Chapter 2573 Raven <TOC> Chapter 2575 Dawn
Next page password is bold portion: Blf8sida!EwR
Translator: SumTLMan
Kael’s interest was peculiar, but it perfectly matched the rising gossip-loving heart of Daus.
Back and forth, they had conjured up a melodramatic saga of “Where’s Daddy.”
However, when they encountered Marsha’s husband, Raven, both fell silent.
Accompanying Raven were not only Vai but also Old Tireless, Marsha, and her son, Colo.
At that moment, Colo was hiding behind Marsha, clutching at her legs, peeking out timidly.
Initially, they thought Colo was afraid of them, but judging from the direction of his small, dark eyes, it wasn’t the potentially disastrous transcendents he feared, but rather his father, Raven.
As to why he would fear Raven, they could guess some reasons.
Raven’s attire was indeed… dark.
He wore a blackish-gray long robe, trimmed at the hem with small silver skulls, which indicated a likely silver composition. On his head, he wore a hat almost comparable to a noblewoman’s sun hat, though entirely black, adorned still with skulls, yet it didn’t appear feminine.
Additionally, Raven wore a beak mask. This mask wasn’t handmade but was a raptor’s skull, hence it wasn’t sealed, allowing glimpses of the young man’s face behind it.
His face wasn’t particularly terrifying, but combined with his outfit, it indeed echoed an air of a bygone, dark era.
In the Wizarding World, such attire might be acceptable, something to glance at and turn away from on the street. However, in the ordinary world, such garb was overly extravagant and dark, especially through the innocent eyes of a child, more frightening than the child-eating villains of fairytales.
Clearly, upon seeing his own father, Colo did not approach but instead trembled behind his mother.
“It seems our fabricated story earlier went in the wrong direction,” Daus communicated to Kael through the mental connection: “Angel’s guess might actually be the truth.”
Although they hadn’t met “Lightning” of the Hero Squad, from Colo’s attire, it was evident: this was the typical heroic style, gloriously righteous to the core. It’s normal for children to admire such heroes.
If Colo dressed like his father, Raven, it would be quite horrifying, at least indicating a psychologically twisted childhood.
Angel, who hadn’t participated in Daus’ discussion, quietly stepped forward, facing Raven: “On the way here, my companions must have told you why we are looking for you.”
Before Raven could respond, Vai excitedly indicated to Angel that he had already mentioned it.
The reason for Vai’s excitement was simply Angel’s casual mention of “companions.”
Indeed, Lord Super Dimensional values him greatly!
Unaware of Vai’s excited point and unbothered by it, Angel continued to stare at Raven: “Where is the weapon?”
Raven was decisive, stretching out his hand and lightly reaching behind his back to produce a cane tied to his belt, now displayed in front of them.
This cane, entirely black like Raven’s attire, appeared deliberately dyed. At the top, a silver raven was embedded, clearly hand-polished, with a beak and wings spread so sharp, it could easily serve as a long-handled weapon when swung.
Angel began examining the cane, and several streams of mental power converged around it, indicating that others were also scrutinizing it.
“There’s a scent of human blood on the cane, likely fresh. But even with the human blood masking it, the scent of demon blood is still overwhelmingly strong. Angel is right, this cane is indeed crafted from demon blood ore,” Daus shared his observation.
“What else is special about this cane besides being made from demon blood ore?” Kael asked, now descending from upstairs, curious about the cane.
At this point, the most authoritative figures, the Black Count and Angel, remained silent.
After a long contemplation, the Black Count and Angel “exchanged looks”——Angel with his eyes, the Black Count with his nostrils.
“Judging by its shape, this was supposed to be a single-column support for a podium, only it’s no longer in its original form and has been significantly altered,” Angel commented while inserting the cane into a socket on the podium’s pillar.
Clearly, the cane was much thinner than before, unable to stay firm in the socket.
“Besides being altered, the top part, which used to be a podium, has also vanished,” mocked the Black Count: “Transformed into this indescribable decoration, what a waste.”
