Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li looked up and cast a glance, only to find that the owner of the Gilded Rose seemed a little too young. He looked to be in his twenties and not quite 30. He was handsome, fair, and refined, exuding a scholarly aura that would leave a good impression on people.
“Why is he so young?” Lin Li was rather surprised, and even slightly stunned for a moment.
“What can he do? His father died too early and he didn’t have many sons.”
“He’s not older than Kevin, right?”
“Two years younger than Kevin, but he’s much more promising than him. The boy was only 20 when he took over the Mannes Family. At the time, us old fellows thought that the Mannes Family would be weakened this time. But who knew that, for all these years, not only did the Mannes Family not decline, it was more prosperous than in his father’s hands.” As Gerian spoke, he shot a discontented glare at Lin Li. “It makes me angry just thinking about it. Damn it, what kind of world are we living in? Why is Jarrosus full of this kind of demons? A few years ago it was Ysera, and now there’s you, a little bastard even more demonic...”
“...” Lin Li scratched his head, wondering whom he had offended...
“Speaking of which, it’s odd. The boy has been in charge of the Mannes Family for seven years but has not fought even once. No one knows what his actual strength is. You know Old Odin. A few years ago, due to some business strife, the old fellow sent a few assassins to sound him out. In the end, none of the people he sent returned, and a few days later, his beard was shaved while he was asleep. The old fellow woke up in the middle of the night and was scared silly on the spot. He ran over to the Mannes’ house overnight, begging for mercy, and apologized for what he did. Only then was the matter finally settled.”
While the two men were talking, the price for the ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion was raised to 400,000.
“450,000.” Reuben Saruman always seemed to have a gloomy chill around him. Every time Lin Li heard him bid, he’d feel a chill creeping over his body.
“480,000!” Ysera’s smile was gentle like a breath of fresh air, but his bid was firm and quick: he raised the price by 30,000 almost as soon as Reuben’s voice fell.
Reuben Saruman was also a ruthless character; if not, he wouldn’t have killed his father and brother in one night. An emaciated arm was raised from under the black mage robe. “550,000.”
This astonishing price was not enough to scare off the wealthiest man of Jarrosus. The emaciated arm was barely down when Ysera Mannes raised the price by another 30,000 yet again. “580,000.”
“650,000!”
“Damn!”
The people in the guild’s hall went completely mad as soon as the new price was out. The group of mages looked at each other and wondered if they had misheard. Lin Li drew in a cold breath and pinched his thighs forcefully. Even Gerian, who was sitting beside him, couldn’t help clutching the armrest of the chair and yammered under his breath, “Too exciting... too exciting...”
“Mr Kevin, please hold for a moment.” Ysera Mannes did not continue his bid, but requested for a break instead. “I remembered President Gerian said that if we’re tight on cash, we could use items to replace it. Is that right, Mr Kevin?”
The hall fell silent all of a sudden, and all eyes were on Ysera Mannes. This sentence was much more shocking than the Saruman Family’s bid. No one had thought that the second one who admitted that he did not have enough cash apart from Anthony Rolin would be Ysera Mannes—the wealthiest man in Jarrosus City!
“You are right, Chief Ysera...”
“Then, I would like President Gerian to evaluate how much this set of mage equipment is worth.”
The young patriarch gave a quick order and his attendants quickly brought in a set of equipment.
There were three pieces in this set—a staff inlaid with a level-eight magical crystal, a black rune mage robe, and a mithril necklace hung with a singing crystal.
Gerian stared at the set of equipment without saying a word, but in his heart, he was berating him, Damn you, pretty boy, are you trying to make fun of me?
The stuff was good, all three pieces of equipment were excellent products—particularly the mithril necklace. Normal mages would be envious should they even get a look at it.
However, it was the auction for Arcane Magic Potion now.
Such an underachieving set of equipment would only reap in 20,000 gold coins from the Gilded Rose at most. In a business involving thousands of hundreds gold coins, these twenty or thirty thousand gold coins would not even create bubbles, much less if he wanted to pay with it. More like paying with life...
Everyone was in their own state of mind when the young rich man spoke again.
“To be frank, President Gerian, the Mannes Family is tight on cash recently.” The smile on the young patriarch’s fair face was gentle as always, but the words spoken next sent the Saruman Family into complete despair. “Therefore, we would like to use a hundred sets like this to exchange for ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion. What do you say, President Gerian?”
“100... 100 sets?” Gerian swallowed his saliva with great difficulty.
“Yes, 100 sets.”
“Deal!”
The hall was frighteningly quiet. This had to be the most absurd scene of the auction. The whole deal was not even validated by Kevin’s gavel, but not one present doubted the validity of it. What struck them as absurd was the Mannes Family using 100 set of excellent equipment just to exchange for ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion. They had even wondered if the young patriarch had gone mad...
And with the absurdity came the unprecedented sense of crisis.
The Guild of Magic today could be described as the sun at high noon. They had one of the most powerful mages in Jarrosus City and a real pharmacist. On top of this terrifying power, the Mannes Family gifted them a hundred sets of powerful magic equipment...
The leaders of several forces felt their heads numb just thinking about it. What a horrifying force would it be with 100 well-equipped mages?
Moreover, the leaders of these forces were not fools. After the initial sense of absurdity had passed, they quickly came to realize that the Mannes Family would not be doing a losing business for no reason. After taking out the 100 sets of excellent equipment, they would surely form a series of collaborations with the Guild of Magic. Everyone had the same idea in mind as they thought of the collaboration of these two giants: there was going to be a change of weather in Jarrosus City...
It was the richest man in Jarrosus City on one side, and the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City on the other. Before the faces that carried a variety of expressions, two hands were clasped tightly together.
“President Gerian, I have a small request,” the young patriarch spoke in a soft voice as he held Gerian’s hand. “I wonder if you can introduce me to the young pharmacist in your guild?”
“This is perhaps the only thing I can’t decide. I’ll have to ask him before I can make a decision...” Gerian’s expression was helpless. Indeed, he couldn’t call the shots in this matter. Lin Li could be said to be the most unique member in the Guild of Magic. No one could force him to do the things he didn’t want to—including Gerian. Everyone knew that without this young mage, there would be no future for the guild.
“Then that’s too bad...” Ysera was regretful, but quickly regained his smile. “Then, could I trouble you to tell the pharmacist that I happen to have a big deal on hand and am in need of three Magicka Potions? If he’s willing to help, the reward will be absolutely satisfactory for him. He can choose any three items from the collection of the Mannes Family!”
“...” Gerian gasped in surprise. The Mannes Family was the richest in all of Felan Kingdom. Who knew how much good stuff they had hidden in the 1300 years after the Dark Ages. Gerian had never once imagined such thing as getting to choose any three items...