Chapter 532: City of Late Winter
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Sienna wanted to tell Charles just that. Be it the Humerus Wyrm or the Legendary-realm Lich, all of them were defeated by Mage Felic, who was heaven-defyingly powerful. However, he glanced at Ujfalusi before he said so, and immediately decided to shut up.
Nobody liked other people talking about their failures and defeats, even if the one who defeated him had become his master. Sienna didn’t know if this was a taboo topic for Ujfalusi, but putting himself in Ujfalusi’s shoes, he wouldn’t want others to talk about it. Although Ujfalusi was already an attendant of Mage Felic, he could still kill Sienna easily at the snap of his fingers as a powerful Lich.
“So, let me tell you. The one who saved Master Castellan’s children is Mage Felic. He is also the one who protected my followers and me, bringing us back to safety. This Mage Felic is the real savior of the Castellan’s children.” Sienna decided to skip the part regarding Ujfalusi and let Charles figure out the details himself.
Though Sienna didn’t specify the fact that the Humerus Wyrm and the Legendary-realm Lich had been defeated by Mage Felic, wasn’t it obvious judging from the ending of this story? Charles suddenly felt his legs were shaking, and stumbled a bit. He didn’t fall down only because he had held on to a cupboard.
Charles felt very desperate. There were many other possible explanations to this matter. Maybe that Mage Felic only repelled the Humerus Wyrm and Legendary-realm Lich; maybe his teacher or some other person had helped him. But what was the difference for Charles?
Charles had said that Felic didn’t understand nobility. Wasn’t that accusing him of being a low-born? Damn it, he had to have gone crazy today. How could he have made such a silly mistake? Charles had managed the Seven Leaf Grass for so many years, and had never made the mistake of judging a book by its cover.
The reason for making such a mistake was firstly because of his trust in his subordinate. Furthermore, he also didn’t think that these four mages were very powerful. Next, he was unhappy that he had to put on a smile and compromise when making the deal with Sienna. Due to all these, he had forgotten about the principles he had always adhered to all these years. Unfortunately, this only time had brought him and his Seven Leaf Grass to the depths of despair.
Upon knowing how powerful Mage Felic was, Charles looked at the four mages again. The more he looked, the more he felt they were incomprehensible. No wonder he couldn’t recognize their abilities. If he had known it in the beginning, he would have gotten rid of that bastard Larry even before Sienna.
That pale youngster was probably the one who had defeated an Ice Howler. Now Charles felt that the youngster radiated a powerful aura. One needed to know that the Ice Howler was a terrifying magical beast that even the elite army under Arathor couldn’t defeat. That rather thin and small mage’s body also surged with magical waves. The fear that Charles felt because of him was comparable to that the previous youngster instilled in him. These two powerhouses would be treated like treasures by whichever factions they were put into. However, they were merely subordinates of this Mage Felic here.
Regarding Mage Felic himself, Charles still couldn’t accurately judge his abilities. He just appeared to be always polite and peace-loving, and always had a smile on his face. Even when Charles attempted to chase him away, he didn’t seem to show the slightest bit of annoyance.
At the start, Charles didn’t feel anything. However, after listening to Sienna’s introduction, he thought of several big shots he had interacted with before—they didn’t show their true feelings on their face, either. Charles naturally knew that such people were scarier, because he never knew when they would stop smiling and what they would do to him then.
Charles knew that he could hesitate no longer. If he didn’t hurry up and do something, things might reach an irreconcilable stage. He tried his best to calm down and bowed to Sienna very courteously. No matter what, Charles would have been in deep trouble unknowingly if not for Sienna’s presence.
After thanking Sienna, Charles walked towards Lin Li with a trembling heart.
Charles used the most formal etiquette in Anril World for the first time in his life towards this smiling young mage. He said, “Dear Mr Mage, I apologize for being rude to you previously. I know that my apology is far from enough to make up for my offense. Thus, I am willing to receive any punishment as long as you can forgive me this time.”
After saying all this, Charles stood there with his head lowered, waiting for Mage Felic’s decision uneasily. Every second was a torture for him. He was so nervous he could hear the beating sound of his heart.
Sienna was equally nervous. Though he had scolded Charles harshly, he might still be affected if Mage Felic was really fed up. He regretted agreeing to Charles’ commission and following this fool here. This was such an unexpected disaster!
Meanwhile, Lin Li couldn’t have cared less about this matter. After all, who would haggle over trifles with such weaklings? He just smiled, and said “never mind” to these two fellas who were so nervous they were going to faint.
Charles couldn’t believe his ears, but also didn’t dare to ask again. How could he let the esteemed Mage Felic repeat his words? How much courage must that require. He only turned to look at Sienna, hoping that he would get a clearer answer from him.
“Charles, are you f*cking blockheaded? Hurry up and thank Mage Felic for his forgiveness,” Sienna yelled with annoyance.
Charles almost cried. He had even thought of making the arrangements for after his death. He couldn’t believe that a casual word from Lin Li made him feel like he had risen to heaven from hell. When facing a true powerhouse, he didn’t even have the right to be angry at him. He was as insignificant as an ant in front of Mage Felic. Who would care about an ant’s attitude?
Could this be considered surviving a disaster? Charles felt very weak, but this wasn’t the time to relax yet. Ants needed to know what ants should do. He forced himself to concentrate and put on an obsequious smile. He asked Lin Li, “Esteemed Mr Mage, may I know what herbs you need? I have quite a lot of different herbs here. Please feel free to tell me what you need. Don’t waste your time because of my mistake.”
