Admission Ticket

Ian grinned and waved lightly at her.

When Ian saw Lia on the first floor of the tower, she had already returned to normal.

"Did something happen?"

Seeing Lia back to normal, Ian couldn't help asking.

Lia pressed her lips together. Watching Ian, full of energy, she showed no hint that anything was amiss.

She smiled calmly and said, half-seriously, "Of course I came to check on the Whaling Group's most important partner."

"What happened here last night?"

Hearing Lia's words, Ian immediately understood. The Whaling Group must have found out about last night's intense clash of spiritual forces. It seemed he held some standing in Lia and the others' eyes.

"Come with me."

Seeing that Ian didn't press her about the earlier topic, Lia secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ian led Lia to the fifth floor. Old Hans was clearing away debris with two young apprentices, but the place was still a mess, and traces of a frenzied spiritual aura could still be sensed.

Ian told Old Hans to leave for now and continue cleaning later.

"Last night, a Transcendent named Haistorm attacked me. I'd had a little conflict with him earlier at the Bounty Hunter Guild."

"But I've never lost in a one-on-one fight!"

Ian didn't hide the truth. Showing a little strength would help him avoid trouble.

Lia stared at Ian in surprise. Wasn't he an Alchemist who wasn't good at fighting?! Had he been hiding his strength?

"What Sequence was Haistorm?"

"Storm Lord, Sequence 7."

Ian watched her surprised expression with a smile.

"He... ran away?" Lia asked, unable to believe it.

Ian shook his head slightly. "Of course he's dead. This is the spoils of battle."

Ian pulled out an exquisite purse and waved it in front of her.

This was practically a challenge to Lia's understanding of the Extraordinary.

It wasn't unheard of for someone of a Low Sequence to kill someone of a High Sequence, but that usually relied on a warship, teamwork, powerful artifacts, or forbidden knowledge to ambush the opponent.

Even crossing a single Sequence level usually came at a heavy cost.

Lia had never heard of anyone being ambushed by a powerful Extraordinary two Sequence levels above them and killing their attacker without a scratch.

"Someone's here."

Ian interrupted Lia's train of thought, his expression grave.

Outside the tower, several Transcendents were approaching, making no effort to conceal their spiritual fluctuations.

"Don't misunderstand. They're with the Whaling Group. The one leading them is our captain, Abigail."

Lia recognized the group approaching below through the window. Afraid of a misunderstanding, she hurriedly explained to the wary Ian.

Just then, Ian spotted Damir behind the group.

"Let's go down."

By the time Ian and Lia reached the ground floor, Abigail was waiting outside with the others. He hadn't entered the lobby without permission.

Abigail hadn't brought his big pipe today. When Damir found him, he'd been at the shipyard overseeing repairs to his flagship. He'd spent most of his time there lately.

The Whaling Group's battlefield was the sea, after all, and its members were less comfortable on land. Once the auction was over and they had recruited enough sailors, they would put out to sea again.

Abigail knew about Ian, of course. He had been the one to insist that the first jar of Enchanted Weapon Oil be sent for appraisal. It wasn't that he distrusted Ian; he had to take responsibility for the entire Whaling Group.

Even his Alchemist friend had been astonished by the appraisal results. Products of such high quality were rare even within the Alchemist Fellowship.

It was also thanks to Abigail's firm stance against the dissenting voices in the Whaling Group that their partnership over the Enchanted Weapon Oil had gone so smoothly.

But Abigail was a clever man. Ian had stayed at an inn instead of going to the Alchemist Fellowship, so Abigail knew he intended to keep his identity secret.

That was why he hadn't come to meet Ian without warning, and had forbidden the others from disturbing him.

When Damir had told him what happened earlier, Abigail had prepared for the worst.

But when Abigail sensed Lia's spiritual state and that of the other person from a distance, he realized things might have gone beyond his expectations—but not in a bad way.

"Captain, you're here. Let me introduce everyone."

Lia went out to meet them first and began introducing the people present.

The Whaling Group's captain, Abigail; Damir, commander of the landing force aboard the captain's flagship, the [Whaling Ship]; and the captains of three whaling ships: Greg, Jill, and Uma.

As Lia made the introductions, both sides sized each other up.

Ian was much younger than Abigail had imagined. Alchemy required a great deal of accumulated experience, and young Alchemists were usually still quite inexperienced.

"Mr. Trist, I'm very glad to see you're all right."

Abigail was short and stout, but his hearty smile made him seem likable.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Abigail. I'm fine."

Ian was sincerely grateful.

Without knowing what had happened, Captain Abigail had hurried over to check on Ian, risking a confrontation with a Transcendent who might be a Sequence 7.

Whatever his reasons, that was already quite admirable.

Ian was glad that the first Extraordinary faction he'd encountered was the Whaling Group.

"Let's all go inside and talk."

Ian invited everyone into the first-floor lobby.

Abigail was surprised to see all the spiritual materials in the lobby, but wisely didn't ask about them.

Both sides were eager to show goodwill, and with Lia smoothing things over, the conversation went fairly well.

But when those present heard that Ian had killed a Sequence 7 Storm Lord without a scratch, they were all astonished.

Uma, whose hair was styled in little braids, even sprang up from her chair, making an exaggerated face and rattling off slang Ian couldn't understand.

Lia looked helpless and gave Ian a look that told him to figure it out for himself.

Ian didn't mind. Uma's spiritual nature was lively and pure; she was simply being herself, not putting on a show.

Ian then took the Whaling Group members to see the scene of the battle on the fifth floor.

Abigail sensed the traces of the violent spiritual aura left on the floor and felt a chill.

Judging by its strength and nature, even he, an Ocean Warrior of the Extraordinary Sequence 6, would have found it troublesome.

There was no such thing as balance in real life. Besides, this storm-wielding spellcaster had the advantage of fighting in a tower where storms gathered. With the odds stacked against him, even Abigail didn't dare jump to conclusions.

Ian noticed that Abigail's gaze had grown more cautious.

As expected, strength earned respect wherever you went.

Abigail and the others didn't stay long. After chatting for a while, they left.

Ian returned to his room on the fourth floor, a piece of parchment in his hand.

It was the ticket to the auction that Abigail had given him before leaving.

The Poldoria Royal Auction was held twice a year, on June 1 and December 1.

Perhaps spurred on by the discovery of the New Continent, this auction was larger than any before it.

The Seven Major Churches of the Righteous Gods, the various Extraordinary Associations, the Poldoria Kingdom, the Winter Kingdom, the Bema Duchy, and the important powers of the Eastern Continent, including the Grand Duchy of the "Enclave," would all be sending prominent figures.

With so many people attending, the rules for issuing tickets had changed, making entry harder to secure.

Without an invitation from the Whaling Group, Ian would have had a hard time attending under his assumed identity.