Leylin’s height in the South Coast area was considered average, but this Viscount Jackson was actually taller than him by two heads. He had the classic western features and an extremely wide forehead. He even had extremely long sideburns.
Jackson gave Murphy a firm hug, “Little Jackson has always been asking about you!”
“I too miss that cute fellow. He is one of the smartest amongst all my students!” Murphy said.
“This is a good friend of mine from far away, Sire Leylin Farlier!” Murphy introduced Leylin to Viscount Jackson.
“Extreme Night City welcomes you!” Jackson sized up Leylin, and opened his broad shoulders, giving Leylin a hug.
Leylin’s smile was somewhat stiff, which he quickly concealed.
Right at that moment, he was completely distracted by the stats shown by the A.I. Chip.
[Jackson. Strength: 7.9, Agility: 4.5, Vitality: 6.3, Spiritual Force: 3.5. State: Healthy. This human is deemed as dangerous, it is strongly suggested that the Host maintain a distance of 50 metres from this person.]
“These stats can only belong to a Grand Knight!” Leylin’s pupils shrank.
“The Vitality of Grand Knights is extremely high. And, after constant activation and stimulation of their internal life energy, they have surpassed the bottleneck that held back most humans. Moreover, they have also developed a slight resistance to Rank 0 spells.” Leylin recalled a description he had read before.
“Very well! You should be a Knight too, right?” Lord Jackson was slightly astonished by Leylin’s strength, and he looked upon Leylin now in a friendlier light.
“I only recently advanced, and am nowhere close to you!”
Leylin said humbly and ordered the A.I. Chip, “A.I. Chip! Show me a simulation if I were to fight against this City Lord Jackson.”
[Beep! Establishing parameters, inputting data, simulating battle scenario, predicting outcome….]
A large light screen flashed continuously, and the results: [Battle simulation complete. 50 metres and beyond, Host win rate is 89.8%. Between 20 to 50 metres, Host win rate is 58.7%. Below 20 metres, Host win rate is 33.9%!]
“As expected, the physical power of Grand Knights is extremely astounding. They are capable of closing the distance before a magician can cast a spell. If magicians do not try to stay out of range, they would be on the short end of the stick!”
Leylin’s expression did not change as he walked together with Murphy into the castle’s hall.
It was obvious that the large hall had been decorated for the occasion. The marbled floor was so smooth that it reflected the figures of people walking around on it.
A huge golden chandelier hung from the centre of the large hall. It was densely packed with lighted candles that shone through the surrounding coloured crystals letting out a colourful light.
At the side of this huge hall, was an orchestra of musicians wearing swallowtail coats and performing a slow enjoyable tune.
The area filled with long tables covered in white cloth. On these tables were gold and silver platters with various fruits and barbecued meat. On the side, there were even flasks and silver flagons, which emitted the strong aroma of wine.
Right in the centre was a huge open space where many of the nobility were waltzing to the music.
“It seems like a ball with a buffet on the side!” Leylin nodded his head.
“Go enjoy yourself! I’ll have to say hello to a few old friends!” Murphy said to Leylin.
“Please do!” Leylin gestured with his head in assent. He then picked up a cup of grape wine and sat on a nearby sofa.
Not long after, he spotted Murphy together with a number of coquettish women in revealing outfits. They even entered a small side room, which made him rather speechless.
“He’s so old and he still wants to pretend to be rather strong, can he even make it?”
“Do you mind if I sit beside you?” Just as Leylin was thinking such indecent thoughts, an elegant voice sounded beside him.
Leylin raised his head and saw a young lady wearing a purple gown. She a head of golden hair that fell to her shoulders like a waterfall; even her skin was a milky white.
Looking around, Leylin discovered that there was no one else near him. Leylin was quite good looking and kept himself well groomed, which naturally attracted a few young ladies.
“Of course I don’t mind!” Leylin smiled lightly and chatted happily with the young lady.
To him, the combination of his memories from a previous life and the memories of this body’s previous owner made making a little girl happy an easy task.
Not long after, the young lady was completely enraptured by Leylin’s made-up stories.
“Haha…Haha, running naked on the street? He actually did that?” The young lady completely lost her earlier elegance; she laughed almost uproariously without much of her former delicate demeanor. This drew a lot of curious stares from the people close by.
