Chapter 154 – A Glow in the Darkness

“Tower Lord, here is the item that you requested.”

A knight in a black metal armor stated in a low voice, as he handed a piece of metal tile to the man in front of him.

“Hmm… ”

The Tower Lord observed the piece of metal intently, turning it around in his palm and feeling the texture of the material. 

There were approximately seven black armored knights surrounding the Lord, who was dressed in a plain purple robe without any ornaments. The only visible design on the simple robe was the crest in the middle of the chest area.

It was a diamond-shaped shield with a cauldron etched on it.

The crest of the Laxerus clan.

*kacha*

The tile cracked under the tower lord’s essence, and soon disintegrated into the air.

“Little Mirane invested in this item? It’s ambitious and has potential, but the effects are too weak regarding anyone in the Saint stage or above. What I’m more interested in, is why Mirane decided to help this boy? She usually shows no interest for the opposite s.e.x… ”

The tower lord had an average height, and a slender build. Only the profoundness in his eyes suggested his true age, as his middle-aged face had no blemishes or wrinkles at all. He had bright emerald-golden eyes similar to Mirane, however, his hair was a deep shade of brown.

“These so called ‘G.o.d Tiles’ might be more valuable if they could use another metal besides elemental metal. Wait for a few days, and contact the boy named ‘Calron’ and ask him if he can make these G.o.d tiles with other metals besides elemental metal.”

The tower lord stated with a smile as he looked at the knight in front of him.

“My lord, I heard that it was not the boy who made the tiles, but that he received them from a place called the Azure Pavilion.”

The knight replied in a confident tone.

“That’s where you are wrong. There is no organization that goes by that name in any of the neighboring cities or kingdoms. He is the Azure Pavilion himself.”

The tower lord laughed with mirth at the expression on the knight’s face and turned around to walk away, while the seven black armored knights silently followed behind him.

………………………………..

“Elder Balis, could this please wait for an hour or so? I really need to purchase one of the slaves coming up.”

Calron glanced back at the annoyed face of the owl-headed Elder, and asked in an urgent voice.

“It was all big brother’s idea… so, could you please remove your hand? It hurts!”

Roran yelped, trying to struggle out of Balis’s steely grip.

“I can’t believe that I have no one to rely on, except you two idiots for some help.”

Balis sighed, as he removed his hands from the youngsters’ shoulders and stood next to Calron.

“Why do you need a slave?”

Balis asked curiously, looking at the ongoing auction on stage.

“I recently opened a shop, and I need a slave to handle the shop’s security.”

Calron answered back, which evoked a stunned expression on Balis’ face.

“Hahaha, you have been busy then. So, which slave are you targeting?”

Balis chuckled after a brief pause, his owlish eyes lighting up with amus.e.m.e.nt.

“He hasn’t come up on stage yet, but he should be appearing soo- Ah, there he is!”

Calron exclaimed with eagerness, as he saw the blonde slave step onto the stage.

“Dear people, I introduce to you a slave from the wild desert kingdom of Notaria! It took three of our experts to suppress him, so don’t be fooled by his low cultivation. He is a master of the spear, so a perfect guard for your house. The bidding starts at 50 gold!”

The auctioneer shouted out animatedly, as a few staff members positioned the slave towards the center of the stage.

“60 gold.”

“60 gold and 50 silvers.”

“75 gold.”

Several customers raised their number boards while stating their bids. Although the bidding was not as intense as the one for the beast slave, 75 gold was still a high margin for a slave.

Calron patiently waited until the bidding slowed down and was down to the final compet.i.tors.

“87 gold and 20 silvers.”

An old woman yelled in her hoa.r.s.e voice, and looked challengingly at the rest of the crowd.

“87 gold and 20 silver going once… going twice…”

The auctioneer started.

“90 gold.”

Calron raised his number board while smiling at the old woman.

“91 gold!”

The old woman growled, giving Calron a murderous glare. 

“100 gold.”

Calron stated calmly, ignoring the livid elderly woman, and surprising the rest of the crowd. A beast battle slave at the second rank of the Saint stage would be worth 100 gold, but a human slave at that price was simply too costly.

“Do we have any other bidders? This young man seems to have an eye for scouting hidden talents, so this slave might be worth even more.”

The auctioneer tried to entice the crowd to raise the bidding even more, but the customers were not fooled by it. Anyone could tell that the auctioneer was only trying to increase his own commission money, as they would get a cut of every sale that they made.

“Going once… going twice… sold to number 31686!”

The auctioneer conveyed, disappointed that the bidding did not continue any further after the 100 gold.

When he heard that he was sold to a new master, the blonde slave glanced at where Calron was standing and gave him an indifferent stare. He did not seem to be fazed by the fact that Calron was so young and that he would have to serve him in future.

“Nice to meet you, Avor.”

Calron silently mouthed the words, hoping that the blonde slave would notice.

Seeing the sudden look of shock on the slave’s originally indifferent face, Calron let out a little chuckle and turned towards Balis.

“Thank you for waiting. I’m curious, Elder, about what could we possibly help you with? You are much stronger than either of us…”

Calron tilted his head to side and glanced at Balis’ face.

Balis was taken aback by seeing that Calron had so much money and could afford to waste it on an overpriced battle slave. He was even more curious now about what kind of shop the boy had opened.

“Not specifically your help, but I would need the help of your clan.”

Balis’ face darkened, as thoughts about Zarvel surfaced within his mind.

“You knew?”

Calron asked silently.

“After seeing you use your lightning during our initial encounter, I already took a guess.”

Balis responded with a slight smile while looking at Calron.

Meanwhile, Calron brooded in his own thoughts at the mention of the bow.

Is it related to the Raizel clan? Is that why Teacher refuses to talk about it?

“Something bad is going to happen soon, boy, and I will need the help of the Raizel clan if I am to prevent this disaster.”

Balis continued, rousing Calron from his thoughts.

“I thought it was the Guardians’ duty to protect the people? Why don’t you ask them for their help?”

Calron inquired, sensing a strange mood from the Elder.

“I am afraid that their duty no longer binds them to protect the people.”

A shadow fell across Balis’ face, and a hint of profound sadness could be seen in his eyes as he spoke to Calron.

I think someone is following you, kid.

A familiar voice abruptly echoed in Calron’s mind, instantly alerting him of the danger.

Teacher!

Calron inwardly cried out with jubilant excitement at the presence of Ezkael, but he quickly glanced around his environment to see who was secretly observing him.

His irises soon morphed into a mysterious grey color, as the Divine Perception was immediately activated.

However, the moment Calron’s world turned white and grey, a sharp stinging pain suddenly drilled into his skull, eliciting a painful roar of agony.

“BIG BROTHER!”

Calron heard Roran bellowing frantically and rushing towards him.

CALRON! 

He heard Ezkael’s cry in his mind, and his Teacher’s soul was desperately trying to pull Calron out from whatever that was trying to consume him.

“Teache-“

Calron tried to talk, but his eyes were beginning to slowly shut themselves as he felt his consciousness fading away.

He saw blurry faces of both Roran and Balis looking down at him, and Calron wasn’t sure if he saw correctly, but he also saw two figures in black-gold robes dropping down from the sky under flashes of lightning.

Another burst of sharp pain penetrated his mind, causing him to finally lose consciousness.

In the darkness of Calron’s mind, a mysterious white symbol glowed brightly.