Legacy of the Dark Sage

There was a few seconds of pause before the crowd stepped back.

It was as if Kyran's words carried some power that made them comply without resistance. Some even felt that if he told them to kneel before him, they would listen to him.

All the blacksmiths trying to control the crowd earlier were left speechless at how Disciple Tyr's simple words could silence the crowd and even make them step back.

They all looked at him with eyes filled with awe. Yet, at the same time, fear. Because as far as they knew, Disciple Tyr's magic had nothing to do with sound or manipulation. For his words to carry such power meant his magic level was at a level high above them all.

Did this mean he was at the same level as Chairman Noir? But he looked too young!

As soon as the crowd stepped back, Kyran gave a grateful smile that almost made every female present in the crowd swoon.

"I am Tyr, and my master is Chairman Noir," Kyran continued, then bowed slightly. "I apologize for the commotion. Rest assured, the explosion earlier was just a small miss on my part, and none of my fellow seniors was harmed."

He straightened his back and added, "To compensate for the disturbance, the Blacksmith Order will not charge any service fees in all requests taken today, and this offer will go on for a week. As for the required materials, if our valued customers provide the materials, the Blacksmith Order will only take 80% of it, and the remaining 20% will be provided by the Order free of charge. For materials that will be bought from the Order, there will be a 20% discount."

As soon as Kyran said this, almost all the attention from the crowd had been diverted.

It should be noted that an ordinary blacksmith's service was already worth thousands of spirit stones. While blacksmiths could only create average magic items, they were still expensive. If they could get have a blacksmith's service free of charge, not to mention they were not common blacksmiths but a Blacksmith Order's blacksmith, they could add the expense of getting a higher grade material.

It was far more expensive when it came to an Array Specialist's work. After all, the number of qualified Array Specialists were far less compared to a Saint Alchemist.

In the whole Ylfaen Empire, there were only twenty-one Array Specialists, seventeen of whom were part of the Blacksmith Order. As for the other nine, they were Array Specialists of a clan or a faction.

"A specialist's work free of charge? That's insane!"

"A 20% discount on materials! If I ordered six magic items, does that mean I will only pay the total amount of five?"

"I have to inform the Patriarch so we can order more items!"

While the customers were in a frenzy from Kyran's announcement, the blacksmiths and the specialists who heard him could not help but look hesitant.

Even the members in charge of the front office had looked at each other worriedly.

An older man with short white hair, wearing the Blacksmith Order's black coat uniform, where the symbol of the order on the coat pocket was a simple white hammer, approached Kyran. He was a front office member and had a senior position among them.

He whispered, "D-Disciple Tyr… About the free of charge and the discount… I-I'm afraid that is a little too—."

"I'll take care of it," Kyran cut the old man mid-sentence. Then he added in a similarly low voice, "I'll handle all requests starting today until the rest of the week. Deliver all the requirements to my workstation. I'll look into it when I come back later."

The older man looked at him in surprise, but his expression turned hesitant.

It was not that he did not trust Disciple Tyr's skills as an Array Specialist, but it was common knowledge that after becoming Chairman Noir's disciple, they had never seen his work. Of course, most regular customers might be interested in seeing his work, but that did not mean they were willing to have him work on their requests when they already have a trusted blacksmith or array specialist handling theirs.

While the man pondered how to say this without offending Disciple Tyr, a young man in a blue velvet coat, standing beside him, overheard everything.

The young man sneered, and with a voice full of scorn, he said loud enough for everyone to hear,  "Hear this, everyone! Disciple Tyr has just said he will be the one taking care of all our requests!"

The moment the young man said this, the crowd's attention shifted once more.

At the same time, all present members of the order turned to look at the young man. His condescending tone did not sit well with them, and they wanted to warn him. However, their expressions turned sour upon realizing who the young man was.

"Young master Matias," the old man talking to Kyran greeted the young man. His expression, just like the rest of the members of the order, was of disapproval. But unfortunately, he could not voice out his thoughts.

Because the young man, Matias, was the first grandson of the Lumley Noble Family, one of the Three Noble Families of the Ylfaen Empire.

Matias looked at Kyran from head to toe and continued, "Apologies, Disciple Tyr. But, do you think I will let you handle my request after making such a 'small miss,' where everyone heard the explosion?"

After Matias pointed this out, the excitement, some customers felt after hearing Disciple Tyr would be the one to take their request lessened in an instant.

"To have someone whose work I haven't seen before create my magic item... I'm sorry to say, but I'd rather create it myself than trust you," Matias added.

"Young master Matias is right."

"Though Disciple Tyr said it was a small miss, the explosion was really loud."

"Right, right. I even thought the Order is under attack!"

"But we're talking about Disciple Tyr's work! He is Chairman Noir's only disciple!"

"No one has seen his work, but being Chairman Noir's disciple meant he had good skills."

"True. He's just human and bound to make some mistakes sometimes."

"That kind of mistake, though. Is he really good enough?"

