Zither Moon Town
Apart from Leylin who was leagues above his peers, among this party of five, Bosain would be the strongest.
In the stats detected by Aralis, Bosain's Spiritual Force had reached 15 points. It was already the requirement needed to advance to the level of an official Magus.
However, for some reason, it was concealed like Leylin's. Bosain had also used a secret method to conceal his Spiritual Force's energy waves, as well as the aberration of his eyes, without letting anyone find out.
Moreover, as a level 3 acolyte from a large Magi House, one of Bosain's magic artifacts emitted energy waves that were extremely strong, only second to the Fallen Star Pendant hung around Leylin's neck.
It was only to be expected. The Lilytell family was one of the three big families of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. If Bosain, who was one of the younger generations that hailed from there, had no magic artifact on him, Leylin would be the first not to believe it.
In terms of experience, Merlin would be the wisest considering he had spent more than six years as a level 3 acolyte. As for Shaya and Roth, they were level 3 acolytes who had just recently advanced. Merlin and Shaya carried magic artifacts with them and were stronger than Roth by a small margin. However, Roth was neither obsequious nor supercilious along the way. Obviously, he had his own hidden trump card.
'Without me using 100% of my power, Bosain would have a fifty-fifty chance of winning in a battle between us. Shaya and Merlin are far below us, whereas Roth is ranked last. However, he cannot be taken too lightly either.'
Leylin's eyes flashed, rapidly calculating that if any conflicts were to occur within the party, what would be the result and the control that he had of such a development.
However, be it in war or adventure, multiple individuals would have internal strife after obtaining high-quality treasures. It was inevitable.
Leylin questioned himself—if Merlin or the rest discovered that it was actually the inheritance of the great Magus Serholm they were after, they would not be willing to share the obtained loot.
Who might be the first to revolt then?
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The Zither Moon Town was a little town located at the foot of the Zither Moon Mountain Plains. This day, on a road that was flying with dust, there were five travel-worn horse riders that appeared.
"Alright, we will enter the Zither Moon Mountain Plains from the Zither Moon Town. Before that, we can secure ourselves lodging at the town's inn." -Bosain commanded.
"Got it." -Merlin answered as he reined in his horse. After getting down, he took out a badly damaged map to have a look.
At this moment, he had a completely different appearance. It was a rather dull and rough look, which let Leylin somewhat amused by his evident lack of skill using Shapeshifting.
"This is the bordering area. If there were any people from the Sage Gotham's Hut academy, it wouldn't be odd at all, so we have to be more careful." -Merlin cautioned.
"We know it already..." -Bosain straightened his robes, showing impatience.
The five of them led their horses to an inn called 'Ghosts With Grievances Don't Weep'.
Opening the door, it was as though it was a whole new world. Shouting and clamoring noises, along with the stenches of sweat and the odor of alcohol, wafted over.
Merlin's brows furrowed, but he still walked towards the counter, tossing out a golden coin. "Give me 5 private rooms—"
"I'm sorry, we only have 3 rooms left." Before Merlin finished speaking, a person who seemed to be the shop owner and who also stank of rum, interrupted him.
"Very well then. Three rooms, we'll have them. Also, give us your best delicacies."
Finding lodging at an inn within this small town was already considered fortunate, so Merlin did not push any further.
But when he was paying the money, he complained. "Isn't this damned place the one that doesn't have even a few visitors each year? Now, why is it that there are only 3 rooms left?"
The shop owner hiccuped. "Who knows? The Zither Moon Mountain Plains is filled with that damned poisonous gas and miasma. Many of these exploring lads don't return after setting off. Usually, there are only people here to drink some rum... But regarding gold coins, I seemed to have met with two waves of important guests today."
"Two waves?" Leylin stepped forward. "Which is to say, there was someone else before us who came here?"
"Indeed, and they even asked for a tour guide. Gold coin payment, bah! Who wants to die in the depths of Zither Moon Mountain Plains?"
After hearing this news, Leylin and the rest looked at each other, having a somewhat ominous premonition.
"Anyway, I'll let Pinky bring you to your rooms." -The shop owner took down 3 keys that were extremely oily, as he shouted. "Pinky! Pinky! Don't let me wait for another second! If not, I'll scrape your skin off…"
Very soon, a dwarf who wore a gray pointed hat stood in front of the owner. "Respected Master, Pinky is here to do your bidding!"
This dwarf named Pinky was only half of Leylin's height. He also wore a flowery green costume, looking somewhat comical.
"Bring our esteemed guests to the rooms upstairs to rest, you know which few." -The owner casually smacked the dwarf, before handing over the keys.
"Dear guests, please follow Pinky. Be careful of the steps." -Pinky touched his hat and led the way at the front.
Leylin and the rest followed behind.
Shaya took off her cloak, revealing a beautiful face and alluring body, and this attracted the whistles from a few drunken blokes suddenly.
Towards this, Shaya was not irked at all, she even sent a few coquettish glances over, igniting some heat within those drunkards.