“Sorry to interrupt you Leylin! However, our friends are here!”
Murphy, followed closely by several noble women with whom he had just tangled violently, walked over. Surprisingly, his attire was still extremely neat and tidy, which left Leylin rather shocked.
“Alright, I have to go!” Leylin made a helpless gesture and rose from the sofa.
“This…Sir! After talking for so long, I haven’t asked for your name yet?” The young lady slapped her forehead.
“Leylin Farlier, just call me Leylin!”
“I…I’m Alicia, my house is located at Cecelia Main Street, 34. You’re welcomed to come over to play anytime!”
“Haha, I never thought that you might be so sought after by ladies huh!” After the both of them left, Murphy made fun of Leylin.
“It’s only a young lady who likes to listen to stories. Have they arrived?” Leylin asked.
“They’re all here, followed me!”
Murphy said, and brought Leylin to a small room beside the dance hall.
There were several acolytes already waiting in the room. Leylin could sense that their energy waves made them either Level 1 or Level 2 Acolytes.
Murphy obviously had the highest standing in this circle. When he entered, the acolytes all stood up to receive him.
“Alright!” Murphy swept his gaze around, “Let me introduce all of you to a new comrade! Leylin, he came from the west….”
After Leylin’s self-introduction was over, he could not help but ask Murphy, “Would a gathering like this cause an issue?”
“No worries, Jackson has reared some Beastmen and their noses are more sensitive than a dog’s. He already knew of our identities long ago. It’s just that all of us do not mention it explicitly!”
An acolyte with acne spoke, picking up a silver flagon and drinking from it from time to time.
“Oh! Mayflower, my Mayflower!” At this moment, a guy’s heavy panting sounded.
“Oh! Baby! So hot, so good!” A woman’s murmuring groans followed soon after.
It seems like there was a couple in ardent passion in the room next door.
Black lines formed on Murphy’s face. He promptly swung his hand and a faint energy membrane enveloped the room isolating the noise of the outside world. “This is an accident, an accident!” His old face actually reflected his embarrassment.
Leylin wanted to faint, and there was a voice that repeatedly echoed in his mind. “Alright! I really shouldn’t harbour any hope toward this group of acolytes. They are all just a bunch of trash that has completely lost their motivation and prudence!”
WMW Chapter 59 - Recording
Of course, on the surface, Leylin continued to pretend that he was naive as he began to converse in a friendly and amicable manner with this group of acolytes.
After the ball ended, the various horse carriages from different families set off. In a secret chamber within the City Lord’s castle, the Viscount Jackson that Leylin saw today was talking to his subordinate.
“Is it confirmed?”
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br /> “I have detected the smell of a Mysterious Entity on his body. It has also been confirmed that he is extremely young!” The person who replied was draped in black robes; tufts of yellow fur could be glimpsed growing on his face.
“He is different from those befuddled acolytes. I do not think he will be retiring at such a young age. No matter if he is hiding from enemies or is concealing some other motive, his appearance is not good news for us!” A worried expression flickered through Jackson’s steely face.
“Please pardon my forthrightness! Although we are able to deal with a Mysterious Entity right now, if we draw the ire of the rest of them, then whatever gains we achieve would not make up for the losses we may incur!”
The Half-Beast Man said slowly.
“Indeed!” Jackson became quiet for some time before giving out an order, “Do not incur the wrath of the other party, but never let him out of your sight!”
“I understand!” The Half-Beast Man disappeared into the darkness….
Ever since the ball, Leylin’s agenda progressed extremely quickly. First, he borrowed 4500 gold coins from Murphy to buy the villa.
Afterwards, through the search done by Old Welker, Leylin chose a medicine shop that was about to close down but had a good geographic position. He took over it and obtained the shop permit.
With the unexpected enthusiastic help from the City Lord’s castle, many procedures were actually settled in a matter of days.
Of course, Leylin discovered a few spies loitering around the medicine shop and the villa. However, these secretive parties exercised restraint against Leylin, and only made basic surveillance measures, not insinuating their influence onto Leylin’s people. So, Leylin was not too bothered by their presence either.
Through Murphy, he hired a few pharmacists. Once the minimum standards for managing the medicine shop were met, he then completely handed over the reins to his core personnel and buried himself in his magic experiments.
