The Undying Magician - Book 2 - Chapter 51 - Rewards and the Lab (Patreon)

                                                          Nathan
                                  Year 2849 | Month 12 | Day 9

After returning to the soldiers – who I found out were actually captains of their respective cities’ guards – they all immediately treat me like some sort of VIP, just flooding me with praise even while their hearts beat like crazy, showing off their true feelings of fear.

Certainly an interesting thing, being able to hear other peoples’ heartbeats.

Comes in handy when trying to figure out if someone is lying too, since their heartrate might spike or something when they do.

Like these guys, whose heartrate is beating so quickly it makes it hard to tell when they’re not lying.

Once they’re done spilling all the platitudes and compliments they can think of, Amy finally gives me my pay, which in the case of this job was both information and a monetary reward. The currency of the fallen kingdom. Which is surprisingly still used. I’d just kind of assumed it wasn’t, since Xavier had our agreement in food.

Not to mention that their bet was over food.

“By the way, why were you all betting food earlier instead of currency?” I ask with a brow raised, both slightly interested in seeing their reaction and honestly curious as to what their answer is.

All three of them stiffen up in an instant, a look of horror spreading across their faces before Jackson practically shouts, momentarily breaking out of the polite mannerisms he was using before, “How the fucking hell did you hear us?!”

I raise a brow as he actually raises his hands and covers his mouth. But I don’t say anything in response, and instead simply wait for their answer instead.

Amy takes on a much more serious expression as she says, “It’s because food is a much more scarce material than products of other kinds, so trade between cities tends to be more focused on food than anything else. Specifically due to the miasma.”

Ah. That makes perfect sense.

I nod my head at that, seemingly making them calm down a little bit. Until, that is, I ask, “So what’s my reward for winning the bet?”

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After dealing with the three captains and sending them on their way, I reenter my home with a nice amount of produced food, a mercenary’s job worth of their currency, and – more importantly – an agreement from them to send me mint ice cream in the next couple of days.

Looks like they’ll also be sending a soldier over every time they have a job for me. And not just the city of Frost Veil, but also the other two. Volten and Archal.

I continue walking further through the tunnels until I make it to my house, only to turn and instead end up going towards the lab.

Come to think of it, that thing has been there this entire time. Makes me wonder if that old man is still alive or not.

While the captains were here, I also asked about the thing about fire magicians being a rarity around here, and it turns out they are. Because apparently the miasma covering the continent along with the death mana barrier around it kind of messes up the natural affinity of most magicians. It makes them more likely to be a rarer type of affinity, and decreases their chance of being of the affinities opposing death and the miasma it makes. Like fire, life, and nature.

And at first glance, fire affinity wouldn’t sound so different from death mana. After all, they both are very dangerous. But fire also has cleansing aspects, which death very much doesn’t have.

So fire magicians are a lot rarer in the Kingdom of the Fallen than they are anywhere else.

All because of a certain skeleton.

I shake my head at the thought before going into my makeshift tunnel around the poison barrier to enter the lab. Then I proceed to go through the lab till I reach the back, where I rest my ear against the door to listen for sounds on the other side with my enhanced hearing. Something I never did before now.

Honestly, if possible, I’d rather be able to enter this room and look at the original owner of this lab’s equipment. Because there might be some in there that I might be able to put to use.

But all I can hear coming from the room is a constant but also patternlike sucking sound. Like something is drawing something in through a pump one pull at a time.

Which doesn’t really bode well for the life magician inside.

I grab the handle and unlock it before peeking inside to see the mass of vines and tentacles almost immediately rush towards me while dragging the old man who is still alive at first glance on the ground. Then I hurry up and shut it again, locking the door afterwards before the creature slams into it.

Man, that thing is disturbing to look at. And the old man isn’t a pretty sight either. Nor is the dead look in his eyes.

Makes me wonder just how long the guy’s been there, considering how old this lab is. Also makes me wonder just what that monster is doing to him, since it’s obviously doing something while also keeping him alive.

Either way, it should be weak to fire. So when I get stronger spells, I can just torch that room. Because I’m absolutely sure that old man just wants to die by now. It’s what his eyes told me at least.

That aside, I did see a few interesting things in the room during that glance. Such as a station for making bullets for one. Magi-tech bullets.

Now, I don’t know how to make those myself, but I can definitely try learning. And if push comes to shove, I can even purchase the knowledge from one of the cities, since I’m sure at least one of them has it.

Because I really don’t want to run out of bullets.

I make sure the door is firmly locked before turning around and beginning to walk back to my home again, leaving the lab behind for now.

Still have some work to do on making some more Tier III spells.

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