The auction came to an end in a way that no one was expecting.
The auction house paid Dave about 190,000 crystals without giving him any trouble, but this was not all Dave had to worry about. He had yet to go for the exit of the building when he already sensed the meaningful gazes around him. He currently had more money than many wizards could find in their careers. And as a frail apprentice, he was basically telling people to come and mug him just by showing up.
Even other apprentices who weren’t so good at fighting were itchy to join the fun. To them, picking up some leftovers meant earning more money they could get in several years.
Dave did the only thing he could think of right now, which was to keep his Tang Dao enchanted with freezing power in his hand, in hope that it might scare off some people.
But this wasn’t going to work too well.
Theron was currently standing on a higher floor gazing at Dave.
“Mister Theron, should we, you know?” An assistant in a red robe beside him made a neck-slitting gesture.
Theron shook his head. “No. From what he said, he’s in a good relationship with the rumored alchemist. Besides, wizards from Brute Cavern have surely noticed the situation. Did you not see Leona still in the building?”
“Sir, you mean Leona is going to protect that apprentice?”
“Right. She made it clear when she asked the apprentice a question earlier. This was why the other wizards of Brute Cavern all left. Now go. We must make plans to make our grand auction next year special so that we can repair the damage done to us today. I think it’s time for us to bring out the good stuff.”
Theron found Chalon in an unlit private room and noticed that the clan master was trying very hard to stay calm right now, but the rage in Chalon’s eyes was still clear to see.
“Master, what’s done is done. Yet we still have chances to correct it,” said Theron.
“Do tell me then.”
“Next year, we can make our grand auction more outstanding. And we did not directly offend Angor today, so we can try showing him our goodwill in time. Moreover, we can consider these two things as one.”
“You mean we’re selling Angor’s creations during the grand auction?”
“That’s right.”
“Where do we find his items?”
“Money and profit mean everything in this world. With enough profit, friends can become foes and vice versa. Sky Auction is one of the most welcomed auctions in the world because of several master alchemists who support it. And I believe Angor has the potential to become such a master.”
“You’re right... do as you will.” Chalon nodded.
Theron smiled in great confidence.
They didn’t know that Angor wouldn’t be coming back to the Fey Continent any time soon, and whatever they were planning had to wait.
...
On the first floor, Dave trod warily toward the door while bearing with the growing malice. There were already eager people who threatened him out loud.
“One thousand, and I’ll leave you alone. Or else...”
Such an amount was unlikely to draw too much attention, so the weaker apprentices only attempted to get their hands on some small money.
Dave paid them no mind. He knew that these thugs were unlikely to attack him while they were still inside the auction building. But there was no way he could fend off so many attackers once he was away. He thought about hiring someone strong to escort him. However, there weren’t many trustworthy individuals in this world, and unfortunately, he didn’t see anyone who looked faithful around him.
He also thought about asking one of the auction workers for help. To the auction, having one of their big customers robbed at their door would be rather disgracing.
But he gave up that idea since he just “disgraced” them greatly. And besides, he didn’t really trust the auction house either.
As he desperately searched for a way out, he suddenly smelled good perfume in the air.
“Hello there. You from Prome’s, I assume?” a witch spoke to him with a bright smile.
Dave saw “Rose Crown” Leona and quickly put up his manners. He heard about her name on the very first day when he went to Prome’s shop.
“Miss Leona! I-I-yes, I’m working at Prome’s Alchemy Shop.”
Leona nodded and glanced around them, causing several peeking apprentices to look away.
“You’re in trouble, are you not?”
Dave scratched his head and wondered if he should hire this famous witch from Brute Cavern as his guard.
But... will someone like her help me at all?
Leona spoke again before he could, “I’ll give you a favor since you were so generous as to tell me about that song. You’ll need a wizard to use long-range teleportation anyway.”
Dave widened his eyes in disbelief and nodded rapidly.
He couldn’t see into the VIP rooms during the auction. He just realized that Leona was the one who asked him the strange question.
“Let’s go then. I’m going back to the organization as well,” Leona said as she turned away.
Dave hurried to follow her.
The coveting people around them exchanged several disappointed looks and all walked away. It was not likely for them to hijack someone under the protection of a wizard. And there was no point stalking someone who would soon head back to their HQ.
Dave saw no one tailing him and sighed in relief. But at the same time, he was wondering if Leona offered help just because of the simple question he answered.
As a subtle shop assistant, he soon realized that Leona was interested in Angor, not him. But he wasn’t going to talk about it.
They walked toward the teleportation array built in the middle of the desert. The wind was getting stronger for some reason, and sand had blocked their sight.
Leona had a faint barrier around her which blocked all the sand, while Dave was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. He considered and quickly constructed a spell model in his mindspace. One minute later, a thin layer of water emerged from his position, which helped him escape the raging sandstorm.
Leona glanced back at the bubble-like barrier, which captured drifting sand and left a trail of wet sand behind Dave. It looked like the Cleanse cantrip but slightly different.
“I never saw that before... Is that an improved version of Cleanse?”
Dave was startled a bit when Leona suddenly spoke to him during their silent trip.
“Yes, Miss Leona, this one is called ‘Cleaning Bubble’, it’s made by changing the element arrangements of Cleanse. But I wouldn’t call it improved. You see, it’s just a bubble that prevents dust and dirt. There’s not much use.”
“Cleaning Bubble huh? That’s a convenient name.” Leona raised an eyebrow. “Cleanse is a conventional cantrip used by people for many centuries. You did a good job making something new out of it. It means you thoroughly understood the fundamentals of the cantrip.”
Dave was surprised again since he expected sarcasm rather than praise when using such a “useless” cantrip.
He wished to explain something but hesitated.
“We don’t have many apprentices who know how to alter cantrips these days,” said Leona. “Impressive. Once you become a wizard, you’ll know how important it is to get to the bottom of spells and cantrips, even if you only work on elementary ones.”
“Miss Leona, there’s something you misunderstood. I wasn’t the one who came up with the idea. Angor told me about this cantrip.”
“Huh? Angor? I see... Yeah, of course Mister Phantom would tell his student about such skills. But alchemy skills AND cantrip analysis? Oh my. This little monster would soon make a second Phantom Master in a few years.”
Meanwhile, Leona appreciated the fact that Dave told her the truth instead of using the chance to earn a good impression from a wizard.
She took a moment to inspect Dave more carefully and suddenly noticed the alchemy weapon Dave was holding.
“That’s an interesting design. You made it?”
Dave shook his head with a bitter smile. “I did forge the weapon, but the design came from Angor.”
“Angor studied enchantment, right? But this weapon is the work of synthesis. You did all the follow-up designs by yourself, right?” As a professional alchemist, Leona quickly saw how the weapon came into being.
“Yes. I spent half a year making improvements.”
“Can you tell the details?”
Dave was glad to comply since he just earned a chance to receive advice provided by a true alchemist. For as much as he could, he explained his ideas and process as well as how he overcame the obstacles while Leona listened quietly.
Dave stopped talking when they arrived at the teleportation array. He told everything he could, and any longer, and he’d start making up stories.
“I can see you’re quite creative.” Leona was quite surprised to see the assistant of Prome’s shop being so inventive.
And Dave was overjoyed to hear Leona’s comment.
“You keep it up. Your ambition isn’t completely out of reach now,” said Leona. “Say... if you have alchemy-related questions, feel free to find me at Rosebed.”