Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 1441: Chapter 19: Confident Thieves

Hill couldn’t help but scratch his head... Although he still found Draculus unpleasant, after everything that happened in Toril, he seemed to somewhat understand the old man a little.

He still disagreed with Draculus’s way of dealing with the world, but if it were him now, maybe he wouldn’t feel so much aversion... right?

Forget it, his tolerance for selfishness and self-centeredness probably hasn’t reached such a high level. It’s just that now he probably wouldn’t be as angry as before and should be able to hold the same attitude towards Draculus as Fran did.

Indeed, his grandfather was the most standard mage, and all this time has only allowed him to take a few steps toward Fran’s spiritual level.

Perhaps it’s because his strength didn’t come from his own hard training, Hill felt that he might have become a bit conceited due to the rapid increase in power... If the world he went to alone wasn’t the perilous Toril, but rather a world where he could act recklessly, maybe he would have gone astray.

It’s not to say that people would change drastically, but they might do something outrageous due to excessive pride... Like in the World of Aesces, if it were him just coming out of Teraxil, could he limit himself like now, trying to adapt to a less prosperous world... instead of finding ways to circumvent the countless rules of the world?

Hill recalled the time when he first arrived in Toril and was not sure if he was confident.

Toril gave him enough pressure, which made him extremely cautious, never daring to take a step easily.

But if it were a low magic world he had never heard of, would he be as vigilant as he is now, unwilling to expose his uniqueness even when facing low-level professionals he could easily suppress?

On the contrary, in Toril, what’s a little peculiarity for a powerful mage?

There are no normal people there... even madmen are more structured than deities.

That black-robed Halaster had been watching silently from the Underworld of Deepwater City all along, but with the temptations on Snowfall Island being so strong, he remained unmoved.

If it weren’t for Edna’s identity, which shocked even him, causing some commotion in the underground maze, no one would have known he never left.

Even the renowned mad archmage in the Multiverse was, after all, a trainee who slowly leveled up through diligent training!

Such people are the ones who truly understand what should and shouldn’t be done.

Hill sighed softly, suddenly feeling a hint of nostalgia: What is Teraxil like now?

He seemed to somewhat miss his home.

Now Hill increasingly understood the best blessing he had received so far wasn’t the powerful force or the soul power that rivals deities, but the fortunate blessing from the Natural Will of Teraxil.

In this universe, no world exists without the power of nature... And this is the main reason why Hill hasn’t gone astray: Nature guides him in the right direction.

Hill gently touched the oak pendant on his chest and smiled tenderly.

Then, his hand, which had never stopped, finally came to a stop on the last auction manual... When the puppet delivered the invitations, they were arranged in the order they were received.

Hill sensed the tacit understanding within these families: the weaker ones arrived earlier.

So, this Ismael Family was the one in Basia City capable of standing against Count Stelter?

Such a bold claim!

The front page of the auction boldly stated, Lucimar Ismail cordially invites you — Ismael Chamber of Commerce, the perpetual number one in Danboro.

Hill slowly opened the auction manual, and from the first page, he could sense that this chamber was indeed wealthier than the others, especially compared to the Stelter Family with only raw photographs... Someone as well-traveled as Hill might prefer such authenticity, but many people probably wish they were more exquisitely lavish instead.

How to put it~ when all things are of the same quality, many would subconsciously choose the better-adorned one, even if the packaging is entirely pointless.

The straightforward and crisp style from the Stelter Family’s militaristic background isn’t quite suitable for an auction needing atmosphere enhancement.

The Ismael Chamber’s slightly three-dimensional auction catalog, however... its exquisite level evoked ancient memories buried in his mind — like black garlic-flavored truffles on a golden plate silver platter under the reflective lights, where you’re not even sure what’s so delicious about it.

Of course, maybe he simply didn’t know how to appreciate it, but indeed he wished to savor a piece of braised pork even more afterward.

Even now, having gotten used to eating fruit and vegetable salads, he still didn’t like it.

Hill chuckled; perhaps, deep down, he was still that ordinary person... just a bit better than before, having become a commoner who could now openly say ’don’t like it.’

Hill silently flipped past the unremarkable items in the front until he raised his eyebrows in surprise upon reaching the last two pages... it did have some distinctive features compared to other auctions.

