Chapter 80 – Return
Return
Within Extreme Night City, there was recently a matter that was neither big nor small happening. This turned into an idle conversation topic discussed by commoners after lunch tea.
Mister Leylin, an heir of a noble who had stayed in the city for three years and Viscount Jackson and Scholar Murphy’s good friend, was temporarily leaving Extreme Night City.
Before he left, he actually handed over the manor and medicinal shop to his serving attendant, a maid, to handle the running.
For nobles, although they did vent their pent up energy on their serving maids frequently, they would never have handed over important establishments and such over to them because of this act.
After all, to them, maids were like toys, which could be changed or abandoned at any time. As for establishments and lands, they would often become the inheritance of an heir, and was the root for the growth of a family’s continual development.
By doing this, Leylin had turned into a joke in front of the rest of the nobility. Not only did his reputation contain a lazy and kind person, it also extended to a muddle-headed trademark.
However, to the surprise of many, the maid, with the help of two Knights, very soon made the remainder of Leylin’s faction submit to her. At the same time, Viscount Jackson city lord and Murphy stepped in personally to express their support for the maid, which allowed her to act on Leylin’s behalf with his establishments.
After taking over Leylin’s establishments, Anna dedicated herself to managing them and did it neatly and tidily. Not only did Leylin’s establishment in Extreme Night City not fail as predicted by the other nobles, it continually developed, which made many nobles fall from their chair.
However, all of these things had nothing to do with Leylin. At this moment, he had long since left Extreme Night City.
* Pitter Patter! *
The sky turned dark, and bean sized drops of rain fell on the ground, initiating countless splashes.
* Thud Thud Thud! * A dark, handsome steed continually dashed along the road, and the scenery on both sides hurriedly retreated. Rainwater fell onto the body of a Knight, but was blocked by a raincoat.
By the time when it was midnight, the downpour stopped, and the Knight sought shelter in a cave.
A warm and bright flame illuminated the cave. A steel wok hung above the bonfire, and a white mushroom broth with a fragrant smell boiled. From time to time, a few pieces of meat jerky floated to the surface.
The Knight took off his coat, revealing a young face with brown hair and eyes that glittered like jewels.
This person was Leylin. At this moment, he drank the mushroom soup, while time bringing out a map from the A.I. Chip.
“After two months of continuous journeying, I am finally going to arrive at the academy!”
Leylin looked at the destination on the map. His expression was complicated. Previously, if not for him constantly changing his route and going to other markets to sell his potions, he wouldn’t have been in such a rush, and the journey would have been a breeze.
However, with such a hastened journey, he had suffered plenty.
After having lived like a king for the past 3 years, Leylin had gotten used to the extravagant life of a noble, and almost could not adapt to his current situation.
“However, I have finally arrived. According to the map, I will arrive at the academy after three more days!”
“I never thought that a third party would actually intervene, and make the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy and the other two factions come to a ceasefire agreement!”
Recalling the news that he heard from the markets in the past few days, Leylin was still somewhat in disbelief.
According to the news, with the pincer attack from the Sage Gotham’s Hut and Whitewoods Castle, Abyssal Bone Forest Academy should have been in a precarious situation. Even the academy headquarters’ defensive spell formation was damaged by half and was almost broken.
However, in the end, it was unknown what method the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy chairman used. He had actually managed to appeal for help from the Lighthouse of the Night.
The Lighthouse of the Night was one of the finest organisations in the south coast. Its leader was rumoured to have the strength of a rank 3 Magus.
Under the forceful mediation of the Lighthouse of the Night, the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy finally managed to escape from its dangerous situation, eventually reaching a treaty between the two rivaling factions.
Leylin was not someone who would immediately respond when he was requested to return to the academy. Along the way, he always inquired for news. Only when he was indeed certain that Abyssal Bone Forest Academy was freed from war, and that the recalling of the acolytes was not a trap, did he decide to return to the academy.
“With this distance, I can already initiate the communicative method that mentor showed me before! It’s best to first discern the truth!”
Leylin’s face turned serious, and he withdrew a pink coloured potion from his robes.
After removing the plug, he used the pink coloured potion to draw a mysterious rune on the ground. It was cursive and winding, like a worm.
* Sssii! * Pink smoke rose into the air continuously, before finally turning into the shape of a large pink ear.
“Who is this? This energy wave?” Beside the ear, Kroft’s voice sounded, carrying many other static noises with it.
“It’s me! Professor!” Leylin spoke softly.
“This voice! These spiritual force waves! You are Leylin! You have actually become a level 3 acolyte!” Astonishment could be heard in Kroft’s voice.
