Chapter 164: The Grand Elder’s Intentions 1

After spending several busy days getting the new building in order, Kent finally began preparing the goods he intended to sell.

He decided to start with enchanted weapons.

To craft magical weapons, however, he needed magic cores.

The problem was that nearly all the cores in Kent’s possession were mid- to high-rank. He did not have a single low-rank core on hand.

That left him with only one option—buy them.

Before making any large purchases, however, Kent wanted to get a proper sense of the current market prices.

Fortunately, there were plenty of shops and street stalls scattered around the square.

Ever since the Great Trial had opened up an entirely new region for exploration, the number of adventurers passing through Muan City had increased dramatically.

Rumors had also spread that the newly discovered territory contained deposits of rare metals and gemstones. That had attracted large numbers of prospectors hoping to strike it rich.

As a result, Muan City was growing busier by the day.

More travelers arrived, more merchants followed, and the shops and stalls around the central square multiplied along with them.

Kent had barely stepped out of his house when a squad of dark elves approached him.

“Elder Kent.”

The leader bowed respectfully.

“The Grand Elder requests your presence.”

“The Grand Elder?”

Only then did Kent realize that the old man had already returned.

What puzzled him was why the Grand Elder had come to Muan City in the first place.

Muan City lay in a relatively remote corner of the Underdark. Someone of the Grand Elder’s status would hardly be expected to personally remain in a place like this.

Had he merely stopped here on his way somewhere else?

With that question in mind, Kent followed the dark elves to the Grand Elder’s residence.

After the elders’ previous visit, several residences had been prepared for them in Muan City, so they would always have somewhere suitable to stay whenever they returned.

“Greetings, Grand Elder.”

Kent spotted him from a distance and immediately stepped forward to offer a respectful salute.

“No need for that. No need at all.”

The Grand Elder smiled warmly.

“You’re an elder yourself now. There’s no reason to be so formal with me.”

He reached out and took Kent by the arm with surprising familiarity, leading him into the hall side by side.

Once the two had taken their seats as host and guest, Kent finally asked, “Grand Elder, may I ask why you called me here?”

“Heh. I’ll be staying in Muan City permanently from now on.”

The Grand Elder smiled as he spoke.

“You know how important the breadfruit trees are. Nothing can be allowed to happen to them.”

He leaned back slightly.

“And since Muan City is the closest major supply point to the region opened up during the last Great Trial, this place has become even more important.”

The smile on his face deepened.

“I had to fight quite hard to get this assignment, you know.”

Kent nodded slowly.

“That makes sense.”

Even so, something still felt strange to him.

Important as the breadfruit trees might be, could they truly justify having someone of the Grand Elder’s standing personally stationed in such a remote city?

Kent did not think it was appropriate to press him about it, so instead he changed the subject.

“Grand Elder, what happened to the map I gave you last time?”

The Grand Elder’s expression changed immediately.

He waved his hand.

The guards inside the hall quickly withdrew, leaving the two of them alone.

Only after the doors had closed did the Grand Elder look at Kent with a grave expression.

“You really have no sense of how serious certain matters can be, do you?”

Kent blinked.

“The map?”

“The map concerns something extremely important.”

The Grand Elder lowered his voice.

“Do you know why the population of the Underdark is so sparse?”

Kent thought for a moment.

“Because the environment is too harsh for people to live in?”

“Yes. That is one reason.”

The Grand Elder nodded.

“But there is another.”

He looked directly at Kent.

“There simply aren’t enough dark elves.”

Kent’s expression shifted slightly.

The Grand Elder continued in a low voice.

“Since we’re speaking privately, I’ll tell you something that very few outsiders know.”

“In the Underdark, the dark elf race controls no fewer than five regions suitable for large-scale settlement.”

Kent’s eyes widened.

At least five?

The Grand Elder gave him a meaningful look.

“Do you understand now?”

“If we already possess that many habitable regions, why have they never been made public?”

Kent immediately understood where the conversation was going.

The Grand Elder sighed.

“Because our race has an extremely low birth rate.”

“There simply aren’t enough dark elves to populate all of those places.”

His tone became more serious.

“So from now on, do not mention the map again.”

“Not to anyone.”

Kent nodded slowly.

The map was clearly tied to far more than the discovery of a few new caverns or settlements.

It concerned the hidden territory—and perhaps even the long-term survival—of the entire dark elf race.

Seeing that Kent understood, the Grand Elder’s expression softened.

“Of course, your contribution will not be forgotten.”

He smiled faintly.

“Her Majesty the Queen has already said that when the opportunity arises, she intends to meet you personally.”