A top-quality natural blue zircon, half the size of a palm, cut into an oval shape with hundreds of facets, dazzling under the light... it was a mesmerizing vivid blue, seemingly ready to let a drop of water fall from within at any moment.

Hill thought for a moment, rummaged in his pendant for a while, and finally fished out a deep sea emerald of roughly the same size, carefully observing it... It was just that it had double the facets.

But for a magician of his level, achieving such a thing should be easy!

If needed, such grade gemstones appear to be usable.

Then he belatedly flipped back a few pages and finally realized what the Ismael Family’s pride was about... Compared to other auction houses, they had more finished products.

For instance, the Stelter Family might also sell gold and silver jewelry, but most of them are semi-finished products, at most some crystal pyramids or gold and silver amulets embedded with gemstones, mainly relying on the power of the materials themselves or engraving a few individual magic runes.

In contrast, the Ismael Family might even have items like the Quaal’s Feather Token, which can transform from a single feather into a small boat... Although Hill didn’t see much use for such a thing, it was still a finished product, after all.

It was not as useful as the force field cube that could raise a force wall as soon as it hit the ground.

Yet, the cube’s price seemed to be only a third of the feather token’s starting price.

Hill decisively flipped to the end of the manual... At the climax, there was an auto-protect floating shield, with scarlet coating, imposing decorations, and the ability to withstand Level 10 spells.

Is this their way of hinting at Hill about their power?

Hill scoffed.

The Ismael Family probably hadn’t figured out that he was an Earth Magician of Level 10 or higher, or they wouldn’t have made such a foolish intimidation.

For a Magician who dares to use the earth in their name, their power is either comparable to a physical powerhouse magical beast of the same level or their defense is comparable to that of a protective type magical beast.

And there are not a few who possess both abilities.

Who would use spells to smash such a floating shield?

Would it waste mana bars?

There were no traces of temples involved in any of the auction catalogs; at a glance, it was just the petty tricks of the nobles.

Hill tossed the now-useless catalog onto the table... It seemed that the only trouble for the Stelter Family lay in political struggles, so he didn’t need to worry too much.

He just needed to carefully observe the eldest daughter of the Stelter Family during this period.

Initially, Hill didn’t plan to get entangled with the people of this world so soon, but the magic knowledge of the World of Aesces was too tightly sealed.

And how could Hill, who was unwilling to tell a single lie, go looking at others’ collections or eavesdropping on others’ knowledge without permission?

That was a different matter from intelligence gathering.

So the troubled Stelter Family fit him quite well... The other party clearly had some basic books, including those on alchemy. Those individual runes were probably engraved by Miss Ellie herself.

But she had no teacher.

Alchemy is not an profession one can begin on their own; the consequences of placing runes incorrectly are tantamount to playing with self-destruction.

Coincidentally, Hill also needed the most basic rune arrangement methods from this world.

He didn’t intend to accept any students.

If this young lady were sensible, he could temporarily be a temporary lecturer... One of those situations where the student brings their own textbooks.

Whatever resources the other party had, he would explain that particular thing.

But his exclusive runes and arrays, he wouldn’t teach them easily.

Hill carefully reviewed the illustrated auction items from the Stelter Family once more... This Miss Ellie was, in a way, indeed quite clever and smart.

She was familiar with quite a number of runes; she had basically utilized all the Level 2 and below individual runes.

But there was not a single Level 1 rune array here... She was telling every alchemist who flipped through this catalog that her foundation was solidly built, and all she was missing was a teacher.

And she was rational enough to refrain from messing around without formal instruction... Whether someone had advised her or not, proper alchemists never liked taking on those prodigies who hadn’t learned yet but had already started creating on their own when accepting students.

Hill gently patted the manual, quietly turning to gaze at the Hall of Abundance on the shopping street.

He couldn’t appear too eager, so it’ll have to wait for tomorrow.

After tea time, he would directly wander through the lower levels of the Hall of Abundance to see how ordinary people, ah, rich ordinary people, were living in this world.

And in the evening, he would go and meet the eldest daughter of the Stelter Family.

As for today... Hill silently turned his head toward the shadows along the long street... He appeared to have some sneaky little visitors.

Aesces was really interesting; even Level 2 thieves dared to test the waters with a magician of Level 10 or higher!

What kind of confidence gave them such powerful assurance?