Chapter 291: Betting Is an Art
On the highest point of Misty Bay Harbor, atop the mage tower, Archmage Samuel Emerson slowly set down his staff, and the faint golden Hawk Eye magic glow in his eyes dimmed along with it.
The Merchant Alliance was far from ignorant about the skirmish that had occurred in Coral Lane. On the contrary, in a city that lived and breathed commerce and intelligence, countless eyes were watching that area through every possible channel.
He did not bother to question why these visitors from the Slime Kingdom had arrived without prior notice, because it would be pointless.
These adventurers from a distant land were backed by a vast and mysterious monster kingdom, and they had already displayed hidden powers.
Offending these slimes would not necessarily win the Council’s support, but it would certainly bring trouble on his own head.
Because of historical reasons tied to the Dawn Alliance, the relationship between the Misty Bay Harbor Merchant Alliance and the mage community had always been delicate. He had only been able to erect this tall mage tower in a trading port city that resented mages and to secure a relatively independent status by virtue of his outstanding magical talent and by striking certain agreements and exchanges with the three major merchant houses back then.
But even as an archmage, compared to those entrenched merchants and hereditary nobles, he remained an outsider who could never truly integrate into the inner circle.
Perhaps, one day in the future, he would return to the Holy Silver Kingdom—the most prosperous southern magic realm—with accumulated wealth and research achievements. But not now.
Mages in the south did enjoy high status, that much was true, but that applied to the old-school Dawn mages. New-generation mages like him could hardly wrest a piece of influence from those old hands.