Badge in Azure

Chapter 147: Raphael’s Wealth (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Sika gripped the rope tightly, helping stabilize Nailisi’s body. Nailisi approached the first magic array, took out six magic nuclei, and went around installing the magic nuclei into the magic arrays.

Whimpers came from the holes in the metallic column. The remaining clothes on Nailisi were also pulled by the force of the suction, producing tearing noises. Nailisi’s expression did not change as her toenails gradually grew longer, digging even deeper into the stone ground.

Sika was very anxious. The five magic arrays to the front and sides of the metallic column had been taken care of. There was only one more magic array remaining behind the metallic column. The rope was going to be extended to its full length. When the rope was fully stretched, Nailisi looked back at Sika. Then, with a scratch of her finger on the rope around her waist, Nailisi cut the taut rope.

Nailisi bent down and began crawling on the ground. Her fingernails had fully extended and were embedded in the ground as well. The ground was very hard, so Nailisi tried her best to stay close to the ground while crawling towards the back of the metallic column.

Without the assistance of the rope, her physical exhaustion increased. In addition, Nailisi was going in a direction where she needed to use all of her might to resist the force of the suction, and there was nothing for her to draw strength from. The pain from her toenails and fingernails was increasing, and Nailisi wondered whether she had become a frail magic beast.

Nailisi could feel the bones of her fingers fracturing, so her tail swiftly extended and gave her support until she could continue crawling forward. When Nailisi reached the edge of the magic array, she spit out a magic nucleus and installed it in the magic array. Then, she went to the other corner of the magic array. Her tail flew in the opposite direction and anchored itself deeply in the ground, providing resistance to the suction from the metallic column.

Even a grand swordmaster might not have possessed as great of a body strength as Nailisi. Presently, Nailisi felt like her skeleton was going to be ripped apart, and her strength was quickly diminishing.

Pu…

Nailisi spit out the last magic nucleus and used her remaining strength to press the magic nucleus against the groove of the magic array. Before she could even think of how to activate the magic array, a magical light shined throughout the eighth story.

The mighty suction from the metallic column disappeared abruptly. Nailisi’s legs relaxed, causing her body to fly to the other side. However, she had been held down by her tail, so she slammed directly into the ground instead.

Nailisi knew that the danger had passed so she happily withdrew her tail. Her entire body was in pain, so Nailisi decided to just lie down on her back with her limbs facing upward. The colossal metallic column was just like a grand swordmaster at their peak who had exploded with all of their power. The suction had almost torn through Nailisi’s bones.

The magic array began to turn endlessly. The magic nuclei in the magic array retracted automatically, in equilibrium with the magic arrays. The ground which had been dug into by Nailisi even reverted to its original state. The magical light gave off an abnormally serene glow, causing Nailisi’s vision to blur. In her trance, Nailisi saw Saleen walk towards her and put clothes on her.

“Master?”

“Go to sleep.” Saleen’s voice rang in Nailisi’s ears. Nailisi completely relaxed, not knowing how she had managed to accomplish that. In any case, her master had returned, so she would not need to bear the pain that would come with Saleen’s death.

“Saleen!”

Sika rushed into the eighth story and hugged Saleen tightly. Nailisi was stuck between the both of them and gave a moan, but did not wake up.

“Sika, I’m going to be crushed!” Saleen called out. Sika possessed too much strength, and Saleen’s body could not withstand all that force.

Sika released her hands and smiled at Lex who was standing beside Saleen, not bothering to hide her euphoria. Lex sighed and said, “We’d better leave this place. These magic nuclei won’t last for long.”

As Lex spoke, Saleen had already noticed that the turning speed of the magic arrays had slowed down considerably and the magical light had grown dimmer. The turning of magic arrays was an activity that exhausted a great deal of materials, and a person needed to know that the magic nuclei that Nailisi had kept had been at least Grade 5.

Saleen carried Nailisi in his arms and the four of them hastily left the eighth story. Just before the door closed, the magical light in the room vanished completely. Saleen feared that if they had stayed in that room any longer, they would have all been sucked into the metallic column. This time, there would not be anyone left behind to save them.

The four of them stayed outside to rest. Sika was fine, but Nailisi had depleted almost all of her physical strength. Nailisi would require at least a few hours to regain all that strength. Lex had also used up her magic liquid. It would not be enough to rely on the Chunlin spell alone for Lex to regain her physical strength.

In comparison to divine spells, magic spells had no side effects. However, spells below the level of a sorcerer took a longer time to take effect. The magic liquid produced by a Grade 7 sorcerer would be able to recover all of a person’s physical strength within a minute or two, while a Grade 4 Chunlin spell was more for therapeutic effects. If a divine spell was used instead, a person would regain all of their physical strength the moment the divine light appeared, but the person would need to sacrifice their vitality.

Such a sacrifice was not reversible, but the user had a choice in who to sacrifice. The user could either exhaust their own vitality or exhaust the vitality of the target who had received the spell. In most circumstances, the user would not sacrifice themselves.

