Woodland Bar, Purple Magic Crystal

Nirulva City.

The Morning Star began to set. A suspicious figure lurked on the alleyways.

"Wow, so this is what a true elven city looks like.", Eluard remarked.

Nirulva City was a mix of tree houses and buildings on flat ground. There were fewer humans here compared to the village.

"The guards here amount to a thousand, at least. Were they that alerted that a demonic creature appeared inside the Leeveria Forest?"

He looked at the map and saw that he was a few blocks away from his target destination.

"Woodland Bar… sounds like someplace to drink instead of selling and buying goods. Also, urging me to meet her at night, she must be afraid to be seen with a human in public."

Eluard spent the afternoon observing the marketplace inside Nirulva City. There, he understood that Aurpiel's prices from before were almost exactly as the market price of the materials Eluard sold.

He blamed himself for acting too arrogant, "Will they… trade with me in the future after what happened?"

…

A few moments later, he arrived.

In front of him was a very simple layout of a building, with no luxurious parade or decoration of sorts. There was a small lamp on the side, lighting up a little fraction of the huge alleyway.

There was a signboard on top, engraved on it were the words 'Woodland Bar'.

The windows on the sides were covered with a thin cloth. Eluard couldn't guess what was on the other side.

"Never judge a building by its cover…", Eluard stepped in, 'Carpet? And a soft one at that…'

The room was dimly lit with a peaceful atmosphere. There were two couches on both sides coupled with decorative flowers emitting a fragrant smell.

A passageway separated him and what looks like a bar from afar.

"You're finally here. Do you know that you shouldn't make a lady wait for you?", Haera appeared in front of him.

"What lady? I'm here for other business.", Eluard rejected her nonsense, 'Girl, you might be beautiful but I have stuff to do.'

A burst of loud hearty laughter resounded behind the bar.

Eluard went further and saw a huge demi-human with horns on his head and a hairy body. He was dressed in formal tuxedo-like clothing, covering his arms and hands with a long glove while wiping a wine glass with a white cloth.

[ Name: Gruvon Mighthorn ]

[ Age: 34 years old (85 human years) ]

[ Race: Humanoid Minotaurus ]

[ Status: Alive ]

[ Affiliation: Alderian Terrestrial Sanctuary, Zumfiel Elven Household (Affiliate), Woodland Bar (Owner) ]

[ Chivalric Will Power: Higher Blade – Consolidation Realm ]

[ Chivalric Core Grade: B ]

[ Chivalric Core Grade Effect: Allows imprinting of rare-rarity demonic/magical beasts into user's chivalric core. ]

"Miss Haera, it looks like you've found your match.", the demi-human teased, "Human, don't you know that you're the first one to reject this missy in front of you?"

"Is that so?", Eluard tilted his head. He found the demi-human's tone to be friendly.

Seeing Eluard's reaction, the demi-human was elated, "Good, good. You're an interesting fellow indeed. I'm Gruvon Mighthorn. As you can see, I'm a humanoid minotaurus, something you humans used to call us for a while now. You are?"

"I'm Kai. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Gruvon.", Eluard spoke out his last name, 'That shouldn't be a violation now, is it, my dear system?'

[ No ]

Gruvon nodded at Eluard's introduction, "Mr. Kai, I heard from Miss Haera that you want to sell some demon beasts materials from your hunting party?"

Eluard glanced at the elf, "Yes."

He took out a bunch of elite dark luminous wolf's hides and claws, and 2 kilos of grounded barbed worm meat.

Gruvon narrowed his eyes, "The harvest isn't as bountiful as I expected, but…"

Eluard gazed at Gruvon's large figure inspecting his loot.

"It sure is the finest quality I have seen in my life.", Gruvon added.

Haera widened her eyes, "Finest? Uncle Gruvon, what do you mean by that?"

Gruvon didn't answer her and rummaged through the rest of the goods. He found out that their quality was the same. Even he could tell how fresh and tender the grounded worm's meat was.

