Episode 319
Episode 319
Instead of responding, Lee Han strode forward and yanked Gainando's cloak.
With his hidden face now exposed, Gainando spoke with an embarrassed expression.
"I-I wasn't planning to steal it! I was just curious about how it works... Yeah! I need to know in advance so I won't get tricked later!"
"I didn't say anything."
"...Then why are you guys here! You came looking for an artifact to win card games too, didn't you?!"
At Gainando's absurd accusation, Lee Han and Yoner were momentarily speechless.
Sometimes, when you hear something so ridiculous, you just can't react immediately.
"Right?! I knew it!"
"Nope."
"Stop talking nonsense."
"...No?"
Gainando deflated slightly.
He had naturally assumed they were here to buy an artifact related to card games...
"Gainando. If you want to win at card games, there's another way."
"Huh? Really?"
At Lee Han's words, Gainando's eyes sparkled.
After all, in the Blue Dragon Tower, Lee Han had the highest win rate in Wizard Card.
"Change your deck composition a bit."
"No! Every single one of them is a card I cherish!"
His deck had zero low-cost cards—only high-cost ones—so he kept getting beaten to death in the early game, but Gainando stubbornly clung to his cards.
"Well, there is another way."
"What is it?"
"Stop whining when you lose and accept defeat with dignity."
"......"
Gainando glared sharply at Lee Han.
He could tolerate being mocked for not being able to use magic, but he couldn't stand being lectured about card games.
"Lee Han. Look at this."
Yoner, who had been ignoring their conversation and browsing, called out to Lee Han.
"These glasses. They look useful, don't they?"
"Alchemist's Glasses? They do seem good."
[Alchemist's Glasses]
Crafted from refined tiger's eye stone from the Western Ikcansel Mines, these glasses boast a perfectly balanced design adjusted by the empire's finest artifact artisans. Experience the powerful component analysis magic effect that lasts for five years.
'How much?'
Price: 100 Imperial Gold Coins
Lee Han momentarily lost his balance and staggered.
Startled, Yoner wondered if her sister's vicious mental attack had finally taken effect.
"Are you okay?! Was it because of my sister?!"
"Th-the price... A hundred gold coins?!"
"...You scared me."
"Yoner. Don't you think this is absurd? How is this worth a hundred Imperial Gold Coins?"
Lee Han couldn't comprehend it.
Of course, the Alchemist's Glasses were indeed useful.
Even someone who couldn't use magic could easily analyze various materials or reagents with them.
But to Lee Han, a mage, the price was exorbitant. And it wasn't even a permanent artifact.
'If you consider gathering materials, enchanting them, and crafting... The production cost probably wouldn't even reach one gold coin.'
Yet this artifact cost more than Lee Han's entire savings.
'Am I wrong? Maybe I'm misunderstanding.'
He'd heard artifacts were expensive, but if even something like this was priced so high...
His dream of striking it rich might not be so far-fetched after all.
"This is expensive not because of the magic but because of the design and decorations, Lee Han."
"Huh?"
"Look here."
Yoner pointed beneath the glasses.
The names of the artisans involved in crafting this artifact, their credentials, and even the various gemstones used in the decorations were meticulously listed.
Lee Han read the description and examined the artifact again.
It was indeed a pair of glasses that looked expensive even without magic.
"Why would anyone do this? You could just enchant a plain copper pair."
"Well... Because buyers want this kind of thing..."
"Tch."
Lee Han bit his lip.
He resented the empire's tendency to focus only on appearances and extravagance rather than the true value of magic.
If that was the case, no matter how hard he worked, he wouldn't be able to sell anything at such outrageous prices.
"I get it. Stop taking it apart and let's look at something else."
"Grrk! Why is everything so expensive!?"
"?"
"?"
At Gainando's outburst, Yoner and Lee Han were slightly taken aback.
Gainando wasn't the type of friend who usually made such complaints.
He was the friend with the bottomless allowance pouch...?
"You never used to say things like that before. What's wrong?"
"Ah. Well."
Gainando replied in a slightly deflated voice.
After that life-or-death battle with the basilisk at the mansion...
"It wasn't a battle. More like self-destruction."
Lee Han pointed out coldly.
Putting it that way might make others misunderstand.
"Wouldn't you call that level a battle...?"
"No."
"Anyway, after that, I got praised a lot by my mother. She complimented my friends too."
"So?"
"I got excited... and told her about working with friends to earn silver coins. So she praised me even more..."
Lee Han felt a slight foreboding.
"Don't tell me it's what I'm thinking...?"
"...So I said I wouldn't need an allowance anymore, that I'd solve things with my own abilities..."
Lee Han and Yoner sighed simultaneously.
What foolishness!
Of course, they understood being praised and excited, but to kick away his own allowance pouch with his foot?
That was utterly stupid.
To do such a thing just for pride's sake...
"But I did well, right?"
Gainando looked at his friends as if trying to claim a moral victory.
His eyes seemed to say:
-Praise me!
But Lee Han answered seriously.
"Gainando. Go back and say you reconsidered. Tell them quickly that you think a proper allowance is necessary."
"He's right. You won't last."
"No, why!"
Gainando was taken aback by his friends' cold responses when he'd expected encouragement.
"Well... don't you dislike working?"
"No? No?? I can work a lot too!"
Lee Han and Yoner exchanged glances.
-No matter how you look at it, he's going to regret this.
-True. But it's not our problem.
-...Isn't this too harsh on Gainando?
-He needs to learn the hard way.
"Lee Han. I want to work with you too."