Saleen made the most of his time and began training using his clan badge. Currently, his magic chords and mental power had increased in quantity because the clan badge no longer depleted his energy. Saleen’s magic chords and mental power would be left with half the original amount whenever he used the clan badge, and the speed of his recovery was not hindered anymore.

Nailisi slept for four hours. In that time, Saleen trained eight times in total. Each time, he needed half an hour to recover. Lex also meditated during this period, because she had been in awe when she saw how hardworking Saleen was. It was no wonder Saleen advanced so quickly. Saleen might likely have been the most diligent mage Lex had ever known.

For a mage to achieve success, many conditions needed to be met. Firstly, the mage needed to be in a conducive environment. They would also need large amounts of money with which to purchase training materials. Next, a good teacher was mandatory. If a mage only relied on books, they might never be able to advance to a mage master, not to mention a sorcerer. Lastly, a mage needed talent. But talent could not be guaranteed, thus the only thing a mage could guarantee was their sheer hard work.

People could live for a hundred years. A disciple without money, a teacher, or a conducive living environment could still advance to a sorcerer before dying if they tried hard enough.

Saleen had nearly fulfilled all of the conditions to being a successful mage. He had a teacher, money, rare materials, and sufficient magic knowledge. Even so, he still dedicated every second possible to training.

Mages believed that success did not come by chance. Some mages conducted thousands of experiments and copied thousands of words just to perfect a formula. Only mages who possessed this type of zeal would become legends.

Nailisi turned around and sat up straight before secretly touching her bum to check whether her tail was still extended. Nailisi did not want Lex to find out her real identity, and Saleen had kept reminding her as well, so she was particularly careful about her tail.

Lex opened her eyes. A mage’s meditation could not be stopped at will, and some mages had been paralyzed because they did not complete their meditation. Lex’s secrets and Saleen’s legacy were of the same level. Lex’s guidelines for meditation had originated from the Grukos family, and they had a thousand year old legacy which had groomed many royal mages.

“Saleen, let’s go and take a look.” Lex reverted to her normal self, which had warmer and more intimate mannerisms than those of noble families. But Saleen felt regretful, as Lex had looked more adorable when she had been in the metallic column. Even though the barrier caused by their differences in grades had disappeared and the current Lex was also easy to talk to, she was inevitably a member of the royal family who was going to establish a county, so certain intrinsic characteristics about her could not be changed.

Lex was actually overjoyed. The harvest on the eighth story had been more than what she had expected. She had just experienced a world created by a mage, and that was as amazing as the gods themselves. Now more than ever, Lex was firm in her beliefs. She wanted to create a permanent teleportation portal between the Myers Mainland and this interdimensional space. With the six element space and the independent world, she would be able to fulfill her ambitions.

No matter what Saleen obtained from the ninth floor, she would not be tempted anymore. Never before in her life had Lex felt that her spirit was so complete and her heart so whole. But it was not because Lex had gained a massive fortune. It was because she finally believed that she could pioneer an unprecedented path.

In that instant, Lex felt that the doors to Grade 6 had been opened to her. Her mental power had exceeded Grade 5 even though her magic chords had not yet grown. As long as her magic chords underwent some minute changes, a chain reaction would take place and Lex would be able to advance to Grade 6. Once Lex became Grade 6, she would be able to start unraveling the secrets of sorcerers.

If a sorcerer was said to be an ocean, then a Grade 6 mage was like a river that would soon merge with that ocean.

This time around, Saleen took the lead. Aside from the entrance to this magic tower, all the other floors had not had offensive magic arrays. On the fifth story, the dead magic beast had merely given off its last bit of aggression, while on the eighth story, the metallic column had not been controlled by the six magic arrays around it. With that said, all of these events had not been intentionally caused by the owner of this tower, meaning that aside from the entrance, there were no other defenses inside of this magic tower.

On the Myers Mainland, the ninth story of a magic tower was where a Grade 9 mage lived. It contained the essence of the magic tower. This magic tower had ten stories, so Saleen was looking forward to the ninth story. What kind of special items would there be on the ninth story?

The six element space and the independent world were very astounding already, so Saleen believed that there would definitely be something on the ninth story.

Saleen came before the door to the ninth story and did a deep mage’s bow before opening the door. A cloud of vapor appeared on Saleen’s palm, and he put his palm to the door and pulled. The door opened slowly, and a dim light could be seen behind the door. Saleen saw the window at the opposite side of the room and broke out in laughter.

The mage had lived on this floor. It seemed like Saleen had been pretty lucky. This Grade 10 mage had lived on the ninth story, so if he had left any items behind, they would also be here.

The previous eight stories had been isolated, but as for the ninth story, the mage had used spatial magic to connect it to the outside world.

“Saleen, you are very lucky,” Lex said as she smiled. Lex had gotten what she wanted, and now, it seemed like Saleen had also gotten what he had wished for.

“Yes, this is what I really want.” Saleen stood at the door, feeling fearful. A Grade 10 mage’s living quarters whose assets were unguarded.