Badge in Azure

Chapter 152: Return (Part 1)

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

“Let’s not talk about this, Saleen. We are going to learn how to write magic books today,” Lex said. She knew that even if Saleen was able to sway his mentor and subsequently make an impact on Alchemy City, the place where Jason had been trained, now was not the time to discuss it.

Speaking of magic book writing, it was an area that Saleen was not well-versed in. People who possessed the ability to write magic books were likely those who had inherited the knowledge through their magic lineage. Needless to say, it would be very hard for Saleen or even anyone at all to find a book on this subject. Had Jason stayed in Alchemy City, Saleen would have been able to learn it alongside Jason. However, when Jason left, he had merely been a Grade 1 mage and was thus unqualified to teach Saleen.

Lex erased the magical texts in her own bronze magic book page by page before coaching Saleen in the art of magic book writing. Writing a magic book and transcribing a magic book were two completely different things, even though they both required dragon’s blood ink.

A person should not have been fooled by the name. The original dragon’s blood ink had indeed contained the blood of a dragon. However, dragon’s blood had become increasingly difficult to obtain because the number of dragons that existed in the present day were scarce. Even in ancient times, crossing over to the dragons’ territory to capture these strong creatures had been very troublesome. Hence, in the last ten thousand years, “dragon’s blood ink” had actually evolved to the point where it was merely a mixture of dozens of magic medicines.

Technically, to master the art of magic book writing, a student only needed to be extremely focused as well as careful so that they did not mispell the words. For a magic mantra to work, Wind Magic had to be incorporated as well. People who used the magic book could even control the way the mantra was to be pronounced. Next was the illustration of how the spell would work. The graphical portrayal of the spell execution was often three dimensional, and was tailored to the law of the elements involved. This was so that the reader could master it intuitively, which lessened the chances of any blunders.

The process of recording the spells was very demanding on the average mage, but it was also the best way for any mage to hone their skills.

Even for Grade 1 magic, the process of dissecting the spell, describing how it worked, and creating the graphical portrayal were very exhausting processes. This was further intensified by the necessity of incorporating Wind Magic.

Saleen diligently followed Lex’s step-by-step demonstration in an attempt to master the skill. Completing one bronze magic book alone took him over three months. Even in such a long time frame, he only managed to copy eighteen low-level spells. The highest magic spell recorded was probably of Grade 3.

After transcribing all of the spells from the bronze magic book, Saleen felt that he was now able to perfect low-level magic spells. He understood every stage of low-level spell casting, and his understanding of magic overall had profoundly deepened.

Previously, Saleen had only liked learning instantaneous spells; however, instantaneous spells almost always contained flaws in them. For example, once a person chose to focus on speed, he or she would have to give up another special power of theirs in order to master the art of speed.

After dissecting the spells so he could provide better descriptions for them, Saleen understood what was meant by magic rhythm.

Nailisi had secretly absorbed the residual energy in Raphael’s skeleton, and the only thing she did everyday was sleep. Meanwhile, Sika simply ran over to the open space outside of the magical tower to practice her magic. Saleen and Lex got along well, likely due to the face to face communication that had been happening for around six months now.

Saleen then began to systematically learn Grade 4 magic. This time, Lex had decided to use a different method to teach Saleen. She explained the workings of a Grade 4 spell to Saleen, and even after making sure that he had completely understood what she had said, Lex continued to demonstrate how the spell worked by using a blank magic scroll.

Lex did not use the silver magic book because she had yet to reach the level of a sorceress and was thus unable to erase the contents written in a silver magic book. The good thing about these mid-level blank scrolls was that through the constant creation of the Grade 4 scrolls used in her demonstrations, she revised her Grade 4 magic once more.

When Saleen would practice, Lex would hold a silver magic book in hand and study the contents of it by herself. Both of them had decided to dedicate their time to learning and practicing their craft, and they were desperate to make every second count.

The reason behind their behavior was due to the lack of free time they would both have once they returned to the Myers Mainland.

Saleen had no choice but to conduct selective learning. He had no time to thoroughly study Grade 4 and Grade 5 magic, as he needed to master his fighting skills first.

Grade 4 spells, like the Chunlin spell, Ice Plate Armor, Poison Fog, and Current Cutter, were Saleen’s main focus for now. He practiced diligently, and used his guidelines for meditation as a substitute for sleep. He also depended on magic nuclei and other equipment to quickly restore his magic chords.

If Saleen solely focused on mastering his spell casting without delving deeper into the technical aspects of his magic, he would be able to speed up his learning process. This was not beneficial if Saleen wanted to advance, but it would be beneficial if Saleen wanted to know the fastest way to improve his combat abilities.

Lex did not push Saleen too hard either, because that would mean less time for her to learn Grade 6 magic. She was already able to cast a Grade 7 magic spell. That ability was only parallelled by sorcerers. Even though Lex was not a sorceress yet, she knew that Grade 6 mages were able to release Grade 7 magic scrolls. This was not a huge achievement for the average mage. However, for Lex, it meant much more because she had many magic scrolls which required higher levels of skill to release.

When necessary, Lex would be able to use Grade 7 magic scrolls to finish off her enemies during a battle. Mages who were at the same level as her would definitely be no match for her. It was not because her capabilities far surpassed those of the others. In truth, it was solely because she had money, power, and resources at her disposal.

Saleen stored six Grade 5 spells in the demon magic book and one Grade 4 and Grade 5 spell in the silver magic book. The spells that the silver magic book could store were limited. Saleen could only store one spell of each grade inside. The only way to properly utilize the silver magic book would be to possess the ability to switch between mid-level spells with ease. Saleen was able to do this with low-level magic.

