Chapter 60: I Have a Spatial Ring Now Too

"Wh-where did you get this spatial ring?" Fanny stared at Han Shuo in disbelief, her voice filled with astonishment.

"I bought it," Han Shuo replied coolly. Glancing at the nearby necromancy students, whose eyes were burning with envy and jealousy, he added, "I purchased it at a magic artifact shop in the city for 1,800 gold coins. This spatial ring can store the contents of a small room."

"Of course I know you bought it. What I want to know is, how did you come by 1,800 gold coins?" The look of shock on Fanny’s face hadn’t faded as she glared at Han Shuo, demanding an answer.

Inside the storeroom, apart from Fanny, all the other necromancy teachers and students were present, each of them a little stupefied, unable to fathom how Han Shuo had suddenly become so wealthy.

"You—you didn’t sell off the spoils of war, did you?" Bella, after a moment's pause, seemed to recall something, and with a gasp, she hurried to rummage through the spoils they had stored in the room.

Han Shuo snorted disdainfully and cast a scornful glance at Bella, mocking, "You’d better check thoroughly then, see if I’ve lined my own pockets. Hmph, all thirteen bags are here, untouched. Are you blind or what?"

"Then where did your gold come from?" Gene too, looked at Han Shuo with a strange expression, his greedy gaze lingering on the spatial ring on Han Shuo’s left index finger. Inwardly, he grumbled, I’m a necromancy teacher and can’t afford a spatial ring, but here’s this menial servant wearing one first—what has the world come to?

"That’s not for you to worry about. Anyway, now that I have the spatial ring, you should inventory the contents of the bags. I’ll store them all away, and once we’re back at Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts, I’ll sell them off. We can divide the gold coins then." Han Shuo smiled mysteriously as he spoke to Gene.

"Professor Fanny, what do you think?" Gene paused, then turned to Fanny for her opinion.

"Let’s do as he says. The credit for these spoils goes mostly to Bryan. Since he says he can handle selling them, let’s follow his plan. When we get the gold coins, Bryan takes forty percent, and the rest of us divide the remainder." Fanny suggested after a moment’s thought, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Why should he get forty percent? We did our share as well!" Buck immediately objected as soon as he heard Fanny’s words.

"That’s right! He’s just a menial servant, he shouldn’t get that much!" Bella, who had just finished inventorying the goods, chimed in at once.

Han Shuo scratched his head with a foolish grin, glanced at the two of them, and chuckled, "So, what do you propose?"

Buck and Bella had suffered enough at Han Shuo’s hands on the journey to know that his simple exterior was just a façade. His methods with enemies were ruthless and cunning—both had experienced it firsthand. Now, seeing that familiar grin, their scalps tingled and they faltered, unable to argue further.

"Alright, enough. Bryan, stop scaring them. It’s settled. Without Bryan, none of you would have made it here alive, let alone acquired these materials. Besides, you all chased after the orc wolf riders and did nothing else—you’re the last ones qualified to speak." Fanny shot Han Shuo a glare, then placed her hands on her hips and imperiously rebuked Buck and Bella.

"In that case, I’ll put everything into the spatial ring, and then we’ll hire horses to head straight to Zakias City. I made some inquiries today—the orc wolf riders, after looting the nearby villages, seem to have left the area. I don’t think we’ll run into any more danger." Han Shuo surveyed the group lazily.

Once Fanny, Gene, and the others nodded their agreement, Han Shuo released a thread of spiritual power to activate the spatial ring. As Han Shuo moved his hands, the thirteen bags vanished one by one into the void, the blue ring on his left hand flashing thirteen times in succession.

Amid the envy and jealousy of the necromancy teachers and students, Han Shuo stored the spoils in his spatial ring, only to find that after loading all thirteen bags, the low-grade ring was completely full and could hold little else.

Afterward, the group spent more gold coins to rent several horses, left Balthazar City, and after two days’ travel, returned to Zakias City.

Using the teleportation array in Zakias City, everyone was enveloped in a flash of white light and directly transported back to Orson City’s Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts. Surrounded by the familiar academy buildings, the necromancy teachers and students, all having escaped death, felt a surge of joy at being given a new lease on life.

