The man smirked, like he was laughing at Arthur's misfortune. Per Noura's previous information, the prices were determined by the leader of each patrol group, as there were no rules ever to regulate the whole thing.
"That's nice to hear, now leave half of your group back as slaves, and all the flying monsters you ride here as a price for the rest of you to pass."
Arthur's face got serious once he heard this, he never thought that mage would go that far. "This is an extravagant price, can't we negotiate about it?" he said, trying to avoid any unneeded dispute here.
The evil smile over the face of that mage got widened, as he replied while raising his fist to his men:
"It's not a trading post here to negotiate, either pay or perish!"
Arthur's attitude changed abruptly the moment that mage showed his stubborn and greedy nature. He also raised his hand o motion his mages behind him to be ready, as he said:
"If so, let's see who is going to perish here first."
Just as he and that mage were about to clash, a sudden sound came from behind all the mages, as a young mage came forth, dressing well, and had a long, well crafted, short staff in his hand, using it as a scepter.
"Halt, don't move."
His words came softly, but swiftly everyone there halted and didn't move, following his orders. The mage's appearance made the face of the middle aged mage change, as he retreated couple of steps to the side as he said with utmost respect:
"Venerable sprout elder, it's an honor to have your presence here today."
Arthur didn't know what a sprout elder meant, but he was sure it wasn't something simple in that clan. He eyed that newcomer mage, who had the same age as Silver Falcon, the same temperament, sharp and relentless. He gave him the feeling of being a very dangerous mage, one Arthur didn't want to make an enemy with right now.
"How can you treat our guests in this manner?" the mage calmly glanced at the leader of this patrol, and his words made the face of that mage change at once.
"I'm… I'm so sorry, venerable sprout elder, I didn't know they are our guests," the leader tried to correct his grave mistake, hurriedly apologizing to this sprout elder, while trying to avoid any possible punishment.
"It's alright," the sprout elder said, "they came without a notice, so you are forgiven, and dismissed."
The words that came from that mage were calm, but despite that Arthur felt their heavy impact on everyone here.
"Sure, esteemed sprout elder," the leader was about to move, before he hesitated for a moment. "Don't worry, I need no protection in the presence of friends," the young mage said, dispelling all the worry inside that leader.
"Let's go boys, let's find another place to patrol," the leader went to his mages, and yelled at them nervously, as he was so close to losing everything he had just now.
"Thanks a lot for the help," Arthur said, trying to act nice with that mage.
"That's alright, the clan leader of the golden lion clan who just stirred up waves of troubles not long ago isn't someone to be treated this badly," the young mage suddenly replied, showing off his knowledge about the true identity of Arthur.
This made Arthur baffled, as he never expected his fame to be recognized this soon by this far away clan. "Thanks for the praise, sprout elder, I think you overestimate my deeds," Arthur simply replied, acting modest.
"Don't be humble, I know how strong and unique you are," the sprout elder mage smiled, a knowing smile, making Arthur feel skeptical. "You suddenly rose from death, leading a grand campaign over the nearby clans, adding them to your territory, and making this feat in less than one month's time. that's really something not many can pull, my friend."
Arthur eyed that mage in a more dangerous light, as he knew the details of his journey from the start to finish. If he was so near to his clan, he would think news had travelled through rogue mages, but this clan was standing far from his clan.
Besides, these times were the times of the academy competition, so grand clans should busy themselves dealing with mages passing to the academy.
"Hahaha, I know you have many questions and doubts, but let me invite you to reside inside my clan's main city. it's far on foot, but seeing you have flying monsters with you will make the distance short," the young mage said, while pausing for a moment before adding, "The direction of our city and the academy is the same, so don't feel embarrassed by this, brother Willy," he added, cutting the route on Arthur to decline his invitation.
"If so, then lead the way, brother?" Arthur asked, as so far he didn't know the name of this mage.
"It's Rayan. Come, let's fly there together."
Arthur then nodded, silently headed towards his nearby mages, where he jumped over the pet of Amelia.
"Be careful, he is the mastermind Rayan, the cruel cold hearted genius of the Nystic clan."
This soft whisper came from Noura while he jumped over Amelia's pet. It seemed that Rayan here wasn't a nobody as he already guessed, and he was very famous indeed.
When Arthur jumped beside Amelia, he found that Rayan also summoned a flying monster, a huge beast, six horned one, with two long heads, and six tails moving rapidly all the time, like they were looking for something to hit.
The monster was large in size, approximately triple the size of Amelia's pet, which was already very large. Arthur's face got more serious, as the previous words of Noura rang in the back of his mind.
He wasn't so special up here in the greater world! that might be good and reassuring from one side, as his own secrets wouldn't be secrets in the eyes of others, however he would be pressured by that as well.
He needed to find other means to be unique and special, as living a mediocre life wasn't in his consideration, never.
They flew for another day, while no one, literally no one, had ever spoken a single word during the journey. During their flight, they met many patrolling groups, and a growing number of them had flying pets rivaling theirs, or even better.
The more they advanced, the higher the number of mages they met, and the more strong and dangerous vibe they gave Arthur. He suddenly realized how small his clan, in regard to this huge and strong place was. He didn't feel dejected or dwarfed by it, on contrary he felt inspiration.
He wanted his own territory, his own empire to be just like that, and even better!
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