Chapter 651: Spirits
We entered the hurricane after I cut open a path so we have easier time to enter. But right after I made a path, the hurricane then blocked the path again. It's a never ending hurricane that can't be fully stopped.
Inside the hurricane, we landed on the vast meadow that my Divine Vision can't see everything. Though all I see is grass and many magic stones.
"Oh, there are a lot of magic stones as well here. Roy, you said that the hurricane lifted more stones than what we see here. Is that right?" Kron asked.
"Yeah. At least around this area only. This area is vast and there's even a place where we can still climb higher. Maybe there are places with more magic stones. But if it's magic stones we're after, we don't need to look more. We could even just wait until the stones that the hurricane carried fall outside," I said.
After I said that, we can see some smaller magic stones were lifted from the ground by the wind easily, and joined the other magic stones. Rotating along with the hurricane.
Even if we're in the eye of the storm, the wind is still strong enough to lift a stone the size of a fist. Though there are even bigger magic stones that won't be easily lifted.
When I cut open the hurricane, the stones that were carried by the wind started to fall. But we reached the center before the magic stones that are high in the sky fell to the ground.
.....
"...We always have difficulty to reach the peak. Even though I'm a master level mage, I can only stop the wind temporarily. That's why for us, those stones are obstacles to reach the center. But to think that you can easily cut open a path with a sword. The outside world is too scary," Patricia said.
"Don't worry about it. It's just Roy. Other than Roy, there were no one else who can do what he does. Just get used to it," Shirley said.
For now, let's mark this place with a Blobby. I looked for a boulder that I think the hurricane won't be able to lift and pasted a Blobby there. And I make sure that the Blobby will stick to that boulder and won't let go.
"With this, we can easily come here in the future. You can explore this area and see what you can find," I said to the others.
"Wait! Before that, I have something to tell you. This place is poisonous. That's why there are no one willing to come here and stay too long. Don't stay too long here or you'll faint from the poison," Patricia said.
Poison? There's no such thing though.
"What kind of poison?" Shirley asked.
"I don't know. People just started to faint. It's not something that we know. You won't die if you get poisoned, but I don't know if it's safe or not," Patricia said.
Faint? Oh, that's not poison then.
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"Don't worry. I can tell that it's not poison. Being this high means the air we breathe is thinner. Though I also feel that the air here is different. Seems like it's not just wind mages who will benefit from cultivating here. Air mages can improve quicker as well. You guys don't need to worry. I have cast air magic so you won't have any problem breathing here for a few hours. Go and explore this place. I'll stay here and cultivate," I said as I sat down on the ground.
Other than being in space, this is the other place where I can cultivate my air element. And it's less dangerous than in the outer space. Maybe I can reach expert level here. Or even master level.
As I cultivate, I feel that my air magic is growing. Although it's different from cultivating in the outer space, cultivating here also improves my air magic a lot.
After one hour of cultivating, I think I had enough. It won't be long before I can reach expert level in my air magic.
Now, let's check this place.
Seems like Shirley is still riding on Ray's back here. I can just use portal to where Ray is and find her.
"Have you find anything here?" I asked Shirley.
"Other than this place benefits wind mages, I didn't see anything else. Once the matter in Rygis is over, I think I'll stay here for a while," Shirley said.
And then, I see Kron descending from the sky. He must be returning from the peak of this mountain.
"There's no difference in cultivating here or at the peak of this mountain. I didn't sense anything strange as well," Kron said.
Then Patricia come over and she just shook her head. She also didn't find anything it seems.
Suddenly, we feel a gust of powerful wind coming here. We're in the eye of the storm and there's an extra wind here?
I look over to the source and see that Veronica is there. And she seems to be fighting someone or something. Is there a monster here?
"Veronica is fighting something. Let's go there!" I said to everyone here.
Though I can't see what she's fighting, that thing is there. I don't think there's something wrong with my Divine Vision though.
And when I used Mind's Eye along with Divine Vision, I can finally sense what Veronica is fighting. There's something small, but it feels like something extremely familiar to me. Air.
Though there are more than one thing Veronica is fighting. The one that's fighting Veronica doesn't feel like air. It's more like wind. Moving air.
"Veronica! What's wrong!?" I asked her when I arrive.
"I don't know! Something suddenly attacked me! I'm just protecting myself!" Veronica replied.
No wonder. The things that Veronica are fighting doesn't feel like a living being. They are like air and wind.
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"Then I'll take care of the one that feels like air first. You'll try and stall for the one you're facing," I said.
So far, I can only sense two existences. But they didn't show any killing intent at all.
The one that feels like wind is facing Veronica. And the other is just watching.
Although that one feels like air, it feels like that thing is concentrated in one point. And it's occupied only a small space. So I just transformed some Blobbies into a jar and capture that thing.
Once that thing was captured on an airtight Blobbyjar, the one that feels like wind turns its hostility toward me. This one is trying to help the air one.
And so, I make another Blobbyjar and locked the thing inside as well.
"Well, that's done... huh? The hurricane is stopping? Does it mean they are the one responsible for the hurricane?"
With two jar in my hands, I looked at the hurricane that is stopping. All the floating stones are falling down like hail. Though since everyone here other than me are wind mages, they can easily avoid getting rained down by those stones. As for me, I just need to cover my body with Aura. And the stones couldn't bother me.
I looked at the inside of the jars, and finally, the wind and the air inside the jar then changed form. And now, they have the form of a fairy. Or at least what I imagined what a fairy look like.
"Hey, you two. We are not here to cause you trouble. We only want to cultivate and grow stronger. As long as you agree to let us do what we want, I will release you. Don't worry because I promise to not harm you. At least the people I brought here with me won't harm you. There are many kinds of human in this world after all," I said.
"Roy, who are you talking to?" Kron asked me.
The jar was locked so tightly without any opening. So it's normal that those inside the jars won't be able to hear me. But I also have trained my air magic to the point that I can vibrate the air inside the jar and make it be the one talking while I just keep my mouth shut.
So, I vibrated the air inside the jars and make them say the same thing I just said. If the fairy-like thingies can understand me, I will know since I can see with my Divine Vision.
"Oh, and I can't hear you. So you can only nod or shake your head as response," I added.
Hearing that, the one that feels like air nodded. And soon after, the wind one nodded as well. So I opened the jars and let them free.
Soon after, the hurricane appears again. As expected, the wind one is the reason why there's a hurricane in this place.
"Fairies!?" Patricia was shocked when she sees what's in front of her.
"Sorry for the ruckus before. I'm Roy. I'm just here to to get myself and my friends stronger by cultivating in this place and gather the magic stones here," I said.
"...I'll trust you for now, human Roy. I'm the wind spirit residing in this place. And this is my sister the air spirit," the windy one said.
Wind spirit and air spirit? Are they the reason wind element and air element here feels good for wind mages and air mages?
...Is it another chance for me to recruit more monsters?
Chapter 652: Giving the Spirits Names
"Wind Spirit and Air Spirit? Are they amazing?" Kron asked curiously.
"Well, we don't know for sure yet. But at least we know that the wind spirit is the one responsible for the hurricane that surround this place. Veronica, how did you end up fighting them?" I asked Veronica. She's the one who encountered the spirits first.
"I don't know. I was just walking around when I feel the wind changed. I feel like someone is attacking me with wind magic, so I just protecting myself," Veronica said.
Oh, right. When I saw her before, she wasn't attacking at all. She only did defensive maneuver and never fight back. So it was the wind spirit first who attacked first.
"Well... wind spirit and air spirit, why did you attack my friend? We're not here to make enemies," I asked the spirits.
"I'm not fighting her. My brother is the one attacking your friend first," the air spirit said.
"I was just playing with your friend!" The wind spirit said.
.....
"Playing without asking first. So others will think that you're attacking her out of nowhere," the air spirit said.
So the wind spirit was just being playful. I suppose they have the mind of a child.
Their appearance is that of a fairy like in picture books. Small, just about the height of a person's head, with translucent wings on their back. The wind spirit looks like a small man, while the air spirit look like a small woman.
"Hey, hey! Your wind was so strong! Even stronger than that person when her level is supposed to be higher! How can you do that!?" the wind spirit asked Veronica.
"Huh? Well, I practiced my wind magic and cultivate it somewhere where powerful wind blew once in a while. It's on the back of a kaiser dragon. Because his body was so big, his wings need to be strong enough so he can stay in the sky," Veronica replied.
"Kaiser dragon!? I wanna see! I wanna see!" the wind spirit asked Veronica excitedly.
The wind spirit seems to be more childish. As for the air spirit, she seems to be calmer.
"Well... maybe you'll be able to meet him someday," Veronica said.
