"Ice-Splitting Blade" — a fourth-circle mid-tier enchanted longsword that enhanced balance and added ice and acid damage. Just to purchase this weapon, Jacob had spent close to ten thousand Gold Thalers on top of the original third-circle magic longsword. Yet in his final battle, he never even got the chance to draw it!
Lucian picked up the longsword from Jacob's waist and shook his head as he examined the straight blade radiating a mixed blue-green glow. He then stored it in his storage pouch along with the Devil's Soul armor, the "Punishment" ring capable of casting Lightning three times per day, and the forty Gold Thalers' worth of portable gold coins and gems.
Who knew how many nobles and merchants Jacob had robbed and killed in the shadows, and how many smuggling operations he'd run, to accumulate all this equipment. Now it had all fallen into Lucian's hands for practically nothing. But Lucian didn't intend to use any of it — nobles in the Shahran Empire very likely recognized Jacob's personal belongings, and that would bring no small amount of trouble. So he decided to hand everything to Leo, have him sell these items along with the low-grade gear Warren had been carrying, convert them to gold coins, and then secretly purchase a magic longsword and other items more suited to Lucian's needs.
As for the unicorn pendant — which could grant immunity to Charm and Suggestion spells and wasn't easily noticed by others — Lucian chose to have Leo wear it for now, since wearing it alongside the Sun Crown amulet would cause the two to conflict. This way, Leo would be protected from magical control while handling transactions and making arrangements within the Shahran Empire.
With his plunder complete, Lucian's mood improved considerably. He placed the crystal orb half-gripped in his right hand back into his coat pocket. Many spells of the Astrology school required the aid of a Dawnlight Crystal as a casting component even after the spell model had been constructed within the soul — "Maskelyne's Star" being the most typical example. Other schools had similar special cases. Constructing a spell model in the soul didn't absolutely eliminate the need for casting materials.
A flash of arcane energy, and Lucian's body vanished swiftly as he quietly departed from Warren's villa estate.
……
A basement beneath an ordinary residence. One of Leo's secret hideouts.
"Mr. Peter, the news of Jacob's death has caused a sensation throughout the city and sparked chaos. Many lords are confronting each other over the division of his estate, land, gem mines, smuggling warehouses, and trade routes. It's said the matter has even been brought before the Lords' Assembly. There are even mages of ancient magical heritage who'd been living in seclusion nearby — they've come hoping to join the Eastern Exile Lands' Lords' Assembly and claim a share of this eye-catching wealth." Even with no outsiders present, Leo still addressed Lucian carefully by his current alias.
Lucian was mildly surprised. "Jacob had that much wealth? Then why did he carry so few magical items?"
Leo answered with the meticulous precision of a true steward. "Because of the profits from outside the estate. He had to surrender the majority to the nine city lords, and the refinement of his own bloodline required materials like moonstone and werewolf blood. On top of maintaining his lavish lifestyle, the money he could actually spend on magical items amounted to less than one-tenth of his total income."
"Furthermore, the higher the grade of a magical item, the rarer it becomes. The Eastern Exile Lands have only seen a handful of high-grade items over the years, and all of them ended up in the hands of the nine city lords. Fourth- and fifth-circle magic items are equally uncommon. Finding one that actually suited him was even harder. After Jacob reached the fourth circle ten years ago, it took him several more years of gradually collecting to assemble a fourth-circle longsword, armor, and mid-tier magic ring for ranged attacks that he was satisfied with."
Lucian nodded slightly. This was one of the advantages of joining the Arcane Council and the Elemental Will — you'd never find yourself in a situation where you had enough money but still couldn't buy equipment suited to your needs. Whether it was the Arcane Council's exchange district or the Elemental Will's demiplane warehouse, there was always enough to make your head spin, with items you loved on every side, unable to make up your mind, only wishing you had more money.
"What was the reaction of the nine city lords?" That was the information Lucian wanted most.
Leo, disguised as an old man, shook his head. "Mr. Peter, outsiders currently have no way of knowing the details of the Lords' Assembly. However, the owner of the Taran tavern quietly told me that the city lords' subordinates came to inquire only once about Warren's conflict at the tavern. After that, there were no similar investigations, and no wanted notices or bounty hunting missions appeared. A few lords fighting over Jacob's inheritance have declared that Jacob and Warren offended a big shot from the Arcane Council, who came and killed them without effort. So their scramble for the inheritance is perfectly in line with the rules of the Eastern Exile Lands."
"Regardless, we'll wait a few more days and confirm that no one is investigating or issuing bounties before entering the Shahran Empire." Lucian nodded slightly. "In the meantime, I'll trouble you, Leo, to secretly sell those magic items and then purchase a fourth- or fifth-circle magic longsword."
"Mr. Peter, selling in a hurry will cost at least a twenty percent loss, and fourth- and fifth-circle magic longswords aren't common. If you want one on short notice, it's almost certain that it won't match your specific characteristics or satisfy you." Leo raised the issue without concealing anything.
Lucian pushed up his monocle and smiled. "That's fine. This magic longsword is only for temporary use. The only requirement is that it has no strength, dexterity, willpower, or other usage restrictions."
Since magic usage should be minimized as much as possible while traveling through the Shahran Empire, a powerful magic longsword that could effectively bolster his knight-level combat strength was especially important. As for whether it matched his fighting style — that didn't matter. Once he returned to Alinga, he'd sell it for arcane points and use those to purchase arcane materials, potions, and magic items better suited to him.