27 Chapter 26 - Great Gains
Both Tom and even the scar-riddled veteran who had been the most optimistic about Talia's chances stared at her with a dumbfounded look on their faces.
"I apologise for being blunt, but I don't have all day, I have places to be, ya know?" Talia said half-jokingly as she really was in a rush with the time limit, awakening the duo out of their stupor.
The grizzled-looking veteran quickly recovered from his astonishment after Talia's comment, whereas the chubby merchant on the other hand still couldn't quite fully comprehend the situation as he sat slack-jawed for a moment before quickly realising he should say something.
Tom stammered, "Reward? Oh yes, that… reward, well you, to be honest, I had no expectations of you completing the task, we will require your patience whilst I gather the needed…"
The merchant foolishly tripped a few times as he began fumbling around the room searching for the 'reward' he mentioned.
Items went flying everywhere as Tom hurriedly moved around the room before eventually coming across an iron box which was located behind some merchandise.
Picking up the box he brought it over before placing it in front of Talia, before she could say anything, the veteran behind Tom said, "Although the merchant forgot to mention it, we would like to know both the culprits and how you discovered them if possible."
Talia just nodded in the reply at this question, knowing it was something they would likely ask, she happily replied her way on discovering the 'Goblins' was because she had a unique means of seeing through illusion magic.
The two stared in astonishment as she told them her story, providing even the location of the Goblin's lair and describing how they were no longer much of a threat compared to before with the death of their Shaman.
Tom and the veteran agreed with this because as apart of the merchant group they are well-informed and experienced enough to know the dangers of illusion magic, which straightforwardly explained how the Goblins dealt with so many caravans without so much of a trace.
And if they doubted her story beforehand, then her presenting the magic sceptre of the Shaman provided all the evidence needed.
Holding the sceptre the merchant asked, "This sceptre! I think I recognise it, I believe it is the sceptre belonging to the Thomas families ancestor. Girl! Name your price, the Thomas family have given our merchant group high-quality items to auction off, but I'm sure they'd be willing to provide you with them for this!"
Talia smiled as she knew this comment from Tom would come after presenting him the sceptre.
In the game, many players upon seeing the draw-dropping attributes of the sceptre decided to keep the item for themselves and not mention it to the merchant group upon their return.
Yet a surprise was found by a player who realised that upon talking to the merchant about selling it, the merchant would immediately recognise it and offer a sizeable reimbursement for the sceptres return.
The Thomas family were a noble family which has a rich history for producing strong Mages, and one of their strongest experts along time ago was coincidentally the owner of the staff which the Shaman had received from the inheritance.
It had been lost to the family for centuries, and the Shaman was incredibly fortuitous to run into an inheritance which was hurriedly created by Thomas's families ancestor hurriedly after receiving life-threatening injuries.
"I would like to say that I'm interested in your offer and would like to see the items you have in mind to trade," Talia said unhesitantly.
Although the staff is valuable, Talia had no resistance in selling the sceptre as she knew just how generous the offer by the Thomas Family is.
They were willing to overpay for the sceptres return and you would likely not be able to get a better offer elsewhere.
At the same time, the sceptre would not have been that useful to her as it specialises in reducing the cost and amplifying illusion spells, an amazing item for an illusion Mage but not as valued to her.
Tom laughed heartily in response and after handing back the sceptre said, "Tell you what girl, come back within a few days and I will have received the reply of the Thomas family by then, anyhow here is the reward which has been put together by the other small merchant groups for the reward of solving this issue."
After finishing his comments he tapped the iron box and handed it to Talia, who upon opening it saw the numerous glittering coins held within.
Smiling happily she informed Tom if he was interested in purchasing any of the items she gained from the Goblins, to which an amicable filled his face and he said, "Doing business is something we will always agree on."
Spending her time further haggling with Tom at deciding the prices of the items she was selling, she once again left with more coin in her pockets, leading her to decide it was now time to use her new-found coin to upgrade her present gear.
Exploring the Town's shops for over an hour, she spent a good amount to improve all of her current items to a suitable standard for her present level.
She also decided to buy something which was not available back within the starter village, and that was magic potions such as health potions.
Before, only basic healing balm and other medicines were located in the village as there were no alchemists present to create them making them a rare and luxury item within the village.
Yet, in Stonehead Town there were plenty of stores which sold magic potions, so she decided to stock up on them as they are a great life-saving tool.
After she had finished stocking up on supplies and obtaining her newly improved gear, she decided to use her remaining time to check out the Magic Tome she had received from the Goblin Shaman.
Finding a quiet, inconspicuous area, she took the Magic Tome out of her inventory straight away receiving the familiar notification from the system.
*Ding! Magic Tome discovered, would you like to learn its contents? Y/N
Warning: This would result in the destruction of the object after the relevant knowledge has been transferred to the player.*
Once again she decided to select 'Yes', as there were no de-merits from learning multiple forms of magic, especially for players with access to magic tomes.
Although you would usually have a speciality form of magic which you would focus most of your efforts on, there is no issue with having multiple spells of other attributes either.
*Ding! Player learns two new skills, 'Mirage' and 'Doubleganger'. Player also receives basic information about an individuals comprehension about the concept of the magical attribute Illusion.*
A familiar pang of pain filled her mind after the ending of the systems message, and brand new information, concepts appeared within her mind.
She developed a sudden understanding of the intricacies of illusion magic, and what ways to use it more efficiently and making the illusion appear more realistic.
The two new spells were similar to what the Goblin Shaman used on her, 'Mirage' would change the surroundings of the target, advanced levels would even bring them into an illusion world if the soul of the target was weak enough whereas 'Doubleganger' would create an exact copy of oneself, the number and realism of the clones would depend on the casters understanding.
Although Talia knew she would not be able to use the spells to the extent that the Goblin Shaman did, she was still satisfied with the newest additions to her spells and believe they would prove useful.
On the other hand, she did not know what tool or spell that the Goblin Shaman used to gauge the strength of its potential targets, as even the players could not discover the Shamans means off doing so.
Perhaps only the Goblin Shaman itself knew, and now the knowledge was lost with its death.
She did not regret her choice, as one moment of hesitation could have decided her survival against the Shaman, something she wasn't willing to risk.
Knowing that her time remaining within the 'Game World' was coming to an end, she waited for the remaining minutes to pass before once again returning back to the familiar bedroom which she had entered that world from.
Staring at her surroundings, she saw that sunlight began flooding into the room indicating that it is morning.
Letting out a sigh, she began reviewing what happened in the 'Game World' through her mind, now that the 'missing caravan' quest was completed there was no longer any difficult quest remaining in the Town, so her next course of action was just to spend her days gaining experience and completing the remaining quests available in the Town which should prove to be not difficult.
That was until Priest Omar will receive his report from the Templar higher-ups which would still take a few days, and she would also have to return to Bluewood Merchant group in that time to also receive the trade offer from the Thomas family.
Forming a quick schedule in her mind, it was time to continue her day in the Kingdom, with the heavy restrictions put in place since the mishap with the Governor, she knew that she can do little but train with the soldiers and Sir Gregory.
However, to her, it meant little difference, because at the moment she knew that she needed to fully focus on her strength anyways until she had the power to remove the scourge on the Kingdom, the Governor.
*Knock, Knock*
Awakening out of her thoughts at the knock of the door, she answered 'Come in', as Kaelyn entered the room with a tray filled with fresh breakfast.
Feeling her stomach growling at the sight of the delicious food, she decided it was best to settle her cravings first.
