The First Order

Chapter 1073: Secret of the stone

“A violet eye?” Ren Xiaosu said in shock, “And it’s even an eye on a stone? What joke are you cracking? How can there be eyes on a stone?!”

While they were talking, Ren Xiaosu’s mind started racing. Not only had he seen the stone Melgor was talking about, but it also happened to be in his possession!

When the third weapon was unveiled that day, Ren Xiaosu even complained about it because he did not know how to use it.

In the end, the stone he had criticized actually became very important when described by Melgor.

Melgor was probably asking about this stone in frustration because he thought it could help turn his situation around if he could obtain it.

Thus, Ren Xiaosu thought the third weapon should be very important.

But how would Melgor know what the third weapon looked like? The other party had clearly not seen Ren Xiaosu’s stone before.

Ren Xiaosu pondered it. Perhaps something similar to this stone had appeared in the nation of sorcerers before, and the emergence of his third weapon had caused a specific event that got noticed by Melgor.

However, Ren Xiaosu would definitely not admit the stone was in his possession, so he could only continue playing dumb. At some point, he even wondered if he could star in a movie helmed by Mu Wan’ge’s studio after this trip to the nation of sorcerers.

His acting chops were definitely top-notch!

Melgor said disdainfully to Ren Xiaosu, “What’s so strange about a stone having an eye? You’re way too ignorant.”

After that, he took out a white stone from his sleeve. In an instant, the brilliant purple eye sigil on it started glowing.

Curious, Ren Xiaosu asked, “What exactly is that stone in your hand?”

“You don’t have to know that much yet.” Melgor put the stone back into his sleeve and said, “All I’m asking is if you’ve ever seen a similar marking to this eye?”

“No.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head and said, “Why don’t you let me go so that I can return to the Central Plains to help you search for it?”

Melgor said coldly, “Do I look stupid to you?”

Ren Xiaosu thought to himself, ‘As I managed to convince you to help with my infiltration plan this easily, I would write you off as stupid.‘

“You sorcerers require this stone to cast spells, right?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

Melgor did not answer his question. Instead, he looked at the sky again in a trance.

Ren Xiaosu started contemplating. He was a 100% sure of his deduction. In that case, the third weapon might be the key to his understanding of sorcery and the magi.

But what the hell were the Proficiency Stones in the vending machine? He even crushed one previously.

But since a single gray Proficiency Stone could be exchanged for one gratitude token, he wondered what the difference was between that and Melgor’s stone.

Ren Xiaosu turned to look at Melgor’s melancholic expression and suddenly said, “Mel…”

Melgor immediately turned around. “What did you call me?”

“Ahem, Lord Melgor.” Ren Xiaosu said, “Why don’t you get me out of these shackles first? I’ll study sorcery diligently from you, and who knows, I could help turn your situation around with my outstanding talent?”

Melgor looked at Ren Xiaosu and said, “Sure you can study sorcery under me. Even my two servants will be studying sorcery in my Sorcerer’s Tower, so a steward like you is definitely qualified.”

Ren Xiaosu’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Was this what they called searching high and low for something only to find it when it was least expected?!

He wondered how the Great Hoodwinker conducted his intelligence operations previously. How dare he claim they had no way of figuring out the sorcerers’ powers or the hierarchy of the Magi’s inner circle! He even said Fortress 178 did not know how the sorcerers were trained. But as soon as Ren Xiaosu showed up, he solved all of those problems!

Of course, the Great Hoodwinker could not be blamed for this. It could only be said that the future commander of the Northwest was amazing!

But Melgor added with a sneer, “Don’t be too happy yet. Learning sorcery doesn’t mean you can become a sorcerer. It could be nothing but a futile attempt. There’s too many people in the Kingdom of Sorcerers who hope to become sorcerers after their apprenticeship. But the reality is that they can’t surpass the threshold and become a sorcerer in their lifetimes. What causes true despair is that it has absolutely nothing to do with talent.”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. What did he mean by that? Were there certain requirements to become a sorcerer?

After that, Melgor turned around and went back into his tent. He did not even say anything about removing the shackles for Ren Xiaosu.

“Hey, finish explaining before you sleep!” Ren Xiaosu said.

How could he go back to sleep now that he had been left hanging? Therefore, Ren Xiaosu tried to bait Melgor into telling him everything he knew.

But no matter what he said, Melgor decided to ignore him.

Out of desperation, the sleepless Ren Xiaosu could only wake the two servants up.

Liu Ting and Li Chengguo’s eyes were completely bloodshot after they were woken up by Ren Xiaosu. They looked at each other and wondered if they should take this opportunity to teach Ren Xiaosu a lesson while Lord Melgor was asleep. That would teach this Central Plains young man from climbing over their heads and pushing them around.

The two servants were thinking that even if this young man had immense strength, his hands were still handcuffed. There were two of them, so surely they could beat him easily, right?

At 4:11 AM, the two servants’ anger reached a boiling point. They banded together to act on their grievances.

At 4:12 AM, the two servants were mercilessly beaten back down by Ren Xiaosu and made to answer for their criminal intent.

The two servants, now sporting a black eye each, sobbed, “Both of us are servants of a sorcerer. Why do you keep treating us like that?”

“I’m his steward while you two are just servants. Is there anything wrong with me ordering you two around?” When Ren Xiaosu saw that they were on the verge of tears, he could not help feeling sorry for them. Thus, he patiently consoled them, “As long as you two behave obediently, why would I hit you?”

As a matter of fact, the average physical fitness of those from the nation of sorcerers was only at the level of normal people. They were much weaker than the expeditionary army’s barbarians. Therefore, even if Ren Xiaosu had his hands bound right now, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to take on a 100 of them at once.

“But you’re not his steward yet. You’re only a captive,” Li Chengguo said aggrievedly.

“It only takes a word from me to change that, right?” Ren Xiaosu snapped, “Don’t keep talking about this. I want to ask you two something. Melgor said earlier that even if I studied sorcery, I still can’t become a sorcerer. Why’s that?”

The two servants looked at each other before asking Ren Xiaosu, “You don’t know?”

Ren Xiaosu frowned. “I’m from the Central Plains, so how would I know anything about this? From what you just described, this is something known by everyone in the nation of sorcerers?”

“Of course.” Li Chengguo said, “There’s a lot of people who want to be sorcerers in the kingdom, but very few manage to become one.”

“So why can’t I become a sorcerer?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“Because you don’t have the stone Lord Melgor has..”