Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 115 The Beginning of a Warband
Even a seasoned veteran like Kaigen was fooled by Zhang Yuan's half-serious, half-joking talk.

It wasn't that the dwarf brother was really stupid; Kegan, who was past the age of naivety, naturally wouldn't believe everything others said. But power is something that can't be faked or lied about.

The guy in front of me wasn't someone to be trifled with back then, and he seems even more formidable now. If there really is a powerful mage behind him, then everything makes sense.

Seeing that he had dealt with Kegan, Zhang Yuan was quite pleased with himself. This shorty was not a nice guy to begin with, and if he didn't show some methods to intimidate him, he would be a troublemaker even if he joined the group.

"So how will my money be calculated from now on?" Agreeing is one thing, but when you're in the business, you still need to make the price clear.

"You can choose one: a fixed salary plus bonuses, or simply profit sharing from each adventure." Zhang Yuan had already made up his mind.

Now it was Kegan's turn to be conflicted. The former was certainly stable, but the latter had infinite possibilities. The dwarf, who wanted both, saw the other person slightly narrowing his eyes as he stared at him, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

He gritted his teeth; he'd just received some income recently, so he wasn't in a rush to get his wages.
"I choose the latter, but don't cheat me on the profit sharing."

"Don't worry, do I look like that kind of person?" Zhang Yuan patted his chest confidently.

"Boss, where are we going now? Should we go and do a heist?" Kegan was speaking in code from the start.

“What do you mean by ‘doing a job’? We’re adventurers, not bandits,” Zhang Yuan corrected the other person’s words before continuing, “But we’re going to Baldur’s Gate to get some money to replenish our start-up capital.”

"Where to? The only ways to make money around here are the graveyards and mercenary guild missions and bounties." Kegan's eyes lit up at the mention of making money, and his mind worked faster than anyone else's: "Actually, if we're talking about treasure, the shipwrecks in the reefs of Sword Bay Beach are a real treasure trove."

Zhang Yuan was somewhat skeptical: "If you know all this, why don't others? Why isn't anyone going to take this free windfall?"

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, boss. These shipwrecks have become ready-made dens for those monsters.” Kegan said with a wry smile, “Those shipwrecks with only a few low-level undead are okay, but they were cleared out by adventurers a long time ago. The remaining few have been occupied by more troublesome creatures.”

"They are sirens, monsters commonly known as sea monsters," the dwarf added before Zhang Yuan could ask.

"While the siren's allure is troublesome, with targeted preparations such as a berserker's rampage or the enhancement of spells and divine magic, it shouldn't be an insurmountable problem, right?" Zhang Yuan asked, puzzled.

"You really think highly of these mercenaries and adventurers. How many priests or mages would come out and hang out with these guys who live for today and don't know tomorrow?" Kegan said, glancing at Zhang Yuan, clearly implying something. "As for Berserk, some warriors, including myself, have mastered it, but those sirens have already charmed a bunch of monsters with their abilities. Relying on a few berserkers would just be suicide."

"Those are them. We can get ready to go." Perfect practice targets, Zhang Yuan was determined not to let this easy target slip by.

"Just the two of us? Chanem, old Kegan doesn't want to be dragged to his death by you, or did your teacher give you a scroll of a level nine spell?" Kegan was really anxious.

"Neither you nor I are afraid of the siren's charm spells, and my summoned army is immune to them. Surely there aren't any ogres or pterosaurs among the monsters the enemy has gathered? Don't think a bunch of ragtag troops can stop me."

Thinking of the stone golem that had sent him "flying into the blue sky," the dwarf nodded with lingering fear, but still had some concerns: "With that stone elemental, it's still a bit of a stretch."

Too lazy to waste any more words, Zhang Yuan chanted an incantation and summoned the evolved two-star Little.

"A rolling stone gathers no moss!"

Along with the three-meter-tall, stone-giant-like figure that appeared, came Kegan's two eyes that seemed to bulge out of their sockets. "This...this...is this the stone man from last time?" Kegan stammered for a long time before finally managing to utter a coherent sentence.

"Are you confident now, Mr. Kegan Sweet Wine, or do you want to experience the pleasure that Little One gave you last time?" Zhang Yuan began to look at the dwarf brother shrouded in Little One's shadow with a malicious gaze.

"No, please don't, boss, whatever you say goes, I'll listen to you." Kagan immediately softened, nodding and bowing repeatedly.

Are you kidding me? Last time, that tiny stone golem gave me a hard time. This one in front of me is more than twice the height of the previous one. If it were to hit me like that, what would happen?
Kegan had finally grasped the situation. The strength of his own captain alone was beyond the reach of ordinary adventurers. As for this thing in front of him, no one would believe it was just an ordinary summoned creature. Even if it wasn't some earth elemental elder, it was still something like a stone golem.

The dwarf could guarantee with his beard that even a small group of adventurers and mercenaries in the Belgost area wouldn't be able to defeat this stone giant.

"When are we going to set off? My axe is itching to get going." At this moment, Kegan was even more confident than Zhang Yuan himself.

"Let's go prepare supplies and equipment first; it's still quite a distance to the coast from here."

By the time the two had finished packing and reunited, it was already noon.

Fully armed and covered in bags, Kegan looked at Zhang Yuan, who was completely unarmed and relaxed.

"Boss, where's your luggage? Didn't we say we'd prepare supplies first?"

Looking at the dwarf in front of him who hadn't grown taller but had become rounder, Zhang Yuan sighed: "Put your luggage down."

As he spoke, he took out his blue cloth bag, untied the knot, and put the packages that had been lying on the ground into it one by one, in front of the bewildered Kegan.

The bag opening isn't actually that big, but whenever an object tries to enter the open opening, it automatically shrinks as if it's been shrunk, making it easy to stuff into the bag.

"This is...this is the legendary storage bag?" Kegan, who was staring in disbelief, finally realized what it was.

It's no wonder the dwarf is making a fuss; in a sense, storage pouches are truly legendary items to most adventurers.

This special magical creation is unlike any enchanted weapon or fireball staff. The crafting and enchanting skills required for it are beyond question. Spatial transformation and expansion is itself a profound art, and a direct manifestation of the arcane prowess of the transmutation and conjuration schools.

The crafting process alone involves the Shrinking Magic and Leomon's Secret Chest, which are required for the creation of items. These involve the realms of third and fifth-circle arcane magic. To permanently enchant these two spells onto an item, making it a permanent spell item, is basically beyond the reach of mages below the highest rank.

It is precisely these stringent conditions that greatly limit the production and circulation of storage bags. For ordinary adventurers, let alone owning one, even just seeing it is a luxury.

“Boss, I really believe you’re the archmage’s apprentice now. Old Kegan has been adventuring for at least twenty years, and I’ve only ever seen this kind of thing with one of my employers who was a high-ranking mage.”

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing. The teacher insisted on giving it to me, and I couldn't refuse such kindness." The person spoke modestly, but their puffed-out chest and swaggering manner were hardly convincing.

Thank you to LEB, Liangshanxiade8, You seem like a Five, and Gudaowuwowanguruchangye for their monthly ticket support. Thank you everyone!

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(End of this chapter)