The Frugal Mage

Rayven's pupils shrank as he saw the second mission he had received from the system.

'Fight… that mage? In seven days?'

The last quest he had gotten was a matter of survival against that large wolf. But this one—this was a direct challenge. It wasn't asking him to flee or hide. It was demanding that he win.

His fists trembled from the sudden pressure weighing down on him. There was no way a Mana Flick could do the trick.

'Still, why is the reward so low? Only fifty gold coins?' Rayven frowned as he looked at the tough-looking mage that he had to defeat in a week.

***

The Veltham noble slammed his palm on the table hard enough to rattle the ink bottle.

"Enough talk! If your pathetic shop wants to challenge Veltham authority, then settle it the proper way. Not through words. Not through discounts. Through a duel."

This time, everyone realized that this was what they really wanted to happen. They wanted their reputation to suffer! Although it was so absurd to even think of accepting this challenge, the Veltham Family would surely use this opportunity if they decided not to accept it.

Rennard also started sweating as it was getting out of hand.

He couldn't just throw away this nobleman after all.

His eyes darted to the ledger at his side, then back to the noble's face.

Losing money on the contract was bad, but manageable. A duel, however, was another matter.

"My lord," Rennard said carefully, "perhaps we can renegotiate the terms. I am willing to forfeit profits and—"

"—and admit that Veltham is superior?" the noble cut in with a sneer.

"Is that what you're saying? That your pitiful branch can't even defend itself?"

Rennard's face darkened, but he clenched his fists to stop himself from retorting.

It wasn't just about the price anymore. The noble wanted humiliation. He wanted dominance.

Rennard took a deep breath as he considered their options.

As if to emphasize that the noble was serious, the middle-aged mage in gray robes moved to the side.

The noble then used this opportunity to introduce himself.

"This is Master Cedric… An Adept Mage in my employ. He is willing to crush anyone you dare put forward. If you win, we will apologize and pay you the compensation. But if we win, you have to prepare a wagon of parchment I requested."

Cedric then showed a bit of his mana to show that he was indeed a mage.

Rennard felt his chest tighten. An Adept Mage had 12 Spells at most… Their Golden Coast Trading had recently hired Initiate Mages, but they only had 7 Spells at most.

Where would they even find a Tier 2 or Adept Mage? They were mostly nobles and would never work for a trading company unless they had advanced to that tier with the company's help.

Rennard had to think quickly. He wanted to escape from this situation, but how?

He opened his mouth again, almost ready to say he would forfeit everything, when a calm voice broke the tension.

"I'll take the duel."

The words weren't loud, but the entire room fell silent.

Heads turned toward the door, and they saw Rayven, who had just returned from the Adventurers Guild's Probationary Quest.

Rennard was shocked as he nearly dropped the ledger from his hands.

"You—Young Master Rayven?" Rennard stammered. "No, this isn't your—"

But Rayven didn't let him finish.

He stepped forward as he looked at the noble and the mage at his side.

"I'll accept the duel. But according to the Merchant Guild charter, we have seven days to prepare before a formal challenge can be held. Unless…" his eyes turned to Cedric, the Adept Mage, "…you mean to declare this outside the guild's regulations?"

Rayven may not have studied about the mages, beasts, and adventurers, but he knew about the rules and regulations established by the Merchant Guild under the Royal Trade Bureau.

That jab struck where it needed to.

The noble's face frowned visibly. They wanted humiliation, yes... but not a scandal. Even the Velthams couldn't afford to openly break guild rules.

Still, they had succeeded. They could get a chance to humiliate the Golden Coast Trading, and if they really win, they could slowly swallow their clients!

"Tch. Very well… Seven days. Let's do it on a dueling ground of your choice. The participant must not be above the Tier 2 Mage!"

Rennard shot Rayven a horrified look, but Rayven only gave a tiny nod.

He needed this. The system had issued the quest, and he needed to defeat that mage if he didn't want his system's function to weaken.

He couldn't even understand what kind of weakening it was… Would it charge a higher fee? Or maybe the spells he cast would not be accurate anymore?

Whatever it was, Rayven didn't want it to happen.

'Two days until the auction house finishes the sealed catalyst sale… if it fetches a good price, I'll finally have enough gold to buy a new spell.'

One more spell might be the difference between instant death and survival. Even one common utility spell could change everything against an Adept Mage.

'Right… I also have that 500 gold coins in the bank if necessary. I might be able to buy 2 other spells.' Rayven mused.

Of course, he knew that he couldn't spend all his money buying spells as well.

He must save a lot of gold coins to use them too!

For now, he only needed to buy time.

"Seven days," Rayven repeated, louder this time. "We'll send you the location soon… However, you must also formally write your challenge request and send it to us."

The noble smirked, satisfied that his scheme was unfolding. "Very well… Don't be late. Cedric here doesn't tolerate cowards."

The Adept Mage, Cedric, looked at him as if he had already succeeded.

Rayven didn't even need an Appraisal to guess how dangerous he'd be.

Still, he met the man's eyes. He couldn't afford to show weakness.

As the Veltham group departed, the trading hall had finally become silent.

Rennard then rushed at him. "Young master Rayven! What were you thinking? You can't fight an Adept Mage! They'll crush you in seconds! Seconds! They can cast 12 different Spells! Even if you've really become a mage, you must only be an Initiate with only 7 Spells at most!"