— As I said earlier, in this Mage Tower, any magical item of Level 2 or higher can only be sold to the Sidrel Association.
He put on a smug expression.
— This is the magical contract established between our association and the Official Mage in charge of this Tower.
— If you do not obey the rules, you risk losing your status as an Acolyte.
Before I could respond, Medivo reached out and simply snatched the piercing from Micraclou’s palm.
He held the item before his eyes.
He examined the runes.
He turned it over.
Then he nodded in satisfaction.
— The quality of this piercing is indeed very good.
He smiled.
— According to the rules of the Sidrel Association, I will purchase it at market price.
He paused.
— The price is...
Medivo quickly glanced at the crowd.
— Twelve crys...
He stopped.
— Cough! Cough!
Then he corrected himself.
— Fifty magical crystals!
Silence.
For a moment, no one reacted.
Then the hall exploded.
— Why don’t you go rob someone?!
— Heavens! Fifty magical crystals?!
— That can’t even buy a Level 1 magical item!
— That’s blatant robbery!
— You really think you can fool everyone?!
The expressions of the surrounding Acolytes grew increasingly angry.
I looked at Medivo.
Then I looked at the piercing in his hand.
Twelve crystals.
He had actually tried to offer twelve crystals.
He only increased it to fifty because he realized there was a crowd watching.
That was shameless.
Medivo also realized that the situation was turning against him.
His face turned red.
— Shut up!
His voice echoed throughout the hall.
The crowd quieted down.
— This is an agreement established between our Association and the Official Mage himself!
He pointed at everyone around him.
— Who dares to question it?
— If any of you continue making irresponsible comments, I will immediately report the matter to the Mage in charge of the Tower!
The threats had an effect.
The crowd finally fell silent.
Even the three leaders standing in front of my stall remained silent.
Medivo nodded in satisfaction.
He seemed to believe that he had completely regained control of the situation.
It was then that one of his guild members, who had accompanied him there, discreetly tugged on his sleeve.
— Master Medivo...
The man pointed toward my small stall.
— Why do I have the feeling that these other items aren’t ordinary either?
Medivo frowned.
He leaned forward and began carefully examining the objects I had placed on the black cloth.
His expression changed little by little.
First came curiosity.
Then surprise.
And finally...
Greed.
— Summoning statue...
He murmured the name of the first item.
Several people in the crowd immediately held their breath.
Medivo moved on to the second.
— Water boots...
More gasps.
Then his eyes fell upon the blue wooden staff.
He stared at it for several seconds before finally speaking.
— Branch for a Water-element magical staff...
This time, the reaction was much greater.
Several Acolytes were left dumbfounded.
Some Acolytes specialized in Water-element spells even brought their hands to their chests, as if they had just suffered a blow directly to the heart.
I almost felt like asking if they were all right.
But then I realized that the problem wasn’t their health.
It was money.
And desire.
The small blue branch I had placed there was probably a treasure in the eyes of any Acolyte specialized in the Water element.
Beside me, Narkou seemed to be going through a completely different experience.
The fat man’s face had lost all its color.
He looked like someone who had just received the news that his own father had passed away.
I looked at him.
— Narkou?
He didn’t answer.
He continued staring at my items with an empty expression.
The other team leaders, on the other hand, made a much more sensible decision.
They immediately gave up trying to obtain the items.
They called their men back and began moving away from the stall.
They were no longer trying to compete.
Now they were simply observing.
And I understood why.
A Level 2 Acolyte finding a Level 3 magical item by pure luck was perfectly possible.
But a Level 2 Acolyte taking several Level 3 magical items out of his bag...
That could no longer be called luck.
It was impossible.
Unless there was something behind it.
A powerful clan.
An extremely influential family.
Or some organization that was supporting that Acolyte.
Any one of these possibilities meant that this person was not someone who could be easily offended.
Perhaps only Medivo was too blinded by his own greed to realize this.