"By the way, what should we call you? Just wind spirit and air spirit? Do you have a name we can call you?" I asked the spirits.
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"No. We never have any names. There are only the two of us here with humans occasionally come and left quickly after collecting some stones here," the air spirit said.
"Name! I want a name! Human, give me a name!" the wind spirit who heard me talking to the air spirit asked me to give them a name. Is it fine to just give them a name? Shelia, Graham, Tia, and Arin have their own names even though they're monsters. But maybe they have different cultures. Or that spirits and monsters are totally different. Spirits are not monsters.
Well, in any case, I need to have easier way to remember their name. Something that I can easily remember.
"Then, the air spirit will be Airy, and the wind spirit will be Breezy. I can't call you Windy because that will confuse me with Wendy over there," I said.
"Breezy! I'm Breezy! Call me Breezy now, Airy!" Breezy excitedly flies around his sister.
"He didn't put any effort in giving us names. But I don't hate it," Airy said.
At least they like their names. Breezy and Airy. It's easy to remember.
"So, do you live here?" I asked the two spirits.
"Yes! I'm afraid to go out so there's only the two of us here!" Breezy said.
"I'm just too lazy to move. Though I was also scared as well," Airy said.
So, while Breezy is energetic, Airy is lazy. Though I wonder what these two are afraid of.
"What were you afraid of?" I asked.
"A long time ago, a mad man come and destroy the landscape just to make a settlement. His earth magic was so powerful that he created this mountain single-handedly. Although we were not in our material form, he always know where we are despite the fact that he's neither a wind mage nor was he an air mage. Wherever we go, he would chase after us just for fun. To capture us and to show other people that he can catch us. And we would always be freed and tried to escape again only to get caught. And so, we flew high to the sky. And he made this mountain just so he can chase after us," Airy said.
The spirits' body were shaking in fear because of the memory of the past. And I understand instantly who the person they were talking about.
That was Timmy. From what I heard from the two ghosts beyond master level, Timmy's personality is as the two spirits described. That was in the past. Back when he was trying to woo the girls and get everyone's approval for some reason. Or at least that's what the death mage told me.
"So, you're afraid of that guy?" I asked the spirits.
"Yes. He was strong enough. His magic level reached higher than master level," Airy said.
"Wait, there's another stage above master level!?" the only one who gets confused was Patricia. The woman who lives in an isolated country.
"Yes. And he's most likely the one who created Rygis. Or at least he's the one who brought all the girls who ended up being the founder of your country. I don't know his real name but I called him Timmy," I said.
"You know him?" Breezy asked.
"Probably."
I then explained the characteristic of Timmy to the two spirits. And the two confirmed my assumption.
"So it was really that guy. I heard that he was crazy in the past. And he's the reason why women in Rygis hate men. Even though he's dead now, he's still a pain in the ass," I said.
"How did you know him? He's someone who lived for over three thousand years ago! Even though I'm a master level mage, I don't think I can live for that long," Patricia said.
"He's not a master level mage. He's one stage above that. So his lifespan is much longer then any ordinary master level mage. And not just that. He's also an Aura Master. With the two traits combined, he could probably live for a few more thousands of years before his lifespan is over if I didn't kill him," I said.
"You killed him!? Roy, are you strong!?" Breezy asked. Airy was also interested about it.
"I'm strong, but I don't think I'm strong enough at the moment. And after hearing all the achievement and trouble that he did, I think he must be holding back his real strength when we fought. That's why I could win," I said.
"But you can still defeat him! You're strong!" Breezy said.
The two spirits then surround me with praises. Of course I happily accept it.
Meanwhile, Patricia asked Shirley about what an Aura is. There are far too many things in the world that she doesn't know. Though Aura is something that most people never heard of other than from children's stories in this day. So even if I said I use Aura to fight, unless I show it to them, they won't believe it.
"Aura is amazing. So that's why he can be that strong," Patricia said to herself.
"By the way, is the hurricane your doing?" I asked Breezy.
"Hmm? Oh, that! At first, it was me who did it. But now, even if I didn't do it on purpose, it will often happen on its own. So if you put me in a jar like before, the hurricane will disappear. But you only need to wait a little longer before another hurricane was created naturally," Breezy said.
So it means that even if he's not here, the hurricane can exist naturally in this place. That's good to know if I want to recruit him. That way, we don't need Breezy to stay here for the wind mages to improve.
But maybe if they're with us when we cultivate, either wind element or air element with Airy, our growth rate will improve even better. I'd like to recruit them even more if that's the case.
Now, how do I get them to join us? Just for the travel is enough. No need for them to fight.
"Hey, if he's dead now, there shouldn't be anyone we need to be afraid of. But we're still afraid of leaving on our own. So, can we join you guys when we're leaving?"
All of a sudden, Airy asked me to join the group. Instead of me recruiting them, she wants to join us by her own will without being asked.
"Well, that's fine. But coming with us doesn't mean it safe. After all, there's a war happening and we don't even know if we can win or not," I said truthfully.
"I want to come to! I don't care about the war! If that happens, I'll just escape!" Breezy said.
Well, with this we have recruited two spirits with us. Two more monsters.
Though I still need to explain more about what we do. Because it feels like they are just kids. Though these kids are already over three thousand years old.
Chapter 653: Our New Additions
We chatted with the two spirits about the outside world. And Patricia is also listening despite the fact that she has heard of it several times before.
It's because Patricia lived her whole life in an isolated country. Rygis is the only thing she knows. As for the spirits, they were even more isolated because they never left the gale mountain. That's why we're talking about the outside world with them.
Good thing Wendy is here. She's a teacher. Her explanation is easier to understand.
...What about me? I'm a professor. A lecturer.
Well, it was Wendy who taught me at school first. So It's natural that her explanation is easier to understand than mine.
"So, are you sure that you still want to come with us? After all, if you do, your lives might be at risk. Not only because of the cult. But also because there are other greedy humans who might be targeting you," I asked the two spirits with concern.
I really want to get them to join us. But since they're acting like kids, I can only think of them as children. That's why instead of forcing them to come, or told them the benefit in joining us like how I asked Arin and the vampire group to join us, it's best to be straightforward with Breezy and Airy.
.....
Hearing what I said, the two spirits have scared expression on their face. It's easy to tell what they're thinking.
I guess they won't join us, huh? Well, they can just stay here. We can come here whenever we want with portal.
"You don't need to come if you're afraid. You can continue staying in this place. You have been staying here for three thousand years without anything happening so it should be fine for you to stay," I said.
"But Roy, what about the cult? Rygis was so close in falling into their hand. And maybe some of them have informed the outside world about the existence of this mountain. Thanks to us, the cult didn't make any big move at the moment. But they should have known about this place already since many cult members were already here even before we make the existence of the cult public. Sooner or later, they would come here. And... Breezy and Airy will end up facing them. I wish you gave them better names..." Shirley said.
Of course those names suit them. They are wind and air spirits after all.
"You're right. I guess this place is dangerous as well. But since we can come here whenever we want, it should be fine. We can just get someone to stay here with them," I said.
I guess they won't join us now that we told them they're in danger outside.
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"But it's fine if they're with you, right? You already have so much monsters with you. You shouldn't have any problems with these two. At least even us who are expert level mages have difficulties finding them when they are not in their material form. And if you're with Airy, you can continue become stronger," Kron suggested.
Hmm... that's a good idea. But that means the spirits can only go wherever I want. Or I can just easily bring them to Monsters' Village and get other monsters to get along with them.
"Then that's it! We will stick with Roy! It's simple!" Breezy said.
"Yeah. At least other than some people from the cult, there's no one who is stronger than him if what he said is right. It will be safer to stick with him. Though that Monster's Village seems scary so please don't let us go there on our own. We'll obey you so let us stick with you," Airy said.
"Yeah! If it's you, you can protect us, right!?" Breezy asked.
Well, I can. If I can't, I can just transport them using portal to somewhere safe. They want to go meet Andro, right? I can bring them to meet him.
"I can protect you. But this is war I'm talking about so I'm not 100% sure," I said.
"You're an air mage. Just by staying with you, you can get improvement in your air magic. And my brother can stay with you or someone else with wind element. He loves moving around a lot," Airy said.
That's the problem. I know Airy can stay with me. As for Breezy, he moves around a lot.
"Are you two okay with being separated?" I asked.
"We're fine with it. Though for Breezy, I don't think he can be separated from me for too long. But if he can just open up with someone else, I think he will be fine," Airy said.
