Chapter 216: Shaun the Fatso
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li rubbed his eyes, and realized that he was right.
Wasn’t that round figure amongst the crowd the fat bandit he’d met at the black market? Oh, and the fat bandit went missing after he promised to sell one Thunder Eaglet to Lin Li…
“Felic, you’d better watch out and not create any trouble for me today. Those people who are coming would not be easy to deal with…
“Do you see that guy with a big beard and wearing an armor standing at the corner there…?” As Andoine brought Lin Li towards the middle of the guild hall, he asked him patiently.
“What’s with that man?” Lin Li followed Andoine’s gaze and saw a burly middle-aged man with a huge beard. With his build and majestic armor, he was like a magical beast that just came down from the mountains. He sat at the corner like a statue.
“His Highness, Prince Lionheart Johnathan.”
“Damn…” Lin Li was shocked.
He really is a bigshot…
Andoine laughed. “You should make a guess who that old man speaking to Prince Lionheart is…”
“A mage?” Lin Li asked subconsciously. But, after the question left his mouth, he realized that he was wrong. That man was definitely not a mage. Although he was donning a long gray robe, the aura he was exuding was not mystical, but one with a faint stench of blood. It was a smell that only people with bloodied hands would emit.
“Nope, not a mage.” Lin Li shook his head and took his words back.
“Is he an assassin?”
“That’s right…” Andoine nodded his head. His gaze was filled with satisfaction at Lin Li’s answer. “He is Oro, an assassin under the Ruby Moon. More than half of the assassins in Felan Kingdom are under him. If you want to prevent yourself from being killed in your sleep or during a meal, you’d better go and get closer with him later. Despite being a classic rookie in pharmaceutics, that old man is extremely addicted to the field. Go and flaunt some of your knowledge in front of him and I’m sure he will protect you afterwards.”
“…” Lin Li rolled his eyes. Wasn’t it the same for Andoine?
“And that guy over there…” As Andoine brought Lin Li over, he told him about everyone in the hall. Lin Li could not help but admit that the old man’s knowledge was not what anyone could surpass.
The people he told Lin Li of were not well known. It would be difficult for anyone to recognize them in public. Yet, this old man could not only identify each and every one of them, but also know their respective abilities and personalities as though they were his friends he had known for over 10 years.
This trip really widened Lin Li’s horizons.
Although it was supposed to be a low-key gathering held by the Pharmacists Guild, there were more than half of the elites in Felan Kingdom present. Each man Andoine had told him about turned out to be a very influential figure.
The gathering consisted of people from all walks of life: the biological brother of the reigning monarch; the king of all assassins who traded money for lives; the archmage boasting great power; the wealthy merchant… and even a priest and a Necromancer who manipulated corpses…
Just as the two man were walking by, Lin Li could see clearly that that the Necromancer and the priest were engrossed in their discussion about their personal experiences in the field of pharmaceutics. They did not in the slightest sense look like what the common people viewed them as—mortal enemies.
“They are not going to start a fight?” Lin Li was dumbfounded.
“Well, they might if they were outside. Because there are strict laws imposed by the Pharmacists Guild.”
“Oh, yes. Do you know that fatty over there?” Lin Li nodded his head and wanted to direct Andoine’s attention to that fat man. Yet, he realized that the fatso vanished from his sight again. He could not help but mutter, “Is his zodiac Rat…”
“Which fatso?”
“He is a bandit I met in the black market once, but now he is gone again…”
“Bandit?” Andoine shook his head. “I don’t have any impression of him.”
“Forget it…” Since it was not a great matter, Lin Li did not take it to heart. He followed behind Andoine and walked to the middle of the guild hall. Along the way, there were many people that approached Andoine, and Andoine casually introduced them to Lin Li.
“He is Felic, a new student of mine.” While Andoine introduced Lin Li, he always did it with much pride.
“Brother Felic is really lucky to have Andoine as his mentor. He is definitely going to have a bright future ahead of him…” Calluses were starting to form in Andoine’s ears due to the never-ending compliments he had heard as they walked from that isolated corner to the center of the guild hall.
