“This is the limitation of strength! The official Magi in the academy can saunter through slave markets to purchase slaves as ingredients. They could even lure and cheat acolytes but nobody could punish them! However, I am just a lowly acolyte and all by myself. I still have to mind my reputation….”
Leylin stroked his chin.
“A.I. Chip, how is the gathering of data on experimental bodies today?”
Leylin asked inwardly.
[The Spiritual Force of the experimental subject has already been discovered to have 23 abnormal cerebral fluctuations and within the cerebrum were 45 hidden locations….]
The A.I. Chip’s voice intoned.
“Using the prisoners as living subjects and carrying out experiments to obtain research and data on the spirit body, seemed like it’s doable!”
Leylin nodded his head, “It’s just that the amount is still too little….”
Turning back, he looked at Greem who seemed to have been uneasy right from the start, “You did well, take your leave now!”
“As you wish, Master!” Greem bowed and heaved a secret sigh of relief as he hurriedly ran away.
As a regular human, naturally he was somewhat conflicted with these issues, not to mention the limitations set from the slave training. But Leylin’s strength had far surpassed Greem’s. Hence, he could only find it difficult to bear but did not dare to display any reluctance.
As his owner, Leylin naturally had seen through this point.
“After all, he is just a regular human and such occurrences are to be expected. As long as he is still obeying orders, the others I need not care about….” Leylin recalled Greem’s expression for a moment, before completely forgetting him. His black robes swirled about him as he disappeared into the underground lab.
“Leylin, my friend, we meet again!”
His green hair trailing the ground, Langford looked at Leylin and sincerity was shown on his face.
Ever since the previous incident between Leylin and Langford, they actually had traded a few more times. They had even established a friendship and became pretty good friends.
How things turned out like this was because Leylin discovered that when Langford was not crazy, his character was rather good. Moreover, his supplies of goods were constant and the prices in the Brey Canyon were cheaper than other magicians’.
Between magicians, benefits are the only constant. As for other things, most of them could be forsaken.
“Langford! This time, I require the goods urgently! Have a look!”
Leylin nodded his head as he handed over a yellow parchment paper with scribbles on it.
“I seldom see this side of you! Let me take a look!” Langford took the parchment paper and immediately ground his teeth.
“The faeces of the Kosh Bird, Stellar Alloy…. These items are all connected to the aspect of souls and are not cheap items!”
* Dong! * A small sack was immediately slammed onto Langford’s table.
After loosening the ropes around it, glittering Magic Crystals were revealed within it.
“Do not worry about Magic Crystals, these are the deposit. I will make up for the difference later with potions!” Leylin spoke in a rich and overbearing manner.
“That’s right! With your ability, Magic Crystals are only a small issue!”
Langford eyes glowed, and immediately kept the Magic Crystal sack into his robes, “The Kosh Bird is on the verge of extinction. I heard that some people had chanced upon it before in the Black Death Mountain Plains. As for Stellar Alloy, I have a piece of it here….”
Langford immediately rummaged through the shelves behind him, after which he opened a small black box.
In the centre of the red satin interior was a silver-coloured rock with blue spots
“The ingredients that you need, Stellar Alloy, Flowerless Leaves… I have one of each here. As for the others, maybe you could look further within the canyon….”
Langford hurriedly piled the items together, and calculated the final value, “785 Magic Crystals!”
“Alright!” Leylin stroked his chin somewhat grudgingly, “I will go for a look at the market. Also, you have to keep a lookout for the items I requested and purchase them when you can!”
“Alright!” Once Langford agreed, his countenance changed and the green hair continuously shrank, very soon reaching the waist area from the legs.
“Lea… Leave now!” Langford’s face contorted, and one of his eyes was already bloodshot.
Leylin turned around, until he left the cave for a distance before a howling sound travelled to his ears.
“An intermittent illness like this is really scary….” Leylin’s footstep did not stop and directly headed towards the depths of the canyon.
“Hurry, look! Langford has acted up again….”
“Should we inform the protectors?”
“I’m afraid there won’t be of much use. Hehe, not long later, Langford will be chased out from this place.”
At the same moment, from both sides of the cave, many acolytes who wore pointed hats looked at the direction of the howling sound. Expressions of anxiety, indifference and schadenfreude were seen across various faces.
