I Became the Progenitor Vampire

Chapter 142: Chapter 143: The Sensational Mercenary
 

A message spread quickly among the mercenary groups in Green City’s underground forces.

The Mysterious Store of the Crimson Mage Tower had opened.

The store, operated by the Crimson Mage Tower itself, sold various powerful magic scrolls, and there were discounts available on the opening day.

As mercenaries who licked blood off the blade’s edge and brushed with death daily, no one overlooked their own safety.

Magic scrolls were always scarce goods, often unaffordable even with money.

Many grew interested upon hearing this news.

The Crimson Mage Tower was no minor force in Green City.

Its owner, Lide Kachar, was an exceptionally talented young noble from the countryside who had become an Advanced Mage in his early twenties and was a direct disciple of the Great Mage, Lord Spark.

If there were a list of people in Green City not to be trifled with, this Advanced Mage would definitely be on it.

The news from such a powerful mage tower immediately drew attention.

William Harlington was a down-on-his-luck noble. Due to his family’s decline, he had established his own small mercenary squad to make ends meet.

Following the frost of the Frost Month, the wealth they had accumulated last year was almost spent. With the cold receding, a new round of adventures was about to begin.

This morning, William picked up a mission from the Mercenary Guild to hunt a rhinoceros in the wilderness.

Maybe because the employer was in a hurry, the reward for this mission was 50 Gold Pucks.

By the gods above, after this job, they wouldn’t need to adventure again for at least two months.

However, William frowned because the wilderness rhino only lived on the outskirts of the barren wilderness, which was Beastman territory.

Even though it was now the planting season and the Beastmen had retreated deeper into the barren wilderness, there was still a significant threat.

Therefore, William planned to find some powerful trump cards to ensure his own safety. He was a mercenary, not a brainless adventurer.

“Boss, should we check out the Mysterious Store at the Crimson Mage Tower? I heard they are selling a lot of magic scrolls today, and the prices are quite fair…”

William’s squad comprised eight members, including warriors, archers, and rogues.

However, they notably lacked spellcasters, as the haughty mage lords usually disdained rough mercenaries.

“Magic scrolls? Those damned mages sell scrolls worth 12 Gold Pucks on the market for 20!!”

William cursed discontentedly.

Due to the lack of mages, mercenary squads without mages often liked to purchase magic items as trump cards.

Magic scrolls, due to their great power and ease of use, were generally the mercenaries’ first choice.

But magic scrolls were very scarce on the market, so inexpensive ones were almost nowhere to be found.

To buy them, one had to pay well above market price.

Mercenary squads were often not wealthy, so they both envied and resented the expensive magic scrolls.

William’s team was considered both strong and affluent, so they were considering buying magic items.

“No, boss, I heard from others that the magic scrolls sold by the Crimson Mage Tower aren’t that expensive… Only 12 Gold Pucks each.

And since it’s their first day in business, they have a raffle discount too. Someone reportedly won a 90% discount and got a magic scroll for just one Gold Puck…”

At these words, William was tempted. This was a world of magic, where the power of magic often played a role incomparable to that of warrior professions.

If they could afford a mage lord, he would definitely have a spellcaster accompany them… Having a spellcaster would at least double a mercenary squad’s survival capability.

“Damn these bloodsucking leeches, let’s go take a look.”

William spat fiercely on the ground. After entering the mercenary business, his noble upbringing was tossed aside in the face of life and death.

His crude behavior raised no objections but rather a sense of kinship, as others vocally cursed those greedy spellcasters.

How many delicate, noble-born children could survive the life-threatening mercenary business?

The Mercenary Guild’s Green City center wasn’t far from the South City District.

One Sunshine Hour later.

“These damned bastards, how did they get the news so fast?”

William noticed the mercenaries, dressed in leather and carrying weapons, nearly crowding the entire street, and his face soured.

“Hahaha, how many did you manage to grab? Three? I got five!!”

“This is all my savings, and the scrolls here are actually the same price as the market rate, what a bargain.”

