Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  The innkeeper took the picture and looked at it with furrowed brows for a long while before he nodded, though somewhat uncertain. "It seems that there was such a person…"

  "Where is he now?"

  "He just left."

  "Left?"

  "Yes, about half an hour ago. He left in a horse carriage."

  "Half an hour ago…" The young man thought about it, and took out a bag of gold coins from his pocket. The bag was heavy—there were over 100 gold coins in it. The young man held it in his hand, shaking it in front of the innkeeper. "Think about where this man went in the carriage. If you can recall, this bag of gold coins is yours.

  "Right, let me remind you. If you dare to lie to me…"

  "I dare not…" The innkeeper hastened to clarify that he was telling the truth. This person was from the Marathon Family. He would not dare to deceive the Marathon Family for a bag of gold coins even if he was given a hundred times more nerve.

  The innkeeper frowned tightly, and after a long period of contemplation, he finally recalled it. "Yes, I remember, the adventurers with him seemed to have said that they are going to the Fire Plume Ridge!"

  "The Fire Plume Ridge?" The young man put the gold coin in the hands of the innkeeper, then quickly walked to the carriage. He whispered a few words to someone in the carriage. After some time, he raised his head and ordered the other carriages, "We must get to the Fire Plume Ridge before dawn!"

  …

  It was only a two hours' journey from Blackhills Town to the Fire Plume Ridge. Lin Li lay in the carriage; he had barely shut his eyes for a moment when he felt the unique temperature of the Fire Plume Ridge.

  "Mr Felic, we're here." Hank halted the carriage, and cautiously woke Lin Li up.

  "So fast?" Lin Li rubbed his eyes, still sleepy. When he came halfway out of the carriage, he suddenly stopped. "Hank, my name is Felic, not Mr Felic. Also, I'm a level-five warrior, not a mage. You might be having a little problem if you mistake me again…"

  "…"

  Six mercenary corps had pitched six camps at the foot of the Fire Plume Ridge. Among them, the Silver Hand's camp was on the outskirts. After Lin Li got out of the carriage, he saw hundreds of tents closely linked together, which meant that there were at least thousands of adventurers…

  For a while, Lin Li couldn't help wondering what kind of mission it was to attract six powerful mercenary corps at the same time.

  Alanna's three major mercenary corps were no joke. Although Lin Li was not very clear about the strength of the other two, he knew more or less about the Silver Hand because of Ina. Even without mentioning the famous Silver Storm, the Silver Hand alone had thousands of adventurers of all levels, of which there were at least hundreds of people over level-ten.

  If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Lin Li would have hardly believed that there was a mission the Silver Hand could not accomplish alone, forcing them to collaborate with other mercenary corps.

  Collaboration was not common for mercenary corps…

  As the saying goes, "two of a trade could never agree". It was particularly so for heavyweights such as the three major mercenary corps—they were each other's ultimate foes. The three major Alanna mercenary corps each controlled thousands of adventurers. With such a large number of them, contradictions and conflicts were natural in daily life. When it came to conflicts of interest, this kind of contradiction would become particularly more intense. It would be harder to get them to cooperate than to reach for the sky…

  But, this time, the mission had really brought them together, and it seemed that they were cooperating well. At least they did not fight as soon as they met when they were pitching their tents together.

  With some doubts in mind, Lin Li followed Serena and the gang, heading towards the Silver Hand's camp.

  The Silver Hand's camp was well laid out. More than 100 tents occupied a large stretch of the open space. Around the tents, temporary posts were erected; several sharp-eyed archers were standing guard on the posts. Below the posts, a group of fully armed warriors was patrolling the camp.

  Good vigilance… This was Lin Li's evaluation of the Silver Hand.

  That was why he was puzzled—how could the vigilant Silver Hand let their captain be trapped in the inn and almost killed by a group of adventurers with lackl.u.s.ter strength?

  Unfortunately, before he figured it out, he noticed a familiar figure…

  The tent in the center was the largest one in the whole camp. It was undoubtedly the temporary headquarters of the Silver Hand. The familiar figure that came out of the tent looked to be in his twenties, and was dressed up as a warrior; his blond hair was particularly dazzling in the early morning sunshine.

