"How did you even find a gathering like this? I've been here for over half a year and didn't know it existed at all."
Iris looked around and saw several small circles of people chatting and trading all kinds of strange magic items.
And not just humans—there were even a few extraordinary dwarves, halflings, lizardfolk, and beastfolk.
The scene made her genuinely excited, like she'd stumbled into a grand fair.
After all, even though Oradu attracted many outside races, most were low-tier. Anyone above second tier was rare to see.
"Obviously because you have the excellent habit of never staying out overnight," Leon said.
Iris shot Leon a fierce glare.
"I'm only realizing now that sometimes you're kind of bad."
"Haha—just kidding, Iris."
"Yeah?" Iris said sweetly. "Me too. Just kidding."
As they joked, their shoulders brushed and their bodies drifted closer without them noticing.
What puzzled Leon, though, was that since finding the sealed archive case, Iris's affection hadn't risen once.
Did they need to "break through that layer" to go further?
Were they missing a trigger?
Or was Brellita's presence interfering?
While Leon was thinking—
"Gathering time has arrived. Welcome, adventurers of all factions. I am tonight's host, Sergei Don Quixote Hermet."
A broad voice boomed from above the estate, drawing everyone's attention.
Then a face the size of a house abruptly formed in midair.
It had a very high forehead hairline, a plump round face, and two neatly trimmed pale-gray mustache strips under the nose.
Most absurdly, the tiny bead-like eyes—squeezed small by fat—wriggled exaggeratedly into a ridiculous expression.
It was the illusionist Sergei's giant fake face, created through illusion magic.
"This marquis's illusion magic is impressive," Iris said, admiring the light distortions around it. "So light-type magic can be used like this too?"
"Impressive, yes," Leon said, shaking his head. "But his terrible taste is hard to praise."
Who hosts a gathering and decides to enlarge their face like this for everyone to stare at?
If that face existed in Leon's previous world, it would place top-tier in an annual "most terrifying photo" contest.
The fact that Sergei didn't mind clowning around in front of people lower-tier than him proved he was a genuine weirdo.
But since his extraordinary gatherings were lively and often featured information and materials the Adventurers' Guild didn't have, Leon came anyway.
"I won't restate the rules. Newcomers can ask whoever brought you."
"Tonight, adventurer teams under my name are offering three bounty commissions, seven listings of monster materials above third tier, and one listing of strong second-tier monster materials. The list has been updated on the notice board up front—check it if you're interested."
"Also, my personal request to collect Rotbone Datura is permanently open—twenty gold per flower, doubling in value per tier. Keep it in mind."
"If you have trades, you may go on stage and state them freely. My segment ends here—enjoy tonight's gathering."
With that, the giant face vanished from the sky.
Then a hooded man in a mage robe jumped onto the platform and quickly called out:
"I need fire-aspect magic stones above third tier. Mixed attributes are acceptable, but no more than two additional types. Even un-aspected stones are barely acceptable. I'll pay up to 80 gold for third-tier, up to 300 gold for fourth-tier."
As soon as he finished, another man jumped up—short sword in hand, lower face wrapped, only narrow eyes visible, clearly an assassin-type class.
"Selling a third-tier magic sword. Durability down about 20%. Wind-aspect. Enchanted with wind magic plus four properties: toughness, sharpening, hardening, rigidity. Starting bid: 260 gold."
Judging by aura, both were likely fourth-tier.
Because at this gathering, queue order went by tier. If a lower-tier tried to jump ahead, they'd get viciously mocked.
As an aside, fourth-tier professionals generally used third-tier gear.
Equipment used was typically one tier below the wielder.
The reason was simple: the cost—in labor and materials—was enormous. The higher the tier, the rarer and more precious the gear.
A fully intact fourth-tier item usually sold around 400 gold.
That was the kind of money you needed a long time to accumulate.
Leon's recent dungeon profits were only that good because he had a strong teammate and knew the route—it wouldn't always go that smoothly.
