Abium walked out of the Orchid auction house without wasting time and directly moved from the Merchants Borough to the Commoners Borough.
'I also have to buy a small house in the Commoners Borough.' He thought to himself and entered the Commoners Borough.
A few minutes later, Abium arrived at 35 Warren Street and booked a single room in Wood's Inn. This Wood's Inn was a single-storied building with a shabby outer appearance. Abium always stayed in this Inn in the past and had a little attachment to it.
Soon, the old man named Green, the Wood's Inn owner, took out a rusty iron key from the cupboard and gave it to him.
Meanwhile, Abium quickly took the iron key from the old man and moved toward his room.
After a few seconds of the walk, he approached a 5 1/2 feet tall wooden door and raised his hand. There was an iron lock attached to it near the lock rail. Abium quickly used the rusty iron key and unlocked it with a click.
Soon, the door made a screeching noise, and wooden powder dust fell from the top rail.
A second later, he saw a wooden cot covered with a woolen blanket placed at the center, and next to it were an old oak table and a chair.
'Heh, It reminds me of the old days.' Abium let out a deep sigh, sat on the bed, and started to organize his thoughts.
'Today is June 10th. I have only 18 days to dig out more information about the Grand Nobles Gathering incident. From my understanding, I can tell the one who planned this gathering appears to be the hooded guy.'
'As for the Order of the Dead Organization's involvement, I know nothing about them. Why did they send Watson to kill the Crown Prince Huggin in the past? If they want to kill him, they have plenty of options before, right? Hmm, I can somehow guess that they are causing chaos during the Grand Nobles Gathering. It looks more like a distraction. They must have been planning something big like that red python organization.' He didn't forget how the demon schemed to enter the Royal Palace and decided to be more cautious.
'Next are those Light Church members. I think a few Light Church members will accompany Duke Adhemar, Duke Louvel, and Margrave Eliot during the gathering. As for the Holy Maiden Jeanette, I don't know for sure. I altered many peoples' futures, so there is a possibility some anomaly might happen.'
'Now, on to the topic, what is my actual purpose here? Hmm, that's a tough question indeed. One thing for sure, I have to think of a way to save the Crown Prince. But with my current strength, that would be almost impossible. Haa! I guess I have to find a way and give some clues about the upcoming incident to the academic mages.'
'But before all that, I must find the mysterious old man and Baron Harry's grandfather Randolph and have a long chat with those old fogies.'
After a while, Abium quietly lay on the wooden cot and fell asleep.
...
June 10th, 35 Warren Street, Commoners' Borough.
It was around 7 P.M.
Abium woke up from the loud bell chimes from the nearby light church and sat up. Afterward, he walked out of the room and arrived at the counter.
"Old man, here's the key." He quickly tossed the rusty iron key to the Innkeeper and walked out of the Wood's Inn.
In truth, Abium didn't have any plan of returning to this Inn once he got his hand on the Face-changing artifact. He knew there would be people who could easily trace back his location using strange magic and thought of acting more cautiously.
'I don't want to trouble this poor guy. If someone finds out that I stayed here for days, they would feel something suspicious.' He muttered under his breath, mounted on the brown garron, and rode towards Merchants' Borough. After crossing three streets, Abium horse arrived in front of the merchants' Borough entrance gate.
But he didn't go to the auction house directly; instead, he went to a shop named Wild Horse Ranch and sold his garron. After that, he didn't wait and went towards the main street. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the entrance of the Orchid auction house.
Abium gazed at the large three-storied building, showed his noble seal ring to the gatekeeper, and walked inside.
A few seconds later, Abium entered the reception hall and waited for Tabitha.
A few minutes later, he suddenly felt an elemental fluctuation from the outside sky, moved towards the entrance, and looked outside. Soon, he saw a familiar figure descend from the dark sky and slowly land at the Orchid auction house's yard. She had a pale face with few wrinkles and straight silver hair.
Behind her were two bluish wings emitting dazzling blue lights, and they looked more like crystalline wings.