Looking at this group of animals that were lusting over her, Leylin smirked. This expression of Shaya's showed that she was already angry to a certain extent.
If these drunkards acted recklessly and stepped forward to provoke, they would definitely suffer a fate worse than death. And he would be glad to witness it.
"Leylin, you and Roth will be in this room, Bosain and me in the other. The last one would be for Shaya, any complaints?" -As the one responsible for the lodging matters, Merlin quickly allocated the rooms to the party members.
Seeing Merlin assign the difficult Bosain to himself, Shaya and Roth heaved a sigh of relief, naturally not raising any objections.
Leylin did not say anything either.
"Also, come to my room in a while's time. Towards the previous batch of customers the shop owner mentioned, I am somewhat concerned." Bosain's told in a serious voice.
"We are all staying at the same inn. I believe that we will definitely see the other group sooner rather than later." Shaya spoke blandly as if hinting at something.
According to that dwarf Pinky, the earlier batch of guests was currently not inside the inn. They seemed to have gone out to purchase some goods, even spending money to hire a local guide.
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Dinner was held at the large hall on the first level. The main dish was bean paste, with some wild herbs as seasoning.
Leylin naturally did not care about it since he no longer ate unless it was required to pretend to be 'normal'. However, food like this was fit only for swines in the eyes of the rest. The few of them had no appetite, yet they were curious about the previous batch of guests, so Leylin and the others chose to remain inside the large hall. They sipped on their drinks as they waited.
Leylin and the rest were casually drinking their rum, whilst Shaya had reached her tolerance limits due to the provocation of a few drunkards beside her.
But then, the inn's door opened at this moment. A sharp gale of cold wind blew into the inn, lowering the somewhat lively atmosphere.
After seeing these few people who just entered, Bosain and the rest became notably tense. It was ten cloaked figures. From the energy waves on their bodies, they were actually level 2 and 3 acolytes.
When they entered, they too obviously noticed Leylin and the others. The line of sight connected between the two parties, and sparks appeared. However, as if nothing had happened, the cloaked figures did not stop and continued walking towards the second floor.
"How is it? Are they acolytes from the Sage Gotham's Hut?" -Shaya whispered, unable to conceal the worry on her face.
"I don't know, but they are obviously not here on a whim." -Merlin's expression darkened.
"I say, if we did not choose this inn for lodging, would we have been able to avoid them?" -Roth scratched his head.
"Avoidance?" -Bosain smirked in contempt. "It is the thought of weak people. The Lilytell family would never have to avoid anyone."
Being looked down upon by Bosain, Roth tensed. He was suffering from humiliation, yet he did not react.
"Moreover, the Zither Moon Town is so small, and there is only this one inn. When we entered the town, we were already exposed. Any sudden movements will only attract the vigilance of the other party." -Leylin calmly pointed out.
"The crucial thing is, what is their motive for coming here?" -Bosain asked. "Could it be that they also have found traces of the remnants we seek?"
Merlin's expression changed. "I purchased this information for a heavy price, buying a book that was scribbled with ancient characters. Which is to say, the other party could have found something too. Who knows if they might even have a professor who tagged along…"
Shaya's face looked even more uneasy. "Should we abandon the operation this time?"
"No way!" -Merlin was the first who refused. For this lead, he had paid too high a price, naturally he was unwilling for them to give up.
"I don't think any of us here would be willing to let their professors claim half of the benefits that we obtained here after a dangerous expedition." -Leylin added matter-of-factly.
"However, before they notice us, the situation might change!" -Shaya told worried.
"How about we get rid of them? I took a careful look earlier, and there are only three level 3 acolytes and seven level 2 acolytes!" -Merlin revealed a brutal expression.
Inwardly, Leylin held back a chuckle at his companion's ignorance.
"We can try, but it has to be done within the Zither Moon Mountain Plains. Moreover, we should eliminate any traces of our involvement. I don't wish for the other side to find another reason to go to war with us." -Bosain added.
"It could also be some wandering magicians, instead of the acolytes from the Sage Gotham's Hut…" -Roth said, his voice extremely soft.
"A total of ten acolytes, with three level 3 acolytes. Such an organized formation would require too much time and effort to nurture, so wandering magicians would never be able to do it. Only academies and large-scale magician guilds would be able to send out this many acolytes at once." -Leylin once again added, still keeping an unreadable expression on his face.
"No matter where they are from, even for the one percent chance that they are here to seek out the hidden remnants, once they enter the Zither Moon Mountain Plains... they are our enemies." -Bosain spoke in a murderous tone.
As acolytes from a respected institution within South Coast, he did not wish to break the unwritten rules of the Magus World by taking action within the small town where regular humans lived. As for the other party, they could very well hold the same thoughts.
Leylin did not care at all, and would be willing to obliterate everything within a 10-mile radius under the adequate circumstances. But he was not someone who took action recklessly. No, he was like a viper, who waited until the right moment to strike.