Benjamin was waiting at within the designated room.
In order to counter that mysterious young man, he made proper preparations. The Space of Consciousness stored an immense amount of ice and water balls, ready to be summoned in an instant and deliver a powerful attack. A few of the strongest mages in the battle group were now in disguise and acting as his retainers. They stood beside Benjamin, carrying all kinds of magic tool stolen from the Church, ready to act at a moment’s notice.
Most importantly was that Benjamin had the same powerful Magic Potion that the opponent has.
Apart from the Magical Ability Boost Tonic won from Richard, Benjamin had also purchased all kinds of Magic Potion from Garter City which would be able to temporarily boost a person’s Spiritual Energy and affinity to elements. Although the effect is only that of a beginner level, it is actually not that bad after testing.
It is only because of the Magic Potion’s power that allowed Benjamin to have the courage to devise this trap to lure the strange young man out. Otherwise, he would not have simply played his cards with an opponent whose strengths are unmeasured.
Just like this, time ticked away bit by bit and it was soon 11 pm.
Benjamin shifted his sight to the sealed door.
Unconsciously, everyone in the room softened their breathing. No one dared to move an inch, all afraid of making the teensiest noise which would alert the opponents of the danger ahead.
"What if no one comes in the end? What should we do?" The System said out of the blue, almost startling Benjamin who was concentrating on the matter at hand
"If he does not turn up, I could always go to the Mercenary Association to lodge a complaint." Benjamin replied, taking a deep breath and returning to a calm mental state, "The Association has ruled that any assignment that rewards more than hundreds, should the mercenary disappears, the Association would dutifully prepare the mercenary’s personal information for the employer. With that, we would naturally be able to able to locate his whereabouts and rescue Augustine."
The System realized: "To have kept this move up your sleeves, you sure are cunning!"
"Thank you for the compliment." Benjamin smiled in his mind’s eyes.
He had already wagered a hefty sum for this, how could he afford not to prepare an alternative plan? What if the strange young man had realized that something was off and disappeared once more? Benjamin had thought of these sort of scenarios beforehand.
Anyway, he had made a perfectly sound preparation. All that is left now is for the opponent to fall for the laid out traps.
Just as Benjamin was mentally conversing with the System, two soft knocks came from the previously quiet room door.
Immediately, Benjamin regained his composure.
He made eye contact with the few mages behind him and nodded to them. Standing up, he rubbed his cheeks and plastered on a warm, natural-looking smile. Following suit, he walked to the door and grasped the doorknob and turned it lightly.
With a pattering noise, the door opened.
In the momentary silence that had followed in the quiet room, came a sound that was filled with astonishment.
"....How could it be you?"
Benjamin stared at the familiar face at the door and could not help but to widen his eyes, his face an expression of disbelief.
The man outside the door lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing a face full of wrinkles of an old man, which was completely different from that of the strange young man. In face, this was the face of a person whom Benjamin was quite familiar with.
——The man who had knocked on the door was, in fact, Chief Silverfox, whom Benjamin had met in the Imperial Capital.
"This little brother…...Have we met before?" The old man had not recognized Benjamin and thus wore a cautious expression.
Hearing that, Benjamin regained his composure and sighed unbelievably.
Are you kidding me....
Benjamin thought he had successfully lured the mystery man out and was ready to take down the opponent. In the end, his meticulously planned ambush was ruined by this scene which was completely out of his expectations. It was all for nothing.
This kind of scenario, which bugger would have thought of it?
In order to avoid the Church’s search, Chief Silverfox had left the Imperial Capital early on. Benjamin knew that. However, he had not in his wildest imagination had imagined that the old man actually came to Icor, to Regina, and took up the assignment Benjamin had issued!
What is this? Fate?
But... Could there be such a coincidence in this world?
"This is called misfortunate." The System chimed in just at the right time.
Benjamin grieved tearlessly.
But as the other mages were staring wordlessly at him, he had no choice but to remove his disguise and return to his original appearance. He shook his head and turned his head to face Chief Silverfox again with a bitter smile.
"Long time no see." Benjamin said with a slight helpless tone, "I... Could not have imagined that you would come to Regina and took up my assignment."
Staring at Benjamin’s original appearance, the old man’s expression went from one of suspicion, slowly to that of a strange look — one that feels like there’s some familiarity but he could not think of it just yet.
But after a moment’s pause, he managed to recognize Benjamin. With that, the old man wore a stunned expression, as if he had just seen a piece of shit in the shape of a gold bar fell from the sky.
"You... You are that silly boy who loved to disguise himself as a beggar." The old man who always went about with squinting eyes suddenly had his eyes wide open, "Aren’t you supposed to be in Havenwright? Why are you here?"
