“Please wait for a moment…” The rabbit maiden quickly flipped through the stack of parchments in front of her, closing her eyes from time to time while caressing a crystal ball with a metal base, as if she was communicating with someone.
“We have many houses that fit your requirements, but in order to rent a lodging in Nightless City, we require you to show evidence of… Ah! My lord! My sincerest apologies!”
Upon seeing the silver ring that Leylin revealed, the rabbit maiden’s previously absent-minded expression completely changed.
She stood and bowed, showing her charming body and sturdy thighs, and the rabbit’s tail behind her backside occasionally appearing. It gave one the urge to reach forward and grab hold of it. “So it was an official Magi! Please excuse Bayjess’ rude behaviour!”
“It’s fine. Tell me about the houses!”
Leylin withdrew his right hand.
“For an official Magus of such high esteem, we strongly recommend apartments that are in the third zone or above. There is a total of thirteen empty houses that meet your requirements…”
As she spoke, she continued to rub the surface of the blue crystal ball.
Rainbow coloured lights converged in front of Leylin and the multicoloured streaks formed many three-dimensional figures.
From the looks of it, it was a map of Nightless City, on which there were thirteen bright spots.
“All information about the apartments are on it, and there are also figures that allow you to view the structures of the lodgings.”
Leylin took a quick look. All of the apartments were in the second zone or above, and the total area of the land was rather large. They were at least medium sized villas that included gardens and other entertainment facilities.
Nightless City was built on a mountain, and the higher up one went, the more valuable every inch became. In a place like this, the privileges and extravagant lifestyle that magicians were entitled to were especially evident from the area of land they had access to.
Leylin raised his hand and pressed on the villa that he was interested in.
*Ding!*
With a flash of white light, the model was magnified, and a three-dimensional figure was displayed in front of him.
“Medium-sized villa’s location: Nightless City Zone 3, Large Whale Street #56. It includes a laboratory, a defensive spell formation, a negative energy reaction pool…”
Beside the 3D figure, there was also a white frame that displayed more information about the villa.
“While this technology is based on magic, it’s just too similar to how it was in my past life…”
Leylin suddenly sighed.
While the foundations of the two worlds were extremely different, one being science, and the other being magic, it somehow made Leylin feel a little nostalgic.
“I’ll take this one. How much is the rent?”
Leylin pointed to one of the models and asked the rabbit maiden.
“Sir, the rent for this villa is a thousand magic crystals per month…” She peeked at Leylin, looking as if she wanted to say something, and eventually made her mind. “If you join any one of the powers backing Nightless City, you’ll be gifted a villa, and…”
“Alright. Which family do you come from?
Leylin was very much aware that these employees were part of the powers behind Nightless City, and it was naturally their job to attract talents. They were sure to receive attractive rewards for their work if they were successful.
“The Mordeken family! I come from the Mordeken Family!” The rabbit maiden lowered her collar and revealed a brand in the shape of a palm under her shoulder.
The shape of the palm was a little strange. Instead of having five fingers, as was the norm, there were actually six.
The sides of the brand were a little charred and twisted. From the looks of it, a branding iron had been used directly on her skin in the past. The contrast between that and the rabbit maiden’s delicate skin gave rise to an abnormal sense of beauty.
“I understand! If there’s anything I need in the future, I’ll consider the Mordeken family first!”
Leylin’s expression remained the same, seemingly unmoved by her attempts. Sean, on the other hand, was salivating at the offer.
“Here are the magic crystals. I’ll be renting it for a year.” Leylin threw a small bag of magic crystals towards the back of the counter.
After being rejected, the rabbit maiden’s expression slightly darkened, but she immediately forced a smile.
Even though she wasn’t able to convince an official Magus to join the family, she would still receive some rewards from this transaction.
The rabbit maiden asked for the ring on Leylin’s finger, and placed it in a device behind her, within which an exotic symbol was inscribed. She then respectfully returned it to Leylin.
“The pattern of the villa’s defensive spell formation has already been marked onto your ring. You may enter the villa using the ring, and also make changes to the spell formation…”
Following which, the rabbit maiden passed Leylin a bunch of keys and a document.