After being busy for some time, Leylin emerged from the Brey Canyon. On his back was an additional black backpack stuffed full of various ingredients.
Leylin turned around to look at the Brey Canyon, before riding his dark horse and left.
77 - News From The Academy
Inside a spacious and bright room was a full-length mirror.
The mirror was taller than a person and was ornamented along its sides with black leaves which contrasted with the white birch wood. A large variety of different colored gems were also embedded along its edges, making it look extremely extravagant.
At this moment, a youth wearing a swallow-tail coat was standing in front of this mirror. Behind him were a few maids, who were busy straightening out their master’s attire.
After tidying up, the youth waved his hands, sending the maids away, leaving him alone in the room.
This youth judged his reflected figure—- a medium-height build with a slim stature. He was brown haired and somewhat pale-skinned. His countenance could be described as delicate, but the shining luster in both his eyes indicated he had a very active mind.
“Unknowingly, I have already turned 17!”
Leylin looked at himself in the mirror and spoke with a hint of melancholy.
Time was the most incisive weapon. It turned babies into old people and created barren deserts by drying up seas. Even if a person was a Magus, they could only slightly prolong their lives. But even if they could live for several thousand years, they could still not evade the slow corrosion of time.
Over a year had passed ever since Leylin returned from his previous exploration.
“No! I must fight the eternal curse of time and seek immortality. Only then would I be deserving of the fate of having being transported to this world!”
Leylin’s eyes turned a fiery black as if a deep magnificent flame was burning within them.
“Master! The City Lord’s horse carriage is here!” Outside the door, Anna’s voice could be heard.
“Let him wait for a while, I’ll be coming over shortly.”
Leylin faced the mirror and finished sorting out his bearings, before picking up a short black cane and leaving the room.
* Deng Deng! *
The black horse carriage flew rapidly across the street and, after seeing the insignia of the City Lord Castle; the citizens avoided it and made way. They all sent respectful and envious gazes to the horse carriage.
In the cabin, there was only Leylin. Currently, this youth was lying comfortably against a velvety goose feather cushion. His hand laid on its side, revealing a strange pendant on his palm.
The pendant was strikingly similar to the silver cross. On its surface were a few red and blue diamonds, which glittered in the light, giving off a faint glow.
As Leylin stared at this pendant, a satisfied expression crossed his face.
“According to the A.I. Chip’s calculations, with the Stellar Alloy as the centerpiece and the support of various precious alloys that I have obtained during my travels, this prototype of the Magic Artifact has already been perfectly synthesized.”
This pendant artifact was something that Leylin had synthesized according to the Magic Artifact section of the Lowian Academy Teachings.
3 years ago Leylin had managed to buy the decrepit page of the Lowian Academy Teachings, having the A.I. Chip slowly decipher the contents within.
The earlier portions of the teachings were only suitable for acolytes, with many travels and adventures recorded down. If not, Leylin could never have purchased the page at an extremely low price.
Leylin’s luck was not bad. After the A.I. Chip finished deciphering, he obtained a method to synthesize a low-grade Magic Artifact.
Fallen Star Pendant — This was the name of the Magic Artifact recipe he had obtained. According to the Lowian Academy Teachings, this Fallen Star Pendant, while a low-grade Magic Artifact, was of the rare defensive nature. Compared to a few attack type Magic Artifacts, its value was naturally much higher. Even an official Magus might be interested in it.
After having to see the materials needed and the process, Leylin had immediately decided that he had to synthesize the Fallen Star Pendant.
Although the spells of acolytes are rather destructive, their low defense capabilities have always been an issue.
Only by turning into an official Magus, and being able to form an innate defensive spell, can there be a spell projecting a force field that constantly protected the body. Only then, could someone be considered to be an awe-inspiring Magus.
As for acolytes, they could lose their lives at any time from sneak attacks.
The few acolytes who had entered the withering woods with Leylin previously were the best examples of this case.
Although they were able to cast destructive spells, due to the Great Mankestre Snake, they had all perished due to the lack of defensive spells. Only Murphy was fortunate enough to stay alive, but that was due to Leylin saving him.
Once he had synthesized the Fallen Star Pendant, coupled with a couple of defensive potions, Leylin’s defence would be comparable to a fraction of the defence that a Magus had.
