Badge in Azure

When Joey told Saleen that Lex had requested help from him, Saleen then realized that the two of them might be on very intimate terms. “Joey has no reason to harm me, my speculation in the past was actually incorrect. The prerequisite is that I cannot do anything to rile Joey. It seems like Joey isn’t an extraordinary person after all, he also has his humorous moments.”

Even though it was a loss to give away the Dimension Stone, Saleen had won Joey’s favor, so he did not regret his decision either.

“It’s late, go and rest. Bryan.” Joey had no intention to continue the conversation. That child who looked about twelve or thirteen years old entered the room, then waved at Saleen and company.

Saleen noticed that Joey had allowed him to stay behind and live here, he knew that his requests were going to be fulfilled. As for the request Joey had broached, he still had to think about it for a while.

Bryan led Saleen and company to a house east of the courtyard. Joey obviously had no guestrooms, this house was an abandoned laboratory. Even though all the items atop the alchemy platform were unusually clean and the whole house did not even have a single speck of dust, Saleen knew that Joey had no use for these things anymore.

In the middle of the house was an appliance for alchemy experiments, a tabletop assembled from eight metal pieces. This appliance was very valuable, Saleen wanted to take it. Even though his alchemy skills did not require such items, Metatrin City had several outstanding mages who did not know how to cast the Water Flame Alchemy.

The suite was not small, it was a storeroom in the past, but was now cleared. Bryan pointed to this barren house, then told Saleen and company, “So sorry, Teacher has never hosted any guests before, please make do with this.”

“Thank you very much.” Saleen took out three sets of sleeping bags, laying them on the floor. Mages were not very particular about their sleeping environment, more often than not, they might even sleep while sitting.

Bryan shrugged his shoulders. If Saleen had begged him, he would have taken out the beds, but Saleen this fellow had actually brought along sleeping bags. “Didn’t Teacher seize his Demonic Ring?”

Seeing Bryan leave, Saleen told Su and Cuisi, “If you guys aren’t hungry, then go to sleep.”

“I am hungry,” Su and Cuisi answered simultaneously. In the small building, they were greatly oppressed by Joey’s stature, as though they had undergone a few consecutive hours of battle. They had depleted much of their physical strength, it would be weird for them to not feel ravenous.

Saleen took out two packs field rations, tossing them at them. He then sat down, observing his surroundings. There were windows on both sides of this room, one side faced the small yard at the wooden building, while the other faced a garden. Colored glass was fixed into the windows, but its degree of transparency was high, and there were no defensive measures like magic arrays.

Joey had mentioned that if Fycro came to this courtyard, he could easily kill a dozen people like Fycro, but Saleen could not identify the mystery of this courtyard.

Su and Cuisi consumed their food in silence, and they finished it very quickly. Cuisi then said, “Sir, how did you get to know that… Joey?”

Saleen narrated the events which took place in Holy Rock City long ago and mentioned how Joey had resolved the troubles in his body. Saleen recounted his experiences calmly, as Su and Cuisi listened intently.

“Sir, you are incredible. In these few years, you have become a grand mage, a grade-6 grand mage. In the subcontinent plane, the youngest person to attain this grade is eighty years old.”

“Sir, why did Joey ask you to come back?” As a demon, Cuisi would never interpret someone’s intentions in a positive light.

“To see whether I am dead or not. If I am not dead, then he will continue conducting experiments on me, probably just for this,” Saleen replied.

Su and Cuisi did not know how to console Saleen. Fortunately, Joey was not some evil mage. As long as Saleen kept the end of his bargain, Joey would not harm him.

These three people slept in the storeroom for one night. Only Saleen had a restful sleep, he did not even meditate.

The morning after, that child named Bryan came over to summon the three of them to meet Joey. Within one night, Joey appeared to have gotten younger once more, the pale color on his face had also gotten more vibrant. This made Saleen very doubtful. The first time he met Joey, he knew that he was already a few hundred years old, but Joey looked very young.

This time around, Saleen felt that Joey had gotten younger again, and it was only within a span of one night. Joey seemed to have gone against some laws of nature, he would appear younger than he was the previous day.

On Joey’s body, Saleen could no longer observe that kind of pure power belonging to a mage. It seemed like he could control the Sword Aura, holy spells and elements, and he did not need to chant any mantras.

As usual, Joey asked the three of them to sit on the floor. He took out a bottle, tossing it at Saleen, then said, “Ask that demon to drink it.”

Saleen hesitated for a moment, then passed the bottle to Cuisi.

Cuisi felt a shudder in his heart, but he did not dare disobey Joey’s command. He opened the bottle and detected the stench of blood. With a jolt of his heart, he quickly gulped down the contents in the bottle.

With a thud, Cuisi collapsed onto the floor straightaway. Joey waved his hand, retracting that colossal metallic magic structure in the center of the room. Cuisi’s body expanded rapidly, in the blink of an eye, he had reverted to his original form, and was still undergoing further changes. His original eight yard height had lengthened by another yard. If it was not for the unique space in Joey’s building, Cuisi would have burst through the house.