Hearing that, I looked at Kron. For someone who loves to move around a lot, it's best for him to stick with someone with the same interest. Though one moves around to play, and the other moves around to get stronger. But if Breezy can think of getting stronger as something enjoyable, that would be great. Kron is also a good person and easily socialize with other people. Even now, he's already best friend with Fabio. The current king of Arturo.
"Then, If he wants to, Breezy con go with Kron over there. He's a wind mage and he loves moving around a lot. He has traveled to many locations on his own," I said.
"Really? That's cool! Kron, can I come with you?" Breezy asked Kron.
"Sure. I don't mind having a companion with me," Kron said.
"I guess that settled it. Airy will stay with me and Breezy will stay with Kron. As for this place, it's fine to leave, right?" I asked the spirits.
"I wonder about that too. What if the magic stones' production lessened because Breezy is gone," Patricia thought.
"Don't worry. It's just because I'm here for so long that the hurricane won't stop. Because of us staying here for so long, the concentration of wind and air is strong enough to last for hundreds of year even if we leave. So this place is still a good place to cultivate," Breezy said.
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"Okay, that's good. Also, although I said that you can stay with us, there will be a time when we need to cultivate so we will come back here either way. You can choose to stay with me or go with another air mage," I said to Airy.
"I'll stay with you. When you're cultivating, I can just rest. I don't mind not moving around," Airy said.
"For me, I'll go with someone else with wind element! If all of them are cultivating, I'll just stay with Roy since I can be with my sister!" Breezy said.
Well, that's settled. Next we will introduce these two to everyone.
"Then, I'll introduce these two to the others. As for you... I guess all of you will be staying here for a while then," I said after seeing that non of the people here wanted to leave.
"Yeah. I want to cultivate here for a while," Shirley said. Veronica, Wendy, and Kron agreed with her.
"I also want to see how strong the other wind mages here is. Can I ask any of you for a spar?" Patricia asked.
"Then I'll spar with you. Though that's only if you don't mind sparring with a man. I've heard of the culture and tradition of this country before so if you don't want to, I won't force you to do it," Kron said.
"I don't mind. Participating in the war means that I can't freely decide whom I want to fight. And I'm different from other women in Rygis. After all, I had a husband and my daughter also married a good husband. Though my granddaughter turned rebellious toward me," Patricia said.
"Okay then. Let's fight!"
Well, before I get involved in their fight, let's leave.
I opened a portal to the circus with Breezy and Airy sitting on my right shoulder. And on my left shoulder is Victoria. I'm truly being surrounded by monsters.
Burnes and the others accepted easily. I guess the fact that they were afraid of me worked well in convincing them. And I need to get their approval because at least we will continue our tour with Airy by my side.
After that, I returned to Cassau and get the others to come there. Other than the kings. I'll visit them later. And Sara who is busy acting as a messenger and meet Yuria. Though I can just barge in to them right away, but I won't do that.
At least I want Sara to get to know Airy. Maybe it will be better if Airy stays with Sara instead during the war.
Kayla and the others accepted it easily. Especially Angela who gets along with Breezy rather quickly. Though the only complain they have is my naming sense. I'm sorry, okay.
Finally, I'm introducing them to the kings. At least if the spirits get along with the four kings, plus one president if Yuria to be added, they can gain protection as long as we're within their territory.
And now, the first thing I will show about the world to the spirits is something important. It's the circus performance.
Just like the kids they are, they enjoyed it so much that they can't wait to see our next show.
And a few days later, we are ready to move out of Rygis and continue our tour.
Chapter 654: I'm Now an Expert Level Air Mage
"You're leaving already?" Yuria asked us as we were about to leave Rygis.
"Yes. There are other location we need to go. And probably some other smaller country that might suffer the same fate as your country did. And they don't even know it. Well, if those countries have a leader like you, then we can help them if the cult has started spreading there. But if the leader is some kind of tyrant, it's best for the closest kingdom to that country to gain their territory. I think the citizens would prefer it that way. Well, that's our job to investigate those places," I said.
The show is over. We have performed in the capital of Rygis and another city in Rygis as well. And we returned back to the capital to bid our farewell to Yuria and Patricia.
...Actually, it's not just those two. Burnes and one of the strongmen wanted to bid their farewell to the gatekeepers they got along with. I think they have gotten along so well. Though I don't know if they're going to meet again in the future or not.
"This is just a job. And we have casual relationship where we can satisfy each other's desire. We have clarified our status that we're not going out. Though I never told them that we're agents," Burnes said casually.
They just used those women to gain information. As expected of agents.
Because of that battle, only I, Shirley, and Angela made our move against the cult members in Rygis. That's why those gatekeepers only thought of Burnes and the others as legitimate circus members and not agents of other countries.
.....
Burnes and the others know that. That's why they exploit the gatekeepers' feeling to gain more information. And maybe there are other members of the circus who get along with other people in Rygis.
In fact, even Burnes approached another girl in different city. What a playboy.
I think his job is more like being a playboy than being an agent.
In Rygis, only Yuria and Patricia who knows that the members of the circus are agents. That's why it's fine to tell them the truth.
When Sara came here, she was an official messenger of Tatrama. And now, Rygis has officially entered our alliance against the cult. Though Tatrama will still help Rygis to clean up all the cult members here because we still don't know if we have gotten all of them or not.
By the way, Albert's interrogation with the nodding guy is over. And I killed him because it seems that Albert has tortured him enough. So I killed him easily by breaking his neck.
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As for the woman in black, it seems that she is returned to Rygis and can only wait for her execution. Yuria will use her to get everyone to work together against the cult by executing someone whom everyone think close to her. Just by witnessing that, they will understand the weight of the situation.
The president publicly executing someone who stayed with her for a long time? The citizens will think that their president is a resolute woman who gives no mercy toward enemies of the country. And that helps Yuria gain more supporters from those who want their country to be safe. As long as they get the story right.
That's politic. It's confusing. I just do what I was told as long as it doesn't bother me.
We leave Rygis soon after bidding our farewell. With Breezy and Airy coming.
"Where are we going, Roy?" Breezy asked me excitedly. It's his first time going to another country. Though for me, it' just returning back to Tatrama. Just a different city.
"It's the kingdom I was born in. Tatrama. Though I don't think I have gone to the city we're going next. By the way, I won't join with the travel. I'm using this chance to go to Gale Mountain to cultivate my air magic. What do you two want to do?" I asked the spirits.
This is a good chance to take a break and cultivate. It's also to let the agents fight by themselves if they encounter danger instead of depending on me. After all, they have witnessed how scary I am.
All the circus members have treated me normally again after performing in the circus. Though I want them to experience battle on their own even if their specialty is in espionage rather than fighting. I want them to grow stronger.
That's why I will leave during our travel and only come when they almost reach our next destination. And during that time, any bandits, monsters, or cult members they encounter, they need to take care of them by themselves.
"I'll stay with Roy. I want to travel to a lot of places, but I'm not as enthusiastic as my brother is. And Roy's progress in his air element will grow faster if I'm with him when he's cultivating," Airy said.
Yes, I have tried to cultivate with Airy by my side and when she's not by my side. The result was even when Airy didn't do anything, my progress rate becomes faster than usual. And when I do it at the peak of Gale Mountain, it will become even faster.
"I'll go with Kron then. He's leaving the mountain when you get there, right? Though I want to come back to you whenever you're about to perform," Breezy said.
Kron, Veronica, Wendy, Shirley, and even Angela are all in Gale Mountain to cultivate their magic. And when I get there, they will return to their daily lives because power won't be gained by just cultivating. They need experience as well to be used well.
Sara is also there at the moment. After her discussion with Yuria is over, I brought her back to Albert. And after she finished reporting everything, she said that she wanted to go to Gale Mountain.
She's already an expert level air mage. Is she aiming to be a master level in her air element? I hope she can become stronger faster.
As for me, I'm still an advanced level. That's why I need to cultivate. After all, I don't know when my summoning element can reach master level and gain another familiar. I need to get stronger in magic as well to be able to defeat the Evil God.
And so, after we left Rygis, I opened a portal to go to the peak of Gale Mountain. Breezy is coming with me as well so he can meet Kron there.
Even though Breezy was absent for a few days from there, the hurricane was still there. Though the power of the hurricane was considerably weaker then when Breezy was here.
The wind mages decided to leave as well, so I didn't close the portal until all of them leave. Breezy meet up with Kron and the two decided to move together.
As for Angela, Shirley, Veronica, and Wendy, they also left on their own. Wherever they want to go to, I don't know. They are wind mages. They can move freely in the sky.
Though they said that they wanted to explore dungeons to improve their strength.
The only one remaining here other than Airy and I was Sara. And so, I started cultivating air magic next to Sara with Airy laying down on my lap. Why is this spirit so lazy unlike her brother?
