Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 526 - 524: The Needle of Explosion

Chapter 526: Chapter 524: The Needle of Explosion

"Starry Sky Meditation Hat?" Richard recalled hearing the name; he remembered attending an underground, unofficial auction to obtain materials where the item was auctioned off.

If he remembered correctly, at that auction, the "Starry Sky Meditation Hat" sold for a high price of thirty-five thousand gold coins. The host had mentioned that it had been stolen from Deep Blue Castle and they had been searching for it. It seemed they were still searching, but Richard wondered how the hat ended up in a girl’s possession.

At that moment, the girl spoke out, her eyes wide and defiant as she shouted, "You say this item is from Deep Blue Castle? Then I can say it’s from our Jungle Hut!"

"There’s a special mark inside the meditation hat from our Deep Blue Castle!" the boy responded, "It certainly belongs to our Deep Blue Castle."

"So what if it has a mark? That just means it was once yours. I bought this hat at a high price—forty high-level crystal coins! My teacher gave me most of her savings so I could buy a useful magic tool. I spent all that money, how can I just give it back and face my teacher?"

"That’s not my problem!" the boy retorted. "Who asked you to buy stolen goods without being smart about it?"

"It’s not stolen goods!" the girl yelled. "The person I bought it from also purchased it from someone else. You should be going after the thief who stole it from you, not demanding compensation from a buyer like me. This is nothing but robbery—a blatant act of robbery, worse than a thief! I’m telling you—don’t expect me to just hand it over easily!"

Taking a deep breath and attempting to control his emotions, the boy said, "I really don’t want to fight you, people from Jungle Hut, but tell me, what will it take for you to return it?"

"It’s simple, give me forty high-grade crystal coins!"

"That’s impossible!" the boy flatly refused. "That’s extortion!"

"It’s not extortion; it’s just taking back what’s mine. If you don’t pay, then there’s no deal." The girl tilted her head back, unafraid, "Either let me leave with it, or I’ll bash your head first then take my leave!"

Growing angry, the boy said, "Fine, fine, fine, I didn’t want to use force, but since you’re not cooperating, I guess I have no choice! Take this!"

As he spoke, the boy’s lips moved rapidly for a moment, and after sweeping his finger over the longsword, fiery red flames burst and wrapped around the blade, thrusting toward the girl.

The girl saw and smirked, "You think I’m scared of your flaming stick? I’ll break your head just the same!"

Immediately, her lips moved quickly as well, and the air around her began to surge toward her two-handed greatsword.

In the next instant, she swung her greatsword, sending a roaring sound through the air, viciously slashing at the boy.

Seeing the fierce attack, the boy dared not parry head-on and swiftly dodged to the side, then thrust at the girl again.

The girl waved her hand, and suddenly several green seeds appeared in her palm, then she threw them on the ground.

Upon touching the soil, the seeds grew rapidly into vines trying to ensnare the boy.

He snorted coldly, his lips moved again, and unknown spells amplified the flames on his blade, turning them golden.

With a fierce chop, the flaming sword swiftly burned through the vines and thrust directly at the girl.

The girl frowned slightly, stamped her foot on the ground, sending dirt flying up and transforming into an earth shield that blocked the boy’s attack, then she swung her greatsword in retaliation.

Following that, the boy and the girl continued to fight back and forth.

Richard, watching from the sidelines, could tell that the boy and girl were fairly matched in terms of strength, though the boy seemed to have more experience, giving him the upper hand in the fight.

In such a short time, a victor could not be determined, but if the battle dragged on, the girl would likely be defeated without any surprises.

Of course, no matter the outcome, as long as it didn’t affect him, he didn’t mind being a qualified bystander. Yes, as long as it didn’t affect him...

...

Time quickly passed, and dusk soon ended, darkness gradually enveloping everything.

The fight between the boy and the girl had reached a critical state, and they began to fight violently in the courtyard!

Though they both were only at the Apprentice Level, their destructive power was not insignificant; several walls, doors, and windows of the rooms in the courtyard were damaged.

"Die!"

During the fight, the boy swung his flaming longsword, the girl dodged agilely, and the longsword immediately struck a stone platform in the courtyard, causing a clear crack and scorching the platform pitch black.

The girl shouted, "Hey, you Deep Blue Castle jerk, can you be a little more careful? This isn’t your home! How can you damage other people’s property like this? You’re going to pay for this! Hey, hey, why aren’t you being careful? You’ve even damaged the walls; how are people supposed to live here?! Seriously, let’s go outside the city to fight!"

At that moment, the boy simply couldn’t be bothered with the girl’s words. After hearing what the girl said, he just coldly responded, "Shut up!"

After speaking, he rapidly swung his sword thirteen times at the girl. Although she blocked them, she kept retreating with increasingly disordered steps.

"Can’t handle it anymore?" the boy said, thrusting his sword forward and forcing the girl to dodge, then he fiercely kicked her, sending her flying.

"Bang!"

The girl’s body flew into the air and fell heavily, landing right in front of Richard and Pandora.

Then, the girl struggled to her feet, but because of her severe injuries, she vomited a mouthful of blood and collapsed back to the ground. Seeing the boy not far away, coldly watching her, ready to unleash a powerful spell, the girl hastily said, "Cough, cough, don’t... don’t mess around, okay? There are innocent people behind me! At worst, I’ll give you the item!

Hmph, consider it a loss caused by your Deep Blue Castle, give me twenty high-grade crystal coins—half the price, and I’ll accept my loss. I’ll explain the situation to my teacher; surely, he can forgive me. Also, you have to compensate the owner of this courtyard; you’ve damaged their property."

"Twenty high-grade crystal coins? Compensation?" the boy said coldly, his expression slightly ferocious, "I’ve realized I really, really despise people like you, because you clearly don’t understand the situation. Why should I pay? If I kill you, and everyone in this courtyard, I won’t have to pay anything to get the ’Starry Sky Meditation Hat!’"

"You said your organization wasn’t evil! How can you just kill people!" the girl shouted loudly.

"That’s because dead people can’t talk! What’s said by those who are alive, stands. Understand? You idiotic woman!" the boy bellowed, then unhesitatingly began reciting a spell, a huge ball of flames forming in his hands, ready to obliterate the girl along with Richard and Pandora, once and for all.

Seeing this, the girl’s face turned pale, and in a panic, she began chanting a spell to defend. However, due to her injuries and haste, she mishandled her mana and the spell backfired, causing her to vomit another mouthful of air, her body wilting. But, she didn’t give up; seeing the boy’s flames growing larger, she still bravely stood up, spread her arms tragically in front of Richard, and said determinedly, "Don’t be afraid, I will definitely protect you!"

Richard: "..." Looking at the girl, he couldn’t help but shake his head, then sighed deeply.

"What?" the girl asked, puzzled by Richard’s reaction. In the next moment, hearing a swooshing sound from the boy’s direction, she quickly turned to look, then was startled.

She saw that the boy hadn’t thrown the fireball at all; instead, a silver needle, appearing out of nowhere, had pierced the boy’s neck, causing his body to tremble incessantly, clearly in extreme pain.

After trembling for a while, the silver needle "boom" exploded, obliterating most of the boy’s neck. The fireball in the boy’s hand "poofed" out, and his body fell to the ground as a corpse, motionless.

This!

The girl was stunned!