Chapter 151: Each Other’s Mentor (Part 2)Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lex had been stuck at Grade 5 for quite some time. A situation like this had only happened once when she had been in the process of advancing from Grade 3 to Grade 4. Even though she was in no rush, Lex still felt a bit uncertain.
This time around, Lex went into meditation after demonstrating twenty-four Grade 4 spells for Saleen, but she had not expected to meditate for two whole days. While she was meditating, her magic chords grew silently and Lex did not even feel anything. But when she opened her eyes, she realized that she had advanced to Grade 6.
Saleen fiddled with a tiny fireball in his hand, finally able to simulate the Fireball spell. Saleen needed to vaporize an ice bomb and then break it down before igniting it. This spell required at least twelve frames of time, unable to be instantaneous. The power of the Fireball spell was much stronger than that of the ice bomb, but the depletion of mental power while controlling the spell was also many times more than that of the Ice Bomb spell.
However, Saleen loved practice like this. In the past, whenever he had completely exhausted his magic chords, his mental power would still be more than ninety percent full. Saleen thought that he would be able to gain strength from his badge, but his badge only depleted about half of his mental power. Thus, he had lost the pleasure and satisfaction of total rejuvenation.
There was a great deal of mental power depletion when Saleen used water elements to simulate spells of other elements. He could begin to try and naturally maintain the balance between his mental power and his magic chords.
During an actual battle, Saleen would not need to use the other five branches of magic unless he was under special circ.u.mstances. However, if Saleen only learned spells involving water elements, he would never be able to understand the secrets of this world.
Lex’s promotion had attracted Saleen’s attention. He quickly extinguished the fireball and looked at Lex in astonishment.
Lex also looked at Saleen in shock. She had never thought that an advancement could be so smooth, free of any tumultuous moments. The previous advancements had not been so smooth. Lex had faced some obstacles, but with her teacher’s help, she had managed to get past them.
“Congratulations.” Saleen grinned. Perhaps Lex’s secrets were unique. Everyone had their secrets. Lex’s smooth advancement might have been one of the secrets of her family, so it was perfectly normal for Lex to not reveal it to Saleen. They were just like Saleen’s guidelines for meditation. His teacher would track him down and kill him if he ever revealed it to outsiders.
Lex nodded and stopped thinking about how she had managed to advance so flawlessly. She suddenly said, “Saleen, have you ever thought about staying in the Qin Empire?”
“I don’t have the intention of leaving.” Saleen did not know what Lex meant.
“I mean, staying and becoming a citizen of the Qin Empire.”
At this point, Saleen realized that Lex was trying to ask him to remain in the Bitter Water Prefecture.
“You want me to be one of your mages?” Saleen asked cautiously.
“I would not dare. I don’t want to offend your teacher,” Lex replied, bursting out into laughter. Saleen’s teacher had gone to attack a Grade 6 mage who owned a magical tower because his pride had been hurt. Lex did not want to trifle with someone like that, especially since Jason was from Alchemy City, so it was possible that he had a formidable background or backing.
“Then why do you want me to stay? Frankly speaking, I don’t think I will be able to return to Ceylon City for a long time,” Saleen declared honestly. Saleen’s thoughts were much clearer now, and he figured that Earl Sufonso would not be so stupid. If Saleen really returned to Ceylon City, it was possible that he would just be walking into a conspiracy orchestrated by the Holy See.
It could not have been the bad blood between Saleen and Sufonso. If Saleen wanted to kill Sufonso, he needed to be a sorcerer and required a powerful backer.
Bad blood could not be resolved so abruptly. Earl Sufonso had lost his son. Even if Saleen wanted to abandon the ordeal, Sufonso would not agree either way.
“Join the Bitter Water County. I need a real mage.”
“How do I join?” Saleen was tempted. Lex’s invitation was abnormally straightforward, and Saleen found that agreeable.
“I want to establish a mages’ state. Perhaps only one percent of the population will become mages, but I hope that everyone will learn magic knowledge, even if only a little.”
“You want to rebuild the First Dynasty?” After hearing Lex’s vision, Saleen found it too unrealistic.
“No. I just want to be that person repairing the road and bringing hope to others.”
“You’ll be the next Holy See then,” Saleen replied, bursting out into laughter.
Lex stated formally, “As if I’d require anyone else to have faith. And G.o.ds? Hmph…”
“By doing so, you will incite countless wars,” Saleen replied just as seriously.
“So? Alchemy City did not even build a ten story magical tower, but the Holy See has already started attacking mages. For the moment, the Holy See is pursuing death mages, but very soon, it will be the elemental mages’ turn.”
“Many people will die,” Saleen reminded her.
“Do you care?” Lex looked at Saleen and asked him this in an emotionless tone.
Saleen was speechless. He did not care. Even if Lex did not carry out these activities, the current peace in the Myers Mainland could not be sustained anyways. It was just that if Lex carried out her vision, everyone would cast their gazes upon the Bitter Water County, and that would not be a very wise move.
“Just join me. I don’t want to build another Alchemy City, you must understand.”
Saleen sighed and asked, “What benefits will I get?”