The travel to the next destination should be around one week time. So I'll stay here to cultivate for six days before returning to the circus.
On the second day of cultivating, I felt that I'm about to breakthrough to expert level. This is amazing. With Airy here, my progress is much faster than when I was cultivating in the outer space.
On the third day, Sara said that she wanted to return to Cassau and test her air magic. She said that because of the classes, there's a designated place for air mages to learn to shoot guns. And that's the best place for her to train.
As for me, I choose to test my shooting against bandits, monsters, or members of the cult. So I never knew about that shooting practice area in Cassau.
Finally, at on the fifth night at the peak of Gale Mountain, I reached it. I'm now an expert level mage. Both in summoning and in air element.
With this, my air magic, like the sleeping gases, calming gases, infuriating gases, depressing gases, and other gases can affect expert level mages easier than before. And probably, my magic can have some sort of effect toward the weaker master level mages as well. It will be easier for me if my job is to capture them and not killing them. Killing them is still easy since I'm an Aura Master.
"Airy, want to go back to the circus?" I asked Airy who has been resting on my lap since we came here. She's only sleeping and not doing anything at all.
And she told me that as spirits, she doesn't need to eat or drink. Maybe spirit is not a monster. Though I don't really care either way. As long as she's our ally.
"Sure. Will there be anything special in the place we're going to?" Airy asked.
"I don't know. But from my experience, there are different specialized culinary in every city. Though you can't eat them, so I guess you're not interested in it," I said.
"I said that I don't need to consume to live. I can still eat or drink like human does. Maybe I'll find something delicious there," Airy said.
Well, there's really no one who can restrain themselves from delicious food. And as an entertainer, it's my job to entertain Airy. Not only in the circus, but in other places as well since she's going to stick with me for a long time.
Chapter 655: Airy Loves Cakes
"I am back! And you haven't traveled that far! What happened?"
When I return back to the circus, they haven't traveled far enough. The carriage should have at least get closer to the next city. Close enough for me to see it with my Divine Vision.
But from where we are, it looks as if there hasn't been much progress during the travel. It's as if they only traveled for two days.
"Surprisingly, there are many bandits and monsters in the border between Rygis and Tatrama. I guess it's because no one is paying attention here. Once we arrive in the city, I'll investigate the lord. He should be the one responsible in clearing the bandits and monsters nearby," Burnes explained.
Too many bandits and monsters? Looking at everyone here doing fine, I guess those bandits and monsters are not a problem. But there were just so many of them.
"So, what happened to them?" I asked.
"We only captured the bandit leaders and some important-looking people. As for the rest of the bandits and the monsters, we killed them all. Can you take them to the prison? I want to know if they're just bandits or related to the cult. Maybe we will encounter another cult member's recruitment again on the way," Burnes said.
.....
That could be the case. In that case, we will encounter another master level mage.
Just why do we suddenly have to meet more master level mages? And worse of all, none of them know where the leader of the cult is. Not even the location of that Archbishop of the cult.
"I guess it's a good thing I came here then. I have reached expert level in my air element so I want to test it on master level mages," I said.
"But you don't need to do anything though," Burnes said to me.
"Huh? Why?" I asked.
"Wendy is here with us. After that time you started cultivating and the wind mages are free to go wherever they want, we somehow met up with her again during our second encounter with bandits. And seeing that we are a good target for bandits, she thought that it's easier to find opponent by coming along with us than looking for enemy by herself. That's why she's here. Though she's away at the moment. Probably destroying another bandit's hideout or something," Burnes said.
Really? Well, if she's here, I guess I don't need to do anything. If it's her, with the help of the others here, one or two master level mage won't be a problem.
"Ah. She's returning here now. If she's staying here, I'll go somewhere else then. Let's ask her first," I said after seeing that Wendy is flying back here.
Soon after, Wendy came and I asked her what she wants to do.
"I'll stay here and be the guard of this troupe. For some reason, this group is targeted by bandits easily. And it's easy for me to find opponent to test my strength," Wendy said.
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"Then I guess I'll go somewhere else and gain more popularity as living armor," I said.
"That's a good idea. We don't want the cult to connect the living armor's relationship with the circus, right? And you don't have to worry about the circus when I'm here. Though if we're in a trouble that I can't solve it on my own, I'll get Sonia to contact you," Wendy said.
"How is it, Airy? In the end, we will travel a lot," I said.
"You're going to save people, right? You have told me about what you do. I don't expect that you will continue staying with the circus the whole time anyway. Knowing that you can use portal like that, you will surely move around more than Kron and my brother. It's fine. Though during your time as living armor, I will turn myself invisible," Airy said.
"Cool. Let's do that. With that, we'll be leaving now. Our destination now is... Let's go to Consenza. We're going to cause ruckus there."
After telling Wendy and Burnes where I will be going, I opened a portal directly to where Lynn is. And I can see her in her bedroom taking a nap while hugging a stuffed toy.
I should have gone to someone else. Though I didn't need to wait for long when Celestine entered Lynn's bedroom and take me out with her.
"You can freely walk around in the castle now?" I asked.
"I'm still a princess after all. I'm the Empress' sister. Well, it's more like everyone here already know the truth. And I even have my own room here. Though the public doesn't know about me yet," Celestine said.
"Okay. Do you have any information for me? For my act as the living armor?" I asked her as she brought me into her room in the castle.
"Claudia should have them. But she should be resting right now, so I suggest you to come back here tomorrow morning," Celestine said.
"You... renovate your room a lot. No, it's not just your room. It's the whole castle. Did you make the hidden tunnel in the whole castle?" I asked after seeing what's inside her room.
Not only in her room, there are also many other places in the castle that is connected to hidden passage that I didn't see before. It should be Celestine who did it. Only she can renovate the castle easily.
"Yes. And only Lynn, Claudia, and I knows all the hidden passage in this castle. Well, you should know it as well. And I used magic strong enough to not let any expert level earth mage to detect them. Unless they are at least as strong as Kayla, they won't be able to detect those passages," Celestine said.
Some of the passage lead to outside the castle. And most of them are connected to this passage here in Celestine's room. I guess it's for her so she can easily grab Lynn out of here in case of danger.
"Alright. Since there's nothing we can do now, Airy and I will leave today and enjoy the city. Do you want to come?" I asked Celestine.
"...You enjoying city just you enjoying the culinary of the city. I think you have eaten everything that is sold here. I'll pass. Airy, if you're bored of going to eat the whole time, you can come to me. There are things that only us girls can enjoy," Celestine said.
"I'll go with Roy first. If I'm bored as you say, I'll go to you," Airy said.
With that, Celestine just took Airy away from me. Not now though. But probably soon.
"Oh, right. Roy, if you meet any earth spirit and befriend it, I want you to let it stay with me," Celestine said.
"It's not easy looking for spirits. And since you're an earth mage, I think you will be able to find it sooner than I could find it. How about checking the underground arena that Timmy built? Since he's an earth mage, maybe some earth spirits will come there," I suggested.
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"I'll tell Kayla about it. I still can't leave Consenza. I want to build more passage here," Celestine said.
Just how much did she enjoy building a hidden passage? Well, if it was me, I think I would enjoy it as well. In fact, I would probably build an underground fortress if I'm an earth mage.
And I will become... The Mole King!
Let's stop with that. I don't know how far my imagination will take me.
"Well, let's enjoy the city for today. Celestine, we'll be back tomorrow. I'll be using one of the hidden passage because it seems to be more fun going there," I said.
"Just use your portal. You're always childish in the weirdest way," Celestine said.
Why should I use a portal when there's an interesting passage that I want pass through?
Well, this is also for Airy. She didn't show it but she seems excited about entering a hidden passage.
The passages were made by Celestine's magic. And since she also capable in manipulating metal, the passage seems to be strong enough to not get destroyed in case of a big explosion above. Maybe she could be a great architect if it's not a war time.
We left the passage from an unused well in an empty alley. And after that, I entered the closest cake shop there.
Airy can eat. And she's a girl. So, there's no way she doesn't want cake, right?
...One thing I didn't expect was that she ate more than me. And even though all those cakes should be much bigger than her, even one is already bigger than her, she ate them all and didn't change her size at all.
"That was delicious! They're cake? I like them!" Airy shouted.
"Then there are many other places I can introduce you to. But you can only go there when someone is accompanying you. Either me, Celestine, or someone I trust. And don't steal the cake even if you're invisible," I warned Airy to not steal any cake.
"Why? I want to have them all and I don't have money. It's fine if they don't notice, right?" Airy said.
"That's fine only if the establishment is owned by bad guys. If you steal cake from the cake shop, the cake shop owner won't have any money to make more cakes. It's for the sake of cakes," I said.
