Rolling around begging for votes, favorites, and clicks—no cute girl routine today, just saving this for now.
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Matthew Merlin really hadn’t made a move…
Because it was Farrow who acted. Farrow didn’t even bother asking—he just slapped Jonathan silly.
He didn’t care that Jonathan was the Monty family butler. Farrow was already fretting over how to redeem himself and patch things up with the future archmage. Now Jonathan had delivered himself right to his door. With Kadgar’s direct orders, why would Farrow pay any mind to a mere butler? He went straight up and slapped him, no hesitation…
“Master Merlin, let’s head upstairs. Don’t let this trivial nonsense ruin your mood…” Farrow grumbled, then switched to a fawning smile so fast it was almost impressive.
“Mm, let’s go…”
“Don’t go, don’t go! None of you are leaving!” Jonathan sprang up as soon as he heard them about to leave. “You think you can hit me and just walk away? Guards! Guards! Arrest those two brats!”
“Shut up.” Just as Jonathan was throwing a fit, the door to a private box upstairs swung open. Out stepped Monty himself. “Get up here. Stop embarrassing yourself.”
With Monty’s words, the room instantly quieted down.
Jonathan, who’d just been hopping mad, deflated like a punctured ball—his voice vanished with a squeak. He shot the two a hateful glare, then scrambled into Monty’s box, practically crawling.
“Sorry about that, President Monty. I might have been a bit rough.”
Farrow called out from afar, making Jonathan stumble mid-step—he nearly tumbled down the stairs again…
“Look at the mess you’ve made!” Once the box door closed, Monty’s face darkened. “Do you have any idea who Farrow is? He’s the young alchemist even Kadgar values, and you go picking a fight with him? Have you lost your mind?”
“I… I didn’t, sir. I just saw that Merlin kid…”
“Shut up! Haven’t you caused enough trouble for me already?” After scolding Jonathan, Monty couldn’t help but frown in confusion. “But that Merlin kid… How did he end up with Farrow? And they seem pretty chummy too…”
“Probably just a coincidence. Matthew Merlin’s always had ridiculous luck. Last time at Sage’s Spire, he somehow got in good with Solon and even got me kicked out of the library.” Mason chimed in, jaw clenched.
Born into the powerful Monty family, Mason could count his losses on one hand. But lately, things had been strange—first he got thrown out of the Sage’s Spire library, then tried to stir up trouble at the Gilded Rose only to be forced to eat a glass bottle.
How was Mason supposed to swallow his pride after all that…
After leaving the Gilded Rose, Mason had been plotting revenge. But after a talk with his father and brother, he was forbidden from going back there. Today, he finally bumped into Matthew Merlin at the Blackhorn Auction House, and his mind started working out how to get even.
“You dare bring up Sage’s Spire again?” Monty shot Mason a glare, though for once, he didn’t bother to scold Mason’s speculation.
Monty himself figured the two young men probably just met by chance—maybe they shared interests, maybe it was business. Whatever the reason, they’d struck up a decent friendship.
Otherwise, Farrow wouldn’t have stood up for Matthew Merlin, let alone secretly arranged a private box for him. Those boxes were reserved for the heads of eastern kingdom’s major powers—even if a few were empty during this auction, you couldn’t just seat anyone in them. If Kadgar found out, best case he’d scold you; worst case, there’d be consequences. Farrow taking that risk pretty much proved their friendship.
Still, no matter how close they were, it was just a friendship between two young men—nothing that would shake things up. If the person slapped hadn’t been his own butler, Monty wouldn’t have even bothered thinking about it.
So after a bit of thought, Monty dropped the subject. He just told Jonathan, “Enough, Jonathan. Stop acting so pitiful. When the auction’s over, I’ll have a word with Kadgar. Not just anyone can slap the Monty family’s butler.”
“Thank you, sir, thank you!” Jonathan bowed and scraped, already scheming. If the old man stepped in after the auction, Kadgar probably wouldn’t get involved. Those two punks—he could humiliate them however he liked.
As for how to humiliate them? No need to rush—plenty of time to figure that out…
Jonathan had no idea that, at that very moment, someone in the next box was pondering the same thing.
