Chapter 2573: Chapter 2574: Traveling Merchant

Kaier’s focus was quite peculiar, coincidentally matching the rising curiosity in Dox’s heart.

The two of them, going back and forth, had already conjured up a dramatic "Where is Daddy?" spectacle in their minds.

Until they met Marsha’s husband, Crow, and both fell silent.

Alongside Crow, besides Vay, were the Endless Old Man, Marsha, and her son Kolo.

At the moment, Kolo was hiding behind Marsha, clutching his mother’s leg, peeking out timidly.

Initially, they thought Kolo was afraid of them, but from the direction of his little black-bean eyes, it seemed he wasn’t afraid of this group of potential disaster-bringing Transcendents, but rather his father, Crow.

As to why he would fear Crow, they could somewhat guess.

Crow’s appearance was indeed... dark.

Wearing a black-gray robe edged with tiny skull decorations, seemingly silver. On his head was a hat comparable in size to a noblewoman’s sun hat, though it was pure black with skull embellishments, entirely devoid of femininity.

In addition, Crow wore a bird-beak mask. This mask wasn’t handmade but was a skull of a bird of prey, so it wasn’t sealed, faintly revealing the face of a young man behind it.

His appearance wasn’t terribly frightening, but with his outfit, it evoked a feeling of the decaying old style of the Dark Ages.

In the Wizards’ Realm, this attire might be acceptable, a glance-worthy look on the road. However, in the ordinary world, it was too extravagant and dark, particularly terrifying for a child’s innocent eyes, like the man-eating villain in fairy tales.

No wonder Kolo, upon seeing his father, chose to hide behind his mother, trembling.

"It seems our previous speculation was off-track," Dox said to Kaier through the Mind Ribbon, "Angel’s guess might actually be the truth."

Although they hadn’t seen the Hero Squad’s "Lightning," from Kolo’s attire, it was evident, representing typical heroism, reverently righteous. Children admiring such heroes was the norm.

If Kolo was dressed like his father Crow, it would indeed be horrific, a twisted childhood at the very least.

Angel didn’t participate in Dox’s discussion but quietly stepped forward, standing opposite Crow: "On the way here, I suppose my teammates have informed you of our purpose."

Before Crow could respond, Vay enthusiastically told Angel he had already been informed.

Vay’s excitement stemmed entirely from Angel’s casual "teammate" comment.

Indeed, Lord Chaowei valued him!

Unaware of Vay’s point of excitement, Angel didn’t mind and continued to fix his gaze on Crow: "The weapon?"

Crow swiftly reached behind him, bringing forth a staff tied to his belt, presenting it to them.

This staff matched Crow’s ensemble, pitch-black, likely dyed on purpose. At the head of the staff, a silver crow was embedded, meticulously hand-carved, with a sharp beak and wings ready to pierce, capable of serving as a long-handled weapon when swung.

As Angel took the staff for observation, several spiritual powers simultaneously surged over, wrapping around the staff, indicating the others were also inspecting it.

"There’s a scent of human blood on it, probably a recent stain. Nonetheless, despite the cover of human blood, the strong taste of magic blood deep within is unmistakable. Angel was right; this staff is indeed made of Magic Blood Ore," Dox shared his insight.

"Besides its construction from Magic Blood Ore, is there anything special about this staff?" Kaier, having come down from upstairs, curiously asked, looking at the staff.

The most authoritative in this area, Black Earl and Angel, remained silent.

After a moment of contemplation, Black Earl and Angel exchanged a "look" — Angel’s being an actual look, Black Earl’s being a nostril flare.

"From its shape, it seems to have been a lectern’s single-column support, albeit no longer original, having been somewhat reworked," Angel remarked, inserting the staff into a recess on a podium.

Clearly, the staff was an entire circle too slender, unable to be lodged securely in the recess.

