Dark Magus Returns

Raze wasted no time leaving the special private room they were in and heading back outside to the busy, bustling streets filled with people and warriors.

They were currently heading to the marketplace first to see if they could get a list of the items; some of them they knew would be impossible, such as level 3 power stones, but Raze said not to worry about that. He would simply get them at the auction house, or worst case, if they didn't have any, he would just ask Fixteen, since the Crimson Crane was most likely to have left the city already.

"Other than needing three level 3 power stones, it looks like we also need certain types of herbs and plants as well as a special type of urn; there are instructions as to what the urn needs to look like," Graft explained, looking at a sheet of paper.

"Don't you think it would have been easier if Shing were just brought along with us, rather than to have you two come along?" Raze asked as they finally entered the busy market area.

It was a square with rows of market stalls that would go up and down. Some of them were selling grilled food as well as a number of other items.

The amount of times Raze had been here, in this area in the city, was several, but he had only been here a few times.

"Shing tends to stand out," Barlan explained. "Due to his large size, we get unwanted attention. He is extremely helpful on tasks and in dimensions, but most of the time he stays out of sight, and it's pretty hard to hide him."

After checking the first few stalls, it didn't appear they had what they were looking for, but after asking some of the stall workers, they had pointed them in the right direction to get the herbs and plants needed at least.

That was when Barlan decided to ask questions that had been on his mind for a while.

"So you really are a mage from Alterian?" Barlan asked. "With the sword by your side and your skills, I thought you might have been a Pagna warrior."

"But then that blazer you're wearing has a strong enchantment as well."

"Yes, I am a mage," Raze replied. "I went to the central Academy; as for the blazer, it was a gift."

"Ah, I see," Barlus nodded. "I guess you came from quite a noble family then, to receive a gift as great as that. You did seem quite young, so it would make sense for you to be at the academy."

"I feel quite bad for you; it's rare that we get young ones that happen to come over to the other side."

Barlan continued to talk as Raze looked for the items through the market, and Graft double-checked that they were the right ones.

"I myself was an up-and-coming mage; I was part of The Glory Guild."

Raze was just about to reach out to grab one of the plants that was confirmed to be the right one, but then his hand hesitated for a moment after he heard the guild's name.

Soon after, it moved again as he grabbed the plant.

"How much?" Raze asked.

"Oh, that there is quite a popular plant with the alchemists; it's at least two silvers," the woman stated.

Graft was ready to try and barter, or check whether that was the true price or not. He tended to go from one stall to the other to confirm and get the best price, but before he could, Raze had already handed over two silver coins and handed the plant over to Graft.

"No discount…" Graft was quite disappointed. He usually prided himself on getting the cheapest price possible for his squad, and he wanted to show off his skills.

He never realized until now that he actually got joy from getting the price down from the original.

This continued onwards as they got the items from each area one after the other, and Raze didn't waste time bargaining. He had accumulated a great amount of wealth already from selling the pills marked with DM, so none of this mattered to him.

He also had no way to spend his money because he was at the market. Rather than wasting time, or having someone else snap up the things he needed, he would just pay whatever they asked for in this situation.

After searching the whole of the marketplace, they were unable to find the level 3 power stones, so it was time for them to head to the auction.

While on their way there, Raze decided to bring up a conversation, a word that had been bothering him for a while now.

"You said that you were from the Glory Guild, right? Isn't that the Guild that belonged to Enaxx?" Raze asked.

"I thought you would recognize it," Barlan replied, his nose held up high in the air and his chest puffed out slightly more. "The guild belongs to one of the Grand Magus."

"Grand Magus?" Graft asked, as he knew about the mages but didn't know about this particular group of people.

"They are the strongest and most admired by all of the mages in Alterian," Barlan continued. "Which is why me being in their guild is a big achievement. These mages have greater strength than any middle-stage warrior."

"They are most likely even greater than those that are at the Divine level, although it's hard for me to say since I've never met a Divine level being, at least not at their full power."

For a second, Graft noticed the expression on Raze's face when Barlan was talking; it certainly wasn't one of admiration by any means.

"You are quite a young mage at the academy; I was wondering what star level are you at?" Barlan asked.

It was rare for him to meet another mage. He hung around too many that didn't understand his greatness or what he had achieved, so he was happy to finally speak to someone for once.

"I'm a 4-star mage," Raze answered. "I was a 3-star mage when I got here but managed to upgrade to a 4-star."

Barlan's hand was shaking slightly as he was surprised to hear the answer. Someone so young reaching such a high-level stage, was that possible?

"How long has it been since you jumped to this world?" Raze asked while Barlan was still startled by this fact.

"About a year now," Barlan answered.

This meant that there was a particular fact that Barlan didn't know, that the Dark Magus according to the world was no more.

"Then, I'm sure with you being in the Demonic Faction for a while you have heard of a particular name that has spread around these parts right?"

In an instant, Barlan knew what he was talking about.

"Right, how could I not, the Alchemist who has been calling himself the Dark Magus. It's unlikely to be anything but a coincidence, but I can't help but think, what if the Dark Magus had jumped to this world, what would happen then?" Barlan asked.

"Right, I wonder what would happen."