Chapter 241: Confrontation

“I’ll take ten as well.” After Heywood, the long-silent Kongsha finally spoke, and like him, ordered ten.

Then, Kujin, who also specialized in the Dark Element, stroked his chin and said, “I’ll… take two.”

“T-then I’ll order one too,” said Huen timidly, surprisingly speaking up as well.

“These dolls are that popular among Dark element users?” Wright felt like he was about to strike it rich. He couldn’t even suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing that almost every apprentice who specialized in the Dark element was ordering dolls, a few apprentices of other elements—those who weren’t strapped for cash—also spoke up and ordered one.

Even if it turned out to be useless, seeing how seriously Heywood and the others were treating it, buying one to study wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Just like that, more and more people lined up to buy the phenomenon, while the one who had asked about it first—Saul—remained silent.

What Saul had originally valued was the principle of how the doll used a wraith to power its entity. But on second thought, the Land Drifters had actual Second Rank True Wizards among them. Since they dared to sell it openly, they likely had methods in place to prevent their work from being reverse-engineered.

He probably didn’t have the strength or time to crack it anyway. And now that it was being sold in bulk, there was no rush for him to make a purchase.

What truly interested Saul, though, was the method the Land Drifters used to mass-produce wraiths.

Although he also had a formation that could refine wraiths, it was far too inefficient and only worked on ordinary people.

So if the opportunity arose, Saul actually wanted to try negotiating—not for the core technology of the doll, but for the mass-production method of wraiths.

After all, to rapidly enhance his mental power, he needed to keep devouring wraiths.

And living in the Wizard Tower, the number of wraiths he could obtain was still too limited.

He couldn’t keep sneaking into the candle ducts to scavenge scraps.

Otherwise, the first person to object would likely be Tower Master Gorsa.

Still, even if the other party agreed to that deal, it would probably cost him a hefty sum.

After weighing his options, Saul decided it was better to focus on his current research for now.

After Wright, Kongsha’s proposed trade once again shocked everyone.

That woman actually brought up buying an elven artifact or any leads on one.

Combined with her earlier behavior at the door, everyone now looked at her like she was insane.

At first, no one responded. Clearly, they didn’t want to entertain her madness. But Kongsha refused to give up. She suddenly pulled a scroll from her sleeve, holding it between two fingers, and flicked it out in front of everyone.

“A rare Second Rank defensive scroll, capable of being solidified into the spiritual body.”

This time, quite a few people were tempted. The room once again filled with a buzz of whispered discussions.

But there weren’t many who could offer actual elven artifacts or leads.

A few brought it up, but none of their offers satisfied Kongsha.

Until the last person spoke.

“I have an entrance key to a ‘World Side: Elven Valley.’ The question is, do you dare take it?” It was Billy who spoke.

He leaned forward with a dark expression, elbows resting on his knees. When he looked at people, it was always like they owed him 1,000 credits.

“Billy!” Heywood suddenly turned his head. “You’re sending her to her death.”

But the only response Heywood got was Kongsha’s eyeball pressing right up against the glass wall behind her.

“My business is none of yours!”

Heywood turned to face her, his eyes just as cold, “I don’t care whether you live or die. But don’t forget—your life doesn’t belong to you alone!”

His words seemed to carry a hidden meaning.

Saul, watching them from the opposite side, squinted. Does Kongsha have some special value to Heywood? Or maybe… to Gorsa?

At that moment, Saul even suspected that Heywood had come here specifically to prevent Kongsha from contacting anything related to elves.

Billy and Kongsha seemed ready to ignore Heywood’s interference and close the deal directly.

But the moment Kongsha stood up, a shrill woman’s laughter suddenly erupted from behind Heywood’s head.

The laugh was chillingly terrifying—like a hundred thousand needles stabbing directly into everyone’s eardrums.

Saul, like the other Second Rank apprentices, immediately lowered his head and covered his ears.

But when he looked down at his knees and opened his eyes, his gaze remained clear and unaffected.

The laughter behind Heywood wasn’t a soundwave attack. It was a Dark element energy attack triggered by a soundwave.

It specifically targeted mental strength.

However, that kind of attack was completely ineffective against Saul’s mental body. After a brief tremor, it even ended up getting absorbed.

That Saul was unaffected didn’t mean others were.

Several Third Rank apprentices stood up, glaring angrily at Heywood.

Especially Jero.

“Heywood, magic is forbidden during the exchange. If you can’t follow the rules, then leave.”

At that point, the event’s host—Lokai—had recovered as well. He walked to the center of the room where the magic formation was set and spoke with a faint, chilly smile.

“Senior Heywood, we all know how strong you are. No need to show it off here, right? After all, this exchange was Mentor Anze’s idea, so we’d cause him less trouble. I, for one, don’t want us to make such a mess that Mentor Anze has to come clean it up himself.”

Billy also looked over with a dark expression, saying nothing. But from the look in his eyes, if Heywood insisted on stopping the trade, he was ready to break the rules and make a move.

Facing so many strong and hostile opponents, Heywood knew that even if none of them individually surpassed him in strength, there was no way he could fight all of them at once.

He leaned back in his chair, choosing to compromise. Coldly, he said to Kongsha, “Since you’ve chosen to give up, then no matter what happens from here on out, you’ll bear the consequences yourself.”

The tense atmosphere gradually calmed.

Seeing Heywood back down, the others had no reason to keep pushing.

Saul even heard Jero beside him click his tongue, seemingly bored that Heywood had given in so quickly.

Thus, the deal between Kongsha and Billy was finalized. The actual exchange would take place privately after the event.

Next in line was supposed to be Heywood, but he slouched back in his chair, clearly uninterested in speaking.

Lokai was sharp enough to skip him and move to the next person.

What followed was a mix of message-selling, skill-selling, and item requests.

But none of it particularly caught Saul’s interest.

Even though he didn’t participate, he still picked up some surface-level information.

For example, one apprentice mentioned that the neighboring duchies of Kema and Kenas were likely to have a localized conflict in the next year or two. Anyone who wanted to scavenge from the battlefield should contact him.

As for what they’d be scavenging—everyone knew without needing to say.

Saul’s first reaction to this news was: that hot-blooded, battle-maniac Second Rank True Wizard, Kira, must be going to war again.

She was apparently now the Grand Duchess of Kema, and the one truly in control. But since she only liked to fight, all the actual governance was left to her family.

Soon, it was the last apprentice’s turn.

Kujin stood up from his seat. He was already tall to begin with, and now he made everyone feel even smaller.

“I have ten Shadowfeathers.”

The moment Kujin finished speaking, Saul heard a gasp from Huen, who was sitting one seat away.

That’s exciting? Saul glanced sideways and saw Huen’s eyes glowing.

Shadowfeathers could enhance perception of Dark elements.

Using a small amount had little effect, but if one had ten at once, it could significantly boost the potential of an apprentice who was primarily trained in the Dark element.

Even for those who didn’t major in Dark, it was still a valuable Dark element material.

If the price was reasonable, Saul didn’t mind making a move to get them.

The problem was, he had just started his experiments, and his credits and magic crystal stash were running low. The mask he’d traded to Wright wouldn’t be converted into spendable value until after the event.

He wasn’t sure whether Kujin was willing to wait.

But then Kujin added a trade condition.

“I’ll only accept Obsidian Amber. If you don’t have that, don’t bother.”

Saul immediately raised an eyebrow.

And right on cue, Jero beside him gave a snide laugh.

“Heh. That’s not setting a trade item—that’s setting a trade partner.” As he said this, he even shot Saul a glance.

(End of Chapter)

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