Have Magic - Chapter 132



Only Krnovel

Embrace the Magic (132)

People flocked to the wizard who killed the giant demon. There were so many people that there were no nobles or anything. It was chaos, with people pushing and shoving each other.

It was the first appearance of a new god in a long time. The only person who became a great wizard before Rodin was Francis Topju, so it was the first great wizard to appear in 10 years.

The biggest thing was that he wasn’t affiliated with the Tower. Not being affiliated meant that he could hire anyone he wanted.

So, there were a lot of people who gathered to at least get to know each other and introduce themselves. The nobles prepared all sorts of proposals to hire the new archmage.

“Whew, that wasn’t easy.”

The name value of the Landes Tower was great.

As soon as word got out that they were affiliated with the Magic Tower, the nobles all left. When the magicians affiliated with the Landes Magic Tower opened the way, even non-nobles could not approach.

I returned to the carriage relatively comfortably through the path opened by the Landes Tower.

Even walking among the noisy crowd was nerve-wracking, but it was better than being bothered by it myself.

“Your brother was a great wizard?”

“It worked this time.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know that either. Rodin, you’re the best!”

Larry and Bianca didn’t even know that Rodin had become a 6th Circle Wizard a year or so ago, because Rodin didn’t go around bragging about it.

They thought Rodin was still a 5th circle wizard like when they first met. So it was natural to be surprised when he suddenly became a 7th circle archmage instead of a 6th circle.

“Let’s go. It’s getting annoying when the sun sets here.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Just as they came here, Jenna and Matthew sat on the coachman’s bench and drove the carriage. The carriage moved slowly, leaving the crowded place.

* * *

Even after the carriage set off, people followed it for a while. Some even called out from afar, “Rodin!”

Rodin ignored it. Reacting to each and every one of them would only make him more tired.

As the day went by, the number of people following me decreased significantly. As another day went by, there was no one following me anymore.

After a few hours of traveling in a quiet manner with only two carriages, Rodin and his party were able to arrive at Hedens, the gateway city to the Hedens region.

Although Hedens is classified as a city, it is not that big. There is not much floating population.

However, there were quite a few wizards and scholars who lived there to study the Paloma Mountains. It would be safe to say that the residential areas near the western wall were all the residences of wizards and scholars.

“We’ve finally made it here, sir.”

“Don’t we still have a long way to go to reach our destination?”

“Yes, that’s right. I heard it’s a few hours further south.”

The town where Margaret was born had no official name.

Some people called it Oak Tree Village because there were many oak trees in the village, and others called it Hill Village because the village was built on a hill.

The most commonly used name was Oak Tree Village.

“The sun will set soon, so let’s stay at Hedens today. I need to stop by the mercenary guild.”

“Shall we look for an inn, sir?”

“Do you really need to go through all that trouble? Let’s just go to the place we see as we go.”

We drove the carriage slowly through the gate.

Not far from the castle gate, there was a street lined with inns.

“Brother. The city is small.”

“Really? There aren’t many inns.”

Even though it was called Inn Street, there were only eight inns. Fortunately, perhaps because of the wizards and scholars, half of them were high-class inns.

“Where are you going?”

“The biggest one. Let’s go there.”

We unpacked in the annex of the inn. It was a unique inn with a strong scent of herbs.

“The atmosphere of the inn is amazing.”

“This is where the first head of the Berken upper class used to set up a herbal medicine shop.”

In response to Bianca’s reaction, the staff member who guided us to the annex explained the history of the inn.

Since it was a familiar name, Rodin also became interested.

“Berken’s Top? Are you talking about the top that is said to be one of the three major tops in the Central Continent?”

“Yes, that’s right. 600 years ago, I opened a herbal medicine shop on the site of this inn. It’s changed a lot now, but you can still see traces of that time everywhere.”

As I looked around, I could see tools lined up like decorations all over the annex. They were old antiques used for drying herbs.

“If you are the first owner of the upper part of Berken, is it Reynolds Berken?”

“Oh! You know. That’s right. Reynolds Berken is from the province of Hedens. He was born in a rural village just three days away from here.”

“You sell herbs here and then expand to other countries.”

“That’s right. With the money earned here, we raised the best merchants in the Central Continent.”

After that, he told me several things about the traces of Berken that remained in the city of Hedens.

The large tower in the center of Hedensplatz was a structure built 300 years ago by the upper part of Berken. The wide road, about 11 kilometers long and running north and south, was also a road built 500 years ago at the expense of the upper part of Berken.

“Thank you for the kind words.”

“No, it was nice to meet someone who knew about Reynolds Berken after a long time.”

