14 C14 - Troubling Quest

Two days later, a shocking piece of news sent tremors throughout Koda city, even reaching the ears of the other two overlords on the island, the Sedan and Ahan families.

"Did you hear? The Golden-Prism is holding a big auction some days later! Apparently, they got into contact with a grandmaster, who was willing to sell his creations!"

"I heard, yes! It's unbelievable, right? There has never been a grandmaster publicly appearing before!"

Many people were astonished. A grandmaster's creations would obviously be high tier, and would certainly cause a commotion when announced at an auction, but the Golden-Prism didn't advertise it as the auction's peak treasure! They announced they would hold an auction for the grandmaster's weapons only, meaning there was more than one appearing!

"Should I try my luck and attend the auction?"

Some delusional people couldn't help but start daydreaming, as owning peak-tier weapon was the goal of many Cultivators.

"Pah, truly a frog in a well."

Those people just earned disdain from their comrades.

"I heard even the Ahan city lord would be attending. Do you really believe you could compete with them in terms of wealth? You couldn't even win against the Ketnas, and as a local force they'd obviously make their appearance."

Bottom-feeders such as them shouldn't waste their time lusting after swan meat when they couldn't even feed themselves properly.

When Maren and Niita walked through the streets, they heard many conversations like this one, prompting Maren to smile mockingly.

'It's pathetic how limited these people are. They remind me of Europeans before the Enlightenment, content with their tiny existence, not questioning the heavens at all.'

He couldn't stand this type of people, nor their beliefs. Being limited by the sky above you? What a lame excuse. Fate didn't allow you to succeed? Pathetic.

This was his spirit, his mentality.

Shattering every obstacle, getting what he wanted!

This resolution made him one of the most dangerous and successful figures on earth, and it wouldn't be different in this world!

His mood gradually turned sour by witnessing those dogs wag their tails around happily, ignorant towards greater things. It disgusted him to no end.

"Let's leave."

He turned towards Niita and ordered in a disgruntled tone. The latter just nodded her head, following behind him silently. They walked in the direction of the market, as Maren now had the money, he wanted to catch up on buying interesting plants for the sect.

There were fewer stalls on the plaza than last time, but he still got what he wanted. Having satisfied his demands on spiritual flowers, he curiously looked through other items.

A small stand in a corner of the market caught his eye. It was managed by an old man that looked like a beggar, with half of his right arm missing. His life seemed to have taken a toll on him, as he just sat behind his counter absent-mindedly, occasionally drinking a few sips of liquor from an old and dusty bottle. Apparently, his appearance scared off most customers, as nobody visited his stall or looked through his items.

The reason that the stall caught Maren's attention was due to some ancient looking things that were carelessly displayed all around the wooden counter. As mentioned before, Maren liked to visit auctions, trying his luck to get some treasures and was therefore really interested in antiquities.

"Hey, old man!"

Maren enthusiastically walked over, his mood already turning better. The man didn't care about the disrespectful title Maren had given him and just took another sip of his alcohol. He then laid down onto his desk as if wanting to sleep, ignoring Maren in the process.

Seeing this reaction, Maren's eyebrow twitched, and just as he was about to speak again, a system notification caught his focus.

*DING*

-The main server has issued an optional mission:

Name: "Old tales"

Description: Relief old man Gayu of his past pain, and make him join your sect willingly

Steps completed: (0/1)

Reward(s): 1 free Design - Advanced forgery, Elemental-Gathering-Array

His eyes widened in surprise. An advanced design? That was equivalent to one thousand shopping points! And he even got an array too! The last array he received from the system was already described as 'godlike' by Ato, so Maren's expectations for this one were quite high.

'System, display the array's description!'

-Affirmative

Name: Elemental-Gathering-Array

Description: This is the improved version of the Elemental-Attracting-Array, used by large-scale tier forging sects. It can condense elements from the air into different minerals, up to the rare grade.

A flash in his eyes showed his understanding. This array was basically a complimentary upgrade for forgeries, as it could get minerals without the need of a mine! That was extremely useful!

'Haha, as expected, the system's rewards are always great. But all of them hint at forgery, so could it be this old man could be a blacksmithing master?

'System, scan him!'

-Affirmative

[Gayu Heggers]

Cultivation: Enlightenment-Mortal, Level 10 [Shattered Peak-Practitioner Foundation detected]

Talent: [damaged aptitude for Ascension-realm, reduced to Practitioner-realm]

[Master-Blacksmith, potential for Grandmaster-Blacksmith]

'That is great!'