Lex was also doing her best to improve her strength. She knew that being promoted to the level of a higher grade mage would not guarantee the immediate acquisition of stronger offensive magic abilities. All the promotion would do was lengthen her magic chords and allow her to be better able to learn high-level spells. To improve her strength, she would have to depend on hard work.

Both Lex and Saleen had rare magic robes in their possession. The robes ensured that even while they were practicing their magic, they would still be able to control the elements involved and there would not be any abnormal elemental waves. During their five months of practice, thanks to their robes, they never once made a single mistake.

Saleen let out a deep sigh as he thought about the importance of being well-equipped. He realized now why someone would be willing to fork over tens of thousands of gold coins in exchange for the crystal white ring that his teacher had given him. The ring was able to speed up the restoration rate of his magic chords. After using his badge along with other equipment that drained him of his strength, he only needed half an hour to recover with the help of the crystal white ring.

On the other hand, without the crystal white ring, other mages would require at least two hours to recover even with the help of other equipment. Furthermore, the magic robes that both Lex and Saleen wore provided exceptionally stable elemental spaces and thus created the most conducive environments for learning or practice. With the exception of the fact that the robes could not enhance their combat skills, their magic robes were just like miniature magic towers.

That very day, Lex was composing a Grade 6 magic scroll. All of a sudden, the Shinra’s ring on her hand suddenly lit up. That flash of light caused Lex to momentarily pause her writing. The half-written scrolls that were floating in the air burst into flames. Caught by surprise, Lex immediately threw the scrolls out of the window.

Lex knew that the loud crashing sound that ensued moments later meant that the scrolls were now completely useless.

Saleen, who had previously been meditating, immediately opened his eyes at the sound of the explosion.

“Has it been one year already?” Saleen asked, suddenly feeling a little dazed. In his mind, it did not seem like a bad thing to simply stay here and practice magic every day rather than head back.

“Yes, it has been a year,” Lex replied, also reluctant to leave. During this year, she had relived the experience of being a low-level mage. Just like low-level mages did, she had been improving every day, and her daily progress was very obvious. If she continued honing her skills, she would be able to become a sorceress in just seven to eight years. To be promoted to the level of a sorceress before the age of thirty was quite unheard of in the Myers Mainland.

“We have to go back, don’t we?” As Saleen spoke, he turned around and saw Sika already running down from the magic tower with a look of excitement on her face. Saleen suddenly felt a little selfish. If he continued practicing magic by himself, he would be able to extend his lifespan if he managed to reach Grade 7. From there, he could continue learning new skills. But what about Sika? She was just a warrior. Would she be able to handle being in this lonely interdimensional space until they grew old?

“How are we going to go back?” Saleen asked. He beckoned to Sika with a wave of his hand, asking her to come sit beside him. Nailisi had woken up by then. She raised her head for a bit before returning to rest her chin on the bed. Regardless of where they were, her lifespan would always be longer than Saleen’s. This interdimensional space had the essences of demons, which had prevented her from feeling even a little bit sad.

“Help me clear this a bit!” Lex called. She had everyone clear the ground before solemnly removing a large number of stones from the inside of the shinra. Afterwards, she began piecing them together on the ground.

Saleen looked at those stones and recognized them to be materials for creating a magic array. Most of them were steel, and there were also obsidian, pyrophyllite, muscovite, and other precious stones.

Seeing that Saleen was slightly suspicious of the stones, Lex said, “This is what my father prepared for me. At first, it would have been possible to build a teleportation portal to connect Bitter Water Prefecture to Holy Rock City, but now, we have no choice but to use it here.”

The nine floors of the magic tower had mostly been cleared, aside from a bed. Apart from that, there was nothing else left. Nailisi, upon realizing that there was not enough space left, had no choice but to get up from the bed and dismantle it to prepare it for transport. The strength of Sika and Nailisi was astonishing. Each of them were able to dismantle, remove, and carry half of the bed.

“Are you sure this can be used for interdimensional teleportation?” Saleen asked hesitantly. Teleporting living, breathing people was very different from teleporting small objects. Even in places like the Qin Empire where magic flourished, teleportation was only used to send emergency military information. Realistically, it was only able to transport boxes that were half a foot long at most. For people to teleport over long distances, not only would the magic nuclei need to be stripped of their energy, but the interdimensional portal would also experience a reduction in its lifespan.

Lex gently stroked the god’s ring on her hand before replying, “Yes. About two, three times, maybe? Relax, we will be protected by the god’s ring.”

“Is it true that the god’s ring will take one year to recover every time we use it?” Saleen patiently asked. He knew that whenever he felt uneasy, trouble would soon follow. Thus, he had made a habit out of considering all potential danger whenever he felt this way.

“No. That happened last time because it was resisting god’s punishment. Thus, the energy that was expended was quite extreme. Divine punishment is actually equivalent to just one percent of the power that the gods possess.”

“Then I think you shouldn’t make use of the god’s ring. It’s alright if the teleportation portal is ruined as long as we can still go back.”

Lex smiled. “Why are you so worried? We’ll end up at the other end of the teleportation portal, which is the palace of Holy Rock City. Even if the people of the Holy See have already begun to attack the grounds of the Qin Empire, that place is supposed to be impenetrable.”

“I am not worried about the Holy See,” Saleen said, causing Lex to furrow her eyebrows.

“Why would you say that?” Lex asked.

Saleen replied curtly, “Intuition.”

“Intuition?” Lex laughed before continuing, “Isn’t a mage supposed to place their faith in magic formulae?”