Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  "Hehe, Mr. Bandit, what a coincidence…" Lin Li greeted Reggie the moment they left the campsite.

  "A-ah, yes…" Reggie gasped in shock, and nearly slipped and fell onto the ground. When he finally calmed down, his was still trembling like a mouse that met a cat…

  "Mr. Bandit, why are you shaking so much? Are you feeling unwell?"

  "No… It's nothing…" Reggie replied. He nearly cursed all the 18 generations of Hahn's ancestors. F*ck that Hahn! Why didn't he warn me that the advance party has such a boss? If I'd known, I wouldn't have joined this darn team. How's this different from trapping a cat and a mouse together in the same cage?

  "I didn't expect it to be so coincidental…" To be honest, Lin Li was actually quite surprised to meet Reggie here. He'd thought that the advance party was just an excuse for Hahn to get rid of people he didn't want. Lin Li had not expected to see Reggie and his friends being a part of it. Could it be that the advance party had a very crucial role to play?

  Reggie and his teammates were all Bandits above level-15, and were proficient in investigation and assassination. Anybody in Emendas' position would never agree with Hahn to sacrifice them. Even if people like Reggie and his teammates were to be cannon fodder, they would be the most valuable and crucial cannon fodder. They shouldn't be here to die with a level-14 Warrior like Johnathan…

  Lin Li greeted Reggie before going to the front to find Johnathan. He hoped to know from the puppet leader what mission the advance party had in the Scar of Death.

  He did not expect Johnathan to address his doubts before he had a chance to speak.

  "Brother Felic, how do you know Reggie and his friends?" Johnathan questioned curiously. Reggie and his teammates were known as the strongest Bandits of Aminya. It could be said that Reggie and his friends had to be the most popular Adventurers of Aminya apart from Emendas and a few others.

  Although Brother Felic had a good personality, he was just an average Adventurer. How would he know people like Reggie?

  "It's a long story…"

  If there were people who knew Lin Li well around him now, such as Mason, Orrin, Gerian, or Macklin, they would know not to trust any word Lin Li would say thereafter. The phrase 'It's a long story' marked the point whereby Lin Li would start to weave lies and nonsense…

  Unfortunately, Johnathan was unaware of that…

  "It was a year ago, when I was in the Dragon Mountains. I saw somebody stung by the Manticore; coincidentally, I had the medicine to treat the Manticore's poison. Hence, I gave them a bottle of medication, and knew them from then on…"

  "Oh, so that's why…" replied Johnathan. He was a simple-minded man who had great trust in Lin Li. Hence, he did not detect anything suspicious in his speech. Being experts in the use of poison, the Bandits should be able to treat the Manticore's poison even with their eyes closed. How would they need Lin Li's medication?

  "I didn't expect them to still remember that. They even offered to reward me after we complete this mission…"

  While Lin Li was sprouting his nonsense irresponsibly, Johnathan's eyes lit up.

  Frankly speaking, when he knew that Reggie and his teammates would be in his advance party, Johnathan feared that he might not be able to click with them. They were the best Bandits of Aminya City and the top Adventurers after Emendas. Compared to them, he was just a random level-14 Warrior that could be commonly found in Aminya City.

  The status of Adventurers was always decided by their abilities. Only the words of skillful Adventurers carried weight. Now that a level-14 Warrior was the leader, and the stronger Bandits became mere team members, it was easy for anyone to feel indignant at that.

  That being said…

  It was fortunate that Brother Felic seemed to be on good terms with them. Johnathan looked around before he brought Lin Li to an isolated corner. "Brother Felic, can I discuss something with you…?" he asked discreetly.

  "What is it?"

  "I've thought about it, and I feel that I'm not suited as the team's leader. You know, I'm a stupid person. I'm afraid I'd drag everyone down if we were to face any issues. Look, why don't you be the leader instead? With your relationship with Reggie and his friends, I'm sure they would support you…"

  "Brother Johnathan, are you afraid that they won't listen to you?" Lin Li asked. How could such a bright person not know what was on the man's mind?

