Chapter 98: Candlekeep Visitors
Anse opened his eyes, his body light and his muscles strong; he felt great.
Every level up was Life’s Sublimation, giving him a feeling of breaking free from shackles and constraints, transcending the mortal.
“Extraordinary, huh. Strictly speaking, Legendary is just the beginning of the extraordinary.”
After sighing, he pulled up his Character Card to check his attributes.
Life reached 54, and coincidentally Mana was also 54, enough for ten Fireballs, a bit more enduring.
Charisma 20, Constitution reached 16, one point of which came from the Carved Scale Dragon Scale Amulet’s bonus, though its effect differed from regular equipment and could be considered a natural attribute.
Armor Class 17, same level as a Young Dragon, but he hardly relied on dodging, focusing purely on thick armor.
“This panel… it’s getting more and more luxurious.”
Level up experience surged: 16483/23000, looks tough, but actually not easy.
If there hadn’t been a human city as backup today, he really wouldn’t have dared to act so boldly.
But his leveling speed hadn’t slowed; mainly, Fireball was too powerful, practically a tool for harvesting experience.
“Take down a few more Wyverns and I can level up again.”
Thinking of this, he laughed to himself. Wyverns weren’t smart, but they had Command; they wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
When they came next time, their lineup would probably be unprecedentedly strong.
However, now wasn’t a good time to leave; the enemy had taken a big loss and would surely watch him closely, chasing him down the moment he left the city.
The east was all Wilderness, no reinforcements or cover; facing the Wyvern Guard’s joint kill, he really had no confidence in escaping safely.
“Stay for now and slack off a bit. Just took their benefits and leaving right away wouldn’t be right.”
If things went bad, disguise himself and blend into the crowd to escape wouldn’t be hard.
He stood up and found a pile of items in the corner of the cabin, among which a pair of War Blades stood out.
These were the Half-Dragon’s weapons.
“Pretty cool design.” He picked them up for a closer look.
They were a pair of Single-edged Swords; calling them knives would work too, but Faerun professionals called them swords uniformly.
The Dice spun slightly, quickly detecting their information.
【Dragon Gold Slash Sword】, Dwarf-made, Rare Quality, +2 Magic Weapon, that is, Attack Roll +2, Damage Roll +2.
Actual effect: faster slashing speed, armor-piercing, high lethality.
Additionally, they had self-repair properties; after damage, place them in a Treasure Chest full of Gold Coins to restore them to pristine condition.
This stuff was super valuable, even comparable to Uncommon Quality Magic Weapons.
“Keep them for now.” Anse was delighted.
Since he planned to build a Force, scarce resources had to be kept; these two blades might even lure some Elite Professionals.
The Half-Dragon’s Armor was good too, a type of plate armor among Heavy Armors, Rare Quality, but no Helmet or war boots, partially damaged, needing repair and size adjustment to use.
The last item was 【Feather Fall Ring】, Rare Quality, single effect: slow descent when falling, no injury from falls.
Just having the Feather Fall effect reaching Rare Quality sounded absurd, but it was truly a hot commodity that Warrior professionals all wanted.
Before the Magic Net incident, such items weren’t expensive; many Common Quality Magic Items had Feather Fall, like Feather Fall coins and such.
After the Magic Net incident, many Magic Items requiring active Spellcasting failed, making this even more valuable.
“Three Rare Quality Magic Items, not bad.”
Rare Quality was high-end stuff many Elite Professionals could access; Uncommon Quality was too rare, hard to get without luck and wealth.
Anse set the things aside and left Leomund’s Tiny Hut.
Brat hadn’t returned yet; Finn was guarding outside.
Dozens of meters away, a crowd gathered in the City Wall corner; he could vaguely see Giant Tail’s figure.
“He’s skinning and bleeding with Sandre.” Finn played with his Short Sword, eager to try.
“Uh, this… that’s enough, right?” Anse frowned slightly, struggling to keep a straight face.
