The Bizarre Wizarding World

The young gang member's face was somewhat tense,

as he hurriedly pulled out a small book with a brown cover from his bosom and explained:

"Three days ago, in the evening, I saw a suspicious stranger leave the Siwo Inn."

He flipped open the notebook, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he recalled:

"That stranger was a middle-aged man dressed in a vest, with an ordinary face."

"Actually, I was a bit puzzled at the time because I had never seen the middle-aged man check in; it was as if he just appeared out of thin air from the Siwo Inn."

"Now that I think about it, it's likely that our target was in disguise!"

The young gang member spoke with some indignation, and at the same time, handed over the notebook that contained the description of the middle-aged man's appearance to Mark.

Mark took the brown notebook without much comment.

Their method of recording was inherently simple and rough, the real intention was not to exhaustively control the comings and goings of travelers.

Naturally, they also did not specifically target disguised individuals.

So if the target was intentionally disguised, it was quite normal for the young gang member not to have identified them.

Mark opened the brown notebook and firmly memorized the information about the target's original appearance as well as the appearance of the disguised middle-aged man.

The next second, as if something occurred to him, he asked:

"The target had a maid and a child with him."

"Did you see them leave?"

The young gang member hesitated, shaking his head,

"…No."

Maidens like these were not usually worth the effort of recording.

And indeed, he had not seen the maid and the child leave.

Mark nodded, asked no more questions, and quickly walked away on his own.

He was planning to go back and inquire with other informants nearby.

Half a day later.

At the Haiya Gang's base.

Inside a plainly decorated office,

Mark leaned back in his chair and repeated:

"You haven't seen them?"

"Yes, sir."

He sighed, waved his hand to indicate to the gang member in front of him to leave.

This was the last informant he had questioned.

The results were all the same.

Those stationed at the doors of inns and other places had not seen the blonde target, nor the middle-aged man he had disguised himself as.

Sitting in his chair, resting his forehead in thought for a moment.

Mark stood up and slowly walked into the depths of the base.

...

Time passed silently like water.

On the second floor suite of the Blue Rose Inn,

Colin stood by the window, feeling somewhat emotional.

Unknowingly, it had been eight days since he arrived at Bananka Island.

A faint light entered from outside the window, signaling that the sunrise was upon them.

Although, due to the angle and location, he could not see the sun rising from the sea,

the gradual climb of golden light on the staggered grey and white facades outside the window still revealed the arrival of dawn.

Looking out, there was a field of gilt.

After breakfast, when the time was about right,

Colin packed all his luggage into his storage ring and walked to the door.

"Renee, remember what I told you?" he said.

"I remember, master," Renee responded.

Colin nodded his head.

He had stayed in the Blue Rose Inn for a week; it was time to change locations.

To move to a much quieter place.

The street where the inn was located was the central street of the Blue Bay district, but it was too bustling.

The main reason for staying there previously was its proximity to the Golden Anchor Auction House, which was convenient for the auction of the Golden Four-leaf Clover.

But after today, once the Golden Four-leaf Clover was auctioned off, he would no longer need to stay here.

'Maybe, I could move near the shipyard…'

As he thought, he descended the stairs disguised as the ordinary young man he had appeared to be when he first entered the Blue Rose Inn.

When he came downstairs, the clerk at the reception glanced up at him but had no special reaction.

Quickly, the clerk returned to browsing a book.

Colin kept a calm expression.

The current change in his features was accomplished with the power of the Strong Life Talent combined with the Ultimate Knight's control over physical form.

Such physical transformations were difficult to see through.

Leaving the Blue Rose Inn,

he briskly headed for a back-alley he had chosen near the Golden Anchor Auction House, planning to revert to his original appearance there before entering the auction.

But he hadn't gone far when, passing around a street corner,

Colin's brow suddenly furrowed, his stride faltered, and he gradually slowed down, quietly following a long-haired Wizard.

Using his peripheral vision, he could clearly see that the long-haired Wizard was holding a piece of white paper with three figures drawn on it.

The figures on the paper consisted of one male and two females, one tall and one short, one a maid and the other a child.

With such distinctive features... There was no doubt it was his group.

Colin's heart sank.

But after observing a little more, his heart eased.

Perhaps the only things that matched them were the figures' heights on the paper—two tall and one short.

Everything else, whether it be hairstyles or facial features, entirely mismatched them.

... Regardless of whether the drawing on the paper was of him and the Renee sisters or not,

With such a rudimentary sketch, the prospect of finding them by it... seemed quite difficult.

With an unaffected expression, Colin swiftly passed the long-haired Wizard and walked away.

In a short while, he had, as planned, reverted to his original appearance and arrived at the Golden Anchor Auction House.

He took out his purple gold entry pass for the auction.

After the attendant closely compared his appearance to their records, they showed him to a seat on the right side in the middle of the hall.

—This was the complimentary seat provided by the Golden Four-leaf Clover.

Regarding private boxes... of course, there were some.

However, they required an additional fee, around 50 Magic Stones.

Not much, but unnecessary.

After all, the seats in the hall were at a distance from each other and had partitions in between.

The privacy afforded was passable.

On a small round table to the right of the red cushioned armchair, there lay a booklet introducing the auction's items.

Once seated, Colin began to flip through it.

At the moment, what he was most in need of was, without doubt, the knowledge relating to Advanced Official Wizards.

And another complete set of Meditation Method appropriate for the Official Wizard stage.

For the former, he planned to buy it at a bookstore, as after all, it was only a broad overview of Advanced knowledge,

Not something treasured. The auction house surely would not have it.

For him now, the price was also not too expensive.

Previously on Blackstone Island, the Black Pearl Trading Company had quoted him 350 Magic Stones.

The price on the fleet was obviously a bit higher, and he estimated that on Bananka Island it would be cheaper.

As for the latter— the complete Meditation Method—

Colin sighed softly.

Previously, the price he heard on the Black Pearl Trading Company was 50,000 Magic Stones.

Even accounting for the inflated prices on the fleet, he would probably need at least ten thousand Magic Stones.

And the value of the Golden Four-leaf Clover, according to the Appraiser's estimate, was at most 15,000 Magic Stones...

Thinking this, Colin closed the booklet in his hands that contained little of interest.

Perhaps it was to maintain a sense of mystery.

The booklet only introduced a few treasured items such as his Golden Four-leaf Clover, serving as the highlights of the sale.

A glance revealed that there were Witch Tools, Magic Potions, and even rare artifacts listed.

But there was no Meditation Method.

Leaning slightly back against the soft chair,

Colin closed his eyes and waited quietly for the auction to begin.