Badge in Azure

Saleen was not surprised by Truman’s decision and he had no intentions of forcing him against his will. He only looked around and said, “This is not safe enough. I will send some people over to touch things up. Hmm, which element of spells are you proficient in?”

“Water element,” Truman replied. Saleen was pleased. Jason was proficient in both fire and water elements, but Saleen was most proficient in water elements. He would be suitable to guide Truman in his foundation.

Saleen took out two magic books from the devil ring and passed it to Truman before saying, “I found this in the midst of some historical remains and as for this gold magic book, neither of us have use for it yet.”

There were tears in Truman’s eyes. He had had to depend only on himself all the while without a teacher. Although the hard times had trained him to be tougher, it did not mean that he had stopped hoping to have a teacher one day. Things such as the bronze magic book and silver magic book were rare even on Sregl Island. Saleen was such a young teacher yet he already possessed the gold magic book!

Magic books of any grade could store eighteen spells each, which was equivalent to eighteen magic staffs. Compared to scrolls, magic books were practically priceless. One was also indirectly training in the process of using a magic book repeatedly. Besides, magic books were not like scrolls. The chances of failure in storing spells was low and in the event of a failure, not only would there be no losses, there might even be benefits to be gained.

“These are some of the magic notes that I have obtained. I have written some notes on them. You can take a look. Since you will be staying here, we will use sound a transmission magic array to communicate in future. If there is anything you don’t understand, just feel free to ask me,” Saleen took out a few notes that he obtained from Rafael’s magic tower even as he spoke.

Rafael and his student left behind plenty of notes and Saleen only managed to complete a few. Amongst these few notes that he has read, he has reorganized them and included his own notes. Magic notes consisted of a mage’s thoughts or conclusions, such notes were greatly beneficial to a mage’s training.

Truman accepted these magic notes silently. He was grateful, but his mind was more focused on working hard to learn whatever he could so that he could pass down Saleen’s legacy in the future.

“In the future, you will collect one-hundred middle-grade magic nuclei every month and keep them for your own use. This is for you,” Saleen thought about it and took out a piece of dragonshard before passing it to Truman. A mage must absorb the power of magic nuclei in order to quickly recover their magic chords. Dragonshards could be used repeatedly so Truman would be able to use his magic nuclei more sparingly.

Truman noticed that the things that Saleen had given to him were not from Sregl Island. He did not dare ask about this in front of Eleanor though.

“Eleanor, shouldn’t you say or do something?” Saleen was in such a good mood that he tried to crack a joke.

Eleanor took out a gray-colored magic robe and said, “Truman, this is for you.”

Truman looked at Saleen who said, “Eleanor is giving this to you, take it.”

Truman took the gray robe. There were three rows of magic symbols on the robe. It was not something that grade-4 mages would wear. Saleen glanced at the robe with his elemental eyes and discovered that there were three spells infused into it.

Such magic robes were extremely valuable. By infusing it with spells, a mage would be able to cast the spell instantly even if they might not be familiar with it. This was a valuable gift and it was clear that it was made with elvish methods. The defense abilities of elvish robes were well-known. Mages with grades lower than a sorcerer that possessed such a robe could never be killed by an assassin.

It was not hard for Eleanor to give up the robe. She had made it for herself initially. Since Saleen asked her to present a gift, she had no qualms about giving it away.

Nevertheless, Saleen felt a little embarrassed. He had put Eleanor in charge of many things, but she did not own many personal items. Other than the two bows and the complementary arrow equipment that Saleen gave to her, Eleanor was his poorest follower.

“Truman, you can stay here and read the book…” Saleen felt a little downhearted. Eleanor had been occupied with so many things everyday yet he did not even realize that this elf owned close to nothing. Saleen also realized that she had never collected the magic nuclei that he had set aside for her.

“Teacher?”

“The alchemy factory is very busy,” Saleen smiled and said, “I will send someone over shortly to touch up this place. You must continue to work hard…”

“Yes, teacher.” Truman sent Saleen and Eleanor to the entrance of the cave and Saleen cast a Quickcloud spell again to bring Eleanor back to the temple.

Although Metatrin City forbade flying in certain regions, this did not apply to Saleen since he owned this city.

Once they reached the temple, Eleanor said, “My Lord, I need to go to the South Court.”

“Don’t go first. Come with me.”

Saleen brought Eleanor to the sixth level, which was an alchemy lab that had been sealed up. Saleen lived on the fifth level. The sixth level contained dangerous items and some of the more volatile experiments were also conducted there.

No-one on the outside would be able to know what was going on inside this alchemy lab that had been sealed up.

Eleanor had no idea what Saleen meant to do, so she stood there silently and waited for him to talk. Saleen said, “Let’s take a seat.”

