't feel his spirit energy through spirit reading any longer.
The old man turned his head around and smiled when he noticed how both Emery and Silva's attention was still on Alba who had disappeared.
"Come follow me. Let's go," said the old man with a smile.
As the two of them followed the old man walking down the street, Silva seemed to finally be unable to contain her curiosity. She leaned closer to Emery and whispered, "That thing earlier is definitely a plant-type beast and a powerful one indeed. I also have never seen one so tame and human-like."
Along the way, she also told Emery that if the old man was really a grandmaster apothecary, then the other part couldn't possibly be poor as figures with such a title would be able to create products worth tens of thousand spirit stones as easy as turning a hand.
"There's definitely something more about this old man than what meets the eye.." Silva said, closing her explanation.
Silva asked, "Did he tell us his name before?"
"No he didn't," Emery said
The moment the old man stopped his walk, once again, the two were surprised by the supposed location of their destination. It wasn't on the lower nor the middle level. Instead, it was on the upper level of the city.
Feeling that there was something amiss about the entire situation, Silva quickly confronted him. "Old man, there shouldn't be any kind of shop on the upper level. Where are you taking us actually?"
Hearing that, the old man suddenly tapped his forehead with his hand and looked as if he had forgotten something. "Did I say that we are going to a shop? No, no… I don't recall ever saying that." Turning his head around, the old man smiled. "Youngsters, we are actually on our way to my house now."
While Emery had no idea what the old man's words entailed, the suspicious expression on Silva's face changed and became that of sheer curiosity.
The reply by the old man evidently made Silva become even more curious of him, as it was known that only the richest and most powerful people in Alfa City could have a place of residence on the upper level.
Silva was still and once again very surprised when they finally arrived at the place.
It wasn't just her thought, as Emery who was standing next to her had his mouth completely wide open when he saw the place the old man said was his house.
The place wasn't a simple house nor the kind of luxurious villa the Oroboros provided for him. It was much more exaggerated than the latter.
It was a dome that completely covered one of the corners of the upper level of the city, located just next to the dense forest center.
As soon as they arrived, while the two Emery and Silva were still processing what kind of place they were about to step into, the old man casually sauntered his way through the main door.
The moment they woke up from their daze and went inside, both Emery and Silva were immediately greeted by the sight of a dozen wooden figures similar to the one they had seen before greeting and welcoming them in a respectful manner.
These plant beasts were all unable to talk, but through the subtle and small gestures they did with their hands and their bow, it was obvious that they were a highly trained and disciplined bunch.
As the two followed the old man, they saw another extraordinary spectacle. A massive garden that none of them, even Silva, had ever seen before.
At first glance, the place looked very messy and chaotic like a wilderness that has never been touched for generations. However, even with his small background in apothecary Emery could vaguely tell that each plant was grown and arranged in a certain order.
There was a certain sense of harmony between the erratic arrangement, whether in shapes, color, or even smell. There were also at least a hundred life forms that blended in within the garden.
It was at this moment that the old man stopped his steps. He turned around and looked at Emery and Silva with a smile when he noticed the shock in their eyes.
"Welcome, to my home, the Spectrum Garden."
From her expression, Silva seemed to have heard of this name before. However, she couldn't put her mind to it and tried her best to remember.
In the end, she still didn't have a clear idea of what this place was, and was only certain that this place was part of the 100 restricted places within Alfa City.
Emery, on the other hand, wasn't really worried. In his eyes, a person who could create such a wonderful place - a literal paradise for aspiring apothecary - must be kind-hearted and could be trusted.
He nonchalantly strolled his way in, his facial expression clearly told how enjoyable it was.
Since he was small, Emery always found himself really comfortable in such a place surrounded by nature, and this one certainly is the most amazing. Probably even more than the Gaia Shrine itself.
While they passed through the jungle-like garden, green butterflies that were glowing would fly towards them. Two of them landed and clung themselves to Silva's shoulder, while Emery was pretty much covered by dozens of them from head to toe.
Seeing this, especially Emery's state of being completely besieged, the old man nodded slightly and smiled.
A few minutes later, the three of them finally walked through the garden. They arrived in the middle of the garden, where a huge house that was also created from and by nature could be seen.
The old man made his way inside, and the two quickly followed suit. When they entered the place, they were welcomed by a chamber full of vials, cauldrons, and shelves filled with hundreds of plants. The place definitely looked more like a laboratory than a living space.
Emery also saw that the place was full of two dozen wooden humanoid figures similar with its rooted skin and glowing green light in its chest, but this one was only a quarter the size of what they saw outside - roughly the length of an adult human's arm. With larger head, and shorter limbs these littel wooden creatures looks kinda adorable.
As the group entered, all the figures stopped what they were doing and turned around to greet the old man respectfully before returning to their respective duties. When he walked past and inadvertently took a glance at what these creatures were doing, Emery for a moment couldn't believe what his eyes saw.
These little creatures were actually doing apothecary works, cooking, cutting, mixing while making weird small voices.
"Kuang! Kuang! Kuang!"
Emery was still shocked, processing what he had just seen, when Silva noticed him stop walking and therefore dragged him with her.
Finally, they arrived at a corner that seemed to be the old man's private space as they couldn't see the little creatures here. The old man looked at Emery who had just recovered from his shock and opened his mouth.
"So may I have another look at the booster?"
"Uh? Ah!? Yes, of course." Emery handed the [Twilight Wolf Booster] in the outstretched hand and said, "If I may ask, what is it that attracted you with this booster? Do you, by any chance, have a special interest in the Wolf Bloodline?"
Emery asked the question because he hoped the old man was an expert in this field of study and therefore might be able to help him.
The old man, who was still fascinated with the serum, shook his head and casually said, "No, no. You misunderstood. I'm not interested in the bloodline. Rather, what I find fascinating is this mutation, a mutated gene based on natural elements. Now, that's extremely fascinating."