“That Jonathan really has no sense of self-preservation, daring to disrespect Master Merlin. When this auction is over, I’ll be sure to teach him a lesson!” Farrow fussed, still buttering up Matthew Merlin as he arranged his seat, unable to let go of his grudge against the unlucky butler.
For Farrow, this was a golden opportunity. He’d been fretting over how to win favor with the future archmage, and then Jonathan just delivered himself as a target. Farrow didn’t even need Kadgar’s name to back him up—on Blackhorn Auction House turf, dealing with a mere butler was child’s play.
Such an easy task, yet it could win favor with a future archmage—was there any deal in the world more worth it than this?
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By now, Farrow had already decided—when it came time to deal with Jonathan, he’d go all out. He wanted Master Merlin to see just how sincere and determined he was to make up for his earlier mistake. Who knows, maybe Master Merlin would be pleased enough to forgive him, maybe even give him some pointers in alchemy. Advice from a future archmage—one tip could send him soaring.
The more Farrow thought about it, the happier he got. For a moment, he almost wished the auction would end right now so he could go next door and teach Jonathan a lesson…
“Alright, Farrow, let’s focus on the auction first.” Farrow wanted the auction over, but Matthew Merlin wasn’t having it. What a joke—he hadn’t gotten any of the four materials yet. If the auction ended now, where was he supposed to find ingredients for Mana Baptism?
“Right, right, let’s pay attention to the auction…” Farrow was now fully in character. He didn’t even need Kadgar’s instructions—whatever the future archmage said, that’s what he’d do. If Matthew Merlin said to focus on the auction, then focus it was.
As they spoke, the auction officially began.
Kadgar himself presided over the auction. The first item up for bid was an enchanted dagger from Rockridge, named Gale Fang.
“Gale Fang, a masterpiece by master alchemist Andre of Rockridge, set with three wind stones and imbued with the Blessing of Wind. Not only does it greatly increase the wielder’s speed, but it also automatically casts a wind spell of up to level five every minute. Among exceptional magic items, it’s a rare gem. Starting bid: five thousand gold coins, with each raise no less than five hundred.”
Kadgar truly lived up to his reputation as Blackhorn Auction House’s chief auctioneer—with just a few words, he made the features of this exceptional magic item perfectly clear.
“Five thousand five hundred gold coins.” As the opening item, the cost-performance was usually pretty good, so as soon as Kadgar finished speaking, someone in the crowd raised their paddle.
“Six thousand gold coins!”
“Six thousand five hundred gold coins!”
“Seven thousand five hundred gold coins!”
……
Of course, there was more than one connoisseur in the room. In just moments, Gale Fang’s price soared past ten thousand gold, finally claimed by a wealthy merchant from Rockridge for thirteen thousand. Word was, he meant it as a tribute to Master Andre.
After the Gale Fang was sold, Kadgar quickly auctioned off two more magic items, both of impressive quality. Even Matthew Merlin was tempted by one, but temptation aside, there was no need to bid. For Matthew Merlin now, more magic items were pointless—once he advanced to Grand Mage and claimed that hundreds-meter-long vein of Nether Iron Ore, he could have all the exceptional magic items he wanted. If things went well, he might even put his name on a transcendent magic item.
But Matthew Merlin didn’t have time to idle. Soon enough, the fourth auction item appeared: the River Styx Water he’d coveted for ages—one of the four ingredients missing for Mana Baptism!
“Next up is a vial of River Styx Water from Ghostspire. There are plenty of alchemists present, so I’m sure you all know its value—I won’t waste your time. Bidding starts at ten thousand gold, with each raise no less than one thousand.”
“Eleven thousand gold!”
“Thirteen thousand gold!”
“Fourteen thousand gold!”
“Seventeen thousand gold!”
……
As soon as Kadgar finished speaking, the hall erupted in a flurry of bids. The River Styx Water, starting at ten thousand, quickly soared to twenty thousand gold.
But Matthew Merlin wasn’t sweating it. He could see once the bidding hit twenty thousand, things slowed way down—which basically meant, for most folks here, that was the real price. Anything higher? Not worth the hassle…
In this era, Matthew Merlin was probably the only one who really got the true value of River Styx Water. The current state of alchemy couldn’t even scratch the surface of what it could do. Mana Baptism alone wouldn’t show up for another thousand years, never mind all those even wilder recipes.
So yeah, Matthew Merlin wasn’t in any rush at all…