  "I'm a little worried…" Johnathan replied with hesitation.

  "It will be alright," Lin Li comforted Johnathan before he went to find Reggie. "Oh, Reggie, I forgot to introduce Brother Johnathan to you. He's the leader of the advance party."

  "So, you are Johnathan. I have wanted to meet you for a very long time…" Reggie greeted Johnathan very passionately as he stretched out his hand to shake Johnathan's. His attitude and friendliness would even mislead bystanders into thinking that they were friends who had not meet for a long time.

  "Mr. Reggie, you are too polite…" Johnathan was shocked. He could not understand how a person like Reggie could even know him…

  No matter what, it was still a good thing for Reggie to be so friendly to him. Being the best Bandit in Aminya, he was a man many Adventurers dreamt of getting close to. If Johnathan could be protected by Reggie, his life in Aminya would be good.

  He didn't know Reggie was secretly happy with that friendship being forged too.

  Johnathan's abilities might not be outstanding, but from how he saw mage Felic address him as "Brother Johnathan", Reggie felt that the relationship between them had to be extraordinary. If he were to be friendly to Johnathan, it would be useful if he needed Johnathan to help him say some good word in front of Mage Felic…

  Since both of them had the intention to fawn over each other, their conversation was unusually very pleasant. The more they conversed, the more they realized they clicked well with each other, and soon half an hour passed by without them realizing it. Only when they were about to enter the forest did Reggie suggest bringing his men to explore it first.

  After he watched the four Bandits enter the forest, Lin Li turned to Johnathan. "Brother Johnathan, I forgot to ask you about our role as the advance party. Why are we here?"

  "I'm not too sure, either…" Johnathan said doubtfully as he fished out a map from his pocket. "Hahn gave me a map before he sent me here, and told me to find this place marked here…" Johnathan said as he pointed to a location on the map. Lin Li saw that it was a region filled with a huge number of high-level magical beasts…

  "What else?"

  "I have no idea…" Johnathan said as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

  "…" Lin Li rolled his eyes. What messy sh*t is this? Has Hahn gone crazy? So he sent Johnathan to risk his life to enter the central region just to feed himself to the high-level magical beasts? That's too absurd…

  "Or, you could ask Reggie. I've heard them mention that Emendas had talked to them before they came here. They might know some information…"

  "Will do…"

  While the advance party entered the forest, Jason walked into Lin Li's tent at the same time.

  To his disappointment, the tent was empty. From the lack of sleeping bags, it was obvious that the owner of the tent had left the campsite. Then, something struck Jason.

  Didn't Emendas send an advance party to the Scar of Death half an hour ago?

  Could it be that…

  Goddammit, what a moron! Emendas will cause Felic to kill everybody if he does that! The thought of it made Jason restless. He sprung up and ran across the campsite, and dashed into Emendas' tent directly without informing him.

  "Emendas—" Jason noticed something different about Emendas the moment he called his name. Emendas was very patiently sitting upright, just like an obedient student in class.

  That brought Jason's eyes to where Emendas' attention was focused. Jason saw a young man around age 27 or 28 sitting opposite Emendas. He was wearing a black robe that emitted strong magical waves, and although the cape he was wearing covered his f
ace, and Jason could not tell his expression, he could feel a solemn familiarity from him…

  "S-Sir Hutton, what brings you here?"

  "Hehe, I'm just here to check things out…" The man was the first heir of the Malfa Family, the biological brother of Harvey, who was seated opposite Emendas. Harvey's brother was more accomplished than him; his ability was something even Lin Li could not fathom. Not only that, the top Adventurer of Aminya, Emendas, also did not have the guts to look that man in the eye as he sat in front of him.

  "How is it? I presume there were no accidents thus far?"

  "Rest assured, Sir Hutton, everything is going according to the plan," Emendas said politely; his gaze was filled with respect. "We have just sent an advance party there as well. If there is no accident, they should arrive at the destination before evening."

  "How is the ability of this advance party?"