"Besides being modified, the tabletop also vanished," Black Earl mocked, "Only to be replaced with such a bizarre embellishment, truly a waste."

They now somewhat understood why Vay hesitated earlier regarding the lectern. Because, it simply wasn’t a lectern anymore.

Completely transformed, perhaps more exquisite than a lectern, but aside from being exquisite, it held no additional merit. Of course, according to Angel’s view, while for ordinary people, this staff was still a deadly tool.

"Why did it turn out this way? Who can grind Magic Blood Ore? Where’s the tabletop?" Dox’s three rapid inquiries also mirrored everyone’s curiosity.

Turning their gaze to Crow, after some inquiries.

Crow finally spoke, his deep voice causing the nearby Kolo to be even more frightened.

"When I received this weapon from my teacher, it was indeed in the form of a lectern, but it was too cumbersome. Though the tabletop could be used as a hammer, it didn’t suit my combat style."

Judging by Crow’s physique, he seemed to favor a nimble assassin style, making his statement reasonable.

"So, I found someone to help rework it, transforming the lectern."

Dox: "Who did the rework? Where’s the tabletop?"

Magic Blood Ore varies greatly in hardness, and they had no idea where this particular ore fell on the spectrum. But one thing was certain: an ordinary blacksmith could not possibly shape it easily.

Perhaps Crow had contact with a Transcendent blacksmith?

Crow did not immediately reply, instead falling into a brief silence.

Then, the Endless Old Man spoke up: "Let me explain this matter instead. Crow has an agreement not to divulge too much, but I have no such restriction, especially since that old guy refused to forge weapons for me many times."

The Endless Old Man’s words brought a sigh of relief from Crow’s side.

Judging by their expressions and linguistic nuances, the Endless Old Man seemed to be stating the truth, prompting Angel to direct his attention to this hunched old man.

"The person who helped Crow rework the weapon claimed to be a magic craftsman."

"Magic craftsman? Quite an eminent title, no fear of being unable to live up to it," Vay murmured under his breath, simultaneously thinking: Such a title seems rightful only for someone like Lord Chaowei, others hardly qualify.

"It’s just a moniker, everyone likes to raise their stature. I once considered using ’God-killer’ myself but got vetoed by my spouse later on," the Endless Old Man sighed, a fleeting look of nostalgia in his eyes.

"Let’s continue, this magic craftsman hails from an organization called ’Traveling Merchant.’ This organization is quite unique, having no fixed base, wandering through different territories daily. Adventurer groups in various regions harbor little animosity towards them because they seldom participate in any treasure hunts, holding just one aim."

"From their names, you should have guessed, yes, they are merchants. They travel between different regions to do business."

"Their business covers a vast range, almost including food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Most of our food here is traded with the Traveling Merchants."

"A team roaming the Garden Maze, specializing in business? Interesting." Dox murmured softly, then raised his head to look at the Endless Old Man: "Since they’re doing business, why did you say earlier that the blacksmith refused to refine weapons for you many times?"

The Endless Old Man sighed: "Because, I don’t have what he wants."

After explanation, it turns out this Merchant Organization, although they are doing business, aside from daily necessities, food, water, oil, and grain, all other business cannot be transacted with money.

What they want are items obtained from various organizations in the ruins.

In short, although they don’t treasure hunt, they gather many items from the ruins under the guise of trading.

The Endless Old Man also acquired quite a few things in the ruins, but every time he went to the blacksmith, the old guy would give it a glance and throw it back, directly saying it’s not enough.

This is the grudge between the Endless Old Man and the blacksmith.

When the Endless Old Man spoke to this point, everyone roughly understood the ins and outs of the whole matter. This "Traveling Merchant" organization is definitely not simple.

He seems to be detached, but in reality, he is more like he is rearing all the adventure groups in the ruins, making them work for him.

Daily necessities can be exchanged for money because they are things ordinary people can make.

But for combat supplies, you need relic items to exchange them, obviously, this is what the Traveling Merchants truly want.

