Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Since it was just a treasure map that did not have solid directions, Lin Li forgot about it by the next morning. Gerian, however, was filled with confidence. He gathered all the manpower and resources available, searching for the treasure.
While it was alright for the old man to have great confidence himself, it was a chore for the leaders of the 16 other forces. After reclaiming the Demon Fall Valley, Ysera and the others were forced to stay there. Probably by threats and temptation, the middle-aged fatso managed to make them call for more help from Jarrosus. As a reward, Gerian promised them that they would be able to get two percent of the treasure.
Alright, two percent was better than nothing…
Since it was Gerian’s instructions, they naturally didn’t bargain with him. Are you joking? Who would dare to seek death when the thousands of ice sculptures are still on the Black River?
Hence, the matter was decided just like that.
No one was expecting there to be any reward. That was what a fool would have thought. As the Demon Fall Valley had been in Jarrosus Guild of Magic’s hands for 1200 years, if there were to have any treasure in the mine hole, how would it fall into the hands of this darn fatso?
At the start, everybody was treating it as a long-term investment. It was not important if they were going to find the treasure. As long as they could get closer to Gerian, they would be able to work with a close associate of Mage Felic!
But, none of them had expected Gerian to be so serious today. He began to instruct everyone to start digging from the morning and only stop the work at night for consecutive days. It was as though he was determined to dig a hole through the mineshaft. Ysera and the others were really tired. At times, they really had the urge to approach Mage Felic to persuade that middle-aged fatso to stop being so crazy.
Unfortunately, Lin Li was as busy as them.
When he woke up early in the morning, he brought a few young apprentices to explore the Demon Fall Valley until afternoon, when they returned to the tents with heaps of Warlock Herbs. What followed was a long and arduous preparation of potions that would last until the evening. It was already dinner time when they would drag their tired bodies out of the tents.
Busy days passed the fastest. Three days had gone by in the blink of an eye. The date to leave Jarrosus crept nearer and nearer, but the legendary treasure was nowhere to be found.
Yet, to Lin Li, treasures were not important. The thing he had to do was to create as many good potions as possible. Apart from giving some of them to the Emerald Tower, he could sell the rest for money.
He had no other choice. There were really a lot of places that needed money. The guild of magic in the Breezy Plains was not cheap to build. Although the Supreme Council would support him by providing a big portion of the costs, he had to prepare 5 million gold coins for himself to live frugally in the Breezy Plains.
Furthermore, the Marathon Family was a trouble too..
How would Wilhelm let the man who had killed his son off so easily? It might not take him long enough to target Lin Li with all sort of assassination tactics. It was only when Lin Li acquired a huge amount of fortune that he could ensure he survived the revenge the Marathon Family’s plots against him.
And it was this reason that caused Lin Li to publicize the fact that he was creating secret potions.
His successful experience from the Endless World let him understand a lesson: although money was not omnipotent, the lack of money was definitely a problem!
This type of situation lasted until the morning of the fourth day.
The Supreme Council would be sending someone here the next day. Hence, Lin Li had been packing his things as he planned to return to Jarrosus before noon.
Before leaving the Demon Fall Valley, Lin Li went to find Gerian.
“What? You are leaving today?” Gerian asked in surprise after seeing that Lin Li had packed his things.
“Yeah, the person from the Supreme Council would come tomorrow. I have to go back and prepare some things before I travel to the Breezy Plains with them. It may take some time before I’m back here again.”
“I’ve told you that it will be a waste if you don’t become a guild president. See? Even though I let you go, the old men in Supreme Council are still after you…” Gerian had heard about the happenings during the trial in Alanna. He was not shocked that Lin Li was leaving for the Breezy Plains very soon. He was just still thinking about the words Lin Li had said before the auction the other day.
“Is that true…?” Lin Li asked as he touched his face subconsciously. Could it be that the word ‘president’ was written on his face?
Gerian glared at him, feeling he lost face. “Are you thinking that I’m lying to you?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are always reasonable…” Lin Li flattered the middle-aged fatso. “Oh, yes. I left behind some secret potions in the tent. Please give half of them to the Emerald Tower, and the other half to the people outside…”
“Alright.” Since it had been agreed that Lin Li had a partnership with him when they were at Jarrosus, Gerian would naturally be unable to refuse him. However, after thinking for a while, he asked doubtfully, “There are so many people outside. Whom should I pass them to?”
“This is easy…” Lin Li said as he laughed shamelessly. “After you are back, hold an event like an auction, and let them fight for it with money. But, they don’t fight for the potions itself. They are going to fight for the status of my business partner.
“The person who offers the most money will get the exclusive right to manage the sales of these secret potions for one year. After one year, it will reset, and everyone will bid for the position again.”
“What the hell, that’s so wicked!” Gerian exclaimed in shock. He had seen many shameless people over the decades when he managed the Emerald Tower, but it was his first time seeing such an unabashed man in his life.
To invest in a long-term exclusive right to the partnership with a huge amount of money… Goddammit, only this kid would think of such an evil rule…
“Hehe, I have no other choice. I really lack money recently…”
“Yeah, that’s that…” Gerian agreed as he nodded his head. The building of the new guild needed a large amount of funds indeed.