“Here are the keys to the rooms in the villa, as well as some important information. I hope you have a pleasant stay there!”
Leylin retrieved the items and walked out of the hall with Sean.
“He actually spent over ten thousand magic crystals in one go…”
Sean still had a look of disbelief on his face.
Although he had heard of how certain magicians were able to spend unimaginable amounts of wealth, being in actual contact with someone who had the means to do so was still an entirely different feeling.
“Having met such a magnanimous customer, my rewards will definitely not be meagre. I might even be able to get a generous tip as well…”
Sean began to let his imagination run wild.
“Bring me to the villa and these will be yours!”
Leylin smiled, tossing a few magic crystals that were glistening temptingly.
“Of course! Your wish is my command!”
Sean’s eyes brightened, and he quickly ran to the front. “Please follow me! There’s not one place in Nightless City that I, Sean, am not aware of!”
149 - Trifling Issues
*Rumble!*
Crystal clear spring water continuously flowed from a white canteen.
Under the white canteen was a half-nude marble statue. The statue was depicting a poised, long-haired maiden. In her eyes, there was an expression of indolence and perplexity. One hand was tugging on the skirt on her lower body, and the other hand was holding a white canteen upside down.
The spring water gathered below, forming a small pond. Different colored pebbles and fishes in the pool were reflecting the light.
Next to the pond were was a small garden. Inside the garden were different coloured flowers of unknown names. Different fragrances were mixed together, but it didn’t feel jumbled; instead it provided a unique scent that made one feel refreshed.
Leylin leisurely walked around the garden before returning to the villa.
This was the new villa that he had recently rented for a year. The address was: Nightless City Zone 3, Large Whale Street #56.
There were very strict regulations for each of the three zones.
The zones above the third one were only for official Magi and trade, with the exception of some specialised servants that were permitted to pass through.
This villa had a huge area, and its magic defenses against spells were also strong. According to Leylin, a level 3 acolyte, or even an official Magus, would have no chances of entering. If they wanted to destroy this place, it would require a huge amount of effort from them.
However, Leylin still wanted to add some modifications and more defensive spell formations to this place.
Regarding the spell formations that the Nightless City had, Leylin didn’t trust them enough.
In the area around Leylin’s villa, there was another Magi. Previously, ther
e was even a red haired old man who waved to Leylin. He seemed quite friendly.
*Click!*
They sound of a copper key entering the lock could be heard, followed by the sound of a door opening with a squeak.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Leylin leisurely strolled around his villa.
This villa had 3 floors, two of them being above ground, and also a basement.
The apparatuses in the lab were very complete, and the furniture and other things were up to date, making Leylin feel that he had truly received his money’s worth.
The bedroom was on the second floor and even had an open balcony.
Leylin stood on the balcony and observed the distant scenery.
The sun was setting; the dark curtain of night gradually enveloping the surroundings.
*Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!*
By the side of the road, one lantern after another was being lit, extending far into the distance.
The little spots of light had an effect as they lit together, finally forming a huge body of light.
A bright — but not blinding — light flooded the entirety of the Nightless City.
“No wonder that Teljose City was referred to as the Nightless City!” Leylin exclaimed.
While he was used to this kind of setting in his previous life, the Magus world was different. A huge amount of energy was needed to be able to support this many lights, and perhaps only the volcano’s never-ending geothermal energy could barely support the city’s needs.
*Ding!*
Something like an incandescent light bulb lit up inside Leylin’s room.
“All of this energy, this overbearing splendor, is provided by the communal centre free of charge!”
Leylin shook his head and commanded, “A.I. Chip scan the whole villa, and in addition, try to modify the defensive spell formations!”
Following Leylin’s command, a spot of glittering and sparkling blue light flashed in his eyes.
[Beep! The overall layout of the villa has been recorded, no tracking spells have been detected!]
The response from the A.I. Chip came after a very short amount of time.
