Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After completing the level certification for everybody, it was nearly midnight, and it took Lin Li late into the night to settle the accommodations for the mages before he could go and rest himself. He walked down the stairs back to his bedroom as he complained to himself that it was no wonder that old fellow Gerian had tried to con him into becoming the President of Jarrosus’ Guild of Magic—this position was not an easy one indeed…
“Mage Felic…” Who knew that somebody would appear in the guild hall.
Lin Li turned around, and realized that the person who called him was Old Salatt’s son, the thug from Doland. Lin Li could not help feeling puzzled for a moment. “Garso, is anything the matter?”
“I…” Garso opened his mouth to speak, looking hesitant.
“Just tell me, what is it…?” Lin Li’s eyes were incredibly sharp, and he did not have to think too much to know what Garso was thinking of—this rascal most likely had a favor to ask of him. “Don’t feel bad. Uncle Salatt takes such good care of me, and you’re his son, so if there’s anything you need, just tell me. I’ll help you as long as it’s within my means.”
“I… I want…” Garso gritted his teeth before mustering his courage. “I want to learn magic from you…”
“Oh…” Lin Li nodded his head, but neither rejected him nor gave his consent as he merely looked at Garso. “Tell me, why’s that so?”
“Because… because… ” Garso kept repeating, but failed to continue his sentence.
“Is it because of today?”
“Not just today, the previous time too, it has always been like this. Every time I get into trouble, Father is always protecting me, but I don’t want this to continue. He’s old, and I should be the one protecting him instead. Today, when the bandits appeared, I wanted to protect Father and escape, but I couldn’t do it… I just couldn’t, I’m too weak, they could kill me with one hand…” Garso started tearing up as he spoke.
“It’s too late today, go and rest. Come find me in the study tomorrow and I’ll teach you some basics. But before that, I have to remind you that magic is tiring and dry, and dangerous too. If you are not mentally prepared for it, then we shouldn’t waste our time.”
“I’m not afraid of it being difficult, Mage Felic!”
“Very well…”
The next afternoon, Garso came indeed. Magic Shooter Alan was with him.
“Good, both of you are here, have a seat…” Lin Li nodded and grabbed a heavy book on magic from his desk. “Garso, this is a book on magic, go and memorize it. You will recite it to me in a month. If you get a word wrong, you don’t need to come back to the Tower of Dusk in the future.”
Garso received the book and merely flipped through a few pages before his expression changed. “But, Mage Felic, I don’t… I don’t know a lot of these words…”
“Oh right, I almost forgot…” Lin Li thought about it, and retrieved another book from a shelf next to him. “Take this too, it’s an introduction to the High Elves Print. It’ll help you with the words you don’t know.”
“Oh…”
“Ok, you can go.” When Garso left, Lin Li turned around and looked at the young Magic Shooter Alan. “Alan, I need your help with something.”
“Huh?” Alan paused. Didn’t Gavin say that the President was going to fix my weakness? How come he’s asking for my help instead?
Maybe President Felic does not know how to correct it, and is looking for a reason to brush me off? Alan could not help the doubt seeping through from his gaze when he thought of that. To be honest, he did not believe that this young President in his twenties could be capable of changing his bad habit, either. After all, even Mr Basel had not been able to do that.
Alan had been exposed to magic since the age of eight, and that had been over 20 years ago. His habit of controlling his mana was one that he had developed very early on, and it had turned into a second nature for him. He knew it was not a good practice, but he had failed to change it this whole time; hence, he slowly forgot about it.
He could not believe it at all when Gavin told him about this today, but as he thought about it, he decided to make a Hail Mary effort. Even if they did not manage to change it, he was not going to lose anything. Hence, he came somewhat reluctantly.
“I wonder what is it, President Felic?” While Alan doubted him silently, he did not let it show on his face.
“Nothing much…” Lin Li retrieved a crystal from his pocket. “This is a rechargeable crystal that will be needed for the inauguration ceremony two days later, but neither I nor other mages have the time to charge it with mana. Hence, I was hoping you could help me with it. Best do it quickly, it will be needed in a couple of days.”