And indeed, when he saw so many Level 3 magical items before him, his rationality seemed to disappear completely.
His eyes turned red with desire.
Then he extended both arms.
He simply tried to grab everything.
SLAP!
Before his fingers could reach my items, I reached out and grabbed his wrist.
— Sir.
My voice remained calm.
— I don’t think you have the right to forcibly buy my items.
Medivo slowly turned his face.
— Why?
His expression became hostile.
— You dare disagree with me?
He tried to pull his arm away.
I didn’t let him.
— Every apprentice living in this Tower knows that Level 3 Acolyte magical items are traded exclusively through the Sidrel Association!
He pointed at me with his other hand.
— You have already violated the trading rules of this place.
— You’d better be careful, or I’ll have you taken into custody!
I let out a small laugh.
— Sir...
I looked directly into his eyes.
— I believe the agreement signed between your Sidrel Association and the Official Mage responsible for this Tower is limited to the members of this Kar-Dur Tower, correct?
— I am not an Acolyte of this Tower.
— Then how did you get in here?
He immediately retorted.
— Hmph! Don’t try to fool me.
His face moved closer to mine.
— And even if you don’t belong to this Tower, the items are being traded here.
— These items were not produced by Kar-Dur Tower.
I paused briefly.
— So tell me...
I tightened my grip on his wrist slightly.
— What exactly gives the Sidrel Association the right to forcibly take them from me?
Medivo’s face became even uglier.
— Boy...
He tried to pull his arm back.
— Don’t provoke me.
— I’m just asking a question.
— You’d better loosen your grip.
He bared his teeth.
— Otherwise...
I raised an eyebrow.
— Otherwise, what?
Medivo took a deep breath.
— I’ll take you to the Official Headquarters and teach you a good lesson!
I stared at him.
Then I smiled.
It wasn’t a friendly smile.
— Heh.
I clenched my teeth.
— If you really intend to do that, then prepare yourself to be humiliated.
Medivo’s expression immediately changed.
— What?
He seemed unable to believe what he had just heard.
— You’re going to attack me?
His voice rose.
The next instant, a violent aura exploded around his body.
My expression became serious.
— Transformation...
Magical energy began to envelop Medivo.
His hair, which had previously been black, began to mix with white strands that appeared rapidly.
His face underwent changes.
The muscles in his body began to expand.
His body structure became more robust.
It was as if another creature were awakening inside him.
I took two steps backward.
My hand immediately slid to the belt around my waist.
I took out two summoning crystal cores.
I held them between my fingers.
I was ready to react.
But...
I was still hesitating.
That place was not suitable for releasing my Hunter Knight mounted on the Giant King Shark.
First, there wasn’t enough earth in the public hall.
And that was a problem.
The knight’s primary source of energy was related to the Earth element.
Without earth available, he would have to try to absorb Earth-element particles directly from the environment.
And doing that in the air was extremely difficult.
Besides...
The Giant King Shark was my trump card.
The longer I could keep that card hidden, the better.
A trump card was only truly useful as long as the enemy didn’t know it existed.
I didn’t want to reveal that creature without necessity.
Unless the situation truly became critical, I preferred to keep that secret.
I was still deciding what to do when...
A cold voice emerged from the middle of the crowd.
— What the fuck is going on here?!
Bang!
An Acolyte who was in the way received such a hard slap to the face that he fell directly to the floor.
— Get out of the way! I’m coming through!
My body became rigid.
That voice...
I knew it.
My gaze immediately shifted away from Medivo.
I clenched my right hand tightly.
Then I put the two spiritual cores away.
The crowd began to part.
People weren’t simply moving away.
They were making a path.
I narrowed my eyes.
Then I heard someone say his name.
— Rustil, the Deadly Dagger!
My gaze became more attentive.
After all, Rustil was a Rogue Mage, a man known for fighting with two silver daggers imbued with poison.
...
1499 Words
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter