Chapter 99: 100 Out of Money

Chapter 99: Out of Money

When Ronin last visited the city of Mumabo to make purchases, he had stopped by the Silva Magic Consortium, where he made an appointment with their agent, Hook, to come to Mountainwood Town in early October to collect and deliver goods.

Ronin had not expected Hook to be so punctual, arriving in Mountainwood Town on the very first day of October just as he had promised.

However, because Ronin had led his troops out on an expedition, and outsiders were forbidden from entering Mountainwood Castle without the lord's permission, Hook and his companions had spent the last two days staying in quarters temporarily arranged by Chahar.

"Hahaha, my dear Baron Ronin, it has been a long time!"

Brought into the castle by Chahar, Hook stepped forward enthusiastically, opening his arms wide for a hug; between the recent travel and the poor sleep, he was truly exhausted, but fortunately the client had finally returned home today, bringing great joy to his heart.

Ronin gave the man a brief embrace. "My deepest apologies, Hook. Mountainwood Town still has much construction left unfinished, and you and your companions have had a difficult couple of days."

As he spoke, he glanced at the two knights behind Hook; if he guessed correctly, they were professional knights belonging to the Silva Magic Consortium, and their strength was likely not weak.

"To be quite honest, for Count Wiggins to leave you living in such a dilapidated town, he must have been somewhat muddled."

Hook did not mince words; the environment he had lived in for the past two days was indeed nothing to boast about.

"I heard that you conquered three savage tribes on this expedition; with such strength, you deserve a better town, or even a great city, rather than condescending to stay in a place like this."

Ronin smiled faintly. "Mountainwood Town is a fine place. Though it is a bit ruined now, it remains part of the Dark Mountain Family's territory, and it is also the atonement I must make for my past transgressions."

"Your breadth of mind commands my admiration!"

Hook bowed from the waist, returning to the business at hand.

"My Lord, in accordance with our last agreement, I have brought an ample supply of spell ink and magical beast leather. I wonder how much you will require this time?"

Ronin had only purchased a month's worth of materials last time, and by now he and Elrond had completely exhausted them; if they wished to craft spell scrolls, they had no choice but to buy again.

"Let us hold off on that matter for a moment."

Ronin glanced at Elrond, who understood immediately and hurried to bring out the finished spell scrolls, placing them upon the long table beside Hook.

"These are the spell scrolls we crafted this month: eighteen of the Healing Spell and four of the Wind Blade Spell. Please take account of them."

Over the course of so many crafting attempts, Elrond had failed seven times in total; though Ronin had failed only once, he had only made a total of five scrolls, and had he made more, there surely would have been times when he failed too.

Hook walked over in pleasant surprise, inspecting them with his men, and a satisfied smile broke across his face once he found everything in order.

"Master Elrond's ability is truly astonishing!"

Hook praised warmly, "To craft twenty-two spell scrolls within a single month, your success rate is incredibly high!"

He did not know that the Wind Blade scrolls had come from Ronin's hand, assuming instead that Elrond was a dual-element mage.

Faced with such praise, Elrond felt a bit guilty.

He had made twenty-five attempts in total and failed seven times, a failure rate reaching twenty-eight percent, which was still quite high.

However, he had now advanced to the rank of a high-level mage, and if he were to craft the Healing scrolls again, his failure rate should decrease significantly.

"My Lord, we have accounted for the spell scrolls. According to our previously agreed price, taking these means we shall pay you three hundred and sixty-seven gold coins and two silver coins in a lump sum."

This three hundred and sixty-seven gold was merely gross profit, but even after deducting the cost of two hundred and seventy gold, Ronin still made a net profit of ninety-seven gold.

This sum did not sound like much, but it was already enough for Ronin to pay nearly three months' worth of wages.

"Now we can discuss what to purchase from you."

Though he dearly wished to pocket all of these three hundred-odd gold coins, he still needed to restock from Hook if he wanted to continue crafting spell scrolls.

The fact that the agent had personally come to Mountainwood Town meant he was likely intent on selling even more goods.

Hook wore a smile. "On this trip, I have brought you over a hundred bottles of tier-two spell ink, as well as dozens of sheets of that tier-two magical beast leather you bought last time. If you find it insufficient, I can trouble Knight Colt to return to Mumabo to fetch more for you."

Ronin looked toward the knight Hook indicated, and Colt offered Ronin a knightly salute. "Always at your service!"

It was plain to see that Hook had come fully prepared this time, yet Ronin could not swallow so much merchandise.

Leaving everything else aside, just one hundred bottles of tier-two spell ink would cost six hundred gold, while his savings combined with the three hundred and sixty-seven gold from the sale only amounted to five hundred and thirty gold coins.

"The supplies you brought this time are very abundant, far exceeding my current demand."

Ronin calculated briefly before announcing his requirements for this transaction.

"You may leave fifty-five bottles of tier-two spell ink and eleven sheets of tier-two magical beast leather. Deducting the spell scrolls I sold you today, it works out that I still need to pay you one hundred and twenty-seven gold and eight silver."

This was the amount he had prepared for the next three months.

He spread his hands and could not help but smile. "You see, instead of making money this time, I have had to shell out over a hundred gold coins. Hook, the earning capacity of your Silva Magic Consortium is truly enviable."

"Hahaha, My Lord Baron does this in pursuit of greater returns; the rewards you reap in the future will be far more than this!"

Hook assumed a look of helpless toil. "Our Silva Magic Consortium merely runs errands for you and mages like Master Elrond to earn a bit of hard-earned money. My Lord, please do not tease me."

After the negotiations concluded, the savings in Ronin's pocket were reduced to a mere thirty-five gold, and once this month's salaries were paid shortly, less than twenty gold would remain.

Money was running short.

A faint sorrow rose in Ronin's heart; unless he took the newly crafted spell scrolls out to sell next month, he would be unable to afford the next month's wages.

After all, following the conquest of the three tribes, he now had nine more extraordinary individuals under his command, as well as a mid-level mage, making the monthly payroll exceptionally high.

With the business concluded, the atmosphere in the parlor became even more harmonious.

Hook began to boast of Ronin's achievements in conquering the savage tribes, while Ronin humbly inquired after the trio's impressions of Mountainwood Town over the past two days.

Through their conversation, the primary impressions of the three visitors boiled down to two points—the mountain roads were difficult to travel, and Mountainwood Town lacked decent accommodations for caravans.

Especially the latter; when they visited other towns, there were always inns, and regardless of the quality of the environment, they were at least more comfortable than the low, damp wooden huts of Mountainwood Town.

This gave Ronin a certain inspiration; face-saving projects still had to be undertaken, at least to provide caravans with acceptable living conditions in Mountainwood Town. Perhaps he needed to build an inn dedicated to visiting guests.

As night fell, a long-absent bustling sound echoed within the castle of Mountainwood Town.

Tonight's banquet was held to celebrate the victory of the expedition, and incidentally to welcome the visit of Hook and his companions, marking a good beginning.

Yet precisely because outsiders had visited, the news of Ronin taking down the savage tribes would likely spread.

He had to make plans early; his journey to Dark Mountain Castle must be placed upon his schedule as soon as possible.