CHAPTER 110: SOMEONE LOVES SPARKLING GEMS, WHO COULD IT BE?

"Four of them?"

Lucien asked, shocked, just like the five others behind him.

’How can it be?’

Lucien was totally confused and hurriedly opened his status panel, looking directly at his wealth section.

---

Important Warehouses:

Viremond Duchy (Southern – Coastal Trade Nexus)

• Trade Goods Warehouses: 14

• Cargo Seals Vaults: 9

• Coral Gem Deposits: 6 -- 3 (precious coral, rare shells, enchanted sea crystals)

---

’Damn, he is right.’

Lucien realized as he saw the number of Coral Gem Deposits had reduced to 3. Earlier, it got reduced to 6 from 7 when Zeyvyr looted one of them.

Now the number had reduced all the way to 3 in such a short time. 4 warehouses were lost, all due to this unknown person, and from what Irwin said, it seems he was alone.

’Such a terrifying efficiency, who is he?’

Lucien couldn’t help but doubt. He knew Zeyvyr was an S-Class Archmage, but besides that, he knew nothing else.

Instead, he was just totally confused why that guy was clearly looting Coral Gem Deposits only.

’System, show me his Debt value.’

Lucien suddenly asked, intending to see how much it had increased. After all, such a powerful person looting him like this, he had to at least take an interest, didn’t he?

---

[Name: Zeyvyr]

[Realm: Weaver (Peak)]

[Class: S-Class Archmage]

[Debt Value: 40↑]

---

As Lucien ordered, the System immediately showed him the info he wanted to know.

’Hmm, it has increased to 40 points already. If he stole the remaining 3 of them, it might reach 70.’

Although Lucien still didn’t know how this worked, seeing the increment in the value was good news regardless.

"So, do you have any news related to this person? How did he loot so many warehouses this fast?"

After Lucien put aside his status panel, he asked Irwin, ignoring the panicked look of the four guys behind him.

To be honest, with this incident, it would be easier for him to order them to relocate the valuables to the capital.

"This..."

Hearing Lucien’s words, Irwin felt awkward and didn’t know how to respond.

Finally, seeing Lucien waiting for his reply, he stuttered a bit before relaying the news he had received,

"F-From the guards of the warehouses, it was mentioned that the attack was very sudden and silent. They said it was only one person, but the moment he appeared, everything was covered in pitch-black darkness in broad daylight."

Irwin continued,

"And it wasn’t normal darkness. Nobody inside could feel anything at all."

Irwin emphasized.

"They think it’s some kind of wide-range spell. Basically, after they were engulfed in the shadow for a brief moment, before they could even think about what happened, they saw that the entire warehouse just disappeared into thin air."

He spoke as if telling some made-up story. From how he looked, even he didn’t seem to believe it and thought that someone might have betrayed their family.

After all, how could such an absurd thing happen all of a sudden?

"Entire warehouses disappeared? Are you kidding me?"

Sure enough, after hearing the explanation, Cedric directly smashed the table beside him in anger.

He didn’t believe such a bogus story. To him, it felt more like they had betrayed the Goldveil family. Even the other four middle-aged men thought the same.

"Dad, control your anger. Don’t just jump to conclusions."

Only Lucien remained calm from beginning to end, as if he didn’t care whether they lost the warehouses or someone had betrayed them.

Instead, he first asked his father to calm down, then turned to Irwin and asked again,

"Is there anything else in the news? Like the person’s appearance, their number, or their magic ability, anything?"

Unlike the others, Lucien knew the person behind this was Zeyvyr, a Peak Weaver Rank S-Class Archmage.

So, he didn’t doubt the information at all; instead, he simply asked if there was anything else in the report.

"Hmm? Oh... there is some."

Irwin was surprised that Lucien remained so calm even after hearing such shocking news. He had thought he might be punished for saying something so ridiculous.

But seeing that Lucien was only curious and had no intention of doubting him, Irwin relaxed and explained everything he knew,

"There isn’t much information besides the fact that the attack was sudden and silent. From how it was carried out, it seems to be the work of only one person."

He continued,

"Also, there wasn’t much time between the looting of the four warehouses, even though they were far apart. So, they analyzed that the person might be a dark mage, someone skilled in both darkness and wind magic."

"Other than that, nobody managed to learn anything, since no one saw a single figure during the entire incident. That person just used his skill, looted the warehouses, and disappeared without a fight."