"Rear adventure groups to help explore, the person behind has some wisdom." They almost certainly confirmed that there is a Transcendent behind the Traveling Merchants.

Because relic items, as long as they are Transcendent objects, ordinary people often cannot use them, only Transcendents can maximize their utility.

"Crow’s staff was refined by the blacksmith?" Angel: "Then if I’m not mistaken, the item you used in trade with the blacksmith is this desk?"

Crow nodded: "Yes."

"Another twist." Dox rubbed his temples, thinking he wouldn’t deal with Transcendents here, but it seems he’ll have to meet other Transcendents.

"Fools indeed." Black Earl snorted coldly.

It appeared Crow got the trade, but in reality, what he traded, along with the polished Magic Blood Ore, were much more valuable than this useless staff.

As everyone was filled with various emotions, Angel remained calm and continued to ask: "Since you received the desk complete from your teacher, could you describe its appearance, any patterns, or engravings on it?"

Crow recalled: "I can’t quite remember, but it seems there weren’t any words, about the patterns... Because the desk is made of some kind of wood, probably normal wood grain?"

"Was there anything unusual about the original column, originally the shape of your staff?"

Crow shook his head again: "There really wasn’t."

Nothing on the desk or legs? Was Dox’s inspiration off track?

As Angel pondered, the Endless Old Man suddenly spoke up: "Actually, initially the desk did have words and some carved patterns, there was also a design on the legs. However, Crow’s teacher modified it after pulling it apart, then using the desk to hammer people and objects every day, slowly, the patterns seemed to have been worn smooth."

Upon hearing the Endless Old Man’s words, Angel’s eyes lit up, it seems Dox’s inspiration hasn’t failed this time.

This desk might indeed be the breakthrough point.

As for the Endless Old Man’s mention of wearing smooth, after all these years, surely there are traces left, they are all Transcendents, if they can’t even see these traces, then they might as well quit.

Thinking of this, Angel looked at the group: "Looks like we need to deal with this Merchant Organization."

"Even if not for this desk, we still need to go."

The reason is simple, since the Merchant Organization has existed here for so many years, Angel doesn’t believe they know nothing of the true entrance to the Underground Labyrinth.

Even if there’s no clue on the desk, there may be something to gain from the Merchant Organization. So, regardless, they must deal with this organization.

...

Before searching for the Merchant Organization, they chatted with the Endless Old Man again to confirm that when they occupied the Subterranean Ruins originally, there was no anomaly. Only then did Angel prepare to leave.

However, before that, they needed an answer: "How to find the Traveling Merchants?"

"The Traveling Merchants keep roaming the ruins, they’ll come to every region. No matter which region we’re in, we’ll encounter them in a few days, so we’ve never thought to look for them." Endless Old Man showed a face of apology: "So, I might not be able to help with this."

"Since there’s no lead, it looks like we should split up and choose sides to explore with spiritual power?" Dox suggested.

Dox’s proposal was fair, but Angel didn’t immediately respond, instead he looked to Matilda.

Matilda still dressed as a youth, positioned beside her husband Crow, surprisingly harmonious.

The reason Angel looked toward Matilda is because earlier, when probing the Endless Old Man about the Traveling Merchants’ traces, Matilda’s emotions showed slight fluctuation, seemingly knowing something.

No one else noticed, but Angel has nearly mastered emotional perception as a Special Ability, sensing Matilda’s anomaly.

"Matilda, do you know the whereabouts of the Traveling Merchants?"

Angel’s sudden inquiry left everyone puzzled.

Out of the blue, why did Angel ask Matilda?

Yet Matilda’s behavior confused them even more, because... she hesitated.

Hesitation signifies she seemingly knows something.

How did Angel figure it out?

Amidst everyone’s rising curiosity, Matilda slowly spoke: "I, I indeed encountered a Traveling Merchant today..."

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