Chapter 114: Anticipation is the Essence of a Gift (3)

Taragon’s intoxication vanished in an instant, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“There are more... elixirs?”

He lowered his voice and covered his mouth as if afraid someone might overhear.

Keter, in a smooth, tempting tone of a man selling mood-enhancing substances, replied, “Of course, I got another one just for you, Big Brother.”

Gulp.

Taragon hesitated.

Was this really okay?

He had already taken the Pure Spirit Pellet that was meant for Anis, and now, he was about to snatch up a second one.

No, this time, I should let Anis have it. Even after taking the Pure Spirit Pellet, I still couldn’t surpass him.

Unaware that Anis had also bought the same pill, Taragon felt a deep sense of despair. Even with an advantage, he had failed to outmatch his older brother.

Just then, Keter, who had been carefully watching the shift in Taragon’s expression, leaned in.

“You're not seriously thinking of giving it up to Anis, are you? Have you lost your mind? What do you think people will say if he places in the Southern Sword Tournament and you don’t?” he whispered.

“...Huh?!”

“Well, whatever. I don’t care who buys it, as long as I get paid.”

As Keter made a move to leave, Taragon instinctively grabbed his wrist.

“I-I'll take it. How much? You can write a promissory note, right?”

“One hundred seventy thousand.”

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Thud!

Taragon’s chair toppled over, as he almost tripped as he stood up. Luckily, the rowdy mercenaries, lost in their drunken revelry, didn’t notice.

Taragon swallowed hard.

One hundred seventy thousand.

The Pure Spirit Pellet had already seemed absurdly expensive at ninety thousand, but now, the price of this elixir had nearly doubled.

“What kind of elixir is worth that much?”

“Molten Lava Pill. Ever heard of it?”

“I... haven’t.”

“Of course you haven’t. It’s not something that is artificially made; it’s something that forms naturally.”

Keter pulled a small glass bottle from his coat. The translucent Amantir-class glass shimmered as it revealed the pill inside—a rich, dark red sphere exuding a mysterious glow.

Pop.

The moment Keter uncorked the bottle, an intense wave of heat surged forth, slamming into Taragon’s face.

“Huh!”

He flinched back in shock, instinctively shielding his face.

Keter closed the lid. As the heat dissipated, Taragon quickly looked around as if he saw something magical.

“What... what was that? That heat—it came from the pill?”

“The Molten Lava Pill forms as the heart of the volcano naturally condenses. Every year, thousands of scavengers die trying to retrieve them. Know why? Because it’s worth a fortune—three hundred thousand gold in auctions.”

“T-three hundred thousand?!”

“I’m giving it to you for one hundred seventy, which is half the price, plus a small service fee. You won’t find a better deal anywhere.”

Keter wasn’t lying. Molten Lava Pills were typically sold for three hundred thousand gold, often going even higher in bidding wars.

However, in Liqueur, one could obtain them for as little as one hundred thousand gold.

One of the reasons was that one could directly collect the Molten Lava Pill in Liqueur, but more importantly, it was because of the side effects.

“Normally, if you just take the Molten Lava Pill, you could melt and die. But, if you take it after consuming a Pure Spirit Pellet, its extreme negative energy will balance out the extreme positive energy of the Molten Lava Pill.[1] The pill will even break down any remaining traces of the Pure Spirit Pellet, giving you... I would say about nine years' worth of aura.”

“Nine years! That easily?!”

Taragon’s voice grew louder, but he glanced around nervously, as if someone would overhear them.

With this pill, he could shorten nine years into one day—no, into one minute—without any side effects. No knights would ever be able to turn down this temptation. Well, at least not Taragon.

Crumple.

Keter pulled out a familiar pen and paper from his pocket. Taragon, his eyes glued on the Molten Lava Pill, didn’t even check the promissory note before signing it.

“Here! I signed it! Give it to me already!”

“Sold.”

Keter put the note into his pocket and gave Taragon the glass vial. He was surprised when he grabbed it.

“Ouch! It’s so hot! Are you sure I can really eat this? I can feel the heat from the bottle.”

“Oh, right, you have to eat it when you’re submerged in ice-cold water. If not, you might end up medium-rare.”

“... If I didn’t ask, would I have died?”

“You wouldn’t have died. Though it would be just as painful.”

“I’m going to go. I don’t think I can face Anis right now.”

With the pill carefully wrapped in cloth, Taragon hurried off.

