Chapter 10

Vergil left the courthouse with an annoyed expression. He knew that entering the mage tower to get an appraisal wouldn't be easy as a commoner class and the first class change only happened at Level 10, which was a very distant prospect. Vergil was confused why the tailor's hidden quest was available so early and tried to rack his brains trying to think of any other way to get the quest item appraised.

Failing to find anything relevant within his memories, he made his way to the mage tower's gates, but was immediately halted by the guards. Vergil took out the letter of introduction that the Mayor had personally written for Mage Mustang. The guard unceremoniously read the letter before flinging it back at Vergil. His disdain for commoners was extremely evident. "The mage Mustang left for the town's smithy some time back. Do not disturb the mage tower again for your personal grievances."

Vergil ignored the guard's sanctimony and went to the blacksmith. Red Leaf Town, like other starter towns had a pretty basic smithy with a blacksmith from where weapons could be purchased. The typical player cycle involved purchasing the cheapest weapon after performing chores so they could go into the wild and clear out mobs. The cheapest dull blade, however, had a terrible maintenance issue. Just a few attacks would render the weapon useless and had to be repaired. As a result, the blacksmith was one of the most frequented stores in the beginner towns. Vergil could see that demand for lifestyle players was already being felt, but it was difficult to get a introduction to a lifestyle career at this stage.

When Vergil walked into the smithy and saw the items on display, he was not too surprised. The items were a mix of good and bad and various price ranges. However, he slightly shook his head, for with a glance he could tell that the blacksmith in this town was of a poor quality. At a guess, he assumed that the forger was only a beginner level blacksmith. Behind the counter, he observed an old man who appeared to be the blacksmith and a younger man in a mage's robe calmly discussing about a small red stone shaped like a thorn.

The blacksmith shook his head. "This is the first time I am seeing an ore of this kind. I honestly don't know what it is." Hearing this, the mage was frustrated. He had found this material after a life threatening fight and felt that it was extremely valuable. But if he could not even appraise what ore it was, he had no way to put this material to use. He had a feeling that if he deciphered what this object was, he might be able to increase his mage rank, but the wall of failure made him despondent. Suddenly, an enigmatic voice spoke from behind the two individuals who were still pondering over the red ore like shard.

"That is no ore." The mage Mustang turned around in surprise to see a commoner wearing an exquisite black clothing set that he identified as a famous Night Crawler set. At the same time, a magnanimous air of mystery emanated from the commoner, making Mustang feel like the person he was talking to was not ordinary. "Sir, do you happen to know what this object is?" Mustang respectfully asked mysterious man who lower face was covered by a mask.

The mysterious man was none other than Vergil who was trying out the effect of his new Title and found that it seemed to work really well. He nodded and took out the introduction from the mayor and handed it out the Mustang, who carefully read it. "Sir, I will certainly bring you into the mage tower to meet our tower chief, if you could identify this material for me."

"If your tower master is an appraiser, why haven't you asked him about it?" Vergil enigmatically enquired of the mage. The mage flushed through a variety of emotions before sighing. "If it is a valuable material, the tower master will just seize it for himself." He finally whispered. "Could you tell me what this item is?"

"It is the crystallized blood of a Frost Giant. The magical elements you sense are the remnant frost energy within the shard." Vergil explained. There should have been no way for the current player to know this, but down the line, these blood shards would become extremely valuable treasures that people would even kill for. The mage Mustang's eyes bulged out in shock, before realization suddenly dawned on him. In the premises of the Blacksmith, the crystal shard suddenly melted and fused into the blue aura that suddenly formed around Mustang. An energetic burst exploded through the town, and Vergil immediately understood that Mustang had broken through to become a tier 2 mage.

"Congratulations on your ascension, Mage Mustang." Vergil immediately congratulated them. The Mage Tower master himself was only a tier 2 mage himself and now another tier 2 mage had been born in the town. Vergil knew that a single peak couldn't house two tigers and Mustang's previous musings already suggested an internal conflict brewing. Mustang was all smiles and filled with excitement. "No knowledgeable sir, I must thank you! Please come with me to the mage tower. I will help you get your item appraised."

While this wasn't any preregistered quest, Vergil's actions caused his relationship with Mage Mustang to improve from Strangers to Friendly. It was a huge leap in reputation that surprised Vergil, but he realized that it could be an extremely beneficial avenue to expand his product line. The blacksmith looked on in shock as Vergil followed Mustang back to the mage tower.

The sudden burst of energy from the ascension could not have been missed by the Mage Tower Master. When Vergil and Mustang arrived at the gate, they found the Tower Master, an old woman with long white hair stare at Mustang with unbridled hostility, yet when she sensed the power from the younger mage, she was filled with dread and a bit of fear. Both were at the second tier, but the manner of Mustang's ascension clearly implied that he had a stronger class ascension to a Frost Mage. Vergil quietly observed the conflict of personalities take place at the gates of the Tower, where the guards standing in between were subtly trembling in fear.