Chapter 28: Meeting
Editor: Exodus Tales
Chapter 28 - Meeting
Zwei did not rush back to the village. Instead, he went straight to his mage tower.
While he didn't know the specifics of the situation, he could infer from the dialogue between the two sides just now that the magician claiming to be Shaq Missandia had been relying on those deserters to steal Alyssa's short sword.
And although the magician in question was currently strolling to the village, it was unlikely that he would do anything to Alyssa. After all, Zwei had just foiled his plans. In a certain sense, Zwei's actions had given him a warning.
According to magical etiquette, Shaq, the foreign magician, needed to pay a visit to Zwei, the local magician. Of course, this tacit rule could be ignored if the intruding magician was significantly stronger.
However, from what Zwei saw, Shaq was someone who had to rely on a Sandstone Bomb to kill even a few grunts. His level shouldn't exceed that of a Basic Magician. So long as Zwei didn't give the other party an opportunity to cast second-circle magic, he could easily crush his opponent by relying on his instant-cast ability.
Meanwhile, of the people who could tell Shaq Zwei's current whereabouts, Alyssa, as Zwei's student, was undoubtedly the best candidate.
Previously, when Zwei left to pursue the soldiers, he did not notify Alyssa of his intentions. Hence, the girl would assume that he had returned home once she failed to find him.
After linking these points together, Zwei rushed back to his mage tower.
Sure enough, after Zwei had rearranged his home a little, a knock came from his door. It wasn't noon yet, so it clearly wasn't Alyssa here to deliver his lunch.
Zwei hopped onto his bed and sat cross-legged as if he had been meditating. He then used Mage Hand to open the door.
"Excuse me, is this the residence of Sir Zwei Aldric?" Shaq asked in a friendly and respectful manner from outside the door.
If Zwei hadn't seen this fellow's nature before, he would've most likely been deceived by his current behavior.
Although this guy's planning skills are crude, when it comes to acting, I shouldn't underestimate him, Zwei sighed inwardly.
However, he did not show the slightest of emotions on his face. In a casual tone, he asked, "I'm the person you're looking for. Who are you?"
Unbeknown to Zwei, Shaq was also surprised right now.
Shaq had paid another visit to the village at the foot of the mountain, so he had seen the hollow pit Zwei had left in the slate pavement. If Zwei had used some type of explosion magic such as the Exploding Flame Arrow, it wouldn't be strange at all for him to cause such large-scale destruction. However, based on the soldiers' recollection, the magic the magician named Zwei Aldric used was a type of invisible magic. While the soldiers might have exaggerated Zwei's strength to cover their incompetence, Shaq had asked several villagers about the fight, and the answers he got were mostly the same.
Although Shaq didn't know whether Zwei had used the first-circle Air Hammer or the second-circle Mana Strike, what he was certain of was that Zwei had completed his spell before the soldiers could react (though he still refused to believe the other party had instantly cast his spell). Hence, he deemed that the magician surnamed Aldric should at least be at the peak of the Basic Magician rank. The latter might even have set foot in the realm of Intermediate Magicians already.
Not just that, despite being seated so far away, the other party used Mage Hand to open the door within two seconds. Just this performance was more than enough to make Shaq thankful that he hadn't let greed rush to his head and personally snatched Alyssa's short sword. Otherwise, he would've ended up making an enemy of such caliber.
After thinking up to this point, Shaq became even more respectful.
"This humble one is Shaq Missandia, a Grade 2 student at the Fenillary Magic Academy. I am currently taking the Magician Promotion Test and passed by your territory by chance, so I have come to pay you a visit."
If Shaq were to learn that the person he was so respectful to was only an Apprentice Magician—moreover, one who wasn't certified by the Seven Luminaries Mage Association—he would most likely make a very interesting expression.
"Oh, come in, then," Zwei said indifferently.
However, as it happened, Zwei's rude tone matched Shaq's notion of the attitude of senior magicians.
In reality, Zwei wanted nothing more than to drive Shaq away right now. After all, he didn't like communicating with such two-faced people. However, he couldn't look at everything from just a single perspective. Since this fellow named Shaq was a student of a magic academy, he should have some understanding of the current magic academy industry. This was the perfect opportunity for Zwei to dig up some information.
Zwei's predecessor had always been an itinerant magician. Although he was very knowledgeable, he was unfamiliar with magic academies. Hence, for Zwei, the opportunity to fix this shortcoming of his was naturally a welcome one.
Also, even if Zwei disliked Shaq's personality, both sides had yet to shed all pretenses with each other. In the future, Shaq might even become the springboard for Zwei to cooperate with the so-called Fenillary Magic Academy. Hence, Zwei decided to establish contact with Shaq first and see what would happen.
On the other side, Shaq frowned as soon as he entered the mage tower. Compared to the mage towers of powerful magicians he had in mind, Zwei's mage tower was truly… Even calling it crude would be praise.
However, his attention was quickly attracted by some of the objects inside the mage tower.
The first was a desk. Similar to the mage tower, this wood desk was inferior goods. However, it was a different story for the colorful crystal shards scattered across the table. Initially, Shaq had taken these shards for ordinary gem fragments. After all, many magicians would also call themselves artists and try to make their tools look as luxurious as possible without hindering the tools' performance. In terms of actual value, though, gemstones weren't particularly precious to magicians, who normally squandered money on exorbitant magic-related items.
However, Shaq soon discovered he was mistaken. Unlike his initial guess, the "gem fragments" actually exuded a dense elemental aura! Moreover, even from such a distance, he could feel the fluctuating mana in them!
There were only two things on the continent that could display such characteristics: mana cores and luminary crystals.
The former was a recently trending item. The mana core was a special object found in the bodies of high-level monsters. According to popular belief, once a monster reached a certain level, a specialized bone organ would grow in their bodies, which monsters would use for storing large amounts of mana and elements. Although mana cores generally had impurities, their mana capacity was significant. So long as a magician had sufficient strength, a mana core could basically provide an inexhaustible supply of mana. Hence, it was currently one of the most commonly used energy sources on the continent.
The latter, on the other hand, was a relatively rare mineral. The luminary crystal deposits discovered so far amounted to only half of the gold deposits found. Although luminary crystals did not contain a lot of mana, the elements in them were exceptionally pure. They were one of the important materials necessary for making magic devices.
The various crystal fragments Zwei had obtained from the Trial Gate, however, contained not only abundant mana but also elements of high purity. If not for their small size, they would be perfect for making magic devices!
-- Gift
received