Chapter 409 - Antiquarian
Jason was unsure whether the woman called Haepha was angry or not, but what he knew for sure was that something except her age made Shane respect her a lot.
As such he told himself that there had to be something unique about the woman who wanted to see him.
They had planned to meet her either way, as such it was not a problem and Shane told Haepha that they would arrive in less than ten minutes.
After that, the runes inscribed on the red messenger crystal began to diminish while Haepha said
"I've already messaged the City lord about your arrival! Just hurry up. I don't like to wait!"
Hanging up the call, Haepha who looked like she was in her early 30s sat down on the chair she previously sat on as she looked through the small antiquity shop she had.
'Why does he want to come over now? And who is this youth? His knowledge about foreign races and the messenger crystal is not something he can easily procure...Did Shane teach him all of that?'
Haepha was a tall woman with a height of around 1.83 meters with soulderlong red hair and deep, brown eyes, who couldn't help but feel that Shane's arrival might be more interesting than she initially thought.
When the call ended, Shane and the others decided to eat something small, which they hadn't done for a very long time before they departed.
Using numerous spatial portals, they arrived in front of a large city that was enveloped in a complex mana dome that Jason had never seen before.
Emily was also astonished because she could sense the difference between the dome's one Terebrean and the one in front of her.
Andra, the city in front of them was only a B-grade city but it was much grander than the B-grade cities Jason had seen before.
This was one of the differences in Canir. Every city was large and had a population in the millions.
However, that was not everything! The mana density and purity were much higher compared to Terebrean and Astrix.
It was still lower compared to the center area of the mana vein below Cyro-city, but Jason could tell that he was able to absorb much more mana than he would be able to on the Archipelago.
One could say that this was the most important reason for all prodigious talents to leave the Archipelago, both the surrounding mana's quality and quantity were much higher on Canir than any Island.
Astrix' mana vein was the sole difference, but even that was incomparable as long as one didn't stay right next to it!
As such, Canir was great to nurture new talents compared to the small Islands.
Nevertheless, Jason was not impressed by the naturally generated mana anymore because he knew that his own mana absorption rate amplified by the activated stigma would become higher compared to what the mana in his surroundings could provide.
When they arrived in front of Andra's dome, they descended to the ground before the small group of four walked through the thin, translucent wall of the dome.
Only half a minute after they had passed through the Dome, several humans at the Lord ranked had already appeared in front of them as one man stepped forward while looking at the quantum bracelet where a tall red-haired woman was projected.
"Are those four the guests you mentioned?" He asked Haepha who was in a projected video call with the middle-aged man.
Haepha who saw that there were two adults and two teenagers among the group couldn't help but wonder if that were Shane, Dalia, and two disciples or if there were coincidentally others who had arrived at a bad timing.
Both Shane and Dalia's appearance had changed completely, after Dalia's flame had the capabilities to change the facial features of someone to a certain extent.
Furthermore, they had dyed their hair and without any proper signs that they were really Shane and Dalia he had known for a very long time.
If she were in front of them she would be able to tell them apart within a second, but the City lord told her that it would be better to remain within the shop she was currently at.
This was only because some foreign races had a hostility to her as she did massacre lots of people from all kinds of foreign races during the last few months!
It would be problematic for Andra's citizens if foreign races were to find out that Haepha lived there which caused the City lord to request her to stay behind.
As such, she could only stare at the masked youth that was eyed with doubt and a slight trace of confusion by the Lord ranked guards that protected the city right now.
Last but not least, there was a young girl with green hair in their group, and the middle-aged woman, Haepha, assumed to be Dalia dragged the young girl behind her.
'Did she become a mother?...No, her constitution wouldn't allow that...are those some motherly feelings?'
Suddenly Shane manifested his three affinities while Dalia manifested her silver origin flame and the nature affinity she had was released too.
With that Haepha could tell that they were Shane and Dalia.
It wouldn't be too much of a coincidence to have the same affinities as Shane had but for the same to happen with Dalia's nature affinity and silver origin flame was unlikely.
Origin flames were already rare but Haeoha had only once seen a silver one and that was Dalia's!
"Yes, they're my guests!" Haepha said to the man at the Lord rank before ending the call.
Shane and Dali knew that Haepha was unable to tell who they were without sensing their mana fluctuations.
However, it surprised them that she didn't come to them directly, which was something Shane expected because Haephe had always been impatient and someone who wanted to avoid too much attnetion!
As such, they had to release their affinities with which Haepha was familiar.
When clearing their identity was solved, the Lord-ranked guards returned, while the man who had talked to them for a moment before leading their small group to a small, inconspicuous looking shop.
After that, he left too, only to turn around for a moment as he looked at Jason who wore a mask to cover his stigma.
Unfortunately, his was not enough to disguise the terrifying, yet majestic aura enveloping Jason.
'He should have barely entered the Magus rank...how can it be that my colleagues and I felt threatened by him…?'
The young man couldn't get the hang of what he perceived and the only thing he was sure about was that the youth was a real prodigy.
It was unknown how old Jason was because one couldn't see the face behind his mask, but from the appearance, one could roughly estimate that he was in his 20s.
He had only one drop of mana which the Lord-ranked guards perceived by scanning through his concealed mana core, but that was not what mattered.
They, Lord-ranked guards, were already afraid of such a youth..how could that be?
Jason and the other's didn't realize the guards' suspicion and Shane didn't care about anything like that as his hands began to sweat heavily
'I hope she still has what I need....' He thought inwardly as he entered the small antiquary shop, while Dalia, Jason, and Emily followed behind.
After the four of them had entered the small shop, they approached the counter where Haepha was already seated, waiting impatiently as her gaze was involuntarily drawn to Jason.
When she saw Jason, she couldn't help but blurt out.
"What the hell did you bring me here? How can someone with one drop of mana release such an aura? Are you playing with me, Shane??"
Shane who had expected a similar reaction couldn't help but shake his head as he stared at Haepha when he said
"I'm not playing with anyone right now and it has been a very long time since I've been as serious as I'm right now. Please tell me that you're still hoarding all kinds of rare materials...Is the Mayrod Soul wood still with you?"
Haepha, who was still looking at Jason, trying to investigate every little detail about the young man that stood in front of her, barely heard what Shane said
"I wouldn't be called Haepha if I wouldn't collect rare antiquities anymore, right? But for what do you need the Mayrod Soul wood?...wait, what do you need??"
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