“Of course! If you show your identification documents to prove you aren’t any of the fugitives, it’s fine!”
The slightly shorter guard curled his lips.
“Of course, I know the procedure!” Leylin grinned, producing a piece of parchment and dangling it in front of the two guards. “Is this it?”
His voice immediately became faintly discernable, and it seemed as if some red rays flashed from his eyes.
“Of course! No problem!” The two guards momentarily felt a little dizzy but quickly regained their senses. “Welcome to Potter Town! The person in charge here is Baron Joseph. His emblem is a longsword and a giant eagle. I wish you a pleasant…”
“Good! One more question…”
Leylin obtained more information he wanted from the guards and bade them farewell with a gentle smile. He then entered the town.
Based on the directions from the guards, Leylin came to a small inn. After paying a few gold pieces, the lady boss, who was pleasantly surprised, led him to the best room of the inn.
The dinner was simple, with oats and salted meat, but this was enough to gather the attention of the children, who stood in a circle and watched him.
Oats that emitted the aroma of fresh milk, as well as meat, were a luxury that only the upper class of the Twilight Zone could have. If there were fruits or vegetables, they were also something that was reserved for nobility and Magi.
Though this inn had already brought out the best it had for Leylin, he still found it a little hard to stomach.
After the meal, he gave the boss lady a bit of silver as a tip. He then instructed her not to let anyone disrupt him, and closed the door to his room.
Though only a coarse sackcloth was spread on the bed, it was still much better than the hard rocks outside. Leylin half-lay on the soft bed hands behind his head and went into a daze.
Next, he retrieved a green wooden goblet from his leather pouch. “The extract of the Wisdom Tree! It’s rumoured to provide enlightenment to Magi and increase spiritual force, as well as aiding in breaking through bottlenecks, which is something that goes against the heavens.”
Rays of gentle, green light shone on Leylin, illuminating his bewitched expression.
“A.I. Chip! How’s the analysis on this thing?” Leylin contemplated in his mind.
[Pure extract from the Wisdom Tree, possessing a powerful life force. Can increase vitality, and help a rank 2 Magus break through to a certain extent. Nature: Unknown!]
The A.I. Chip sent out some information.
“The essence from the Wisdom Tree, coupled with the goblet made from the body of the Wisdom Tree, definitely would not only have one effect when they’re combined together…” Leylin focused on the green wooden cup, eyes exhibiting regret.
“It’s a pity that this sort of thing will be wasted if I use it now. It can only increase my spiritual force by a bit. At most, it can only let me reach the level of a peak rank 2 Magus. As for advancing through the bottleneck to rank 3…”
Leylin had only recently advanced to be a rank 2 Warlock. He was still a long distance from the peak.
Hence, he gave a long sigh and kept these two items in his spatial leather pouch.
*Dang dang!* A melodious chime resounded from the top of the minaret at the heart of the town.
As if switching off a light, the sun stone stopped emitting light and the entire town sunk into a darkness like the external world.
“It must be the night. The sun stone is now being changed to be maintained and protected!”
Leylin was naturally aware of this.
Opening A Shop
The subterranean world was shrouded in darkness.
The towns and cities here where there were sun stones were the areas in which human traffic was high.
In the human cities of the Twilight Zone, the sun stone would be changed every 12 hours to be maintained, and kept the same light conditions as the surface of the earth.
However, a small area like Potter Town wouldn’t have a high-grade sun stone. At most, it would be the size of an egg.
Based on rumours, the larger a sun stone was, the higher its value and better its function was; it was said that at the capital of the five regions, there was a sun stone the size of a small mountain!
The moment a sun stone was lost, the entire area would be engulfed in darkness and surrounded by countless dangers. Hence, at every area populated by humans, the sun stone was always placed in an area with the highest level of security.
Seeing the darkness outside the window, Leylin heaved a gentle sigh and pulled the curtains shut.
After setting up a defensive spell formation, Leylin sat up on the bed and began to meditate.
Dark red specks of light were pulled out of the air one after another, and gathered at Leylin’s body.
In his sea of consciousness, the silver-white crystals became even more solid, and the slight cracks at the sides seemed to be repairing themselves.
As for the mark, with the seal from Leylin’s solidified spiritual force, that milky-white light had become dimmer. He could tell that in the near future, the mark would be completely destroyed.
“It’s going well!” After seeing this, Leylin, who had been on edge this entire time, could finally relax.
Afterwards, he collapsed onto the bed and went into a deep sleep.