The Grand Elder’s revelation took Kent completely by surprise.

He had never imagined that the dark elves possessed such hidden reserves.

Still, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

If the dark elves had not possessed such means, how could they have remained the dominant power of the Underdark for more than ten thousand years?

The elves of the surface world, by comparison, had been forced to confine themselves largely to their forests.

And what was the greatest reason for that?

Their population was simply too small.

Before Kent could dwell on the matter any further, the Grand Elder’s expression grew stern once again.

“There’s something else.”

“You’ve been far too careless about hiding your strength.”

Kent stiffened.

“I know you must have encountered some extraordinary opportunities during the Great Trial. As for exactly what happened to you, I have no intention of prying.”

The Grand Elder fixed him with a penetrating gaze.

“But think about this carefully.”

“What rank were you before the trial?”

“And what rank are you now?”

“In barely half a year, you’ve reached a height that many people could struggle their entire lives and never attain.”

His voice grew heavier.

“Fortunately, I’ve already suppressed the news.”

“Even the fact that you possess a Dragon Turtle of the Legendary rank has been kept from outsiders.”

The Grand Elder leaned forward slightly.

“Now think about it.”

“If everyone in the world learned what had happened to you in those six months, what do you think the consequences would be?”

“Grand Elder...”

A chill suddenly ran down Kent’s back.

Until now, he had been secretly pleased with himself for reaching the seventh rank.

Only now did he realize just how dangerous that pride had been.

A saying from Earth suddenly surfaced in his mind:

The tallest tree in the forest is always the first to be battered by the wind.

He had understood the words before.

But only now did he truly understand what they meant.

Kent suddenly realized that he was still far too immature.

He felt genuinely grateful for the Grand Elder’s warning.

But before he could finish speaking, the old dark elf waved him silent.

“Heh. Fortunately, you haven’t been wandering around since returning to Muan City.”

“You at least had enough sense to shut yourself away and cultivate.”

The Grand Elder’s expression softened somewhat.

“So for now, word of your strength has only spread within an extremely small circle.”

Then he glanced meaningfully at Kent.

“And yes, I know that you cultivate both magic and martial power.”

Kent’s eyes shifted slightly.

The Grand Elder immediately understood what he was thinking.

“This has nothing to do with Daphne.”

“The fluctuations produced by the battle aura within your body are fundamentally different from magical fluctuations. Someone experienced enough can distinguish between the two.”

As he spoke, the Grand Elder reached into his robes and tossed Kent an old, weathered scroll made from beast hide.

“Our elven race possesses a secret technique for concealing one’s aura.”

“It can suppress the fluctuations of your strength and make it extremely difficult for others to see through your true level.”

“Take it back and learn it before you do anything else.”

“As for what happened in Salt City, you don’t need to involve yourself anymore.”

Kent caught the ancient scroll and carefully unfolded it.

After only a brief glance, surprise flashed across his face.

The technique was indeed unusual.

Rather than relying on magic, it described a special circulation route for battle aura within the body. By altering the way that power moved through the meridians, the user could restrain the aura naturally leaking from within and conceal the true depth of their strength.

Kent immediately understood how valuable such a technique was to him.

He carefully rolled the scroll back up, rose from his seat, and bowed deeply to the Grand Elder.

“Thank you, Grand Elder, for your generosity.”

“Is there really any need to thank me between the two of us?”

The Grand Elder waved a hand dismissively.

“If anything, I should be thanking you for what happened in Salt City. You helped the dark elf race remove a festering threat from within our own ranks.”

His expression was warm and kindly as he continued, “If you ever need anything in the future, just come to me.”

Kent looked at the Grand Elder’s gentle smile.

Instead of relaxing, however, he became even more cautious.

The dark elves were renowned for their closeness to nature, yet they had deliberately used the harsh environment of the Underdark to limit the expansion of other races.

That was not the sort of scheme Kent would normally associate with a people famous for living in harmony with nature.

Even humans—widely regarded as cunning, shameless, and greedy—had somehow ended up at a disadvantage.

Kent could only draw one conclusion.

The longer someone lived, the less simple their thoughts became.

The Grand Elder might appear friendly and benevolent on the surface, but Kent had no intention of underestimating him.

Naturally, none of those thoughts showed on his face.

Instead, Kent smiled readily and replied, “Grand Elder, I’ve actually been planning to open a small shop here in Muan City specializing in alchemical creations.”

“You already know that alchemy is what I’m best at.”

He paused meaningfully before adding, “So if there’s ever anything you need in the future...”