  "They are all at most level-15, and not really strong in ability. But, in order to ensure that they reach the destination safely, I've asked Master Adelo to tag along with them."

  "Adelo went too?"

  "Yes, I had Master Adelo disguise himself as a level-10 Magic Shooter."

  "Very good, I always trusted Adelo. But, Emendas, I don't want many people to know about the secret at the Scar of Death."

  "Rest assured, Sir Hutton. Adelo promised that he will have everyone in the advance party protect the secret eternally."

  "Alright."

  When he heard that, Jason drew a deep breath. He knew what it meant when they said to protect the secret eternally. These people… these people want to silence all of them!

  Jason was not a righteous man. He had seen many cases of silencing people, but they all did not matter as long as he was not the victim. Usually, Jason tried his best not to interfere in situations that did not concern him. But, not this time. How could they even plan to kill Mage Felic?

  He couldn't let it be. Otherwise, if the matter were to be discovered by Mage Felic, he might think that Jason was one of the masterminds. Mage Felic was not a reasonable man. If that mage was determined to seek revenge, the Malfa Family and himself would be doomed. It was not worth it for him to take such a risk in order to earn those 10,000 gold coins.

  But, how could he inform him?

  If Adelo wasn't there, it would be an easy job. He could just stop them before they reached the Scar of Death.

  Chapter 390 - Strange Magical Crystal

  But, Jason knew he could not do it now. Having known Adelo for quite some time, he noticed that this Archmage had been tagging along with Emendas for the longest time he could remember. Jason even suspected that everything was just a façade, and that Archmage had to be the real leader of the team, whom Emendas and Hahn had to take orders from. Even Hutton, the first heir of the Malfa Family, would become especially ingratiating when Adelo's name was mentioned. That closeness he portrayed from within, and it was a type of closeness that he didn't treat his biological brother with…

  He would be caught by Adelo and be seen as a traitor if he were to chase after Felic now. Then, he would not even be able to inform Felic about it.

  Should I find a mutual friend to convey the message?

  But, whom should I find…?

  Weathor and Rotiah would not be able to take on the task, as they could be easily recognized by Adelo. If he were to find out about it, Jason would be unmasked as the obvious mastermind.

  "Oh, yes. Jason, are you interested in venturing into Aminya after you complete this mission? I can arrange for you to work under the Malfa Family then," Hutton asked Jason smilingly.

  "Huh…?" Jason was shocked by the sudden offer.

  Being an astute and shrewd man, Hutton did not show his unhappiness with Jason's hesitation. He frowned slightly, and adopted a gentle stance to continue persuading Jason.

  "You are concerned about the staff's benefits, aren't you? Check with Emendas. Rest assured that I would never take advantage of any men working under me. After this mission, I'm going to invite Emendas into the core organization of the Malfa Family; he would be my personal assistant, whereas my father would have no right to interfere with him. If you're willing to come over, I can give you the same benefits as I gave Emendas."

  "Sir Hutton, I need some time to decide. As you know, I'm not like Emendas. Apart from myself, I have to discuss it with my two teammates before we can make a decision." Jason crafted a reasonable excuse after a moment of hesitation.

  To be honest, if Hutton had given him the offer earlier, Jason would have agreed to it without any hesitation. After all, he couldn't imagine himself as an Adventurer for a lifetime. It would be a good way out to enter the Malfa Family. Moreover, Hutton was a better superior as compared to his younger brother—he knew how much to expect from his men, and always treated them with the respect they deserved.

  Unfortunately, the offer came in a little late…

  Jason knew very well how determined the young mage would be when he sought revenge. When he was at Doland City, the friction during the banquet caused him to fall out with people from the Brilliance Shrine. If Adelo were to create trouble for him, it'd implicate the entire Malfa Family…

  At this time, Jason was really tempted to persuade Hutton to give up on that plan. The person you plan to silence is not an easy man to deal with! He is the student of the Legendary-mage Andoine, the President of the Breezy Plains Guild of Magic, and the person who slew the Humerus Wyrm single-handedly…

  Unfortunately, he could only keep everything to himself…

  It would be impossible for Jason to clear his name if he were to show his acquaintance with a mage who had been disguising his ability. That was a very serious and s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e matter as he might be seen like a traitor or a spy. Then, his entire career as an Adventurer would be going down the drain.

