'Hmm, with his attack spell, he could easily kill any apprentice mages.' Abium muttered with a shocked expression and soon asked.
'Azolla, what will happen when he became an Official Warlock? Will his spell effect change?'
'His bloodline spells will upgrade and have power equal to normal first-tier spells. There is an exception for this Eye of Destruction ability, though. His third eye would have the power even to break your 'War of Angel's wings' spell.' Azolla's words caused Abium's body to shake a little.
'No way! That powerful?' Abium looked at Nicolaus with a dumbfounded expression and soon calmed down.
During his last battle against the First-tier Three-Eyed Giant, he escaped using a blink spell and didn't test out his War of Angel's wings' against the Eye of Destruction.
'It appears I made the right choice back then.' Abium sighed deeply and quickly left the room, leaving Nicolaus alone.
After that, he thought of the upcoming journey and felt he needed a few sacrificial puppets.
'Although Tiaga Sloth Woods isn't as dangerous as those dense forests, some powerful magical beasts are residing. The chance of Bishop Piers successfully killing a peak second-tier magical beast is very high. After all, he has the support of tens of holy knights.' Abium wouldn't be surprised if that Bishop managed even to take down a third-tier being.
'So, if I want to get something from this expendition right under his nose, I need some sacrificial pawns. Hmm, I need to see the list of Holy Knights who will participate in the upcoming expedition.' He muttered to himself and walked out of the single-storied house.
He first went to the adventurer's guild and registered his name under the Royal family section using the academic ring.
Afterward, he asked the receptionist about the other participants and soon got his hands on the Holy knights' name and information list. It would be impossible if it were the Royal family's group list.
But getting Holy Knights' name lists would be easy for him.
After glancing at the information, he soon found that three Holy Knights were skilled in sword arts in that group and was relieved.
Abium knew sneaking into Light Church's group was a suicidal task. To become a holy knight, one must be a firm believer in Light and undergo baptism. Then, holy knights could utilize light elemental power like ordinary warriors and manipulate them into aura-like power.
'They are more like the an upgraded version of warriors.'
Abium would never take such a risky task and thought of another method.
Sword arts! Abium knew a few Holy knights would only use sword skills during their battle instead of light elemental power and thought of using that method. With his upgraded Faceless glass mask and master-level swordsmanship, he could easily replace any one of those Holy Knights' positions.
He walked out of the adventurer's guild with a smile and moved towards the slum street.
'I should give this task to some slum kids. If I personally went and ask for more information about these three holy knights, it will definitely attract attention.'
Three hours later, Abium stood with a few slum kids and patiently listened to their words. It was a relatively easy task for those kids to gather information. As Abium listened to their words, a frown appeared on his face.
Once they gave him all the information they had gathered, he tossed a bag of silver coins to them and walked out of the slum street around 6 P.M.
After that, he moved towards the northern entrance gate, where Light church members were gathered.
It didn't take long for him to find one of the three Holy knights' tents, and he quickly sneaked inside.
At that moment, the Holy Knight was in the middle of changing his armor and appeared defenseless.
Without delay, he raised his hand and cast Aura of Hallucination on him.
Meanwhile, the holy knight named Jorden sensed something was off and looked at the entrance in confusion. He had short black hair, a pale square face, and light blue eyes, and he appeared to be around 30 to 35 years old.
As he glanced swiftly, he squinted his eyes and took his sword from the bed.
"Wait! I have no ill intention against you." Abium said while dispelling the [Aura of Hallucination] spell and revealed his human face instead of an elven one to the Holy Knight.
Jordan didn't stop as he unsheathed his long sword and asked while pointing it at Abium's neck.
"Who are you? A mage?" Although his tone was calm and cold, Abium could quickly tell this knight was nervous.
"I'm a merchant. I came here to discuss a deal with you." Abium said calmly and added,
"A deal which might help you enter the realm of Radiant Knight one day." Upon hearing his tempting words, Jordon's eyes widened.
But he still didn't lose his calm and looked at him with the same cold gaze.
After a few seconds, he moved his sword point toward his chest area and ordered,
"Tell me more about this deal."
Abium smiled as he heard Jordan's words and began to speak,
"I want a few potion materials. The more material you bring, the more benefit you will get."
"But won't I get caught? Bishop Piers isn't easy to be fooled, Mister. I don't want to die unnecessarily." Jordan said stiffly.
Meanwhile, a chuckle escaped from Abium's mouth.
"Don't get nervous; I will give you a few artifacts beforehand for your safety as an investment. If you manage to get back with some potion materials, I will buy those ingredients at a normal market price and might even give you rewards. It's more like equal transaction."
"But why don't you participate yourself? Also, how did you know that there will be many potion materials in the woods?" Jordon couldn't help but get a little suspicious.
Meanwhile, Abium waved his hand and spoke.
"Usually, places like old ruins have so many materials due to those unique environments. So, what's your answer?"
Upon hearing Abium's words, Jordan got almost convinced inside. He had heard of these types of merchants from adventurers and didn't find anything suspicious.
But still, he didn't agree to Abium's request; instead, he stood there pondering.
