Badge in Azure

Saleen felt his thought processes and speed of calculation had achieved great breakthroughs. The more difficult parts of Figaro’s magic formula seemed to have opened up entirely to him at that very moment.

He did only one thing, which was to have Nailisi’s senses completely meld with his.

Nailisi had not known that she had been under the influence of the spear. Ever since she had gotten the weapon crafted from the spike of the silverline golden spearfish that had six fish eyes on it, it had passed some of the abilities of the fish to her. The last time she actually used the skill cemented the connection between her own body with the skill itself.

Nailisi’s ability to lock onto enemies grew by tens of times even without using the spear.

That was Saleen’s first time having his own senses forcefully meld with Nailisi’s. He found right away that such communication allowed him to learn a lot. The way demons sensed things was very complex, and one of them allowed them to pick up sounds that human ears were unable to pick up. Demons were capable of picking up all frequencies of sound, and they detected sounds using the horns on their heads instead of their ears.

Saleen did not have horns, but he was able to sense everything Nailisi was able to sense nonetheless. The ability Nailisi had gotten from the six eyes of the silverline golden spearfish was also passed onto Saleen. He, however, fused the ability into Figaro’s magic formula instead of turning it into his own instinct.

Innumerable complex calculations were simplified using this ability, and it was as if Saleen himself had forcibly added some lines into the formula. He might not even understand the core of the formula, but he mastered it nonetheless. It was thanks to the ability bestowed by the fish eyes.

Saleen had long thought that Figaro’s magic formula would cease being of any use once the user surpassed grade-9. He had only realized at that moment that he had the ability to expand the formula. Doing so would allow Figaro’s magic formula to continue working as a formidable tool even when he reached grade-18. He no longer felt Jinn’s silhouette right outside the magic tower to be a mystery. The swirling shadows flowing in the dark simply became magic signs in Saleen’s mind.

Ninety-nine percent of mages used Figaro’s magic formula for analyzing magic and researching new spells. Only one percent of people were able to put the formula to use in battle.

There were twenty-two inner cores in the formula. These inner cores looked meaningless at first glance, yet they were critical supplementary parts to the formula. A twenty-third inner core was added to Saleen’s own Figaro’s magic formula, which was the fish eye. The fish eye’s effect proved more important than all twenty-two inner cores combined. The advent of the fish eyes compressed most calculation processes, and allowed Saleen’s possibility of using the formula in battle to be enhanced to grade-10.

Everything about Jinn was laid bare before Saleen’s eyes.

Saleen swore to himself that he would catch another silverline golden spearfish and learn all that was to learn about the fish’s eyes. Being able to do so would allow him to have an overwhelming edge against mages of the same level when he advanced to grade-9.

“Hah!” a booming sound rang outside the magic tower. Jinn finally thrust their sword. Their short sword hit the surface of the magic tower very accurately on the very spot where the joint between the four divine trees was. The joint was not something that could be seen with the naked eye. Even magical detection proved very difficult to locate the spot because the joint itself changed from one moment to another.

The core of the Sky City forcefully merged the four divine trees into one single unit, and there would always be four cracks between them. The cracks were one of the weaknesses of the divine tree magic tower, and Jinn’s short sword struck right at the moment when the crack changed.

The instance was not something that could be repeated in the same day, and it would not be in the same spot or frequency. Jinn, however, was able to derive such a location from their calculations. It was a testament to Jinn’s formidable combat prowess. The thrust did not even allow Jinn to control the wake created. Seawater exploded at the tip of the sword. Two streaks of golden blade-light flashed in the darkness outside of the tower.

The lights were naturally unleashed by the blade, dividing the seawater. The seawater was cut into two layers by the flat side of the blade. The immense underwater pressure was able to do nothing to stop the cutting of the sword’s flash. The phenomenon had seemingly lifted hundreds of billions of jin of seawater, and then thumped all that water down heavily. After delivering the thrust, Jinn turned into darkness and was nowhere to be found again.

The collapse of the seawater created a silent sound wave, and the shock of it wrecked everything within a ten of mile radius. The guardian statues standing on the faraway streets were rendered to dust. Even Jinn’s own black crystal tower was not spared of the effects. The frequency of that one strike melded the divine tree magic tower perfectly. The being found the tower’s weakness, and the sheer amount of power put behind the attack was way beyond expectation.

What Saleen’s Elemental Eye was able to see was rules. There were twenty-four rules on Jinn’s short sword. The powerful attack that took place was caused by those twenty-four rules. These rules were not something Jinn was able to control. The attack made a crack on the tower. In that split second, where not even seawater was able to even made it inside yet, a flash of the sword went straight for the spot Saleen was standing.

One flash of the sword, twenty-four rules, and even in prototype stages… the resulting damage potential was far beyond what a grade-8 sorcerer like Saleen was able defend against. Jinn did not have mastery over the rules, or the rules would have been divided into twenty-four streaks of light, and Saleen would have ended up dead right there and then.

