The Soldier Mage 27 Chapter 27

After doing a tally of the treasure room, Wilfred went back to the open cave section where his companions were recovering from their wounds. Halam and Alcot were in rough shape but Fig had rea.s.sured him that it wasn't anything fatal and that they had seen worse. It was an odd feeling but he now truly felt like they were companions after having gone through that together. He knew better than to get attached too quickly but he couldn't shake the feeling that he liked these guys. In the face of danger they hadn't ran and while they weren't the strongest, they at least used some semblance of formations and tactics.

Looking at them Wilfred felt a tinge of sadness, thinking that it was partly due to him that they were in this state. Of course, if he hadn't been there they would have all likely died but he could have perhaps acted sooner or done more. However, this fight had given him a good glimpse of what their power was and what someone stronger was like also. Wilfred was disappointed that his AP rounds hadn't worked the way he thought they would but he hadn't accounted for magic armor either.

(I suppose if you cla.s.sify magic armor as something tougher like tank plating, then I would need a bigger caliber round to penetrate it. The grenade worked wonderfully though.)

Seeing Wilfred enter the room, Fig got up and waved him over. Wilfred walked over to him and sat down on the cold hard stone floor while Fig addressed him.

"The medicine is doing good work and they're both conscious now. I figure maybe another half hour and we can leave. Also, we wanted to ask you a few questions."

Halam sat up and winced a bit from the pain in his right side but he spoke to Wilfred.

"First let me just say thank you for all you've done, I can't imagine how this would have turned out without you. Secondly, we've partnered with mages very seldomly but have some knowledge of how magic works and almost nothing you did was magic. What was all that stuff?"

All eyes were now on him expecting a reply. Wilfred took a deep breath and pondered for a few moments.

(Dang. I knew there was a chance it'd come up but I was hoping it wouldn't. I'm not quite ready for my abilities to be made public knowledge yet. Maybe I can..yeah, I'll try it.)

"I can't quite tell you just yet but I am willing to buy your silence. I'll give up my share of the loot if you can keep quiet about this. I know the magical equipment the bandit leader owned is worth a lot of money and you can split it without me. There's also quite a lot in Blackjack's room down the tunnel. Most of it was stolen so I'm not sure if we can claim it."

It took a few moments for Wilfred's offer to sink in and then the adventurers looked at each other, the greed apparent in their eyes. Top tier magic equipment like this would fetch very good prices in the market, a minimum of 50 Gold coins per piece. Lower tier magic equipment can start out in the 10 gold range but it increases exponentially since the amount of high tier equipment is rather limited. Most great pieces are put up at auction while what most adventurers use can be bought in shops and are often imported from the Dwarven Republic.

Alcot was the first to speak up.

"Aye, I'm fine with this. My lips are shut."

The others seemed to agree but Fig spoke up.

"But...that's a lot of money you'd be losing out on and you're the reason we won. I wouldn't feel right unless you received what you deserved."

(I do have a nice little gold nest for now but it's true I would be giving up a considerable part. What else could I ask for…)

"True...there's still the guild reward though, I'm still taking my share of that and let's say you'll all owe me a favor. It could be anything however, so don't take it lightly!"

Fig seemed to have been taken off guard and swallowed hard but nodded his agreement, so did his fellow party members but not without glancing daggers at him for making Wilfred add another stipulation.

Wilfred sighed inwardly, having dodged a bullet there. He just needed a little more time to get ready before the world knew of him. There was no doubt in his mind that other Kingdoms or factions would try to eliminate him if he was not on their side. This is partly why he wanted to become part of the Mage Corps, he would at least have someone watching out for him. The rebels have lofty goals and ideals that he would feel comfortable with but Wilfred hadn't seen how they would enact their plans and he knew from first hand experience the amount of turmoil that rebellions caused.

Feeling rather energized knowing how much more money they'd be taking in, the adventurers got up and went to examine the magical items. Looking at them handle the items and take guesses at their worth and power, Wilfred remembered his newfound ability and thought this would be a good time to use it. As they removed the armor off Blackjack, a small letter fell to the ground. Seeing as no one seemed interested or even noticed it, Wilfred pocketed it.

"Hey, I can actually inspect those for you if you want."

All three stopped in their tracks and turned their heads towards him with mouth their mouths open. Halam came forward with Blackjack's sword.

"Is there anything you CAN'T do? But seriously, that would be a huge help. Often when we sell things we have to rely on the merchant giving us a fair price or putting it up for auction and hoping."

"Come on now, there's plenty I can't. For now."

