The sky cleared after the snow. The entire city of Lyon was draped in silver. Sunlight refracted through the icicles on the treetops, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. All the filth and ugliness in the city seemed to have been washed clean. Winter had come slightly early to Lyon City this year, much to the satisfaction of the nobles and wealthy. It was time again for the noble ladies and young misses to showcase their new winter gowns.
The southwestern Soren District was the city's slum, a forgotten corner where people engaged in various low-level professions gathered. It was also a paradise for criminals. Winter was not a good time for the people here; dilapidated houses needed repairs, and winter clothes and fuel needed to be prepared.
On the edge of the Soren District, Rogue stood in front of an old two-story building, looking satisfied at his new nest. The location was excellent, of course, but only for a select few, like Rogue. Not far from the building was a small cemetery, and several tall oak trees surrounded the house. Even on sunny days, the place seemed somewhat gloomy.
Rogue cheerfully opened the door and walked in. The building seemed to have been vacant for some time; the sparse furniture was covered in dust and cobwebs. About half the shutters weren't working properly. A wooden staircase next to the living room led to the second floor. Upstairs, there were three rooms: one large and two small. The large one Rogue intended to use as his study. As for the two small ones, one would be a storage room, and the other a laboratory. Heaven knew what Rogue could possibly experiment on, at least for now.
Due to its unique location, this small building cost Rogue only 50 gold coins. Just a week ago, this would have been Rogue's living and tuition expenses for a year. But now, Rogue still had 350 gold coins in his pocket. The staff snatched from the mercenary mage a week ago was of good quality; the Aquamarine Stone on it was quite high grade and very helpful for mages who favored the water element. Since Rogue's combat achievements were brilliant—he single-handedly dealt with two warriors and one mage—Lance and the others unanimously agreed that the staff should belong to Rogue. After spending a few days summarizing the battle, Rogue concluded that the thing wasn't very useful to him at present, so he sold the magic staff for 400 gold coins.
Rogue had never held so much money before. The old Viscount Rivers's annual income from various taxes and rents was only 300 gold coins, so naturally, there wasn't much surplus to give his son. Besides, a fallen noble was still a noble, and necessary social niceties and displays had to be maintained. The heavy financial pressure made Old Rivers increasingly irritable.
It took another week to finish setting up the interior. The new furniture cost Rogue 20 gold coins. Now, Rogue lay contentedly on the bed in his study (in his taste, he saw absolutely nothing wrong with having a bed in the study), surrounded by piles of gold coins. Heaven knew how much a son of a fallen noble family craved gold coins. After counting them over and over countless times, Rogue finally fell asleep from exhaustion, not waking until the setting sun cast its red light the next day. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...!" Stretching enormously, Rogue leaped out of bed, several gold coins clinking as they fell to the ground. The sound was truly music to his ears.
Sleeping until he woke naturally, counting money until his hands cramped. This was Rogue's happy life.
Over the next month, Rogue returned to his little nest from time to time, adding many traps and mechanisms inside. Lance and the others visited Rogue's new nest one after another, and they all offered plenty of suggestions, though most were naturally for pranks. However, occasionally there were unexpectedly useful ideas. Of course, the things these rookies set up had limited power, but they had their merits in terms of cunning.
During this time, Rogue learned a new spell: Finger of Flame. It relied on a small jet of flame shot from the finger to injure enemies, though this second-level spell naturally had extremely limited power.
After discovering that psychic power could also be used as a tripwire, Rogue had once again embarked on fervent training with great passion. But aside from making the cat he threw out a bit fatter, he had made no progress in a month. Rogue finally understood that you can't get fat in one bite. His passion cooled, and he started hanging out with Ete and the others again.
Rogue had almost forgotten he still had a skeleton.
To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools. Rogue understood this basic principle. The many scars left from the "Old Oak" battle had also driven this lesson home for Ete and the others through painful experience. The group unanimously purchased high-quality equipment, which naturally included some items not entirely in keeping with their knightly status and noble demeanor. Rogue bought an exquisite elf arm crossbow that could load three bolts at once, inscribed with simple charms to slightly increase magic penetration. "This is much more useful than a dinner plate," Rogue said shamelessly to Ete, who deeply agreed and suggested adding anesthetic to the arrows—a suggestion Rogue immediately adopted.
His group of troublemaker friends had lain low for a month without going out to raise hell. Aside from the fact that buying equipment had cost them a significant portion of their monthly allowances, the main reason was still the fear of running into those mercenaries again. If any one of those guys got serious, they could easily drive off the entire group. Although it was unlikely the opponents would openly kill a noble, a sound beating was unavoidable. Moreover, mercenaries were mostly experts in the art of inflicting pain. Whenever he remembered the female warrior Qi Wei's low kick, Lance couldn't help but shudder, instinctively clamping his legs together.
