Chapter 171 - An Offer To Get The Formula
Arthur stated all his requirements, asking for extravagant things for the potions, using the huge number required for his own gains. The mages looked in doubt towards him, and he simply pointed to the fluid in the cauldron before adding:
"How do you think this fluid came from? I made it with my own stuff, but I have only a few amounts of each ingredient that's enough to make two hundred more potions only. also inform him to make the use of other mages here, as we have a very short time under our hand."
His words fell at the moment when Cesile came back. She heard all of his words, and with a single glance she noticed the difference between the potion he gave to her and the ones he was currently making right now.
She just stayed silent, not saying a word, while her eyes showed her admiration for him, as he didn't let this single opportunity slip off his hands without gaining a portion of this sweet cake, a big portion indeed.
"What are you hesitating for? I can ascertain his words, and my word is enough for your leader to believe!" she suddenly spoke when she noticed the obvious hesitance and doubt over their faces.
Her words were the last straw that made their hesitation and doubt shutter. Everyone here was familiar with Cesile as her fame was already giant enough for her words to be taken for granted. The mages nodded as they all went outside and headed back to their leader, while they relayed the news to him via bird's wings.
"Oho, you really have a dirty mind lad," she said to him, and he embarrassedly laughed, as he was sure his little tricks wouldn't fool her experienced senses and keen eyes.
"But I like that, being so nice won't serve you well in this life," she added with a chuckle, as Arthur's performance, tricking every single big clan and guild here was admired by her.
He had such courage to trick everyone stronger than him, and that was the mindset of mages she was looking for to work under her command. "After you finish the competition and enter the academy, come looking for me," she added, while obviously stating her desire for him to be under her faction much clearer.
"Seek you for what?" Arthur acted dumb, as he wanted to tease her.
"Oho, you boy has some audacity, really tired of life then," she laughed shortly and said nothing more. They both understood each other's mindset, and this silence was the approval of each other's intentions.
Like this, a relation between a master and a disciple was born, and might be another form of relation in the long run.
"Have you managed to catch that assassin?" he asked, as he already knew the answer.
"Nah, he ran away pretty fast before I reached there," she replied, while her eyes shone brightly as she added, "but I have spotted the place where he used to release the toxin in the air. It's a really eye opening technique, and I left a puppet of mine watching over there, maintaining a defensive shield over that place."
Her words, her eyes, her expression all indicated for one thing, and Arthur just chuckled as he replied:
"Call this poor puppet back, it's not nice to leave it alone there."
The master and the disciple laughed, with their dirty minds being alike at this moment. She had recalled her puppet back as she took out a small jar and opened it. a wisp of black smoke just appeared in the tent, and entered rapidly to this jar, before she closed its lid firmly, and stored it away.
Arthur just noticed these actions, and said nothing, as he understood this might be another way to have a pet under control. He then returned to focus on making more potions/
Arthur kept using his own stuff, the low grade ones, in making the potions. He had enough reserve to make tens of thousands of these potions, however he faked this as he would store up everything, and use these shitty materials.
A thief must be courageous enough or else he wouldn't be able to steal others! He acted with extreme confidence and admirable calmness when the mages brought materials to him. they started to evacuate their storage ring on the ground, and he, with a natural way, went ahead and collected them back into his ring, while saying:
"These are enough to make a thousand potion only. take these potions with you and give them to the leader, make him distribute them as he sees fit."
Despite the mages being doubtful towards his move to take away all their hard earned materials like this, they were instantly distracted by the potions Arthur gave to them. they hurriedly took these two hundred and twenty potion bottles from the ground, stored them before moving fast to their leader.
Arthur then continued to make these false potions, and these mages kept sending him materials in great batches. He didn't inspect any of them, but he was sure their grades were high enough for his taste. Even the explosive oil and the blood of the monsters were on another level than the ones he usually used.
Being happy with his gains, he continued to work harder, and in the middle of this, Cesile left, after reminding him that the competition registration would start early in the morning of the next day.
He just nodded and continued working hard, as he knew he would have a very long night. In the middle of the night, he had already finished making ten thousand potions, and delivered them all to the leader, while four of his storage rings were now filled to the brim with different kinds of high grade materials, making his grin never leave his face for a while.
At the middle of the night, and just as Arthur finished, the leader came to him, with ragged clothes and tired face. Arthur was no better as well, as he was extremely exhausted at this current moment, despite his mood being really superb.
"It seems you have it hard, leader," Arthur said when he noticed the leader.
"It was hard, but we gained it big," the leader said, with faked gratitude as he added, "all thanks to you, come, let's go inside and talk about our gains today."
Arthur was sure this leader was hiding things from him, and not all he said of the items exchanged for his potions were what he really gained.
However he didn't care about this, as he already had his share of the treasure, and even got the biggest part of this delicious deal.
They re-entered the tent again, where there were many mages already checking on their friends here. the leader just glanced at the unconscious ones as he asked:
"How is Rayan and the others doing? I got many messages asking me about his health every now and then."
"They are improving, how are your men?"
"They are feeling much better, is the toxin now eliminated in their bodies? Does the toxin still exist here?" the leader asked his most concerned two questions right now.
"The toxin should be gone inside their bodies if they took the potion," Arthur replied, while then added, "as for the toxin, Lady Cesile said she checked the place and couldn't find the instigator, so that means there is no more toxin here anymore."
"That's a relief," the leader heaved a long sigh of relief, as he was really stressed by the possibility of the toxin still there in the air. "Now, about the deal with other clans and guilds, you asked for exchanging half of your share into pure bird's wings, and so I had acquired two thousand bird's wings, plus one thousand monsters' cores for you, they are all in this ring," the leader took out a ring and gave it to Arthur, who simple accepted it and stored it away.
The leader simply glanced at Arthur's action yet he didn't comment, despite feeling irritated for the disappearance of his ring. "There is also a request from all the clans and guilds here, including my clan, to ask you for the formula of making this antidote."
Arthur just eyed the leader without saying a word, as if he gave them his formula, it would be much easier for them to improve it, rendering all his actions and machination so far futile. "We can give you the same amount you just gained now as a reward for the formula, what do you say?" the leader added, as he sensed his refusal.
"Thanks for the offer, but this formula is something inherited to me by my clan and I can't simply give it away for anything," Arthur replied, putting the toll over his clan this time.
"Oh, I see," the leader seemed quite dejected by Arthur's reply. In fact it wasn't only ten thousand mages infected here, the number was double and triple this, however the clans and guilds thought of buying the formula from him, and made the potions themselves later on.
However currently this would put their mages at danger.. The leader didn't really care much about it, as all his mages posted here were already cured first, before giving the extra potions to others.