  F*ck, how come it's this fella! Lin Li jumped in surprise. It was Elijah who came out of the tent!

  Lin Li hadn't seen this fellow after they had visited the black market together the other day. Lin Li was bewildered initially; he clearly told him to come to the Guild of Magic the next day to collect the Bull's Strength Potion, but the fellow was nowhere in sight. Lin Li then realized that this fellow had come to the Fire Plume Ridge one step ahead of himself…

  It made sense on the second thought too. This fellow was also a captain of one of the top ten mercenary corps. It was not surprising that he had a share in such missions.

  He had come on his own, but why did he have to pick such a time to appear…

  Lin Li's head pounded. It was not a good thing to bump into Elijah at this moment. If this fellow was insensible, and revealed his background in a word, he'd be in big trouble…

  "Captain Serena, you're back…" Elijah saw the men from the Silver Hand coming from afar, and went up to greet them anxiously. However, Elijah's face froze halfway mid-stride, for he found Lin Li among the group of people. "Ma—"

  "Captain Elijah, is it really you?" How would Lin Li dare to give him the chance to speak? In case he called out "Mage Felic", how was he going to explain it? Just as the expression on Elijah's face froze, Lin Li went up and greeted Elijah with a face full of surprise, hugging him enthusiastically. "When are you going to pay me back?"

  "…" Elijah almost bit his tongue. He thought, Aren't you the one who owes me three bottles of Bull's Strength Potion? Why did it suddenly become me owing you money?

  Fortunately, Elijah was smart. When he saw the weird expression on Lin Li's face, he knew that the young mage had to have something he wanted to hide. He dared not treat the matter slightly, and immediately picked up the conversation. "This… Can we put it off for a while?

  "Again? You've been holding off on it for months…" Seizing the chance of pressing for debt, Lin Li said to Elijah in a low voice, "Remember, you don't know anything except that you owe me money, do you understand?"

  "I understand…" Elijah nodded, but the look on his face was exceptionally embarrassed. He was the captain of one of the ten most impressive mercenary corps, but was pressed to pay debt in public. If this were to spread, he didn't know where he could put his face.

  "Captain Elijah, what's the matter?" Fortunately, Serena spoke in time to save Elijah from the embarrassment.

  "Well, Captain Serena, I've done what you asked me to do yesterday. The drawings are in your tent now. Would you like to go and take a look at them now?"

  "I'll go right now." Serena nodded, and called Hank over to help Lin Li and others find a place to settle down.

  At the beginning, Lin Li actually wanted to call Elijah over. One reason was to standardize their versions, and another was to inquire about the mission. It didn't matter if Serena refused to say it; Elijah wouldn't not say, would he? Unfortunately, Serena did not give him a chance to. Before entering the tent, she stopped Elijah, and said that she had something to discuss with him.

  So, Lin Li had no choice but to follow Hank. They found two tents near the campfire in the north of the camp, and settled down.

  "Hank, come in and have a chat." Lin Li had dozed off in the carriage earlier on, and had forgotten to ask man
y questions. He had plenty of time now, anyway, so he was not in a rush to rest. He made Hank stay, and asked the question that he had failed to figure out an answer to on the way here. "Tell me, how did you all get surrounded by the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp last night?"

  The reason why Lin Li wanted to know was not because he was interested in gossip.

  Thuzadin's last words had left a deep impression on him.

  "So… So it's you…" Whoever listened to these words—that were uttered by a Necromancer—would be horrified. What was the difference between being remembered by a Necromancer and being targeted by a venomous snake?

  Hence, Lin Li urgently wanted to know what was hidden behind it…

  Chapter 177 - Rumor

  "We were betrayed" was Hank's opening remark.

  It wasn't complicated. Last evening, Serena brought them to Blackhills Town to collect a lot of supplies. However, their carriage was ambushed just as they were halfway through their journey. Hank vividly remembered that it was Rode who had attacked them.

  It was simply too much of a coincidence—just as if it had been planned. It happened when Serena brought only a few of them to Blackhills Town for the handover.

