Badge in Azure

To Gaine, those puppets were crude junk. If it was not for Saleen’s request, he would have rather spent 1000 years to make a level 18 figure, instead of making tens of thousands of junk ones within three months.

Saleen did not rush to craft the weapon he had in mind after familiarizing himself with lightning magic patterns. He chose instead to continue interacting with Gaine, and went about familiarizing himself with the astrological arts that Gaine passed on to him.

It was easy to advance in astrology in their earlier stages, but it got increasingly difficult as one progressed. As such, the likes of Gaine were few and far between throughout ancient times. Gaine admitted as much. There were simply too many people who wanted to know what their fate held, and most were simply able to go with the flow, becoming little more than a speck of dust in the vast rivers of fate.

Gaine told Saleen that mages perceived the world at micro levels while astrologers observed rules at macro levels.

There were hardly right and wrong in such subjects, as Myers Mainland was a constellation in itself. Eventually, both mage and astrologer would have come to the same point, researching the same problems.

However, both sides were apparently unable to get along with each other well. Astrologers saw mages to be stiff and rigid, while mages perceived astrologers to be flighty and unreliable.

Other than the fact that both sides wielded immense powers, they hardly had commonalities with each other. Despite Gaine had Saleen learn astrology, he was not having any intentions for Saleen to become a powerful astrologer, as level ten was seen to be Saleen’s limit.

If Saleen were to practice astrology further than that as a mage, devoting increasingly more time on the art, he would no longer have any time left for practicing magic.

It was not a problem about conflicting skills, but that knowledge of both sides were as vast the ocean and there was no end to both of them.

Saleen himself did not have any intentions of doing great things with astrology. For him, magic was where the meaning of his life lied. However, astrological theories would have helped him a lot in learning magic, just as Gaine have gained understanding in many magical skills and inner workings of magic. There was hardly any difficulty in communication between both parties.

Saleen did not begin crafting equipment afterwards; he went to familiarize himself with the two figures instead. The two figures were of the size of his palm and there were no power of any sort infused in them. Saleen stuck level 16 Star Gathering Needles onto the head of the figures, and both figures sprung to life immediately. However, those two figures served little more than educational tools to help Saleen learn, and as such, required his commands to move.

Saleen spent about a month before he became adept at controlling the figures. In the mean time, the Winged Skull provided ample amount of souls.

Those two figures were precious due to them resembling upgradable magic equipment. While they were both high level equipment, they were able to be controlled by low level professionals. When level four or five souls were infused into them, the figures even became capable of moving on their own. However, the limit of their power remained at level four or five, and there was no advancement to be had.

Such figures were the most precious, as they allowed low level astrologers take their time and learn how to use such weapons for battle. Astrologers usually carried about six figures for protection, and that spoke volumes about the importance of the figures. An astrologer would have only used their Star Gathering Needles when things became incredibly dire.

More than a thousand souls were spent within a month, and Saleen ceased infusing the figures with energies. Saleen was satisfied of what he achieved, deeming the figures to be suitable playthings for his children, while providing protection for them.

Saleen promised to stay for ten months and four have passed. Saleen had no choice but to begin preparations to craft his equipment. Once he was out of there, spending a few months doing only one thing would have become a luxury like no other.

Gaine continued talking to Saleen without any intentions of stopping. However, he too, began to craft Saleen’s figures seriously. If Saleen were to enter the palace and find the level 19 Star Gathering Needle, powerful equipment would have been required to protect him. Furthermore, it would have been a piece of equipment devoid of any hidden tricks, as if Saleen were to find out, the contract between them would have been voided, and Gaine would have nothing to gain.

The huge remains of the thunder dragon were taken apart, and Saleen picked the softest piece of bone on the body of the thunder dragon—the windpipe.

The lightning magic patterns on the windpipe were the most complex, and the bone was about a meter long, which would have been relatively easy to craft. The windpipe also had an extremely complex makeup. Saleen took six windpipes for his intended purpose, and there were six left still, which were apparently not the ones used for blasting lightning.

Saleen compressed and crafted the six windpipes of the thunder dragon into gun barrels, and that process took two months to complete. The windpipes were refined repeatedly by the Water Flame before they were compressed to the size of about a foot long.

That piece of equipment was no longer Hogina’s gun, as Saleen based the concept of the weapon completely on lightning rules. He was preparing to craft an equipment that only he was able to use, and it was one that would have stayed with him for life.

Gaine could not have helped but admire Saleen’s tenacity. When Gaine was Saleen’s age, it was impossible for him to spend several consecutive months exclusively on studying and crafting things.

Gaine had no idea that Saleen was restoring power to his badge using Water Flame as a cover. The Water Flame was something that Gaine was incapable of penetrating, regardless of how high his level was. Saleen’s family continued gathering power inside the Water Flame. Saleen had ample mental powers now and needed not worry about if he was able to continue crafting like that.