They now understood why Vai had been hesitant when mentioning the podium, it was no longer a podium.
Thoroughly transformed, it might be more refined than a podium, but besides its delicacy, it had no other advantages. Of course, that was from Angel’s perspective; to the common eye, the cane remained a lethal weapon.
“Why has it become like this? Who could work on demon blood ore? Where did the podium top go?” Daus’ series of questions also echoed the group’s puzzlement.
Their gazes turned to Raven, who after some questioning, finally spoke, his deep voice intensifying Colo’s fear.
“When I received this weapon from my master, it indeed still resembled a podium, just too cumbersome. Though the podium top could be used as a hammer, that did not suit my fighting style.”
Given Raven’s physique, it made sense he preferred a more agile assassin’s approach.
“So, I had someone refine it for me, reshaping this podium.”
Daus asked: “Who did the refining? Where is the podium top?”
Despite knowing the significant variation in hardness of demon blood ore and not knowing the exact hardness of the Sphinx Harpy’s demon blood ore, they understood that ordinary blacksmiths attempting to refine it would face hellish difficulty.
Perhaps Raven has come into contact with a blacksmith who possesses extraordinary abilities?
Raven did not respond immediately but fell into a moment of deep thought.
At this point, Old Tireless spoke up: “I should be the one to explain this matter. Raven has an agreement with this someone and shouldn’t reveal too much. But it’s different for me; that old fellow has refused to forge weapons for me many times, and I have no such agreements with him.”
With Old Tireless’ interjection, Raven seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
From the expressions and nuances of their speech, it appeared that what Old Tireless said was true, prompting Angel to shift his attention to the seemingly hunchbacked old man.
“The one who helped Raven refine his weapon is someone who calls himself the ‘Magic Craftsman.'”
“Magic Craftsman? That’s quite a title, isn’t it? One might worry he can’t digest such a grand name,” Vai murmured softly, thinking to himself that only someone like Lord Super Dimensional could rightfully earn such a title without feeling undeserving.
“It’s just a name; after all, everyone likes to aim high. I once thought about calling myself the ‘Godslayer,’ but my spouse quickly vetoed that idea,” Old Tireless sighed, a trace of nostalgia flickering in his eyes.
“Let’s continue,” he said: “This Magic Craftsman comes from an organization called ‘Traveling Merchants.’ This organization is quite special; they don’t have a fixed base and roam different areas daily. The various adventure groups in each area don’t harbor much malice towards the Traveling Merchants because they hardly ever engage in treasure hunting. Their sole purpose is…”
“As their name suggests, one might guess that yes, they are merchants. They travel from region to region to conduct business.”
“Their business encompasses a wide range, covering almost all essentials of daily life. Most of our food here is traded with the Traveling Merchants.”
“A team that roams the Garden Labyrinth, specifically to do business? That’s quite interesting,” Daus whispered softly, then looked up at Old Tireless: “Since they are conducting business, why did you say earlier that the Magic Craftsman has refused many times to forge weapons for you?”
Old Tireless sighed: “Because I don’t have what he wants.”
It turned out that although the Traveling Merchants organization conducted business, aside from necessities like food, water, and oil, all other transactions couldn’t be settled with money.
What they sought were items that various organizations found in ruins.
In short, although they didn’t go treasure hunting, they amassed many artifacts under the guise of trading.
Old Tireless had also obtained many artifacts from the ruins, but every time he approached the Magic Craftsman, the old fellow would take one look and toss them back, declaring them insufficient.
This was the source of Old Tireless’ grievance with the Magic Craftsman.
By the time Old Tireless finished explaining, the others had likely grasped the full scope of the situation. This “Traveling Merchants” organization was certainly not simple.
They seemed detached, but in reality, they were more like an employer to all the adventure groups in the ruins.
Ordinary goods could be exchanged for money because these were items that ordinary people could produce.
