NOVEL FROG Chapter 51: My Money
In a penthouse in the Guilds District, an angry woman with shiny pink hair and green eyes with features defining womanly beauty was fussing over documents on her desk.
It was Liliana Laxon, the mother of Ray and Isabella, as well as the current largest shareholder of the high-ranking Aurum Guild, formerly one of the Top 5 Guilds.
Her assistant, Eli Sheen, was nervously giving her a briefing of their current situation.
“Unfortunately, none of the directors are willing to help you take the managerial rights of the Guild and name you the President.” She informed her boss, crouching her head remembering Liliana’s fits whenever she got bad news. Her previous assistants had warned her that giving Liliana bad news was equivalent to a trip to the hospital, and Eli had two bumps on her head as evidence of her hazardous job.
“What!? Do those ungrateful idiots even remember what I did for them? How dare they betray me like this.”
“It's not that they want to betray you, but most of them are scared of the consequence of allying with someone associated with the Fallen.” Eli tried her best to explain.
“Associated with the Fallen? Me? The only one who defected was that nitwit Edward. Even the Hero League let me free since they knew I was innocent.”
Unfortunately, Liliana had no self-awareness about the position she was in, despite doing the same if she were in their shoes.
“I don’t think the Directors care to listen to any of that…”
“AAHHH!!” Liliana screamed in anger, throwing the paperweight on her table, barely avoiding her assistant.
Eli recoiled in fear, thinking of ways to pacify her mistress’ anger. “If it’s any consolation, the League still hasn’t released Sir Heron, considering it was his son and successor that had defected,”
She quickly came up with a somewhat reasonable argument. After all, she wouldn’t have survived this long if not for her ability to swiftly make excuses.
“Of course, they should lock him up forever. That stupid Heron was the one who let his bastard of a son become the Vice-President of the Guild. If anything, they ought to have him executed. It’s a wonder they are still keeping him alive.”
‘They ought to have executed you, too.’ However, Eli tactfully buried the comment at the back of his mind.
“I don’t know if this rumour is true, but some within the League are saying that it might be because of Young Master Ray that the League President decided not to execute the rest of the Laxon family.”
“Huh?” Liliana looked at her assistant with a baffled look, as if she had just grown a second head. “If that useless son of mine was able to convince the Rufus Briar out of something as serious as defection to the Alliance I would have made use of him long ago.”
“I am not sure, but it seems like the President has given him various privileges that you haven’t received, including allowing him access to his funds. I can confirm this from my sources at the World Bank.” Eli had personally verified the authenticity of the matter.
“Though it could also be because Young Master Ray and Lady Isabella have abandoned the Laxon name that the restrictions placed on them are more lenient as compared to yours.”
“Ray has access to his account?” This information reminded Liliana of that huge transaction she had made days before hell descended over the Guild that she was so close to snatching away from that repulsive Heron.
She hadn’t ever been more glad of a deal that she had made.
“Haha! Looks like Ray is finally becoming useful for once. Why don’t we go get my money back?”
Once she finally gets her hands on those funds, it would be child’s play to persuade the directors to come back to her side.
Liliana quickly stood up in excitement, leaving to get changed in her dressing room.
“Eli, go get the car. We are leaving for Indigo Road.” She instructed her assistant before leaving her study.
Eli breathed a regretful sigh, taking out a letter from the inner pocket of her blazer.
“I am extremely sorry, ma’am.” She placed the letter on Liliana’s desk, before using her Teleportation Skill to run away. She was in no way curious to see how Liliana would react once she got back. As a matter of fact, she knew better than Liliana herself how she would react to this situation.
True to her predictions, not even a few moments later the door to the study slammed open.
“Eli, where are all the maids-” Liliana was shocked to find her study empty. Her eyes drifted to the single piece of paper that had replaced her assistant.
She picked up the letter, tearing it open to read the contents inside.
Madam,
With a heavy heart, I, as the representative of all the staff members of your household, would like to submit our collective resignation.
We are ending our contracts with you before society ostracises us for working for the Laxon Family.
I wish you well and hope all the false allegations against you are lifted soon.
Your assistant,
Eli Sheen
“AAHHH!! These traitors, how dare they?!” Liliana ripped the letter in two, as her mana engulfed the paper burning the pieces into oblivion.
All her servants had left the premises, leaving an empty penthouse with its abandoned owner.
“I will hunt you all down once the Guild is in my hands.” Liliana vowed before storming out of her study.
*****
In an average locker of a declining bowling alley on the edge of the Market District.
Ray, Mike, and Deus were wrapped in pitch-black darkness as they stepped inside the locker that would supposedly whisk them away to the magical black market. Not long after blinding light came crashing down on them, saving them from the suffocating darkness.
