The Archmetamagician: The Weave Collapses Again

[Target dead. Gained 2,750 experience points.]

A notification of experience flashed through Anser’s mind, but he did not react. Lying on the bed, he continued meditating quietly, with a row of six bottles of holy water placed at the head of the bed.

Several hours passed, and daylight fully broke.

More and more people gradually gathered at the Union’s headquarters. Besides the staff, there were also quite a few adventurers who had fought in yesterday’s battle, holding vouchers in their hands and wearing looks of curiosity and anticipation.

Kaleno brought Quentin and Graham to the colorful mushroom hut. The two were astonished. They circled the little hut twice, failed to find a door, and could only try patting the walls.

Anser sensed the warning coming from Leomund’s Tiny Hut, woke from meditation, and rolled to his feet. He felt he was in pretty good condition, full of energy and with abundant Magic Power.

He casually picked up the dragonhide pouch from the corner. After opening it and glancing inside, his brows immediately lifted.

There was now an extra blue gemstone inside, with a white star-shaped center.

The die turned slightly and immediately identified it: a star sapphire, highly valuable, worth at least 1,000 gold pieces.

This is a good omen.

He put the item away and, with a wave of his hand, dismissed Leomund’s Tiny Hut.

The mushroom hut bloomed with a burst of faint light, then silently shattered and dissolved into the air as a pale spiritual glow.

”Spellcasters really do have it good,” Graham said with a teasing smile when he saw Anser.

”That depends on the person.” Quentin was noncommittal. At present, most spellcasters were not in a very good position.

He raised a hand and passed Anser a stack of documents. ”Yesterday’s battle report, the bounty distribution for the adventurers, and the casualty pensions and compensation plan.”

Anser took the documents and waved a hand. ”Let’s go upstairs to talk. Have those adventurers wait a while in the reception hall.”

”All right…”

The group went upstairs together and arrived at the president’s office.

Anser carefully read through the battle report. Yesterday, 112 werewolves had been killed. There had been 92 deaths and more than a hundred wounded, with over thirty people confirmed to have been bitten.

More than half of the dead were civilians. Twenty-seven guards had died, along with 4 members of the knight order, 3 from the Flamerule Mercenary Company, and 1 from the Emerald Enclave.

The good news was that none of the core professionals had died. Their ability to preserve their own lives was stronger.

”Haah—” Anser let out a sigh.

It had clearly been a carefully planned surprise encirclement and extermination, yet the casualties were still this high.

The Union had possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage, and basically no one would have been facing a werewolf alone. That meant ordinary soldiers could not withstand even a single pounce from a werewolf.

And this was already thanks to him having saved many of the lightly and heavily wounded yesterday. Otherwise, the death toll might have doubled.

In addition, dozens of adventurers had participated in this battle. Since the fighting had been rather chaotic, disputes over battle contributions were severe. After much crossing out and revising, they had only barely reached a consensus.

The bounty payout was not large either, only a bit over 1,000 gold pieces. After all, most of the adventurers had been fighting a favorable battle and mostly picking up easy gains.

The death pensions came to more than 1,000 gold pieces, and compensation for civilian property losses and deaths also came to more than 1,000 gold pieces. A single life was valued at only 10 to 50 gold pieces, pathetically little, though still much better than before.

Werewolves were a calamity. Casualties caused by this type of event generally received no compensation at all, so getting any was already quite good.

The rulers of this world were all masters at staying clean; they would never take this kind of responsibility onto themselves.

”Double the casualty pensions for the fighters, and make sure all battle participants are covered. The disabled and the wounded must not be left out either. When the payments are issued, let the families choose either a lump sum or installment payments. Fraudulent claims are strictly forbidden…” Anser said in a deep voice.

This money could not be saved. Otherwise, who would still be willing to risk their lives for him? But he also did not propose any kind of lifelong pension or other substitute benefits. Those would be impossible to carry out, and he did not have that kind of financial power either.

”All right. Sign it, and I’ll go ask Little Harold for the money.” Seeing that Anser had a good sense of proportion, Quentin did not try to dissuade him.

Nor was he worried that the fiscal officer would refuse approval. Even if there were no money left on the books, Little Harold would still find a way to get some.

Anser flipped to the last page. Several lines of spoils were sparsely listed there: no armor, no weapons, pitifully shabby.

Werewolves relied on their shapeshifting ability to kill, rarely wore armor, and only occasionally used bows.

Even the werewolf leader was this poor? He couldn’t have just been hiding deep in the forest the whole time, could he? Anser was somewhat puzzled.

Still, werewolf corpses were also a scarce resource. After all, they were monsters and worth far more than wild wolves.

”The Hunters’ Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild want to buy these werewolf corpses. Should we sell them?” Quentin asked with a smile.

”Sell!” Anser answered without hesitation. ”You and Graham go negotiate. Dispose of them as soon as possible.”

”All right…” the two replied at the same time.

”There weren’t any unexpected incidents last night, right?” After signing the documents, Anser handed them back to Quentin.