Even with his advanced sword mastery, it would be challenging for him to become a Radiant Knight. The main reason for that was money. He had to pay ten thousand white gold coins to the Cardinal if he wanted to get the Radiant Baptism. That was almost an impossible task.
As he heard Abium's devil-like words, greed appeared in his heart.
But Abium didn't wait there and once again began to speak calmly,
"If you are not interested, then I will ask other knights."
As he said those words, he moved towards the exit without minding Jordan's sword.
"Wait! I agree." Upon hearing Abium's words, Jordan got anxious and blurted out.
A smile crept on Abium's face as he heard those words and tossed a spatial ring toward Jordan.
''I had already put a few zero-tier attack spell scrolls, two defensive spell scrolls, and a book that contains information about potion materials and the possible location of those materials inside this spatial ring. Use them wisely." Abium said with the same smile and disappeared from there, leaving no trace behind. In truth, he used the [Mirage] spell and quietly walked towards the next target.
Meanwhile, Jordan stood with a shocked face and smiled as he marked the spatial ring with his spiritual imprint.
"With these scrolls, my safety can be guaranteed. Although Priest Arkos would get mad if I use spell scrolls in front of him, I don't think he will punish me." He said with a wry smile and sighed deeply.
...
7th September, Amara Town, Alastall Woodlands, Peral Kingdom.
A luxurious carriage arrived in front of the northern gate, and two young girls, around 20 years old, hurriedly walked out of the carriage while removing the golden curtains.
At the same time, two gatekeepers who stood on guard gave a deep look at Helena and bowed their heads.
"Welcome back, My Lady."
"Orson, go ahead and invite Mr. Viper to meet me at the meeting hall," Helena said to Orson and nodded her head at the two gatekeepers.
Meanwhile, Orson didn't waste a moment and quietly drove the carriage towards another side where Abium's manor was located.
At the same time, Helena glanced around everywhere as she strolled on the dirt path and was shocked by the town's transformation.
Within three months, the whole of Amara town was full of life. She even saw many adventurers roaming here and there.
Although only a few hundred ordinary civilians stayed in this town, it still shocked her.
'This place is growing larger day by day.'
At the same time, Aliza's mind went blank as she saw the town. Instead of Pirates everywhere, she saw the whole town was filled with civilians, causing her to think as if she saw dreaming.
Both quietly moved towards Abium's manor while staring at all the new buildings and became more impressed.
"Wow, even I'm shocked inside. How did this place grow this much in three months?"
Helena even saw the new adventurer's guild built near the town square and nodded her head.
'That Dwarf Kuran had done a great job.' She praised him inside her mind and soon noticed they had already appeared before Abium's manor.
Before she could walk in, a green-haired girl in her princess dress flew from inside and crashed on Helena's blossom.
"Camilla! I missed you so much!" Helena embraced that 140 cm tall girl with both hands and said excitingly.
"Teheh, Big Sis! What did you buy from the capital for me!?" She looked up into Helena's eyes and asked with puppy eyes, making Helena's smile bloom brighter.
After a short pause, Helena took out a red cubic crystal-like sweet from her spatial ring and placed it on her palm with a smile.
"Fire Candy!!" A surprising sound came out of Camilla's mouth as she stared at the candy with sparkling eyes and soon turned herself into a small fairy. Following that, she hugged the Fire candy with both of her tiny hands, dragged that candy toward Helena's shoulder, and began to eat.
On the other hand, Aliza got dumbfounded by Camilla's sudden transformation and was stunned inside.
"Fairy!" She exclaimed to herself in shock.
At the same time, Helena gave a light pat using her finger on Camilla's head and walked into the manor.
They then entered the main hall, moved towards the left side hallway, and soon arrived in front of a wooden door.
With a light push, Helena opened the meeting hall door and walked in.
"Welcome back, young miss." A rough voice came from inside.
At that moment, a long gray-haired man, around 55 years old, sat on the left side and waved his hand at them.
He had scarlet eyes, olive skin, and a round face. He wore a blue overcoat, which fell from his shoulder to halfway down his legs, and large black boots. Although he looked good outside, Helena saw his life force was decreasing and became serious.
She nodded at his greeting and hurriedly walked before Viper without saying anything.
Then, she placed her hand on Viper's chest and said solemnly.
"Heal."
The next moment, a bright green glow came from her hand and entered his body.
A second later, Viper felt warmth spreading all over his body and became shocked.
'Her healing spell effect has already increased by three folds!' Before he could say anything, Helena placed a scroll on the table and spoke solemnly.
''Abium asked me to give this to you, old man. He said that a potion is hidden in this temple ruin and asked you to go and search for it."
She paused for a moment and then added.
"After that, he asked you to come and meet him at Siverland City."
Upon hearing her words, Viper's eyes widened.
'Cure!' That was the first thought that crossed his mind as he hurriedly opened the scroll. Meanwhile, Helena let out a long sigh and walked out of the reception hall with Aliza and Camilla.
'I have to find that drunken dwarf and tell Abium's plan to him in detail.' She thought to herself.
...