My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!-Chapter 68: An apprentice

The first part of the plan started here at the adventurer guild, and there was no better place for it.

No better stage to establish the foundation of the identity he intended to build.

Because the adventurer guild was not just some random establishment.

It was something far more structured.

Far more influential than most people realized.

Every city, no matter how small had an adventurer guild branch.

It acted somewhat as a center for information as well as people.

And more importantly, every single one of those branches was connected, ultimately leading back to one place—

The adventurer guild headquarters, which was located in the royal city at the very heart of the kingdom.

Which meant, anything that happened here, of any notable figure that appeared in the small adventurer branch would travel fast across the other branches.

It might be slow at first, but it was inevitable.

’That’s exactly what I need...’

Noah’s eyes remained calm behind the mask, but his thoughts carried a quiet certainty.

If he established the name "Mr. White" here—

In a place tied directly to the guild network—

Then it would only be a matter of time before that name spread wider and gain more weight in this kingdom, then probably even the continent as a whole.

However, even though he appeared composed, he couldn’t deny that he was still feeling a little nervous about the whole thing.

After all, the arch magus aura he had been projecting wasn’t real, and was instead an illusion by the system.

And the man sitting across from him, the guild master, was a mid master magus.

Even though he wasn’t exactly releasing his mana pressure, Noah could still sense it from the fluctuations around him.

Thanks to his senses that had grown stronger, doing something that this wasn’t very difficult for him.

And that meant if, even for a moment, Yuan decided to attack him even if out of suspicion, he was in grave danger.

There was no exaggeration in it.

Because without the illusion of overwhelming power—

Without the pressure he had been carefully maintaining—

He would not be able to dominate the situation.

Not in a direct confrontation.

That was why he had been cautious from the very beginning.

He needed to appear overbearing and mysterious at the same time.

However, he couldn’t force it too much, or else the man would begin to suspect him.

As his gaze rested on Yuan—

There was one thing he could acknowledge.

’It’s working...’

The plan, at least in this moment, seemed to be going exactly as he intended.

Across from him, Yuan finally moved.

His gaze dropped from Noah—

Back to the table.

To the bag that had been placed there.

His expression had returned to its composed state, though traces of earlier tension still lingered beneath the surface.

Without a word, he reached forward, pushing aside the bottle of wine.

He then untied the top of the bag, and turned it over, spilling its content out onto the table.

A series of dull, heavy sounds followed as the items within landed against the wood.

One after another.

The faint scent of mana beast remains filled the air almost immediately.

Yuan’s gaze swept over the contents.

But then—

A subtle change occurred in his expression.

It was slight, almost unnoticeable, but still there.

A faint tightening of his brows, and a slightly disappointed look in his eyes.

Because what lay on the table was not what he had expected.

The mana beast corpses were almost all mutated-grade, and alongside them were a few advanced grade beast cores.

He had expected something else from an arch magus, perhaps even the rare superior grade beast core!

"Is this all the mana beast corpses you have to sell?" he asked.

His tone was steady, respectful as always, but there was a subtle shift beneath it. The earlier disappointment had not completely vanished, though he concealed it well.

Across from him, Noah’s gaze returned to him.

Behind the mask, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yeah," he replied calmly. "That’s all."

His voice remained even, giving nothing away.

Yuan held his gaze for a brief moment before nodding slowly, accepting the answer without further question.

"I see," he said.

His attention shifted back to the items spread across the table, his eyes scanning each item.

Normally, he wouldn’t be the one doing this as the guild master, and would instead have one of the the staffs at the guild deal with the trade.

However, this was a special case, and he was trying to form a bond with this arch magus in front of him.

After all, a chance to interact with one like this rarely appeared.

Then he spoke again.

"Normally," Yuan began, his tone measured, "all of this would cost around two gold coins."

He paused briefly.

Then continued.

"But since this is your first time here, I’ll buy them for five gold coins." he said, flashing a slight smile at Noah.

The moment those words reached Noah, his eyes widened beneath the mask.

’Five... gold coins?!’

The number echoed in his mind.

For a split second, everything else seemed to fade.

Because that number was not small at all.

The currency system in this kingdom was similar with most of the continent, which was bronze, silver and gold coins.

A hundred bronze coins made up one silver coin.

And a hundred silver coins made up one gold coin.

The difference between each level was massive.

And five gold coins—

That was not something an ordinary person would casually mention.

Noah’s thoughts moved quickly, almost instinctively.

’Five gold coins...’

He calculated without even realizing it.

That meant five hundred silver coins.

Or—

Fifty thousand bronze coins.

The scale of it alone was enough to make his mind reel.

His family’s situation flashed in his mind.

The small farm his mother worked tirelessly on, only brought around twenty silver coins a month.

And even that was barely enough for the three of them to manage three meals a day.

And now, just like that, he was going to get five gold coins.

An amount that far exceeded anything he had ever dealt with.

For a brief moment, it felt unreal. Almost like this was a dream he could wake up from any second.

Before he could stop himself, the words slipped out.

"Isn’t that too much?" he muttered.

The moment the sentence left his mouth, Noah’s expression stiffened slightly beneath the mask.

’...Shit.’ he thought, feeling like he had just made a mistake.

Across from him, Yuan shook his head calmly, as though the reaction had not surprised him in the slightest.

"I’m sure," Yuan said, his tone polite, "that for an arch magus like you, five gold coins is only a small sum."

"Yeah..." Noah said, o pausing for a while before continuing. "My apprentice was the one who hunted those anyway."

Yuan’s eyes widened in surprise.

"You have an apprentice?" he asked.

It wasn’t something he had expected.

"Yes," Noah replied, giving a small nod.

But inwardly—

A faint grin formed.

’Who else would the apprentice be...’ His thoughts carried a trace of amusement. ’...if not myself?’

A quiet chuckle echoed in his mind.

’Hehe.’