He pointed to the seats for meditation and sat across Eleanor. Lex and Saleen used to assume such positions. At that time, he was still learning low-level spells. Both of them would cast spells and attack each other for practice.

Those were the days…

“Eleanor, do you wish to return to the elf dimension?” The first question out of Saleen’s mouth shocked Eleanor.

“Sometimes,” Eleanor did not think much and answered with her heart.

“Aren’t you lonely on the Myers Mainland?”

“If I feel lonely, then anywhere is the same. My Lord, all elves must learn to get used to such emotions,” Eleanor lowered her head and rested her gaze on Saleen’s hands.

Saleen pondered for a moment, not knowing what to say next.

“My Lord, are you worried that I will leave?” Eleanor raised her head and looked Saleen in the eye. This human had eyes that were as blue as sea water. They were clear and pure.

“I’m just thinking that in the past, I neglected Truman. When I was with Truman just now, I realized that I have also been neglecting you.”

“My Lord, I am more than happy that you have allowed me to plant ancient elvish trees in the city,” Eleanor smiled faintly. She felt relaxed, as if she was in an elvish forest. Saleen was too young, how would he know how to take care of others? It was more than enough that he would even think about it. Even on the elf dimension, there might not be anyone that would show you concern.

Saleen scratched his head. Eleanor was amused by this action of his. Saleen was normally very tensed and formal, especially in front of the noble families. He had to behave like the descendant of a royal family of the fourth dynasty.

“Alright then. Eleanor, let me ask you; what do you usually like to do?”

Eleanor thought about it and said, “Tidy up my room, brew tea, listen to the harp, and cook something for myself.”

“That’s all?”

“It is actually quite interesting to manufacture equipment too, but it also reminded me of the Marquis,” Eleanor replied, not hiding anything from Saleen.

“I have not revealed your identity to anyone. Nevertheless, someone will definitely become suspicious that I have managed to gain so many elf techniques. I’m worried…”

“My Lord, I will not leave, don’t worry,” Eleanor raised her head and looked at Saleen.

“That’s not what I mean. I think, since your combat skills are better, I shall create a set of equipment that is suitable for you. Isabella also has the ability of possessing both magic and combat skills, it would not be strange to make another set for you.”

“Alright. I have been feeling that I am very poor. My Lord, you remembering this will allow me to make a fortune,” Eleanor mocked. In the beginning when she first followed Saleen, all her items were taken away except for the magic seeds. That was something that Saleen would not be able to take away.

Seeing Saleen quietly pondering Eleanor smiled gently and said, “My Lord, let me tell you a little about the elf dimension.”

“Hmm.”

“There are humans on the elf dimension too. Their lifespan is even shorter than those here. A normal person is already considered to have lived a long life if he lives to sixty or seventy years old. The more powerful ones merely live to one-hundred or two-hundred years old. In comparison, a normal elf can live for at least two-thousand to three-thousand years. Over there, there are cases where elves will fall in love with humans. Every elf understands that humans will die quickly however.”

Saleen’s heart jerked. After what Eleanor described, the feeling in his heart made him become sentimental towards life. What a cruel thing it would be to see the person you loved become older and older and eventually leave this world.

“Very soon, I will stop missing the Marquis. I am a member of the royal family amidst the elves so I can easily live up to ten-thousand years. I don’t remember how old I am exactly, but I should be one-thousand years old soon. You don’t have to worry about me. It is a fact between elves and humans.”

“Eleanor, Sika told me that if she becomes a Nature Priest, she will outlive me. If I die, I don’t know what she will do. Will she really start to forget me?”

“Not forget, more of accept reality. My Lord, humans used to have longer lifespans than elves in the past. If you can advance to such a stage, I may not even outlive you.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say. Eleanor, what I am intending to do is very dangerous so I want to give you the option to back out. If I am not able to achieve my objective, there is no need for you to die along with me. If you truly mean well, you can help me take care of Sika and Truman.”

Saleen sounded terribly serious. Eleanor did not say anything and only waited.

“Eleanor, I am planning to form an army of mages. You shall be their captain.” Saleen looked at the elf and waited for her answer.

“Army of mages? My Lord, will the Sregl Island mages listen to my orders?” Eleanor looked at Saleen, trying to suppress her laughter.

“Work harder and they will. As long as you can advance to a grade-7 mage, I will help you become a grade-9 sorcerer as soon as possible.” Saleen thought for a while and said, “Lex and I have the six elements’ space. We can’t open it without the Sregl Island mages. You will train in the six elements’ space. Even a fool can become a grade-9 sorcerer very quickly. I think a grade-9 sorcerer should be more than qualified to command an army of mages.”