Half-Dragons were humanoid intelligent creatures after all, but those professionals treated the Half-Dragon corpse no differently than pigs or dogs, excitedly watching without discomfort.
Finn said nothing, just chuckled.
Anse scanned around; South of the City seemed even livelier. After he came out, countless gazes from the surroundings glanced over intentionally or not, meanings unclear.
The previous battle was in the air; by now it was probably known to all, many professionals knew Blue Water City had a powerful Spellcaster.
This was rare, especially for those professionals; after all, Abel had no Magic Net, and post-world fusion, Spellcasters under the Steel Sky couldn’t even sense Spell Slots, let alone Spellcasting.
Minutes later, Giant Tail ran over with a pile of messy stuff to show off, shooed away by Anse’s wave.
Sandre saw this and laughed: “These are hot commodities; want me to find a buyer for you?”
Dragons were innately Legendary creatures; anything dragon-related was sought after by professionals and elites.
Supposedly many magic rituals needed Dragon Meat, Dragon Blood, even to seize a Dragon’s Mana.
“Sure.” Anse was glad; this stuff was useless to him.
Dragon Blood could break the Vault Curse, but it specified True Dragon blood; Half-Dragon, Wyvern, etc., probably wouldn’t work.
“Tim invites you all to stay at the Manor temporarily, even cleared out a Villa…” Sandre’s expression was enthusiastic, his facial wrinkles deepening with his smile.
After all, today’s battle stemmed from the Cliff Fortress; Anse being targeted wasn’t personal.
Moreover, his deliberate departure from the Manor to avoid battle affecting Tim’s family had won goodwill from the Cliff Fortress folks.
“Sure.” Anse didn’t refuse.
Leomund’s Tiny Hut had good protection, but the space was too small, not as comfortable as a Villa.
The group packed up and headed to Tim’s Small Manor; the sky was clear this time, no Wyvern attacks.
Sandre sent someone to notify Brat, lest he go to the wrong place.
Riding on horseback, Anse felt the city’s atmosphere much more relaxed, less Suppressed.
He didn’t think it was his credit; an Elite Spellcaster was crucial in small-scale group Combat, but in legion battles with tens of thousands, not enough to change the situation.
Sandre saw Anse’s Doubt and smiled mysteriously: “Candlekeep folks arrived.”
“When did they come? How many? How strong?” Anse pressed, full of curiosity.
“I just heard from Tim.” Sandre waved it off. “Not clear on details, probably just arrived. Earlier the Lord of the City council sent for Tim to attend a meeting; probably about this.”
“Hm.” Anse rubbed his chin, expression inscrutable.
Daring to release an unconfirmed News to calm the people—were the Claw City-States truly desperate, or playing Morality blackmail?
Once this News spread, common folk would pin hopes on Candlekeep; if the city fell and Candlekeep didn’t contribute, they’d bear half the resentment and blame.
Tim’s Small Manor wasn’t far; they arrived soon.
Tim’s wife and daughter personally welcomed them, arranging meals and lodging, treating them fully as Distinguished Guests.
It wasn’t until noon that Brat returned, followed by several blue-armored Warriors carrying large crates, heavy with blood smell.
Anse looked at the crates by the Villa door, somewhat disgusted: “You didn’t bring back all the Wyvern meat and guts, did you?”
“No, no.” Brat waved repeatedly, eyes wide, excited: “Inside are Dragon Scale, dragon head, Dragon Blood, poison stinger, etc.; didn’t take other stuff…”
Baron handled it with the Vanguard; couldn’t work for nothing.
Anse smiled helplessly: “I figure buyers will come; keep an eye out.”
“No problem.” Brat grinned slyly, not for the Loot, but hand-“slaughtering” a dragon was truly thrilling.
Everyone in this city, one by one—how many had seen a Wyvern before?
Earlier during the dragon slaughter, crowds surged, super lively.
If not for the Poison in Wyvern Meat making it inedible raw, auctioning Dragon Meat on the spot could’ve made a fortune.
