“This ship is damn impressive. You guys built it?” Caius asked, eyeing the modular sections of the magitech vessel suspended by cranes in the shipyard, still unassembled.

  “Yeah, we have the best shipbuilders in Ocean City. Even the shipyards in Grilla City can't compete with us when it comes to small and medium-sized magitech ships. If you ever want to head out to sea, come buy one from us—practical, durable, just a bit pricey,” Rog nodded.

  “Good stuff always is,” Caius replied with a faint nod of approval.

  Then, he followed Rog into a rather luxurious reception room.

  “Wine or tea?” Rog asked.

  “I think I’ll go with tea,” Caius replied, pretending to think it over.

  Rog paused, then chuckled. “Wrong—it’s wine.”

  “All right, I’ll punish myself with a drink then.”

  “Haha.”

  The bit of humor helped ease the tone of their following conversation.

  “The batch of goods you reclaimed was originally meant for sale in Pedoro,” Rog said as he took a sip of wine. “But en route, it got intercepted by a patrol squad from the Seth Chamber of Commerce.”

  “Those bastards are like hyenas—roaming the grasslands, capturing beastfolk for slave trade, and occasionally robbing merchant caravans. That batch was taken during one of those raids.”

  “Thing is, they probably had no idea the goods were being shipped out from Ocean City. So they brought them back here, intending to sell them again. That’s when we caught wind of it.”

  “So they tried to move it again,”

  “And then I snatched it back,” Caius interjected.

  “Exactly. But here’s the kicker—like fate’s playing a joke—just recently, I got news that the buyer in Pedoro was killed.”

  “Probably because the shipment didn’t arrive on time and things dragged on too long.”

  “So now they’re blaming us.”

  “The buyer had a brother, a bounty hunter. He thinks I’m partly responsible for his brother’s death, and now he’s probably plotting how to take my head.”

  “So my job is to take him out?” Caius asked.

  “Right,” Rog nodded, “But there’s a catch.”

  “What is it?” Caius asked.

  “He’s good friends with Baron Zachary of Ocean City. Right now, he’s holed up in the baron’s estate. My people can’t get in, and since Baron Zachary has connections here, we can’t afford a direct confrontation.”

  “Got it—you want me to pose as someone with a personal vendetta, take him out, and make it seem like the Wargs Gang had nothing to do with it,” Caius said.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Looks like you’re a pro at this,” Rog grinned.

  “Of course I am. But what’s his name and what level is he?”

  “Okot. Platinum Seven-Star.”

  “Platinum Seven-Star, huh… that’s a bit of a challenge…” Caius rubbed his chin, but his eyes kept darting toward Rog.

  Rog instantly got the message. “Take him out, and I’ll pay you fifty thousand gold.”

  “Damn, now that’s an offer I can’t refuse,” Caius said, nodding. Then he added, “But can I make a small request?”

  “Let’s hear it,” Rog said, crossing one leg over the other.

  “You said the buyer for that shipment is dead, right? So you haven’t found a new one yet?” Caius said with a sly grin.

  “Oh?” Rog raised a brow. “You want in? It won’t come cheap.”

  “I figured. Can you sell it in retail then? I just want two… no, three units!” Caius held up three fingers.

  “Deal,” Rog agreed without hesitation.

  “Awesome. How much?”

  “Single-rune Magitech Cannon—12,000 gold each.”

  “Double-rune—18,000.”

  “Triple-rune—26,000.”

  “Convergence Array Long-Range Magitech Cannon—58,000.”

  Damn, that’s expensive!

  Luckily, Caius had looted the Seth Chamber of Commerce’s convoy recently, scoring big. Plus, with his previous mission commissions, he had close to a hundred thousand in cash. If he sold off all that gear he’d taken, he’d easily make another near-hundred thousand.

  So, currently, he was a mid-tier rich guy carrying about two hundred thousand gold in value.

  After some thought, Caius said, “I’ll take two Triple-rune Magitech Cannons and one Convergence Array Long-Range Magitech Cannon.”

  “That’s 110,000. Since we’re new friends, let’s call it 100,000,” Rog offered.

  “Deal!” Caius agreed on the spot and paid up without hesitation.

  That left him with only a few thousand gold in liquid cash. He’d have to head back to the Iron Tavern later and see if he could sell off the Seth Chamber’s gear for more coin.

  After that, Rog had someone bring the goods up so Caius could inspect them.

  He’d already tested the Magitech Cannons the night before. The only difference between single, double, and triple rune cannons lay in magic conversion efficiency. The triple-rune version packed more punch, had faster magic recharge, and its overall firepower was about double that of the single-rune model.

  As for the Convergence Array Long-Range Magitech Cannon, Caius liked to call it the Magitech Sniper Cannon.

  Because this thing’s power was downright terrifying.

  A single blast from a triple-rune cannon could injure a Platinum-tier target, but with enough prep, most could survive.

  But a shot from the Magitech Sniper Cannon? Even a Platinum-tier wouldn’t walk away unscathed.

  This thing could actually harm a Mithril-tier opponent.

  Granted, just minor injuries—nothing fatal. The gap between Platinum and Mithril was still substantial. A direct hit would cause only light damage or get blocked entirely most of the time.

  Unless you nailed them in the eye, unguarded, at point-blank range—but if that were the case, even regular Platinum weapons could do the trick.

  That’s why the Magitech Sniper Cannon wasn’t priced over a hundred thousand.

  It had other drawbacks, too—it was bulky. A massive three meters in length, with a barrel as thick as a tank’s, weighing over 200 pounds. Not something the average person could handle.

  Plus, the magic required to charge it was insane.

  A Gold-tier could maybe fire it once or twice.

  Platinum-tier? Four or five shots, max.

  In other words, even a Platinum-tier could only fire it a handful of times.

  Fortunately, Caius had always been confident in his magic reserves. His free-flowing magic was still ample, and his storage capacity far exceeded others of his rank—he could definitely make this thing work.

  In fact, he’d originally bought it with the little catgirl in mind.

  She didn’t use magic, and when it came to dealing with aerial or long-range enemies, things could get tricky.

  So he needed long-range fire support.

  But considering her eyesight wasn’t as sharp as his—though her night vision was great—he decided against it.

  He planned to train her as a close-quarters, high-agility scout-assassin, not a sniper.

  Besides, the Magitech Sniper Cannon was far too heavy and magic-hungry—she wouldn’t be able to use it effectively.

  So the sniper role would fall to Caius himself. Eventually, he’d need to recruit someone for that position on the team.

  Good thing his marksmanship was still sharp. Back in his past life, when the team sniper was down, he’d always stepped up.

  Thinking about that made Caius miss his old comrades again.

  He truly hoped they’d been reincarnated alongside him.