The staff member who guided us to the annex disappeared. Rodin and his group also left the inn in a hurry.

Rodin headed to the commercial district with Larry, Bianca, and Jenna. Matthew disappeared separately, saying he had something to find out.

“Let’s start from the blacksmith shop.”

“I need to buy something good.”

Larry’s shield was broken while fighting the wizards of the Cedria Tower. He had been using his weapon, armor, and shield for two years, so he decided to take this opportunity to replace them all.

“Try out a few different ones to find the one that suits you best. I’ll make it into an artifact for you later.”

“Okay, bro.”

In the blacksmith shop, Larry tried out several weapons and shields. He also tried on and off about ten sets of armor.

“This would be good.”

“Please give it to me like this.”

“Yes, sir.”

I chose the shield, weapon, and armor I liked. The weapon became lighter than before, the shield became bigger, and the armor became thicker and heavier.

It changed everything I had become accustomed to. The key was to get used to the equipment right away.

But it was equipment suited to the defensive swordsmanship Larry had mastered.

After changing Larry’s equipment, Rodin stopped by the magic goods shop.

“Do you have 500 low-grade mana stones?”

“500? I don’t have that many. Just wait a minute. Let me see. I have 100. What are you planning to do with them to buy so many?”

It was harder to get materials than in the big cities. Even though mana stones are one of the most useful magic materials, it was difficult to buy 500 at once.

“I’m going to do some research.”

“Aha, research. That makes sense. Would you like to buy this?”

“Yes, please.”

“I hope your research is successful.”

Rodin went to five more magic shops and bought 500 low-grade mana stones. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had almost completely emptied the area.

“I also need some Mithril. Do you have it in ingot form?”

“Yes. There are only two small ingots. How… can I buy both of them?”

“Yes, please give me both.”

After buying all the necessary materials, I left the magic item shop.

Rodin has completed some research on magic stones. The books of the Magic Empire that he brought from the underground ruins were of great help.

But it wasn’t finished yet. Now I had to go through trial and error to make it myself.

“Brother Rodin!”

“Why? Is there anything you want to buy?”

“I’d like to buy some books.”

“Really? The bookstore was just over here.”

Bianca bought more than ten books at the bookstore. But they were all poetry books.

“Suddenly getting married?”

“I feel like writing poetry.”

“Because of what I saw in the square?”

“Yeah. Cool.”

On the way to the commercial district, I happened to see a performance by minstrels in the square. It was about Reynolds Berken from Hedens, and his voice acting was quite realistic.

Since it was Rodin’s first time seeing this scene, he was so absorbed in the performance that he watched it for about 5 minutes.

Bianca was so impressed by the scene that she became obsessed with poetry. It wouldn’t last long, but I thought she would live for a while with the words, “I want to become a poet.”

“Yeah. Whatever you want to do, do it.”

“Brother. Are you going back to the inn now?”

“You guys go back. I have to stop by the mercenary guild.”

He was curious about the news from the Marquisate of Richmond and the rumors going around about himself. The best place for Rodin to hear the rumors was the Mercenary Guild.

“Yeah. I’m going to read and write poetry.”

“I need to stretch my body a bit too.”

“let’s go.”

Leaving the group at the inn, Rodin went out alone. Just in case, he left Jenna with Larry and Bianca.

“Jenna. Please take care of the kids.”

“Don’t worry, Master.”

Although Jenna is usually playful and light-hearted, she never forgets that she is a battle doll and an escort. That is why she hates leaving her master, Rodin, alone.

But it was okay now. Charis, who had almost recovered, was waiting in Rodin’s necklace storage space.

If a fight arose, Rodin could summon Charis at any time. That is, although it seemed like he was moving alone, it was actually as if he was with Charis.

Rodin asked around and went to the mercenary guild.

The mercenary guild building was large and there were many people inside. The mercenaries who had gathered because of the giant demon had not yet dispersed and were gathered in groups of three or five.

“excuse me.”

“Yes. Are you a mercenary?”

“Yes. I came because I needed information.”

The mercenary guild sells or provides information to mercenaries. It is not that they give out huge secrets, but rather they gather rumors that are circulating within the mercenary guilds of each country and region and pass them on.

“Would you like to give me the mercenary badge?”

“Here it is.”

“Yes. I received the mercenary badge. Ro…, huh? Could it be… that giant demon beast… is that you?”

The counter staff kept looking back and forth between the mercenary pack and Rodin. A look of disbelief was evident on their faces.

“Yes, that would be correct.”

“Oh! Please wait a moment.”

The employee disappeared somewhere. And less than three minutes later, a man in his forties came running out.

