Chapter 163: Preparing to Open a Shop 2

As for the things he had collected underground, along with the enormous number of books stored within the dimensional space, Kent had no intention of studying or deciphering them just yet.

There was already far too much knowledge crammed into his mind.

Before taking in anything more, he first needed to digest what he already knew and truly make it his own.

Only after that would he turn his attention to the contents of the dimensional space.

More importantly, everything inside that place was far too sensitive.

Kent had no desire to become a target hunted by the entire world.

For that reason, whenever he refined alchemical items, he would make sure to use only materials that could already be found on the continent.

Of course, if one day his strength became great enough, then even if the dimensional space were exposed, he would have nothing to fear.

The important thing was timing.

He had to know when he was strong enough to reveal what he possessed—and when he was not.

By the time Kent finally emerged from seclusion, more than two weeks had passed.

He had barely finished cleaning himself up when Keta came looking for him.

“Well, kid,” Keta said the moment he arrived, “you ran off with Daphne for half a year. How exactly do you plan to settle that account with me?”

Keta looked even more refined than before.

The branches surrounding his body had gradually shrunk, and his overall shape was becoming increasingly humanlike.

Even the aura around him had changed.

It was no longer as openly imposing as before. Instead, his presence had become deeper, quieter, and far more restrained.

Kent did not respond the way Keta expected.

Rather than flattering him or making excuses, Kent slammed his palm against the table.

“You’ve got the nerve to ask me that?”

He raised his voice indignantly.

“If I hadn’t been dragging Daphne around with me, would I have had to work that hard? Forget about the earth-lizard packs and the kobolds for a moment. Just think about all the other dangers we ran into!”

Kent pointed at himself.

“Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to travel around with a second-rank follower?”

“You people had it easy. I brought her back safe and sound, and you still—”

Keta had, of course, already heard about what had happened between Kent and Daphne.

As far as he was concerned, Kent was a perfectly suitable match for the girl.

The main reason he had come today was simply to remind Kent of the promise he had made earlier.

He had not expected Kent to slam the table and start shouting at him.

But it was not Kent’s words that stunned Keta.

It was the aura coming from his body.

Keta’s expression changed instantly.

He lunged forward, grabbed Kent, and asked excitedly, “You’ve reached the seventh rank?”

“Yeah,” Kent replied proudly. “So? You still think that counts as an ordinary trial?”

The moment Keta mentioned his advancement, Kent immediately puffed up with pride.

“Excellent!”

Keta shouted so loudly that the room seemed to shake.

“Of course it’s excellent!”

Being praised by an ancient monster who had lived for countless years left Kent feeling immensely pleased with himself.

Then Keta continued.

“If you’re seventh-rank now, then you should be able to cast more than a hundred spells in a single day.”

Kent’s smile froze.

“Come on, come on! Let’s go!”

Keta was already calculating excitedly.

“Start casting light-element spells. Let me think... Muan City, Gini City... Hmm, sixteen major dark elf cities in total, and probably more than twenty places that need light magic.”

He nodded to himself.

“At this rate, one year should be more than enough.”

Kent’s face immediately went through several shades of color.

So that was what this ancient old monster was excited about.

He had not been praising Kent at all.

He had simply been calculating how much work he could squeeze out of him.

Kent suddenly felt that all the smug expressions he had just made had been completely wasted.

He had always assumed that treants were thick-headed pieces of wood.

Apparently, he was not much better himself.

“I’m not going,” Kent said unhappily. “I’ve got other things to do.”

“You dare?”

Keta immediately jumped to his feet.

“Fine! I’ll go tell little Daphne.”

Kent’s expression changed at once.

Keta had found his weakness with terrifying precision.

“Grandfather! My dear grandfather!”

Kent hurriedly grabbed him and began apologizing.

“Don’t go. I was joking. I was only joking!”

He forced a smile onto his face.

“Look, how about this instead?”

In the end, Kent promised that within half a month, he would make one hundred light-element magic scrolls.

Keta could take them and handle the rest himself.

Only then was the old treant finally satisfied.

Even worse, after getting what he wanted, Keta proceeded to lecture Kent severely while shamelessly relying on his status as “Grandfather.”

By that point, Kent was so angry that his nose nearly twisted out of shape.

And yet he still had to stand there wearing a smile.

The frustration in his heart was almost unbearable.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Keta had barely left when someone began pounding on Kent’s front door hard enough to make the whole entrance shake.

“Boom!”

The moment Kent opened the door, a dark figure suddenly lunged at him.

Kent reacted almost entirely on instinct.

His leg snapped out.

The next instant, the figure went flying sideways across the corridor and smashed straight into a room on the opposite side with a thunderous crash.

Kent caught a glimpse of the person’s face as he flew past.

His heart immediately sank.

“Oh, damn.”

He hurried over.

“Kobi? Are you all right?”

Kent stared at the dust-covered figure buried among the wreckage. Beneath the grime and swelling, he could just barely make out Kobi’s face.

He swallowed awkwardly and lowered his voice.

“You... you...”

Kobi stared at him weakly, managing only those two words.

Kent immediately relaxed.

“If you can still talk, you’re probably fine. Don’t say anything.”

Without wasting another moment, he cast a healing spell.

