Chapter 77 - Terms
So, without waiting for him to open his mouth this time, Lin Li shook his head and rejected him. “Don’t think about it this time. I’ve prepared this for tomorrow’s duel.”
“Don’t be a stranger, alright…?” A blush came to Gerian’s aged face when his intentions were exposed. But with his character, it was impossible for him to acknowledge it. After laughing it off embarrassedly, he continued stubbornly, “I saw that you’ve been in the potion lab for a long time and came to see whether there’s anything you need…”
“You could fool Kevin with that.”
“Rascal, you don’t know good from bad. I’m concerned about you!” Gerian turned angry from the embarrassment and grumbled. At last, he was unwilling to give up, and finally revealed his intentions. “Is it true you only concocted one bottle?”
“…” Lin Li only felt energy sapped from him.
“If it’s really one bottle, then forget it…” Seeing Lin Li’s expression, Gerian knew that this time was out of the question, and he dropped the subject. “For some reason, the more I thought about it these two days, the more I felt that something is wrong with the duel tomorrow… Do you think Matthew, that old jerk, has prepared some trap for me to jump into it?”
“You can’t place a trap as and when you like. Without sufficient strength, it’s useless even if you really set it up…” Lin Li shook his head, dispelling the doubts in Gerian’s mind. “The situation in Jarrosus is too clear. You’ve already stepped on Old Merlin’s face, and that old fellow didn’t even dare to make a sound. What are you afraid of?”
“But…”
“There’s no buts. I’ve also thought it through these few days. That day, there was only one reason why Old Merlin forced me into a duel with his son: his hope that Cromwell could kill me in the duel.” At this point, Lin Li stretched out two fingers. “There are two benefits that arise from this. One, to weaken the strength of the Guild of Magic; two, to get rid of the threat of potions to the Merlin Family.”
Gerian was still in doubt. “Cromwell has the ability to do it?”
“Maybe he does have… He’s the only heir of the Merlin Family. Should I kill him in the duel, even if the Merlin Family doesn’t die, they’d be crippled. Old Merlin’s not that stupid. But luckily, I’m not stupid either, and my luck’s not too bad too. After practicing with Mage Grimm for a few days, I’ve actually managed to climb to level-twelve by accident. Even if Old Merlin is formidable, he probably wouldn’t have expected me to become a level-twelve Magic Shooter.”
“Of course… Who would have expected?” At the mention of this, Gerian felt seriously resentful. They were all mages; by what virtue could this little rascal progress so fast?
“Besides, I’ve prepared some petty stuff to surprise him in the duel tomorrow.” With the Torrent of Elements Ring and the Elixir of the Sages in his hands, Lin Li really doubted Cromwell could do anything to him.
“But just in case something happens…” There was still worry on Gerian’s face. After hesitating for a while, he clenched his teeth and fished out a necklace from his pocket. “Why not wear this tomorrow…?”
“What’s that?” Lin Li was stunned for a slight moment, then reached out his hand to receive the necklace.
“Careful, this is an expensive stuff, don’t spoil it.” Gerian was in great trepidation as he watched Lin Li handle the necklace carelessly. “This green quartz contains a Purge Spell. Activate it with the mana when you use it, it will help you remove undesirable conditions caused by spells below level-ten… You rascal must be careful with it when you use it. This was the only item Teacher Osric gave me. I didn’t even use it myself. I’ll lend it to you tomorrow, and when the duel is over, remember to return it to me…”
“Thank you.” Lin Li nodded and prudently kept the necklace close to him.
“Oh right, and this.” Gerian pondered and took out a pile of scrolls from his pocket. “Choose a few useful ones. They might come in handy when the time comes.”
“Okay, leave it here first, I’ll pick them out later.”
After taking out the two stuff that he had long prepared, Gerian was still somewhat uneasy and began nagging at Lin Li about the things he should pay attention to during the duel. The Gerian at this moment seemed to differ from the usually arrogant president of the Guild of Magic. He seemed like a long-winded old man with his wordy advice.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye.”
While the two men were talking, they heard the door of the potion lab ring.
Lin Li went to open the door; as it turned out, it was Kevin who had returned!
“Why did you come back?” Lin Li was slightly surprised seeing the wan expression on Kevin’s face.
“Let me catch a breath first and tell you slowly…” Kevin had rushed back overnight from the Demon Fall Valley, and was already deadbeat. After entering the potion lab, he took in a few breaths and began explaining the purpose behind his return.
“I came back this time because of the hostages.”
Lin Li vaguely remembered that the Shadow’s Nest had launched a sneak attack on the Demon Fall Valley around last week, not only destroying two guard towers but also capturing a few mages. As soon as Gerian had received the news, he had asked Kevin to do everything he could to get the hostages back. He was asked to offer additional money if he couldn’t exchange them with the hostages from the Shadow’s Nest.
“Eiserhol was unwilling to exchange?”
“No, he’s willing. But not exchange hostages with hostages…” Kevin shook his head and there was some helplessness in his expression. “What Eiserhol mean is, we can exchange for the hostages, but it must be done with potions.”
“F*ck!” Gerian’s anger rose in an instant. “What a grand dream he has!”
“Wait…” The old fellow was about to lose his temper but was stopped by Lin Li. “How do they know that the Guild of Magic has potions?”
Kevin carefully recalled and said with uncertainty, “Maybe the news got out from Jarrosus. The middle-aged man that Eiserhol sent seemed to have mentioned the Arcane Magic Potion auction once.”
“How many do they want? Did they clearly state what kind of potions they need?”
“Ten bottles for a hostage, and they specified the Elixir of Empowerment.”
“Then that’s simple.” Lin Li mulled it over and laughed all of a sudden. “Go and reply Eiserhol. Say that the Guild of Magic will accept his terms. 40 bottles of Elixir of Empowerment will be sent to him the day after tomorrow at the latest. Let him send someone to prepare for the exchange of the hostages.”
“That won’t do!” Kevin had yet to speak when Gerian, who was at the side, got anxious. “How can you agree to such terms so easily? It’s obvious that the jerk, Eiserhol, is trying to extort us!”
“That’s what I hope.” Lin Li’s smile was unfathomable. “If he doesn’t extort us, I really couldn’t think of anything else at the moment to stuff him to death. This time, we have to let that fellow from the Shadow’s Nest know that pharmacists are actually capable of killing. And the more impressive the pharmacist is, the more impressive the way they kill…”