The problem with buying the artifact did not just come with the price, but rather the manufacturing itself. Most artificers would not just keep epic ranked artifacts lying around. They would only make one when they were commissioned to do so.
Of course, there were many materials that were needed in the manufacture of an artifact and the most basic requirement was nothing but Rune beast Crystals. Getting one was a dangerous task and one would need to hunt down a C rank beast.
These beasts were not only hard to find but were a death sentence to anyone that met them. It was a widely accepted fact that if a person with an Epic ranked gift were to compete against a C rank they would not necessarily come out on top.
Most beasts had better bodies than humans and had better defenses. They were hard and could bear attacks much better than humans. Even the beasts that did not have defense gifts were way more durable than some humans with actual defensive gifts.
This made it even more difficult to hunt C rank beasts. In the hierarchy of beasts, the highest that mercenaries went to hunt were beasts at the D rank who had gifts at the rare rank. But even then the mercenaries needed to hunt them down were multiple of the same rank or even higher.
This was why Lucius was so shocked. He would have been fine if it was a noble who had this artifact, but these mercenaries, definitely not.
"How did you guys even get an Epic Ranked artifact even?" Lucius questioned.
"We… we borrowed it," Gellor answered.
"Who in their right minds would lend an epic ranked artifact?" Lucius couldn't help but say.
Gellor and his companions now felt awkward.
"Umm… the person who let it to us was actually a noble," Gellor replied.
"And why would they give you an artifact?" Lucius asked.
Gellor looked at his companions, and they nodded their heads at him.
"Well… the reason we were given it was because of finch herself. You see, the noble who gave it to her… she's his mistress." Gellor revealed.
"Huh?" Lucius said, feeling a bit caught off guard.
Seeing that Lucius was only getting more confused, Gellor decided to explain it all at once.
"Finch has been the mistress of a noble by the name of Cambrian for a couple of years now. He would give her gifts and money, so she happily accepted them. We didn't mind it either as it was not our place to interfere, plus she had helped us out with those very gifts when we were lacking money." Gellor said.
Lucius recognized the name Cambrian and realized that it was the man he had met before during the feast a couple of months ago. If he remembered correctly, the man was a rather rich noble who was originally a merchant and had bought his way into the nobility.
"But if you need money and it is for Finch, then why don't you go to Cambrian instead?" Lucius questioned, finding it all to be a bit absurd.
"Well… the reason we didn't go there is because… the wife of Cambrian found out about Finch. She now has him under lock down and the rumor is, has beaten him up plenty such that he's scared to even leave the room." Gellor answered.
Lucius couldn't help but facepalm upon hearing all this.
~Sigh~
"So how severe are her injuries? I mean you guys should have still been able to take up jobs from the mercenary guild right? Did you really have to come to me?" Lucius asked again.
"Well, her injuries are quite bad. She has deep cuts and burns all over her body and the healers can only maintain her current condition while preventing it from getting worse. But they can't fully heal her.
For that, they would need some special herbs or the help of a priest from the Church of Alana." Gellor answered. "Plus, since her condition is so bad, we fear she may die if we take too long. Thus we need the money in advance so that we can treat her first." He added.
"Please grant us this request, Young Lord Asher! We will be forever grateful!" The companions of Gellor all spoke up together.
Lucius saw the looks on their faces and thought about it. Silence descended in the hall as no one spoke and only watched on apprehensively. After a minute of awkward silence, Lucius smiled, but the mercenaries who looked at his smile found it to be a bit strange.
Gellor even felt goosebumps on his skin for a moment before they faded away. He thought that Lucius' smile was a bit eerie, but he pushed that to the back of his mind. For him, the situation with Finch was the most important.
"Alright! I'll help you guys." Lucius spoke, this time his face calming down.
The expression of all the mercenaries lit up with joy upon hearing Lucius's words, and they were barely able to stop themselves from shouting out in joy. But then they remembered that they were in a Count's mansion and doing so would be incredibly rude.
"Thank you, young Lord Asher. We will do our best in completing whatever job you give us." Gellor said and his companions chimed in.
"But before that… I need a few more details." Lucius added.
"Sure, please ask us, Lord Asher." Gellor agreed in a heartbeat.
"What happened to the artifact that got Finch injured?" Lucius questioned.
"It was confiscated by Nobel Cambrian's wife when we went to ask him for help first." Gellor answered.
'Hmm… should have expected something like this. Getting hands on an epic ranked artifact would be hard. Though… Gabriel does have something in his safe. They should be epic ranked artifacts too. I should check them out sometime.' Lucius thought to himself.
"I see. Well, how much is it that you need for the treatment of Finch?" Lucius questioned.
"We need… six thousand gold coins." Gellor answered nervously.
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