  Serena took only six people at that time, including Hank, all of whom were low-level adventurers below level-ten. Moreover, Serena did not bring the Gryphon along. The Silver Hand had suffered a big loss in this sneak attack. The battle was almost one-sided; the men that Rode had brought along were all around level-ten, and it was a surprise attack to boot. They had killed two of Silver Hand's men upon appearing.

  Fortunately, Serena's reaction was quick. Once she saw that the situation was far from good, she led the rest of them back to Blackhills Town immediately.

  While escaping, Serena also laid several traps, which helped to leave Rode and his men behind for the time being.

  After the party from the Silver Hand fled to Blackhills Town, they immediately found an inn and hid in it. They had planned to wait until after dark to sneak back into the Fire Plume Ridge. However, nobody expected that the men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were lurking in Blackhills Town. Although there were only two bandits, they immediately informed Rode of the Silver Hand's whereabouts.

  When Serena discovered the two bandits, it was too late. Hence, they had to play it by ear and pretend to know nothing. They continued to stay in the inn, but at the same time, Serena slipped out and found Aragon and others nearby.

  However, perhaps even Serena did not realize that, this time, not only Rode and his men came, but also the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp's most famous figure—Thuzadin, the Necromancer!

  If it weren't for Lin Li's abrupt help, the Silver Hand would be in big trouble this time…

  Lin Li nodded his head when Hank finished speaking, agreeing with his earlier speculation.

  The matter was too obvious. If someone hadn't let the cat out of the bag, how could Rode's men be so smart, blocking them on the road? Furthermore, they could even foresee their escape, and planted two bandits in Blackhills Town on watch duty…

  "What's the origin of that Thuzadin?" However, how the two mercenary corps fought had little to do with Lin Li. He did not even ask Hank why the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp was so bold to fight against the Silver Hand.

  What he wanted to know the most was about the Necromancer, Thuzadin. The words left by that fellow before his death were so frightening that Lin Li feared he would not be able to sleep soundly if he didn't figure it out.

  However, it was obvious that Hank did not know much about Thuzadin. He frowned and pondered for a long time, but still could not explain it. "This Thuzadin is very mysterious. Many people know that he is a member of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp. However, no one knows when and for what reason he joined them. We, the Silver Hand, investigated him two years ago, but the results of the investigation are not very clear to me…"

  "Oh…" Lin Li nodded, and did not continue his questions, because he knew that even if he continued to ask, he wouldn't get anything out of Hank—after all, he was only a junior member, and was far from getting access to the core secrets of the Silver Hand.

  It seemed that he should find an opportunity to inquire Serena about it.

  Lin Li was hesitating on what excuse he'd use to look for Serena when someone else entered the tent. Lin Li looked up, and saw that it was Captain Elijah, who hadn't paid back the money he owed!

  "You've finished the discussion?" When Lin Li saw Elijah come in, he knew that this fellow had to have come to standardize their stories. He said nothing, but smiled and motioned him to find a place to sit first.

  "I'm just running errands, and what to do depends on Captain Serena's opinions." Elijah found a place to sit down, then looked at Hank hesitantly.

  Hank was not a fool, either. He saw Elijah's hesitant look, and knew they had something to talk about to each other alone. He stood up quickly, and said, "Mr Felic, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first. If you need anything, you can come to me anytime. My tent is just in front."

  "Mhm, go and do your stuff. I'll come to you later if I need your help."

  "Then, see you later."

  "This… Mr Felic…" After watching Hank leave, Elijah paused for a while, then asked with a bitter smile, "How much should I owe you?"

  "You can't owe me too much. I'm a level-five warrior. I won't be able to take out too much of a loan…" Lin Li considered, and said a number. "If not, you'll owe me 500 gold coins. You can say that I sold you a batch of herbs last time, but you haven't had time to pay yet."

  "Alright, 500 gold coins it is then…"

  "Oh, right…" Lin Li thought for a moment, and took out three bottles of Bull's Strength Potion he had long prepared from his pocket. "This is the reward I promised at the beginning."

  "Thank you, Mr Felic."

  "Right, Elijah, how's your relationship with the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp?"