[According to the Host’s request, modifying the spell formation of the entire villa allows an optimization of 13%…]
Afterwards, the A.I. Chip projected the places where the spell formation needed to be altered in front of Leylin’s eyes.
“Spell formations requires extreme fine-tuning, and once they are altered, even the places where they were previously concealed will be exposed…”
With a confident smile, Leylin brought out some materials from his bag in order to alter the villa’s spell formations.
By the time that Leylin had hurriedly finished his work, it was already midnight.
Leylin then placed a warning spell outside his bedroom, before reclining on his soft bed.
The effort of constantly running while covering his back to prevent assassination attempts from the Lilytell Family had caused Leylin to be mentally exhausted.
Now that he had finally reached his destination, even the Lilytell family couldn’t do anything inside the Nightless City. Leylin felt like a huge mountain had been lifted from his shoulders, allowing him to relax completely.
“Speaking of which, I only have these things left ever since I left the academy…”
Leylin opened the package and emptied its contents onto the bed.
A silver colored metallic hoop, a couple of separately packaged flowers and such, and an assortment of different materials and magic crystals appeared in front of Leylin.
First, Leylin brought out the metallic hoop.
This was the spoil of his fight against the clone. It was a counterfeit Hoop of Imprisonment recovered from the body of the Lilytell elder’s clone. Even if it was a counterfeit, this magic artifact was still a middle-grade artifact. At that time, if it wasn’t for the fact that Leylin had activated his Fallen Star Pendant, he might not have been able to escape the confinement of this magic artifact.
According to the A.I. Chip, there were no hidden traps, so Leylin took it for his own use. He was planning to later alter it, or just simply sell it.
Ever since Leylin’s advancement, the A.I. Chip also received a huge upgrade.
A lot of things that he couldn’t discern back when he was an acolyte were now laid bare before him.
That Lilytell elder was simply at the level of a rank 1 Magus, and couldn’t hide anything from Leylin.
“Also, these ingredients need to be used soon. I’ve kept them for too long, and their medicinal properties are decreasing…”
Leylin looked at the several remaining stalks of plants and flowers which were under some preservation spells.
This was his loot from the Dylan Gardens. Previously, he had harvested them in a hurry, so their current appearance was not too pretty. Afterwards, he had been on the run, so he could not find much time to add more layers of preservation and maintenance spells. Hence, they currently were in a rather withered and dried up state.
A black diary lay quietly at the side. It was the Book of Giant Serpent, and even now Leylin had to flip through it every once in a while.
Although he had recorded everything with the A.I. Chip, Leylin still felt that the methods of the great Magus Serholm did not just end with the writings.
Moreover, the materials used to make the Book of Giant Serpent were extremely strange. The amount of information it could store was alarming, which gave Leylin the urge to conduct more research on it.
What was left was the Fallen Star Pendant hanging on Leylin’s neck, as well as some magic crystals and some other miscellaneous items.
Everything that was present, if added together, was all of what Leylin had.
“A rank 1 Warlock wishing to advance must never lack in the meditation and bloodlines. If not, just based on hard work, it is simply too difficult. One requires the aid of resources!”
High-grade meditation technique required precious resources as a complement and they were extremely precious. Some even existed only back in ancient times, and they have been extinct by now.
Leylin summed up his wealth and realised that he would at most lead a comfortable life in Nightless City. If he thought of relying on what he currently had to obtain enough resources to advance into a rank 2 Warlock, it was no difference from a pipe dream.
Subconsciously, he looked at his current stats.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 1 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 7.1, Agility: 6.7, Vitality: 8.5, Spiritual Force: 28.4, Magic Power: 28 (Magic Power is in synchronisation with Spiritual Force). Elemental essence conversion: 1%. Status: Healthy]
Every day, Leylin did not neglect his cultivation in a high-grade meditation technique. The Kemoyin’s Pupil was indeed a well-suited meditation technique for his bloodline. Leylin could feel that his spiritual force was growing at a steady pace daily.
As for the progress of the elemental essence conversion, it was not that satisfying.
Warlock of the Magus World 1-596 Page 116