Benjamin could not help but to smile helplessly.
"The matter... That’s a long story."
Behind him, a few of the mages still disguised as Benjamin’s retainers exchanged wordless glances. Their hands were still squeezing the Magical Ability Boost Tonic as if they were still awaiting the beginning of a battle. They could only gape at the pair, all the while wearing a blank expression.
Under this type of situation, Benjamin could only accept that the plan had failed. He allowed the mages to leave before closing the door and gave Chief Silverfox a thorough explanation of the entire situation. From beginning till the end, from Havenwright to Regina and all the things that had happened in this period of time was covered by Benjamin.
Of course upon further consideration, he did not blatantly express that he was the mage that had summoned the massive water ball upon the Imperial Capital. So he purposely made the story of the escape from the Kingdom of Helius a little vague to prevent the old man from thinking too much into it.
Even so, the story was quite complicated. After spending 15 minutes or so, Benjamin finally managed to lay out the situation with some clarity.
"Do you mean….... You had issued that assignment not because you had wanted the assignment completed, but it was actually to lure out the man that had took away your friend?" The old man asked after hearing Benjamin’s story and contemplating it with a doubtful expression.
Benjamin nodded bitterly.
The old man hesitated for a moment before extending his hand and patting Benjamin on the shoulder, "I apologize for ruining your plans. But….. From my stay in Icor, any type of assignment that requires looking for a person is pretty much swept up by me. You even advertized such a large amount of gold as a reward, let alone I had not known that it was you, I definitely would snap up the job. You can’t really blame me for that."
Benjamin could not retort. He could only sigh bitterly.
He knew in this kind of situation, he could not put the blame with another person.
Alas... It was all but a wishful thinking.
Benjamin recovered his nerves when a thought appeared to him. Benjamin’s expression changed a little as he said: "You... Are you still helping people to solve their problems?"
The old man nodded his head and said, "Yeap. Even though I’ve only been in Regina for a short time but the Mercenary Association had a few old folks that were ex-Imperial Capital mercenaries before escaping to here. My relations with them ain’t bad. I’d be able to rely on these old friends who are quite well-informed."
Benjamin’s eyes lit up momentarily again.
"If so, would you be able to help me locate a person?"
Benjamin was waiting at within the designated room.
In order to counter that mysterious young man, he made proper preparations. The Space of Consciousness stored an immense amount of ice and water balls, ready to be summoned in an instant and deliver a powerful attack. A few of the strongest mages in the battle group were now in disguise and acting as his retainers. They stood beside Benjamin, carrying all kinds of magic tool stolen from the Church, ready to act at a moment’s notice.
Most importantly was that Benjamin had the same powerful Magic Potion that the opponent has.
Apart from the Magical Ability Boost Tonic won from Richard, Benjamin had also purchased all kinds of Magic Potion from Garter City which would be able to temporarily boost a person’s Spiritual Energy and affinity to elements. Although the effect is only that of a beginner level, it is actually not that bad after testing.
It is only because of the Magic Potion’s power that allowed Benjamin to have the courage to devise this trap to lure the strange young man out. Otherwise, he would not have simply played his cards with an opponent whose strengths are unmeasured.
Just like this, time ticked away bit by bit and it was soon 11 pm.
Benjamin shifted his sight to the sealed door.
Unconsciously, everyone in the room softened their breathing. No one dared to move an inch, all afraid of making the teensiest noise which would alert the opponents of the danger ahead.
"What if no one comes in the end? What should we do?" The System said out of the blue, almost startling Benjamin who was concentrating on the matter at hand
"If he does not turn up, I could always go to the Mercenary Association to lodge a complaint." Benjamin replied, taking a deep breath and returning to a calm mental state, "The Association has ruled that any assignment that rewards more than hundreds, should the mercenary disappears, the Association would dutifully prepare the mercenary’s personal information for the employer. With that, we would naturally be able to able to locate his whereabouts and rescue Augustine."
The System realized: "To have kept this move up your sleeves, you sure are cunning!"
"Thank you for the compliment." Benjamin smiled in his mind’s eyes.
He had already wagered a hefty sum for this, how could he afford not to prepare an alternative plan? What if the strange young man had realized that something was off and disappeared once more? Benjamin had thought of these sort of scenarios beforehand.
Anyway, he had made a perfectly sound preparation. All that is left now is for the opponent to fall for the laid out traps.
Just as Benjamin was mentally conversing with the System, two soft knocks came from the previously quiet room door.
Immediately, Benjamin regained his composure.