After those two fourth-tiers, a stream of others went up to state demands and offer items.
In a blink, seven more people—at least third-tier—had announced their needs and listings.
Iris found it all fresh and fascinating.
"Leon, don't you need a magic sword? Isn't that third-tier sword perfect?"
At this moment, her vibe with Leon felt like "normal teammates" again.
"Pass," Leon said, shaking his head. "Too expensive—not suitable for a country bumpkin like me."
He couldn't dump all his funds into one expensive third-tier sword.
Unfortunately, most "bargain finds" in the capital happened inside Oradu. Finding absurd luck in a market like this was unlikely.
The silver sword he had—originally third-tier, now degraded to second-tier—still had a sharpening enchantment, and he'd found it for just over ten gold coins. That had already saved him more than ten times the cost.
Most other second-tiers were still using first-tier gear at this stage.
"Yeah," Iris sighed. "Two hundred sixty gold—I can't afford that either. These fourth-tiers are rich."
She looked envious.
As a third-tier pure-blood elf and Light Elementalist, her strength was top-tier among third-tiers, and her gear was excellent.
But in terms of savings? Not really.
She'd spent a lot searching for Hamla.
Even now, with dungeon profits added, her savings were only barely approaching 200 gold.
As for Leon, he hadn't been an adventurer long. His savings were already higher than some third-tiers', but he still lacked purchasing power for truly good gear.
"These fourth-tiers are probably seasoned veterans," Leon said. "Active in the dungeon for seven or eight years. That kind of cash is normal."
"So you're not upgrading your weapon and gear?"
"My plan was: if there's a third-tier magic sword under 200 gold, even with low durability, I'd buy it," Leon said. "But since there isn't, I'll just repair my silver sword and restore its durability. Tomorrow I should be meeting the magical craftsman I commissioned."
He shrugged, disappointed.
Iris comforted him. "It's okay. With your ability, you'll earn enough for good gear soon."
As she spoke, she reached out, took Leon's hand, and gently stroked it.
She told herself: I'm only comforting him the way my mother taught me. That's fine. I don't mean anything else!
It was also her first time touching a man's hand. Other men tended to annoy her… but for some reason, she didn't feel resistance to Leon's contact. Strange.
Feeling her soft fingers glide across his palm, Leon's heart wavered. This girl was good—so proactive today.
"I see suitable alchemy materials," Leon said, steering her gently. "Iris—there are plenty of sellers with magic stones here. Remember to buy one."
Second-tier magic stones weren't too expensive; cheaper ones were 20–30 gold.
But a pure light-aspect second-tier stone would cost at least 50 gold.
Iris had used her staff heavily in the dungeon, and the stone's durability was down to around 15%. It needed replacement.
Leon gave that reminder, then went over to negotiate with a beastfolk warrior selling alchemy materials.
Just then, a tall swordsman jumped onto the stage and shouted in a booming voice:
"Selling strong second-tier monster material: Ice-aspect Kraken Brain Core, 70% damaged. Starting price: 40 gold."
Hearing that, Leon narrowed his eyes mid-bargain.
He knew this item.
Krakens were squid-like monsters recorded in mythic history—rulers of the deep sea, infamous.
It was said krakens were among the most battle-intelligent monsters, born with dozens of ice spells—more than even a White Unicorn.
Their brain cores were usually key materials for soul-revival type potions.
But Leon also knew a hidden effect of Kraken brain cores:
They accelerated understanding and insight into ice spell imagery.
That afternoon, Leon had already tried using the Ice-Slow Horn to grasp Ice Deceleration.
Even though he'd lucked into deep meditation, to truly comprehend the "magic crown" of Ice Deceleration would require overcoming many hurdles.
If he could get this damaged brain core and pair it with the Ice-Slow Horn… could he grasp the surface-level technique?
If it worked, then in a week's training operation, he'd gain a major trump card.