"Forget it. I'm a workaholic. I can't handle a job this laid back," Ethan smiled and refused, "I won't waste time arguing with you. I'm going to keep making wishes, so for now you'd better keep doing your job properly."
눈_눈
The Genie looked exhausted, "Go on! Wish! Wish!"
"You'd better just use up all two hundred wishes at once. Stop tormenting me!"
"Heh! Heh! Then I'll start."
Ethan rubbed his hands together like a fly, calculating how to squeeze every last drop out of the Genie. So he decided to start with gold, "I wish for forty nine pieces of gold!"
Boom!
Clatter! Clatter!
As soon as Ethan finished speaking, the Genie didn't even bother with gestures anymore.
Right where the five colored beast cores had appeared earlier, piles of gold bricks dropped down. Sure enough, there they were.
"I wish for fifty pieces of platinum!"
Clatter!
"I wish for fifty diamonds!"
Clatter! Clatter!
"I wish for fifty wind element beast cores!"
"I wish for fifty…"
"Enough!"
The Genie roared. A plain red gemstone suddenly fell from the lid of the magic lamp onto the stone platform, "I know what you're trying to do! You just want to drain me dry of everything I have, right?"
"Everything I can give you is inside this. Take it and get lost!"
"Huh?"
Ethan quickly picked up the gemstone and took a look.
Who would have thought that a gemstone on the lid of a golden teapot would actually be a storage space?
[Storage Gem: A storage container highly favored by nobles. However, because gemstones have a certain time compression property, using spatial magic on them is extremely difficult. It's said that out of a hundred gems used to create a storage gem, ninety nine will fail. That shows just how precious a storage gem is.]
[PS: This storage gem already has an owner. Unless the owner gives up ownership, you cannot use it.]
"…"
After reading the explanation at the end, Ethan immediately understood.
This guy was about to start negotiating conditions.
Sure enough…
"The storage gem can be yours, but…", The Genie hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You must cancel all your previous wishes and make a wish to set me free. Then I'll leave the ownership of the storage gem to you."
"In your dreams!"
Ethan just smiled, "I'm making a new wish right now! I wish that this magic lamp must stay by my side until all my wishes are fulfilled. It is not allowed to leave before that."
(ﾉꐦ⊙曲ఠ)ﾉ彡┻━┻
The Genie took a deep breath, suppressing the fury in its heart, "I've already given you everything I have. Why won't you let me go!"
"You really don't know why I won't let you go?"
Ethan narrowed his long eyes and stared at the Genie formed from thick mist. The smile faded from his face as he said coldly, "You think I don't know what you're thinking?"
"Ever since I came into contact with you, you've been trying to persuade me to give you back your freedom."
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the restriction placed on you by the one who turned you into a magic lamp. Or maybe it's indirect protection for the hero. After all, who could guard a mountain of gold for hundreds of years without being tempted?"
"If I'm right, you've probably already planned how to spend everything inside that storage gem, haven't you?"
"But the premise, of course, is that you regain your freedom first."
"And the moment I make a wish to set you free, that would mean…"
"You'd kill me first and then take my treasure… no, kill me first and seize everything. Then not only would you get your freedom, you'd also get hundreds of years of back pay, right?"
（Ŏ◊Ŏ ‧̣̥̇)
The Genie's expression slowly stiffened in shock, "You… how did you know?"
"Guess."
Ethan shook his head and laughed, "I just didn't expect you to be so easy to trick into saying it."
"You… you were fishing for my words?"
The Genie's eyes widened. Even the surrounding mist turned red.
At that moment, Ethan saw that the red mist was filled with red exclamation marks.
[Red Mist: Represents fire element and explosive rage. Extremely dangerous! Please be cautious!]
Looking at the prompt, Ethan had no intention of backing down.
Right now, he wanted to test it.
Was this Genie really bound by some kind of curse or restriction, making it absolutely unable to harm the hero before fulfilling all the hero's wishes?
Of course, if Ethan's guess was wrong, he wasn't completely without a backup plan.
Up to now, he had accumulated quite a few trump cards. If things really went bad, he could immediately tear open the Teleportation Scroll that ignores barriers and return at once.
Rumble! Rumble!
The mist around the Genie shifted from red to dark crimson, but in the end it gradually turned back to gray.
It looked at Ethan somewhat despairingly, "Heh! Heh! Heh!"
"I, Sylas Woodcore, am a grand Archmage. How did I end up like this?"
"Even a magic apprentice who hasn't even stepped through the door dares to humiliate me like this!"
"On what grounds?"
"Just what gives you the right?"
Genie Sylas roared in fury. The mist around him once again turned bright red and purple.
And Ethan also knew, someone at the level of a grand Archmage like Sylas couldn't be fooled the way he had fooled the Scarecrow. He had to offer something real if he wanted help.
After all, someone who had reached the level of Archmage was definitely not simple.
As for the Scarecrow, that guy was nothing more than a gigolo favored by the Wilderness Witch. Simply put, a brainless pretty face. There was no comparison with a grand Archmage.
"Archmage Sylas, since you have your mission, and I have my reasons for not letting you go," Ethan addressed him with respect, "But I hope we can cooperate. The kind without scheming."
Hearing Ethan use an honorific, Sylas's expression changed instantly.
Before, there had been nothing on his face but anger.
Now, although he was still unhappy, there was a hint of pride mixed in.
He thought for a moment before asking, "How do you want to cooperate?"
"No matter where you work, it's still working for someone," After laying the groundwork, Ethan continued, "Why not work for me instead?"
"Work!", Sylas exploded with anger again, "Work? Even if I die, I will never work in this life! Give up on that idea!"
[T/N: What about asking the Archmage to teach him magic?]
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