Strictly speaking, Mason also attended today's auction, so there's no way he shouldn't recognize Kadgar...
Honestly, Mason only has himself to blame. He spent the entire auction fidgeting, desperate for it to end, never once glancing at the stage. From start to finish, all he could think about was how to corner Leon. So now, in front of Kadgar, he actually blurted out, 'This old man looks kind of familiar...'
"Is this how Monty teaches his son?" Kadgar's face darkened as he stared at Mason, his icy voice barely containing his fury. He didn't rise from his seat, but the archmage's unique aura filled the room, pressing down on everyone like a mountain.
The magical energy that swept through the room was like a hurricane, sending books flying off the shelves behind him...
"A distinguished guest of the Blackhorn Auction House—is that someone you people dare to threaten?" Kadgar rose amid the swirling pages, and with a single gesture, seven or eight armed family mercenaries were flung out one after another. Each one was sent flying over ten meters, bouncing off the walls like rubber balls.
The dull thuds echoed in the room, making everyone's scalp tingle...
"Old man, you... you dare lay a hand on the Monty Family?" Mason was stunned by the sudden turn of events, clutching two glass vials in his hands, his legs so weak he could barely stand. Still, he tried to bluff his way through with a few tough words.
But before he could finish, Jonathan grabbed him from behind...
"Y-Young master, h-he... he's Kadgar..." Jonathan's voice grew quieter with each word, his head lowering until he could barely speak. By the end, he didn't even dare look up.
"So what if he's Kadgar? Kadgar thinks he can lay a hand on the Monty Family?" Mason retorted instinctively, but as soon as the words left his mouth, his face froze and his voice faltered. "K-K-Kadgar?"
Mason truly didn't know what Kadgar looked like, but that didn't mean he'd never heard the name. In Stormhold, anyone with even a shred of status knows who Kadgar is—the chief appraiser of the Blackhorn Auction House, an archmage and master alchemist. Across all of Stormhold, only Salomon of Sage's Spire might rival him in rank and reputation.
Even if Mason were a hundred times more clueless, he’d still know what the name Kadgar means...
"I knew it, I just knew it... I knew it would be like this again..." Mason stood there, dazed, unsure whether to keep holding the two glass vials or put them away. He muttered under his breath, "I just knew Matthew Merlin’s luck would be this damned good..."
This scene was all too familiar...
Mason couldn’t figure out why he was always so unlucky. Every time he tried to teach that bastard a lesson, something like this happened. Solon showed up at Sage's Spire, Farrow at the auction hall, Salomon in the VIP box, and now, just when he finally cornered him here—Kadgar appears. Why was his luck always this rotten?
"Y-Young master, hurry and apologize to Archmage Kadgar..." Luckily, Jonathan reacted quickly and tugged at Mason’s sleeve, urging him to make amends.
This was no joke. In an archmage’s reception room, brandishing weapons and threatening his guest—just that alone was enough to land the entire Monty Family in hot water. It was practically a direct challenge to an archmage’s authority. Kadgar would be justified in killing a few of them right here.
This was a disaster. Forget Mason—even Monty himself wouldn’t be able to fix this. The only thing left was to apologize and hope Archmage Kadgar was magnanimous enough not to hold a grudge against nobodies like them. Otherwise, they could only pray for mercy...
"Apologize?" Kadgar snorted coldly, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop. He didn’t move, but the pressure was so intense that neither Mason nor Jonathan could breathe.
This time Kadgar was truly furious. It was bad enough that Mason barged into an archmage’s reception room with a crowd, but the real issue was that they’d pointed their weapons at Mage Merlin—the Blackhorn Auction House’s most important client. Kadgar had spent ages smoothing things over to build a fragile partnership, and now Mason was about to ruin everything by forcing Merlin to swallow two glass vials. If Kadgar hadn’t been here, and Merlin really had been made to eat them—how would he ever clean up that mess?
If Mage Merlin were to form a bad impression of the Blackhorn Auction House, could the Monty Family afford the consequences?