Morning! With the regular pattern from the alarm clock, a ray of light passed through the curtain and entered Leylin’s room.
“I finally got some rest!”
Leylin opened his eyes, feeling extremely comfortable. The tiredness accumulated from camping outside for a month dissipated with just a single day of rest.
This had to do with his frightening vitality. Even in his heavily injured state, all of his fatigue could be restored with a night’s rest.
“Good morning, Sir!”
In the dining area within the inn, the slightly plump boss lady brought oatmeal bread and milk for breakfast, a smile on her face.
A few children with sullen, yellow skin and some dust on their face were all gathered at a corner, staring hard at Leylin’s breakfast with desire apparent in their eyes.
However, they only dared look from afar, gulping down some saliva but not approaching him to beg for some food.
Whether it was Leylin’s elegance or his armour, all of it was something that regular people did not possess.
These people usually held a lot of power and a high position. They had once seen someone with a huge hammer use his black hand to crush a child’s head because he was annoyed by him!
After that incident, that murderer was merely imprisoned by the enforcement team for a few days and subsequently released after paying a fine.
Hence, these children had a clear understanding of the situation: never provoke anyone with weapons!
“Go away! Don’t bother this lord who wants to enjoy his meal!”
Seeing these children harrassing her important guest, this lady boss shouted.
“It’s alright!” Leylin picked up a slice of oatmeal bread, “Let them have it!”
“Yes, of course! My lord has such a kind heart!”
The plump boss lady’s expression revealed her thought that this was a waste. However, she still tore the bread into several pieces and gave them to the children, “You’re so lucky to have met such a kind-hearted lord! Eat and leave!”
The children quickly stuffed the oatmeal bread into their mouths, the aroma of food spreading inside their mouths. They cupped their hands over their mouths, on the verge of tears.
The children had argued and even almost fought amongst themselves for just a bit of bread.
There was a boy who was a little older than the rest of the group who had kept the oatmeal bread he had received in his clothes, probably to bring it back for someone to eat.
Though Grey Spotted Mushrooms could fill one’s stomach, they tasted horrendous.
In addition, not everyone was able to even eat Grey Spotted Mushrooms.
From the state of the children’s clothes, they must have come from poor families, and might not have even had decent meals.
Leylin merely glanced at them for a moment, and then shifted his focus away.
He tossed out a piece of gold, which flew through the air and fell into the palm of the lady boss’ hand.
“I really like Potter Town and wish to settle down here. I also want to open a shop here. Do you know what procedures I have to go through?”
Until his injures completely healed and he regained his strength as a rank 2 Magus, Leylin decided to temporarily live in seclusion.
He had a long life anyway and could afford to waste this bit of time.
“You want to open a shop here?” The lady boss was shocked, “What kind of shop do you want to open?”
“What do you think of a weapons shop?”
Leylin spoke nonchalantly. The purpose of this was to have a cover while he analysed the long sword of the Rays of Dawn. Hence, he had chosen a weapons shop.
He could clearly see that the Woody Wastelands was near Potter Town, and was an area where adventurers would go to. It wasn’t a bad idea to make and sell some weapons here, and it would definitely be profitable.
“A weapons shop…” The boss lady hesitated, “My lord, you’ll need to go through the department of internal affairs and the guards. Also, weapons are restricted items, so you’ll need to get approval from the capital and Joseph…”
“I see.” Leylin stroked his chin, and asked where the department of internal affairs, guard post and the baron’s residence were before leaving the inn.
In just a few days, a weapons shop called “Blazing Hammers” covertly opened on the commerce street in Potter Town.
For others, it might be a little troublesome to go through so many procedures, but Leylin was a Magus. With just some spells to confuse the target or alter memories, a lot of issues could be solved.
Besides, he could afford to spend a lot of money, so the opening of the shop was obviously a smooth sailing process.
The shop took up a large amount of space. At the front was the counter and shop, and behind was the storeroom and smelting room, as well as the rooms of Leylin and a few workers.
The moment one entered, they would see sharp weapons displayed on the wooden shelves lining two walls, glinting in the light. An icy feeling spread in the room.
“This is a first-rate steel weapon!”
A huge man who dressed like a mercenary entered immediately attracted to a large steel sword.
“This tempering technique is usually only found in a few large weapon shops!” The huge man caressed the sword, the silvery blue luster at the edges causing his eyes to be fixated on it.
