Chapter 250 - 52: Making an Appearance Amidst Great Anticipations
Thursday.
The sun is setting.
Link walked into the doll shop with a somewhat melancholic mood.
Over the past few days, not only had the Serene Wizard contacted him last Sunday to give him a reminder.
Sharia, Tina, and Ayla expressed their curiosity one after another.
The Lokan Wizard sent a string of teasing laughs.
Even the normally serious Wizard Cody had subtly expressed his and several old friends’ expectations.
This put Link under a lot of pressure.
How did a preparation that should have been quietly carried out become so well known?
Link wondered.
Link didn’t understand.
The cramped little shop was unattended.
A carefully packaged but unsealed gift box was placed on the only square table in the shop.
“Boss, Boss…”
Link called out a few times, but there was no response.
The boss was nowhere to be seen.
Link then took a couple of steps closer to the square table.
There was a note on the gift box that read: “Take the gift, leave the Magic Stone.”
Apparently, the boss didn’t want to see Link at the moment.
It wasn’t clear whether he didn’t want to feel awkward, or there was some other reason.
Link opened the lid of the gift box and saw 13 thumb-sized dolls neatly lying inside.
There was also an instruction manual on the side.
At the center was the main doll, which was the most delicately made and looked like Wizard Palo during his young age.
The other 12 were backup dolls, representing the 12 opponents Wizard Palo had faced during the regional competition.
Link took out each of the 13 dolls one by one and checked them all according to the instructions.
There was no problem.
They were perfect.
After putting the dolls back in place, folding the instruction manual, and sealing the gift box, Link left 200 standard level 1 Magic Stones and took the gift box to leave.
Not long after, the boss sneakily came out from the backrest room of the shop.
After making sure that Link had gone far, the boss finally heaved a sigh of relief.
As a veteran, he almost delayed the young man’s important event.
If it were for a legitimate reason, it would be all right, but it turned out to be because of his “big mouth.”
It certainly took away some pride.
But luckily, he strictly abided by the agreement not to disclose the specific information about the dolls, which did not lead to worse results.
However…
The boss couldn’t help feeling guilty.
Thanks to his “publicity”, too many people are looking forward to the gift that is rumored to be better than the Percy Sage’s Diamond Wand.
What if Palo doesn’t like it, making the young man lose face, then wouldn’t the bragging of him be a great sin?
“That’s what you get for being a chatterbox,”
The boss scolded himself, warning himself time and again.
Link took the gift box back to his dormitory first, sat in the study, and then just sat there blankly.
With his mind empty, he didn’t want to think about anything.
These few days have been really hard to describe, he needed to relax a bit.
A moment later, Link recovered his senses, sank his mind into the Sea of Consciousness, sorted out the Hall of Memories once again, dimming the memory of the gift from the past few days.
This way he won’t easily recall it, but he also won’t forget it.
When needed, he could just reflect a little bit, and he could recall it again.
After doing all this, Link messaged Jasmine via his portable computer, instructing her to take charge of the advanced learning for the Brotherhood Group and the Social Phobia Group.
He himself decided to lay back and do nothing for a while, enjoying a rare halfday break.
He lit up a stick of Glasswort Aromatherapy Essential Oil, picked up a leisure book detailing specific events in the history of the Wizard Continent, and started reading with great satisfaction.
Time flew by in an instant.
Friday.
The daytime ended amidst the inexplicable restless atmosphere in the surrounding area.
Jasmine, the Brotherhood Group, and the Social Phobia Group took the observing ceremony more seriously than Link did.
It seemed as if Link’s going was the same as their own going.
They all basked in his glory, as the saying goes.
The sunset glow began to emerge on the horizon.
With the gaze of Jasmine, the Brotherhood Group, and the Social Phobia Group bidding him farewell, Link carried the gift box and headed towards the hall where the promotion ceremony was being held.
On the way to the hall, Link ran into Sharia, Tina, and Ayla.
Link immediately greeted each of them.
“Is this your gift?”
Tina, who had worked with Link the longest and knew him best, immediately asked with curiosity as soon as she met him.
She even showed an eager face to see what the gift looked like.
“Link, long time no see.”
Kind big sister Sharia greeted him sweetly.
Her eyes immediately turned towards the gift box.
“Hello, Link.”
Witch Ayla, for an unknown reason, had softened her attitude towards Link considerably.
She responded to Link in a courteous but friendly manner.
This left Link quite “flattered.”
“Yes, this is the gift I’ve prepared.”
Link raised the gift box in his arms, gestured a bit, and couldn’t help but explain, “It’s not as mysterious as the rumors suggest, it’s just a token of affection.”
At the mention of this, Sharia, Tina, and Ayla all let out clear but graceful laughs that were delightful to Link’s ears.
After the laughter, Sharia, being the kindest at heart, reminded, “Everyone coming tonight is either a friend of Wizard Palo ora junior wizard like us who belongs to his camp. Not everyone’s attitude towards you will be friendly, so be careful.”
“Yes, thank you, Sister Sharia.”
Link nodded and thanked sincerely.
Over the past few days, he had taste tested it.
Normally, even if the shop owner chatted, and said some words, it should be limited to a small circle or several small circles.
Like the third level wizards, Serene Wizard, and Wizard Cody, for example.
But it was surprising that Shia, Tina, and Ayla, who had just graduated from the Senior Division as first level wizards, quickly learned about it, obviously, someone was intentionally promoting it.