Chapter 303: Small Trade Fair
Sein found Eileen in a conference room on the middle floor of the space fortress, along with nearly forty other mages.
The strongest among them was a Rank Three mage, explaining their ability to repurpose a conference room for a small trade fair.
Such fairs, common in past interplanar wars, emerged due to the space fortress’ limitations in fulfilling all trading needs of mages and as a way to circumvent the fortress’ transaction fees. This prompted many to favor bartering as their preferred method of exchange.
Typically, these trade fairs were organized among acquaintances, ranging from a few individuals to as many as one or two hundred participants.
The number of participants rarely exceeded two hundred, to ease the challenge of securing a suitable space within the fortress for such gatherings, as well as to prevent potential disputes and chaos.
Those were the official reasons, put in a diplomatic way. Eileen confided that the true reason was the restrictions from the fortress and divine tower.
The divine tower had its markets for selling items and recycling resources in the space fortress, relying on these transactions for revenue to cover the considerable costs of operating the space fortress and divine tower.
Sein was still unaware that his mentor, Lorianne, was in debt by millions of magicoins, but he understood the importance of generating an income to cover the operating costs of the fortress and divine tower.
By the time Sein arrived, the trade fair was concluding.
Many attendees were familiar faces from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, along with a few from other divine towers.
Most of them seemed to also recognize Sein as the Tower Master of Verdant Spring’s apprentice.
Accompanying Sein was Selphy, a Rank One mage, who was extremely interested in the small trade fair held between mages since this was her first time attending one in an interplanar war.
Upon hearing that Sein was planning to find someone in the small trade fair, she immediately expressed her desire to join him.
Eileen secured a prime location within the fair, situated in the second row.
The essence of the small trade fair was mages gathering at the conference room’s center to share what resources they had for trade and what they sought in return. Exchanges were facilitated through crystal balls for those interested in trading.
The fair had been ongoing for half a day, during which many mages found items to their liking, Eileen included.
She was initially pleased with acquiring the two horns of a Rank One Molten Fire Beast. However, her mood instantly soured upon noticing Sein arrived with an unfamiliar female mage.
Hoot, hoot.
On her shoulder, Sev, now a ranked magic beast, seemed content, especially after Eileen had traded with an aeromancer for a variety of aero-attribute dried fruits that appealed greatly to Sev.
The fruit shells littered around Eileen were evidence of Sev’s earlier indulgence.
Eileen stood and welcomed Sein over.
“Hey, you’re finally back. Who might this be?” she transmitted to Sein via mental focus.
“This is my senior from the same faction, Selphy. She’s the youngest apprentice of Master Lorianne’s third senior, Master Andres,” Sein introduced.
Given that the trade fair was still underway, the group opted for silent communication through mental focus, audible only to each other.
“Pleased to meet you, Eileen. I’ve heard much about you from Sein,” Selphy greeted cordially, her attention then shifting to Sev on Eileen’s shoulder.
“This must be Sein’s magic beast companion, right? It looks really adorable!” she exclaimed in delight.
However, Sev’s appearance did not fit the conventional definition of “adorable”.
In the Magus World, many mages preferred pets that were visually appealing, often choosing animals that had undergone specific bloodline modifications for their adorable appearance. Sev, however, differed markedly from these pets.
Although Sev was now smaller in size after recently promoted to Rank One, it exuded a certain dignity, particularly noticeable in its pronounced grayish-white eyebrows, which lent it an air of solemnity.
This blend of serious demeanor with its small stature created an intriguing contrast, likely the reason Selphy deemed it “adorable”.
Selphy’s polite demeanor seemed to irk Eileen, who felt an inexplicable annoyance, her previously pleasant mood evaporating.
When Sein asked her about other notable items at the fair, Eileen rolled her eyes and gave him a curt response, “Can’t you see for yourself?”
Puzzled by Eileen’s coldness, Sein did not press further, choosing instead to browse the fair’s offerings himself.
The fair continued for another two hours after Sein’s arrival.
As the tower master’s apprentice, Sein attracted considerable attention, with many from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring curious about what he might offer.
Anything from the hands of Tower Master of Verdant Spring was bound to be invaluable, and the mages here would offer substantial amounts for them.
Sein indeed possessed a few of such items from Master Loriane, including a crystal ball holding the introductory knowledge of verdant flame magic and a packet of Viridescent Seeds.
Of course, Sein chose not to auction these priceless treasures.
Instead, the items Sein offered for trade were notably modest. He exchanged mainly the spoils of war he had gathered in the Viridian Venom Flame World for over a dozen useful materials for his alchemical experiments.
Selphy, accompanying Sein to the trade fair, made a notable impression by offering a magic ring capable of producing a Verdant Flame Lotus spell.
Although the Verdant Flame Lotus was only a Rank One Spell, its infusion with verdant flame magic rendered it unusually potent.
It was eventually secured by a Rank Two mage at the fair.
“I didn’t expect you to be able to apply the verdant flame magic into alchemy. Looks like your research progress in this field has far surpassed mine,” Sein praised.
“That’s not entirely accurate. Your technique of applying the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique to strengthen your physical body through elemental patterns is still a mystery to me,” Selphy responded modestly.
“I only researched how to apply the verdant flame magic in alchemy for a short time. It’s really just about micro-engraving technique, nothing too difficult to grasp,” she added.
As Sein and Selphy exchanged compliments, they failed to notice Eileen’s displeasure. Sev, perched on Eileen’s shoulder, seemed to sense the tension and hooted softly.
Receiving no acknowledgment from Sein, the owl hung its head.