"For the sake of cakes. Then I'll hold back," Airy said.
"And since you can't get full no matter how much you eat, if you become a bad girl, I will limit the amount of cake you eat. Do you understand?"
"For the sake of cake!" Airy shouted.
Good thing I used Air Barrier to block the sound. Even though we're in a private room, we still need to make sure that no one can hear us. Even if we're just talking about cakes.
Though I didn't expect Airy to love cake so much. And there are many other sweets I haven't introduce her yet.
What about Breezy? Well, he might enjoy traveling more than eating. I'll leave him to Kron.
Chapter 656: Spirits can Evolve?
The day after we arrived in Consenza, we return back to the castle to meet Lynn and Claudia and ask them about anything that the living armor can do.
"So, are you a monster or not?" Lynn asked Airy after we meet her in her office.
Although they have met before when I introduce Airy to Lynn, Lynn still asked Airy now whether she's a monster or not. Though that's something I don't know as well. But I just don't care.
"I'm an air spirit. That's all I can say," Airy said.
"That doesn't answer the question at all," Lynn said.
I wonder why Lynn is curious about it.
"Lynn, why are you curious about it? It's not like it matters if Airy is a monster, a spirit, an animal, or a human, right?" I asked.
.....
"Actually, it matters. We have monster friends with us. And now, we have spirits. We can easily tell that Shelia, Graham, Arin, and the others are considered as monsters. But what about Airy and Breezy? I'm asking because I don't know," Lynn asked.
But what does it matter?
No, wait. This is Lynn. She might be weird and I consider her stupid from time to time. But once in a while, she's pretty sharp. There must be something that she can't explain it well. I just need to understand her.
I looked at Claudia and Celestine who are also confused with Lynn's intention in asking that question. Though I'm sure they are also confused and curious about whether Airy is a monster or not.
What is it that makes a creature considered as monster? Can a human be considered as monster?
They can. Like that Professor who experimented on children, he can be considered as monster. But that's not what Lynn's mean I'm sure.
Oh, magic! That's it!
"Lynn, are you actually asking if a tamer can tame a spirit like how they tame a monster? Or summoner can summon a spirit from Monsters World? And the spirits can be their familiars?" I asked Lynn.
"Yeah, right! That's what I'm asking!" Lynn said.
"Now that you mention it. I think it will be troublesome if the cult's tamers or summoners have spirits as their familiars. Those spirits can be used to help their mages to improve their magic. Maybe they're the reason why the cult have so a lot of master level mage now," I said
I started thinking if there are spirits among the cult's monsters. And that scares me of how they can grow stronger.
If it's just me or my friends, we can kill any average master level mages. But other people can't. It will be hard for them to do it. That's why it will be troublesome if the cult have a lot of spirits.
"...Now that we knew the existence of spirits, we need to have another countermeasure. We can't do anything about spirits who have made a contract with the cult or willingly join them. But we can do something about those who are still out there in the wild. I guess it's up to you, Roy. We need you to befriend as many spirits as you can find during your tour with the circus," Claudia suggested.
It was just luck that we could find Airy and Breezy. It's also because I am sensitive to the air around me that I can find them. But for spirits of other elements, it's better if other people with correspondent element can find them.
"Airy, do you know about other elemental spirit that exist?" I asked Airy.
"I don't know everything. But I guess there are spirits of each magical element. And at least I know that there are more air spirits than just me," Airy said.
"So you have meet other air spirits?" I asked.
"Breezy was air spirit," Airy said it casually.
"Wait, what!? Isn't he a wind spirit?"
"He is now. But he was an air spirit like me. But since he moves around so much, he became a wind spirit," Airy said.
...So, because he was air spirit, and he moves around so much, he became wind spirit. Simply because wind is moving air.
If that's the case, doesn't it mean that it's possible for my air magic to evolve into wind magic?
Hmm... no. I like air magic as it is. But if I can use both air magic and wind magic, without having to lose my air magic, that would be perfect.
Airy then told us how she met Breezy. It was just that they existed at the same place. Back before they were being chased by Timmy for fun. That crazy Timmy who keeps annoying me even after death.
Since they were together, they decided to call each other brother and sister. Though they were not alone. They also met other spirits in the past, Airy can't remember where they were. After all, it has been so long.
"Hmm... new information. Claudia, go tell the other kings about it. I will also try to find more spirits on the way. Share it with all the agents about the existence of spirits and if any of them could be found, try to make them our allies," I said to Claudia.
She then contacted Sonia and Sonia deliver the messages to not only the four kings, but also Yuria as well.
"Albert said that it's best for everyone to gather around again in two days. We can also introduce Yuria to the other kings as well as get Henry to introduce us to Varadis' soon-to-be king," Sonia said.
"Let's do that. Now, Claudia, can you tell me if there are any bandits, monsters, or any wanted individuals that I can hunt?" I asked Claudia.
"Here's the list. There are also posters of wanted criminals as well whom we thought should be in Consenza. Though I don't know which area they are hiding," Claudia said.
She gives me a stack of documents. And I then split those information with Victoria who will act as another living armor who will move differently from me. She will be accompanied with Ray so she can use Aura a bit.
"Okay. Airy, are you sure you want to come with me? It will get bloody wherever I go," I said.
I don't want to force her to come with me when I'm killing people. That's why I asked her.
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"I'm fine. Though I still want to eat more cakes," Airy replied.
"More of them? Why can't you feel full!? It's bad for my money if you keep eating," I said.
Well, then it's time for me to leave. I get Victoria and Ray transported with a portal to somewhere far from the capital of Consenza, while I will travel mainly around the capital and the neighboring cities.
Celestine is busy with renovating the castle with a lot of hidden passages so she won't come. And with just her in the castle, the Empress will be safe.
And when I was about to leave, like usual, jumping out of the window, I see a girl is hurriedly running here. Toward Lynn's office.
"Oh, someone is coming," I said casually.
I heard that everyone here should know who I am already. So, I don't need to hide. And if it's someone who doesn't know me, that means they are enemies. Let's see how she will react.
Without even knocking, the girl entered the office. Is that how you should act in front of your leader?
"Excuse me, your majesty! There's an emergency! Wait, an intruder!? An intruder is here! Who are you!?"
Whoa, she doesn't know me? Well, even if she knows that I'm Roy that their Empress is talking about, it's not like they know my appearance. No one has a painting of my face. It's normal that they don't know me.
"I'm your Empress' future brother-in-law," I said.
Though it's not a lie. Celestine said that she'll be my lover in the future. When she can feel that children will be able to live in peace.
"Empress' brother-in-law? Oh, I've heard it before. So you're Roy," the girl said.
I guess she's not an enemy. But has it been spread that I'm going to be Lynn's brother-in-law in the future?
"When I asked Lynn why she hasn't find any marriage candidate, she said that I also don't have one so I need to get married first. And I told her that I'll be your wife in the future. I guess she spread it then," Celestine said casually.
Probably Lynn spread it when she's drunk or something. I can see her looking at me with anger. Just stop being a spoiled little sister, will you? Your big sister is free to do anything she wants.
"Anyway, what's the emergency?" Claudia asked.
"There's a rebellion near the capital! The Duke started a rebellion and they are moving here!" the girl said.
A rebellion? During a war against the cult?
Hmm... I have never heard of any rebellion in my past life. But at that time, information from another country is hard to get.
Well, I guess this is also a good chance for the living armor to make his move. Stopping a rebellion will surely increase the reputation of the living armor.
Then, let's stop the rebellion.
Chapter 657: Rebellion in Consenza
"A rebellion! It's time for me to shine," I said.
This is a rebellion by the duke of Consenza, so the scale should be quite big. And that means if I intervene, the fame of the living armor will be spread. And the cult will come out to hunt me.
It's a good chance that I won't miss. Or at least that's what I planned.
"No, Roy. You won't participate in fighting against the rebellion," Lynn said.
"Huh? Why?!" I complained.
"Because this is my matter. The Empire's problem. And you're not even a citizen of the empire," Lynn said.
And then, Claudia explained further.
.....
"Roy, you're not a citizen of the empire. And this is a matter that the empire needs to take care without outside help. Not even Tatrama, Arturo, or Varadis will be allowed to help unless we asked for it. Just us. You can continue hunt for other smaller scale crimes, but rebellion is not for you,"Claudia explained.
It's not just because I'm not a citizen. There are many other factors.
Why the duke started the rebellion? Why the duke targeting the Empress? Why at this time when everyone knows that we're fighting the cult? What is it that they are dissatisfied with that lead to a rebellion? There are many questions. But those questions can only be answered if the Empress takes care of it without outsider's help.
