Chapter 66 - Volume 4 (1/2)
“Hey! It’s been a while.”
“Uwah! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! All of you get out here and throw some salt!”
PR Note: In Korean culture, “throwing some salt” refers to a superst.i.tious practice of throwing salt out the door to ward off demons, bad luck, etc.. Its modern meaning is more lighthearted, referring to situations where one wants to ward off unwanted guests. Salt has a rich historical context because of its relevance in many religions both in modern day and in ancient times. For more cultural tidbits, see spilling salt.
With the introduction of the magical shooting range in Meta District, the influx of construction guilds and magical spires naturally led to the sp.a.w.n of a dedicated market for their needs. And within the market, Isaac headed to a shop that oozed an aura of deceit and shadiness. The owner of the shop screamed in disgust the moment he saw Isaac. Isaac retaliated with an arched brow and stared at him with his arms crossed. Soon enough, the owner of the shop yielded.
Marcus Widren. He was the forefather of Isaac’s business; he was expelled from Campus for trying to sell merchandise to students in Campus before Isaac had come. His talents in magic allowed him to find employment in magical artefact manufacturing, but he couldn’t fix his bad habit and dabbled in producing illegal magical artefacts. He was caught red-handed and kicked out from his magical spire. Now he was living a meek life by running a small shop in the corner of the market, producing basic household magical artefacts.
Despite having studied magic, Marcus believed in the theory that life was all or nothing, and he even tried to sell illegal magical artefacts into New Port City’s market. Despite being caught, he used his ident.i.ty as a sunbae from Campus to argue against Isaac. Entertained, Isaac went along with it and ended up becoming friends after a few drinks with him.
“W, what! I’ve washed my hands from the past now!”
“I’d rather believe that an elf is cursed than that so stop bulls.h.i.+tting me. And I have a question…”
“s.h.i.+t! I don’t know anything! Stop bothering me!”
Marcus shouted out in terror. His body quivered as if he’d suffered enough already.
“Did Reisha and Kunette visit you already?”
“Yeah! And it’s not even once or twice! Why is an elf so gluttonous! And do you have any idea how expensive honey is these days? Those two come here to play whenever they’re bored!”
“You’re right, the cost of feeding them is pretty ridiculous. They spend two-thirds of their pay on food…”
“Right! I’m a victim too! And do you think it’s possible that some weirdo from outside the city suddenly summoned a wyvern?”
“I wouldn’t have a clue.”
“Che! So why are you here? I’ll bet my entire fortune and my mana that you aren’t running around personally to solve the murder incident you’re in charge of.”
Isaac considered if he should really try his best after Marcus threw a jab at him but quickly gave up. It was annoying, and there was something more important at hand.
“I’m not exactly hard at work, but give me some books about magic circles if you have any.”
“Huh? You’re actually investigating?”
Marcus eyes opened wide and looked at Isaac. He began to scan Isaac from head to toe, whispering to himself that ‘this isn’t like him,’ ‘was it true he was cursed,’ ‘was there a curse that changes a man to become serious,’ and so on.
“… So I received news recently that somebody reported their secondhand magical lamp exploding after purchase, causing a fire.”
“Huk! I’m innocent!”
“Did I say something? But you do sell magical lamps here right?”
“Hnng. What do you want?”
“I already told you. Books about magical circles.”
Marcus sighed deeply at Isaac’s answer.
“Sigh, this is why I hate bargaining with novices. Do you think there are just a few types of magic circles? There’s one for enchanting items, summoning, support, offensive! Defensive! Special magic circles developed by each and every magical spire! There’s more than tens of thousands of types when it comes to magic circles!”
“There’s that many?”
“Of course! Every single magical artefact that is used for daily life utilizes a different type of magic for its own function, and when you consider the difference in every wizard’s skill and how much mana they have, the main magic circle and its supporting magic circles change in shape and symbols, so in truth, there are infinite designs when it comes to magic circles!”
Marcus continued to belittle Isaac, shouting words like, “s.h.i.+t! This is why it’s so tiring to deal with novices!” and “How could these tin cans who only know how to solve a problem with their bodies understand such advanced knowledge!”
Isaac watched Marcus silently and then pulled out a gold card from his pocket.
“You know what this is, right?”
“Huk! A gold card!”
Marcus’s att.i.tude took a quick turn, as the rebellious and angered Marcus was changed to an obedient one.
“I will do my utmost to serve you, customer.”
“Magic circles. The most basic and rudimentary designs that are so simple that anyone can copy it and practice it themselves.”
“Yes! Right away! Just give me a moment.”
Marcus quickly ran over to the warehouse, and soon enough, he came back out as he scolded his employees. Marcus struggled as he brought out a stack of seven books that were so old and neglected that the colours had paled from their covers, replaced with a thick layer of dust.