As their eyes adjusted to the muffled light, they found themselves in an underground town.
The earthen ceiling was high above their heads, almost looking like a dark brown sky. Large, compact shops spread in front of the trio with organised roads slithering between the old-fashioned structures giving it mediaeval town vibes, a refreshing change from the multi-storeyed skyscraper-filled cities on the surface.
Now this is what you call a true fantasy novel!
“Wow, I never knew that such a huge market existed below the Capital City.” Mike marvelled at the unfamiliar sights, different from the coastal hometown he was intimately familiar with and the modernised Capital he had been residing in for the past few months.
He looked back at Ray, hoping to seek permission.
“We have plenty of time, so why don’t we explore the place a bit.” Ray suggested, unable to ignore Mike’s pleading eyes.
‘To be honest, even I am curious to see what kinds of things I can find here.’
The market was a mixture of huge shops, selling mana-enhanced weapons developed by Guilds, Artifacts from Dungeons, and Skill beads as well as small street stalls selling different herbs with different magical properties, cheap potions, and other miscellaneous items.
As they looked around, Ray and Deus used Appraisal to check all the items around them.
‘This skill sure is quite versatile, being able to look at all this information in just a moment.’
With just a single thought, Appraisal revealed detailed information about all the items displayed in a stall, even revealing the magical properties of the herbs, their shelf-life, and the quality of the mana they absorbed.
But when Deus noticed a shop selling Skill Beads, he was shocked.
‘How come all those Skill Beads have the same Skill?’ He pointed at the wares of the shop they had just entered.
Several wooden cabinets were placed inside in an orderly fashion. Numerous crystal orbs lined the shelves, with a small board stating their Skill and price.
‘Skill Beads are rare items dropped by Dungeon Bosses, with the cheapest one priced at least 10 million R - the price of a mid-sized apartment. How can he be selling them out in the open without any security?’
‘Despite all the knowledge you have on the different Species, it seems you are quite clueless when it comes to humans and their technology.’
Ray paraphrased to his Spirit telepathically what he remembered in the novel. ‘Those Skill Beads are not obtained by defeating monsters. Humans made them artificially in the lab.’
‘T-that’s impossible. Skill Beads are coveted only because they are hard to obtain and give hard-to-obtain Skills. If Humans possess such technology, why aren’t they reigning on top of all the Races?’
‘Well…They might be called Skill Beads, but they are far from the real deal.’ He explained hesitantly, as he picked up one of the crystal orbs. Its size perfectly fit in his palm.
Inside the orbs, the six colours depicting all the different types of mana chaotically swirled around without order.
‘Appraisal!’
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Skill Bead - Flame Control Ignite a fire in the user’s palm that can be wielded freely. |
‘These Skill Beads can only provide weak, everyday magic. And the mana stored inside them is limited, so the orb shatters after a few uses.’
Though the Skill Beads were just disposable items, they still cost quite a lot, with each Bead price ranging from 10,000 R to even 1,000,000 R - quite expensive for the average man.
The ones who buy these “fake” Skill Beads are usually the Unawakened who want to look cool since they don’t require any mana to activate.
Most Heroes would rather not buy them as their sizes made it impractical to carry them in battle, but they still had their uses.
No one will ever complain about having an arsenal of Skills to choose from, especially if that Skill could get them out of a life-or-death situation.
“If there are any Skills that are catching your eye, tell me. I will buy them for you.” Ray suggested to Mike, as he curiously browsed the shelves.
“I-is that fine? You already promised you would buy me a weapon.” Mike hesitated, afraid to impose on him.
“Don’t worry. Where we will be going soon, you will be needing them, so get whichever one you like. And they are cheap, so it doesn’t matter much to me.”
Although Mike had been living in Ray’s mansion for the past couple of months, and knew that he was quite well-off, he still hated to impose on other people.
‘No! I can think like that. I need to get stronger so that I can be of help to Sir Ray.’
Mike quickly made up his mind. However, as anyone would ever tell you, it isn’t easy to break lifetime habits, especially when it comes to money.
He hesitantly picked up a single orb. “I-I will buy this one.”
It was a defence-oriented Skill, “Metal Skin”, which hardened the user’s skin for a brief period, deflecting weak attacks.
Mike had been learning swordsmanship for some time, and his offensive power had increased quite a bit. But compared to that, his progress in learning magic was falling behind, so he didn’t have any way to guard himself from attacks.
Therefore, he decided to use this Skill for now, until he gained a sufficient way to increase his defence.
“Fine. I will have it rung up for you.” Ray took the orb from Mike’s hands.
None of the Skill Beads here had caught his eye, so he didn’t buy any for himself.
And his Potions could easily make up for whatever combat skills he was lacking.
