177 New Mission

Wallace had a quick glance at the new mission given by the Pathfinder.

[ The real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

Mission: Study the secrets of the Celestial Fragment yourself. Learn the method of integrating with one.

Reward A: 1 Grade A - Holy Elixir, Low-Grade Arcane Technology, Low-Grade Arcana, Mystery Box x2.

Reward B: Aeon Guardian, 5 Grade C Holy Elixir, Mystery Box x2.

Mission Progress: 0/100]

'Seriously?'

He was surprised seeing this new mission. The first thing that he noticed is that he only needed to study the fragment and not steal or acquire one at all. It also looks like he can't use the research study of an existing magician since it was noted to study the fragment himself.

It seems that he had to learn something from the celestial fragment using a method unique to his own.

The rewards were also quite tempting. If he completed the mission, he can choose either reward A or B. The Pathfinder seems to be more generous now. He recalled that this Aeon Guardian appeared as an option for a reward a couple of times already but he didn't qualify for it or he opted for a different reward.

The mission was also given to him without any option to refuse so he can only plan his next actions for now. Anyway, the auction was still not done and some VIPs were still negotiating.

'Storage Bag, huh. It seems to be similar to my Dimensional Storage Space but based on their description, the former is an artifact. Definitely unlike mine, which was mysteriously connected or part of me ever since I retrieved the Cube.' Wallace compared as he watched the negotiation happening.

It looks like Sylvia has her own method of communicating with the client so she can quickly decline the offer made by the VIPs. In the end, the closest offer was a 3 cubic meter storage space plus some other precious gems included. It was an offer made by a VIP from room number 30.

The client was not tempted at the expensive and almost impossible to acquire Assault Airship offered by Lacus Minerva.

After deliberating for a while, Sylvia explained that the client really requires at least 5 cubic meter Storage Bag or dimensional storage space for his mission. In the end, he at least compromised that it doesn't matter now whether to lend him one instead of exchanging the items completely.

But it also means that the Celestial Fragment can only be borrowed from him.

Wallace was a bit disappointed hearing this because he can't lend his 5 cubic meter dimensional storage space as it's part of him instead of an item.

Sigh~

A few seconds passed but opposite to his expectation, there's still no one placing their offer.

'Eh? None of them has 5 cubic meter spatial bag?'

Wallace realized that the VIPs where also stump even at this offer.

"Is it rare to have 5-10 cubic meter Storage Bag?"

Hearing his question, Tracy answered him using what she learned as a daughter of a business tycoon.

"Yes... The standard artifact only has 1 cubic meter space and the largest known was a 15 cubic meter owned by the Monarch. I heard that even the Prime Minister has one but lesser space. Anyway, these Storage Bags, capable of storing more than what it looks, were a priceless commodity. It's very rare to even trade it with money. The last sale made for this item happened 2 years ago where a Storage Bag with 6 cubic meter space within was sold for 400 million credits and 10 Adept Mages."

"Eh?! Adept Mages?"

Tracy chuckled after seeing Wallace's surprised reaction. After all, the latter just absurdly imagined that ten Yumi was sold in exchange for an artifact.

"That didn't happened here but in Maja. You're aware of their conflict with their neighbor country right?"

"Urgh... Yes. I think I can understand now."

"Here in our country, only 35 Storage Bags were known and protected by each Clans and the government. I believe that only 5 or 6 has 5 cubic meter space. The client might be taking his chance to attract someone with unregistered storage bag but it won't work. Sigh~ I wonder what will he use it for?"

Although only 35 where known Storage Bags, they were sure that there's more than that.

A few moments passed and soon, no one has been able to satisfy the client's request. It was a shame.

Everyone can only look at the small treasure chest that was emitting a faint yellow light like there was a sealed Sun within the small chest.

As Sylvia was about to close the event, the room number 27 lit up and a young teen's voice was heard.

"I have Storage Bag with 5 cubic meter space. But I can't part with it. I can't lend it away as it's bounded to me so we can discuss this if your client wanted to."

Sylvia was surprised and felt a relief after hearing Wallace's voice.

Their shop had an agreement that if the client found a customer in this branch, they will be paid with 10 Malphite Stones as processing fee but if no transaction was made, they will only get a service fee worth 800,000 credits.

Sylvia quickly coordinated with their client and luckily, the latter was willing to discuss with room 27.

The auction was successfully ended and some were returning with a smile on their faces but most of them had a disappointed look.

***

"Vanessa, can you tell me who was in the room 27?"

Lacus asked her friend. There is no hint of hate or gratitude on her voice so Vanessa was sure that the lady was just curious of their identity.

'It seems that she didn't mind losing the trade, huh.'

Of course, it's not allowed to tell the name of the customers within the rooms.

But she doesn't care a bit about the rules made by her family's business. The lady in front of her was the first apprentice of Slaine Allusia and brought them unimaginable wealth in the few years of their cooperation.

"They're Tracy Guilford, Ross Schien, and Wallace Ravencroft."

"Wallace?"

"Yes, it's him. Your Junior Apprentice."

"Mhm... I wonder who among them has the Storage Bag..."

"Now that you said it, I think it should be Ross. His Schien Clan must've given him some treasures. But it's also possible for Tracy, with the wide network of their business, they can probably acquire that artifact if they were into it."

"Mhmm..." Lacus only nodded as she left the building after being escorted by Vanessa. She had a bountiful harvest today especially the land that she had won.

***

Wallace was now seating on a sofa. He didn't drink or eat the snacks placed on the table.

He's currently in a luxurious living room within the New Era's Magic Shop at the 9th floor and waiting for the client selling the Celestial Fragment.

Ross and Tracy had already left with their purchased items leaving him alone in the room.

It didn't take long for a group of individuals to enter. There's a total of five of them now within the room.

The four newly arrived were Sylvia, two middle-aged men representatives of the Magic Shop based on their clothes and another young man who seems to be the client as he held the treasure chest containing the fragment.

The man has a strong build and seems to be 25-28 years old. His skin was dark due to long exposure to sun and had a messy black hair. There were even some dirt on his mercenary clothes.

That's right, the client seems to be a mercenary magician exploring the hidden dangers of the Cursed Forest, Wailing Gorge, and Thunder Plateau. Wallace can only imagine based on what he read about these mercenaries.

After all, not all magicians learning the Combat Path were turning to be a soldier or law enforcers. Some of them takes on the mission to hunt beasts for a living, some turns to be criminals, some became pirates on the seas, and some of them just wanted to better their strength by staying in the fighting arena.

"Wallace, this is Drake. The client owning the fragment. You two, take your time."

After Sylvia introduced each other, the three left them to let them talk in peace.

"Do you really have the Storage Bag?"

"Mhm.. 5 cubic meter. But I can't leave it to someone else due to it being bounded to me."

"We've been looking for a long time for one. I guess, we'll just have to comprise. Listen, our small mercenary squad acquired this fragment in the ruins we've discovered. The ruins is a private property of one of our members. We needed the Storage Bag due to retrieve something in the same place but somewhere dangerous deep in the ruins. I can't tell you more details unless you agree to cooperate with us instead."

"Cooperate? That's good to hear. It's seems that we reached an agreement. Since you needed something to retrieve from that place and I can't give the storage bag to you, I will be the one retrieving it for you..."

The two discussed their cooperation in detail and shook their hands after reaching an agreement.