“As for the profits, they can get 20 percent of it, while we have the other 80 percent. You can help me to deposit the earnings into the Glittergold Bank through the crystal card you gave me the other day.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Oh, please don’t be too anxious regarding the collapse of your mana. I have found a solution for you. You’ll take at least 10 days to regain your powers, but no more than a month. I would recommend you to hold your temper before that. Don’t be so impulsive to use your powers like always.”
“Yeah, yeah. Goddammit, why are you so naggy at such a young age?”
“… ”
While the two men conversed, there was suddenly the sound of anxious footsteps.
“P-P-President Gerian!” Ysera called out as he dashed into the tent anxiously. He was not as formal and mature as before. “Oh, Mage Felic is here too…”
“Ysera, have you seen a ghost? Why are you so nervous…?”
“I’m sorry, Mage Felic. I didn’t know you were here. My apologies, apologies…” Ysera apologized awkwardly, but he did not have the intention to leave the tent. He rubbed his hands awkwardly, and tried to hint at something to Gerian with his expression.
However, Gerian’s mind was full of that batch of secret potions; hence, he did not notice Ysera’s attempts. He only responded to Ysera when his facial muscles were nearly having cramps.
“Ysera, you are looking for me?”
“…” Ysera nearly fainted out of frustration. “President Gerian, we found it!”
“Found it?” After hearing Ysera, Gerian was like a dog that had its tail stepped on. He jumped up, and asked, “You found the entrance?”
“Yes, just a few minutes ago.”
“Entrance? You mean you found the entrance of the treasure cave?” That was Lin Li, who suddenly appeared to take an interest in the topic.
However, after hearing that, Ysera had a worried expression on his face. He hesitated. “Erm…”
“What are you hesitating about? Just shoot,” Gerian told Ysera impatiently. Since there was hope to find the treasure, how would Gerian have the heart to play guessing games with him? Had he really hoped Gerian went to the scene to take a look himself?
“President Gerian, listen to me. It was like this…”
Frowning, Ysera started to talk about the situation.
As Lin Li was too focused on creating potions these days, he did not get any updates on the progress of the treasure hunt. Now that he heard Ysera narrate it, he learnt that the speed of the digging was insanely fast. They found the cave in two to three days, and then they encountered a problem…
This morning, the team started digging in the area, and found the passageway that led to the entrance of the cave. It should be a good thing since it meant that it was a clue to the treasure. As long as they followed the passageway, they might be able to find the legendary treasure. Unfortunately, there was still a huge stone door that obstructed the people from the passageway…
“You can’t open it?” Lin Li frowned skeptically. Everyone in the mission was Warriors of at least level-8. They were so strong that they could use their bare hands to kill a few magical beasts. How would they be blocked by a mere stone door?
“I don’t know…”
“…” Lin Li nearly cursed. Ain’t it just a darn stone door? How would somebody not know if they could open it? Did they not try it themselves before they run here to find Gerian?
“It’s like this, Mage Felic…” Seeing that the young mage had an annoyed expression, Ysera tried to explain desperately. “We sent two Bandits down when we found that stone door. They were supposed to be skilled in dealing with locks, but the moment they touched the door, they stopped moving…”
“Stop moving?”
“Yes…” Ysera nodded his head firmly, but his eyes were dazed. “The situation was too eerie. It was as though somebody used a Fixation Spell on them. They immediately froze, and when I sent people down to get them back up, they… they…”
“What the hell, can’t you just speak properly?”
“They…” Ysera said as he swallowed his saliva uneasily. “The two bandits lost their consciousness when they came up. It was as though they had turned into fools…”
“So serious?” Gerian asked. He couldn’t help but frown.
Lin Li listened to Ysera quietly. Only when Ysera said that the men apparently became retards did Lin Li suddenly ask, “Is there anything weird on that stone door?”
“Weird things?” Ysera said as he reflected on his encounter for a moment. “Now that Mage Felic mentioned that, I remember that there is a very strong magical wave around that door. At first, I thought that when the two bandits touched the stone door, the magical wave immediately seemed to expand…”
“Indeed…”
“Mage Felic, do you know what’s the reason?”
“Yes,” Lin Li replied. “If I’m not wrong, there should be some unusual symbols on the stone door…”
“Yes, yes. That’s right, there are really some strange symbols!”
“Then it will not be wrong. Come, bring me there at once.”
“Okay.”
When the three men came out of the tent, Gerian was still worried. He asked Lin Li in a low voice, “Do you really know what’s that?”
“Yup, that should be a mageweath—a very rare one. According to what I know, there are only some high-ranking undead mages who would study such an evil magic. It seems that the treasure should not be just gold and jewelry…”
“Is it really so powerful?” Gerian asked. He became anxious when he heard Lin Li mention ‘high-ranking Necromancer’. “Should I go and find a mightier Inscriber?” he asked Lin Li discreetly after looking around for a moment.
“No need,” Lin Li replied as he shook his head speechlessly. How would there be any other Inscriber in Jarrosus who would be able to do anything before the Song of the Death Mageweath? He just hoped that no more innocent lives would be wasted…
The two men discussed as they walked. Not long after, they arrived outside the mineshaft.
This time, there were many people outside and inside the mineshaft. There were people from both the Emerald Tower and the large forces. In the middle of the crowd, there stood two bandits in a daze. From one look, Lin Li could tell that they had lost their mental strength completely. Even God himself would not be able to save them now.