The crowd of customers' opinions was split. Some felt Matias was right; others were still excited to have Disciple Tyr create their magic items.

The older man's face darkened, as with the rest of the members of the order. They wanted to speak up for Disciple Tyr. However, what Matias said held some truth.

"Matias."

Suddenly, a soft female voice spoke from behind the crowd.

The voice was soft and sounded amiable. However, it carried such authority that everyone could not help but look.

They saw two young ladies, both with blonde hair and olive green eyes, wearing light blue dresses. One had long wavy hair, while the other, who looked a little older, had short hair.

At first, none of them seemed to recognize them. After a few seconds, however, someone from the crowd exclaimed, "It's Lady Mimi and Lady Millie! The Twin Belles of the Courtenay Noble Family!"

As soon as the crowd this, surprised gasps filled the air.

Matias's expression turned grim at once after seeing the two. Like him, Mimi and Millie's family were part of the Three Noble Families of the Ylfaen Empire.

"Mimi, Millie," Matias greeted with a short nod. "I did not know you were here."

"Unlike you, we prefer to keep a low profile," Mimi replied derisively.

Matias ground his teeth and was about to say something. However, Millie, who was the one to call him earlier, spoke in the same manner.

"You said you'd rather create your magic item than trust Disciple Tyr with it. But are you not here because you had failed countless times and want the Blacksmith Order to create the magic item for you?"

Silence filled the air.

None of the crowd, customers, and members of the orders wanted to speak. Some even held their breath in fear that they would add to the suddenly rising tension if they made a sound. Besides, they were aware that the younger generation of the Three Noble Families loved to compete with each other.

Matias's expression turned ugly. He opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but then he noticed how Millie, although she seemed to be reprimanding him, was looking at Disciple Tyr.

A sneer tugged on Matias's lips as he said, "Fine. You're right. At least I came here because I want to have the Blacksmith Order to create a magic item for me. How about you, Millie? I heard your Array attainments are not inferior to the Courtenay Array Specialist, so why are you here?"

"Of course, I am here to have the Order create—."

Matias looked at Kyran, completely ignoring Millie, and continued, "Disciple Tyr. Are you aware that Millie is one of the candidates to be Chairman Noir's disciple?"

Upon hearing Matias, Millie's complexion paled as she realized what he was trying to do.

He was trying to sow discord between her and Disciple Tyr.

"Y-You—!"

Kyran, who had remained silent right from when Matias targeted him, finally spoke. Without answering Matias's question, he said, "Matias...?"

As if recalling something, Kyran's eyes widened as he looked at Matias, "Ah, right. I remember you."

He then pointed at Matias and continued, "You're that good for nothing, son, who begged his grandfather to convince master in accepting him to be his disciple!"

Matias almost choked at Kyran's words. Before he could retort, however, Mimi burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha! You want to target my sister about failing to be Chairman Noir's disciple when you tried to use your grandfather's influence to be accepted! So lame!"

Matias's complexion turned ruddy as he glared daggers at Mimi. He wanted to retort but was hesitant. After all, Mimi was the older sister and had more power within the Courtenay Family than Millie. If he targeted her and his father found out, he would be in trouble.

In the end, he decided to take it all out on 'Tyr.' After all, he was the one who started it.

"I, Matias, might have tried to get in Chairman Noir's good graces with the help of my grandfather, but that only showed how much I wanted to be his disciple! What about you? After getting Chairman Noir's approval, you haven't even shown up. Not only that, even after a year of studying under Chairman Noir, you still make 'small misses' where you end up destroying things!"

The crowd and the members of the order who had been watching the exchange between the four knew that the situation was about to go out of control. They all turned to Kyran sympathetically.

Matias was still part of the Three Noble Families. Kyran might be Chairman Noir's disciple, and the Blacksmith Order was part of the Conclave of the East. But compared to Tyr's status, would the Conclave do something for him?

Besides, the Conclave was still a neutral faction. They would definitely choose to compromise with the Lumley Family. That meant Disciple Tyr would take the blame for everything.

While these thoughts swirled in their minds, they were surprised to find Kyran looking at Matias with a smile.

"I can't believe you admitted it. Such an honest person," Kyran remarked.

Matias, who heard this, almost choked in anger. Instead of retorting, however, he decided to make a move.

"You little son of a—,"

A red magic array started to form in Matias's hand as he reached out to grab Kyran.

Even before the magic arrays could form properly in Matias's hand, a long wooden staff had already appeared in Kyran's hand. Then, with a swift turn of his wrist, the other end of the wooden staff slammed on Matias's hand, instantly disrupting the formation of the magic array.

BAM!

Turning his arm a little, Kyran turned the staff and hit Matias's back using the other end. Kyran's movement was too fast but carried such weight that Matias was forced face-first on the floor.

BAM!

"Guh!"

"Violence is not permitted inside the Blacksmith Order. You may have a high status outside, but here, you are the same as the rest. Consider this as your first warning," Kyran told Matias, with a voice as cold as the color of his aquamarine eyes.