"Sigh... I guess I won't participate then. Though if the cult has an active role in the rebellion, I will participate whether you want to or not. We have openly said that we're fighting the cult. But those idiots started rebellion at this time. Which mean it's highly likely that they are related to the cult," I said.
"Sure. If that's the case, we will ask not only for your help. But we will also ask for the others' help as well. Though this is unlikely to be related to the cult," Lynn said.
"Well, let's hear more about this. She hasn't said anything other than there's a rebellion," Celestine said.
Oh, right. We only heard that there's a rebellion.
We asked the girl to tell us more about it.
So, the Duke has started a rebellion in a nearby city. Many members of aristocracy also joined him marching toward the capital.
For what reason are they rebelling?
Apparently, the Duke has been extremely disappointed by the Empress, Lynn. It's because all of his effort to put her into a political marriage with him, who already has a son older than Lynn herself, failed. And it's not just once. But many times.
Just how much does he wants to be an Emperor? What an annoying guy.
"So, because he keeps getting rejected, he asked you to marry his son instead. But you still reject him. And that ends up with him making up some lies to take the throne by force instead. Asking other nobles for help in spreading lies to the citizens that Lynn is doing a terrible job when in fact it's all their fault. Like raising the taxes or making it harder for the people to live in their territory. They blamed it all on you. How stupid," I said.
Although it's stupid, it makes sense. I have never heard of any news of rebellion or coup from Consenza in my past life. Which could mean that the coup was successful seeing how there are too little cooperation between countries. And the new Emperor who doesn't know about the cooperation with other countries ended up getting his empire taken by the cult before anything could happen.
Well, I'm not sure yet if that's what happened. But it's more likely to be that way.
And the duke, although he has terrible personality and obvious desire to be the emperor, he's ruling his territory well. That's why Lynn hasn't purged him yet even after investigating him. Since she thought that he won't cause any rebellion. But she ended up wrong.
"Well, the information about other countries from my past life was extremely limited. There's not even TV broadcast or anything that can spread information quickly. Probably the kings received information from the agents, but those reports were not told to public. That's why I never heard of any rebellion or coup at all."
That's what I said after Celestine asked me if I know something about the rebellion. Though in my past life, the strength of the mages in the army is much weaker than it is now since I and the others have helped with their improvement.
There are too many things that have affected the future. It's no longer the same. We can't count on my past life anymore.
There are many amazing people who haven't even born today. Or maybe they have already born, but they're still a baby. I don't know.
Victoria didn't exist back then. And Marie is mentally ill and died so she can't invent more amazing inventions. Too many things changed.
Maybe there weren't even any rebellion in the past. And I made it this way now.
But I don't care. It's the present that I need to take care of. Not my past life.
"Well, since there hasn't been any information about the cult's role in this rebellion, I will leave and take care of other things. If you need anything, just call me through Sonia. Though tomorrow or the day after, I will return to Tatrama for the circus. Hopefully you won't need my help during the show. Then, I'll be leaving now," I said.
Instead of the window or the door, I walked to the bookshelf.
"Where are you going? The window is over there. And you can leave with your portal," Lynn asked me.
"Through the hidden passage! See you!"
I'm having fun walking through the hidden passage with Airy. There's no way I would miss it.
As for the rebellion, as Lynn said, she will take care of it. Though I think if the cult is related to the rebellion, she won't tell me unless it's really impossible for her to win. But the empire has Celestine. The strongest earth mage under master level. Even if the opponent is a master level mage, Celestine can kill her.
I'd like to find an earth spirit who will join us. That way, Celestine and the other earth mages can grow stronger faster. I hope we find one.
Oh, right. What about Albert? He said that there will be a meeting in a few days to discuss about spirits. But there's a rebellion here.
Well, Claudia should have informed Albert about it. And if the meeting is delayed, Sonia will inform me. I can only wait.
And I need to inform Victoria to not do anything to the rebellion yet. I did that while we're walking in the hidden passage.
The exit of the passage is in the basement of an inn. It's probably an inn owned by an agent or something.
Well, I won't come up to the inn and tell the owner that I came from the castle. I just used a portal here and leave the capital.
The capital is busy with the rebellion, so it's best to take care of the small things away from it.
"Well, let's go then. We don't really have any destination. Just us looking for enemies randomly. Airy, which way do you want to go?" I asked Airy after we used a portal to leave the capital.
"To the cake shop!" Airy shouted excitedly.
"You still want to eat more? What if you actually ended up being fat? Rejected. Let's just walk around randomly," I said.
Then I activated the magic item and wear the armor. Living armor is back in action!
Hmm? Is that the rebels? I guess we ended up transporting to somewhere close to where the rebels are. Let's watch them for a bit and see if there are any cult members hiding among the rebels or not.
Well, probably there are some. But the rebellion might not be instigated by the cult and those cult members only joining the rebellion for personal reason.
So, even if I see any members of the cult among the rebels, I won't do anything until Lynn asked for my help.
From what I can see, there's no cult members or master level mages among the rebels. I guess Consenza won't ask for any help anytime soon so I left after watching the rebels for a bit longer.
And since I'm a living armor now, it's best to not kill any monsters I find. I need to make my move where other people can see, so probably in a city or a village.
I run in the forest and after a while, I can see a village. And when I was about to look if there's any wanted individuals by comparing them to the wanted posters I received from Claudia, Sonia suddenly appears in front of me.
"What is it, Sonia?" I asked.
"Because of the rebellion, the meeting will be delayed. It will be delayed until the rebellion is over, or there's an even more important matter that need to be taken care of," Sonia said.
"And do you think there's an even more important matter than a rebellion? Just how calm are they? The are also leaders of their own country," I sighed hearing how calm they are.
"Well, it's just a rebellion not related to the cult. Probably, Celestine alone can take care of everything. That's what Albert said."
Well, I hope Lynn can take care of the rebellion sooner. I don't like it when innocent people become victims. I hope the stupid rebels will all die. Or at least captured. Let's just believe in Lynn and Celestine.
And so, I acted as the living armor and helped many people for the rest of the day. There's nothing worth mentioning during this time.
Chapter 658: Another Annoying Problem in the Next City
This time, we're back to Tatrama for the circus. Thomas and the others have arrived at the next city and we will perform later tonight. And my activity as the living armor will be paused for a while.
As for the rebellion, I think it's still ongoing for some reason. I don't know why though. Because I think just Celestine alone should be enough to handle everything. Or at least she can defeat the rebels' strongest mages on her own.
And because the rebellion is not over, the meeting between kings will be delayed once again. It will be a while until Yuria can be introduced to the other kings.
I have taken care of many people on the list that was given to me from Claudia. Those people were all criminals that the living armor captured. At least those who are near the capital. As for the rest, I don't know. I can take my time since none of them seem to be dangerous criminal that specifically needs me to defeat them. I think the guards who have been instructed on how to get stronger are enough to arrest those criminals.
That's why I can come back to the circus without thinking much about them. Though Victoria is still with Ray patrolling Consenza. I don't know where they are now. And if I need them, I can summon them back here.
"So, is there anything wrong in this city?"
After I checked the city casually with my Divine Vision, I asked Burnes if there's something wrong with the city.
.....
"I said it before right? There were too many bandits and monsters on the way. That's why our journey got delayed and we can only arrive now. Apparently, the lord of this city is a lazy man who live the life of debauchery. He doesn't even have the money for sending the troops to clear the way. And the guild is not maintained as well since the guild leader is a corrupt man who spends money to bribe the lord so he can do anything he wants," Burnes explained.
"...How the hell is this city still standing?" I asked.
"There are some influential people among the citizen. Someone is even suspected to be a mage around expert level. So it's probably that mage who protected the city from the outside attack," Burnes explained.
"And now what? Do we even have the permission to perform in this city?" I asked Burnes.
"Yes we have."
But before Burnes could answer, the answer come from a different person. It was Thomas who answered it.
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"We have? Performing in a city of a corrupt lord? How much do we have to pay?"
Since the corrupt lord loves money and women, at least according to what Burnes told me, that guy must be thinking that he can earn more money if he let us play. Probably even some percentage of the income we receive in this city.
"Just seventy percent of the income here," Thomas said.
"Seventy percent!? That's a lot! Even if all the members of the circus doesn't need money except for you, that's still a lot to take!" I said.
Yes, our circus doesn't even need to get paid. They were all agents. They have regular income that as long as they can return to their country, they can get all the money whenever they want.
Being an agent mean they will risk their live the whole time during a mission. And that's why they got paid handsomely. At least it should be higher than the salary of regular guards. Or even captain of the guards like Hill.
