Chapter 102: The Zorak Magic Institute

Riokar's eyes widened the moment he heard that statement. He hadn't expected such a request and was blown speechless by the certainty in the young man's voice. He had pegged them as a strong yet inexperienced group but now. Now, it looks like he had surely underestimated them.

At this point, he became painfully aware of what a fool he had been. This entire meeting and the direction of the conversation had most likely already been predicted and he had just played right on the palm of their hands. It wasn't like there was something wrong with what they were trying to do. After all, this was only a business and although he was the type that loved being the only party to benefit in the end, it was still fine as long as everyone involved benefits.

The real problem would be if he was on the losing end of things, that was something unacceptable for a merchant of his caliber. In the end, this young man had brought him a lot of extremely valuable resources just for a recommendation letter for the magic institute. It was a deal he would continuously benefit from, to be honest, it was a deal he couldn't afford to refuse.

This was a deal that was specially designed for him. Basically, he had lost the battle of wits before the negotiation had even begun. He had no idea how someone from the far east was able to plan an encounter with him but that no longer mattered.

Joining the Hunter Guild and the Merchant Guild was relatively easy. For the Hunter Guild, as long as you were strong or were able to use magic, you would only have to pay a small fee to register and you would be accepted. Although you would have to start from the bottom and slowly climb your way up the rankings as potential alone could not tell a person true strength or value in actual combat.

The Merchant Guild on the other hand was even simpler. The guild only requires you to sign a contract that gives them a percentage of the total value of your wares. They would also provide you with certain benefits and statue the higher your rank went.

However, joining the magic institute was a different story. The normal process was insanely difficult. It was after all the only one of the three organizations that were created and managed by the nobles. Naturally, it had the reputation of mostly accepting members from other noble families.

The magic institute was most likely created by the Great five due to the massive rise in the power and influence of the Hunter Guild, which was then closely followed by the Merchant Guild. Insignificant as the organizations may be to the Great Five, there was no doubt that the system employed by the guilds that granted demons and subsidiary races alike, status equal to that of a demon baron was a threat to the purist of the nobility.

There was also an increase in strength of individuals of common birth due to the interference and training of the Guild's behemoths. The great five had no choice but to create the Magic Institute. A place where the younglings of the lower-ranking nobles could go and study magic as well as a place where extensive magic research could be conducted.

Of course, to have an organization that was equal if not superior to their two competitors, they had no choice but to open the institute for the most talented bunch of the common folks. It was also a way to scout talent for their families and keep the other organizations in check.

That said, the magic institute also couldn't be arrogant, even if they were superior on their own. Against the combined forces of the Hunter and Merchant guilds, they would surely fall and if the Great Five tried to directly interfere, they would lose the support of the masses which may not seem important but would surely be a devastating blow to the nobles.

Naturally, they had to show the Hunter's Guild Master and the Merchant Guild Master some respect. Granting them the ability to recommend one person into the magic institute every two years no matter who it was they wanted to chose. 

The Merchant Guild Master, Riokar however, had never recommended anyone since he had taken over the Guild. He received gifts and incentives every year from large merchant families that wanted him to recommend their heir or heiress into the institution. He had even received female companions from those families or high-class escorts.

Most of them would go to any extent for a member of their family to enter the institute. After all, graduating from the institute was indeed a golden opportunity for these families as anyone that successfully graduated from the magic institute would be granted a nobility title, albeit that of only a demon baronet. Still, they would be able to rank up as long as they were strong enough.

There were five different Magic Institute in the demon continent, each created by one of the Great Five, so they were only located in the regions governed by them. The magic institute typically had two separate divisions. The Magic academy division that was only located in the capital city of any of the Great five's region.

This was the most important part of the institute and was what the merchants were aiming for. The second was the Magic research division. This division was located in almost all the cities in their regions. While the Magic research division specialized in just magic research and exploration. They also serve as a recruitment center for the Great Five. 

Naturally, they would also function as a guild for the recruited graduates of the magic academy to work in.

All that aside, Riokar was currently in a predicament of his own creation. The choice given to him by this young man was incredibly favorable to him. Yet, he didn't want to give anyone his recommendation letter. He had his reasons for not giving it out thus far. But was it really a wise choice to send this man away.