The price marked on the shelf almost had him biting his tongue, “Fifty gold! This really is the price that would be found in the capital! But this is just a small town…”
The people in the Twilight Zone naturally had their own currency. The gold and silver used here were even more valuable than that of the south coast, and the currency was completely different.
In order to help mask his identity, the gold and silver pieces that Leylin used were actually the money he had gained from the south coast, the shapes of which he had forcefully changed to match the currency used here.
“What would you like?”
An intelligent-looking young man wearing the uniform of an attendant, who Leylin had hired, quickly asked with a smile.
“That sword is too expensive!”
The large man waved the sword around for a while, reluctant to part with it. “Can it be cheaper?”
“My apologies!” He had an apologetic smile on his face. “Our shop does not allow bargaining. This is a rule set by our boss!”
The large man’s face turned red, and he almost had the urge to cause a ruckus. However, he suppressed it.
Those who could make a living off of selling weapons usually had very powerful backgrounds; he wasn’t planning on dying just for this.
In addition, the shop owner wasn’t any regular person either. It was said that he was an adventurer of noble blood who had retired. Not only had he taken care of the department of internal affairs and the guards with an insane speed, even the baron had treated him as an important guest.
What was even more shocking was that the shop owner had a terrifying might that far exceeded that of the average adventurer.
This man had personally witnessed the young, black-haired shop owner take care of a few thugs, who wanted to extort protection fees, in a few seconds. They had subsequently been taken away by the guards, who had been informed and had arrived very quickly.
It was said that their fate was to become a labourer until their deaths!
These methods had intimidated a lot of people; after caressing the sword for a long time, as if it were his wife, the large man eventually reluctantly left.
Before leaving, he even had the young man reserve the sword, saying that he would return once he had enough money.
That night, after the last customer had left, the young man closed up and went to the room at the back.
*Knock knock!*
“Boss, can I come in?” The young man tried to make his voice sound calm.
Every time he saw his boss, he felt like he would suffocate. The imposing aura from his new boss was too intense; the young man swore that he had once seen a real count, but even he had lacked the elegance and dignified aura this man exuded.
“Perhaps my boss really is the successor of a very ancient noble family, and is merely experiencing the life here!” The young man thought in his heart, before thinking it funny. He was imagining the wildest of fantasies.
“Is it Baelin? Come in!” A very youthful voice sounded.
Baelin composed himself, opened the door and entered.
In the room, a handsome man in a loose robe was lying on a soft chair, occasionally drinking a beverage with peppermint mixed into it. He even had a huge black book in his hands.
He was literate and had books! This was the biggest sign of nobility in the Twilight Zone!
Meteor Sword
“Baelin! Is anything the matter?”
Leylin gazed at the servant the baron had introduced to him and smiled.
“No, I’d just like to report the situation in the shop to you!” Baelin tried his best to be less nervous.
“Though there are a lot of people who show interest in our shop, boss, your prices… they’re a little too high, so it’s not good for business. I even think our shop will make a loss this month…”
“Is that so! I understand. You can go back now!”
Leylin waved his hands, looking as if he hadn’t been paying attention.
“Alright, you’re the boss! You call the shots!” Upon seeing this, Baelin could confirm that this Lord Leylin was probably a successor from an ancient noble family who was out here to experience life. If not, he definitely wouldn’t be taking things so lightly.
After Baelin left, Leylin started reading the book in his hands again.
On the yellowed parchment paper, red runes constantly moved like flames.
“To make a weapon from the Rays of Dawn is extremely difficult!” Leylin sighed.
The reason why he had opened this shop was to have his own smelting area while he recuperated. He could do some experimentation here.
As for those blades outside? They were only the products made on the side during experimentation.
Two years passed in a blur.
The residents of Potter Town were already used to this Master Leylin, the boss of the weapons shop.
Leylin rarely went outside, and barely took care of his weapons shop. Everything was left to Baelin, and he only would occasionally come over to supervise.
As he masked his identity well, nobody found out he was a Magus. At the most, they thought he was a young master from a noble family that was a wastrel.
In time, the words “Blazing Hammers” at the top of the shop were beginning to become mott
led and show signs of decay.
The shop still had that lifeless aura to it. Though the weapons were known to be of superior quality, the prices were so expensive that people could only shrink back.
Leylin had no plans on relying on this shop to earn money. If the prices were too low, not only would business pick up, the other shops in the same industry would become jealous. Though he wasn’t afraid, Leylin didn’t want to stir up trouble over these small matters.
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