The moment Kadgar considered that possibility, his gaze toward Mason grew even colder.
"K-K-K-Kadgar, Archmage Kadgar, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—I really didn’t know you were here…" Mason, spoiled since childhood, had never faced anything like this. To be stared down by an archmage—forget Mason, even Monty would be weak-kneed. As he stammered out his apology, Mason was nearly in tears...
Crying was inevitable...
Even Mason knew how untouchable archmages were. In Stormhold, provoking one was basically suicide. Mason wasn't done living yet—the only thing he could do now was apologize as desperately as possible and hope Kadgar would let him off.
"What good does apologizing to me do? The one you offended is Mage Merlin. If you want to apologize, do it to him. If he chooses to forgive you, fine. If not..."
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Kadgar didn’t say what would happen if Merlin refused, but his icy stare and grim expression were enough to make Mason’s legs go weak again. At this point, Mason couldn’t care less about old grudges—or those two glass vials. All that was forgotten.
"Mage Merlin, I was wrong, I really was wrong..."
"Enough!" Leon cut him off with a wave, ending Mason’s uninspired performance. Compared to Farrow’s, this was pathetic.
Truth be told, Leon didn’t care whether Mason lived or died.
But Leon knew Kadgar was in a tough spot. He had to give Monty some face—after all, the man only had two sons. If one of them got quietly killed, how would Monty handle it? But Mason had crossed Leon, and if Kadgar didn’t let Leon decide his fate, that wouldn’t be fair either.
That’s why Kadgar had kicked the ball to Leon, saying, "If Mage Merlin is willing to forgive you, fine." In other words, he’d handed the decision over. If Leon chose to spare Mason, Kadgar would avoid offending either side. If Leon didn’t, Kadgar would probably grit his teeth and finish Mason off. But if it came to that, Leon would owe Kadgar a huge favor.
Kadgar would be offending the Monty Family—a giant in its own right—for Leon’s sake. If he ever asked for something in return, how could Leon refuse?
That old fox was too cunning...
Leon cursed inwardly, determined not to owe that kind of favor. "Young Master Mason probably just misunderstood me. It’s nothing serious. Archmage Kadgar, if you have time later, maybe you could talk some sense into him. It’s not good to hold onto such petty grudges. The Golden Rose still has some matters waiting for me, so I’ll take my leave."
"Mage Merlin, you really won’t stay a bit longer?"
"I really have things to do, really," Leon firmly refused Kadgar’s invitation. Carrying the four newly acquired magical materials and a crystal card worth 1.88 million gold coins, he left Kadgar’s reception room...
But just before leaving, Leon remembered something and turned back: "By the way, Archmage Kadgar, if you have time, please remind Young Master Mason to eat those two glass vials for me..."
"..."
After returning to the Golden Rose, Leon dove straight into the alchemy lab.
It wasn’t until dawn that Leon finally melted the ice crystal sealing the dragon’s blood. He let a single precious drop fall into the boiling beaker. Instantly, a cloud of deep blue mist rose, and a heady aroma filled the alchemy lab.
"It’s done!" Leon wiped the sweat from his brow, gazing at the shimmering blue in the beaker. For once, a rare smile crept onto his face.
This was the Mana Baptism...
Mana Baptism could utterly transform one’s constitution. Back in the heyday of magical civilization, every newborn underwent it. The ritual didn’t just grant them their first accumulation of magical power—it fundamentally improved their bodies. In those days, nearly everyone was a prodigy; only effort and opportunity determined their fate.
For Leon, using Mana Baptism now was a bit late. That first magical accumulation didn’t matter much anymore—the real benefit was the improvement to his body.
But that was exactly what Leon needed. The body Matthew Merlin left behind was so flawed, it was a wonder he could even become a mage. Luckily, Leon was the one who took it over—anyone else might still be stuck as a mere apprentice.
The only thing that could fix those flaws was the Mana Baptism in front of him...