After signing the contract that I could already read with mastery and paying all 20 silver coins, the former owner finally handed me the keys and left.
Now it was just me, Varen, and Gwen looking at our “beautiful” house.
“This is going to be our home... master?” Varen asked a little uncertainly.
Even Gwen was speechless as she looked at our house.
“Yes, this is OUR house!” I smiled excitedly.
The house standing before us was illuminated by the morning sun.
The facade, designed like a store, had no windows, as glass was not common in this world, just a wall of wood and stone with details and commercial architecture covered in five years of abandoned dust.
The gray paint was peeling, revealing slightly rotten wood, and a rusty sign swayed, creaking in the wind.
“This will be the Morningstar Group's storefront,” I said, already imagining stones shining for the merchants of Ironvale, even using some stones to decorate the store and make it stand out even more.
Varen scratched the back of his neck, frowning. “Master, this looks more like a ruin than a house.” He pointed to the store's door, warped and with loose hinges.
Gwen wasn't much different, biting her lip as her eyes scanned the structure in front of us.
But I ignored their reaction, I had already visited this house and knew that despite its worn appearance, the cost to renovate it would be very low.
This house was only sold for 20 silver coins because of the state it was in, if it were renovated and well maintained, the price could be around 50 silver coins.
And with the renovations I intended to make, using both magic and common materials, I could increase the value of this house to even gold coins.
“Let's go in,” I said, turning the key.
The door creaked, releasing a smell of mold and damp wood.
The interior of the shop was a large hall with broken shelves and cobwebs hanging like curtains.
The plank floor was warped and covered with thick dust.
“Heavy cleaning, wood repairs, new paint...” I mentally listed the changes we would need to make.
Seeing the size of the store, some of Varen and Gwen's skepticism began to fade.
Then we passed through a door in the back, entering the house itself.
The hallway led to a living room with a stone fireplace, cracked but imposing, and tall windows with broken wood.
Gwen touched the fireplace, hesitantly. “Master, this... it's going to be a lot of work, isn't it?”
“Yes, but look at this...” I said, opening a door to the backyard, which was overgrown with weeds, but the land was large, with a fruit tree that was almost dying.
“Can you imagine a garden here? Tables, flowers, a place to rest after missions?” I said confidently.
Varen raised an eyebrow, but a sparkle appeared in his eyes.
‘He's starting to see it.’
Then we climbed the stairs, which creaked under our feet.
The second floor had six rooms, lined up in a hallway with moldy rugs.
The largest room, at the end of the hallway, had a large window overlooking Ironvale, but the ceiling was leaking, and the bed was broken. “This one's mine,” I declared, smiling.
Gwen opened the door next door, revealing a smaller room with a crooked desk and torn curtains.
“I want this one,” she said decisively, looking at me.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Seeing my nod, she smiled, running her hand along the wall. “If we clean it up and paint it, it'll be beautiful, Master. I can even bring flowers!”
Varen inspected another room, kicking a rotten chest that fell apart. “It's falling apart, but...” He stopped, looking out the window and getting excited. “The space is large. We can train in the backyard, store equipment in the shop. Master, this could be a good base.”
“Exactly...” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “Let's fix the windows, reinforce the structure, clean up the mold, and paint everything. The shop will display our stones, and the house will be our home. In a month, Iron Vein will start shaking just hearing the name Morningstar Group.”
Gwen laughed with her eyes shining, and Varen nodded.
Unfortunately, we didn't have enough money to buy the building materials right now, so our group still had to go out on quests to earn money.
And since we only had one quest left to become C-rank adventurers, we decided that would be the quest we would do today.
Arriving at the Adventurers' Guild, Aline smiled when she saw our group coming.
“Well, well, if it isn't the Morningstar Group... who would have thought you would have such useful items as those two magic stones, huh?” Aline commented with a smile as she looked at us with interest. “I don't think I'd be wrong in guessing that you are the creator of those stones, Adam?”
