**Chapter 85: Reputation**

"Damn, this is a real disaster!" roared the master craftsman named Drino. This craftsman was introduced by the shopkeeper as a master of staff-making, and he was apparently quite famous in the imperial capital. He wasn't a regular employee of the shop but a teacher at the nearby Magic Academy who took on custom jobs as a side gig. However, this was the first time he had encountered someone like Linton, who was so reckless.

"Are you sure you want to embed this Grade 8 magic crystal into… into this fire… firewood stick?" Drino confirmed once more.

"Yeah, just tell me if it can be done," Linton replied.

"What's the point of doing this?" Drino couldn't help but ask.

"Don't be fooled by how this looks like a stick for starting fires. This is actually an ancient artifact left to me by my master..."

"As a master of crafting magical items, I've seen more materials than you've had meals, you understand?" Drino retorted, unable to hold back.

"Ahem... have you ever heard of the Meloway family motto?" Linton said.

"Meloway family? Never heard of them," Drino responded.

"Style is everything," Linton declared. "I'm already invincible, so I don't need any staff for power boosts. Just make it look cool."

In reality, the staff's enhancement had no effect on the ninjutsu Linton used, so it didn't matter what materials were used. As for embedding the magic crystal, it was just because the princess's staff had looked beautiful, and since Linton was pretending to be a mage, he wanted something a bit more presentable.

A vein throbbed on Drino's forehead as he looked at Linton. "Are you a student at the academy? Which class?"

"I'm not a student," Linton answered.

Drino had originally planned to contact Linton's mentor to give him a good lesson, but it seemed that wasn't possible now. He wasn't sure what Linton's situation was. The fact that he could produce a Grade 8 magic crystal suggested a wealthy family background, but why wasn't he a student at the academy? Maybe he hadn't passed the entrance exams due to lack of talent? But then, why would a family give a low-talent member a Grade 8 magic crystal? What was going on with this family?

Drino was clearly displeased with how Linton was wasting valuable resources, but there wasn't much he could do. After thinking it over, he said, "The processing fee is 20,000 gold coins."

"That expensive?" Linton was taken aback.

"That's the price," Drino said. "Come back in seven days."

"Seven days?" Linton frowned. "Can't it be done by tomorrow?"

"You think I'm making farm tools?" Drino snapped. "Do you need it tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I was planning to use it to show off a bit, but I guess it won't be ready in time," Linton said. "Fine, just go ahead and work on it."

"What now? Linton, won't this delay tomorrow's duel?" Maruk asked, clearly worried.

"Doesn't matter. It's not like the staff will affect the outcome," Linton shrugged.

At that moment, Eck returned. Earlier, while waiting for the master craftsman to arrive, Linton had sent Eck out to buy some supplies—survival gear and the like—since he didn't want to run around town himself. Unexpectedly, Eck had been gone for quite some time.

"Young master, you've gone viral," Eck said, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Linton asked, puzzled.

Eck quickly explained. While out shopping, he had overheard a lot of people discussing Linton. Given his strong communication skills, Eck had asked around and learned that the recent conflict between Linton and Bayar had somehow become the talk of the town.

Eck had spent some time investigating and discovered that this news had spread so quickly because someone was deliberately pushing it, with a simple motive: underground betting.

Setting up a betting ring was pretty normal, but betting on a combat trial was rare. As mentioned earlier, no one had succeeded in a combat trial in the past ten years, so there hadn't been much to bet on. In this case, Linton was a sure loser since his opponent was the renowned Golden Phoenix Knight. Everyone would bet on the same outcome, making it impossible to run a proper betting ring.

But now, the situation had changed. Many people had witnessed Linton's confrontation with Bayar. Skipping the details, the result was that Linton had beaten Bayar's disciple badly, and Bayar had left in disgrace. This result was ripe for exaggeration.

