Badge in Azure

The materials used to make the azure arrows came from the ancient battlefield and were imbued with strong killing intent, as well as coalesced grievances of the beings killed in the battlefield.

All of it proved devastating to living beings and common folk would not be able to even search the ancient battlefield, as they would be damaged by all the negative energies permeating the place.

Saleen designed dozens of types of arrows for both Qin and Eleanor and the azure arrow was but one of dozens. As the number of arrow types crafted grew, he developed a greater understanding of the myriad of skills employed by archers.

Alchemy did more than just enabling alchemists to craft equipment for other professionals. It also enabled mages to learn of how energy of different kinds worked in the world. Mages would not have usually encountered a lot of the knowledge.

Saleen crafted arrows in the Magical Element Tower with Truman helping. Saleen took some time out to teach Truman. While Truman was incapable of using Water Flame Alchemy, he learned a lot from the experience. Eleanor, as a mage who was versed in archery, also designed arrows.

Even Daniel gained from it as there were a lot of things littering the ancient battlefield that proved suitable for death mage use. Daniel picked from the pile and stocked up on the bones from the portal, and began to draw design schematics.

His dead soul flame had been purified before, which sufficed for making his own equipment.

Qin’s training improved by leaps and bounds and his forehead felt as if it was about to split. Saleen and Eleanor were unable to help but check on him, finding that the energies on his head were stable, but magnitude had reached critical point. His metal hair band snapped and his hair billowed with pent up energy.

A blood-red slit appeared in the middle of his brow. The slit twitched as if something was about to wiggle out. His black hair began to turn grey before gradually turning snow white, and then slowly turning transparent.

The sound of a crystal cracking was heard and Qin’s forehead looked as if it burst. The eerie-looking slit sealed itself up, leaving a fixed slit on his forehead. A pale eye appeared from the slit. The eye perked up, the pupil a grey line.

Errr… Qin moaned in pain. With the exception of his head still hurting, every single part of his body felt warm and fuzzy. The arrow aura in his body had yet to advance but the running of the energy were altered. The third eye on his forehead was not implanted equipment; it was a part of his body.

Nutrients and energy carried in his veins would pass through the eye, the effect of which was far more powerful than any human body alchemy could achieve. From then on out, Qin had third eye. Even in ancient times, a human who wanted to train to gain a third eye required incredible luck. Qin’s luck came from Saleen.

Saleen used fate spells in astrology while Qin trained, providing some luck for the archer. That bit of luck contained the great luck left behind by Goddess of Myers. If a level 18 god intended to be resurrected, they would do far more than just leaving behind material.

Saleen threw the longbow to Qin and the archer took it. As soon as the longbow reached its hand, changes happened. The upper part of the bow turned pitch black and the lower part turned a shining red. The middle part remained white, the color of the single-horned white whale.

Qin was overwhelmed. He was a genius in archery and had been well taken care of back on Sreeger Island, enjoying the same privilege as any other mage, but he was near advancement not long after following Saleen.

With the third eye, the path before him widened considerably. He gained material support from Saleen. Saleen had ways to provide anything he needed.

“My liege!” Qin was unable to help crying happy tears. The eye at his forehead closed and became a barely-there slit.

Saleen was happy, as well. There was too much need for mages in his kingdom, enabling him to only bring demonic spirits with him.

The demonic spirits failed to bring comparable offensive capacity once they left the magic tower, so Saleen had been relying on his Thunder Dragon Blaster and Eleanor’s archery for long range attacks.

He finally gained a second archer. While Qin’s archery was not as ferocious as Eleanor’s, his archery was more enduring. Eleanor’s attacks posed incredible threat to even level ten professionals.

A level ten true might could be killed by her arrow if they were caught by surprise. The Elvish Life Arrows were capable stealing life from enemies, making them very eerie, but Eleanor was incapable of more attacks like that.

Qin’s skill, on the other hand—even with the still immature three-eyed mystical arrow—was stable common attacks. So long the arrows were sharp, they would work well enough under a level nine archer’s skill to suppress any other professional below level nine.

It worked well on even assassins. If an archer survived, they needed to train in close combat archery as well, which was an even greater threat to assassins than magic.

“Qin, I’m attacking Pompeii City in ten days. Get prepared and get familiar with your new skill.”