"You'll regret it."
At Lee Han's words, Gainando thumped his chest.
"I'm an Einrogard student too. A proper mage."
Seeing this, Yoner thought to herself:
'You only got by because you're in the Blue Dragon Tower...'
From what he'd heard about students in other towers, every day was a desperate struggle for survival.
If Lee Han hadn't been in the same tower and looked after his meals, Gainando would have come out half-dead.
"Fine. If I get work, I'll call you too."
"Really? Thanks!"
"You should save your thanks for after the work's done... Anyway. We should sell this now."
Lee Han called the clerk and took out the artifact he'd brought.
The clerk immediately recognized the value of Lee Han's artifact.
"A ring enchanted with <Lightning Discharge> magic!"
"Correct."
"It's a well-made artifact. Do you have the creator mage's manual by any chance?"
"Here."
Lee Han handed over the manual received from the guild.
Seeing it, the clerk looked flustered.
"...Is this perhaps a gift of gratitude from the Adventurers' Guild?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Are you by any chance the Wardanaz who exterminated the evil entity recently?"
"......"
Lee Han nearly let out a deep sigh but held back.
No matter how he thought about it, Granden City must have an information-sharing board.
"That's correct. Does that qualify for a discount?"
"You have quite the sense of humor. My friend works at the Adventurers' Guild, so I heard about it. We knew Einrogard students were exceptional mages, but it's rare to see first-years so active."
"Just got lucky."
It wasn't a joke, but the one saving grace was that Granden City didn't actually have an information-sharing board.
"Anyway, there's no issue... but if there was any problem with the gift from the Adventurers' Guild..."
The clerk asked cautiously.
If there was an issue with the guild's gift, this wasn't just one person's problem.
This would become a problem for multiple people—from the artisan who crafted the artifact to the Adventurers' Guild representative who trusted and commissioned them.
"There was no issue. It's just that I don't need the artifact."
"!"
The clerk was startled by Lee Han's words.
Saying he didn't need an artifact wasn't as simple as just knowing how to cast the spell.
For a mage, casting magic required far more concentration and time than one might think.
Not needing an artifact to compensate for that meant his casting speed for <Lightning Discharge> was on par with the artifact's activation speed.
'As expected... This is the same person who subdued Doin Kyung of Baldrogard and defeated the basilisk.'
Nodding to himself, the clerk thought that if Lee Han heard this, he'd probably clutch the back of his neck in exasperation.
"The guild made a mistake, then."
"Not at all. The thought behind the gift is what matters. Honestly, I would've been satisfied even if they'd just given me gold coins."
The clerk couldn't help but let out a small laugh before awkwardly composing himself.
"You really do have an incredible sense of humor."
"......"
"At any rate, please wait a moment. I'll appraise them and return. Is this the artifact you'd like to entrust to us?"
"Ah. And this helmet as well, please."
The clerk nodded and headed toward the back of the shop.
An hour later.
The clerk returned with both artifacts in hand. Gainando discreetly flipped over the card game he was about to lose.
"This ring enchanted with <Lightning Discharge> is worth about ten gold coins."
In a remote village's antique or junk shop, haggling might be expected—but not in a high-end artifact store catering to nobles in the heart of a major city.
Attempting such a thing would only invite a noble to snap, "Are you disrespecting my honor right now?"
'Not bad.'
Lee Han was thoroughly satisfied.
Ten gold coins.
To earn that much, he would've had to work several shifts at the Maykin Family's workshop and complete dozens of commissions.
This was a gift that truly reflected the Adventurers' Guild's sincerity.
"Please exchange it immediately."
"Understood. As for this helmet..."
Lee Han tensed slightly.
'It must be quite expensive, right? It's an ego artifact. Ego artifacts are definitely rare. But its appearance is so shabby. Damn it. Should I have decorated it with gems or something? No. A layman's touch would've only backfired.'
"...It's a cursed artifact."
"Excuse me?"
"A cursed artifact. To be precise, it's an artifact with a malevolent nature. It has a tendency to lead its owner to ruin... It's a miracle you weren't harmed."
The clerk looked at Lee Han with a mix of concern and admiration.
The fact that he remained unharmed while possessing such an artifact was proof of his mental fortitude.
Of course, Lee Han was utterly dumbfounded.
'It was a cursed artifact?!'
"Ah... No wonder you kept running into so many weirdos, Lee Han."
Gainando clapped his hands as if everything finally made sense.
He had encountered an unusually high number of abnormally strong enemies—all because of that helmet.
This has nothing to do with me! You didn't even listen to me...!
The helmet tried to protest indignantly, but the clerk swiftly draped a silencing cloth over it, muffling its voice.
There was no good in listening to the words of a malevolent artifact.
"This one cannot be purchased. Though I'm sure Lord Wardanaz will handle it appropriately, please be cautious—it is a wicked artifact."
"Thank you."
Lee Han glared at the helmet as he tucked it away. Under his gaze, the helmet fell silent.
After buying Gainando a cotton candy and returning to the Wardanaz family estate with the two of them, a servant approached Lee Han.
"Young Master. A guest has arrived."
"At this hour?"
It was nearly nighttime—an unusual time for visitors.
Unless they were extremely close or extremely rude, no one would visit at such an hour.
'Must be the former.'
"Is it Ashan?"
"No."
"Durgyu?"
"No. I don't believe they were a friend. And it was my first time meeting them."
"By any chance... what was their race?"
"A vampire."
"......"
Lee Han's face turned as pale as a vampire's.