He felt a little hungry just by looking at it.

"Mr. Kai, your harvesting skills are top-notch. If I was to put a price on this, it should be 50% more than the current market price.", Gruvon extended his hands.

Eluard was surprised, '50%? Does that mean that my deal with the merchant caravan was a loss?'

He received Gruvon's hand, "Deal."

Haera remained a bystander after all that had happened. She was supposed to be the person introducing Eluard to Gruvon but it looks like her existence became void in the eyes of the two instead.

'I have never felt something like this before! What humiliation!', she vowed to teach Eluard a lesson another time.

Meanwhile, Gruvon went to the back and picked up one purple-colored magic crystal. It was larger compared to the blue magic crystal.

"U-uncle Gruvon, isn't this a bit too much?!", Haera shivered in disbelief.

"What too much? Miss Haera, this is just an appreciation for our first meeting with Mr. Kai."

Gruvon looked at Kai, "You're an easy man to talk to, unlike those profiteering merchants and cultivators from the outside world."

He handed out the purple-colored magic crystal to Eluard.

"This is a purple magic crystal, Mr. Kai. It is only found on some commander-level beasts. You should know how rare that item is.", Gruvon explained.

Eluard stared at the glowing magic crystal. He could feel the intensity of the power contained inside.

[ Purple Magic Crystal ]

[ A very rare crystal only found on some commander-level demon or magical beasts. They can also be mined on the very deep edges of magic crystal mines. ]

[ Purity: 85% ]

[ Contained Magic Power: Equivalent to a Master Wizard at the Median Ring ]

'Ho-how powerful!', Eluard shouted internally.

A master wizard was one tier higher than an adept wizard, and to think he could find something equivalent of that power in a crystal larger than his hand.

"Thank you, Sir Gruvon.", Eluard bowed.

Gruvon stepped on the sides and introduced his bar, "If you would like to, you could have a taste with the wine here. I assure you that their quality is one of the best in Aludia."

Eluard shook his head, "I would like to, Sir Gruvon, but I am in a hurry for now. Maybe another time."

Gruvon sighed, "That's a shame then. Very well, Mr. Kai, you can come back here anytime and sell other interesting demon beast materials you have to me. I'll give you a comfortable price for your high-quality goods."

Eluard nodded, "Ah, I almost forgot. You should also credit Miss Haera, Sir Gruvon. I wouldn't have found this place if it wasn't for her, Sir Gruvon."

Haera sighed in relief, 'At least this bastard has some conscience left inside him.'

"I know. I hope that you and Miss Haera would become good friends after this.", Gruvon teased.

"That…", Eluard's mouth twitched, "I'll be taking my leave now."

Gruvon and Haera watched Eluard shyly exit the building.

"Miss Haera, it seems like he does have a crush on you."

Haera snorted, "Stop it, I am only acquainting with him because of Empress Aelin's orders."

"Still, that doesn't mean the two of you couldn't be friends on the other side, right?", Gruvon chuckled, "About your mission, by the way, are you sure he's connected to that robed person now?", he asked.

"I'm 60 percent sure. Moreover, his appearance near the border of the Leeveria Forest isn't a coincidence. That mysterious person must've sent him over to sell the goods.", Haera concluded, "Also, he didn't seem to ask or bother why am I helping. It's as if he's just playing along with me for the time being."

"If he was truly unaware of the situation, Uncle Gruvon, he wouldn't have left that easily and should've verified the authenticity of my words."

Gruvon felt good about how Haera was too focused on Eluard's actions, "Then aren't you forgetting something, Miss Haera?"

Haera confusingly stared at the minotaur, "What do you mean?"

"Now that he's done selling stuff, don't you think he would be searching for something to buy after all the trouble?", Gruvon's smile widened to the ends of his cheeks.

"Fine! Fine! Fine! I'm going now, okay?!", Haera stomped her foot and angrily followed after Eluard.