Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 73: Revisiting the Mages Guild, Are You from the Slane Theocracy?

The bustling central square.

Tang Zheng walked down the street, with many pedestrians voluntarily making way upon noticing the small hellhound following him.

The inquiry from that middle-aged man at the Adventurers Guild didn't seem worth Tang Zheng's attention.

When he took out those two hellhound bone chains for sale, he had already anticipated that people would guess he'd been to the Great Tob Forest.

But no matter how much they speculated,

The Adventurers Guild members would never believe that the recent disturbances in the Great Tob Forest were caused by a person.

After all,

The mere disappearance of numerous monster corpses was beyond the imagination of otherworldly humans who lacked concepts like spatial backpacks or item boxes.

Without even traces left behind, the premise for speculation couldn't be established.

"Beroray Vanov Gregory Butkin, Vice President of the Mages Guild."

"Just reciting this name makes it clear he won't be easy to deal with."

Tang Zheng sighed helplessly, "I wonder if the Mages Guild has any magical artifacts for translating text."

It was nearly noon now.

Tang Zheng found a lively tavern, ordered some food, and also hoped to gather some rumors circulating in such establishments.

He wanted to find out if anything significant had happened recently.

He'd long noticed that the atmosphere in E-Rantel wasn't much different from a month ago, yet the behavior of the city guards clearly indicated something had occurred.

This situation most likely meant some incident had been suppressed by the authorities.

If so, purchasing information from the Adventurers Guild would be pointless, while tavern rumors might prove more useful.

However!

By the time he left the tavern, aside from enjoying a proper meal instead of the simple forest fare, he'd gained absolutely no useful information.

The Mages Guild.

Ding-dong~

The deep brown door opened automatically.

Tang Zheng entered the familiar guild hall, which remained much quieter compared to the Adventurers Guild.

The two receptionists were different from his last visit -

The young mage was still there, but the middle-aged mage had been replaced by another young mage wearing light blue robes.

"No wonder the monster-detecting artifact reacted - I thought it was broken."

"It's actually a hellhound, and a cub at that?"

A lively and surprised voice came from the blue-robed mage.

Both spellcasters focused their attention entirely on the small hellhound accompanying Tang Zheng, their faces filled with astonishment.

Soon,

The black-robed young mage recognized Tang Zheng as the person who had purchased magic scrolls here a month ago.

After all, that jet-black hair color was something he'd only seen once before - quite unforgettable.

"Here to purchase more magic scrolls?"

The black-robed mage inquired.

"Not this time. I wish to buy a magical artifact." Tang Zheng approached the counter and spoke softly and politely.

Most magic scrolls sold at the Mages Guild were auxiliary in nature, which didn't interest Tang Zheng currently.

The only thing that caught his attention were daily-life magic that could upgrade tiers.

But upgraded daily-life magic all had certain issues, and with limited skill points available, Tang Zheng had no immediate plans to purchase any.

A magical artifact?

Both the black-robed and blue-robed mages showed surprise in their eyes.

Magical artifacts were extremely expensive.

Judging by Tang Zheng's current attire, they didn't perceive him as wealthy.

"Do you have any artifacts that can translate text?" Tang Zheng asked again.

"Translate text?"

"Who would make such useless magical artifacts!"

"Moreover, no matter how miraculous magical artifacts are, they can't accomplish everything!"

The blue-robed mage suddenly raised his head and spoke loudly.

The black-robed youth quickly tugged at his companion's sleeve, then apologized to Tang Zheng: "Sorry, we don't have that kind of artifact you mentioned."

Tang Zheng glanced at the agitated blue-robed mage and nodded calmly.

This outcome wasn't unexpected.

He remembered Sebas, one of the guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, possessed glasses-type magical artifacts that could translate text.

If he recalled correctly, they were high-grade artifacts.

Among magical artifacts created by humans in this world, very few truly interested Tang Zheng.

"By the way,"

Tang Zheng changed the subject as if remembering something, while pulling out from his robe a faintly glowing, remarkably resilient white sheet of paper:

"Might you purchase magical materials like this paper?"

