William and Carl returned to the City walls where they could still see a small line outside the portal. Over a thousand of the battle's fighters opted to join Retribution, many of which spoke excitedly about joining their first Faction, which William didn't understand.
Just as he was about to ask the System about what the Cultivators said, a light breeze blew past William's face.
"Huh, what was I about to say? Well anyway..." William re-entered Blue Moon City where the higher-ups were waiting. Their smiling faces reminded William of a group of proud grandparents that had just watched their grandson during sports.
"Mr. Yuming! It's good to see you back safe and sound! I'm surprised you didn't want to join Retribution." the youngest of the group, though still grey-haired and age, spoke to William first.
"Yeah, well I don't like to be tied up too much. I can help out in my own way." William replied simply.
"I see. I know you just finished a difficult battle, but are you perhaps interested in participating in the next Beast Tide with us? Your assistance would save many lives." the man asked.
William shook his head, "As much as I want to, I won't be in the area for a while. I need to collect some Alchemy ingredients and I can't stay long."
"Alchemy ingredients? Do you have a list of what you need? Perhaps we of Blue Moon City can be of use." a bald man with saggy cheeks spoke up. His robes suggested he was a member of the Alchemy Hall in Blue Moon City.
William nodded and handed the man a list of the ingredients he needed. Seeing the list of many common Magical Beast materials, with a mix of somewhat rare herbs made the man smile.
"These are easy, Mr. Yuming. How many sets do you need?"
William pointed down the list, "I need ten of these, and these, and these. Then I need fifty of these, twenty-five of those, and a hundred of this. Can you do it?"
"That's...quite an amount, but luckily the Alchemy Hall does indeed have all of these in store. I don't know how you expected to find this by yourself, it would take weeks!"
William laughed, "I was prepared for that."
He could upgrade his Alchemy Talent again, but he didn't need to refine such advanced Pills just yet. He would rather save the Points for something more useful. After all, he still needed to upgrade Uri and his Space Affinity, which would cost most of his stockpile.
"How long do you think it will be before the next Beast Tide?" William asked the Alchemist.
"Well... the Beast Tides were more frequent a month ago, but they've slowed down a lot. If I had to guess, I'd say the next one will arrive between two weeks and a month from now." he replied. The Alchemist reached into a Space Ring and gave William a communicator.
"With this, you'll always be in touch with me or a few other people from the City Hall. The range can cover the entire Continent, so distance shouldn't be an issue if you are far away. We will contact you directly when the next Beast Tide is brewing."
William nodded and accepted the communicator, although he didn't have much faith in its functions. He was supposed to go back to the Gravitas Ruins soon, but it seemed he would have to hold off on that once again.
"Carl, do you need anything? I can refine some Pills for you or your Beasts if you need." William looked at his friend that was browsing the shelves.
Carl shook his head, "I'm probably just going to buy a few more Mana Regeneration Pills."
The bald man jumped into their conversation, "You can refine pills too? I thought you were an Array Master. How do you control the flames without the Fire Element?"
William realized his slip-up, "I misspoke. My Master can refine pills, not me."
"Your Master? What's his name? Is he in Blue Moon City too?"
"You wouldn't know him."
"..." the bald man's cheeks appeared to sag even more than usual at that moment.
William changed the topic, "Can we buy a hundred Mana Regeneration Pills?"