“In exchange for combat supplies, they demand artifacts from the ruins, clearly, that’s what the Traveling Merchants truly desires.”
“Employing the adventure groups to aid in exploration shows some intelligence behind the scenes.” They could almost be certain that a transcendent backed the Traveling Merchant.
Because only transcendents can utilize artifacts, which ordinary people cannot use to their fullest potential.
“Was Raven’s cane refined by the Magic Craftsman?” Angel asked: “If I’m not mistaken, you traded the podium too with the Magic Craftsman, correct?”
Raven nodded: “Yes.”
“Another complication arises,” Daus massaged his temples, thinking he wouldn’t have to deal with transcendents here, yet it seems they must meet with other such beings.
“What a fool,” the Black Count scoffed.
It appears Raven made a deal, but in reality, the traded artifacts, including the refined magic blood ore, are far more valuable than this seemingly useless cane.
As various emotions surfaced among the group, Angel remained calm and continued to inquire: “Since you received the podium from your master in one piece, could you describe its specific appearance? Were there any patterns or inscriptions?”
Raven pondered for a moment: “I can’t quite remember, but I think there were no inscriptions, just the usual wood grain patterns since the podium top was made of some wood.”
“Did the original pillar, which is now your cane, have any peculiarities?”
Raven shook his head again: “Not really.”
Nothing on the podium top or the legs? Was Daus’ inspiration misdirected?
While Angel pondered, Old Tireless suddenly spoke up: “Actually, initially, the podium did have some letters and inscribed patterns on it, and there seemed to be a design on the legs too. However, Raven’s master remodeled it after a while, and started using it to hammer people and things. Over time, the patterns seemed to have worn off.”
Hearing this from Old Tireless, Angel’s eyes lit up, realizing Daus’ inspiration might not have been misguided after all.
This podium top could indeed be the breakthrough they needed.
Regarding the worn-out patterns Old Tireless mentioned, given it had only been a few years, there must still be some traces left. They are all transcendents; if they can’t even detect these remnants, they shouldn’t bother at all.
With this thought, Angel looked at the group: “It seems we need to deal with this merchant organization.”
“Even if not for this podium top, we still need to go.”
The reason was simple: if the Traveling Merchants organization had existed here for so many years, Angel didn’t believe they were unaware of the true entrance to the underground labyrinth.
Even without any clues on the podium top, information could still be obtained from the Traveling Merchants organization. Therefore, they had no choice but to engage with this organization.
Before they set out to locate the Traveling Merchants organization, they conversed with Old Tireless again to confirm that there were no other surprises when they had initially taken over this underground ruin site. Only then did Angel prepare to leave.
However, before that, they needed an answer: “How do we find the Traveling Merchants?”
“The Traveling Merchants always roam within the ruins; they visit each area. We encounter them a few days after arriving in any area, so we’ve never actually sought them out,” Old Tireless explained apologetically: “So, I’m afraid I can’t be of help with this.”
“Since we can’t get any clues, it looks like we’ll have to split up and each take a side. Shall we use mental power to scout?” Daus suggested.
Daus’ proposal was quite standard, but Angel did not immediately respond; instead, he looked toward Marsha.
Marsha was still dressed as a youth, standing beside her husband Raven. The scene was unexpectedly harmonious.
Angel looked at Marsha because, during his earlier inquiry about the Traveling Merchants’ whereabouts to Old Tireless, he noticed a slight fluctuation in Marsha’s emotions, as if she knew something.
The others hadn’t noticed this, but Angel, whose ability to perceive emotions was almost a special talent, sensed something odd about Marsha.
“Marsha, do you know the whereabouts of the Traveling Merchants?” Angel asked suddenly.
This question baffled everyone.
Why would Angel suddenly ask Marsha?
Marsha’s reaction only deepened their confusion because… she hesitated.
Her hesitation indicated that she indeed knew something.
How had Angel noticed?
As everyone pondered this, Marsha slowly began: “I, I had indeed encountered the Traveling Merchants today…”