  Furthermore, Jason had no guts to expose Lin Li, either. If he were to do it without that young mage's permission, he would be digging his own grave…

  At this time, the safest approach was to keep his mouth shut…

  But, before he did that, he had to inform Mage Felic about Adelo's identity. Although it was a risky move, he could actually create a good impression of himself.

  Jason became really restless as he thought of that. He got up from his seat to leave after he conversed with Hutton for a short while.

  Fortunately, Hutton's words seemed to be just a casual invitation as he did not insist that Jason give him a reply immediately. "Alright, Jason, you can discuss it with your friends and get back to me again. If you are interested, come look for me anytime. As long as I'm here, the gates of the Malfa Family will always welcome you," Hutton said in a disappointed tone as he sent Jason out of the tent.

  "Alright."

  Jason got to his two other teammates very quickly after he left the tent.

  Then, he told them what he had heard from Hutton.

  "So, do you have any ideas what we can do?"

  In reality, Jason was just anxious, and was asking for the sake of asking. He knew that his friends would be equally clueless what action to take.

  Little did he expect that they'd respond positively.

  Weathor smiled hideously after hearing Jason. "Well, I have an idea…"

  "Huh?"

  "Hehe, didn't you have me take a look around a valley earlier this morning?"

  "Yeah," Jason said as he nodded his head. "Are you going to tell me that you discovered a secret in that valley?"

  "Not exactly. When I returned, I forgot to tell you that I've met someone familiar in that valley…"

  "Who?"

  "Do you still remember that mage named Gavin? He was that mage who tagged along with Mr. Basel when he was at the Doland library."

  "Gavin?" Jason paused, and tried to recall this memory. There definitely was a mage named Gavin at the Doland library. When this mage visited the Adventurers Guild to look for another mage, it was Weathor and himself who helped him out.

  But, what did that have to do with Ad
elo?

  "Now, Gavin joined the Tower of Dusk, and I've heard that he is quite trusted by Mage Felic."

  "That's great. Weathor, please go to that valley and tell Gavin about the situation here. He would have his ways to contact Mage Felic."

  It was around noon when the advance party entered the forest. When they returned, Lin Li tried to ask about the mission. However, their answers were confusing as well.

  "Mr. Hahn only had us bring this there…" Reggie did not dare to hide anything from Lin Li. He even took out six magical crystals from his pocket as evidence that he was saying the truth.

  "Eh…?" Lin Li was shocked when he saw the magical crystal.

  Everyone would know that a magical crystal was the essence of a magical beast. It not only contained the mana of the magical beast, but also carried the brand of the soul. Any magical crystal would have a bit of life essence that lingered in it.

  But, the magical crystals in Reggie's hand were completely different. Lin Li could not sense any bit of life essence from them. They were like six ordinary stones without anything special about them.

  "That's weird…" Lin Li commented, suspicious. He took one of the black magical crystals from Reggie for a closer inspection…

  Lin Li's expression changed as his fingers came into contact with the black crystal. It was as if the magical crystal had transformed into a huge black hole that started to engulf his mana.

  "Sh*t!" Lin Li gasped as he threw the magical crystal onto the ground at once.

  It was unusual as the Devouring Force of the magical crystal vanished the moment it left Lin Li's hand. The magical crystal looked just like a real black stone as it lay among the sand on the ground.

  Where did the Malfa Family acquire such eerie crystals…? Lin Li thought as he looked at the black magical crystal on the ground.

  But, there was something Lin Li was very certain about…

  Sending the advance party into the Scar of Death was definitely not just a way for Hahn to silence the people he despised. From the map in Johnathan's hand and the six magical crystals in Reggie's, Lin Li could deduce that the real person in charge of the mission had to be somebody else.