Chapter 361: Arbitrator
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The sound of hooves. .h.i.tting against the ground could be heard as a few carriages flew past, causing dirt to fly in their wake. In one of the carriages was Rina. This young Paladin clad in a silver armor was thinking about what her teacher Englos had said these past two days. It had been more than a decade, but Rina had yet to see him give such high regard to anybody.
Her teacher seemed to be constantly going on about the genius named Felic and the convention held by Alanna’s Pharmacists Guild for the past two days. In his words, this genius pharmacist named Felic could achieve the impossible; he had solved a difficult problem for the Pharmacists Guild in merely minutes, and her teacher even thought that this Felic was the only one in the world who could come up with an antidote for the viper’s poison.
“How’s that possible?” Rina was the only Judge Paladin out of all Paladins, and was a disciple of the Archbishop Englos as well. She had had access to cla.s.sified secrets of the Brilliance Shrine these few years, and knew that His Holiness had been plagued by the viper’s poison for decades and that the Brilliance Shrine had been searching for ways to neutralize the poison. Nearly all the well-known doctors and pharmacists in Anril had been invited to try and do so, but decades had pa.s.sed, yet His Holiness was still tortured by the viper’s poison…
Rina could not believe that some 20 years old genius would be able to do something no doctor or pharmacists could.
Perhaps her teacher was exaggerating this time…
Right, her teacher mentioned as well that this genius pharmacist was also the youngest President of a Guild of Magic in Anril to date, and today was his inauguration ceremony as President.
The carriages slowly came to a stop outside the Tower of Dusk. Rina alighted, following closely behind her teacher as they headed to the open doors of the tower. The morning rays fell on Rina’s golden hair, and made them shine all the more brightly.
“Englos, it has been a long time!” They had just alighted the carriages when Herza welcomed them from afar. The old man was wearing a new robe today, and his usually unkempt hair had been neatly combed down, making him look at least a decade younger from a distance.
“Haha, it has been a long time, Herza.”
“Oh, where’s Archbishop Martin? I thought he’s coming with you?”
“Martin was held up by something, and will only come later. He asked me to apologize on his behalf,” Englos said apologetically before he introduced Rina. “Let me introduce you to her, she’s my disciple, Rina, currently a Paladin.”
“Ms Rina is a Paladin at such a young age? Englos, the Brilliance Shrine has an abundance of geniuses indeed, how I envy you for having a genius disciple…”
“We haven’t met for years, and you’re still a hypocrite, Herza? The freakiest genius in the whole of Anril is in the Supreme Council, why would you envy anyone else?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much…” Herza spoke humbly, but the smile on his face was practically shining with glee.
“Oh right, Rina, let me introduce you to Mage Herza. Aren’t you interested in pharmaceutics? You can learn from Mage Herza, he’s an authority in pharmaceutics at the Supreme Council…”
“Pfft, don’t joke with me, you and I both know who’s the real authority…”
“Haha, how’s Mage Felic? I haven’t seen him in months since the convention. It’s his big day, so how come we don’t see him?”
“That kid is in the study. No choice, Arbitrator Apophis wanted to meet him. Even Hoffman is still waiting in the guild hall, why don’t you got chat with him?”
“Apophis is here too?”
“Mm-hm, he came this morning and dragged Felic into the study. You know they have an extraordinary relationship…”
“That’s true…”
The two of them chatted and Rina did not talk, only listening by the side.
If she had thought her teacher was exaggerating earlier, then now she was more and more curious about why this genius pharmacist Felic so different from others.
Of course, besides being curious, she was a tiny bit jealous…
According to what her teacher had said, this Felic was even younger than her, merely 20 years old, yet he had already gained everybody’s recognition. Ever since she’d alighted the carriage, everybody had been talking about this Felic, and their words were filled with praise. What she heard along the way intrigued her, and she really wanted to know whether Felic really lived up to his name…
The two of them followed Herza into the guild hall, and saw Hoffman squatting on the floor as he studied a huge crystal ball. He was already a short and plump man, and the position he was in made him look all the more amusing.