Meanwhile, Keter, chewing lazily on a strip of jerky, turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Soon, he found Anis, standing alone outside, looking troubled, and pulled out a second bottle.

“Now, who else might need this?”

* * *

It was the next morning. After a hearty meal and a full night’s rest, the mercenaries stepped onto the training grounds only to be utterly demolished.

“Did they take some kind of elixir?! How the hell did they get this strong overnight?!”

Anis and Taragon had taken Molten Lava Pills from Keter the night before, pushing their aura levels to that of third-star knights.

They had already been strong enough to overpower Platinum-class mercenaries, but now, it wasn’t even a fight anymore.

Anis effortlessly wiped out the five units of Squad One, only using fifteen arrows—one arrow per enemy—before finally facing Squad Two, which included Diamond-class mercenaries.

Just yesterday, Anis couldn’t manage to win even once against them. His fights had been nothing more than an experimental playground to test different tactics.

But today was different.

Now that his overall aura had taken a significant leap, even the Diamond-class mercenaries struggled against him.

The fight lasted longer than expected—neither side was able to take an easy victory. They exchanged blows back and forth, dragging the battle out.

Meanwhile, Keter stood watching with his arms crossed, appearing relaxed. However, he was practicing his self-destructive training.

At that moment, a servant cautiously approached him.

“Lord Keter, the head of the Ultima Trading Company requests an audience with you. How should we proceed?”

“Bring him in.”

“Understood, my lord.”

The Ultima Trading Company visited once every month, and that was today.

Keter hadn’t called Ultima; it was actually the other way around. If he wanted the fruit, he had to climb the tree.

Shortly after, from across the training grounds, Ultima approached at a brisk pace. He didn’t even bat an eye at the sight of the massive army of mercenaries assembled within the grounds.

As a merchant, it was his job to keep his eye on the shifting tides of power. He was already aware that Keter had hired a huge number of high-class mercenaries.

Wait a second... That guy over there... looks familiar.

Ultima stared at the man standing at the head of the mercenary formation right across from Keter.

Hm... Am I seeing things again? Is that... Burgundy? He looks just like him. But why would Burgundy be here? Probably it isn’t him.

Ultima had connections to the Lillian Kingdom Regional Mercenary Headquarters and had once met Marun, the regional director, and Burgundy, his deputy.

Besides...

Keter is... insane.

Keter’s presence was overwhelmingly unique. He stood out among hundreds of mercenaries, on this vast, barren field, and under this blue sky.

“Lord Keter, I am Ultima.”

Knowing that too many eyes were watching, Ultima knelt on one knee before Keter and spoke in a polite, respectful tone.

Keter casually waved a hand, barely acknowledging Ultima’s greeting.

Ultima, who got up, quietly whispered, “Wouldn’t it be better to discuss this somewhere private?”

“No. Let’s just talk here.”

“There are too many ears listening.”

There were too many mercenaries and servants around.

“Go to the other side,” Keter ordered the mercenaries and servants.

At Keter’s command, the mercenaries and servants quietly shifted to the far end of the training grounds.

“

Tsk

, Keter. You really like making things difficult for yourself. Would it kill you to sit in a comfortable chair and talk in peace?”

“Did you bring the elixirs?”

Keter had put in a separate order to the Ultima Trading Company for elixirs and a bulk supply of food.

“You insisted on paying extra to get them as fast as possible, so I did my best. I got thirty low-grade elixirs, eight mid-grade, and one high-grade elixir. There were no top-grade elixirs available.”

“That’s all? Kind of disappointing.”

“Are you serious? If you think so, why don’t you get it yourself? Do you think elixirs are just some mere potions? Even high nobles can’t get their hands on these.”

“Hm.”

Ultima did not notice that Keter was actually testing him. He was seeing if Ultima could freely enter and leave Liqueur.

I guess if he could come and go like me, he would already be selling Liqueur’s elixirs and essences to the outside world by now.

Figuring out that even the Godfather couldn’t easily get people out of Liqueur from just a short conversation, Keter got straight to the point.

“Alright, then why are you really here? I’m assuming you’re not here for a thank-you.”

“To give you information, of course. I see you’re training them for the Sword of the South Tournament, but...”

He glanced at Anis fighting a Diamond-class mercenary and Taragon waiting on the sidelines.

