Chapter 121: Forgiveness

“Oww”

“That hurts”

After taking a punch from Punk, the foolish couple was in so much pain that tears nearly welled up in their eyes. If this were a Japanese anime, there would surely be a puff of smoke rising from their heads.

While crying out in pain, Bilan was also deeply surprised. She had initially thought that being blown to ashes on the spot would be the best outcome, yet not only was she not punished, but she also heard what sounded like words of forgiveness. Was she so terrified that she was hallucinating, or did this utterly incomprehensible official mage have some scheme in mind?

Unlike the chaotic thoughts swirling in Bilan’s mind, Dichiduo’s first reaction was a sigh of relief. He looked at Punk with hopeful eyes, his voice trembling slightly as he asked:

“So, my lord, you forgive us?”

Hearing Dichiduo’s words, Punk felt that this guy was truly out of touch.

“What do you mean by ‘forgive us’? Since when can you and Bilan be mentioned in the same breath? I don’t recall taking on two apprentices.”

Though he thought this, Punk still spoke as nonchalantly as possible:

“Yeah, yeah, forgiven. Although the mess on my experiment table was a bit troublesome, since it was to save someone, it’s fine.”

Punk’s voice was flat and devoid of inflection, carrying a chilling undertone that sent shivers down one’s spine. But to Bilan and Dichiduo, it was nothing short of heavenly music. Bilan even wept tears of joy.

“Thank you for your mercy, Mentor. I am truly grateful.”

Although the girl still felt that things weren’t quite as she had imagined, at least her and Dichiduo’s lives were spared, and that was enough to satisfy Bilan.

“Great! I knew it. As long as it was to save someone, the mage would surely forgive us.”

Dichiduo was also overjoyed. In his heart, Punk was now the type of person who was stern on the outside but warm on the inside. Bilan simply couldn’t get past Punk’s cold demeanor.

Though Dichiduo also thought that while Punk’s face could be described as “handsome,” it was far too icy.

“Alright, Bilan, are you sick?”

Punk pretended to show concern as he looked at Bilan.

“Sorry, yes.”

“Oh? Who allowed you to follow the refugees here? We ought to show some gratitude to that person!”

Punk feigned ignorance as he questioned Bilan. Through his divination spell, he knew that Kaiskaser was the only person in Doleiz who cared about the refugees at the moment. Moreover, the other’s status as Knight Commander was highly unusual, and Punk intended to set up a contingency plan on this knight commander.

And “expressing gratitude” was undoubtedly a perfect excuse to give certain potions to the Knight Commander!

“It was…”

“It was I. Miss Bilan is your apprentice and also a pure-blooded Noble. She deserves such treatment.”

Just as Bilan was about to answer, a cheerful voice rang out clearly. Kaiskaser stepped out from the crowd, his sturdy armor clanking with a resounding echo.

In the Faerûn Plane, since the power of the common folk, no matter how united, could never overthrow the rule of the upper class, the complete inequality between classes was utterly unabashed. Hearing Kaiskaser speak these words as if it were the most natural thing, the commoners fell into a silent hush, while Dichiduo and Bilan frowned slightly.But Punk didn’t care about these details. He shrugged casually, then assumed a nonchalant posture as he pulled out a potion and tossed it to Kaiskaser.

“Consider it a small token of gratitude. Although I haven’t developed a cure for the plague yet, I do have some expertise in alchemical potions.”

Punk casually threw out a bottle shimmering with silver luster, as if it contained nothing more than insignificant plain water.

At the same time, he implied, “Don’t come to me for developing a cure.”

Understanding Punk’s hint, although Bilan couldn’t hide her disappointment and sorrow, Kaiskaser thought it was normal that a cure couldn’t be developed. He never held any hope for a quick remedy, so when the bottle flew over, he merely sighed inwardly and carefully caught it with both hands, clutching it tightly.

“Thank you very much, Lord Cyan!”

Kaiskaser bowed deeply with excitement. He recognized that the potion Punk threw was the Apprentice-Level “Qi Flow Potion” all knights dreamed of. After consuming this potion, an Apprentice-Level combatant’s Battle Aura flow speed would increase by five percent (up to ten percent). This potion could only be crafted by Formal-Level alchemy masters, making it exceedingly rare and hard to come by. Now, he had obtained a bottle just for providing a little convenience—how could he not be overjoyed?

“It’s nothing, you deserve it!”

Punk waved dismissively at Kaiskaser, appearing completely indifferent, but inwardly, he was sneering coldly.

The “Qi Flow Potion” was indeed genuine, but Punk had added a little something extra. If Kaiskaser drank it just like that… then at a critical moment, Punk could fully control those “additives” to erupt suddenly. This was a contingency plan Punk had set up.

As a mage relatively skilled in prophecy, Punk had uncovered some ambiguous information, so he decided to set up this contingency along the way to prepare for the troublesome situation foretold in the prophecy.

“However…”

Punk glanced disdainfully out of the corner of his eye at Kaiskaser, who was still rejoicing.

“…if you’re so impatient that you drink it, then it proves you’re too foolish, daring to casually consume a gift from a mage.”

Punk carefully sensed the “additives” lying dormant within the potion, perfectly concealed. An Apprentice-Level professional would never detect anything amiss.

He was now very confident that, regardless of whether his interpretation of the prophecy was correct, he had ample means to respond.

Having completed one contingency plan, it was time to attend to the main task.

The so-called main task was to enter Doleiz City and discuss with that Formal-Level dwarf warrior about cooperating to deal with Tisha Xia’er. The prophecy indicated that this journey wouldn’t go smoothly, which was why Punk intended to act quickly.

Before leaving, he didn’t forget to give the Apprentice-Level Mage Robe he had changed out of to Bilan as a gift. This gesture greatly increased Kaiskaser’s approval of him.

This gift also made Bilan think she had misjudged her mentor. The naive young girl couldn’t help but try to find reasons to convince herself otherwise.Although the sense of danger still lingered in her heart, Bilan couldn’t help but emotionally entertain the thought: “Could Master’s strictness be training me? Perhaps he’s actually a good person.”

It must be said that humans are truly strange creatures, often forgetting past threats over minor kindnesses. Or perhaps Bilan simply possessed some escapist tendencies—after all, the fact that she was being manipulated by a genuine powerhouse exceeded what this “Little Girl” could psychologically handle.

Of course, no one knew that Punk had also tampered with that Mage Robe. Currently, Punk desperately needed a respectable reputation. If Bilan dared to say anything she shouldn’t… he wouldn’t mind arranging an “accidental death” for this foolhardy girl!

After bidding farewell to the completely unaware Bilan and Kaiskaser—who were still gratefully seeing him off despite having been sold out—Punk approached Doleiz’s tall yet insignificant city walls.

“These days, there are too many fools and not enough scammers!”

(End of Chapter)