"Bryan, from now on, you don’t need to do the menial tasks for the necromancy department. I’ll go to the administration right away to have your slave and menial status revoked and make you an official necromancy apprentice." Upon their return, Fanny declared this to Han Shuo, her delight apparent.

With her promise, Han Shuo felt a surge of happiness, a faint smile appearing on his face. After surviving the ordeal in the Dark Forest, he had undergone a profound transformation, understanding keenly how the status of slave and menial would affect his future. Now, with both statuses soon to be removed and the prospect of becoming a true student, naturally he was overjoyed.

"Understood, Professor Fanny. I’ll take care of selling the goods in the spatial ring first. Once everything is settled, I’ll come see you." Han Shuo smiled at Fanny, then after a moment’s thought, fished out three gold coins from his pocket and handed them to Lisa. "If you see Jack, give these coins to him."

Lisa gave Han Shuo a strange look as she accepted the coins, then remarked, "Who’d have thought you’d be so generous to that chubby fellow? I don’t know how you suddenly became so rich, but three gold coins are enough to support Jack’s family for a year—you’re really generous."

Both before, as Bryan, and now as Han Shuo, he had always gotten along well with the chubby Jack. Now that Han Shuo had money, the first person he thought to help was Jack. Three gold coins meant little to Han Shuo, but for Jack, it was a fortune—a fitting reward for all the help Jack had given him.

After leaving Babylon Academy, Han Shuo took out the card left by Fubinon, hired a carriage, and headed south in Orson City as directed by the address on the card.

"Here we are, the Buster Trading Company." After a long journey, the carriage finally came to a slow stop, and the driver’s voice called out from outside.

Han Shuo alighted, handed the driver two silver coins to dismiss him, and then began to survey the Buster Trading Company. Flanking the dark iron gates stood two guards with spears in hand. Beyond, rows of lofty buildings rose in the distance, and the imposing atmosphere alone suggested this was a place for the wealthy.

"Hey kid, what are you sneaking around for?" snapped one of the guards, growing impatient as he saw Han Shuo looking about suspiciously.

"This is the Buster Trading Company, right? I’m here to see Mr. Fubinon," Han Shuo replied coolly after glancing over the two guards.

"Fubinon? Never heard of him. Do we have someone by that name in the company?" The guard frowned, turning to ask his companion.

"I think so. He works with the young lady, just got back from the Dark Forest a few days ago, and I hear he did quite well." The other guard replied, then, eyeing Han Shuo up and down with suspicion, his gaze turning increasingly disdainful, he asked haughtily, "What business do you have with him?"

"I’m here to do some business." As his menial status had yet to be revoked, and after the rushed journey back to the academy, Han Shuo’s servant’s robe was tattered and worn. Clearly, he was being looked down upon.

"Business? Ha! That’s a laugh. You, looking like that, want to talk business? The Buster Trading Company is one of the empire’s most famous firms. I think you’re in the wrong place." The guard laughed derisively.

Just as Han Shuo was about to lose his temper, a luxurious carriage pulled up in front of the trading company. Two tall warriors dismounted, and from the carriage stepped a young, beautiful woman.

She was tall with chestnut hair, dressed in a gown encrusted with gemstones—elegant and regal. Her exquisite face, however, carried a hint of cold indifference, exuding the natural pride of someone born to rule.

"What’s going on here?" she asked coolly as she descended, her melodious voice tinged with frost as she glanced at the two guards.

"Miss, he says he’s here to see Mr. Fubinon. He was acting suspiciously and his clothes are shabby, so I was questioning him," one of the guards explained respectfully, bowing.

"You know Fubinon?" The stunning woman frowned at Han Shuo, her tone ice-cold.

Han Shuo, who had been boldly sizing up the beautiful woman, snapped to attention at her question and nodded, "Yes. I did business with Mr. Fubinon in the Dark Forest. My name is Bryan—he’ll definitely remember me."

"Bryan... Bryan, I think I’ve heard Fubinon mention you. Very well, come in with me," she said, not sparing Han Shuo another glance as she strode inside.

Han Shuo glared at the two guards, muttering under his breath at the gate, "Blind dogs!" Then, with a light laugh, he hurried after her inside.