“As many as the costs you will have to bear.” Lex brainstormed thousands of reasons but ultimately decided to be forthright. “Once you join us, there will be no backing out. You might have an independent and free life, or you might be tossed into battle straightaway. Like Alchemy City, you can still stay on the sidelines of this war, but once the sacred knights set foot on the soil of the Qin Empire, all the mages will be deployed. If you agree with my vision, you will have to give it your all.”
“Don’t put it so seriously. You’ll scare me.” When Saleen saw that Lex had tensed up, he immediately softened his tone. Saleen did not want to discuss their visions or work in such an atmosphere.
“If you agree, I will tell you a secret. This secret might have something to do with you.”
Saleen was unusually sensitive and his body tensed up quickly. Inquisitiveness was a necessary quality of an outstanding mage, but it also brought them many unnecessary troubles. Lex’s secret must have been extremely obscure. Saleen had a premonition that once he listened to the secret, it would be difficult for him to back out.
Saleen and Lex were sitting on the floor and facing each other. There was a long period of silence. Then, Saleen said slowly, “I used to long to become a mage, but I was barred out and could not find a way in. I used to think that if everyone was a mage, then the world would be a fair place. These thoughts might sound ridiculous, but I have never tried to forget them. I don’t know why you harbor such thoughts. We have too many differences.”
“Because I used to think that mages could escape their fates. But…”
Lex looked at Saleen through her blue eyes. Saleen shook his head, then nodded. He said, “I am willing to help, but not because of Master Joey. As for whether or not I will join the Bitter Water County, I must ask my teacher.”
Lex heaved a sigh of relief. When a person like Saleen agreed to a request, they would go all out to fulfill it. A person who made light promises would only break them easily. Lex was not just optimistic about Saleen’s future, but Saleen also held the secrets to this magical tower. Thus, Lex desperately wanted Saleen to join her.
As for the more significant reason, Lex decided to reveal it to Saleen then and there. If Lex waited until they returned to Myers, it would potentially suggest a threatening connotation to Saleen.
“You went to the temple of the G.o.ddess of Nature before, right?” When Saleen heard Lex’s words, he nearly lost his composure. The elements within his mage robe vibrated viciously, nearly casting an offensive spell.
Nailisi, who was lying on the bed sleeping, froze when she heard what Lex had said.
“I went to a temple like that too. Otherwise, even with my father’s help, I would not have been able to raise so many mages when I was a child.”
The sentence Lex had just said caused Saleen to become even more astounded. Lex had gone to the temple of a G.o.ddess before and had gained her riches that way. This was indeed a secret that could not be shared easily, and Saleen began to laugh bitterly.
“You could recognize the magic arrays that I drew?”
“Yes, there are twenty-five in total.” Lex did not conceal anything. At this point, Saleen understood how Lex had learned of his secret.
“I gained a mountain of gems.” Saleen did not mention Nailisi’s origins. He roughly knew that there were various types of remains in a temple left behind by a G.o.ddess. Furthermore, it was an accident that Nailisi had survived, so it was better for Saleen to hide this matter from Lex.
“I gained many minerals, magic nuclei, and gold. At the core of the temple, I also found a blank magic book.”
“Same here.” Saleen brought out the three magic books without any hesitation and placed them on the ground.
Lex also brought out a magic book and placed it in front of her.
“Saleen, ever since I saw you draw those magic arrays, I have been thinking to myself. There might be many other secrets left behind by the G.o.ddess. When the G.o.ddess first fell, the power of humans diminished swiftly. If we can find those temples, we might be able to discover the secret behind the decline of humanity.”
Saleen took the bronze magic book from Lex. The book was not blank. Eighteen Grade 3 spells had been written into it. Saleen also possessed these powers now. It was just that he had not had a chance to use them..
The texture of this magic book was similar to the one that Saleen himself had obtained from the core of the temple. Hence, he believed that Lex was telling the truth.
Lex laughed and said, “Actually, if you had not agreed to my request, I would not have been able to do anything either. This ten story magical tower is going to become part of the Bitter Water County. I can’t just let you go like this, so I might have needed to enlist the help of Master Joey.”
Saleen thought about it for a whil, and finally understood what Lex meant. Lex could not kill nor imprison him, as doing so was tantamount to offending his teacher. Saleen had never thought that his teacher would have held such an important position in Lex’s heart, so much so that she would go to the extent of asking Joey for help.
If Saleen had just been an average mage without Nailisi and Sika, who were two fearsome warriors, it was possible that Lex would have abandoned him in the metallic column and left him to die.
“Lex…”
“Mm?”
“I think, regarding the issue with the Holy See, I don’t want to implicate my teacher.” Saleen did not want to implicate Jason anymore. If the Holy See’s sacred knights managed to breach Loulan Duchy and attacked Bitter Water County, Saleen would rather not have Jason know he was there than allow Jason to risk his life.
“Saleen, this matter concerns every single mage. Do you not know that?”
“It’s not that serious yet. Let’s rely on ourselves for now,” Saleen replied helplessly.
Rely on ourselves for now? Lex looked at Saleen’s face. This young mage did not seem to understand that if the Bitter Water County could not get any reinforcements, then the county would be smashed to smithereens by the Holy See. There was only one Grade 8 sorcerer left in the county, and this sorcerer would never be able to deal with the Holy See on their own.