The Amber Sword volume 3 - Chapter 127

Chapter 127 – Change of the Loop of Trade Winds (1)
The presence of soldiers from the Kirrlutz empire more or less made Brendel wary, but he did not want to deal with them, at least not right now. He was quite certain that Veronica would not pick a fight for him later on just to get revenge for this incident.
The duel in the market did not diminish the interest of the girls accompanying him, and with Amandina’s suggestion, they continued to survey the streets that overlooked the Loop of Trade Winds.
Indeed, the grand scenery that was displayed in between the ancient trees could make one forget their troubles—
Brendel kept an eye out for any interesting items in the small shops that appeared inconspicuous after purchasing the Rock Key.
[I must say that the Dark Forest is indeed filled with materials. I actually managed to get good stuff just from walking around. Most of the materials I got are valuable. Wyvern’s blood, Ancient Wood Branch, and Sealed Element of Wind, all of them are Brass-rated. I thought I was lucky enough to get the Five-headed Hydra’s blood and twenty of its blessed scales, but I did not expect the Green Tower to continue giving me advantages.]
Most materials were different from equipment. If the materials did not undergo refinement or reforging, they would usually be classified as unranked. Even after a single bout of refinement, they would be rated as Iron-ranked. Crystals with raw Mana in them were considered scarce.
The Ancient Wood Branch was a good medium to make a Mystic staff. While Brendel had no real use for it, he could sell it to others or exchange it for other things in Ampere Seale. It was even possible for him to train Merial and let her use it, making her a great asset in the future.
The only thing holding him back was whether she could be trusted. A good healer in any game was always sought after, and even more so in real life. If she proved loyal to his cause, then he would immediately consider getting her the best equipment he could possibly get.
The Wyvern’s Blood was also a substitute material for the Potion of Dragon Strength. Brendel had already turned his Hydra’s Blood into a large batch of potions and they were ready to be distributed to his rowdy batch of youths at any given time.
Finally, the Sealed Element of Wind was a core material in strengthening crystals, or it could be used to let someone learn a related technique to Wind Magic.
[Back then in the game, the shopkeepers are more cunning…… They always set prices that are more or less similar to the Auction Houses. These rare materials were never on sale too. Then again, I wasn’t one of the players who played on the first day of the game’s release. I started later and was always slower by a step. The players before me must have made the shopkeepers realize the demand for their materials. I’m sure there are even more useful things to be found.]
The youth could not help but break into a grin. He realized that the city he was in was still in a state where everyone was like country bumpkins who did not realize the worth of their materials. There were still many stores to be seen and he wanted to get to all of them in a day.
A traveling Senian Magician was selling a strange card to people who passed him. Brendel thought he saw wrongly when he looked at the card which no one was interested in,
But it was indeed a Card of Fate.
[Delar Wilderness. Hmm….. This is a pretty good land card. Tapping it gives 2 Earth EP and 1 Light EP.]
After a short negotiation, Brendel agreed to use a Mana Crystal in exchange for the card. The traveling Magician was overjoyed when he heard that, and he eagerly told Brendel that the card had to have some kind of secret to it, despite the fact that he could not detect any kind of magic reaction to it.
He even brought up a small flame on his finger over the card as though he was afraid that the youth would regret his purchase.
“Look at this, mister,” he exaggerated and treated Brendel like he was a mark being conned: “any normal paper would turn into ashes, but there’s not even a sign of this card being damaged. It means that there’s something to it. Even though you and I can’t determine what it is exactly, but for the price of a Mana Crystal, it’s nothing more than a small gamble. What if this was a legendary artifact?”
Brendel nodded as he received the card. He did not realize that it was actually resistant to fire and cast his own flames to test it for himself.
The traveling magician was shocked to see Brendel’s actions. Even though creating Starfire was nothing but a trick for an Elementalist, a third-rate magician like himself was unable to do the same thing. It meant that Brendel was a not just an apprentice but a full-fledged Elementalist.
[Judging from the speed, he’s at least a 2nd circle!]