“Yes, my liege!” Qin took the equipment that Saleen handed to him and fastened the purple gold sack at his waist.

“Get to the 18th floor. No one will bother you for the next ten days. If you’re hungry, look for the demons attending to you.”

Saleen began inspecting Daniel’s schematics after sending Qin off to the 18th floor of the Magical Element Tower.

Saleen was not a death mage. Death mages just often collaborated with elemental mages when crafting equipment, and there were even times that they would simply have elemental mages craft things for them.

Only a death mage like Aini, who possessed special dead soul flames, would take time to study and make their own gear.

Daniel did not have a good financial foundation and had only been able to reach where he was due to Saleen’s support. Saleen appreciated him for his lack of ambition and formidable management abilities, which meant that he would not cause problems for people around him.

As for loyalty, it had been something that Saleen hardly concerned himself with. Anyone who would sign a follower contract with Saleen would not be stupid enough to betray him unless they were at least one whole level higher than him.

With Saleen freeing Daniel from his administrative duties, Daniel went into an emotional overdrive and put everything he had into his training.

It was more difficult for death mages to advance between level seven to level nine than elemental mages, mainly due to being unable to train in the spirit plane.

However, Saleen had many treasures left behind by the three kings and an imp like Nailisi, who had coordinates in the spirit plane, so Daniel never lacked any materials or environment needed to further his training. Saleen even created an environment filled with death energy at the bottom of the tower, enabling Daniel to train in an environment that resembled the spirit plane.

The schematics that Daniel drafted was a rare large scale death magic equipment. The equipment itself had long existed and Daniel simply designed the equipment’s usage. The modifications he made to the equipment’s design were minimal.

He was not a spirit and his training methods were off the beaten path. He was unable to open a spirit space and was only capable of summoning a level eight Pikoosi, so Daniel designed a new spirit gate, which, when fully opened, became a hulking gear that reached 18 meters in height and 7 meters across.

The equipment seemed to be a set of six gates mashed together. Six gates faced all different directions. The height of the gates allowed creatures like bone dragons to pass.

Daniel did not have any mystical encounters, and so crafting one such orthodox death mage equipment was most useful for him.

However, Saleen frowned when he looked at the spirit gate’s schematics and then said to Daniel, “Why are you designing something like this?”

Daniel asked in a puzzled manner, “Is there any problem with it, my liege?”

While Daniel was a death mage, he wanted to hear Saleen’s thoughts. Saleen was a level ten mage and would definitely see more of the world than Daniel had been.

Saleen continued, “we have the best materials at our disposal and while I can’t just craft equipment specifically for you by myself, I’m able to provide you with materials no one else has. Therefore, I suggest you go and craft a spirit temple instead of a spirit gate.”

Daniel was dumbstruck. The difference between a spirit temple and a spirit gate was that a spirit gate summoned all kinds of powerful spirits from the spirit plane, while a spirit temple was meant for keeping a summoned spirit in a designated space, enabling it to be summoned for battle at any time.

Spirit gates were limited when used in certain environments, especially so when Daniel was just level eight. If he faced a level nine professional, his summoning might have even been interrupted.

“Daniel, you’ve followed me for a very long time. When have you seen me ever have reservations when giving you guys materials to work with?” Saleen destroyed the schematics and took out a starline paper, looked for a design in his magic book, and copied it onto the paper. He handed the new schematics to Daniel. “Do whatever modifications you’d need. I’ll craft you a spirit temple in the next ten days.”

“Yes, my liege.” Daniel took the schematics and turned around to amend it on a platform. Saleen did not look down on Daniel due to his lower level compared to others, which put Daniel at ease. His efforts actually paid off.

He had been neglecting magic training due to being busy with administrative duties for the past few years. All of that bore fruit in the form of a promise by Saleen to craft him spirit temple. The equipment cost over 100 times more than the spirit gate.

While Daniel was busy amending the schematics, Saleen explained the problems encountered in the past few days to Truman. He wasted no time in enhancing his followers’ powers.

Their enemy would grow increasingly powerful. Truman was his only student and he could not afford to see this student get killed.

Daniel took one day to finish amending the schematics of the spirit temple, which he thenhanded to Saleen.

Saleen took over the schematics and began preparing required materials. Data of all kinds of powerful spirits flashed in his mind. He intended to craft the spirit temple into something on par with the longsword, Tears.