Eye of Fear

Solam had truly wronged poor Mozart over this. Even among legendary mages, Mozart was wealthy—he had eight million gold coins alone. That was enough to outclass most legendary mages instantly; ordinary legendary mages simply could not have that much cash on hand.

Most mages spent the bulk of their funds on experiments and crafting magical items. Mozart, however, was different. He was a fugitive. First, he had been hunted underground, then he fled to the surface and was hunted again. In other words, he was either being hunted or on his way to being hunted. Besides his ongoing soul-transference experiments, he had no interest in any other research, so he had nowhere to spend his money. As for crafting magical items, he had even less time for that.

He was practically dying. How could he possibly have the leisure to craft some useless magical item?

Osvid was no ordinary legendary mage either. As he had said, his lineage was unusual. The mages of his school regarded protecting Athkatla as their duty, so they differed from other mages. They were not so selfish. Upon death, they left all their possessions to a chosen heir, rather than taking their wealth into the tomb as grave goods like other mages—or simply hiding it away.

That was why Osvid possessed such extravagant equipment. It had been accumulated generation after generation. Naturally, he was rich.

In any case, none of that mattered anymore. The deal had been completed. What mattered most was the news Osvid had mentioned. For a legendary mage to bring it up so solemnly, it could not be anything trivial.

"What news? Does it concern me?"

"Mm." Osvid nodded as if unconcerned, then asked, "Is the Holy Avenger in your possession?"

Upon hearing that, Solam immediately turned to Osvid and cried out