Free gifts were always good gifts. Angor still quickly accepted the overcoat despite his bad comments on its terrible style.
Apart from its size, it went well on his body without hindering his movement.
He cast an Ice Wall and used the polished surface of the ice like a mirror. The strange coat seemed… pretty good on him. While looking at his own reflection, Angor remembered a certain wicked gentleman he read about in a child’s story.
“Nice fit. A hat would be better,” Sunders commented.
Devildare jumped a little and took out a black top-hat from his space ring.
There were two plate-like objects affixed on the hat, with the same “smiling face” image on them, in reversed colors. It was obvious that this hat was meant to be sided with the overcoat.
Devildare chuckled at Sunders in an awkward manner. “Thanks for the reminder, Mister Phantom. I forgot the coat came with a hat too.”
Angor didn’t want to complain further now. He already looked weird in that coat; an extra piece wouldn’t hurt.
Upon receiving the hat, he quickly noticed that the hat contained a level-3 cantrip called Purification Field. It was a higher version of “Purify”. Anything affected by this cantrip was free from dust, bacteria, and dangerous temperatures. It was one of the most common spells to be affixed onto clothing.
The cantrip alone suggested that the top hat was way more expensive than the overcoat. Devildare wouldn’t have shown it if not for Sunders’ “reminder”.
“My gratitude, Sir Azure Lion. With these, I’ll have a better chance of removing the tunnel at Lady’s Juice,” Angor said as he bowed to Devildare with a smile.
Devildare hesitated for a while and nodded. “As long as Twilight Well can return to its right track… everything else comes second.”
Angor wondered if Devildare meant to overlook his other responsibilities by those words.
“Thank you. I’ll do my job as best as I can.”
Devildare could resist the parasites. According to the plan, he was going to help Sunders distract the frog and fox.
The two of them began to talk about it.
Meanwhile, Angor silently put the magic scroll into his space bracelet and took out a pouch from his waist.
Toby circled around him to observe his master’s new suit. Then the bird waved his wings around.
“Tweet!”
He wanted his own set of checkered suit.
Angor stroked Toby’s feather. “I’ll find a time and make you one when we’re back at Brute Cavern.”
As an alchemist, Angor wanted to expand his list of recipes as much as he could instead of keeping to a few items. Weaving was also a possible choice. Toby only needed the look of the clothes, so Angor planned to use ordinary fabrics to practice with.
When Toby heard the answer, he perched on top of Angor’s hat happily. The bird soon created a small crater in it to let him sit better.
About half an hour later, Sunders finished speaking with Devildare. Then the three of them left Devildare’s house.
When passing through the great hall, Angor saw several dozens of wizards from the three clans either floating, sitting, or meditating. They escaped from the parasites with Sunders’ help just a moment ago. Some of them still had those clown outfits on.
No one spoke, mostly because they felt humiliated about what happened to them. When they saw Sunders coming, they all looked away in embarrassment.
Devildare spoke to them.
“I’m going to help Sunders solve this mist. You all remain inside. The clan master of Ember Dragonwings, Hannibal, shall take lead and discuss a strategy on how to restore the fame of Twilight Well afterward, and how we’ll explain to everyone about the whole matter.
“I think you all noticed that your strength and reflexes are improved. We shall consider this a destiny. It’s a good excuse too. I hope I can hear a detailed plan from you when I get back.”
These “non-truth” wizards would definitely get possessed if they chose to leave the manor, which meant they had to wait here. To spare them some awkwardness, Devildare simply asked them to work out a plan in the meantime.
With this settled, Devildare, Sunders, and Angor left through the gate.
Back inside the house, the wizards engaged in a relatively friendly discussion since they now had a common goal.
While they talked, Twilight suddenly stood up. “I’ll leave for a second. Need some fresh air.”
Hannibal gave her a meaningful look and sneered, “Don’t get lost in the mist.”
Twilight walked onto the balcony and watched the three individuals who were walking away.
She fixed her gaze on the young man with the checkered overcoat and revealed a vicious grin.
…
Inside the mist-covered area just outside the manor.
When the three of them were about to part ways, Angor approached Devildare and handed a pouch to the old man.
Devildare glanced at the plain-looking pouch and sensed what was inside without having to check it.
Sunders also stopped to look at them. “I saw you putting away that scroll just now. So you crafted a space storage?”
Angor nodded. “All thanks to your greyspace microbes, professor.”
Sunders smiled without commenting further. He collected a large number of microbes when he was constructing the Sorcerer’s Garden, and he had been wondering if he should sell them. But now, Angor just presented him yet another big surprise.
The microbes were costly, true. But a space storage made out of them was even costlier. Ten times more expensive than the raw materials, or more.
Since Angor could create space storages, the extra microbes would bring him more fortune. Thinking about this, Sunders couldn’t help but grin brightly.
Devildare clearly knew what Sunders was planning, and man, he was jealous! Twilight Well had a good stock of greyspace microbes, but they didn’t have an alchemist who could use them!
If only Angor was in a better relationship with Twilight Well…
It didn’t matter though. They could always make it up slowly. Twilight Well would never thrive if they rejected a genius alchemist just because of a small conflict.
The old man decided to talk to Twilight later and persuade her into forgiving Angor’s offense. Anyway, it wasn’t like they could do much to the boy when Sunders was around to protect him.
Lion Princess died during the incident. Sunders managed to retrieve her soul from the auction hall. She might suffer some loss of strength, but she would recover.
As for the missed auctions… They didn’t achieve as big auction volume as the grand auction. The ordinary auctions that were postponed for several days only caused manageable damage.
Everything was still acceptable, and Devildare planned to set his vision further. Angor, at his current level, already possessed decent alchemy skills. The boy could produce items good enough to be used as highlight lots for an auction. Establishing a friendly connection with Angor meant more to Twilight Well, compared to pursuing a petty debt.
Wizards always judged people by the profit they held. Devildare didn’t like Angor, but he certainly could seek cooperation with the boy.
While Devildare went over his thoughts, Angor unbound the pouch in his hand.
“There are five space necklaces in different colors. The Dusk Butterfly, Silvery Butterfly, a white, orange and pink one. The Dusk Butterfly only had 3 cubic meters, while the other four all had 5,” Angor said as he handed the pouch to Devildare. “I think they hold a value of a hundred thousand crystals added up. This is for paying my debt to Twilight Well.”
Devildare took the pouch and inspected it with his spirit feelers. Everything Angor said was correct.
The necklaces cost more than the debt already. After careful consideration, Devildare took out the “Dusk Butterfly” and returned it to Angor.
“The other four are enough. You can have this one back.”
Angor didn’t reject it. He took the necklace and prepared to head to Lady’s Juice.
Sunders suddenly put a hand on his shoulder. “I was expecting you to get the money by selling Greya’s food. So you really gathered a hundred thousand in half a month?”
Angor remained calm, but his proud eyes gave him out.
“Don’t forget about my hundred fifty, which is due in the next half month.”
Sunders and Devildare disappeared into the mist while Angor remained agape.
Angor put up a bitter look when he thought about what he just heard. It seemed he wouldn’t be sleeping much for a while. Again.
He sighed and walked toward Lady’s Juice.
…
Once again, nothing stopped him from advancing. Angor went straight to the monster nest.
As for the rainbow dragonflies, they all tailed him while praising Shava.
Following Sunders’ instruction, Angor climbed onto the top of the nest and waited for his order while he ignored the insects.
With nothing better to do, he simply began to observe the mist tunnel ahead of him.