He made eye contact with the few mages behind him and nodded to them. Standing up, he rubbed his cheeks and plastered on a warm, natural-looking smile. Following suit, he walked to the door and grasped the doorknob and turned it lightly.
With a pattering noise, the door opened.
In the momentary silence that had followed in the quiet room, came a sound that was filled with astonishment.
"....How could it be you?"
Benjamin stared at the familiar face at the door and could not help but to widen his eyes, his face an expression of disbelief.
The man outside the door lifted the hood of his cloak, revealing a face full of wrinkles of an old man, which was completely different from that of the strange young man. In face, this was the face of a person whom Benjamin was quite familiar with.
——The man who had knocked on the door was, in fact, Chief Silverfox, whom Benjamin had met in the Imperial Capital.
"This little brother…...Have we met before?" The old man had not recognized Benjamin and thus wore a cautious expression.
Hearing that, Benjamin regained his composure and sighed unbelievably.
Are you kidding me....
Benjamin thought he had successfully lured the mystery man out and was ready to take down the opponent. In the end, his meticulously planned ambush was ruined by this scene which was completely out of his expectations. It was all for nothing.
This kind of scenario, which bugger would have thought of it?
In order to avoid the Church’s search, Chief Silverfox had left the Imperial Capital early on. Benjamin knew that. However, he had not in his wildest imagination had imagined that the old man actually came to Icor, to Regina, and took up the assignment Benjamin had issued!
What is this? Fate?
But... Could there be such a coincidence in this world?
"This is called misfortunate." The System chimed in just at the right time.
Benjamin grieved tearlessly.
But as the other mages were staring wordlessly at him, he had no choice but to remove his disguise and return to his original appearance. He shook his head and turned his head to face Chief Silverfox again with a bitter smile.
"Long time no see." Benjamin said with a slight helpless tone, "I... Could not have imagined that you would come to Regina and took up my assignment."
Staring at Benjamin’s original appearance, the old man’s expression went from one of suspicion, slowly to that of a strange look — one that feels like there’s some familiarity but he could not think of it just yet.
But after a moment’s pause, he managed to recognize Benjamin. With that, the old man wore a stunned expression, as if he had just seen a piece of shit in the shape of a gold bar fell from the sky.
"You... You are that silly boy who loved to disguise himself as a beggar." The old man who always went about with squinting eyes suddenly had his eyes wide open, "Aren’t you supposed to be in Havenwright? Why are you here?"
Benjamin could not help but to smile helplessly.
"The matter... That’s a long story."
Behind him, a few of the mages still disguised as Benjamin’s retainers exchanged wordless glances. Their hands were still squeezing the Magical Ability Boost Tonic as if they were still awaiting the beginning of a battle. They could only gape at the pair, all the while wearing a blank expression.
Under this type of situation, Benjamin could only accept that the plan had failed. He allowed the mages to leave before closing the door and gave Chief Silverfox a thorough explanation of the entire situation. From beginning till the end, from Havenwright to Regina and all the things that had happened in this period of time was covered by Benjamin.
Of course upon further consideration, he did not blatantly express that he was the mage that had summoned the massive water ball upon the Imperial Capital. So he purposely made the story of the escape from the Kingdom of Helius a little vague to prevent the old man from thinking too much into it.
Even so, the story was quite complicated. After spending 15 minutes or so, Benjamin finally managed to lay out the situation with some clarity.
"Do you mean….... You had issued that assignment not because you had wanted the assignment completed, but it was actually to lure out the man that had took away your friend?" The old man asked after hearing Benjamin’s story and contemplating it with a doubtful expression.
Benjamin nodded bitterly.
The old man hesitated for a moment before extending his hand and patting Benjamin on the shoulder, "I apologize for ruining your plans. But….. From my stay in Icor, any type of assignment that requires looking for a person is pretty much swept up by me. You even advertized such a large amount of gold as a reward, let alone I had not known that it was you, I definitely would snap up the job. You can’t really blame me for that."
Benjamin could not retort. He could only sigh bitterly.
He knew in this kind of situation, he could not put the blame with another person.
Alas... It was all but a wishful thinking.
Benjamin recovered his nerves when a thought appeared to him. Benjamin’s expression changed a little as he said: "You... Are you still helping people to solve their problems?"
The old man nodded his head and said, "Yeap. Even though I’ve only been in Regina for a short time but the Mercenary Association had a few old folks that were ex-Imperial Capital mercenaries before escaping to here. My relations with them ain’t bad. I’d be able to rely on these old friends who are quite well-informed."
Benjamin’s eyes lit up momentarily again.
"If so, would you be able to help me locate a person?"