Abium got stunned by the beauty of those two wings and soon waved his hand at her as he noticed Tabitha looking at him with a pleased smile.
Slowly, she dismissed the wing spell and entered the auction house before asking.
"Good evening, Mage Abium. Did I make you wait for too long?"
Abium shook his head and responded while bowing his head.
"No, My Lady. I came here just a while ago."
Meanwhile, Tabitha took out a transparent face mask from her spatial ring and gave it to him while explaining.
"This artifact is called 'Faceless Glass' and was created by an unknown second-tier mage from the north. It has an unusual second-tier spell inscribed on it, and has the power to change the wearer's facial muscles under his will. A unique thing about this artifact is that you don't have to spend any elemental stones. It constantly consumes mana from the wearer's body upon activation."
She soon stopped as she noticed Abium's confused expression and continued with a chuckle. "Don't worry; it won't dry the mana in your body completely. I heard it would take only an amount of zero tier spell mana per hour."
Her words made Abium's worry dispel.
He nodded his head and then asked.
"What about the spell duration, My Lady?"
"You have to activate this spell every two days. But be careful, though. It will only change your facial muscles, not your hair color or your body shapes." Tabitha gave him a warning, soon thought of something, and continued.
"As for the five second-tier spell scrolls and first-tier spell scrolls you asked me earlier, I already told the buyer about your request."
"When can I get them?" Abium asked, with a hint of impatience in his tone.
"Unfortunately, it will take some time, Mage Abium. You can come and get those scrolls on June 27th. Also, be careful when searching for clues about the necromancers. Some unique spells out there could dispel the artifact's spell and reveal your real face." She said with a concerned face.
"Thank you for your concern, My Lady. I'm well aware of the dangers." Abium nodded with a serious face and asked her where to buy some metallic poison bolts, paralysis potions, and a crossbow.
"You can get those items in the normal counters. Wait, I'll go and get the excellent items." She hurriedly moved towards the left side corridor and entered a room. A few minutes later, she walked out of the room and returned to the reception hall with a silver-coated crossbow, ten metal bolts, and a few colorless vials.
"They are the best quality items you could get in this city."
Saying so, Tabitha passed them to Abium and then added.
"It's 60 white gold coins."
'Ugh… Too costly.' Unfortunately, he had no choice but to buy those items.
After paying 60 white gold coins for those bolts, paralysis potions, and the crossbow, Abium bade farewell to Tabitha and thought of leaving the auction house. Suddenly, Tabitha thought of something and spoke with a silvery voice.
"Mage Abium, if you are available on June 27th, can you come here and attend a meeting? I asked my teacher and got permission for you to join a secret meeting. If you bring us some information about the necromancers like last time, it will be more useful." Abium was slightly stunned for a moment and soon replied with a polite smile on his face.
"I will be there on time, My Lady."
"I thought you would decline my offer. Anyway, I'll be waiting for you here at 3.A.M."
"I understand, My Lady. I'll be taking my leave now."
Saying so, Abium turned around and left the auction house.
'It seems Lady Tabitha is still wary of me. Lord Alius, huh? Meeting him will be a risky move, but I have to earn his trust. Well, I had already expected this.' Abium nodded inwardly.
Afterward, he entered a barbershop and brought a dye, a mirror, and a few other things.
Then, Abium quickly moved out of the Merchants Borough and went towards Slum Borough, where most criminals and thieves were lurking. Unlike the Nobles, Merchants, and Commoners Boroughs, Slum Borough was completely isolated from the kingdom. Once you went inside the Slum Borough, you wouldn't have any chance to walk outside without a proper identification certificate or money. It was more like a prison for the weak and poor.
As Abium arrived near the gate, he saw multiple royal guards strictly guarding it, and hundreds of people had already gathered near the iron gate in queues.
Abium also saw many skinny people with ragged clothes and realized they were all laborers.
'Even if the crown prince became the new king, these people would never get proper food.' He looked at them pitifully and soon joined the queue. At the same time, he also attracted the attention of a royal guard who stood outside that two-meter tall closed metal gate.