Duke's goal was to keep a low profile; the best stores usually have high foot traffic, and putting his shop in such places would naturally make sales easier, but it would be too ostentatious.

His initial target customers were the mages of Azure Vault City, but ultimately his main sales would be to those adventurers.

With adventurers, he didn't really need a prime location, as they could quickly spread information about him on online forums and other places.

Duke had already learned from Dali that Alchemists were very rare here, especially those who could refine powerful magic potions.

The level of potion-making on this Plane seemed relatively low, and the Level 1 Potion Duke casually produced was already seen as a powerful potion by Dali and the others.

There were no large-scale potion shops in Azure Vault City, only a few well-known Alchemists, but they were far inferior to Duke.

They could barely manage to refine one or two types of Level 1 Potions, and their failure rate was particularly high.

Dali knew some basic Magic Potion knowledge and had spoken to Duke about the fundamentals of Magic Potions.

After learning about their refining process and the instruments they used, Duke understood why their potion-making failure rate was high.

Their research into Magic Potion Materials was not as deep as that of the wizards, and the related tools were incomplete; their refining methods were relatively primitive.

The knowledge of Magic Potion Materials was extensive; different materials had completely different properties, and slight differences in handling could greatly reduce effects or even produce negative results.

These needed systematic learning to master, with a very complex knowledge system.

However, the Oracle Plane clearly lacked a systematic inheritance of potion-making, still relying on rudimentary oral transmission, where usually a master taught a few students.

The Wizard Plane had organizations like the Magic Potion Association, where research into Magic Potion was very in-depth.

...

The next day, a shop named Star Embers quietly opened in a small alley in the heart of Azure Vault City.

This little alley, location-wise, was actually situated in the city center of Azure Vault City.

However, it was just away from the busiest area; very few people walked this way, and you had to turn a corner to enter this alley, which resulted in a sparse crowd.

The storefront of Duke's shop wasn't small, just rather simple, with a fairly large courtyard inside, surrounded by two rooms.

One room was for living, and the other could be used for storing some sundries.

Duke turned this storage room into a temporary Magic Potion Laboratory, and fortunately, his Space Ring still had a few sets of basic potion refining tools.

Though they couldn't compare with the top configurations he once used in the Wizard Plane, they were much better than the makeshift tools used by the "old masters" of the Oracle Plane.

The cauldron's inner wall was smooth like a mirror, inscribed with fine energy-conducting runes; the stirring rod was made from the magically inert heartwood of a star meteor; and the filter was woven from the finest mithril threads.

While these were considered basic tools on the Wizard Plane, here they were quite exquisite.

He spent some time cleaning and organizing, getting this temporary laboratory to at least a "usable" standard.

Then, he took out a few bottles of the most ordinary Secondary Potion from his Space Ring, such as Quick Healing Potion and Basic Magic Recovery Potion.

On the Wizard Plane, these were common items, typically used by Wizard Apprentices.

But here, they were the grand opening items of "Star Embers."

Duke didn't bother with any fancy display cases, nor did he even make shelves.

In the storefront along the street, he casually found a few relatively clean wooden boxes and placed the potion bottles on them.

The bottles were the most ordinary transparent glass bottles, the labels handwritten by him, the scrawled words looking like chicken scratch, noting only the name and effects, with no detailed instructions.

The entire shop was empty except for those wooden boxes, with only an old wooden chair he had moved from the backyard.

He himself sat lazily in that chair, leaning against the wall, eyes half-closed, as if dozing or lost in thought.

The shop's door was wide open, outside was a quiet alley so still you could almost hear the dust settle.

Occasionally, a passerby hurried past the alley's entrance, not even curious enough to glance inside.

In the air lingered an almost palpable stillness, only the faint bustle from the distant city center reminded of the city's vitality.

Time slowly passed, from morning to high noon, and then to late afternoon with the sun casting long shadows in the alley.

The entrance of Star Embers remained desolate, not even a curious stray cat appeared.

Duke was in no hurry. He even contemplated whether to replace the chair with a lounge chair.

At that moment, footsteps came from the alleyway, not the hurried kind but with some hesitation, eventually turning into this alley. The footsteps stopped at the shop's entrance.

Duke slightly lifted his eyelids.

Two people stood at the entrance. One was Dali, whom he had just met yesterday, her face holding a hint of subtle excitement and anticipation.

The other was a middle-aged man in a deep blue Mage Robe, embroidered with the emblem of the City Lord's Mansion of Azure Vault City—a slitted pupil circled by a stellar ring.

The man's expression was solemn, with a slight frown, scrutinizing the shabby shop, finally letting his gaze fall on the casually placed potion bottles on wooden boxes and the seemingly languid young shopkeeper on the chair.

His eyes were filled with undisguised doubt, even a touch of disdain.

"Holy Daughter," the middle-aged mage's voice carried a hint of displeasure, "is this the... master's shop you mentioned?"

He deliberately emphasized "master," his gaze sweeping over Duke's excessively youthful face, "and these are the... 'powerful magic potions' he refined?" He looked at the plain bottles, which didn't resemble potent potions at all.

Dali was a little embarrassed, but more certain: "Mage Todd, this is the place. Mr. Duke, this is Mage Todd, the Magic Potion Master of the City Lord's Mansion of Azure Vault City, who himself is quite knowledgeable about potions."

Only then did Duke leisurely sit up straight, his face expressionless as he made a simple self-introduction.

The Magic Potion Master Todd standing before him was also a Level 1 Crystalized Wizard, carrying a faint herbal scent.

Dali had used the City Lord's Mansion's channels to handle Duke's identity information and this shop.

Todd was very interested upon hearing that a Magic Potion Master had settled in Azure Vault City, so he specially requested Dali to introduce them.

Dali was initially reluctant, but couldn't resist Todd's repeated requests, then casually mentioned it to Duke yesterday.

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