What's important for an agent is their loyalty. Even if we get agents from other different countries staying in one place, none of them were thinking of betraying their own country.
As for me, I'm already much richer than Thomas. That's why except for Thomas, the rest of us doesn't need to get paid. But we still get paid normally thanks to Thomas generosity.
Though in this situation, I think it's fine to not get paid. All the money should either enter Thomas' pocket or for maintaining the circus. Like the tents, the props for the performance, and for our supply for the next journey.
"But is it fine to pay him that much? Won't it be suspicious? We can just leave this city and travel to the next one where we don't need to pay the corrupt lord so much," I said.
"We can. But Burnes said that there are some things he wants to investigate in this city. And that lord, at first he asked for ninety percent. I reduced it to seventy after negotiation, so it's still fine. I feel bad that I can't pay you though," Thomas said.
"It's fine. We don't lack money after all. And those money can be used to maintain the circus. We're here for a more important job than money," Burnes said. And I agree with him.
"Right! It's to make people laugh!" I said confidently.
"...We're here for two things which are more important than money. Laughter and investigation," Burnes said.
Wait, he didn't think of make the people laugh? He's a failure of an entertainer. As expected, I'm the best entertainer here.
In the end, we will perform in this city with so little income. But there's another problem.
"Hey, if the lord is corrupt, that means the citizens need to pay unreasonably high amount of taxes, right?" I asked.
"Yes. The taxes here is abnormally high," Burnes said.
"Then how do we get audience? Do you think there's anyone here stupid enough to spend more money for an entertainment? For the low or mid-class citizens, they will need to consider if it's worth it to watch the circus or not. And they are our target audience. Not the higher-class citizen who are rich and not lacking in entertainment. Those people thinks that circus is useless after all. So, I don't think there will be any audience coming," I said.
"...In the end, we will make the poor people poorer if they come, huh? I guess forcing Thomas to set up a show here is wrong. We should have just left the city and let some people investigate. But we will have an obstacle if we do investigation because the people here, especially those who are under the lord, will be suspicious of newcomer in the city. That's why we need the circus," Burnes said.
I see. So, if there are newcomer in the city, and there's a circus, those who are suspicious of us will think that we are members of the circus.
But why do we have to go that far?
...Don't tell me.
"Burnes. This is still a city in Tatrama. There should be an agent or two in this city, right?" I asked.
"That's right. But we have never received any reports from the agents we sent here. Neither from the agents in the past, nor those we recently sent. And we don't know if they are still alive or not," Burnes said.
Apparently, they also sent an expert level mage, who carried a pendant filled with Sonia's soil so he can contact Sonia. But that agent disappeared together with Sonia's soil. Just how did they make soil disappear? Or maybe the soil lost its magic so Sonia can't detect it?
"Then I'll check the city again with my Divine Vision. And since the expert level mage you sent disappeared, we can assume that the enemy is at least at that level or stronger. If it's a master level mage, that mage should notice that I'm looking. I'll also check if there's anyone who is being imprisoned," I said.
I was about to leave when Burnes stopped me. There's another important thing he needs to tell me.
"What is it, Burnes?" I asked.
"I just want to warn you that there's a high chance that the agents somehow joined with the lord. After hearing that there's a rebellion in Consenza at this time, there's no reason that our country won't experience the same. And if there's an agent who colluded with the lord, it will be bad because they will have a lot of information about the kingdom. There are too many things to investigate that I don't think you who can see everything will be enough to do it alone. And we can't send agents from Tatrama because they might recognize us. Those of us from Tatrama will stay here disguising ourselves as performers and hoping that they won't recognize us," Burnes said.
Hmm? I see. So that's why there are less people here. And those who left are agents from other countries. They are investigating the city.
"Then I think I don't need to check everything. I'll just check if there are any master level mage or not. If not, I can freely move," I said.
"Be careful, Roy," Wendy said.
Since there's a chance that the enemy has a former agent from Tatrama, Wendy who was also an agent can't freely move. She can only pretend to be a part of the circus here.
I used my Divine Vision as I run in the sky above the city, and see that there's no one who notices me. It's now time for me to move on my own then.
Chapter 659: Slavery Exists Here
No one notices me looking at them. Which mean that there's no master level mage in this place. That's good. The others can take care of themselves.
The lord of the city is corrupt. He raises the taxes and accepted bribes. He then used the money to buy slaves.
That's right. Slavery exists here. That's what I found from my Divine Vision.
I don't remember any people from nobility except for Sara who I just recently learned to be one. But from the look of it, deep in the slum, there are many rich-looking people entering a small building.
The building is small, but that's only the outer appearance. There's basement under the building. It's so large that it was built outside from that building. Even some part of the basement is actually outside the slum. Which can only mean the lord agreed to the building of such basement.
There are may rich-looking people there. And I can see that there's a slave auction happening right now.
It's still bright outside. And seeing how they can let the slave auction to happen at this time tells me how corrupt the lord here is.
.....
So many rich people coming means that he also have sponsors. And there's no agents that Albert can receive reports from. This is one annoying situation.
But how do those slaves just obey order? They wore the collar, but the Magic Restricting collar is only to restrain someone to make them unable to use magic. Is there any other collar that forces the wearer to obey order from their master?
Maybe that's the case. Maybe the agents sent here were all captured somehow and become slaves. If that's the case, maybe the circus members will be captured and enslaved as well if we make a mistake.
Well, even if we do, I can just release them with my strength. For now, let's investigate the lord of this place.
Looking at the city, I can tell which one is the place where the lord lives. The biggest mansion here.
I looked there with my Divine Vision and I can see him being surrounded by women. They were all naked even though it's broad daylight.
Oh, wait. I just looked at them with my see-through vision so they're all naked. They're actually dressed. Though the women are wearing revealing clothes.
Those women are all beauty. But what impresses me the most was the man, the lord of this place. He is actually not fat.
I thought that the lord of this place who loves the life of debauchery would be a fat one. Just like that king of small kingdom that got his whole territory taken by Lynn. I was wrong.
He seems to be working out a lot. Which mean he is quite strong. At least compared to average people. None of us in the circus are average.
Hmm... seeing the beautiful women around him, I'm a bit worried about our female circus members. Let's discuss it with Burnes and the others then.
I returned back to where the others are and told them about what I found.
"Slavery? I see. Maybe they are trying to see how desperate we are with money. And since we accepted his offer, they will make their move. They will probably capture some of us to become slaves to be sold. Either forcefully or they will try to bribe us," Burnes said.
That's also what I thought what the corrupt lord will do. We will be sold as slaves.
"What!? I'm sorry everyone. If only I refused his offer, none of you will experience this," Thomas apologized as he thought that he"s the one responsible for it.
"No, it's not your fault. It's my fault that I asked you to do our show here no matter what," Burnes said.
"Yes. Let's blame it all on Burnes. Though isn't it fine? The lord seems to take a liking to women. All the women in his mansion wore that collar that forces people to obey their master. Since we will have less money, we can just let the women leave the circus," I suggested.
"Yeah. Let's do it as Roy said. The women will leave the circus and won't perform in this city. Don't enter the city and instead, move away from there. And once you're away, Roy will use portal so you can go somewhere else," Burnes said.
"Why? We're not that weak. We can take care of ourselves. We won't get enslaved easily," the female air mage from the circus asked.
"Roy, how do they treat the slaves?" Burnes asked.
Why is he asking me that? And how do I know the answer?
Oh, wait. He's going to make the women leave the circus. Now I know the answer.
"They separate the male and female slaves. And you suggested the women to leave so us men, at least a few of us, will purposely get captured and be enslaved. Am I right?" I asked Burnes.
"That's right. If that Slave Collar forces the wearer to obey the master, it will be bad for us if we get caught. The women, we can expect on what those people will do to you. As for the men, we will most likely be used as labor forces. And if Roy get captured, I think he can avoid being forced to wear the collar. Or he can easily rip it off. What do you think, Roy?" Burnes asked.
"So I have no choice but to get captured? Well, I need to test it first. I'll sneak into the slum and get some collars before I return and test it. Good thing those collars are black. I can swap them with Blobbies if I need to," I said.
Then we proceed to make a plan.
Basically, the plan is to let the girls leave. And we will let some men to be purposely caught. Including me.
Though I need to test if Aura can be used to protect myself from that collar or not. If I can't, then we need to swap the collars that will be wrapped around our necks with Blobbies. And then, there's only our acting skill left.
After getting caught, Burnes and the others will try to get information from other slaves, and see if they can find other agents who might be captured. While I just need to protect the slaves.
After we agree with the plan, I left to get some collars to test on.