Before long, Kobi’s injuries had completely disappeared.

The dwarf climbed back to his feet, brushed at the dust covering his clothes, and immediately began complaining.

“Seriously, kid, what kind of way is that to treat someone? I came here today out of the goodness of my heart to see how you were doing, and I ended up getting beaten half to death!”

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Was it that flashy mount of yours?”

Then he jabbed a finger toward Kent.

“I don’t care who did it. If you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation today, this isn’t over.”

Kobi puffed out his chest proudly.

“And while we’re at it, let me tell you something. I’m already a second-rank warrior now.”

He grinned arrogantly.

“Dealing with a half-useless mage like you? I could do it with one little finger.”

Kent looked at the dwarf standing there covered from head to toe in dust, wearing an expression so smug that it practically begged to be punched.

He nearly laughed.

Still, Kobi had come because he was worried about him, and Kent appreciated that.

So he answered sincerely, “My mount isn’t available for borrowing. Pick something else.”

Kobi’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Fine.”

He leaned closer, looking distinctly suspicious.

“Then give me a hundred or so of those magic scrolls for the spell you just used.”

He gestured toward himself.

“You know I’m a warrior. Something like your light-element healing magic is extremely useful to me. Extremely useful.”

Kent had expected some outrageous demand.

When he heard that Kobi only wanted healing scrolls, he immediately slapped his chest.

“No problem.”

“My alchemy shop will be opening in a few days. When it does, you can buy as many as you want.”

Kobi froze.

“Buy?”

He repeated the word slowly, as though he could hardly believe what he had just heard.

Kent gave him an irritated look.

“What? You thought I was going to give them to you for free?”

Kent was already in a bad mood after being lectured by Keta and had been looking for somewhere to vent his frustration.

And now, conveniently enough, here stood a certain dwarf who had always considered himself exceptionally clever.

Kobi stared at him in disbelief.

“Don’t you feel even a little guilty?”

He spread his arms dramatically.

“Look at me! Look at what you did to me! You can really bear to treat me like this?”

Kent looked him up and down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“You can talk. You can jump. You’re perfectly healthy.”

He paused.

“You’re just a little dirty.”

Kent grinned.

“What exactly am I supposed to feel guilty about? Unless you want me to wash your clothes for you?”

Kobi’s face darkened.

He ground his teeth.

“Is this how you treat your friends?”

“All right, all right.”

Kent finally raised his hands in surrender.

“I’ll wash your clothes for you. Happy now?”

Before Kobi could react, Kent raised one hand.

A powerful surge of water-element magic erupted around him.

“Fifth-rank water magic—Rainstorm!”

A torrent of water immediately poured down on Kobi.

Within seconds, the dwarf was soaked from head to toe.

“F-Fifth-rank magic?”

Kobi stood there completely drenched, too shocked even to complain.

The magical fluctuations released from Kent’s body had been far too powerful to mistake.

Still, there was one benefit.

His clothes no longer needed washing.

Most clothing in the Underdark was made from beast hide anyway, so a thorough soaking hardly mattered.

Kent folded his arms and raised his chin smugly.

“Fifth rank? Who said anything about fifth rank?”

He wore the most punchable expression imaginable.

“I’m only a mere seventh-rank mage now.”

Kobi stared at him.

Then a broad smile slowly spread across his face.

“Heh. Well, congratulations.”

He began walking toward Kent.

“Congratulations on becoming strong enough for me to beat—”

The closer he came, the wider his grin became.

Once he was within arm’s reach, Kobi suddenly swung a fist the size of a small hammer straight at Kent’s face.

In Kobi’s mind, Kent was still just a mage.

No matter how high his rank had become, once a warrior got close enough, wasn’t a mage basically meat on a chopping board?

He could beat Kent however he pleased.

Or so he thought.

“AAAHHHHHHH!”

Before his fist could land, Kent’s foot struck him again.

Kobi went flying for the second time that day.

Kent looked down at the unconscious Kobi, and the smugness on his face vanished almost at once.

This time, he was genuinely worried.

He still had not fully adjusted to the tremendous increase in his physical strength. Whenever something happened suddenly, his body reacted almost entirely on instinct, and he tended to use far more force than necessary.

His reflexes had become much faster as well.

By the time Kent realized what he was doing, the kick had already landed.

With no other choice, he carried Kobi back home and treated his injuries.

In the end, Kent had to give him several magic scrolls before the dwarf was finally satisfied enough to leave.

Not long afterward, Kent purchased a building beside the main square of Muan City.

Like most structures in the Underdark, the house was built almost entirely from massive blocks of stone. It had two floors, giving Kent more than enough space for what he had in mind.

This was where he planned to open his alchemy shop.

The store would sell all sorts of items made by Kent himself—magic scrolls, magical potions, weapons, and whatever other alchemical creations he managed to produce in the future.

Kent had already decided on one unusual rule for the shop.

Ordinary money would not always be accepted.

He was willing to take useful materials, mithril coins, and adamantine coins as payment.

But diamond coins, violet-gold coins, and other forms of currency?

He had no interest in them whatsoever.

What Kent needed now was not ordinary wealth.

He needed materials.

Materials he could use to practice alchemy, improve his skills, and create even more valuable things.