The quota for entering the Void Corridor is not easy to obtain, even large Wizard Organizations like Black Sail only hold some of the quotas.
These quotas are distributed as rewards, mostly requiring certain contributions to exchange, which demonstrates their value.
The Crawford Clan originally did not have any quotas, but to uncover the cause of Bellâs death, they had to send someone in to investigate.
Initially, they applied for eligibility with the Wizard Council, but were rejected.
Later, the Crawford Clan purchased a quota from the Thorn Holy Tower to arrange for someone to enter the Void Corridor to investigate the matter.
So far, no results have been found because even Bellâs body has not been located, and thereâs no trace of his soul.
Itâs quite normal not to find the body, as Duke had it reduced to ashes, so itâs naturally impossible to find it.
As for the soul, the Crawford Clan themselves probably understand that the curse was originally initiated at the cost of the soul and resentment.
Now the curse has been completely absorbed by the Nightmare Beetle, and naturally, there is no trace of the soul.
People from the Crawford Clan have been inside for a while now and still havenât found anything; they donât know who killed Bell.
Merrick initially didnât know about Bellâs death and didnât think about the curse on Duke in any other way, just assuming Duke picked it up during an adventure somewhere inside the Void Corridor.
But when he heard Bell died in the Void Corridor, combined with the curse on Duke, he knew without much thought that Duke most likely killed Bell.
Merrick himself has done a lot of research on curses and knew clearly that the curse on Duke was not simple; it was initiated at the cost of the soul by someone.
After connecting the dots, Merrick had his answer.
He naturally wouldnât disclose it publicly, originally wanting to confirm from Duke, only to find Duke so cautious that he didnât even trust the Wizardâs Mark.
But this indirectly confirmed Merrickâs conjecture, leaving him quite amazed, as he didnât expect Duke could actually kill Bell, which wasnât easy.
Although Merrick considered himself stronger than Bell, it still wouldnât be easy to kill him.
Judging from the curse on Duke, the process wasnât simple, it must have been extremely dangerous.
But in reality, what Merrick didnât know was that Duke didnât do anything from start to finish and simply angered Bell to death.
Thinking back on the whole process, the only possible issue was Samuel.
Except Samuel didnât see him at that time, only Dog-man Reed.
From Samuelâs perspective, he most likely believed that Dog-man Reed killed Bell, delivering the final blow.
"This needs to be taken into account in the future..." Duke thought of this, realizing that he must be careful not to let Dog-man Reed show himself in front of Samuel, otherwise it would be easy for Samuel to connect the dots.
However, even if Samuel found out Bellâs death was related to Duke, he wouldnât disclose it.
Because he was also involved in the matter, as he essentially pushed Bell to desperation.
If it werenât for the urgent situation at the time, Samuel would have delivered the final blow, making sure Bell wouldnât survive.
As far as the Crawford Clan is concerned, they naturally wouldnât want such internal strife to occur; itâs certainly not honorable.
So even if Samuel learned about all this, he would most likely keep it to himself and instead seek out Duke on his own.
He certainly wasnât seeking revenge on Duke; Samuel despised Bell, and was probably glad Duke killed him.
Samuelâs reason was for that drop of Blood of the Dark, which was why he followed Bell into the Void Corridor.
Blood of the Dark is a high-level bloodline power for most Bloodline Mages, so even if Samuel knew, he wouldnât spread the news and would likely try to get it from Duke himself.
Duke could also deduce from the Crawford Clanâs reaction that they didnât sense the curse when he first arrived in Harbor City.
The curse was only triggered for a moment, and indeed it wasnât coincidental enough to be sensed.
Otherwise, the Crawford Clan wouldnât be wasting time in the Void Corridor and would be coming to Black Sail to ask and investigate directly.
There were only so many people from Black Sail who went into the Void Corridor; even investigating each one would yield results.
Duke learned this information from Merrick, who already knew about the matter in his heart, so he shared all he knew with Duke as much as possible.
At least for now, it seems the Crawford Clan shouldnât cause Duke any trouble, but in the future, who knows.
Just as Duke finished communicating with Merrick, Harrison from the Giant Rock Commerce Association sent a message. They somehow got news that Duke had returned from the Devourer Plane.
Harrison sought Duke to discuss the division of profits, as quite a few Echoing Whisper Potion, Sun Resilience Potion, and more have been sold recently.
These potions, improved by Duke, have strong competitiveness compared to those from other merchants on the market.
After all, Dukeâs extracted features and improvement plans greatly enhanced the effectiveness of these potions.
Harrison originally invited Duke to Harbor City, but considering the situation with the Crawford Clan, Duke decided to lie low for a while and develop within Black Sail.
Harrison respected Dukeâs decision and came to visit him on the Deserted Island.
"Mr. Duke! Itâs been a long time!" Harrison enthusiastically greeted as he stepped onto the Deserted Island.
Duke casually exchanged a few pleasantries and then started discussing business matters.
Harrison immediately took out a thick ledger from his Space Ring: "This contains the detailed sales records of the Echoing Whisper Potion and Sun Resilience Potion over this period, as well as our first share after deducting the costs of production, transport, and the commerce association channels, totaling at 2.37 million magic stones after subtracting the advanced payment and the expenses of Dream Manor on the Flower Sea Plane. Please review."
Duke took the ledger, quickly and carefully scanning it with his Spiritual Power. The records were very detailed and didnât seem to have any issues.
In almost a year, he could have earned 11 million Level 1 Magic Stones, but after deducting the advance payment and Dream Manor expenses, only 2.37 million remained.
Overall, itâs still a decent income, and it might be more next year.