Wilfred took the sword in his hands and muttered [Information] real low, so as to not get overheard. Inspect was already a rare skill but this new one was completely unknown to him and likely much more rare.

[Magic Weapon]

Malignant Claymore, Lv.22

ATK: 117

DEF: 56

DUR: 72

Effect: Grants wielder two levels of [Sword Mastery]. Sharpness enhanced by magic and weight of weapon magically reduced.

As Wilfred read them the description, the three of them seemed amazed by it and almost venerated it.

"It's that good? I saw some weapon for sale in the market that looked similar to this. Some kind of cleave I think, it was selling for 12 gold or so."

Alcot scoffed.

"Pah. You mean the Desolation Cleave eh? It's more of an ornamental piece. This weapon here is fit for battle, the gems and rare metals add value to the cleaver but it's Durability is not enough for real combat. Let me guess, the shopkeeper also told you how it was made by a famous Dwarven smith? All a bunch of lies."

"I see...Hmmm. So what you would say this weapon is worth then?"

Halam took it up in one hand and swung it around effortlessly before slas.h.i.+ng at the hard rock floor and then examining the blade.

"Not even a scratch, remarkable craftsmans.h.i.+p. The really valuable thing here though is the boost to [Sword Mastery]. Most train their whole lives and only attain a mastery of Lv.6, a weapon like this would allow someone like me to fight on almost equal footing to an opponent 10 levels higher than me. This would fetch at least...a thousand gold at auction I daresay."

(Wow, so much for my own creations. Well, they don't take much time to make so I've got that going for me but someone needs to be a mage to use the Mana Battery while this could be used by any aspiring adventurer, soldier or n.o.ble to get stronger.)

Wilfred then proceeded to inspect the rest of the equipment for the adventurers, who calculated that in total they had around 1800 gold worth of magical equipment but they still needed to sell it. Of note was the chest armor, a piece that Alcot was holding tightly, likely intending on buying it.

[Magic Armor]

Chestplate of the Indomitable, Lv.18

DEF: 88

DUR: 114

Type: Heavy Armor

Effect: +5 Agi/+4 Dex

The last magical equipment was a pair of heavy armor gloves that increased Str.

[Magic Armor]

Gauntlets of the Ogre, Lv.18

DEF: 36

DUR: 75

Type: Heavy Armor

Effect: +5 Str

The adventurers were impressed by the quality of equipment that the Bandit Leader owned and were upset that the guild had not informed them of this. Requests were a.s.signed on the basis that the adventurer(s) could reasonably complete it without being killed most of the time.

After inspecting the items, Wilfred rested a bit. It was not tiring per se but seeing those menus pop up in his vision was discomforting and felt like watching a 3D movie without the gla.s.ses for it. Looking around the cave floor for anything they might have missed, a bright golden hue caught Wilfred's attention.

Getting up, he approached the location where some yellow glowing mushrooms were growing in a corner of the cave. Taking his alchemy book out of his bag to confirm it, he jumped for joy when it turned out to be what he was hoping they were.

"Fig! Come here."

As Fig came closer, he also noticed the strange color of the mushrooms and it clicked in his head, recognition becoming apparent on his face.

"Ohhhh, good find. Yeah I'm pretty sure that's Golden Galangal."

Wilfred smiled and took out a small knife, cutting the mushrooms and putting them in his bag. In total he was able to harvest 9 of them. If what Galerion told him was true, they could sell for up to 40 gold per.

Wilfred rejoined the others after collecting the Golden Galangal and noticed Halam taking items and then stuffing them inside of a bag but the bag never seemed full.

"Is that bag magical?"

Halam nodded in response to his question.

"Yes, it's a loan from the guild. Buying one of these would be very expensive so the guild lends it to us before we head out. You do need to be a certain rank though, they don't hand these out to everyone. As far as I know, it's bottomless and we can put everything in here, including all the stolen goods from bandits."

"Do you get to keep all the stolen goods too or are they returned to whom they were stolen from?"

Alcot replied to that one.

"It's hard to know and prove who owned what so the guild buys everything from us at 50% of it's value and sells it back to owners for 66% if they can prove it was theirs. Usually a manifest or something like that. While it may be tempting to try to sell it on the black market, it's illegal and would lead to getting removed from the guild. This arrangement works out best for everyone involved, except the merchants perhaps."

After everything was safely stored in the bag, which took a few hours, the party ate and rested a few hours. Although Alcot and Halam still limped, everyone was in a hurry to leave this place before anything or anyone else showed up here. It was starting to get dark outside but still, they made their way slowly. They reached Sondano without any issue and slept the remainder of the night there, intending to leave for the capital in the morning.