"Hmm… It's easy. Master can ambush hunters when they're fight beasts and…"
Before Cyril could finish his sentence, Ramie cut him off: "No, you messed up freak! I meant ways that doesn't involve ambushing and killing others."
Cyril gave a bitter laugh, as though he was reminded of a very difficult matter:"The mortals use gold coins, which is something global. Powerful mages and warriors can earn it with ease. They'll never starve. However, this is completely useless for what master wants."
"The deep valley city is located 500 kilometer away from here. And not even the strongest organization around dares to travel there directly from here. The only way would be to go to the closest city to this underground society, which is fallen star city, located 200 kilometer to the east. Then, from there, master can either form a powerful team to take you there, which is almost impossible, as even the wealthiest organization here can't sustain that kind of task, or, master can join a group that aims to go there, and pay them money to join, however… I'm afraid… even this choice isn't viable either."
"Why?"
"Because, to travel between cities, only group of Rank-2 mages or Rank-3 mage could have a chance to pull off such feat…. And even then, there'd still be a risk factor. This means that master has to offer something appealing enough to such figures to take you there." At this point, Cyril was already aware that Ramie was rank-1 mage.
Ramie frowned a bit: "how much does it cost to achieve that?"
"The currency used between mages and warriors isn't the cold coin, but the magic stones."
"Magic stones?"
"They are types of golden alloys that can absorb and store magic energy inside them. Depending on the concentration and the purity of the stored magic energy, they could be red gold, purple gold or black gold. These alloys are the way magicians increase their magic energy, by absorbing the stored energy within them to train the body and increase its energy capacity (mana pool size), instead of bestial cores. This way, mages won't lose lifespan, as the magic stones' energy have a crude nature, and isn't as violent as the cores' energies. Rank-1 mages use red gold stones to cultivate their body's capacity for magical energy. Rank-2 mages use purple gold stones, while Rank-3 mages use black gold stones."
"One black gold stone is equal to 1000 purple gold stones, which in turn equal to 1000 red gold stones."
"Now, in approximate, initial estimation, master would need to pay tenths, hundreds, or even more of black gold stones to have someone to escort you there."
Ramie's frown intensified at the number: "How much can Rank-1 mage earn in one month?"
Cyril gave a bitter, self deprecating laugh: "The most common way to earn magic stones is by accepting and carrying out missions issued by various organizations. The riskier the mission is, the heavier the reward. Now, average missions with no, or low risk factor, can earn a rank-1 mage something between 1 and 10 red gold stone per mission. And these missions can take days, weeks, or even a month to pull off. More ever, these missions are hard to get, due to the number of competitors on them. Each time such missions came out, fierce competition breaks out. As for the missions with high risks, they usually give a reward somewhere between 15 and 50 red gold stones, depending on the risk level."
'This…!' Ramie was utterly stunned by the cost.
'Not even my entire life time is enough to gather the required amount, and that's even considering that I take risky missions throughout!'
"Master, travel between cities is a suicidal task. It is something that only the strongest organizations in the main cities can do. And even when they do it, it usually costs astronomical expenditure."
With his mind reeling with thoughts, ramie asked:"Is there any other way to earn a lot magic stones?"
"What master wants is simply…" Cyril showed a heavy expression. "Rank-1 mages can earn a considerable number of red gold stones, if they were willing to put their lives on the line. However, in the end, the mission issued for them revolves mostly around tier-1 beasts; hence, the vast majority of rank-1 mages don't even dream of getting one purple gold stone. As this type of stones can only be exchanges for tier-2 beasts' body parts, cores, other materials, or some other resources of equivalent value, which could only be found in the extremely dangerous areas in the forest. Basically, rank-1 mages don't have the ability to get their hands on these stuffs. As such, purple gold stones are beyond their reach. When it comes to black gold stones, which is used when dealing with tier-3 beasts' materials… that is even more unlikely."
Reaching this point, Ramie's expression darkened.
Not to mention tier-3 beasts, even tier-2 beasts were too much for the current him. Although using ghost glare spell can enable him to impact tier-2 beasts… however, impacting a beast for few seconds and killing him were two different notions. He didn't have a way to kill tier-2 beast. Not to mention that using his artifact spells puts him in a great risk of being discovered as an artifact holder, which is apparently the worst thing that can happen to anyone in these times.
But, ramie wasn't willing to give up this easily. To him, as long as there is willingness, there should be a way.
"So, you're telling me that there is absolutely no way to gather magic stones at a faster rate?" Narrowing his eyes, ramie inquired.