While the magician was more like a sham magician, he had enough insight about magic.
“So you’re a master Elementalist. Would you be interested in more of these cards?”
“Hmm? You expect me to buy more of this rubbish? It’s nothing more than a passing interest.” Brendel kept the card away while unsealing it at the same time.
Scarlett watched at her lord putting on a thug-like expression that had disinterest written all over it, and she could not help but purse her lips. Amandina secretly pulled the red-haired girl’s hand from behind and cautioned her to pay attention to her actions, or the other party might discover something wrong.
The traveling magician had analyzed the card for quite some time. He first discovered it in an old building, but he was not really a scholar after all and lost patience after studying it for a while: “I understand. But I can sell them cheaper if you’re interested.”
Brendel pretended to hesitate for a while before replying: “Very well, how much cheaper?”
“I have five more cards, how about four Mana Crystals?”
“…… Four?”
“Alright, alright, three Mana Crystals!” The traveling magician felt that he still earned a profit with three crystals. If he tried to maintain the price stubbornly, the youth might just leave while rolling his eyes. He tried selling these cards in many other places, but there was no one who wanted it.
The young human in front of him was a silly fool who was unlikely to be encountered again.
But Brendel did not bother to press him and nodded immediately. The earlier incident at the centaur’s shop made him reluctant to waste time to drive the prices low.
“Very well, bring them out and let me have a look first.” Brendel eyed the Senian who nodded vigorously.
“Would you mind waiting for a little while? I left the cards in the place that I’m currently staying in. It’s not too far away and I’ll be back really soon.”
“I’ll give you thirty minutes.”
It was unlikely for the Senian magician to be subservient to Brendel if he was just a noble, but it was a different story since he was a formal Elementalist as well. Amandina watched the Senian magician disappear in the alleys in a hurry before she finally sighed: “I finally understand why Miss Romaine is together with you, my lord.”
“No, these things are quite worthless to him or even to others,” Brendel shook his head and disagreed.
The Rock Key was worth its value to many people, but these cards were only useful to Planeswalkers and it was unlikely for the entire Aouine kingdom to have even one Planeswalker. Even the Kirrlutz kingdom might not have one. It was impossible for the Senian magician to sell the card, and even if a scholar was interested they would not pay for such a high price for it.
Strictly speaking, Brendel did not think it was a worthy transaction.
The Cards of Fate in this world appeared to be of abundance, though the rare cards were certainly rare.
“The next transaction is the important one.” He suddenly smiled as he planned his next move.
“The next transaction?” Amandina did not understand.
“I want to buy that fellow.”
“What?” She was shocked. When did her young lord become a slaver?
“That Senian is an Elementalist and he seems to have a pretty good foundation. I plan to have a group of young mages splintered from my future knights. Merial and Mordenkainen are only two people, after all. Real wizards wouldn’t be interested in a small-time noble like myself, and I won’t be able to control them even if they join me. But a third-rate magician is much easier.”
Amandina appeared worried when she listened to his plan. It sounded like he was trying to pick up junk. There might be severe disadvantages down the road too.
But she did not know that Brendel was capable of turning a normal person into a magician, let alone those who have innate talent in them.
“Most importantly, the Senian might not be willing to work for you, right?” She said.
Brendel merely laughed at her response. She did not understand magic very well, and no caster would be unwilling to remove the word ‘apprentice’ in their reputation. There were ‘apprentices’ everywhere in the continent, and true wizards were uncommon. The latter was recognized to be of a high social order, and every apprentice wanted to become one.
“I’m a true Elementalist. If I give that Senian a chance, he won’t refuse me and would even be delighted about it.”
Amandina stared blankly, but Scarlett finally burst into laughter as she glanced at Brendel: “One has to be careful when doing business with our lord. It seems like they might sell themselves if they are not careful.”
“True.” Amandina nodded as she looked at Scarlett.
Brendel shrugged his shoulders. He knew they were making fun of him, but he did not mind enjoying this relaxing moment.