“No problem.” Alan looked at it and realized it was indeed an ordinary rechargeable crystal, usually used to replenish a mage’s mana. Given his ability, all he would need to do was to pump some mana in, and it would be good to go. Thus, he nodded his head and took it from the young President.
“I’ll be troubling you with it, then.”
“You’re welcome.”
After watching Alan leave, Lin Li lazily stretched. “Basel, this old fellow, is becoming muddle-headed. How come he doesn’t know how to correct a simple mistake? If you want to deal with a miser, then all you need to do is exhaust his money and leave him starving on the streets for a couple of days. Sigh, it’s so boring to deal with all this shady nonsense. My dear Mr Vanskore, when are you ever going to come…”
Nobody knew when Vanskore would arrive, but someone else did arrive pretty quickly…
“President Felic, there is a guest outside who wishes to meet you.” Just as Lin Li was feeling bored, Gavin came to knock on the study’s door.
“What an arrogant person…” Lin Li muttered to himself as he brushed his nose and opened the door, and then saw Gavin’s bearded face before his eyes.
“President Felic, would you like to go take a look?”
“Who is it?”
“He said… he said he’s your great Macklin…”
“…” Lin Li’s knees gave way, and he nearly fell to the ground as he clutched Gavin and hurriedly asked, “Where is he at?”
“In the lobby.”
“Let’s go!”
Lin Li nearly jogged over, and saw Macklin’s mousy face as soon as he opened the door to the lobby. The old man was smiling as he chatted with Herza, but as soon as he saw Lin Li enter, his smile disappeared, and he started cursing him out. “Damn it, you little a*shole, what an ingrate, it’s been two months yet you haven’t written a damn letter to me!! I have taught you in vain, you a*shole…”
“I was too busy. After the as*holes of the Supreme Council sent me to this godforsaken place, I have yet to enjoy a day of peace. Someone is here to give me trouble every day. See, I just got rid of a bunch yesterday, why don’t you ask Gavin…”
“Damn it, aren’t those a*sholes from the Supreme Council being too much?”
“See, if you must, go after the as*holes from the Supreme Council; it’s got nothing to do with me. I was even planning to visit you in Alanna these few days…”
The young and old cursed happily. They left Herza speechless since he could never be serious with them. Forget Macklin, he was already bold enough to steal from the Supreme Council’s library decades ago, and had left a few Arbitrators with a headache—one would be a fool to try and talk sense with him. Right, and the younger one was no better—for some reason, he was a talented mage that the Supreme Council had high hopes for. Even a few Arbitrators paid great attention to him…
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr Herza, I’m not talking about you…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Herza, we’ve been friends for decades, why would I scold you? I’m talking about the bunch of a*sholes from the Supreme Council…”
“… ”
It would have been better for him not to explain himself, as he only left Herza more speechless now. He decided that what he did not see could not hurt him and fled the lobby, leaving the two lawless fellows to themselves.
“Alright, rascal, what is it you want to talk about? I don’t believe you went to such lengths to chase Herza away only to chit-chat with me.”
“Heheh, I could never fool you, old man…” After Macklin saw through his ploy, Lin Li was not in the least bit embarrassed, and merely laughed shamelessly before he brought his face closer with an unreadable expression, and continued, “How about we discuss a deal?”
“Tell me about it.”
“I’ve got something on my hands that Alanna’s Guild of Magic would be interested in, but given my capabilities now, I can’t complete it alone, so I wonder if I can work with Alanna’s Guild of Magic instead…”
“The Highlord’s Mausoleum?” Macklin was a man of great intelligence, and had already guessed what it was.
“That’s right!” Lin Li nodded, and retrieved a new piece of sheepskin from his pocket, presenting it like a treasure. The sheepskin contained the translation of a High Elves Print, done by Andoine after the Pharmacists Guild convention. “This is the blueprint of the Highlord’s Mausoleum, all the hidden levers and traps are recorded clearly…”
“Bloody hell!” Macklin was in shock. He was well aware of what the blueprint meant—as long as they had it, Alanna’s Guild of Magic could avoid almost half of the casualties inevitable during exploration!
Before Macklin recovered from his shock, Lin Li mysteriously added, “Also, I have a soul from the Dark Ages, he supposedly knows the designer of the Mausoleum very well…”