Some people had quickly spread the story, and soon everyone in town knew about the conflict, with rumors growing wilder by the minute. The narrative was now heavily skewed in Linton's favor, thanks to those who wanted to create suspense in the betting market.

As a result, Linton's name was now on fire in the imperial capital. Though, for now, only his name was famous—he could probably still walk the streets unnoticed.

"A betting ring?" Linton's interest was piqued. "How many people are betting on me to win?"

"Young master, no one is betting on you to win," Eck replied. "I asked around. Right now, the odds are: you lasting 5 minutes, 1:2; 5-10 minutes, 1:3; 10-20 minutes, 1:4; and over 20 minutes, 1:5."

"And that's after all the hype?" Linton said. "So originally, no one even thought I'd last 5 minutes?"

"Uh... yes, young master," Eck nodded.

"Wow, no respect at all," Linton said. "Eck, here's a task for you. Find the person running the betting ring, and tell them to open a line for me winning. Then bet all my money on me."

"What? Young master, are you sure?" Eck asked.

"Of course. If I lose, I'll probably be dead anyway, so what's the point of keeping the money?" Linton replied. "Doesn't it seem more reasonable now?"

"I suppose… it does," Eck nodded.

While Linton was figuring out how to make a fortune, Bayar and his group had just arrived at Duke Rohen's estate and also learned that the earlier incident had spread throughout the city.

"Outrageous! They're saying you were scared off by that brat! It's complete nonsense!" Eileen was furious. "It's definitely that guy spreading lies, trying to tarnish Master's reputation!"

In Eileen's eyes, there was no way Linton could be a match for her master, Bayar. This must be a ploy to smear them one last time before Linton's inevitable defeat. She was livid at the thought of such an underhanded tactic. "Master, shouldn't we go and clear this up immediately?"

Bayar, however, remained calm. As he read through some documents, his expression showed slight surprise. He turned to a middle-aged man beside him and said, "Shor, is this the boy's profile?"

"Yes," the middle-aged man nodded.

"It says here that he's 19 and hasn't awakened any battle aura. He's known as a local good-for-nothing," Bayar remarked.

"That's what the investigation revealed," Shor confirmed. "Why? Is something different from the report?"

"That boy... isn't simple," Bayar said. "Even though I didn't fight him directly, he took down Tram in an instant, and there was something strange about the ability he used at the end..."

"He ambushed him!" Eileen interjected.

"Could you take down Tram in an instant, even by ambush?" Bayar asked.

"Well..."

"He's at least stronger than you," Bayar said. "He doesn't match the description in this report at all. There's something off about him."

"Master, why are you studying him so seriously? Do you really think he could be a threat to you?" Eileen asked.

"I have a bad feeling," Bayar admitted. "From his demeanor today, he doesn't seem like someone who's going to his death. If I don't take this seriously, I might actually lose."

"What?" Eileen couldn't believe it. She always trusted her master's judgment, but this time she was sure he was mistaken. There was no way that boy could pose a threat. Even if Linton had hidden some abilities, his age alone was a limitation—there was no way he could be stronger than her master.

"Master Bayar, Tram has woken up," a servant reported.

Everyone quickly got up and moved to the next room. Tram was sitting on the bed. His body and face had been healed, but the teeth that had been knocked out wouldn't grow back. His face still looked a bit comical.

Eileen was surprised to see that Tram wasn't as furious as she'd expected. Instead of shouting about killing Linton, he was strangely quiet. Even more puzzling, she thought she detected a hint of fear in his eyes.

"What happened?" Bayar asked. "How did you get knocked out?"

"I... don't know. I just locked eyes with him, and then suddenly I felt this overwhelming pressure... it was terrifying. I didn't even have time to react..." Tram stammered.

"What are you talking about? I was right beside you and didn't feel anything!" Eileen said.

"I felt it too," Bayar said. "Though I'm not sure what

 it was, it did make my heart race. That boy is definitely hiding something. Today's encounter might not have been such a bad thing."

(End of chapter)