However, in order to sustain the praises Andoine received, Lin Li had no choice but to force all his smiles out on his face with words of salutation.
“Master so-and-so, how are you? Master so-and-so, how’s your father? Master so-and-so, how’s your mother…?”
After squeezing out of the crowd, Lin Li could not help but wobble due to fatigue. He turned to Andoine beside him and asked, “Are you very close to them?”
“Only so-so.” The old man nodded his head and laughed awkwardly. “I would exchange my magical scrolls for the formulas of their potions. It is going to be worth a few hundred thousand gold coins from these past few decades…”
“What a prodigal!”
While they bickered with each other, Lin Li found that round figure amidst the crowd again.
“Why couldn’t I find him just now…” Lin Li rolled his eyes after discovering the fella speaking passionately to people at an isolated corner.
“I’m going there to take a look.” After informing Andoine, Lin Li wanted to walk towards the fatso and ask where is the Thunder Eaglet he promised.
Then, he heard something very familiar.
“Mr. Pharmacist, your eyes are so sharp to have taken an interest in my herbs. Look at the dewdrops on its petals closely—I had picked this Tricolored Flower just this morning. I’m selling one flower for 100 gold coins, and if you were to buy 10 from me, I’m giving you one free. You can’t meet with such a good deal every single day.” ”
“…” Lin Li scratched his head. Wasn’t that exactly what the fella had said to him when he paid for the Thunder Eaglet?
The target of the fat bandit was a midde-aged man in a long black robe. Lin Li could vaguely remember that man as Amman from what Andoine had told him just now. He was the president of Thunder City Guild of Magic, and had strong abilities himself. Being a level-17 Archmage a few years ago, he was just a step behind the well-known Macklin of Alanna.
On top of that, Amman was only 40 years old. Compared to Macklin, who was going to reach 60 years old soon, most mages would feel that Amman would have a brighter future.
Of course, Antoine did not elaborate much about Amman.
There was only a slight difference in level between an Archmage and a legendary-mage. Yet, such a gap seemed unreachable. To exaggerate a little, it was a gap that distinguished the absolute difference in occupations. Although an Archmage was powerful, he would be restricted by laws of magic. In contrast, a legendary-mage had already surpassed all restrictions in magic, and arrived at the intrinsic essence of magic.
In the eyes of a legendary-mage, an Archmage was not worth mentioning. If he was willing, he could kill around a hundred Archmages with the wave of an arm. Even Macklin—despite being acknowledged as the mightiest Archmage—had to submit to Andoine like a mouse that met a cat. What was more for Amman, who was less able compared to Macklin?
To Andoine, there was no value in any Archmage at all. If not for his study in pharmaceutics, and coincidental participation in that gathering, Andoine would not even mention him.
As for the young man beside him, Lin Li was unable to figure out who he was. He could only make use of the age of both man to conclude the young man was the student of Amman or an attendant…
Amman did not even lift his eyelids while the fatso Shaun fed him all the lies.
In reality, if not for the strict rules in the Pharmacists Guild, Amman would have chased Shaun away. Shaun was like a fat housefly that kept buzzing by his ears. It was utterly absurd that he called the Tricolored Flower a herb when it could be found almost everywhere in the black market. His guts to promote it to the president of the Thunder City Guild of Magic made him really foolish.
While the president had to keep his chill due to his status, the young man beside him did not have to care much.
Just when Shaun was trying to drown them in his honeyed words, the young man frowned and reached out his arm to push Shaun’s shoulder away.
“Fatso, you are too annoying. Just scram, man.”
Shaun was already plump in size. He was like a round ball standing there, with his head and body bent towards Amman in ingratiation. How would he expect that the young man would reach his arm out to him out of the blue? Since it was unexpected, he tumbled off like a ball straight away, and rolled a few rounds.
“Hahaha…” That amusing sight caused laughter to erupt from the crowd.
“Hold back, Milo.” It was the Pharmacists Guild, after all. Since he’d only attained that invitation card through a lot connections, Amman did not want to create too much of a fuss. He was not going to allow Milo to mess things up due to his rashness.