“They’ve improved a lot since I last saw them. But it won’t be enough. If you’re thinking of saving Sefira, it’s better for you not to participate in the tournament.”

“I’m competing too.”

“Stop lying. The registration deadline closed before you even arrived in Sefira. There’s no way you’re participating, no matter how much trouble you make.”

“Believe what you want. Is that the information you have—that Anis and Taragon are nothing?”

“I know you know that the tournament is a setup to destroy Sefira. Even my high noble sponsors are getting involved. They’re going to play dirty. The only place in the city that Sefira will be able to stay is the stable. Even I can’t help you with this.”

“So, you’re saying that they’re going to harass us even before the tournament starts?”

“They will hire assassins and mercenaries. It’s best to forfeit altogether.”

“Is that all? That’s disappointing. No more creative tricks?”

Ultima sighed heavily.

“I wasn’t going to tell you this, but you should know—Sefira is already guaranteed to be eliminated in the preliminaries. There are at least twenty knights only targeting Sefira, and they are all above two-star. Are you still going to participate?”

Keter, who was staring at the stage, turned to Ultima. He then put his hand on his shoulder.

“Ultima, I think there’s something you have to do.”

“Don’t ask me for help. If I openly assist you, I’ll be a dead man.”

“I just think it’s funny they’re trying to do something with two-star knights. Are there any four-star knights in the families sponsoring you? You should advise them to give it their all.”

“What? Are you insane...?!”

“If they don’t have a four-star knight, tell them to get more. What good are twenty people going to do?”

“Are you really competing? Is that why you’re so confident?”

This was possible for Keter. Ultima thought he probably had a plan. Honestly, it was odd that he was here at Sefira, when he should be stuck in Liqueur. Plus, participating in the Sword of the South Tournament after the deadline seemed easier than leaving Liqueur.

Ultima stared at Keter. He felt short of breath, as Keter’s presence was so powerful and overwhelming.

What did this bastard do in a month to get so strong? Does he drink elixirs instead of water?

To Ultima, Keter already felt like a five-star Master.

“If you’re really participating, a two-star knight wouldn’t even be a light workout for you. If you use this tournament to incapacitate knights from hostile families, it would increase the chances of Sefira surviving.”

“They’re all probably enemies, but who is backing you? I want to personally make sure they are destroyed.”

Ultima hesitated whether to tell Keter the families sponsoring him, but it wasn’t for long. In just less than two months, Sefira had changed. He could feel that not just Keter, but the entire family had grown.

The dice was already thrown.

Ultima spoke, “Delmore, Eiwen, Bristan, Galahind. These four.”

“Got it. Oh, I also want to build a new mansion in Sefira with eight floors above ground and three below. Send the manpower and materials necessary after the Sword of the South Tournament ends.”

“I can get as much of that as you want, as long as you give me the money. But just know that even if you use the cheapest materials, given the size, you’re going to need at least four hundred thousand gold. I knew you were rich, but you don’t have that kind of money, right?”

“Ultima. When have we been cheap? Cheap materials? I have my noble pride. One million gold is the limit. I’ll take care of the blueprint.”

“One million?! Keter, do you really have that much money?”

“Have I ever ripped you off in Liqueur? No, right? Then just trust me.”

“Um... If it’s a huge construction project worth one million gold, people would probably think Sefira has finally gone mad, saying that you guys are building something new when you are broke.”

“If you forge your ledger and say you got two million gold, they would be glad that Sefira is going bankrupt soon.”

Ultima nodded. That was how he was going to manipulate the Sefira.

Then, exclamations came from the training grounds.

“Wow!

“This battle is over now.”

It seemed like Anis’ arrow directly hit the Diamond-class mercenary. Keter could also see him raising his hands to congratulate his own victory.

Chuckling, Keter put his hand on his shoulder.

“Come see the duel. Make sure you have a mouthguard.”

“Wait, you’re going to do that again...”

Thud!

“Get lost, merchant man.”

Keter, who was having a normal conversation with Ultima, suddenly punched him in the face. Ultima ran out of the training ground with a busted lip. It didn’t hurt or feel embarrassing. This was because he smelled the sweet smell of money.

Keter causes problems out of the blue. Plus, he’s definitely going to fight with the nobles.

Originally, Ultima had no intention of going to the match, but he changed his mind. He was willing to go anywhere with money, even if Keter was there.

1. Positive/negative refers to the polarity of energy, as in yin/yang, not good/bad. ☜