Saleen’s equipment was completed at the ninth month. He had never spent so much time in alchemy after advancing into level nine. In the past five months, other than occasional essential eating and drinking, Saleen spent almost all his time doing alchemy.

Gaine was becoming rather jealous. If only Saleen was my student…

However, there was no way the studious mage would have dedicated himself to learning astrology. Even if Gaine were to forcefully infuse powers onto Saleen to modify his body, level ten would have still been the best Saleen would have been able to achieve. If Saleen wanted to go further, he himself needed to work on the art.

Seeing Saleen’s satisfied expression, Gained sighed and said to him, “Saleen, you never cease to amaze me. Alright, I’ll help you for free for once. Take your Devil Armament off. I’ll re-craft it for you.”

Saleen was delighted. His Devil Armament had weaknesses, and they were things that he could not have fixed with his current level of power.

Gaine took the Devil Armament and scoffed. “That grandmaster wasn’t being nice with you. If you keep using this thing, do you know what would have happened?”

Saleen was surprised, shaking his head as a gesture saying that he knew nothing.

“This thing here would help you in your comprehension of rules. But, those rules will never stay with you. If you ever get the chance to advance and become a level 12 sorcerer, you would have cursed the grandmaster, as you will never ever reach level 13.”

Saleen began to sweat cold sweat as he asked, “Am I in any trouble now?”

“Not yet. You would only discover the harm this thing would have done to you when you reach level 12, and there is no certainty that it would have been you who would have discovered it. What is more terrifying is that you may even think that you have reached level 13 and became capable of controlling rules, while the truth would have been that you, would have become part of the armament. This thing here would have given birth to a soul, and take control of your body.”

“How is that possible!”

“Why not? The grandmaster reached level 17 after all. That meant becoming something like greater gods, or even more powerful than greater gods.”

Saleen remained silent for a bit before replying, “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me actually. I need you to get me that Star Gathering Needle after all.” Gaine said as he drew a line in the air, plucking out some starlight from within and stuff them into the Devil Armament. The density of that bunch of starlight was even greater than the nebula at the top of the astrology tower.

However, despite the nebula’s thinness, it was connected to an area of a different plane; an area which was probably even more vast than the entire Myers Mainland. On the other hand, while the starlight in Gaine’s hand was thick, it was but of the size of a fist.

Gaine stuffed the starlight into the figures crafted for Saleen. The figure was virtually identical to Saleen’s size, without any deviation in any of its dimensions. The figure sprung to life as the starlight was infused into it. The grandmaster put the Devil Armament onto it, and the equipment became virtually dissolved by the starlight in an instant, and gradually took another form.

The Devil Armament soon took the form of a robe and Gaine smirked. “While this thing had indeed been an eerie thing up to no good, I had to say that the materials used to make this was incredibly fine. That grandmaster had quite a bit to lose indeed.”

Saleen was not paying any attention to anything Gaine was saying. He was surprised to see that the figure that Gaine crafted for him gradually dissolved as well, merging with the robe. Every single component of the Devil Armament turned cloth-like. Gaine took Saleen’s level 16 Star Gather Needle and soften it, before wrapping it around the Devil Ring.

The six badges of major elements on the belt were undamaged at all. Mysterious star patterns appeared on the pair of black gloves.

“A mage should look like a mage,” Gaine said plainly. He never expected himself to develop a liking for Saleen, and he had even developed the urge to make Saleen his student.

Given that that could have never been achieved, Gaine emphasized on the concept of ‘mage’s equipment’ when he re-crafted it. It resonated deeply with Saleen. The original look of the Devil Armament made Saleen look like a warrior.

“Let me have a look at the equipment you have crafted.” Gaine said as he extended his hand. Saleen handed the equipment he spent five months to craft to Gaine without any hesitation.

Gaine took a look and found Saleen had inserted an eye of the thunder dragon at the front of his equipment, at the center of the assembly of six barrels. Gaine nodded and asked for the other eye of the thunder dragon. He then took out a piece of starline paper carefully and cut a piece of it, before releasing a bunch of starlight and throw both the paper and the eye onto it.

A paper mask was crafted shortly after. The mask reminded Saleen of Jalin. He had never thought Jalin’s equipment to have astrology origins! He then came to realized that the Grukos was probably more mysterious than he had anticipated.

After Gaine was done crafting the paper mask, Gaine took the Devil Bangle. No, that thing is no longer Devil Armament. What was seen inside the black robe was silver star patterns.

Gaine smiled and thought to himself. When was the last time I crafted anything for a mage indeed. He had never expected his next handiwork was for a level nine mage. A second piece of Starline Armament of such a level would probably never be found anywhere else on Myers Mainland.

The rules were arranged in 12 star charts on the bangle. Gaine stuffed the equipment that Saleen had crafted himself into one of the star charts, before handing the Starline Armament over to Saleen and said, “Put it on. I’d like to see what you will be able to craft if you were given another five months.”