Episode 4: Dragon Blood Warriors Chapter 4: The Price of Stone Carvings

On Finlay City’s Dry Stranger Road, Alice was on the balcony of her small two-story building, her hands propped up on her chin as she watched the pedestrians on the street in front of her.

Ever since Linley had left last time, Alice had watched the pedestrians from her balcony almost every day, hoping that Linley would come again. However ……

“Classes are going to start tomorrow, today.”

Alice sighed in her heart, and finally glanced towards the street.

She was just looking forward to Linley being able to come and see her again, but unfortunately Linley hadn’t come once in the past ten days, and that was when her best friend Nia’s voice rang out from the doorway below, “Alice, hurry up.”

Nia, Tony, and Karan were waiting at the doorway below.

Kahlan, Nia, and Tony were from the Warrior Academy, and the academy the three of them were in was relatively close to the Weylin Magic Academy that Alice was in. Plus, all four of their families were in Finlay City, so their relationship was also relatively good.

“Okay, I’ll be right down.”

Alice glanced at the street in front of the mansion, while then she carried the prepared package on her back and went downstairs. ……

On the evening of the third day after Alice had left Finlay City, Linley came to the front of Alice’s courtyard and tilted his head to look up at the balcony of the small two-story building, which was empty.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

The middle-aged man watching the door at Alice’s house shouted at Linley.

Linley turned his head to look and smiled as he inquired, “Hello, I’m from the Weylin Magic Academy, and I’m good friends with Alice. I wonder if she’s still at home right now, Alice?”

“Oh.”

That middle-aged man said with a smile when he heard those words, “Miss Alice has already left home for almost three days, and has long since arrived at the Magic Academy.”

“I see, thanks.”

Linley said politely.

Linley turned around and left along the Dry Strand Road, only to walk to the end of the Dry Strand Road still looking back at the balcony of the small two-story building with a hint of helplessness in his heart.

On the street heading to Ernst College.

A white stream of light flew out from the Ring of the Dragon, transforming into a moon white robe, white hair and white bearded Delinquent. Derinkelwalt looked at Linley with a smile, “Linley, fallen for Alice?”

“A little.”

Linley didn’t deny it.

Derinkelwalt stroked his white beard and laughed, “I didn’t think that you, this kid, would finally have your heart set on a woman, but Linley, you’re in a different magic academy from that Alice, and the two of you are separated in two places, so it’s hard to have any emotional progress.”

“I know, let it be, if it can have results then it will, if not then forget it.”

Linley’s mind couldn’t help but conjure up scenes with Alice.

There was the first time he had panicked under the Bloodthirsty Warpig.

There was Alice’s shy appearance when the two of them were talking on their way back from the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

There was also under the moonlight, just like the moonlight elf general moving appearance. ……

“Is this the first love.”

Linley smiled to himself, at his age, the four brothers often talked about some girls when they were in the dormitory, and even Yale and Reno had long since had girlfriends.

For feelings, Linley also had a point of anticipation in his heart.

In the Ernst Magic Academy, Linley cultivated as earnestly as he had in the past, spending part of his time every day on the ‘Flat Knife School’ of carving, and steadily and rapidly improving both his mental and magical powers.

In the blink of an eye, January passed.

In accordance with the usual rules, Linley and the other four brothers set off to Finlay City with three stone carvings, in the middle of Ostuni’s room at the Proulx Guild Hall in Finlay City.

“Nearly fifteen thousand gold coins? That much?”

Linley was a little surprised at the price of the three stone carvings last time.

Ostoni laughed loudly and said, “Linley, this is quite normal. The price of an average stone carving master’s work can reach around one thousand gold coins. Our Proulx Guild Hall has highlighted your identity, a stone sculpture made by a magical genius at the age of fifteen, and because of your identity alone, it’s enough to double the price of this stone sculpture.”

“The most important thing is …… that your stone carving works are very peculiar, other people’s stone carving works are beautiful, but there are certain defects in the degree of fluency. Your works have very smooth lines, for example, the two places where you use the flat blade and the jade bowl blade, surprisingly, one cannot detect the breaks, and they are connected perfectly.”

Linley couldn’t help but smile when he heard this.

Break marks?

The stone carvings of his own flat knife school only used a flat knife from start to finish, there was no need to switch to various carving knives, so naturally the lines would be perfect.

“Because of this one special point, coupled with the kind of loneliness and arrogance contained in your work itself, coupled with your identity, it makes the price of the work reach nearly five thousand gold coins. It’s just that there is still a slight lack in the handling of some of the detailed lines, otherwise the price might be even higher.”

Ostoni said in praise.

Linley also understood in his heart.

“Meticulous grain mark processing?”

Linley secretly shook his head in his heart, the one he was using was a flat knife, although he could barely get some of the other special patterns out, but in terms of effect, it was definitely weaker than the effect of other professional carving knives such as slanting knives and round knives.

At the same time, Linley sighed in his heart.

Three stone carvings could be sold for fifteen thousand gold coins. This money came too easily. If Linley was fully dedicated to carving, he could definitely carve ten pieces a month.

Ten pieces, that would be worth nearly fifty thousand gold coins!

“I was in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range for two months, experiencing life and death crises several times, along with killing some killers to get just 70,000 or 80,000 gold coins, stone carving masters, it’s simply a money grab.”

Linley sighed.

The price of Linley’s work belonged to the upper echelon among stone carving experts.

“A stone carving master can be considered a money grab, that stone carving master ……”

Linley sighed in his heart.

The more he delved into it, the more Linley sighed. In this circle of stone carving, the income disparity was too obvious. There were only about a hundred stone carving masters in the entire Holy Alliance. The scarcity of the number could be imagined.

“Linley, work hard, I’m sure you’ll become a great stone carving master in the future.”

Ostuni encouraged.

Stone Sculpture Masters, not only did they possess amazing wealth, they likewise had an extremely high status. They stood at the pinnacle of the oldest art, and even ordinary great nobles wouldn’t dare to be arrogant when they encountered them.

Master!

This is a very important title.

It is not something that can be obtained by money and power, it is only when someone can reach the top in a certain industry and be recognized by everyone that he or she will be honored as a master.