Irwin told everything, finally looking at Lucien to see if he would get angry. But he saw that the young man seemed to be in deep thought instead.

’A dark mage specializing in darkness and wind magic?’

Lucien recalled the words and suddenly looked in the direction of the sea, mumbling internally.

’Is it someone from the Shadow Kingdom?’

He couldn’t help but think this, having a strong hunch all of a sudden. That was because the person was clearly a high-ranking one, and that too with S-rank class.

Moreover, it suddenly appeared in the coastal area of the sea where the Shadow Kingdom had opened before.

And from how the person, despite his strength, was only looting Coral Gem Deposits that weren’t useful for a person of such strength, he felt that being from the Shadow Kingdom was even more likely.

Especially the use of black magic was truly suspicious here.

"What about the remaining warehouses? Did you order them to do something?"

Lucien asked once again, making Irwin panic instantly. From his look, it seemed he had come directly to the meeting room after receiving the news, without informing anyone at all.

"Sir... the news was so shocking that I came here directly to tell you first," he said, feeling that he had been careless.

If, because of him, another warehouse was lost, he didn’t know what kind of punishment he would face.

"Okay, no need to be afraid. It’s good that you didn’t say anything to them."

But contrary to what he feared, Lucien simply waved his hand as if he didn’t care, even praising him a little.

After all, the more a person was indebted to him, the more he could gain from them. He could not always come across such a high-ranking figure looting him like this.

Of course, his carefree behavior did manage to irk others who wanted to say something to him.

After all, shouldn’t he immediately order his men to increase security after receiving such news? Or at least ask them to relocate the valuables?

Moreover, they still thought it was a case of betrayal. At the very least, a little inquiry should be done.

What do you mean, ’it is good?’

"Since that person directly captured a warehouse all alone, it makes no sense to increase security or even try to stop him."

Lucien lightly explained, seeing their look, and casually ordered,

"Irwin, tell the guards at the remaining three warehouses not to act if that person appears. Just have them watch closely and try to identify the figure."

He said and then looked at Gavien and Maelis responsible for managing vaults and magical assets, and ordered,

"You two, order your men in the Viremond Duchy to gather as many shiny gems, corals, and other valuables as possible. There’s no need to be stingy," Lucien said, a clear sparkle in his eyes.

"Once they’re gathered, send them through our usual transport route. At the same time, tell Irwin to spread the news about this secret shipment. I want it to sound tempting enough to draw attention, but not suspicious. The faster you do this, the better."

Then he turned to the other man.

"And you, have your men at Viremond to spread the same news. Do you understand what I’m trying to do?"

Lucien asked with a clear purpose.

Just by seeing the unknown entity target the Coral Gem Deposits out of all the Goldveil family’s valuable warehouses, he had already noticed that person’s preference.

After all, Coral Gems had one glaring trait: they were sparkling and beautiful. That was why the rich prized them for aesthetics rather than for alchemy.

Although Lucien only had a guess, he wanted to test whether Zeyvyr would go after the new bait he had prepared.

If he did, Lucien could then raise that man’s debt value to a full hundred points before extracting it directly.

Even a partial collection would bring him far more benefit than those worthless gems.

"Yes..."

"Okay..."

Since Lucien had already given his orders, there was no point in arguing. Even Cedric stood silently behind him, making no attempt to intervene.

So the five elders agreed without hesitation. Moreover, after this incident, they were already planning to transfer their own assets to safer locations.

"Good..."

Ian nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Irwin again.

"Did you collect the information I asked for?"

The time had been short, but perhaps there was something.

"Hmm? Yes. Though not much, I managed to gather a little."

Irwin was briefly stunned by the sudden shift in topic, but quickly replied, taking out the memory crystal from earlier and handing it to Lucien.

"Excellent!"

Seeing the memory crystal, Lucien smiled at Irwin, then turned to the rest.

"That’s all for this meeting. Do everything exactly as I said. There’s no need to report to me again. Irwin will pass along my instructions when needed."

"And you, Irwin, come to me once you have the information I want. The meeting is dismissed."

After saying this, Lucien gave a small nod to his father before leaving the room immediately.

Now that the information was in his hands, it was finally time to collect debts.

Now, his only purpose was to stack his stats as much as possible without garnering any suspicion from the world.

And he had the perfect plan on how to do just that.