Chapter 31: Thirty-Six Pieces of Old Gear—Sold to the One Who Needed Them Most
Seraphine’s last message was still sitting on the communication screen.
Send me the full list.
Cassian did not answer immediately. He pulled up all eighty-eight pieces of Dark equipment currently listed on the Regional Exchange and sorted them again by quality, slot, and troop compatibility. The Troop Power Ranking had only been open for a little over ten minutes, yet items that had gone ignored for days were already drawing fresh inquiries.
The equipment had not become better overnight. Two days before settlement, a lot of Lords had simply decided they were missing everything at once.
Veyra sat across the stone table, watching him scroll. "How much does she want?"
"She hasn’t said yet."
"Planning to sell all of it?"
Cassian stopped on one group: seven Rare pieces and twenty-nine Elite pieces. Most were armor plates, bracers, short weapons, and a few awkward pieces left behind by the Dark Monster Tide. The Stormlance Valkyries had bound equipment of their own, while the Gloomhoof were better suited to bows and long weapons. Those thirty-six pieces had one major function in his inventory: taking up space.
"Let’s see what she picks first."
Cassian sent the full catalog. Seraphine replied in less than a minute.
[Seraphine Valcrest: These thirty-six.]
[Seraphine Valcrest: 24,000 Aether Crystal. Immediate settlement.]
She had circled the exact group he had just been looking at. Cassian’s finger paused, and Veyra noticed.
"High?"
"Higher than what I was going to list them for."
If he split them up and sold them slowly, rising demand from the Ranking might eventually squeeze out a little more. But that would take time. The premium Seraphine was paying was not really for the equipment itself; she was paying to take it now.
Cassian did not haggle.
[Cassian Vale: Deal.]
The confirmation appeared at once.
[Dark equipment ×36 transferred.]
[Aether Crystal +24,000.]
[Aether Crystal: 1,056,466 → 1,080,466]
[Dark equipment remaining on Regional Exchange: 52.]
Another message arrived from Seraphine.
[Seraphine Valcrest: You’re not keeping even a few Rare pieces?]
Cassian glanced toward a Gloomhoof checking its longbow in the distance.
[Cassian Vale: They don’t fit my troops.]
[Seraphine Valcrest: So while everyone else is scrambling to buy equipment, you’re selling what you can’t use to the person who needs it most.]
Cassian did not answer. She had already understood.
He closed the trade window and looked at a different number.
[Eclipse Muster Hall]
[Gold Ore: 1 / 300]
That was what he actually wanted to push forward.
Cassian opened a communication channel with Bram. Stone hammers, iron picks, and ore clattering against carts filled the background.
"Lord."
"How much Gold Ore can we produce in a day right now?"
Bram did not answer with a number immediately. He went quiet for a few seconds, apparently looking over the site. "The first day is the slowest with the crew we have. We’ve only just opened the seam. There’s too much waste rock, and anything the system will actually recognize as Gold Ore has to be sorted again. Tomorrow will be faster."
Cassian looked at the gap of 299. "The Ranking settles at noon in two days."
"I know." Bram’s voice stayed flat. "You want the Hall built before then."
"Yes."
"Then don’t send me more combat troops."
Cassian raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?"
"People. Carts. Lamps. And a second shift." Bram continued without hesitation. "If the same workers go from morning to night, they’ll only slow down. Split the shifts, let the Gloomhoof handle hauling and the outer patrol, keep the carts moving, and the people won’t have to grind themselves down."
"Can you have all of it in place today?"
"Yes. But the Ranking just opened. Mine carts, night lamps, and tools are all getting more expensive outside. If you want them moved now, I need twenty thousand up front."
"What does that cover?"
"Four mine carts, night lighting, replacement tools, the second shift’s wages, and the first transport run."
Cassian looked once at the 24,000 that had just arrived, then sent the money.
[Additional mining budget: Aether Crystal -20,000]
[Aether Crystal: 1,080,466 → 1,060,466]
Bram was silent for only a moment. "I’ll call the workers now."
"Get the carts there before dark."
"Understood."
The call ended. Twenty thousand was not a large expense compared to Cassian’s current balance, but the point of the sale had never been to turn 1.05 million into 1.08 million. Thirty-six useless pieces of old equipment had just become a second mining shift, four carts, and enough light to keep the vein working through the night.
Veyra had watched the entire exchange. "The money came in, and twenty thousand went right back out."
"It won’t produce Gold Ore sitting in the balance."
"That sounds like you."
Cassian glanced at her. "We’re talking business."
Veyra gave a quiet laugh.
Cassian moved on. He reassigned the five Rare Level 1 Gloomhoof at Forgotten Shrine to escort the second shift and the new carts, while part of the older twelve Rare Level 6 Gloomhoof continued handling the outer routes. He did not recruit a single new Shrine Guard or start pouring Battle Essence into low-tier troops just because a Ranking had appeared. He simply put what he already owned where it could do more.
A second shift was going into the mine, which meant the security rules had to be clear before anything happened. Cassian sent Sigrid three orders.
[Mark the outer mine boundary with white stones.]
[Warn anyone who crosses. If they continue advancing toward the workers or mine while armed, incapacitate them.]
[Do not pursue ordinary troops once they retreat. If the Lord giving the orders can be captured alive, bring the Lord back alive.]
Sigrid replied almost immediately.
[Understood.]
Veyra glanced at the orders. "You don’t want her chasing them?"
"Guarding a mine isn’t the same as hunting people down."
"And the Lord?"
"If I can bring one back alive, a living Lord has more uses than a corpse."
Veyra turned her head toward him. "You say that like you’re actually waiting for someone to touch the mine."
Cassian closed the communication window. "I’m assuming someone will eventually see it."
The Gold Vein was more than twenty kilometers from Forgotten Shrine. Darius being dead did not mean every Lord nearby had suddenly gone blind.
The first new mining report arrived early the next morning. Once Bram fully separated the night shift from the day shift, the carts had barely stopped moving. Cassian did not watch every individual system notification; he compressed the ordinary output into one total.
[Gold Ore: 47 / 300]
From one to forty-seven. The twenty thousand Aether had not stayed in storage. It was already moving toward the Hall.
Cassian was about to open Bram’s sorting report when another private communication cut in. The sender was Sigrid. She was supposed to be at the Gold Vein.
Cassian answered. "Sigrid?"
A short metallic impact came through the channel before her voice. "Lord. Someone touched the mine."
Cassian’s expression cooled instantly. "How many?"
"One Lord. One Hero. Six troops."
"Ours?"
"No injuries." Sigrid paused. "Two of theirs are badly hurt. No deaths."
Cassian was already on his feet. Veyra looked up as well.
"Where are they?"
"Handled according to your rules. We didn’t pursue the ordinary troops. The Hero has been disarmed. The Lord is detained."
"Name."
The line went quiet for half a beat. "Tobias Reed."
Cassian remembered the name from the Hero Power Ranking: #100.
Sigrid added, "He keeps saying he knows you."
Cassian looked beyond the Oath Hall. Morning fog still clung to the broken walls.
"Bring him back. I want to hear what he intends to offer to settle this misunderstanding."