After paying the old shopkeeper 50,000R for the Bead, he asked him for some directions.
“I gave you directions, but I have to warn you. If he doesn’t like you he will chase you away.” The shopkeeper warned him as they trotted towards the shop.
The directions were simple and the three of them quickly reached the shop Ray had been searching for.
From the outside, the shop looked like a small garage, with metal walls lining all sides and just a rusted steel shutter to lock the entrance. A small chimney was attached to the roof of the shop, with dark grey smoke huffing out.
Ray rattled the half-drawn shutter lightly to announce his presence. “Hello, is anyone there?”
For a few minutes, there was no reply. The shop only greeted them with silence.
“I am coming in.” He announced one more time, before bending below the shutter to step inside. Mike and Deus carefully followed behind.
The interior of the shop matched its crude exterior - small pieces of scrap metal, hammers and oil stains covered the floor of the room which was a little smaller than a two-bedroom apartment. The grey paint on the walls had faded a lot with time and was even letting go at the edges. A small door in the far wall led to a back room which was most likely where the smoke was coming.
In a corner of the room, there were several barrels containing weapons of all kinds. From the small cobwebs covering them, it was clear that these weapons had been discarded long ago.
Ray swiftly took out a sword to examine it.
Its appearance wasn’t anything special, and the blade had long lost its shine showing that nobody had cared for it in a while.
However, the sharpness of the blade far exceeded the newly made swords he had seen in the other shops, making it a wonder that such a good weapon had been thrown away like recycled garbage.
‘I can’t believe such excellent swords are rotting away without anyone using them.’ Deus examined the weapons in the discarded pile carefully
‘Looks like I am in the right place.’ Ray was relieved that he hadn’t remembered the information from the novel wrongly.
As he placed the sword back into the junk pile, a short, gruff-looking man entered from the back room, bringing in with him the heat of a volcano.
He was quite short, no taller than a 10-year-old boy, and covered in soot as if he were playing close to the fireplace. However, the huge muscles on his arms betrayed any signs of youthfulness he might have had. Even his frizzy black hair was burnt at the tips as if someone had set it on fire when he wasn’t watching.
“Huh? When did you guys enter my shop?” The man wearing a blacksmith’s uniform questioned the trespassers, his deep and gruff voice was strangely reminiscent of a dark and rocky, much like the rough shade of his grey eyes.
‘Huh…Isn’t that-’ But before Deus could complete the sentence, Ray hushed him.
“Are you Mr. Boldor, the blacksmith of this shop, by any chance?” Ray asked to make sure he hadn’t got the wrong guy.
Though looking at his appearance, which matched the novel description to the T, he doubted he was wrong.
“I am. What of it?” Boldor asked indifferently.
“We wanted to buy weapons from you. Me and him.” Ray nodded towards Mike standing behind him, who waved his hand as a hello, clearly intimidated by the short and bulky blacksmith.
Seeing the tall Mike be afraid of the babyish Boldor, reminded Ray of a certain cat-and-mouse cartoon he used to watch.
Boldor just snorted at Ray’s straightforward request. “Seeing as how you know my name, I am sure you know what my reputation is like. I don’t make weapons unless I am interested.”
Boldor only took a quick look at the two of them, but in that instant, he examined them like a New York socialite would her Prada. “You two are not interesting enough for me to put my precious weapons in your rookie hands.”
“I am not a rookie.” Ray quickly defended himself.
He had been balancing himself on the thin line between life and death for the few months since he transmigrated here, practising and sparring with Misa Amore, the S+ Rank former-Hero combat teacher at the best Hero academy, Star Academy, as well as his former colleague.
Boldor grabbed his hand and gave his informed speculation. “You have a brief understanding of some decent Sword Art. From the hardness of your calluses, the Art is more inclined towards utilisation of mana rather than strength or agility.”
“You have been training your Art on and off over the years. Your heaviest exercise would be lifting a pen to write papers, hmm… a teacher or professor, I see. Recently, for some unknown reason, you picked up your sword again and have been practising diligently, unlike in the past when it was more of a chore. Am I right?” Boldor completed his inference with hesitation.
“...In one breath, DAMN!” Ray clapped in admiration, at the on-point deduction skills of this blacksmith.
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Name: Boldor Zwerg Durin Species: Dwarf Rank: B+ Stats:
Skills:
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‘Hey! Hey! Hey! Isn’t this a Dwarf? What’s a dwarf doing here?’ Deus' voice rang in his head, interrupting his applause.
There was a hint of fear in his voice, probably due to the recent encounters he has had with the non-human Races, particularly a certain insectoid Beastman.
But Deus’ speculation was correct.
Boldor was a dwarf who had left his Race’s continent to explore the Human Continent and was residing in the black market as an eccentric blacksmith while hiding his identity.