After some renovation, the Knight’s villa looked even newer than when it was brand new.
Previously, the Knight stayed in a three storey high, white-brick loft. Now, Leylin chose the few really big rooms for his private use.
The largest of these was used as his bedroom while the rooms on both sides served as a study room and an experiment lab. After putting in place a few detection spells he had learned at Abyssal Bone Forest Academy as an early warning grid, he passed down strict orders to his subordinates that without his order, no one was access to these rooms.
As for Greem and Fraser, they were posted near the master bedroom, as guards.
Fayern and other mercenaries were all given guard duty that rotated between the villa and the medicine shop. Leylin also gave out notices that serious and hardworking people may purchase small tracts of land on his property in 3 years later, permanent residence being a possibility for qualified persons or families. This was a very strong motivation for normal mercenaries and farmers.
Occasionally, Leylin looked through the windows and saw the serious hardworking serious mercenaries and farmers at work.
Because he always stayed at the villa, apart from the occasional visit to Murphy’s place, he rarely even went to the medicine shop. The rumors that were slowly spreading outside gained Leylin the reputation of a benevolent yet lazy villa owner.
“Young Master! The people from the medicine shop are here!” Anna’s voice travelled through the door.
“Let them drop off the items in the living room and get Greem to move them to the experiment lab!” Leylin used his fingers to tap on the window pane, letting off a dull thudding noise.
“Your wish is my command!” The voice very soon was replaced with noises of things being moved about.
A dozen minutes later, Leylin came to the experiment lab.
Right now, the originally spacious experiment was littered with crates and a few wooden long tables. There were no windows in the room, and only a chandelier hung from the ceiling emitting a dim glow.
“Young Master! According to your orders, the medicine shop has acquired for you every type of herb that can be found in the market.”
Anna lifted her dress and curtseyed. She turned around and opened a red wooden crate revealing stacks of tied roots and stems, as well as many other herbs of indeterminate quantity and type. On the side of each stack or bundle was stuck a yellow paper note indicating the names of these herbs.
“Also, these are all the formulas that normal pharmacists own. They are only to normal humans.
Anna handed over yet another stack of dark yellow parchment notes.
Leylin’s eyes skimmed over these and placed the list on one of the long tables.
“All of you may leave! Anna, stay behind!” Leylin waved towards Greem and his assistants.
Greem bowed and strode through the large heavy door, closing it behind him.
With a huge clang, the experiment lab’s lighting turned even dimmer.
Leylin’s brows furrowed. He took out a white coloured rock from his sack.
He then pressed his fingers lightly on the rock and a layer of bright white light radiated from it.
This was a Sunlight Rock. It is an item that magicians normally use during their travels. Slight radiation energy is contained in it that can let out a bright light for a prolonged period of time.
However, this radiation was extremely small and could only be used for illumination.
“This is much brighter than before!” Leylin was very satisfied as he looked at his well-lit surroundings. He then said to Anna, “Store the herbs well, and arrange them in an orderly fashion on the experiment table!”
“Yes.” Anna hurried with her task.
Leylin casually picked up a purple coloured fruit. This fruit was the size of a thumb It had lost all the water contained on its surface, thus its wrinkly exterior. Its weight was extremely light too.
“According to the medicine books delivered yesterday, this is the Warter Fruit, a type of fruit that grows in swamps.”
Leylin placed a finger on the surface of the fruit, “A.I. Chip! Extract data and save it in your databanks!”
Right now he no longer had to ingest the herbs. He could determine their medicinal properties with a mere touch.
[Beep! Data extraction in progress!]
In Leylin’s field of vision, the A.I. Chip overlaid a light blue screen, with many numbers and figures that changed constantly.
[Name: Warter Fruit. The area produced: Swamps. Uses: Mild poisonous properties with a numbing effect. Data stored!]
The A.I. Chip’s voice intoned before a second had gone by.
“Very good. Again!” Leylin picked up another dried stem.
This was one of the reasons why Leylin had opened a medicine shop. Through his years of being an apprentice under Kroft, he recorded almost all the herbs used by Potioneering Masters, storing it into the A.I. Chip’s data banks.
However, those were special ingredients used by the Magi. As for herbs used by normal people, the A.I. Chip had no record of them. He now had to fill these missing bits of information.
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