Furthermore, the Fallen Star Pendant’s defence force field would be activated immediately. For instance, as long as the opponent’s attack power does not exceed the threshold of the Fallen Star Pendant and before it’s energy was completely depleted, Leylin’s defence would be like that of a sturdy turtle shell. As long as the Fallen Star Pendant was active, nothing would happen to Leylin.
“Fortunately, there was a magician market near Extreme Night City, if not I wouldn’t have been able to find so many precious ingredients so quickly!”
Leylin somehow felt glad for that.
After smashing and grinding most of the Magic Crystals he had, as well as adding all of the ingredients from the Great Mankestre Snake, he managed to create this prototype of a pendant.
“I have basically consumed all of my expendable resources. According to the Lowian Academy Teachings, this is only an incomplete product. The core of the Fallen Star Pendant has already been completed. What’s left is the final step….”
Glancing at the Fallen Star Pendant in his hands he saw that the silver cross glittered and glowed with a wide range of different hues. On its surface were inscribed mysterious patterns, and altogether it seemed like a mystical art piece.
“As for the final ingredient, I have it with me already. I need to only wait for the opportune moment before I can initiate the spirit awakening for the Fallen Star Pendant!”
Leylin gripped the Fallen Star Pendant tightly and kept it on his shirt.
“As for the Tears of Mary, this ancient formula is really difficult to comprehend. Even after a lot of experiments and obtaining large amounts of data on spirit bodies, I still don’t understand anything from looking at this formula!”
Leylin appeared downcast, and his thoughts spun rapidly, “Could it be that my conjecture is wrong? What if this formula has nothing to do with spirit bodies….”
“Halt!” The coachman’s voice travelled from the front. The horse carriage jerked, as it came to a stop.
“Sir Leylin! The City Lord’s Castle is just ahead,” reported the coachmen, respectfully.
Leylin shook his head and organized his inner thoughts as he walked out of the carriage’s door.
The City Lord’s Castle was still the same — just as imposing and dignified as before. Rows of guards on both sides of the entrance were standing facing each other, and their gaze never wavered, appearing formidable.
“Viscount Jackson is rather intelligent!” Ever since the withering woods incident, he had pretended to be heavily injured and allowed the news to travel out. After his enemies confirmed the news and began to gather in cahoots for an attack, he caught them all at once lightning quick. He cut off all of their heads and their blood overflowed into the moat. From then on, all of Extreme Night City has been extremely quiet….”
“Leylin! My brother!”
Viscount Jackson had long since waited at the main door. Upon seeing Leylin, he immediately went forward to receive him.
Viscount Jackson had witnessed Leylin’s strength first hand. Not to mention that Leylin was Viscount Jackson’s lifesaver. If not for Leylin, Viscount Jackson would have long since become prey for the Great Mankestre Snake.”
“City Lord,” said Leylin, as he nodded his head.
Viscount Jackson grabbed Leylin’s hands in a cordial manner. After bringing Leylin for a stroll around his castle’s garden, he then brought Leylin to a private study room.
Within the privacy of the castle, Viscount Jackson finally revealed a worrisome expression.
“My brother Leylin! Last time you had requested for 50 men, but I am simply unable to provide you with that many…. I have already sent all the criminals from all of my jails to your place. Also, I have even sent you cheats and thieves whose crimes do not warrant a death sentence. However, it is still too far from the number you requested….”
“It was like this?” Leylin nodded his head, and sat on the sofa, entering into deep thought.
Extreme Night City could barely be considered as a medium-sized city. Their residents would not exceed 100,000 people. For Viscount Jackson, providing Leylin with a few prisoners meant for the death row was still within his means. However, as time passed, the number of death row criminals became less and less, yet Leylin’s request only kept increasing. So now, he could no longer fulfill the requests of Leylin.
“As you know,” continued Viscount Jackson while Leylin was in deep thought, “I am only a City Lord. My noble status is only that of a Viscount. For individual death sentences, I may still be able to decide on them. However, once it exceeds a certain threshold, I have no choice in the matter. After all, there are still laws presiding over the dukedom….”
Viscount Jackson waved his hands, and his eyes flashed, “Unless there is a war happening at the moment, if 50 or 100 people disappeared at once, it would definitely incite the wrath of the masses!”
Warlock of the Magus World 1-596 Page 61