Chapter 131 : Chapter 131

Chapter 131. Unexpected Joy

Outside the City of Apprentices, in a nameless town on the outskirts of Lodris.

This town is without a name because it is not recognized by the Alliance as part of its territory. In fact, it does not even appear on the Alliance's maps.

Hence, this place is filled with illegal constructions, but for some unknown reason, the Alliance has tacitly allowed its existence.

The town was originally inhabited by people who had come here to seek work in the City of Apprentices. Later, due to their failure to obtain city entry permits, they simply settled here.

Now, the entire town has become a marketplace, offering a large number of accommodation spaces for traveling merchants and mercenaries, as well as a market where one can avoid the high taxes imposed by the Alliance.

As a result, many people intentionally come here to see for themselves.

As Fulan walked down the street, the first thing she felt was disgust. In the City of Apprentices, there were cleaners employed to maintain the environment, but here, no such luxury existed.

Since this is a magical world, the wastewater comes in many colors—white, black, pink, and more...

The ground is covered with these liquids, but surprisingly, Fulan couldn't smell any foul odor. Instead, there was a fresh air-like scent, as if an air freshener had been sprayed.

Besides this, there were things scattered on the ground—whether they were minerals dropped by merchants in a hurry or manure left by passing livestock, it was unclear. However, everyone in the street had to avoid these things.

Only the particularly careless people would pick them up and try... just to see.

Fulan quickened her pace and headed to the location Elan had mentioned, no longer bothering to look at the town.

---

As Fulan neared a relatively cleaner area, she recognized the wooden building as the place Elan had told her about where horses were sold.

It was a large structure, with a large stable behind it.

However, as she approached, she could hear several voices arguing, filled with anger and accusations.

"This is impossible! Damn it, I brought this horse all the way from Antir! But I watched it carry a dead knight here."

"Listen, I can only offer you 80 silver coins. It's not because your breed is bad..."

"Damn it, I even heard your buying prices are the most reasonable. I came all the way here because of that. My previous seller was willing to offer a whole gold coin."

"Did you hear me say that this horse's Achilles tendon is damaged and can no longer bear the weight of carrying someone for long distances? Its only use now is for breeding with other horses. And look at its wounds; without spending a lot of money, you won't be able to heal it..."

The horse seller, named Shane, was the owner of the horse trading shop that had been in business for twelve years.

He was in a heated discussion with a mercenary who had just returned from the Antir region.

As soon as he saw Fulan entering, his face lit up. He immediately stopped arguing with the mercenary and called out to a young man in the store.

"Hey, Allen, stop sitting there. We have a big customer. Go greet her."

Allen, who was still carrying things, quickly put down what he was doing, tidied himself up a bit, and jogged over to Fulan.

"Honored Mage, what kind of horse would you like?" he asked.

Fulan glanced at the mercenary, suddenly noticing something strange about the short sword hanging at his waist. The runes on it were a type she had never seen before.

These runes covered the entire short sword and even extended to the other side.

Fulan was curious but didn’t immediately approach. Instead, she spoke to Allen first.

"I need a horse that can endure long journeys... Elan recommended this place."

Allen's eyes brightened. "Ah, yes, we have a one-and-a-half-year-old Highland Black Horse. Both of its parents are of this breed..."

As Allen was speaking, Shane's discussion with the mercenary was also wrapping up.

"I don't know which shop would pay a gold coin for a horse like this, which is almost useless now. But if you know, do let me know. I’ve bought many disabled horses from Antir recently."

"Fine, eighty silver coins, then," the mercenary sighed, giving up on haggling and deciding to make the deal.

At this point, Fulan stepped forward and interrupted their conversation. She pointed to the short sword at the mercenary’s waist.

"Could you show me your sword?" she asked.

Both of them were surprised; it seemed they hadn’t expected a mage to be interested in such a thing.

After a brief moment of shock, the mercenary quickly drew the sword and handed it to Fulan.

"Honored Mage, this enchanted sword isn’t very useful. It sometimes fails to release the runes when used," the mercenary reminded her.

Fulan grasped the sword and looked at the runes. This rune was far larger than any she had seen before.

While the runes she used in the past were almost like meaningless scribbles, this one resembled a pictograph, clearly engraved with half of a bear, surrounded by frost.

To Fulan’s eyes, this rune seemed incomplete. Could something like this still be functional?

As she examined the rune, the others in the room fell silent.

"I’ll offer twenty-five silver coins. I’ll buy this short sword."

Normally, a good-quality longsword would cost around two silver coins, and an enchanted one might go for seven or eight silver coins. Moreover, this weapon wasn’t even properly enchanted.

"That works, honored Mage," the mercenary quickly agreed. With such a high price offered, he had no choice but to accept. He didn’t want to offend a mage.

"If you could tell me where this rune comes from, I’ll add another five silver coins."

Fulan continued to examine the rune before speaking again. It was incomplete, and it would be best to track down its origin.

The mercenary's eyes lit up, and he spoke eagerly.

"Of course... I bought this short sword in Gede Town. I heard the seller was an enchanter who did the enchanting there."

Fulan raised an eyebrow when she heard Gede Town's name. She hadn’t expected that the location was right on her way.

After asking for the exact location and the name of the enchanter’s shop, Fulan paid thirty silver coins, leaving the mercenary happily heading out.

She placed the short sword into her bag and turned to continue discussing the horse with Shane.

"Honored Mage, what do you think of this black horse? It’s the strongest one we have. If you know any modification mages, we could add some extra enhancements... I guarantee it can withstand quite a bit of strengthening."

Shane led out a jet-black horse, its coat shining. As it walked over, the sound of the stirrups hitting the ground had a steady rhythm.