Cuisi’s body quivered violently. In his eyes was extreme pain, but there was also exhilaration within all that pain. The horns on his head gradually lengthened, while the color of the wings on his back grew paler, and his scales became more transparent.

“Don’t bother about him, he is advancing to a supreme demon. Saleen, this is the demonic set which I have newly refined for you, it should be called the devil set now.” Joey handed over this set of equipment, which he refined overnight, to Saleen.

Saleen was extremely agitated as he held that equipment in his hands. “An equipment crafted for a grade-10 expert and it was tailored for me, this is priceless.”

This set of personal clothes had turned from black into pure white, and they were still extremely elastic. Saleen realized that his perception could not even infiltrate it, this was a sorcerer’s grade equipment. After donning it, not only would Saleen attain elemental stability, the enemy would not be able to detect any changes in his body. Many predictive spells, as well as detection spells, could not be used against Saleen.

The exterior clothing was a colorful brocade robe. The bangle had disappeared, but the Demonic Ring was still around, and six more holes for mosaicking gems had been added into it. It was a space-embedded approach, whereby a standard size gem could be mosaicked into these holes. The brocade robe contained sturdy armor pieces which protected the vital parts of the body. Saleen noticed that there were eighteen sites for mosaicking on the belt.

“The principle behind your magic armor is pretty good, I have used it for a while. This set of clothes can transform into a fully sealed mage’s armor, it will be sufficient for you until grade-9. After grade-9, you can then craft an equipment which truly belongs to you. This set of equipment can be handed down to the student who will inherit your clothing.”

Saleen appeared as though he did not hear Joey’s words, as his gaze was fixated on a mask which was part of this set of equipment.

It was a bronze mask, and a rhombic-shaped gem was mosaicked into the forehead area, like an erected eye. The expression of the mask was a little hideous, but the lines were gentle. Using his mental strength, Saleen could not even get past the surface of this mask, but he could feel that the material of it and that gemstone was superior to all the materials he knew of.

“Sir Joey, this present is too precious.”

“I know, I still have something to give you, I only want one item from you.”

Saleen was momentarily stunned, then he immediately understood what Joey meant. “Joey must be eyeing the Seal of Divine Power. That is a godly equipment, and only a godly equipment can be used to exchange for that mask.”

The Seal of Divine Power was a godly item the Holy See had lost for a thousand years. The moment Saleen took it out, the Holy See would know about it. He had placed this item in the Ring of Gifts, and he only did the switch while inside the goddess’ temple. Within the normal space of Myers mainland, he would definitely not take it out.

Saleen removed his own Ring of Gifts. Ismail had given this ring to him, and he did not have much use for it either. The best Ring of Gifts had already been given to Sika. Saleen took out the Dimension Stones from the Ring of Gifts, leaving only the Seal of Divine Power behind, then he placed the ring before Joey.

Joey did not take the Ring of Gifts, instead, he began explaining to Saleen, “That mask is the critical component of the devil set, it can enable you to transform into the second form anytime. That sword is in fact made of wood. Like a mage’s staff, it can store three spells. As for the devil set, I have personally affixed six level-7 spells into it.”

Saleen almost choked, then he quickly retracted the words he wanted to say.

The Seal of Divine Power was undoubtedly an irreplaceable godly item, but Joey had affixed six level-7 spells in Saleen’s equipment! Even the mages from Sregl Island would not be able to do that, because affixing a level-7 spell would create immense loss for a mage, only a mage above grade-8 had the ability to do so.

After executing magic affixation, a sorcerer’s abilities would be drastically reduced for an extended period and there was no way to regain the abilities quickly. Not only would this lower offensive power, it would also affect a mage’s research into new spells, thus affecting their advancement. Unless it was for a great price, a mage would not do something like that for other people.

“These six level-7 spells can be upgraded. Once you reach grade-9, you can allow these six spells to become level-8. The magic nucleus on the mask belongs to a grade-12 magic beast, its effect is no different from that of a level-9 dragonshard.”

The difference between a magic beast and a dragon was not only confined to their grades. At best, a fight between a grade-12 magic beast and a grade-9 dragon would end in a tie, the quality of its magic nucleus was also very similar to that of the dragonshard. Joey did not want to take advantage of Saleen. The Seal of Divine Power was very important to him, with this thing, he would be confident of facing Fycro already.

The value of this set of equipment, which contained the devil ring, devil mask, devil armor, the magic brocade robe, magic sword, gloves, and boots might not be equal to that of a godly item, but there was not much difference either. Joey had said that there was something else for Saleen. Saleen was utterly convinced, Joey’s assets were way more substantial than he thought.

“Joey should be getting the magic nucleus for his student. His possessions cannot be sold, and no one is willing to sell things to him too. I guess no matter what he wants, the palace will give it to him. Joey doesn’t want it for free, on this note, he has adhered to the principles of being a mage.”