This is sneak mission. To make sure that we successfully complete this mission, I need Spot's help.
It's been a while that I asked for his help. And when I asked it, he gladly accepted it. And he wrapped around my waist like a belt and used his camouflage skill so we can sneak into the slum.
It's not hard for me to avoid expert level mages who can sense Spot's camouflage skill. Though there doesn't seem to be many of them. And we entered the place where they store a lot of Slave Collars.
Is the lord has someone who can mass-produce these collars? That guy is dangerous.
And what if these collars can actually stop Aura users from doing anything? Forcing me to obey the one who will be appointed as my master?
I need to get rid of all of them. Or maybe I can use them for my sake. Well, I'll think about it later.
Good thing the collars are black in color. So I swapped some Blobbies with the real collars. Though I make them to be slightly torn in case they were used. That way, if the collar doesn't work, they will think that it's because of the damage.
But before testing it, I need to get it appraised first. So I brought the collars to Cassau to get them appraised. And during that time, the female members of the circus, including Wendy, should be leaving.
We told them to make a scene of them, and some male members as well, that they hated the idea of getting lower income so they left the circus. Though we will be reunited in the next city.
The appraisal is done. And I returned back to the circus and told Burnes and the others about the collars.
"So, someone needs to pour magic into the collar first to be recognized as the master. And the wearer will obey the word of the one who is recognized as the master. And if they don't obey, they will be stabbed by the needles coming out of the collar from around their neck until they obey. And if they keep disobeying the order, their head will be cut off," Burnes repeated what I told him about the effect of the collar.
"That's right. For now, I'm going to test it on someone else before testing it on myself. Any volunteer?" I asked.
Now we are testing the collar's effect. If my Aura can be suppressed by that collar, it will be hard for me to pretend to be a slave. That's why we need to test it. But I'm testing it on someone first.
And the one who volunteered was Burnes. Well, let's see how it goes.
Chapter 660: Testing the Slave Collars
We tested the slave collar on Burnes who volunteered to be the first one to be tested. As for the master, someone else in the circus will do it.
I can't become the master. Because as the master, I can freely gives order to the slave. There's no point in testing if that's the case. That's why someone else is the master.
"Burnes. No matter what kind of order you were given, try your best to not do it. You should feel some pain. But just endure it until you can't take it anymore," I said to Burnes.
He replied with a nod. And then the master gave him an order to jump on the spot.
At first, Burnes didn't do anything. Then I can see him suddenly feel pain and his hands are reaching his neck.
With my Divine Vision, I can see that there's needles coming out of the collar and they are stabbing around his neck. It looks like Victoria's transformation. Because when I checked the collar using Divine Vision, there were no needle at all.
Burnes endured the pain a little longer, but the longer he endure the pain, the longer the needle will be.
.....
"Burnes, that's enough! Endure it any longer and the needles will kill you!" I warned Burnes.
Burnes then jumped on the spot as blood is flowing down from his neck. That must be painful. Let's use painkiller gas on him. Also, it's a good thing that there's a healer in the circus. And he's a male member, so he's not leaving with the girls. Though there are some men who left with the girls as well.
There's no need for surgery as Burnes' wound is healed right away with healing magic. And I stopped using the painkiller gas.
"I guess if they are afraid of death, the slaves will keep obeying order. But this also means that if the master gives an order that the slaves absolutely refuse to do, the slaves can choose to die instead of doing it. Which mean the master of the slaves is smart enough to not give an order that those slaves will refuse," I said.
Burnes then nodded. And he then grabbed the collar on her neck as he tries to rip it apart. It's locked and I don't have the key for it. But with Blobbies and Victoria, it's easy to unlock the collar.
I have called Victoria here and told her about what's going on. It's because we need her to unlock the collars when we don't have the key.
Though if it's me, I think I can easily rip those collars apart with my strength.
Burnes tried as hard as possible. Even though he trained his body more than most mages, his strength is not enough to take the collar off. But I think a master level mage can do it.
"Good thing I stole a lot of those. I'll remove that one and we'll do another test," I said.
I used my strength to remove the collar. Even without Aura, it's still manageable. But using Aura is much easier.
Which mean this collars won't work against Aura user. That's good.
After finding out about these slave collars, I thought that the cult might have some items that can restrict the use of Aura. Some sort of Aura or magic item. But because it's not, we're still fine.
Still, I need to be careful in case I encounter such item. If such thing exist, that will be dangerous for me who depends so much on using Aura.
If that happens, then before my magic is sealed, I need to summon my familiars and ask for help. I also need to continue to train my body so I will be strong even without Aura. I think reaching master level mage will help. But that might take a long time to happen.
Anyway, the slave collar is easy to remove. Even after I wore it on my neck, when I disobeyed Burnes who was supposed to be the master of the collar, I can also use Aura to protect my neck from getting stabbed. No matter how long I disobeyed, I don't need to worry about getting stabbed.
Removing it was easy as well. I can either use my strength or use Victoria and transform her into a key. Which mean I need her to be by my side the whole time. But that's fine. It's not like just by going around as living armor, we can gain the cult's attention right away.
"Alright. The test is over and the result is good. I'll go get the girls far from here. I'll bring them to Albert and told him about what happened in this city," I said to Burnes.
Albert had cleaned the nobles. But maybe he only remove those who are related to the cult. If the lord in this city is not related to the cult, it's natural that Albert didn't think that this city has a problem.
Maybe he asked the lord if he's related to the cult. And he knows the truth that the lord really is not related at all. That's why he left the lord alone since he's not investigating corrupt nobles.
After meeting the girls, I brought them to Albert. They have asked Sonia to tell Albert about the city, but hearing it from the agents directly should be better for Albert.
Maybe he will ask me to bring him there with portal and surprise the lord. Or maybe just a messenger like what previously happened in Rygis where I brought Sara with my portal.
I returned to where Burnes and the others are. And we're now preparing to raise the tent for the show when someone uninvited come in.
"Hey! I see that the girls are leaving! Why? Why can't they stay?"
He is wearing uniform of the guard. And he asked why the girls are leaving.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's because lately, we haven't gotten enough audience coming and we don't have much income to pay for everyone. Even in the previous city, we barely had enough to buy supply to travel here," Thomas said.
"Huh? And now that there are no more girls, there will only be fewer audience. Good luck! I bet your show is shitty anyway," the guy then left.
Thomas is good. Is quick-witted and told a lie easily. But he's also the weakest. We shouldn't bring him here carelessly.
"Thomas. I'll arrange it so Spot will be with you at all time. Spot, make sure to protect him in case of danger," I said to Spot.
"Sure."
He has been with me since our sneak raid into the slum to steal the collars. And he hasn't left. So I asked him to protect Thomas.
Our plan is to get captured by the people here. Either by walking around, or through some other means.
Though the one that needs to be captured the most will be me since it will be easier for me if I enter the slum and remove the collars from other slaves. Other than me should be Burnes. The only agent from Tatrama who is still staying in the circus.
The rest of the agents, even the men, also left with the women. And Burnes said he has some kind of reputation as well, so other agents should know his appearance.
If the agents who were sent here were enslaved, they should know Burnes. That's why Burnes needs to get captured.
As for the rest, they will improvise. Either escaping or get captured as well.
"Oh, there's another good idea," I suddenly realized that there's a better idea than walking around without purpose and just wait to get captured.
"What is it?" Burnes asked.
"Thomas. I need you to sell us as slaves," I suggested to Thomas.
"Selling you guys?" Thomas is confused hearing my suggestion.
"Exactly as I said. Let's say that you regretted making a circus perform here and decided to get drunk in a bar. There, you will say that you wish that you can sell us for money. Maybe one of the slave merchant will hear it. And you will suggest me, Burnes, and some other members with strong body so they will make us into slaves thinking that we're good for labor works," I said.
"I see. Not only Thomas will be safer, he can also get money. And we can pretend that we're sleeping when they captured us. So, who will be captured?" Burnes asked.
Whoever want to get captured, they will be free anyway. So I suggested that they keep their consciousness at all time, and use the Blobbies I gave them and transform them into something that will protect their neck. But they need to do it swiftly right before they put the collar around them.
As for me, I don't need any. Though I already have Victoria.
"If you all agree to it, then I will do it. But I need you to perform well tonight. We have a show to do," Thomas said.
That's right. To make it more convincing, Thomas needs to act after at least one show. And tonight, I don't think there will be many audience coming. So he can get drunk at the bar after the show. I don't need to worry since Spot is with him.
Though there's one thing I'm worried about. They said that there's one influential expert level mage in this city, right? Is he a slave?
If he's not a slave and he knows the slavery that happens in this city, he's an enemy. I hope that's not the case.