[Lord of Abundance] Chapter 13: Fire Magic Crystal

 Chapter 13: Fire Magic Crystal

The sun hung slanted in a clear blue sky. Whether it was the towering black walls of Lovos City blocking the biting northern winds, or the sheer density of the crowd gathered in the open square, Kun actually felt a trace of long-forgotten warmth.

At precisely ten o’clock, the auctioneer of Lovos City appeared on the central platform. He wore a felt cap, hunched slightly, with shifty eyes and a rather sleazy look about him.

Unlike the elaborate auctions Kun had attended in the royal capital, this one dispensed with all the formalities. There were no elegant hostesses, no tedious performances to warm up the crowd.

The auctioneer merely bowed briefly toward the nobles’ section—where Kun and a few others stood out—then immediately began.

Kun wholeheartedly approved of this efficiency.

Why drag things out with introductions, performances, and speeches? Time is gold.

Well… not that anyone on this continent had ever said that.

Six burly men hauled up two enormous mountain goats onto the stage, veins bulging in their arms as they strained against a rope as thick as a wrist.

Kun barely spared them a glance. They weren’t on his shopping list. Instead, he calmly pulled out a piece of parchment.

Before leaving, the tax officer Vittorio had prepared a detailed auction list for him, complete with price ranges.

Everything under control.

“The first item up for auction is from the Goujin Mercenary Group—a pair of Tier 1 magic beasts, Split-Rock Mountain Rams, proficient in earth magic, extremely strong, one male and one female, possibly capable of breeding, starting price fifty silver coins, minimum increment three silver coins, now starting—fifty-five fifty-three fifty-six fifty-nine seventy from this gentleman, excellent eye, any higher bids? Seventy-three seventy-six paired beasts are rare seventy-nine eighty-two… one hundred fifty—sold! Next item!”

“…What?!”

Kun froze, nearly tearing the parchment in his hands.

Before he could even react, the first item was gone.

What just happened?

And was that man renting his mouth by the second?!

Li Tianyun clicked his tongue in amazement and leaned over.
“How does he say that much in one breath without suffocating? Is he some kind of demi-human? A turtle beastman, maybe?”

“…Probably just a human,” Kun replied uncertainly.

Rolling his stiff neck, Kun summoned the same focus he once used to study the Abundance Mark. Eyes wide, he locked onto the auctioneer’s motor-driven mouth.

This was going to be a battle.

As items were sold one after another, the auctioneer’s speech only grew faster.

Sweat beaded on Kun’s forehead. He reached to his chest and lightly brushed a Fire Magic Crystal embedded there. Its faint glow dimmed instantly as he deactivated the constant-output magic array engraved within.

These Fire and Ice Magic Crystals, inscribed with steady-output arrays, were highly favored by the aristocracy. A single crystal could ward off summer heat or winter cold, making them essential accessories for high-end attire.

Crafted cheaply by apprentice mages, then resold at exorbitant prices—a crystal worth less than one silver coin could fetch a full gold coin.

Kun had once tried to enter this business when he needed money for experiments.

Unfortunately, it was monopolized by the Mage Association of the capital. His products never sold.

At eleven, Kun had already learned a harsh truth: every profitable business in plain sight—unless illegal—was already monopolized.

Control the raw materials, control the market, or control the distribution.

Either carve out a new path… or pick scraps.

Kun, fearless in youth, chose the former.

He modified the constant-output array, adding a simple switch—like the one he used now.

With a single touch, even a non-mage could toggle it on or off.

A small change—but it bypassed the Association’s monopoly.

It extended the crystal’s lifespan and expanded its usability. Both functionally and commercially, it far surpassed the original.

Kun had thought he’d strike it rich.

Reality disagreed.

His crystals still wouldn’t sell.

Merchants colluded to undercut prices—even selling below cost. They could afford the losses. He couldn’t.

And he had misjudged the market.

Minor nobles couldn’t afford it. Major nobles didn’t care about efficiency.

Why conserve? Replace it when it runs out.

Frugality and nobility did not mix.

In the end, the Mage Association acquired his design through his father, Marquis Lawrence, and paid him a token ten gold coins.

A generous sum—only because of his lineage.

Otherwise, ten silver coins would’ve been considered excessive.

The result?

The original crystals remained in use. His improved version was shelved.

Only later did Kun understand why.

From then on, he never shared another invention.

Not his holographic mapping spell.

Not even his most important creation—Abundance Magic.

So-called life magic was merely an extension of elven wood magic, blended with human herbalism and alchemy.

But Abundance Magic went deeper—closer to the essence of life.

Kun could link the life force and soul of two entirely different beings, merging them into one.

He could reconstruct a complete human body from a single drop of blood.

These feats were impossible with conventional magic.

More importantly—

Every harvest from crops he personally cultivated granted him a permanent increase to his maximum mana.

Individually, the gains were negligible. A thousand grains of wheat equaled the mana of an ant.

But accumulation changed everything.

In theory, a Abundance Mage would never run out of mana.

To the world, Kun Aran was simply a noble’s fifth son—a prodigy who became a high-tier mage at fifteen.

But no one knew how poorly he was treated at home.

Or what it meant to be a “genius mage” in a family of warriors.

A fifteen-year-old high-tier mage wasn’t remarkable in the capital.

But a sixteen-year-old Tier 4?

In three hundred years, the only one in the Dansu Kingdom to reach the Heroic Realm.

Dawn didn’t know this.

That night in the castle, Kun hadn’t been exaggerating.

Within Fengrao Domain, nothing could threaten his life.

Even across the entire kingdom.

Even with only thirty percent of his mana remaining—sustained to keep Li Tianyun alive—he could still overpower any peak Tier 3.

Of course, in places like the Storm Sea, the Everdark Forest, or the Forbidden Scorched Lands… stronger beings existed.

Kun had sensed them upon arrival.

His research was correct.

To reach the Heroic Realm required:

A high-tier bloodline.

A peak Tier 3 foundation.

And optionally, a fusion potion.

Some were born with such bloodlines.

Kun was different.

He broke through purely by accumulating mana.

He estimated it took thirty times the mana of a normal high-tier mage.

For others, this was impossible.

Like forcing a human to eat until they became an elephant.

It wasn’t about talent—it was biological limitation.

How could a porcelain bowl hold a barrel of water?

Kun suspected ancient dragons, living for millennia, achieved breakthroughs through gradual accumulation.

For ordinary humans, this path was closed.

Despite their intelligence, humanity had stagnated at the threshold of Tier 4 for nearly a thousand years.

Beyond biological limits, there was another reason:

Peace.

Too much of it.

Without external pressure, stagnation set in.

Decay followed.

Was his improved magic array truly useless?

Or simply inconvenient to the existing order?

Abundance Magic changed everything.

It allowed mages to break through without relying on rare bloodlines.

If developed further, it might revolutionize all cultivation systems.

Elevate humanity as a whole.

With enough Tier 4 individuals, cities could be protected, populations expanded.

Humanity might become the sole dominant race.

The kingdom could rise to an empire.

But after the Fire Magic Crystal incident—

Kun abandoned any thought of sharing his work.

He was reserved, not foolish.

He would not be sold off and then help count the profits.

To this day, no one knew—

The exiled fifth son of a marquis had already stepped into legend.

A Tier 4 Grand Mage of the Heroic Realm.