Even setting aside what an elven magic artifact could do, those words alone were enough to tempt any mage.
If they could take it apart and study the structure of its magic patterns, they might even reverse-engineer some elven spell formulas.
Magic, after all, was something you pieced together from all sorts of sources.
Rob naturally understood how tempting this item was to Kroya, but he still needed to consult him-so Ate, the knight who had just come in, went back out.
This time, however, he took a very, very long time to return.
So long that even Rob began to wonder whether Kroya had only wanted to sell a few on a whim rather than supply them over the long term.
Sai Liu was even more restless. His plump face had grown grave and anxious. A treasure this unusual was a perfect opportunity for him to expand his sales channels.
If the mage truly refused to sell, he really would cry.
About an hour passed before Ate finally returned with a solemn expression and relayed Kroya's response. "Agreed, but he will decide the quantity."
"Of course!" Sai Liu agreed at once. Then, as though afraid Kroya might change his mind, he immediately took out a coin purse.
From it, he counted out twelve gold coins.
He handed them to Rob and said, "These gold coins are payment for the magical treasures. As for the payment for the white iron ingots, Mr. Rob, I assume you would like to exchange it for supplies?"
Rob nodded. He did indeed intend to buy supplies. The island was desperately short of everything; even farming tools had to be purchased.
He handed Sai Liu the shopping list he had prepared long ago. After a brief look, Sai Liu nodded. "I'll bring these things over in three days, then take the white iron ingots away."
"Good."
Exchanging payment and goods on the spot like this was very common.
It was also why Sai Liu had dared to come here alone-he had never intended to take the goods away himself, but planned to return with others later.
This was merely placing an order.
If he had not come across these precious sunflower seeds, he would never have taken out his gold.
"Then I'll take my leave."
By now, Sai Liu had carefully put away all twelve sunflower seeds and could hardly wait to leave.
But Ate, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke. "The mage said you may bring any magical beasts with unusual temperaments."
"Unusual temperaments?" Sai Liu looked puzzled. "What sort of unusual temperaments is the mage looking for?"
"The exact opposite of others of their kind. A fire magical beast that likes water, for example. Something along those lines."
Was this just how mages were? Always wanting to dabble in something unusual.
"..." Sai Liu was even more confused, but the lure of the sunflower seeds still made him nod in agreement. "I'll keep an eye out for him."
With that settled, Rob politely escorted him out of the castle. He boarded his carriage and quickly departed.
Meanwhile, Ate had taken the elven magic artifact to Kroya, who had been waiting for quite some time-the earlier delay had actually been on Kroya's instructions.
As a noble, aloof mage, even if he wanted something, he could not rush over to get it. He had to maintain a certain air of detachment.
He wanted Sai Liu to feel that he had reluctantly agreed only after lengthy consideration, making it clear that a single elven magic artifact was nowhere near enough to sway him.
Still...
The moment Ate brought him the elven magic artifact, Kroya eagerly began examining it-
It was a pendant. Its cord appeared to have been woven from trade wind grass, a magic plant common among the Elves. A wooden rim encircled the pendant, with a richly green piece of jade set in its center.
At a glance, it was about the size of an eyeball.
A watery emerald green rippled within the jade, making it seem like an actual pool.
It faintly exuded the lively, natural aura unique to elven magic.
Kroya rubbed his fingers over the jade. By infusing it with his own magic power and sensing the rhythm within, he determined that it was probably a first-level magical ore, though one of superior quality.
Unlike iron ore and similar materials, these gemstones could not be refined through ordinary methods. Their natural state essentially determined their quality for good.
"The quality is pretty good."
He was very pleased, but found no magic patterns on the artifact's exterior through which he could channel magic power. Instead, he discovered a small protrusion.
That meant it could not be activated like a conventional magic artifact, but it also meant ordinary people could use it, even without supernatural powers such as magic power, battle aura, or rage.
Click.
As Kroya pressed the button, the surrounding wind magic power rapidly gathered, forming a pair of pale green wings behind him.
At the sight, Kroya immediately recognized it.
"Wind Sprite Feather? So it's this spell?"
He was somewhat speechless.
This spell formed a pair of wings behind whoever activated it, allowing them to fly and glide through the sky for a short time. It was certainly an excellent means of saving one's life.
Well... it worked well enough against enemies other than mages.
Against a mage with powerful magic, flying into the sky without being agile enough simply made you a target, leaving you helpless under their attacks.
What left him even more speechless was that one of the ornaments on the pendant, representing the Elves' twelve sacred stars, immediately dimmed.
So this thing ran on charges.
Every use meant one fewer remaining-only ten were left!
That explained why the merchant had been willing to give up such an item. If it could truly be used without limit, he probably would never have offered it in trade.
Still, there was no denying the enormous benefits of flight. It remained useful in most situations.
"Once I advance to a Second-Level Mage, I'll take it apart and have a look."
"If I can master the spell model inside, I'll see whether I can reproduce it in a magic plant. I don't have nature magic power, but surely magic plants do."
He casually put the item away, then played with the twelve gold coins he had just received, feeling rather moved.
Those sunflowers had already produced dozens of these special seeds. Did that not make them worth dozens of gold coins?
Over time, they would produce even more seeds, and their quality would continue to improve... They really were a gold mine.
Moreover, these magical sunflowers required special methods and materials to produce seeds capable of growing into new plants, so he did not need to worry about them spreading beyond his control.
"This earns money much faster than ore does. But the sunflowers' magic power is unusual..." Kroya frowned as he considered how to obtain more profitable magic plants like these.
He suspected the sunflower seeds commanded such a high price because the sunflame magic power within them benefited even ordinary people's bodies.
Everyone treasured their life, especially nobles.
He could quickly amass wealth by offering ways to improve their health, then purchase more magical beasts and magic plants, creating a virtuous cycle.
"Then which magic plant would be suitable? Sunflower seeds can only be supplied in small quantities as a scarce resource. I need something plentiful and filling..."
After a brief moment of thought, he settled on coconuts-or, more precisely, their advanced variant, the Pure White Sea Spirit Coconut.
Kroya clapped his hands and immediately decided. "That's the one! I'll advance to a Second-Level Mage first, then have my people give it some extra care!"
Having made his decision, Kroya returned to his room and began meditating.
This time, he would advance to a Second-Level Mage no matter what!
Before you continue