“Where does he accept disciples? I think I’ll stop by his place later.” Vicente asked, interested in getting in touch with this person.
“He has a house on the south end of town. He offers his services there but also gives aptitude tests to new blacksmiths for the cost of 10 gold coins.
He does not have a set number of places for new students. From what my group has discovered, as long as you have a talent that interests him, Blacksmith Benson is willing to take you as a disciple.
But there’s a catch, boss.” The man said in a lower tone.
“There are no free lunches… What is the price for the freedoms he offers?” Vicente asked.
“That’s not clear. It can vary. From what I’ve heard, some of his students have to pay Blacksmith Benson a fraction of what they make from their products. Others have to pay a monthly fee to study under his tutelage, and there’s a case of someone who supposedly has to pay fees for every advancement he makes.”
Rory frowned, realizing how strange that was. “What do you think of that, Vicente? To me, this guy must have a complicated past, and we won’t just have advantages if you become his student.”
Vice closed his eyes and made up his mind. “I’ll see if it’s worth it after I meet him. I’m not in a position to make demands, and of course, there will be a price for me to keep the freedoms I’m interested in.”
Vicente didn’t think the world owed him anything, nor did he think that just because he had transmigrated, he was special for the world to give him everything he needed.
For all he knew, there might be other transmigrants out there just like him!
Besides, he wouldn’t think like an unreasonable person who would see problems in paying for other people’s services. It was only natural that one would have to return the actions of others somehow.
An attack could naturally trigger a counterattack. A service, on the other hand, requires payment!
Only a person with a mind far removed from reality would think they did not have to ‘pay’ for what they consumed!
Rory agreed to look into the cost of Vicente becoming a disciple of Benson and said no more on the subject.
They soon ate everything on their plates and finished their alcohol.
When they finished what they had to do there, Vicente paid River and went alone to Benson’s location at one end of Millfall.
Rory and the other man went off to solve their own problems, with the young redhead in his free time, but committed to continuing his magical training to reach the same level as Vice.
‘I’ll be back at headquarters…’
…
A few minutes later, Vicente was standing in front of a property that looked abandoned from a distance.
But upon arriving, Vice immediately heard a metallic sound coming from a part of the large structure that did not look like a house but rather a large warehouse.
A lawn surrounded this warehouse, while rusty railings marked the property’s boundaries.
Darkness shrouded much of this property, so much so that only the streetlight from the nearby lamppost showed some of the contours of this place.
‘This place looks a bit strange… Is this really the property of a Mage?’ Vicente wondered, looking thoughtfully at the property across the street.
Millfall was a small city compared to the larger cities Vicente had seen in his life on Earth. But even though it was also a small place by Polaris Realm standards, there were Mages here.
However, aside from the fact that there were only a few 3rd stage magicians in the area, most of the Mages in Millfall were professionals who could not fight.
As a result, those who had reached this stage were among the wealthiest and best positioned in this place, and few could threaten them or even disrupt their business.
Vicente’s common sense told him that Benson must be wealthy, so when he saw this place, he could not help but doubt that this was the man’s property.
‘Has my man made a mistake?’ He thought as he crossed the street.
‘Professionals have the great advantage of not having to fight to become strong. Therefore, most of them find it easier to progress in cultivation than warriors. Then how could someone like Benson live in a place like this? He’s not only powerful, but he must also be one of the wealthiest people here!’
Vicente was not an extravagant person, much less did he think that a person with coins had to live in an exhibitionist manner. But he did appreciate good quality things, a nice house to live in, good transportation, education, etc.
He would not waste his resources on a watch, for example. Yet, he was the kind of person who, with the resources at his disposal, would have good clothes, eat in the best restaurants, and so on.
As such, he found the place strange and dismissed the possibility of meeting Benson there.
But confident that his men would not make such a big mistake for anything, he decided to try at least to communicate with the person behind the metallic sounds coming from there.
He knocked on an iron gate of that place, making a sharp noise that spread to the warehouse-like building there.
The metallic sounds of moments ago stopped, and Vicente realized that he had the attention of whoever was there.
“Hello, good evening. I am looking for the blacksmith Benson King. Could you tell me if this is his property?” He asked politely, narrowing his eyes to see better in the dark.
His pupils grew bigger, and Vicente saw a shadow near the spot.
Then, a gruff voice of an elder reached the black-haired young man’s ears. “I am Blacksmith Benson, young man. What are you doing here? Have you come to seek my services?” The voice asked, but Vicente still couldn’t see this person.
Vicente replied, still looking around the dark part of this property. “Not exactly. I heard that the senior accept disciples. Is that true? I would like to show you what I can do.”
“Oh?” A light emerged from the mansion, clearing the surroundings enough for Vicente to see what the shadow he had just seen was.
Seeing the place clearer, Vice almost jumped back when he saw a metallic doll just 10 meters away from him.
‘What the fuck!’
While Vincent was startled by this apparition, Blacksmith Benson appeared at the entrance after opening the main door of that building and looked at the young man’s forehead with interest.
‘That’s quite an unusual shape, huh? Your talent is not good, but let’s see what you can do.’ He thought before he said. “All right, kid, I want to see what you can do. But to come to me, give this old thing 11 gold coins. He won’t open the door for you if you don’t.”
“11 gold coins?” Vicente asked, surprised.
“Yes, the price has gone up. Get used to it. Inflation is catching up with us all.”