He could need an experienced master for his sect, as he couldn't possibly manage every future disciple that was interested in forging by himself. The only question was how to convince the man to join the sect...

Maren had a troubled expression. It was easy to trick naive villagers or little girls with his mysterious-expert-act, but it would be hard to do the same with an experienced person, and the quest mentioned some old pains he had to resolve.

"Master blacksmith."

He decided to directly speak to the person in question. Gayu's eyes had a glint when Maren referred to him as a blacksmith, but the excitement soon died down.

"It's rare for somebody to still call me that."

He released a sigh, letting his head sink on his desk again.

"What do you want, kiddo."

"I've been sent by an elder of my organization to recruit you, sir blacksmith."

Maren decided to play the role of a messenger sent by a large force.

When Gayu heard his request, he looked at Maren like he was a retard.

"Recruit me? HAHAHA! That is a good joke!"

A cold tone was surfacing in his voice. Although he lost his ability to forge, that didn't mean he would just ignore people mocking him! Especially not young brats!

"I'll ask again, what do you want from me."

His voice got increasingly colder with every word he said. Maren frowned. It seemed like his good intentions were misunderstood.

"I think sir blacksmith has misunderstood. Our organization heard of sir blacksmith's past reputation and decided to take you in!"

In an earnest tone, he replied.

"I don't wanna hear your mockery brat! Go away! I still have some connections in this city, so tell your 'elder' to be careful of making jokes about me! I am not someone to be offended!"

He then beckoned Maren to go away with rude gestures. Seeing that it'd be impossible to continue this conversation at this moment, he walked away, although unwillingly.

'It seems as his life wasn't easy up till now. My intentions were easily misunderstood...'

This troubled Maren significantly. Even though he might not desperately need a forging master, the rewards the system provided for Gayu's recruitment made him drool.

He continued pondering how to solve the situation and it eventually got late. The sun was painting the sky red and people started going home. Noticing that he thought about going out into the forest to camp again, but since that would take a while, and it would get quite late until they got there, he just started looking for a comfortable inn. He now didn't have to worry about money, after all, meaning that a shabby hut like 'Pen's Inn' didn't enter his eyes.

They eventually settled for luxurious accommodations near the marked and got to rest.

***

Over the next two days, Maren tried getting into contact with old man Gayu again, but the latter always ignored him and sometimes didn't even show up at the market till the late evening!

He wanted to try today as well, but remembering that it was the day of the auction, he decided not to take much time. Although he didn't really care about the promises he made with the manager, the auction was still a must for him, as it was easy to get in contact with various forces there easily, and he still had a quest to fulfill.

He then ordered Niita to go to the auction venue and wait there for him, while he tried to convince the old blacksmith again.

Half an hour later he left the plaza with a defeated expression and made his way to the auction.

But what he saw there when he finally arrived, stunned him.

Niita was waiting near the entrance as he ordered, but who was this obnoxious brat that was pestering her? Interested, Maren silently got closer, carefully concealing his aura. When he heard what this brat was saying, he nearly started laughing out! This was the prime example of a frog lusting after swan meat!

"Come on, little beauty! Whoever you are waiting for can't possibly be better than me! Do you even know who I am?"

The young man was trying his best to convince Niita to attend the auction with him, but the latter just ignored him, acting like a cold beauty. Her rejection caused the man's desire to conquer her to ignite, and his advances got more forceful.

"I am the nephew of Roland Koda! Do you get it? The city lord!"

He tried his very best, but Niita continued to ignore him.

Finally, Maren couldn't take it anymore and decided to reveal himself. Niita immediately noticed him and bowed.

"Master."

"En, let's go inside."

He didn't particularly give much thought about this self-important youngster, and just proceeded to walk inside the auction house.

When the youth saw whom Niita was waiting for, he immediately showed disdain on his face. Although the clothes Maren wore could be considered top-class for ordinary mortals, to big families like the Kodas, his attire was just dirt poor. Thus he couldn't help but mock Maren, venting his feelings.

"Ha, a frog in a well! Do you really believe some dirty peasant like you could afford the grandmaster's weapons? Truly laughable! Young beauty, you should abandon this trash and come with me instead!"

Maren froze in his steps and turned around, with a dangerous flame dancing deeply in his eyes.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?"