“What’s your situation, I got a 10% discount, limited to 3 scrolls, otherwise, I would have bought them all…”

“The Crimson Mage Tower is really impressive, having so many magic scrolls available. Luckily, I heard news before the Frost Month that they’d be selling scrolls, so I saved up some money…”

“How about we try that Ogre territory we found last time? If we can kill two Ogres, we’d make a fortune.”

“Are you crazy? There’s no way we can deal with those level 6 Ogres!”

“What are you afraid of? With magic scrolls, if we can’t win, can’t we just run away?”

People in the crowd were discussing animatedly, some with pained expressions emerging from the street, holding scrolls that emitted magic fluctuations.

Some held onto a few Gold Puck with disappointed faces—they’d clearly exceeded their budget and couldn’t afford to buy.

When William heard the crowd discussing, he exchanged glances with his teammates, excitement evident on his face.

He hadn’t expected to really be able to buy reasonably priced magic scrolls here.

“Wait for me outside, I’ll go in and see the situation.”

Mercenaries and adventurers belonged to professions with extremely high risks; each outing was like staking their lives.

And with high risk came high rewards. Most adventurers had enough savings to grit their teeth and buy a magic scroll.

Glory World was extremely harsh for commoners, even mere survival was a luxury, with wars and demon beasts that could snatch away their lives at any moment.

But it truly was a paradise for professionals; those with strength could obtain anything.

Ordinary people might save up only three to five Gold Puck in their lifetime, but one adventure for professionals could yield thirty to fifty.

The world was never fair; those with strength obviously lived better lives.

Among the crowd of hundreds, William, using his strength as a level 8 warrior, forcefully made his way through to the front of the Mysterious Store.

The Mysterious Store was a newly-built two-story building; the exterior walls perhaps painted red in alchemy materials to match the Crimson Mage Tower.@@novelbin@@

Hanging in the center above was a signboard that had solidified the Second Circle Magic—”Linguistic Understanding”… Veena’s Mysterious Store.

Whether or not one could read, seeing the signboard made it clear what was written.

In Green City, it was commonplace in many large firms to solidify Linguistic Understanding spells on signboards.

With an excited expression, William squeezed into the Mysterious Store.

Inside the store, apprentices in gray mage robes were maintaining order; the restless crowd seeing this slightly calmed down, still crowded but it greatly relieved William.

Once he stabilized himself, William took the time to look around the store.

The store was spacious, 4 blades high, at least 35 blades long and wide, the gray oak shelves that should display goods were empty, clearly not yet restocked.

The crimson-colored walls behind the shelves emitted a magic fluctuation that carried a fatal threat, clearly set up by spellcasters; the terrifying spells hidden there coldly awaited intruders.

A large oak table that partitioned the store’s main hall was placed at the center.

Behind the oak table stood about ten mages in official robes negotiating with mercenaries who wanted to make purchases.

On maple shelves behind these mages, dozens of magic scrolls were placed.

They were divided into several major categories, labeled with the common language of the continent.

“Small Fireball Skill, Thunderbolt Skill, Mage Shield, Shadow Touch, Fossil into Mud”

A total of five types.

“All magic scrolls are priced at 12 Gold Puck each, with a limit of 10 per person. Today is the first day of opening for the Mysterious Store.

Our esteemed guests can draw appropriate discounts, please do not crowd…”

The apprentice next to them was still trying hard to shout and maintain order, but amidst the swarming crowd, they seemed like a small boat in the waves, possibly capsizing at any moment.

A group of burly men didn’t care much, apprentice mages had limited deterrence for them; perhaps only the store’s owner, Lide Kachar, could make these blood-stained mercenaries restrain themselves.

Leveraging his tall physique, William, after a strenuous effort amidst the crowd, finally made it to the high counter.

He grabbed the oak long table with one hand to firmly anchor his body, and with the other hand pointed to the magic scrolls behind the counter.

He shouted loudly,

“Give me three magic scrolls…”