The flash was sharp and vicious, yet Saleen had only widened his eyes abruptly. Three-hundred and sixty golden runes flew in response, and thundering noises were heard throughout the seventeen floors of the magic tower. The flash crashed into a streak of lightning Saleen had just unleashed, and the attack was dispelled.

Saleen came prepared that time. His mastery of the rules of lightning matured considerably compared to when he last used it. The powerful attack had only drained one-sixth of his mental powers.

The short sword in the hand of Jinn, who had retreated into the darkness, let out a clear twang, as if it was fearing something. The twenty-four runes on its surface twisted and receded into the blade, unwilling to show.

“That Saleen had mastered rules of an even higher level!”

Jinn was thoroughly shocked. They determined their opponent’s level clearly. When the flash made it into the tower, they had been sure that Saleen would end up dead. No magic shield would have been able to withstand such an attack. The flash of the sword infused with twenty-four rules was something that could have only been fended off by a mage mastering the rules.

The key was mastery, not understanding the rules. The feat was something that could have been accomplished at grade-12.

Mages below grade-12 were only able to have understanding of part of the rules. It was utterly impossible for them to manipulate rules for their own use. It was impossible for Jinn to unleash the same attack they just pulled. With their most powerful trump being dispelled, Jinn was at wit’s end. They knew of no other ways to tear down the divine tree magic tower’s defenses.

Saleen had a feeling he had everything under control all of a sudden. As the enemy was unable to escape his targeting, he had no need to rely on his family badge. The Crystal Finger would suffice. He took a look at his own shriveled left hand. He determined that it had enough in it to attack one more time with the Crystal Finger and that would be enough to make a hole in Jinn’s brain.

Boom!

The buildings wrecked by the shockwaves resulting from the flash of the sword had only collapsed right then. The sea, within a ten mile radius, was rendered very murky.

“Jinn, surrender now!” Saleen shouted with all his might. All the power of thundering voice was put in that one line he uttered. Jinn felt a tremble surging from the depths of their soul, holding themselves back just enough from the urge to worship the magic tower.

“What else can you do to me?” Jinn’s body hid in the dark. Saleen shot an icicle without paying any mind. The icicle shot right through Jinn’s body and lodged into the ground.

“I know well that such an icicle won’t be able to harm you, but I have at least two other ways of killing you. I just don’t feel like wasting them. Jinn, I’m done with being patient with you,” Saleen’s voice felt cold and adamant.

“I…”

Doom!

Saleen simply began beating the War Drum of Fear. The sound of which was amplified by the magic tower, and covered the area within ten miles from the tower. Jinn felt their soul shake alongside the beat, and began to fear the man himself.

“What else can I do to you, you ask?”

Doom, doom, doom!

Saleen beat at the War Drum of Fear slowly and said, “If I can kill the angel of fear, I can kill you all the same. How else do you think I was able to collect all the other five elemental badges? By talking alone?”

“I am an elemental creature and I do not fear death!” Jinn was literally terrified. They were merely putting on airs.

“I just don’t want that sword in your hand destroyed, Jinn. There is no guarantee that the sword will stay intact when I kill you. I wouldn’t have bothered talking so much to you otherwise. If you are not going to surrender, I will kill you. I would not dare leave the magic tower otherwise. I have no defense against your skills outside the tower.”

“You are saying that you will make a move against me then?”

“Indeed. Your attacks are just too powerful. Without the tower, I would have had to exchange one life for another. You are an elemental creature, and I’m a human, so don’t bother daydreaming. We will never reach a compromise of any kind.”

Jinn was rendered silent. The icicle Saleen shot hit right where they hid. They knew already that their stealth techniques were completely useless against him. It did not matter how fast they moved. Spells would definitely hit them.

The speed of most magic spells were not something evadable by most creatures, especially that of light magic, which one would not be able to take head on.

With even the Vermillion Knight subdued, there was no doubt that the human was nowhere near slow. At the very least, Rainbow was ineffective against him.

Flare only knew right there and then that the skill Saleen showed earlier was an incomplete one. “What have I just witnessed? Did Saleen’s eyes just shoot lightning bolts!? The skill might have yet to reach maturity, but what does that mean?”

When Saleen advanced to a certain level, the range of the lightning bolt would be terrifying. They had yet to hear about any equipment capable of defending against lightning. The thundering voice also actually proved to have sound waves far more powerful than that of the War Drum of Fear. Provision of electricity was also one capable of disregarding levels.

Forced paralysis, pain, and high temperatures were all traits of effects of electrical attacks. Lightning attacks also proved even more lethal against elemental creatures, as lightning was something capable of disintegrating elements and breaking them down to even smaller particle units. Elemental creatures killed by lightning would never be able to rise again, and souls developed would also be destroyed for good.

“Saleen, I will not surrender. I’m going to see for myself just how are you going to kill me!” Jinn said as they took out the elemental badge and had all their underlings absorbed. The being then turned around and fled.