Chapter Eighty-Eight: Trading with the Starbound Mage, Part One

After arriving near their destination, Verin and Kael rested for a while before beginning their search for the merchant from another world.

“Master, look, there’s a mansion over there.”

Verin turned. Before them stood a grand house utterly out of place in the local surroundings.

“It should be here.”

As they drew nearer, they found many monster corpses strewn about the mansion, already turned into nourishment for strange, twisting plants.

“This is getting troublesome. Should we turn back now and give up this chance?”

Over a distance of some thousand meters, Verin roughly counted no fewer than three thousand monster corpses, mostly minotaurs; a third of those minotaurs were Silver rank or above.

There was even one minotaur five meters tall, and even the lingering pressure from its corpse after death made Verin a little breathless.

Just as the thought of abandoning the attempt arose, the mansion doors suddenly opened, and before them appeared a being with elfin features, two pairs of multicolored wings on its back, and a body about a meter and a half long, resembling a fairy.

“Guests, my master has been expecting you for some time. Please, follow me.” The fairy girl’s voice was soft and tender, soothing the weariness from their minds and bodies.

Before they realized it, Verin and Kael were following behind the fairy girl into the mansion.

“This honored guest, welcome. I am Alger Holmes, a merchant of the star realms. You may also call me Grey; that is the new name I took in this world.” A handsome middle-aged man smiled as he stroked the fairy girl’s hair and explained himself to Verin.

“Good morning, sir. My name is Verin Exis, a humble human noble. I have come today in hopes of trading with you.”

“This is my attendant, Kael.”

“Greetings, sir.” Kael said a little nervously.

“You are not ordinary.” The star realm merchant, Grey, sized Verin up and down, then said to the fairy girl, “Anlia, go brew a pot of fruit tea. I shall properly receive Verin.”

“Yes, master.” The fairy girl reluctantly withdrew from Grey’s hand and walked toward the room on the left.

“Come, sit.”

“Thank you.”

Verin thanked him again, sitting rather stiffly opposite Grey, while Kael remained standing behind him.

“Your world is truly vast, and there are so many powerful people. I can barely restrain myself from touring it properly.” Finding the room a little quiet, Grey took the initiative and struck up conversation with Verin.

“Sir, may I ask whether you entered as a smuggler or by some other means?” Verin asked cautiously.

“Hahaha, no need to be afraid. Relax. You may think of me as a friend; I am not so full of airs.”

“As for entering your world, of course I paid the admission fee. It was rather painful, but being able to travel through your world will greatly benefit my future path.”

Hearing the answer, Verin felt somewhat relieved. At least he would not need to worry about being casually erased after the trade was done.

“Sir, why are there so many minotaurs outside?” Seeing that the other party was mild in temperament, Verin gathered his courage and asked.

“Hmph.” At Verin’s question, Grey’s irritation flared. “Those foul creatures with minotaur bodies dared try to snatch my beloved Anlia. It was already too merciful of me not to use their souls as lamp oil.”

Married woman, Verin suddenly thought, but he quickly shook the notion away, letting it fade so as to avoid any implication that might upset the man.

At that moment, the fairy girl Anlia carried an exquisite tea tray into the center of the sitting room and placed four cups of fragrant fruit tea on the table before returning to Grey’s side and quietly resting against his right arm.

Verin noticed carefully that the fairy girl’s face was slightly red, clearly having heard the previous conversation.

“Oh, I still haven’t introduced her to you.” Grey slapped his forehead and said, “Anlia, my soul mate. She has been with me for three hundred years, the great love of my life.”

Once he began speaking of her, Grey seemed to have opened the floodgates, and he poured out the story of how he and the fairy girl Anlia had come to be together. The fairy girl beside him listened as her cheeks grew redder and redder, until she buried herself deeply in Grey’s embrace.

“Miss Anlia’s love with you is eternal.”

“Hahaha, I’ll gladly accept your blessing.” Grey seemed to enjoy Verin’s words. “Come, this fruit tea is made from the tea tree I cultivated myself. In your terms, it would be called a pure life tea tree, though I still prefer the original name; the translated one sounds far too clumsy.”

“Drink it quickly. It is greatly beneficial to the elemental force within your bodies—or rather, your battle aura.”

“Many thanks, sir.”

Verin picked up one cup and first handed it to Kael, then took one for himself and drank. Warmth spread through his body.

Before long, Kael’s battle aura grew steadily stronger, breaking straight through the limits of low Copper rank and ascending to high Copper rank in a single step.

Verin himself even broke through to middle Silver rank. He could clearly sense that he was only one step away from high Silver rank; with half a month of cultivation after returning, he would be able to break through once more.

“Sir, I am deeply grateful.”

“I rather like being your friend.” Grey lifted his fruit tea and sipped it slowly, speaking unhurriedly. “I have met too many people—some greedy, some hypocritical, some arrogant, none of them lacking in one flaw or another. But someone like you, who cares for his subordinates and is full of gratitude, who still possesses a pure heart, is truly rare.”

“Perhaps that is a common thing, but I dislike it very much.”

“You flatter me, sir.”

Seeing that the mood was about right, Verin removed the small wooden box he had been carrying, placed it gently on the tea table, and slowly opened it for Grey to inspect.

“Sir, this is the item I have brought for our trade: the Seven-Color Flower of Life. It is my most precious treasure. Please take a look.”

Grey did not stand on ceremony. With a thought, a mage’s hand lifted a Seven-Color Flower of Life and set it before him.

“Know All Things.”

Grey silently cast the spell, and all information concerning the Seven-Color Flower of Life rose continuously in his mind, including its properties, uses, growth conditions, and how to cultivate it.

Within just ten minutes, Grey had fully mastered every detail.

“Verin, the Seven-Color Flower of Life is of immense value. However, by my usual habit, when it comes to plants, no matter how precious or rare they are, I only take one specimen. But today I shall make an exception for you. I will take all seven of these Seven-Color Flowers of Life, priced at two thousand trade points.”

Then, a highly futuristic little sphere appeared before Verin, and a virtual panel unfolded in front of him, listing numerous items with information and images.

“This is something from a material-technological world. I found it interesting, so I refined it a little and created a rather unusual magical tool. You may choose slowly.”