  "Rising Sun Mercenary Corp?" Elijah put the three bottles of Bull's Strength Potions in his pocket gingerly. "I don't have many dealings with them; I'm not exactly on good terms with them, but we're not exactly on bad terms, either. We'd probably just greet each other if we meet, and then turn around like strangers…"

  "Then, are you familiar with Thuzadin?"

  "I know a little about this." Elijah mused for a moment, then continued, "Thuzadin joined the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp last year. As far as I know, this man has quite an unordinary relationship with Glavev, the captain of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp. He helped Glavev clinch several big deals just after joining the mercenary corp. And I heard that this man fled from the Ledin Kingdom…"

  "Ledin Kingdom?!" Lin Li started. The Ledin Kingdom in Elijah's mouth, as he had heard, was one of the strongest military powers in Anril. It bordered with Felan in the north. In recent decades, the contradictions between the two countries had been constant. Perhaps a war would be completely triggered between the two countries next time.

  The Ledin Kingdom was a typical country of faith. There were numerous churches in the Kingdom, and their dominant religion was so powerful that the whole kingdom had almost become a theocracy.

  If this Thuzadin was really from the Ledin Kingdom, then his escape was quite logical. The Ledin Kingdom was not the Felan Kingdom. Although Necromancers in Felan were abhorred, they could at least appear openly in front of people. If it were the Ledin Kingdom, Necromancers would be regarded as blasphemers, and burned on the cross.

  A person from Ledin Kingdom coming to Felan to tell me 'so it's you'… The more Lin Li thought about it, the more confused he was. The initially puzzling matter became even more confusing with the information that Elijah brought him…

  "By the way, Mr Felic, why have you come to the Fire Plume Ridge? And even… even…" Elijah looked at the red leather armor on Lin Li, and then shifted his gaze to the crossbow on the latter's back. After uttering "even" for a long while, he couldn't find the words that would follow. This get-up was too bizarre—bizarre to an extent that Elijah
couldn't imagine the fellow had been wearing the long, black robe a few days ago and was going in and out of places like the Alanna Guild of Magic.

  "It's a long story…" Lin Li did not try to hide it in face of Elijah's confusion. He recounted the incident at Blackhills Town, choosing only to tell him the crux of it.

  "The Rising Sun Mercenary Corp wanted to kill Captain Serena?" After listening to what happened in Blackhills Town, Elijah opened his eyes wide, and was stunned for a long time before he finally said, "Are they looking for death?"

  "Who knows…" Lin Li shrugged, and smiled indifferently. The two mercenary corps could kill all they wanted. As long as it didn't hinder him, Lin Li was willing to stand by and be part of the audience.

  "I didn't expect Glavev to be so brave, daring to lay his hands on Captain Serena. Is he not afraid of revenge from the Silver Hand?" Elijah contemplated for a long time with mixed emotions on his face, but he still couldn't understand it.

  "Let's not talk about it." Lin Li was totally uninterested in this kind of fighting and killing. After a few casual words, he took the topic elsewhere. "Elijah, what's your mission this time? Why do I feel that all of you seem to be mighty nervous…?"

  "This…" There was some hesitation in Elijah's eyes.

  "Never mind, I was just curious." Seeing the look on Elijah's face, Lin Li guessed that it was probably some secret mission this time, so he didn't force it. "If you can't say it, you don't have to tell me."

  "It's not that we can't say…" Elijah gritted his teeth as if he had made up his mind. "Mr Felic, to tell you the truth, this mission was actually entrusted to us by the president personally…"

  "The president?" Lin Li was a little stunned at first, but then remembered that Elijah was an adventurer. Then, wasn't the president in Elijah's mouth the legendary warrior who was at the same level-21 as Aldwin, the president of the Adventurers Guild, Sword Sage of the Storm, Al'Akir?

  "You mean, Sword Sage of the Storm?"

  "Yes."

  "No wonder there are so many people…" It was then that Lin Li finally understood—the mission this time turned out to be issued personally by Sword Sage of the Storm. This old man was a legendary level-21 warrior, and was the one in charge of all the adventurers in Felan Kingdom. Which mercenary corp in Alanna would not rush up to him desperately with a mere word from him?