“Charles, is this a place for you to speak?” Sienna reminded. He heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that Mage Felic didn’t really care about Charles’ rudeness. Even Charles was let go, so Sienna would definitely not be punished. However, that fella Charles was really dumb. How could he talk to a big shot like Mage Felic without even offering a place to sit?
Charles lost his composure after the consecutive shocks. Though he tried his best to concentrate, his mind was still messed up like a pot of glue. This could be considered an escape from death, after all. It was not wrong to say that he was still badly shaken. After Sienna’s reminder, Charles quickly ushered Lin Li to the parlor on the second floor while apologizing for his rudeness.
After everyone had sat down, Charles stood in front of Lin Li, his face full of flattering smile. He then asked again if Lin Li needed any herbs.
Charles was quite confident regarding herbs. After all, the Seven Leaf Grass could reach its current status because of the wide range of herbs it offered. Be it rare herbs growing on dangerous grounds or cheap ones found everywhere, you could find them all in the Seven Leaf Grass. Charles’ motto for his store was: for pharmacists to find everything they needed to make a potion in the Seven Leaf Grass. Of course, this only applied to ordinary potions.
The potion formula that Lin Li had gotten from William had been lost since the Dark Age. It also contradicted many traditional pharmaceutics theories in use currently, and required some herbs rarely used in traditional potion formulae. Lin Li had surveyed almost all the herbs in the Seven Leaf Grass just now, but he didn’t know if Charles had stored anything in private. Thus, he named a few herbs that he didn’t have.
Charles had originally wanted to make use of this opportunity to please Mage Felic. He had thought that this young and powerful mage only researched pharmaceutics out of interest, so he was at most a beginner at it. The potions he could make at this level required mostly common herbs. With the Seven Leaf Grass’s abilities, he wouldn’t put himself in an awkward position.
However, after hearing Lin Li list the herb names one after another, Charles’ smiling face turned bitter. The herbs that Lin Li needed were not only rare and precious, but also very seldom used in traditional pharmaceutics. At least since Charles had started the business of the Seven Leaf Grass, very few people bought these herbs from him.
Although Charles wasn’t learned in the field of pharmaceutics himself, he knew a little about the levels of herbs and formulae since he was doing herb business. He knew from the names of these herbs that the level of this formula wasn’t low. This surely wasn’t something a young mage could make; maybe he knew a pharmaceutics Master. After all, abilities determined status, while status determined the kind of social circle. With the abilities of Mage Felic, it wasn’t impossible for him to know a pharmaceutics Master.
Lin Li saw that Charles looked troubled, and asked, “What? Is it difficult for you?”
Charles shivered, and explained, “Dear Mr Mage, it is indeed a little difficult. These herbs that you need are not only rare, but also seldom used by other pharmacists. Not to mention my place, even the Tree of Emerald in the City of Late Winter may not have it always sold.”
“Is that so?” Lin Li frowned. Not because of any displeasure due to the fact that Charles didn’t have these herbs, but rather because of what Charles had said later—that even the Tree of Emerald in the City of Late Winter might not necessarily have it always available for sale.
Lin Li, who had lived in the Breezy Plains for a year so far, had naturally heard about the Tree of Emerald in the City of Late Winter that Charles was talking about. As the owner of the Tower of Dusk and President of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy Plains, Lin Li had subordinates who collected all kinds of information about the Breezy Plains despite being extremely busy the whole year and having little spare time himself.
The City of Late Winter was a well-known city. Just like Roland City being called the City of Abundance and the granary of the Breezy Plains, the City of Late Winter was named the City of Nature and Treasure-house of the Breezy Plains.
As the City of Late Winter was located at the border of the Breezy Plains, close to the Elven Kingdom, it housed the biggest herb market in the entire Breezy Plains. In fact, the true treasure house wasn’t City of Late Winter, but rather its neighboring Elven Kingdom, because the precious herbs traded in the market weren’t produced in City of Late Winter.
The Emerald Forest where the Elven Kingdom was located was also known as the Heaven-bestowed Land. Legend had it that the Goddess of Nature Monferra1 had bestowed that fertile land to the Elves. In the endless stretch of Emerald Forest, almost all the herbs pharmacists needed, excluding those that grew under extreme conditions like the black lotus, could be found. The quality of these herbs was also much better than those found in other places, so the Emerald Forest could definitely be considered a vast and fertile land.
There had been a joke circulating in the circle of pharmacists, claiming that one could judge the success rate of one’s potion by checking what proportion of herbs originated from the Emerald Forest when one made a certain potion. Of course, this was just a joke. The major factor that determined the success rate of a potion wasn’t the quality of ingredients, but rather the abilities of the pharmacist. However, the quality of ingredients used still largely affected the final quality of the potion. Thus, herbs from the Emerald Forest were very popular among pharmacists.
Other than herbs, the Emerald Forest also had all kinds of animals, but due to the respectful attitude the Elves held towards nature, few of them would be sold. The only way to get them was through poaching.
However, the consequence of poaching in the land of Elves was no better than the fate of the animals poached. This was because in the forest, Elves were the best hunters in the Anril World, only that their prey weren’t animals living in the forest, but poachers from the outside.