“Sorry for the wait. These are magic books teaching basic magic circles to apprentices in magic spires. Not only does it explain basic magic circles, it also includes the designs and thorough explanations on each magical spire’s own magic circles and their specialties. The books that explain the signs and symbols used in the magic circles are sold separately.”
Marcus rubbed his hands together as his eyes were fixed on Isaac’s hand, or more precisely, the gold card in his hand. The good thing about gold cards was that there wasn’t anything stopping vendors from changing the price of the goods they buy. So, Marcus had the ability to sell these books, which Marcus would struggle to sell for even a Giga, for a hundred or even a thousand Giga.
“Hm, I think I could use these as reference. You do deliveries, correct?”
“Yes sir! Our shop aims to reach our customers at all times.”
“Then do it.”
“Hehe, so about the payment…”
“Ah, let it be.”
“What?”
“Put it on the tab.”
“… Are you joking?”
The squealing Marcus quickly changed att.i.tude and glared at Isaac with his fangs bared.
“You think I’m joking?”
Sparks flickered as the two stared at each other silently. Marcus continued to stare into Isaac’s eyes, but as time went by, cold sweat began to appear on his face. His eyes began to falter, and Marcus lowered his head in defeat.
“T, thank you for your patronage.”
“I’ll visit you again if I need something else.”
Isaac put his gold card back in his pocket and disappeared from the shop. Marcus was too relieved to even swear back at Isaac, and he simply sighed.
“Phew… I knew he was a strange one from the start, but why the h.e.l.l are his eyes so bloodthirsty? He shouldn’t have ever fought in a war in his life?”
Marcus eased his beating heart by placing his hand on his chest. The fear of war was deeply engraved in his heart when he was roped into a provincial war during his traveling days. He still has nightmares from those days, but Isaac’s eyes were identical to the wandering knight in his memories, who travelled from one battlefield to another for ten years.
Isaac drew a basic magic circle on a scroll. Normally, it took tens of different ingredients imbued with mana to draw a functioning magic circle, but it could all be done by Isaac using a single pen.
“Hm, I think I drew it correctly… let’s see, the activation word is… here.”
Isaac turned the scroll away from him and shouted.
“Magic Arrow!”
Isaac’s energetic shout was met with disappointing silence, as the scroll didn’t show any signs of activation.
“Huh? Why is this happening? Hm, were you supposed to rip the scroll in order to use it?”
Isaac remembered some of the novels he used to read in the past, and he ripped the scroll that he’d spent 3 hours drawing as he cast it.
“Magic Arrow!”
“…”
“What are you doing, sunbaenim?”
“Uhik! When did you get here?”
Isaac jumped into the air with surprise. Somehow, Reisha managed to get behind him, her head full of curiosity as she watched Isaac.
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
“… Did you see everything?”
“You shouting the activation for the scroll? Ah! Was it your dream to cast magic, sunbaenim? I guess you were really bored. I’m sorry that I couldn’t play with you because I was so… Bwebebek!”
Isaac pinched at Reisha’s cheeks, which stretched out like rubber bands.
“This is a secret between the two of us. I’ll send you back to the College if this ever leaks.”
“Hing, that’s so mean.”
Reisha complained at Isaac’s blackmail as she rubbed at her swollen cheeks. The slight tear in her eyes was evidence that it truly hurt for her. The adorable look of her also provoked Isaac’s guilty conscience, and he quickly coughed dryly to try to change the mood.
“Did I pinch you too hard? I apologize. But why are you here?”
“The case is solved.”
“Huh? Why?”
Isaac complained at Reisha with bewilderment. Reisha, however, didn’t seem interested in explaining the reason to Isaac, seemingly mad at the fact that he pinched her cheeks. She turned her head, her cheeks puffed like a croaking frog, and snorted.
“Hmph!”
“… I’ll get you some bulgogi on rice for dinner.”
Flick!
The long ears of Reisha wiggled furiously like that of a puppy wagging their tail. Reisha turned back with a smile on her face, her anger seemingly evaporated. She spoke with her eyes s.h.i.+ning.
“Central sent the order to close the case.”
“… From Central?”
Isaac couldn’t understand their action. It was Central’s obligation to investigate when the wyvern was summoned in the middle of the city. It was inexplicable that they’d let the case go nowhere. Not to mention the items he picked up which Central somehow missed. It was full of mystery. Isaac may have glossed over the issue if it was in the past, but now that he was directly involved in the situation, he had to act carefully.
“So, what’s Kunette doing these days? I don’t see her around at all.”
Kunette, who always hung around with Reisha, suddenly disappeared one day. Isaac thought that she was simply eating honey in some secret hiding spot at first, but he became curious of her actions as time went by.
“I think she’s busy.”