”Not for the time being. Maybe the Emerald Enclave’s medicinal soup is taking effect.”

”Let’s hope so. Don’t relax your guard.”

”Understood.”

The three hurried off. Today would be very busy. Post-battle handling was extremely tedious, absolutely not as simple as listing a few inventories.

Anser relaxed and, with a clear conscience, acted as a hands-off boss.

It was not entirely laziness. For many matters, the leader could not handle everything personally. There had to be ”white gloves.” Even if something went wrong, there would still be room to maneuver, rather than losing prestige and reputation directly.

He went up to the roof and took out a telescope to observe the Amnians’ movements.

Amn had halted in the wilderness more than a dozen kilometers away from Durlag’s Tower. It was already past eight o’clock, yet there was still no sign of them breaking camp. Who knew what they were up to.

They probably didn’t expect the werewolves to be wiped out so quickly. They’re likely still thinking of a response.

He was not some dull-witted professional. If no one held him back, he alone could rout half of a small-scale force.

They may retreat soon.

As far as he knew, Beregost was already under siege by dragonborn and Kobolds. At a time like this, they should not be creating new complications.

Fighting on two fronts was simply absurd.

Returning to the office, he saw that the Flamerule Mercenary Company had not yet arrived, so he simply teleported to Black Tower Prison to inspect the corpse of the dead Shadow Thief.

On the black stone door, the Black Tower mark flashed and vanished. The heavy door slowly opened, revealing a completely sealed chamber of black stone. Inside lay a headless corpse in silence. Its posture had changed, and both the skin and the items on its body had already returned to their normal state.

When he opened the prison next door, there was a head on the ground, its face twisted ferociously, its eyes full of terror.

Even the expression changed.

When the Shadow Thief had regained flesh and blood, he had still been alive. His senses had returned, yet he could only watch helplessly as he died.

Just imagining the scene at that time made it clear how utterly despairing it must have been.

The Shadow Thief had provided him with 2,750 experience points. He was now less than 2,000 experience away from leveling up.

My hands are itching. I want a fight! He brandished the scepter, wanting to go out and see whether those werewolves at the forest edge were still there.

With strict inspections at all four gates today, the werewolves could no longer slip in as easily as they had yesterday.

First, let’s see what good stuff he had.

He stripped all the items from the Shadow Thief, cleaned them with Prestidigitation, arranged them in a row, and identified them one by one.

The Shadow Thief did not have a bag of holding, but he did have a blue-and-white magical belt, with two potions inserted into it: a potion of flying and a superior healing potion.

A superior healing potion could restore 8d4+8 Hit Points, that is, 16 to 40 points. It was of Rare quality, extremely uncommon, but high-level professionals would always find a way to keep one on hand.

The potion of flying was even more precious, belonging to an even higher grade. Its value was far inferior to magical equipment of the same grade, but it was just as scarce and very hard to buy.

After drinking this potion, for 1 hour, the user gains a flying speed equal to their walking speed and can hover.

Could this have been made by spellcasters just to harvest wealth?

Flight was not difficult for spellcasters, but for ordinary professionals, it was extremely difficult. This thing looked useless at first glance, but in fact it had a real market.

Compared with those two potions, Anser liked the belt even more.

...

[Magic Item: Alchemist’s Potion Belt]

Category: Wondrous Item

Rarity: Rare

This magical belt is fitted with two stoppers, and it automatically changes size to fit any potion.

While you are wearing this belt, the potions carried on it can pull their own stoppers and leap into your hand, allowing you to drink them quickly.

Note: When you are attacked, if you fail to evade in time, the potions on the belt may be destroyed.

...

’Good thing I petrified him. Otherwise, I might have lost a potion.’ He secretly felt fortunate.

This thing was very practical. At a critical moment, it could save a life, and it did not require Attunement.

He set the belt aside and picked up a maple-leaf-shaped badge with a porcelain cup engraved on it.

The die turned slightly and quickly detected the badge’s information:

[Magic Item: Traveler’s Badge]

Category: Wondrous Item

Rarity: Rare

While wearing this badge, you can spend 1 minute reciting its command word to use the badge to cast Plane Shift. The spell’s destination can only be Traveler’s Rest, located in the Astral Plane: a legendary inn and tavern floating in the sea of stars.

The inn has no door leading to the outside world and can only be entered by using the badge. Inside, Traveler’s Rest is spacious, comfortable, and luxurious.

The inn is often busy. Although it is quite exclusive, it always has enough rooms and beds for wandering adventuring parties to use. Prices there are expensive, and living costs are lavish, but goods, information, and commissioned tasks can also be traded or exchanged for treasure.

Any creature teleported to the inn will, after 24 hours, be teleported back to its original location together with the items on its person. You can also use the badge to cast Plane Shift again in order to return to your original location early.

After returning from Traveler’s Rest, the badge cannot be used again until 7 days later.

Both the badge’s command word and its function are strictly confidential. Identify reveals only the fact that it is magical. Only Legend Lore can reveal the badge’s command word and properties.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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