For third grade acolytes, if they wanted to advance from a level 2 acolyte to a level 3 acolyte, it often required at least 5 years of constructing the mind runes and reinforcing of the sea of consciousness.
However, Leylin had spent only 3 years to advance to a level 3 acolyte, which shocked Kroft.
“You are only 17 this year, yet you have entered the realm of a level 3 acolyte!” Kroft’s voice, which was usually stable, carried a trace of excitement in it, “An acolyte who is level 3 before the age of 20 often has an extremely huge chance of advancing to an official Magus. However, the numbers of such acolytes are extremely rare. Even your senior, Merlin, only advanced to a level 3 acolyte when he was 21.
If Kroft knew that Leylin had advanced to a level 3 acolyte only 1 year after he had left the academy, he might immediately label him as a genius!
However, striking it rich silently was always Leylin’s norm of handling his affairs. Towards his mentor’s astonishment, Leylin only bowed and said, “I was only lucky, and found a rare Void Flower ….”
A Void Flower was a type of mysterious plant. Its petals were purple, and it if a magician were to raise it, it would be an extremely strong stimulant towards a magician’s spiritual force. The most crucial point was that the laws of reproduction for the Void Flower were strange. they could appear at any place on the continent. There were even cases in which magicians found traces of these plants at the bottom of the sea or in a pit of a volcano.
Moreover, the Void Flower had a special attribute. Once its petals were plucked, the whole stalk will immediately combust, leaving no traces behind.
Naturally, this was an excuse that Leylin thought of long ago. Through the A.I. Chip’s data gathering of various mysterious plants, he had already prepared this excuse as a reason for his advancement.
It was not like there weren’t any other level 2 acolytes who had used a Void Flower to advance to a level 3 acolyte before.
“Void Flower?” Kroft’s shock was relayed through the ear. “Such a precious magician resource could also be found by you… That is a top grade material of which one petal can cost several thousands of magic crystals…. It can even aid a magician in advancing….”
However, it was extremely difficult to predict luck in this world. After sticking to his statement that the Void Flower was indeed used up, Kroft had no other choice but to believe him.
What followed next was that the mentor and student spoke of Leylin’s recent journeying experiences. When Kroft learned that Leylin had successfully completed the mission from the academy, he expressed his congratulations.
Towards the end, Leylin asked in a solemn tone, “Professor, regarding the recalling of the acolytes to the academy…..”
Why he did not ask the academy directly was, naturally, because he was afraid that it would be a trap. It may have very well been that the chairman of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had some other plans, and might be prepared to sacrifice a bunch of acolytes.
“….” Kroft remained silent on the other side of the communication spell, before finally speaking again some time later.
“The recall of acolytes, this time, had indeed been approved by the chairman and board of directors. I can assure you that there is no lie in the recall, but….”
Leylin hesitated and held his breath, afraid to disturb his mentor.
“Originally, if you were still a level 2 acolyte, I would most likely have not approved of you returning to the academy. However, now that you are a level 3 acolyte, things are different. Let me ask you, do you wish to advance to an official Magus?”
Kroft asked suddenly.
“A rank 1 Magus. It is often the starting point for a Magus who pursues the truth. I definitely want to advance!” Leylin’s voice was low.
“If that is the case, then come back! When you’re here, I’ll tell you everything! There isn’t much time now….” The pink ear shuddered and exploded immediately, turning into a huge cloud of smoke as it dissipated into the air.
In the empty cave, Kroft’s voice finally resounded one last time, “Heed my words! This opportunity is extremely rare but is also accompanied by danger. If you wish to walk further down the path of a Magus, then hurry back!”
Leylin looked at the gradually disappearing smoke and muttered to himself.
Through the long distance communication with Kroft today, although time was short, Leylin was able to understand the circumstances within the academy.
From this, he knew that the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had indeed extricated itself from danger but the war seemed to still be ongoing. This was why the academy forcefully recalled its acolytes back.
Moreover, opportunities often came hand in hand with risks. Looking at Kroft’s opinion, it seemed that plenty of opportunities would await him if he returned. It even related to the advancement that Leylin would have to undergo in the future.
“An official Magus!”
Leylin walked towards the entrance of the cave, and looked at the downcast sky and pitter-patter sounds of the downpour, letting out a sigh.
These few days, apart from making haste, he did nothing else but to go to a few magician markets to have a look. However, no matter how many magic crystals he was willing to part with, the market never contained any information pertaining to the advancement of an official Magus. Moreover, no one even sold a method of obtaining such information.
Looking at it, it seemed as though a large, invisible hand had directly hauled all of the information regarding official Magi away, not letting anyone else know of it.
“To be able to monopolise the information to such an extent, it must be supported by, at least, a majority of magicians within the large organisations and factions in the south coast….”