In the novel, the protagonist of this world, Rhian Vermillion, a demon who had reincarnated as a human, met this dwarf blacksmith in his second year as a student at the Star Academy.
Boldor had used his Skill ‘Reading’ to correctly deduce the protagonist’s use of the Demonic Dance Sword Art, just by looking at his hand movements and gait.
Not knowing that this human was a former demon, he found him so interesting that he readily made Rhian a sword of the precious orichalum ore, which Rhian found in an Atlantis-based Dungeon.
This man here was a dwarf solely interested in thrilling life stories, whether it be a friend or foe.
“...And I am not interested in your life story, so there’s the exit; it will be best if you leave.” Boldor pointed to the exit and turned around to leave for the hyper-heated backroom, probably to go back to his smithing.
‘Hey, isn’t this bad for you?’ Deus whispered in his mind.
‘Just relax, my dear restless Spirit. Sit back and enjoy the show.’
“But I do have an interesting story, Boldor Zwerg Durin…” As soon as the familiar name left Ray’s mouth, the dwarf blacksmith stopped in his tracks.
“...so wouldn’t you be willing to listen to my request?” Ray’s lips curled up in a sly smile, knowing that the fish had caught his bait.
Boldor was interested enough in Rhian, a demon reincarnator of this world, to make him a legendary sword. For a transmigrator like Ray, with his EX-Rank Skill ‘Appraisal’, it was a piece of cake to catch the interest of someone like Boldor.
Boldor burst into heavy laughter, turning back to face the curious human. “I don't know where you heard that, but man, it sure feels good to hear someone say my full name after such a long time.”
“Then I would appreciate it if you could make me and my friend here a sword. Preferably, one that would suit our fighting style. I am sure you are capable of that.” Ray put forward his request once more.
“Hmm…alright. Let’s see what I can do.” Boldor looked deep in thought as he once again attentively scanned Ray and Mike.
He picked a sword from the discarded pile beside him and tossed it to Ray. “Show me a couple of moves so that I get a better feel about your style.”
“Sure!” Ray instantly agreed. “Brahma Sword Style - First Stage Fire!”
As the mana enveloped the sword, giving it a fiery red hue, Ray executed the most basic steps of the sword technique, before ending it with a sword arc leaving behind beautiful crimson embers.
“Nice! Nice!” With just this simple movement, Boldor was able to “read” everything he needed to know about Ray’s sword style.
He quickly turned to Mike, who had been obediently keeping quiet the entire time Ray and Boldor had been chatting. “It's your turn now, kiddo.”
Mike was flustered, seeing the little owner of the shop suddenly talking to him. “Um, you see, I don’t really practise any Sword Art, so I am not sure if there’s anything for me to show.”
“Ah, don’t worry too much. Just swing the sword a few times, so I know what your strength limit is and a few other things.” Boldor pushed Mike towards Ray.
“Just take the sword and do as you usually practise. It’s not like this is a test or something.” Ray reassured him, as he handed over the sword.
Taking a deep breath, Mike took the stance he had posed countless times in the garden of Ray’s mansion.
“Wait!” Just as Mike was about to swing the sword, Boldor yelled at him to stop.
“What’s the matter?” Ray asked out of curiosity.
“That sword doesn’t suit him. Here take this.” Boldor took out another sword from the barrel, throwing it at Mike.
Mike easily caught the weapon, checking what the blacksmith had thrown at him.
In his hand, was a mid-sized rapier. Its blade was so thin and sleek that Mike felt afraid that it would break without even being able to endure a single attack.
“Use that to execute the move you were going to do.” Boldor instructed him.
With a single swing, Mike began the routine he used to warm up before his morning training. As he swung the sword around, Mike realised that his moves were getting faster and more efficient than what he did every day.
“Oh my god, what was that?” He asked the dwarf as he finished his routine. “My body felt so light.”
“It’s nothing much. You were just using a weapon unsuitable to your style. I fixed that.” Despite the humble words, there was a hint of smugness in his voice.
“I have more or less an idea about what to make for the two. Any requests you guys might have?” Boldor asked before making the final confirmation of the order.
“And just so you know, if the requests contain any rare materials I usually have my customers get it themselves. I am a blacksmith, not a collector”
“I don’t have any special requests but do make the weapons with the best quality materials you have available. Price won’t be an issue.” After all, when would one splurge if not after getting out of an arrest?
“Alright, that will be 100,000,000 R. I need half the money as a down payment and the rest after the item is delivered. No credit.” Boldor cheerfully quoted the price.
Hmm…on second thought, one should try to live within their means and put their money into savings. After all, one never knows what might happen in the future.
“Is there an interesting-person-discount?”