Under the illumination from the cylindrical perpetual light above, the pristine paper faintly emitted obscure pale magical radiance.

The two mages - one visibly displeased and the other wearing a professional smile with eyes full of arrogance - immediately had their attention captured by the paper in Tang Zheng's hand.

"How many sheets do you have?"

"We'll take them all!"

The blue-robed mage suddenly leaned forward excitedly, unceremoniously snatching the paper from Tang Zheng's hand while examining it closely.

Hmm?

Tang Zheng's eyes flashed with surprise.

According to the [Item Appraisal] information, this paper created by second-tier magic could preserve written text for a hundred years.

Perhaps somewhat valuable.

But it shouldn't have provoked such an excited reaction from the blue-robed mage.

"It meets all standards perfectly."

The blue-robed mage looked up from the paper and nodded emphatically at his companion, speaking quietly.

The black-robed youth looked even more astonished.

"I believe you're a faith-based magic caster, correct?" The black-robed youth turned to Tang Zheng.

"That's right." Tang Zheng confirmed.

"Who made this paper? We currently need large quantities. If the creator is willing, we can purchase them at 1 silver coin per 10 sheets."

The black-robed youth spoke earnestly.

Second-tier papermaking could produce 700 sheets. At this price, casually spending some mana could yield 70 silver coins, equivalent to 5 gold and 5 silver.

Tang Zheng was inwardly surprised.

If one produced some daily for a month, the income could easily exceed 160 gold coins - effortless financial freedom.

"No need for that. I made them." Tang Zheng waved his hand.

"You?"

The black-robed youth was stunned.

Even the blue-robed mage who had been studying the paper looked up at Tang Zheng.

"Impossible!"

The usually calm black-robed youth suddenly raised his voice sharply.

"You clearly purchased zero-tier [Papermaking] scrolls here just a month ago."

"If you already mastered [Papermaking], why would you spend money buying them!" The black-robed youth became visibly agitated.

His undisguised arrogance and hostility surfaced.

Tang Zheng's gaze turned icy, revealing the cold aura accumulated from a month of slaughtering goblins and monsters in the forest. His unkempt month-long hair partially obscured his piercing eyes.

"Is there a problem."

His emotionless eyes stared coldly at the black-robed youth.

"You... you..."

The black-robed youth shuddered, his neck inexplicably feeling chilled as he involuntarily stepped back.

Then,

"Do you know where you are!" The black-robed youth, embarrassed by his frightened reaction, twisted his face in anger.

"Enough!"

The blue-robed mage who had been displeased with Tang Zheng earlier now spoke sternly.

"Albert, is what you said earlier true?" The blue-robed mage looked seriously at his black-robed companion.

"Wh-what's true?"

The black-robed youth was caught off guard by the sudden question.

"I see."

The blue-robed mage turned to Tang Zheng, "Please wait a moment, sir."

With that,

He hurried toward the guild's staircase.

For a while,

Only the black-robed youth and Tang Zheng remained in the hall.

The atmosphere grew strangely tense.

The black-robed youth turned pale and averted his gaze from Tang Zheng.

While Tang Zheng grew increasingly curious.

Apparently, [Paper Making] concealed secrets unknown to him.

The wait wasn't long.

Soon, footsteps echoed from the staircase.

The blue-robed mage followed carefully behind an elderly man wearing patched gray robes.

Upon closer inspection, one could see numerous patches on the gray robe - clearly not a magical artifact.

The old man had graying hair, an expressionless face with wrinkles like folded book pages, his entire countenance rigid.

He gave off an unapproachable and extremely conservative impression.

"Teacher."

The black-robed youth hurried forward to assist the elder upon seeing him.

But the old man brushed him aside dismissively. Despite his apparent age, his steps were remarkably steady.

He first examined the paper on the counter, then looked up at Tang Zheng.

"Are you from the Slane Theocracy?"

The elder spoke coldly, squinting at Tang Zheng's black hair.