In the lord's manor of Lille City, the capital of the Bavaria Duchy, two hundred miles west of Lyon City, Ophirock was studying reports on Rogue and the others with great interest, particularly the details about Rogue poisoning his crossbow bolts and the mechanisms in Rogue's nest. Elexis, a combination of iceberg and black flame, delicately pinched the report Ophirock handed her as if holding something filthy. Her blue, crystalline nails occasionally glinted in the sunlight. She detested these individuals even more, unable to understand why Ophirock was so interested in such good-for-nothings.
A black flame ignited, swiftly reducing these reports to nothing, not even a trace of ash remaining. Those icy, crystalline fingers, the fingers within the flame, remained completely unharmed.
The Golden Lion paid it no mind. He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The window faced east, and the setting sun cast a blood-red hue over everything before it. Ophirock's gaze seemed to traverse hundreds of miles of space and time, settling upon Lyon City.
The setting sun grew even redder, the landscape for miles around like blood. Ophirock's blood slowly boiled, his heart already overlooking the earth. Elexis, as if hidden within black purgatorial flames, watched the blood-stained landscape and Ophirock, whose aura was rising. Her ice-like eyes slowly melted, a silvery-white light flashing past, like the cold gleam on the scythe of Death.
The snow melted for the first time under the spring sun. Rogue walked out of Fess's laboratory, silently watching the melted snow drip drop by drop from the roof. Rogue had talked with Fess all night. After asking some questions about magic arrays, the master and apprentice, who shared many bad habits, chatted about everything under the sun. After boasting about countless legends of powerful mages, Fess suddenly sighed, "If you want to become a powerful mage, having no money is absolutely impossible." Rogue's eyes also shone, "Yes, every piece of equipment those great mages have is worth a fortune. Even that staff I snatched from that mage last time was worth several hundred gold coins." So the topic naturally turned to how mages should make money.
"Rogue, you now have a bit of money. Of course, this is far from enough; you can't even afford decent magical materials. You've been with me for a while now, and your teacher hasn't given you anything. This magic ring might still be of some use to you. And this piece of black crystal is of good quality. But you'll have to make it into a magic item yourself. If you have any questions about magic arrays, come ask me. The rest is up to you. Increasing magical power isn't something that happens in a day or two. If you want to become powerful quickly, the only way is to make money. With money, you can get good magical equipment. Only after your strength increases can you make more money. Which of the influential figures in continental history wasn't immensely wealthy? As for those great Archmages, each of them possesses one or two divine artifacts. And when it comes to founders, emperors, generals, and ministers, none could do without money. And which war wasn't a money-burning war?"
Fess seemed to have more to say. "When it comes to making money, there's quite a learning curve. The path to wealth lies first in recognizing trends, and second in acquiring the right people. Understand the major trends of the world, know the direction things are moving, go with the flow, and you'll find success everywhere. As for recognizing people, you must understand that human ability has its limits. No matter how brilliant you are, you can't be an expert at everything. If you can gather outstanding talents from the world to work for you, wealth will naturally come rolling in. The last point is knowing when to let go. A man's value lies in knowing his own limits, knowing when to advance and when to retreat. When you see a situation is untenable, you must have the courage to cut your losses and admit defeat. Losing once or twice doesn't matter, as long as it doesn't break your backbone. Why worry about not being able to stage a comeback? Rogue, you're good in every way, except you lack a bit of perseverance and patience. This matter can't be rushed. When you have time, go read the Continental General History. The paths trodden by predecessors always offer some lessons. Remember, what's important isn't that you run faster than others on a single path, but that you choose the correct path."
Rogue was stunned, his heart surging with passion. Who would have thought that Fess, usually so dull and reserved, could have such insights? Rogue felt as if the world had suddenly opened up before him, his heart filled with the soft glow emitted by gold coins.
Fess gave Rogue a magic ring—an ordinary mana amplification ring. It was called mana amplification, but it actually helped the caster control spells more precisely, allowing them to cast spells with less magical power. In terms of result, it generally allowed a mage to cast one more low-level spell.
Rogue strode vigorously towards his small building. He felt more driven than ever before in his life; everything in the night seemed to radiate a golden glow. Gold coins, jewels, and beautiful women fluttered around Rogue. Heh, look at those towering breasts, look at those long legs, such a feast for the eyes, they seem so real... "This face looks somewhat familiar... not bad looking, quite stunning. Where have I seen it before?... This isn't an illusion!" Rogue suddenly snapped out of his fantasy, staring dumbfounded at the other end of the alley where the female warrior Qi Wei walked towards him, emanating a murderous aura.
"I've been looking for you for two months!" The voice, squeezed through clenched teeth, rang out like a death knell.