After several minutes, Vincent explained to them what happened.
Dylan and Therese were expert Appraisers so they were able to easily identify the poisons used by Maurice.
"Wraith Smoke and Dire Kiss…"
Therese couldn't believe that Maurice could do this.
Although he was indeed a troublesome person, using poison to deal with his fellow Appraiser was just too much. Also, based on what Vincent discovered, Maurice was even planning to invite her here.
"It's a good thing that you didn't kill him though… I really thought he died." Therese muttered as she looked at the pool of blood left on the floor.
Maurice was already brought to the clinic by Cairo and was guarded by the Auction House's security personnel.
"Hmm? Does he have a special background?"
Vincent asked after seeing Therese and Dylan's relieved faces.
"Yes. Maurice may not be from a noble family but he's an Appraiser working for a few Mercenary Groups. These people owe him a lot and they wouldn't stay silent if they learned that their benefactor died in your hands."
"That's right. Even these poisons… especially this Dire Kiss. This is a special aphrodisiac and if a woman consumed this, there is no other cure aside from getting a man's help. He probably got this from those Mercenary Groups."
Therese and Dylan explained seriously.
Luckily, Vincent has the ascended Poison Immunity Talisman +9 and was able to detoxify the poisons in time.
"What do you plan to do with him?" Vincent asked.
"He'll be imprisoned for possessing these items. But since he still failed in the end, he might just end up with some light punishment. Well, perhaps if you use your connections with the Count, he can help you deal with this small matter."
Therese hinted.
Vincent couldn't help but smile as he nodded at her suggestion.
Anyway, although he has an invitation from the count, he hasn't visited the place yet because of the recent attack on the Count's villa. There wasn't even any news aside from the statement given by the guards that a thief went in and was dealt with in the end.
Since a couple of weeks already passed, it has probably calmed down by now and there shouldn't be a problem if he visited now.
With that in mind, Vincent decided to visit the Count's villa after dealing with the matters in the Auction House.
Anyway, he was told by Therese that he can take a day off or two if he wanted so he accepted her offer.
"Hmm… Should I bring something?" Vincent mused as he was nearing the Count's villa at the center of the city.
He's unsure about the noble's etiquette but he felt that he shouldn't be empty-handed when he visits the place.
? He then checked his bag and found nothing except for his potions and three bottles of pills.
These pills weren't something he bought but was given by Therese just now as she still felt bad about what happened.
There is one bottle here that only has a single blue pill. This is a Mana Gathering Pill that was capable of increasing one's affinity with Mana for a short period of time.
This is actually not a common pill as most Mana Gathering Pill circulating in the market were only Tier 1. It's difficult to find Tier 2 or even higher.
[ Mana Gathering Pill ]
[ Quality: Low-Grade Tier 2
Durability: 10/10
Number of Enhancement: 0/10
Mana Regen Speed: x2
Mana Circulation Speed: x2
Description: A pill capable of increasing Mana Regeneration and Circulation for 10 minutes after consumption.
Remarks: Enhancement of any medicinal pill will result in an improvement of their medicinal effects. ]
To be honest, Vincent's Mana Recovery Potions +9 that he consumed a while ago were much better than this, so he wasn't really impressed after getting it.
Nevertheless, this is something free so he didn't mind taking it.
'Let's see my Mana first…'
Vincent then checked his status and confirmed that he still had plenty of mana.
[ Mana: 480/500 ]
Seeing this, he decided to ascend the Pill first as 300 units of his mana were suddenly consumed.
[ Ascension Successful. ]
"Eh? That was easy… Is it easier to ascend a pill than a weapon?" He mused as if that would make sense.
He then confirmed with his appraisal that the pill had just become a Low-Grade Tier 3 Mana Gathering Pill.
The regen was now x5 for 10 minutes!
Furthermore, the increase in tier was quite obvious as well as the pill turned darker blue.
Vincent then decided to continue enhancing it until it reached +6.
Surprisingly, the quality became Mid-Grade Tier 3 as the regen speed has now become 7.5 times faster.
It has really become valuable right now. Unfortunately, the duration remains 10 minutes so, at most, this kind of pill will probably be useful to those higher-level Mana Practitioners.
For him who only has 500 units of mana and Tier 1 Mana Arts in his arsenal, using this pill is a bit overkill. It's still better to use his Mana Recovery Potions that have been enhanced to +9, or even just +6 would be enough.
As soon as he arrived at the Count's Villa. He was blocked by the guards who were probably at the level of Magic Knights.
Of course, he was prepared for this as he showed them the medallion that Yvette had given to him.
It seems that they were also informed about his arrival since they immediately recognized him.
"Are you Sir Vincent?" One of the guards politely asked after recognizing the medallion.
"Yes…" Vincent nodded.
"I apologize for not recognizing you immediately. Serge, inform Lady Yvette immediately." The leader of the guards ordered his subordinate before he turned to Vincent.
"Please, follow me. I will escort you to the reception hall." The guard respectfully said.
"Alright. By the way, I heard that this place was previously attacked, is everything alright now?" Vincent asked as he followed the guard.
He wanted to get some clues about Tara's situation.
Since Tara hasn't returned yet, it means that she was probably captured by the Count or was fighting the other Celestial Being underground.
"Of course… It was only a couple of thieves, Sir Vincent. They immediately fled after the Count returned. Aside from some damages caused by their attempt to destroy the villa to cover their escape, no one was really hurt."
"I see… That's good to hear then."
After a while, Vincent was brought to the villa and saw Yvette waiting for him.
However, he noticed that she doesn't seem to be in a good condition.