Chapter 30: The Worth of Spirit Beasts

Chapter 30: The Value of a Familiar

Section 30: The Value of a Familiar

After that, everyone gathered once more for a feast, indulging in merriment until dawn. Once the revelry ended, Old Evil and the senior mage arranged accommodations for them in the buildings surrounding the square before they themselves returned to the mage tower, reeking of alcohol.

Back at the tower, the senior mage led Old Evil to a room, gesturing for him to sit down. With a chuckle, he said, "We've struck it rich this time! I—"

"Hold on!" Old Evil interrupted before the senior mage could finish, "Not we, me! I struck it rich!"

"Well, hello there!" the elderly mage's displeasure was immediate as he retorted, "Youngster, do you plan on hoarding all the credit?"

"Rubbish. I'm the one who recruited them; why should I share with you?" Old Evil replied disdainfully.

"Don't forget, I also helped save their lives!" the elderly mage said angrily.

"You were merely taking advantage of the situation!" Old Evil sneered. "It wouldn't have made a difference with or without you. I took care of the strongest ones instantly; how could I not handle the rest?"

"But wouldn't letting them escape cause problems?" the elderly mage argued reluctantly.

"Nonsense!" Old Evil scoffed. "As you well know, that area is surrounded by a thousand-mile-wide Death Wasteland. Without supplies or water, they won't be able to escape. Even if they temporarily seek refuge in the woods, once my Magic Burst Spiders and Wyvern Kings arrive, they'll be doomed anyway."

"The nerve of you!" The old mage was momentarily speechless with anger. Eventually, he found an excuse. "Your people will need food and drink, won't they? A one-eyed giant can consume a hundred pounds a day. Thirty-six of them would require thousands of pounds daily. Where do you plan on getting all that?"

"Well, naturally, it's up to you!" Old Evil said meekly.

"Hmph, you know it's my responsibility, don't you? If you don't give me something in return, you can just wait for them to starve to death," the old mage said angrily.

"Alright, alright!" Old Evil realized he couldn't push his luck too far, and besides, he wasn't the type to freeload. He quickly seized the opportunity to propose, "What about this—how about I give you 50 sprites? Would that suffice?"

"What?" The elderly mage nearly fainted upon hearing this. Fuming, he leaped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at Old Evil's nose. "Why would I want those useless spirits? With just a word from me, I could gather a horde! What I want is a Cyclops!"

"Tsk!" Old Evil scoffed. "Can your spirits compare to mine?"

"Damn it, a spirit is a spirit! Can yours really produce gold from their waste?" The elderly mage bellowed in anger.

"Hehe, not far off!" Old Evil suddenly chuckled mysteriously. "My spirits can indeed excrete gold!"

"You're playing with me, aren't you?" The elderly mage immediately erupted in fury.

"Ha ha!" Old Evil chuckled lightly and waved his hand, gesturing for the elder mage to take a seat. Then, he spoke leisurely, "Tell me, what are the merits of monsters?"

"Their only merit is being good for nothing!" The elder mage grumbled as he sat down, disdainfully remarking, "They lack mental power and physical strength. Apart from serving as test subjects for my experiments, they're utterly useless."

"Hah, you've got it all wrong!" Old Evil promptly countered. "They are intelligent beings. Not only can they speak, but they also create and utilize various tools. Their intelligence is on par with ordinary humans!"

"So what? At best, they can fashion simple wooden furniture. Do you think they can amass wealth with that?" The elder mage sneered. "Have you gone mad with greed?"

"What an idiotic fool!" Old Evil shook his head, mocking with a cold smile.

"What do you mean by that?" the elderly mage demanded angrily. "Explain yourself!"

"Very well, then I'll tell you their true value!" Old Evil declared solemnly. "Their merits are numerous. Firstly, their vision is exceptional; their eyes are as large as a child's fist, allowing them to see far and detect even the smallest of prey, like ants. In fact, ants are a staple in their diet. However, since most ants on this continent possess venom, Goblins must pluck out their fangs before eating them safely. Despite their small stature compared to humans, consuming enough ants to satiate hunger isn't easy. Hence, they sometimes have to crouch by anthills for hours on end. During this time, they need to be vigilant of their surroundings while swiftly catching ants, removing their fangs, and tossing them into their mouths. Over time, this has honed their agility, precision, speed, and patience."

"So what?" the elderly mage dismissed. "Their natural strength is too weak. No matter how agile they are, they're still worthless, or else they wouldn't be easily captured as slaves!"

"How dense can you be?!" Old Evil scolded. "Their agility isn't meant for fighting, but for crafting. Think about it, when you brew potions, what kind of assistant do you need?"

"Brewing potions?" The elderly mage's eyes lit up. He immediately responded, "I require an assistant who is intelligent, patient, has good eyesight, steady hands, and works quickly! Ah, could it be that you plan to use them for this purpose?"

"Certainly!" Old Evil declared smugly.

"Theoretically, it might work, but in reality, no one has ever tried it. Besides, I don't have the time to teach them," the elderly mage said with a dilemma. "So your proposal doesn't pique my interest! If possible, I'd still prefer the Cyclops."

"What if I told you that the fifty Sprites I'm offering have undergone systematic training, capable of identifying at least a thousand different herbs and conducting experiments?" Old Evil suddenly chuckled.

"Are you joking?" the elderly mage exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course not!" Old Evil laughed. "I currently have 245 Sprites, 204 of which were with me when I first arrived. Over the years, I've imparted the knowledge you taught me to them. Whenever you needed test subjects, I would send in the new ones, keeping only the exceptionally intelligent ones. After more than a decade of my guidance, most of them can now identify and process herbs, as well as create simple potions. Among them, around a hundred are skilled enough to craft more complex remedies, while the top 32 have even mastered the art of drawing magical arrays!"

"Aha!" the old mage exclaimed, suddenly enlightened. "No wonder you've been using up so many materials all these years. I thought you were just causing trouble, but it turns out you were creating study materials for them!"

"Hehe, that's right!" Old Evil said with a chuckle.

"No way, I have to witness this!" the old mage exclaimed eagerly. "If it's as effective as you claim, I'll agree to exchange these 50 creatures for their food supply!"

"Ha ha, follow me, everything is prepared!" Old Evil smiled, rising from his seat.

With that, he headed out, and the old mage hurriedly followed. Soon, they arrived at a laboratory on the third floor, where 50 creatures were already waiting. Old Evil had specifically reserved them for the old mage. In truth, Old Evil wasn't doing this to repay the old mage; rather, he intended to utilize the old mage to train these creatures. After all, alchemical knowledge was tedious and uninteresting to Old Evil, but he might still find it useful in the future. Thus, he decided to let these creatures learn in his place.