Potions were rare in the demon continent, there weren't many potions maters around and therefore not many stores can sell them and even those that were sold were of incredibly low quality. This wasn't just because the main ingredients weren't indigenous to the demon continent but the other supporting ingredients were also rare. However, this man had just brought him several large barrels full of those insanely rare ingredients.

Those barrels alone were worth more than those merchants had offered him for his recommendation but that wasn't all. There were also wild and exotic fruits and berries that weren't common in this part of the continent. Including the white hoppers, this man was offering him more than 20 times what his recommendation was worth.

Even the VIP license he had offered wasn't even up to that. He was already planning to buy the goods at a higher price than their market value if he had taken the card. Riokar was pressed, a man like this was not ordinary, if anything he was most likely a behemoth. If that was the case, what exactly could he do right now, should he slap away his friendly gesture.

Riokar gritted his teeth, this was a losing battle. He had now been box in. Everything this man had done from the start had been for this. His refusal to join the guild, the vague hint at where he came from, him hiding his appearance and then revealing it to just him. Everything had been carefully planned out and executed to perfection and there was no longer anything he could do about it but still, he couldn't back down.

"I refuse, I cannot give out my recommendation please reconsider our offer."

The young man's expression did not change, there was no tick for Riokar to work with. He smiled gently and slowly shook his head, he reached out and patted his partner in the head prompting her to stop eating the sweets as he replied. "That's too bad... Well, it's to be expected, I guess we'll have to try our luck again in another city."

Riokar's heart tightens, it was one thing to lose a customer but it was even worse to lose a customer to the competition. Not to mention this wasn't just a customer, this was potentially a golden hen that lays the golden eggs.

The Merchant Guild was not as united as the Hunter Guild. They all operated individually by the cities they were located in and only had a surface alliance so naturally, there was still a competitive spirit within them.

"Wait!" 

Riokar suddenly shouted out as the man was about to stand up with his partner. He seemed to have weighed the two options and had made a decision. "I'll do it. I'll give you my recommendation on one condition."

"And that is?"

"You accept my previous offer as well and become a VIP member of the Merchant Guild. Also, if you ever happen to gather any more rare herbs and exotic creatures, you have to sign a contract to only trade them with this branch."

If he was going to sacrifice something he needed to get as much as he could for it. With a merchant license, one could trade in any city at any branch of the merchant guild so this was a big restriction he was imposing. Of course, he didn't expect the young man to accept this offer just because of the VIP status.

This was just the beginning of his counterattack, once he takes the bait of his sample offer, he would create a chance to make his real offer look even better and this man would surely be unable to refuse it. This was the basics of negotiation. However, what happened next surprised him yet again.

"I accept."

"Huh?"

"We have a deal then?"

"Huh..."

"Hm... are you okay?"

"Haha, you made his brain freeze Lor— uh, sir"

"I did?"

"Huh... Sorry sorry I'm not frozen, I'm just a little surprised. You realize you would have to travel here from the far east every time you want to make a trade correct."

"That's fine."

"Oh, um, right..."

"Are you okay?"

"Huh, yeah I'm great, I am great... Right, the contract. I'll have someone prepare it soon, and as for the goods we'll buy them all for 10% above their market value, is that okay?"

"That is fine."

With that casual response, Riokar confirmed that this lad had planned everything that happened tonight just for the recommendation to the magic institute. He must really value the institute highly to go as far as this.

Time passed by quickly and the young man signed the contract and took the purple card. Riokar also signed a prewritten letter and stamped it with his seal. A small bag of coins was then placed on the table in front of the young man and Riokar explained.

"The total worth of the goods was 23,570 Dc, removing the Guild's commission of 10% that brings us to 21,213 DC."

The young man picked up the small pouch, bringing it closer to himself he looked inside, there were a bunch of different colored coins in there, around 60 in total with various symbols engraved on them. They were coins made of silver, gold and platinum, all together they formed the demon's continent currency known as demonic coins or DC for short. 

Although, he couldn't locate any coins made from the yellowish metal know as Orichalcum.

He closed the pouch and placed it inside his long coat. He then picked up the letter and nodded. Without engaging in further talks he bid the Guild Leader farewell with a polite bow and left the building with his partner in tow. 

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