"Well… master. What I mentioned is all based on the assumption that a mage has an average battle power, and works alone. However, if a mage can join a powerful organization… then; it is completely possible to earn a staggering amount of magic stones! But… that's all assuming one gets accepted in the first place."
Although ramie had beaten him even before he realizes what happen, Cyril now knew that it was probably thanks to the artifact. Without it, his new master's capabilities shouldn't be enough to catch the attention of the really powerful organizations.
Ramie fell in deep thought.
It was of no doubt that deep valley city was the previous capital of the country. He didn't know whether it was out of hunch or unwillingness to accept reality, but he had a faint sense that his aunt was still alive. Hence, he wished to go to the deep valley city and look for her.
However, now, going there seemed to be harder than climbing the sky with a ladder.
Apparently, traveling between cities was something one shouldn't even dream of. Only those with absurd wealth or the society elites in the fallen star city could do something of such.
As for someone with his situation, a new arrival with nothing under his name… such thoughts could only be daydreaming at best.
However, hibernating for 4 decades and waking up to a new world was too drastic of change for anyone to just pass it by and continue his life as if nothing has happened.
It was as if he was ripped off of his world and thrown into a completely foreign one.
He needed an anchor himself on something, something to grab on, something to work for… a goal.
He wasn't just continuing his life, but was like starting a new one, right from scratch. Hence, he made it his objective to find a way to travel to the deep valley city, and try to find his aunt and the rest.
'To achieve my goal, it seems that I have to find an origination to join. But, what if others have ways to detect the artifact?'
Ramie was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he needed to join an organization to achieve his goal, but on the other, he'd put himself in a risk of being found out as an artifact holder.
In conclusion, resolving the matter of his artifact was more pressing. The moment this issue gets resolved, he'd have the freedom to pursue his goal.
"Cyril, would this be enough to buy the information regarding the hidden functions of the artifact? Also, is there any way to deal with this matter in a manner that doesn't incur any suspension?"
Ramie tossed out a magical core at Cyril.
"This…! This…!" Cyril sucked in a deep cold of breath upon scrutinizing the core, as the shock of the sight started settling in.
This was precisely the magical core that belonged to the tier-2 beast that had died at the place where ramie was rooted.
"Master, thi-this… this belongs to at least low TIER-2 BEAST!!" Cyril breathing pattern grew ragged to the point of huffing and puffing, as his eyes glowed with intense light of greed. His pupils contracted to the size of a needle's head.
This core was more than enough to completely turn his life around; it was something mages like him can only dream of, and never have the chance to get.
According to the contract, Cyril had no way to backstab him, he was bound to him. In fact, Ramie could feel the authority he had on this man through the contract. Hence, ramie wasn't too concerned regarding revealing the number of magical cores in his possession. After all, whether sooner or later, Cyril would come to know about this matter.
Seeing his intense reaction, ramie frowned. "Is it enough to get the information I want?"
"Of course, master! Actually, it's more than enough."
"Then, is it possible to buy the needed information with peak tier-1 magical core instead?"
"It might be possible, but…"
"But what…?"
"Master, if I use the peak tier-1 magical core, or group of them to directly buy the information regarding the artifact, then, it would definitely incur suspension. However, if I use the tier-2 core to but something else, more expansive, and add the information regarding the artifact only as a secondary element among few others, then, it'd be much, much safer this way."
Cyril was quick to reach the obvious conclusion. If the matter of the artifact gets out, then, his master would definitely order him to fight with him, or worse, instead of him. And sacrifice him to create a chance to escape.
Hence, and without mentioning that his master had already ordered him to never say or imply anything, whether directly or indirectly regarding his artifact to others, which was bounding order that he could never break… Cyril himself would not dare attempt doing such a foolish thing, as he is now stuck on the same boat.
"Tell me everything regarding the party you have in mind to buy the information from, your plan to make the trade, and why you're sure that they won't pursue the matter of how you got your hands on such treasure? What is the chance of you being tricked, and the core just stolen? Also, is there any other possible party to sell to? Tell me everything. And remember, the priority is to get the information and hide our identity, and not make profit! This is only a secondary matter."
Even if the cost to completely conceal his secret was to sell the core shorter of its value, Ramie wouldn't mind. Different from others, he had an artifact with powerful spells within. So, in the future, he'd have powerful trump cards in his sleeve. As such, getting more cores of this caliper was only a matter of time to him. More ever, and considering the consequences of being found out, a mere core that fell in his hand with pure luck wasn't worth anything when comparing to his life.
Ramie wanted to tread about this matter with extreme cautiousness, especially after learning that the city was to a certain extent, a dog eats dog jungle!
…