“Why are you here so early, Hoffman?” They were all Master Pharmacists, and interacted often. Hence, Englos’ greeting was much more casual that it would usually be.
“Englos, you old fellow, you’re here too? Take a seat, I need to study this crystal ball first…” Hoffman yelled without turning his head.
“What’s with this crystal ball?” Englos questioned as he stuck his face over, only for his expression to freeze after taking a look. “Impressive…”
While Englos did not know much about Inscription, he was a Master after all, and when things reached that level, most of them were linked. He did not know what was a magic circuit nor what a magic node was, but when he saw the mageweath, Englos knew that this had to be the work of a Master.
“Heheh, now you know. I’ve been working on it the whole afternoon…” Hoffman pursed his lips as he stood up shakily. “The Supreme Council is more than it seems indeed, a mere crystal ball packs such a powerful mageweath, I wonder which b.a.s.t.a.r.d came up with it…”
“Achoo!” Lin Li was in the study when he sneezed all of a sudden. Rubbing his nose, he silently wondered who was so despicable to scold him behind his back…
There was a pet.i.te old man sitting in front of Lin Li. He had a messy beard and unkempt hair, and his gray robes were stained with dirt as well, making him look like a desolate fellow. However, everyone who knew him, including Lin Li, did not dare use that word to describe him.
He was Apophis, one of the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council. He had already surpa.s.sed the Legendary-realm 1,300 years ago, and was one of the only Sanctuary Masters left in Anril. Who would dare use the word “desolate” to describe him?
“Andoine, that useless fool, he’s taught you for so long, but look at how you’ve turned out. When I get back, I’m going to break his legs…” The old man was staring at Lin Li, disappointed that he had not turned out like he should have. “Look at yourself, such talent for magic, but you’ve wasted it. If I were you, I would be too embarra.s.sed to stay on earth…”
“…” Lin Li did not know if he should laugh or cry. This old man’s temper was beyond eccentric, scolding everybody whenever he spoke, yet Lin Li could not rebut him for the simple reason that this old man named Apophis was Andoine’s teacher—in other words, his grand-teacher…
Even if he feared nothing in this world, he was going to have to endure this old man’s scoldings…
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking of just because you’re keeping quiet. You’re feeling indignant, aren’t you? Let me tell you, you’re wasting your rare talent by learning magic from that good-for-nothing Andoine. If I had the crazy mental strength you had, I would surpa.s.s that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Geresco…”
“Actually…” Lin Li brushed his nose and defended himself carefully. “Actually I’m not that bad, right…?”
“Nonsense!” Who knew that it would have been better if he had kept his mouth shut. The old man jumped up from his seat at his words. “Is your place protected by mageweaths? Bring me there, I’ll let you know immediately how bad you are!”
“Well…” His place was protected by mageweaths, quite a bit of them, in fact. Honestly speaking, all Lin Li had to do was utter a spell, and the All-Kill Array would protect the entire Tower of Dusk, but he did not wish to let this eccentric old man know. He was a Sanctuary Master, and if he really did fight him, even with the protection of the mageweath, he would probably be picking his teeth off the floor…
“Doesn’t matter if you don’t, I’ll just keep my strength in check…”
“I do, of course I do, couldn’t have more of it…” Lin Li nearly died of a heart attack. Even if a Sanctuary Master kept their strength in check, it would at least be above a Legendary-level. If they really fought, Lin Li would no doubt be left paralyzed. Why not find some place where he would be protected by mageweath—at least with the mageweaths Element Annihilation and Mana Liquefaction, he would suffer lighter injuries…
He was not going to escape this, anyway; hence, Lin Li gritted his teeth and uttered some spells.
As he finished his chanting, the energy of the All-Kill Array loomed over the Tower of Dusk immediately, and everybody could feel a strong energy dissipating within the Tower of Dusk. Only, most of them had no idea where this energy was coming from.
“Oh?” After experiencing the energy of the All-Kill Array, the old man who initially brushed off Lin Li’s magical abilities suddenly looked surprised. “What’s this mageweath?”