The guard seemed to be thinking about how to proceed with this request.
Normally, it was forbidden for them to accept any unofficial Ice Wood deliveries, but that was because of the possibility that it might have been unethically sourced.
However, the guards now had a certificate in front of them that showed that this delivery came from an official source.
Yet, it was still forbidden.
After a bit of thinking, the guard waved the other guard over.
The other guard looked at the first guard with a lifted eyebrow and walked over. The first guard handed the piece of paper to the second guard, and the second guard read it.
After a bit of thinking, the second guard just shrugged. "It's official, right? On top of that, it's probably cheaper than the Ice Wood from the towns. I say let Cindy decide," he said.
The first guard scratched his chin for a bit longer but nodded in the end. "Sure, why not."
Then, he turned to Shang and motioned for him to follow. "We'll let you through, but the final decision is still up to the manager," he said.
Shang nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem. We're only doing our job," the guard said.
The guards pushed the gate open, and Shang walked through it while pulling his sled wagon along with him. "Where should I go?" he asked.
"Through the main entrance. The reception isn't always manned, so you might need to wait for a bit. Just wait in the big empty hall until someone comes to receive you."
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang nodded again and pulled the sled wagon towards the Mana Austerum.
BANG!
The heavy gates closed behind Shang, and he was a bit surprised that the guards didn't follow him.
However, that thought was quickly thrown out of the window.
'There are several real Mages in this building. Security isn't an issue,' Shang thought.
Shang went through the entrance of the Mana Austerum and saw quite a big hall. It was probably over twenty meters long and just as wide. There were also several doors and gates of different sizes.
Shang looked around, and sure enough, there was no one here.
So, Shang just waited at the side of the hall.
Silence.
No one arrived.
Shang just continued waiting.
Creak!
One of the doors opened, and Shang looked over.
An old man with blue hair that was slowly transforming into grey hair walked through the door.
When Shang saw the person, he immediately felt the whirlpool of Ice Mana swirling around the person.
This was obviously one of the Mages. His Mana pull wasn't as powerful as Duke Whirlwinds, but it was still very powerful.
The man noticed Shang.
Then, the man nodded in greeting.
Shang nodded back.
And the mage left through another door.
More waiting.
Creak!
One of the other doors opened, and a young and beautiful woman with short, green hair walked into the hall. Shang guessed that she was probably either in her late teens or early twenties.
Shang didn't feel any Ice Mana swirl around her, but he felt the displacement of the Ice Mana in her surroundings. She was obviously also a Mage, but she wasn't a true Mage. She was probably an Adept, based on the feeling of danger emanating off her.
When she entered the hall, her gaze immediately homed in on Shang, and a surprised expression appeared on her face.
"I didn't expect an Ice Wood delivery that soon," she said.
"Hello, my name's Shang, and I'm here to sell my Ice Wood to the Mana Austerum," Shang said. "However, this is not an official delivery from Coldew Village."
The woman's eyebrows furrowed. "We don't accept independent Ice Wood deliveries. Didn't the guards inform you about that?" she said with annoyance.
Shang took out the certificate and presented it to her. "They did, but I have a certificate from the officer stationed on the northwestern gate which says that my Ice Wood has been ethically sourced."
The woman looked with skepticism at the piece of paper and grabbed it.
Then, she read through it in a second.
After that, she furrowed her brows and remained silent for a while.
Some seconds later, she seemed to have come to a decision. "Wait here for a second."
Shang only nodded.
Then, the woman left the hall with the certificate.
Silence.
Some seconds later, she returned, but she didn't step into the hall. "We'll accept your Ice Wood," she said. "Please follow me with your Ice Wood."
Shang released a sigh of relief when he heard that he finally had the official okay to sell his Ice Wood.
He no longer needed to pull it to Warrior's Paradise.
Shang nodded and followed the woman with his sled wagon.
After going through a hallway, the two entered a nearly empty warehouse. Shang could only see a couple of logs of Ice Wood stacked on the shelves.
"Please put your Ice Wood on this space here," she said as she gestured to a marked spot on the ground.
Shang nodded and pulled the sled wagon over.
"Without the sled wagon, please," she said.
"The sled wagon is also made of Ice Wood," Shang answered.
That took the woman by surprise.
She looked with skepticism at the sled wagon. Why would anyone use Ice Wood to make a mere sled wagon?
SHING!
Shang's eyes widened as he saw a silver needle appear in the woman's hands.
That needle hadn't been there before!
Where did it come from?
"Space Ring," she said as she saw Shang's shocked expression. "Very expensive. It isn't actually mine, but part of my working equipment."
"Space Ring?" Shang asked.
The woman walked over and put the tip of the needle on the Ice Wood. At the same time, she showed her Space Ring with her other hand.
It was completely silver, and a small, grey gem was embedded on the top.
"The gem on the top is a hollowed-out Sparren, a gem that has an innate affinity towards space itself. They are very rare and very valuable," she explained.
By now, the needle had turned a light blue, and the woman moved the needle away from the Ice Wood while watching it.
A bit later, the needle was losing its blue color.
"After finding a Sparren, it must be hollowed out by a true Mage with a Metal Affinity. It is delicate work, and one mistake makes the Sparren worthless."
Then, she moved the needle towards one of the wheels of the sled wagon.
"Then, a true Mage with a Lightning Affinity has to carve a Magic Array on the inside of the Sparren, isolating the inner space from the outer space."
By now, the needle had turned blue again, and she nodded.
"After that, a true Mage with an Earth Affinity needs to compress the space inside the Sparren. The Earth Affinity has a close relationship with gravity, and gravity warps space. Just like with the previous steps, if the Mage screws up, the Sparren becomes worthless," she said as she put the needle away.
Then, she gestured for Shang to push the sled wagon onto the marked spot, and Shang did so.
"The last step is to create an elemental shell around the inner walls of the Sparren. The Magic Arrays on the Sparren are very delicate, and without this shell, any rough movements outside the Sparren will make the items inside the Sparren bounce around and destroy the Magic Arrays."
"Additionally, contradicting Elements can cause the shell to break down, essentially destroying the Space Ring. Because of that, it's necessary to plan about what you want to store inside the Space Ring. Basically any Element can create an elemental shell inside the Sparren, but you have to be conscientious about what you place inside it."
She showed her Space Ring again.
"If I store any items with Fire Mana or Water Mana inside this Space Ring, it will be ruined by the end of the day," she finished. "After all, this Space Ring has been created with Metal and Earth in mind. Storing Ice-related items is somewhat okay, but the Ice Mana shouldn't be too strong."
Then, she looked at the Sled Wagon at the center of the marked area and took out some blue stones.
She put the blue stones into a small opening on the ground.
Then, the markings on the ground lit up.