“Meet the Archmage. I am Arken, the head of the Hedens Mercenary Guild branch.”

The head of the mercenary guild called Arken bowed his head. The mercenaries in the mercenary guild turned their attention to him.

“Archangel?”

“The wizard who caught the giant beast?”

“Really? You were a mercenary?”

The people’s cries of surprise pierced Rodin’s ears.

Rodin sighed and clicked his tongue lightly. Rodin was not pleased with this situation.

The surroundings became too noisy because of Branch Manager Arken’s fuss. Branch Manager Arken’s excessive courtesy was also burdensome.

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

“What is happening here….”

“I need information about the Marquisate of Richmond.”

Rodin gave up on asking about the rumors about himself. He could tell what level they were at just by looking at the reactions of the mercenaries there.

“I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“What I’m curious about is the situation of the fiefdom battle. I heard that the Marquis of Richmond is fighting the Marquis of Rotten.”

“Ah! We are currently in negotiations to decide on the compensation amount.”

The two fiefdoms were not close together. The winner of the fiefdom battle would get land, mines, and such, but it would be difficult to manage them because of the distance.

So, in this war of attrition, they decided to bet only on money. The two sides had very different opinions on the amount of compensation.

Surprisingly, the Rotten Marquis wanted to set the maximum compensation. The amount was a whopping 50 million gold. It was a huge amount that would have required at least 10 years of belt tightening if they lost.

In comparison, the compensation that the Marquis of Richmond wanted was 5 million gold. The Marquis of Richmond’s goal was to set an appropriate amount, win easily, and then quietly conclude the fight.

“A tenfold difference is quite a large difference. Is the Marquis of Richmond considering defeat?”

“I don’t see it that way. I think the Marquis of Richmond has the upper hand externally. However, the Marquis of Richmond doesn’t seem to like being made a fuss about this.”

“That’s interesting.”

“The beginning of this incident is….”

Rodin learned that this battle of the realms was caused by the Curse of Weakness. It was something he had vaguely expected.

“In the end, the victim, the Marquis of Richmond, wants to quietly resolve the situation, while the perpetrator, the Marquis of Rotten, wants to make a big deal out of it.”

“Yes. I haven’t figured out the reason yet.”

“Hmm, I think I have the confidence to win. Okay, thanks for the info.”

Rodin expressed his gratitude and held out his hand, asking for the return of the mercenary badge he had handed over for identification.

“Ah! Just a moment, Wizard Rodin.”

“Do you have any business with me?”

“It’s because of the problem with the Archmage’s mercenary card renewal.”

“Renewal? Is the period over?”

As far as Rodin knew, the renewal period for the mercenary card was 10 years. He, who had only received the mercenary card for about 2 years, was not eligible for renewal.

“No. It’s because of the problem of raising it to the platinum level.”

“Isn’t the Platinum Badge the highest grade among mercenary badges?”

“That’s right. There are only two now, and when the Archmage receives the Platinum Badge, he will become the owner of the third Platinum Badge.”

Rodin only knew of one person who had the Platinum Badge. He was a swordsman who was active mainly on the Eastern Continent, but it seemed like another person had joined the group in the meantime.

“Do I qualify for the platinum medal?”

“The conditions for the Platinum Badge are simple. You must be a superhuman and a mercenary. That’s it.”

If you were a 7th circle wizard or a master swordsman, you could receive a platinum badge. It was a simple condition, but not one that anyone could achieve.

“Ah! I see. So the owner of the second platinum medal also recently became a superhuman.”

“No. He was originally a prosecutor who had reached the rank of Master. He was a mercenary named Benson, and he entered the mercenary world about a year ago.”

“Benson? You mean Benson Tyke?”

“Yes, I see. I heard he was quite a famous knight in the Western Continent.”

As Branch Manager Arken said, Benson Tyke was a famous person. When Rodin was in the Western Continent, he was one of only two master inspectors in the Western Continent.

His nationality was the Kingdom of Landert, and his title was a Duke. He had no reason to become a mercenary.

‘Is it because of the war?’

War is a monster that makes the obvious not obvious and the absurd seem obvious. Duke Benson Tyke becoming a mercenary is just one of those things.

“Okay, but doesn’t it take some time for the mercenary badge to come out?”

“Yes. Ten days. No, just give me five days.”

“I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be leaving Hedens tomorrow. I’ll stop by again in a few days, and I’ll collect my mercenary badge then.”

“Yes. I will prepare the platinum plate and wait.”

After receiving my trophy back, I left the mercenary guild. People’s eyes continued to follow me wherever I moved.

‘It’s uncomfortable.’