I just smiled at her, neither confirming nor denying anything, which made the young girl snort at not getting the answer she expected.
Taking a bag from my waist, I placed it on the counter and pushed it forward toward her. “This is a thank you for your help, Aline.”
Curious, Aline quickly opened the bag and saw two stones there, one white and one red.
Surprised, she quickly picked up the white stone and activated it, causing a powerful flash that almost blinded everyone.
Even the other adventurers stopped talking as they stared in shock at the stone in Aline's hand.
“Hey Aline, what is that?!”
“Is that one of those magic stones that appeared yesterday?!”
“What magic stones?”
Suddenly, several people got up from their tables and came to the counter to look at the stones in Aline's hand with curiosity.
Knowing these adventurers, Aline patiently explained. “These are magic stones produced by the Morningstar Group. According to them, this white stone can shine for 56 hours without stopping, while the red stone can heat water for the same amount of time!”
Hearing this, the adventurers were even more surprised.
“But that must cost a fortune, right? A magical item like that usually costs several silver coins, or even gold coins... how did you get a stone like that?” A man in leather clothes with a bow on his back asked.
Varen couldn't help but respond with a salesman's smile. “It's not that expensive, the selling price for these stones is 60 copper coins for one, or 1 silver coin for two.”
Hearing Varen's response, the man frowned and looked at Aline questioningly, wanting her to confirm this information.
Aline just nodded in agreement, leaving the man shocked.
“Wow, a stone like that would be great for missions inside caves, no one would need to hold torches, you could just tie the stone around your neck and you'd have your hands free!” The man's eyes lit up as he imagined this.
Even I was surprised to realize that he was right, that would be a great use for these stones, and a big advantage over traditional torches.
“Are there only these two stones?” the man asked excitedly.
So I replied, shaking my head in disappointment. “For now, yes. The Morningstar Group is still working on developing other magical equipment, but for now only these two stones are available.”
The man was a little disappointed, but suddenly he asked us in surprise. “How do you know so much about this?”
And it was Aline who answered that. “They are the Morningstar Group.”
As soon as the man heard this, his eyes began to analyze us with amazement, first looking at Varen for a few seconds before giving up when he saw the lute on his back, then looking at Gwen, his gaze lingering on her hair for a few seconds but giving up after seeing the sword at her waist, until he looked at me and saw no weapon at my waist.
With a bold guess, he asked formally. “I believe you are the wizard who created these magic stones?”
Seeing his change in attitude, I was surprised, but when I remembered the status a person had to have to learn magic in this world, whether it was noble birth or a lot of bourgeois money, it was understandable that people were afraid to deal with wizards.
“Why do you ask?” I replied with another question.
Seeing that I neither denied nor admitted it, the man maintained the same attitude as he introduced himself and pointed to a table in the corner of the guild.
“I am Garnotin, the C-Rank Adventurer and leader of the Iron Arrow group. If you are able to make other magical items in the future, please know that our group would be interested in the items regardless of their class, even if the price is the market standard.”
The standard market price for magic items was as he had said, several tens, hundreds, or even thousands of silver coins depending on the power of the item.
Of course, he was probably just talking about prices in the tens or hundreds of silver coins, but it was good to know that the third part of my plan already had a potential audience.
Looking at the table he pointed to, I saw a group of adventurers, all with different classes, and surprisingly, one of the people in that group caused the [Noble Mark] to resonate and alert me to a potential servant I could transform!
But this wasn't the time to deal with that, I just smiled at the man and responded to the introduction.
“I am Adam Morningstar, leader of the Morningstar Group. It is a pleasure to meet you, Garnotin. If any useful magic items appear in the group, I will let you know first,” I said.
Seeing how courteously I treated him, the man smiled contentedly at me before saying goodbye and returning to his group.
My gaze followed him before shifting to a young girl in metal armor sitting next to a shield, the target of my [Noble Mark].
“Do you still want that C-rank mission?” Aline asked with a smile.
“Yes, Aline, please.” I replied politely, putting the girl out of my mind.