Chapter 17: The Moore Family's Shady Moves
The sale of potions was in full swing, and five days had already passed of the ten-day mission limit.
[You have gained 341 Wizard Council Reputation.]
[Current Wizard Council Reputation: 9281/12000 (Gray Calamity).]
Once the reputation level reached the second tier, Gray Calamity, and upon accumulating full reputation for the next level, Arcane Mystery, Su Xiao would be able to openly enter the thirtieth floor of the Wizard Council, open that stone door, and meet the three Immortal Wizards who knew the secrets of this world.
Just as Su Xiao thought the Moore Family would send more people for another round of wits and strategy, the Moore Family went silent, as if nothing had happened before.
Not only that, they stopped selling potions altogether and holed up inside the Wizard Council.
Potions weren't limited to the Dead Soul type alone. This move by the Moore Family was drawing hatred. The anger of wizards who couldn't buy potions was entirely imaginable. At that point, the Moore Family only needed to leak word that Kaiser had influenced the potion sales and threatened the Moore Family to stop selling.
Once this situation occurred, it wouldn't be the Moore Family wanting Kaiser dead, but all the wizards who couldn't buy potions would come looking for Kaiser's trouble. Some crazy individuals might even resort to extreme measures.
After learning of the Moore Family's move through Bubu Wang, Su Xiao, who was mixing potions, fell silent for a long time. The wizards' way of thinking was truly bizarre.
Su Xiao directly ignored the Moore Family's move. First, he wouldn't be selling potions for long. Besides, why did Kaiser have to be the only one selling potions? They could easily create puppets like "Blue Sa" or "Black Sa" and let those wizards vent their revenge on them.
At noon that day, the Moore Family resumed selling potions. They realized that after stopping sales, before Kaiser could react, the wizards had already turned against them. In other words, wizards didn't think that far ahead—if you didn't sell, they'd pressure you until you did.
The Moore Family had pulled off a flashy move, only to find they had nearly outsmarted themselves.
That evening, the Moore Family's second wave of shady moves came. They secretly sent people to buy potions from Kaiser and resold them at the original price.
This delighted Kaiser to no end. The Ice Soul Potions were sold out instantly...
It had to be said, the Moore Family's remedy method was decent. They needed to maintain their reputation and monopoly on potions. This self-buying and reselling behavior turned Kaiser into their supplier.
Su Xiao certainly wouldn't stop this behavior. He only cared whether the potions could be sold; who bought them was irrelevant.
An even stranger thing happened at 8 PM that night. The Moore Family sent someone to deliver a message to Kaiser: the previous incident was just a small misunderstanding. Cooperation between both sides was a win-win. They were willing to buy Ice Soul Potions at 550 silver coins per bottle, with no limit on quantity.
There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Right and wrong are things only children care about. This philosophy was perfectly embodied by the Moore Family.
Kaiser transformed overnight into the Moore Family's "strategic partner." They even sent a dedicated person to negotiate cooperation with Kaiser.
As for Moore·Di, Del, and Elsa, who had died the night before, it was as if they never existed. Only two people in the Moore Family knew how they died: one was the family head, Moore·Alfirth, and the other was Moore·Tony, who handled negotiations with Kaiser.
It seemed ridiculous, but this was the survival method of wizard families. Herlu City wasn't a civilized society; the law of the jungle prevailed here.
Last night's assassination was both a silencing and a test—to see if Kaiser had the qualifications to share the spoils. The "disappearance" of the three Moore Family members proved that Kaiser did.
When there were still four days left in the mission deadline, Su Xiao stopped mixing potions. The reason was a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Warning: Wizard Council reputation has reached the safety limit.]
[Current Wizard Council Reputation: 52800/52800 (Arcane Mystery).]
[If you continue attempting to gain Wizard Council reputation, the Hunter's main mission will change.]
[If the Hunter attempts to raise reputation to 'Immortal Rank,' subsequent actions will be restricted.]
[Yes/No to attempt raising reputation to Immortal Rank.]
...
Su Xiao naturally refused. The prompt from Reincarnation Paradise confirmed one thing: he had messed up the mission flow again. There should be other "ways to open it."
As for where the problem lay, Su Xiao immediately thought of the old wizard in the wooden wheelchair. No wonder Kaiser suspected he had been crippled by other Contractors or Hunters.
"My dear friend, we've succeeded."
Kaiser stood in front of the workbench, pockets stuffed with silver coins, looking radiant.
"Kaiser."
"Hehehe, I understand."
Kaiser grinned slyly, pulling a scroll from his bosom, along with a fist-thick, pattern-covered cylindrical iron bottle, and several Soul Crystals.
[You have received Immortal Contract (Expandable Follower Count: 1).]
[You have received Old God's Ashes.]
[You have received Soul Crystal (Complete) x6.]
[You have received 2682 Silver Coins (World-specific currency).]
[Old God's Ashes]
Origin: Wizard World
Quality: World-specific item, quality cannot be precisely determined.
Type: Rare Consumable (usable once)
Effect 1: After use, summons an Old God (random). The Old God requires 1.7 seconds to construct its body. After successful construction, the Old God will exist for 30 to 45 minutes.
Tip: The summoner can control the Old God's actions through mental commands.
Tip: The Old God's ability strength is initially fixed. The summoner's Intelligence attribute will provide partial bonuses to the Old God.
Tip: The Old God's existence duration depends on the summoner's Intelligence attribute (30 to 45 minutes).
Description: The power of the Old Gods far exceeds your imagination. Use these ashes wisely. Do not let these great beings, bathed in the glory of yesteryear, suffer humiliation. At least they once resisted, and even in death, they never yielded to 'Them.'
Price: Unsellable, can be discarded.
...
Looking at the items in his hand, Su Xiao tossed the large bag of silver coins to Kaiser. Kaiser instantly stashed it away without any polite refusal.
"My generous friend, cooperating with you is truly a pleasure."
Kaiser's smile grew even brighter. This guy was indeed greedy, but when it came to splitting the spoils, he followed the agreed-upon ratio without skimming a single silver coin.
"What do we do next?"
Having tasted the sweetness, Kaiser had decided to continue cooperating with Su Xiao in this world. It should net him plenty of benefits.
However, Kaiser had no idea how dangerous Su Xiao's subsequent missions would be. If there were a regret potion in this world, Kaiser would definitely buy two pounds and take it three times a day.
"Go to the Wizard Council, meet those three Immortal Wizards. I hope they can give me a satisfactory answer."
Su Xiao walked downstairs, followed closely by Amu, with Bubu Wang and Baha behind.
"And if they can't give you a satisfactory answer?"
Kaiser suddenly felt a bad premonition. Hearing this, Baha, perched on Amu's shoulder, laughed.
"What do you think will happen?"
Seeing the red gleam in Baha's eyes, Kaiser's face twitched. Honestly, he didn't want to guess.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang pushed Kaiser with his dog paw, signaling him to hurry up. This clearly felt like boarding a pirate ship.
Leaving the Sleepy House, Su Xiao looked at the Wizard Council standing tall in the distance. The answer should be over there. The old wizard in the wheelchair had an interesting description of the three Immortal Wizards: once great, now pitiful.