"Latent Fireball!"
Leylin raised his right arm and hundreds of small black fireballs fused in front of him, till they were about the size of a human head. The black in the middle was even more intense, giving it a profound air as if it could suck in human spirits.
Under the intense flames that were of a high temperature, even the brownish-yellow gravitational rays began to show signs of instability, constantly retracting and extending.
Facing the giant in front of him, Leylin's expression was cold.
The latent fireball soared through the sky as if passing through space, and it appeared in front of the metallic giant in an instant.
The black fire's high-temperature force field caused the metallic giant to sway slightly, liquid metal constantly melting and dripping onto the ground.
In the face of such a terrifying attack, Marb steeled himself and grabbed on to his right arm!
*Ka-cha!*
The ear-piercing sound of bones breaking sounded, and Marb himself actually tore off his own arm.
The half-complete metallic arm that he tossed away showed signs of melting into the air and then turned into an oval metal ball. It then collided with the black fireball!
*Rumble!*
Bright rays of light unceasingly spread out, and at the centre, there was a black and silver-white light that was constantly squirming… devouring...
Even though Marb had tried to increase the distance between them as best as he could, he was still affected by the energy waves. *Ka-cha!* The gravity spell formation at his chest immediately cracked.
*Pak!*
The brownish-yellow gravity spell formation simply collapsed, and the gravity immediately went back to normal.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Explosions sounded one after another like beans exploding.
Just ten seconds later, the entire ground had been levelled, and even a large portion of the earth had been blown off.
At the centre was a gigantic pit that was so deep that one could not see the bottom.
After the ash and dust had somewhat dispersed, Leylin came to the side of the pit. Seeing the black flames that were still burning, he asked aloud, "Dead yet?"
*Shua!*
A silver-white figure immediately cut through the curtain of ash and appeared before Leylin.
"Marb?!" Producing an expression of pure shock, he quickly backed away!
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Marb's current condition was very pitiful. Not only had he lost his right arm, even his chest and thigh had injuries that were so deep one could see the bone.
This was especially so for the injury above his waist. It looked as if he was on the verge of being broken into two.
If this were an ordinary human or even an official Magus, they would find it difficult to survive, let alone go on the offense with such dangerous injuries.
But Marb was evidently different. Liquid metal unceasingly flowed and covered several areas, forcefully patching up his body.
Upon seeing Leylin, silver light that seemed to have turned solid shot out of his eyes.
*Bang!*
Two metal bombs behind his back exploded, the force instantly acting on his back.
Using this method, he was able to catch up to Leylin.
"We shall perish together!" Marb pounced forward.
While in midair, his entire body dispersed and turned into a silver white curtain.
The metallic curtain seemed to have a life of its own as it bundled Leylin within, leaving behind his head on the outside.
"Hm? An interesting attack! Is this your final attack?" Leylin watched the silver liquid metal wrapped around him like a cocoon, his expression cool and not the least bit flustered.
*Gulu! Gulu!*
A large amount of liquid metal gathered at Leylin's shoulder, turning into the face of an old man.
"For the family! For Bosain! Metal will ultimately be destroyed…" The old man looked deranged and looked as if he was planning to die for a just cause.
"By the way… do you mean to die together with that puppet?"
Just as Marb was about to self-destruct, a voice lazily resounded from the other end of the battlefield.
Marb turned around in disbelief, and immediately caught sight of another Leylin that had suddenly appeared. He looked to be mocking the old man as he sized him up.
"You must have forgotten, but I am a Magus specialising in Dark elemental energy particles. For us, making a shadow clone is a piece of cake."
While Leylin spoke, the "Leylin" that Marb had bound, began to transform in a bizarre manner.
The entire body became black and turned into a bundle of black shadows.
"No!" A pair of silver-white hands reached out from the curtain as Marb yelled, trying to get away from the clone.
"It's too late!" Leylin exclaimed indifferently, with even some pity in his voice.
*Shua Shua Shua!*
The large lump of shadows that had Marb surrounded suddenly produced countless black tendrils that engulfed Marb.
Marb bellowed as large numbers of fine, rotating knives emerged from his body.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!* Sparks flew as the blades and tendrils made contact.
However, this time, the durability of the shadow tendrils had increased in might by a large margin, and the silver-white blades eventually got stuck. Some even snapped.
"Goodbye, Marb!"
His expression was strange as he watched Marb, who was completely bound by the shadow tendrils.
Next, he raised his arm, and then clenched his fist!
*Boom!*
...
"Is it over?"
The female Magus from before had escaped far, far away due to her fear of the aftershocks from the battle. Only after it ended did she dare to return while cowering.
It was not that she did not want to escape, but if Marb was the one who won, it would be impossible for her to escape with her current speed. Hence, it would be better to take the chance and return. If Leylin and Marb were able to heavily injure each other, she could render some assistance too! This would ultimately benefit her!
"Or perhaps… the two of them perished together? If that's the case, all their possessions will belong to me! Hahaha…"
At the thought of picking up loot from two mighty people, the female Magus began to laugh aloud a little neurotically.
"My apologies, but you'll have to be disappointed!"
Next, Leylin's voice was heard and the female Magus' maniacal laughter suddenly stopped like a duck who had its throat gripped.
"It's you! That Leylin who caused me to be chased after…"
The female Magus commented lightly, but quickly changed her words, "Oh! No, I mean Magus Leylin!"
As he watched this female Magus, who seemed to be much too comfortable in this situation, Leylin shook his head and had no intentions of chatting with her.
"Hunting zones are still quite dangerous. If you want to gather resources, it's better to head to the other zones."
Leylin turned and left after he spoke.
"Hey! Wait! Where's that Magus called Marb? Did you chase him away?" Only now did the female Magus react.
With the fear from before still lingering in her heart, she looked around as if afraid that Marb would appear at any moment.
"Marb? He's right here!"
Leylin waved, showing her the huge lump of metal in his hand.
"Hm?" The female Magus gazed at the item in Leylin's hand with astonishment.
That was a large piece of silver, metallic ore. At the beginning, she had assumed Leylin had found some materials and ignored it.
...
However, upon closer inspection, there were a few strange depressions and protruding areas on the surface, like a… human face?!
After comparing the eyes and nose, the female Magus fell back three steps, "It's Marb! You killed him?"
Such an unusual reaction actually threw Leylin off.
"He's a dark Magus. As a Magus from the hunting team, isn't it normal to kill him?"
"Were…. were you dropped on the head as a child? I- no! What!"
Too confused, she began to stutter.
"That's a peak rank 1 Magus! Peak! No matter where you go, someone with that level of strength is definitely of a high status and has an extraordinary battle power. It wouldn't take more than one attack from him to kill off newly-advanced Magi! And you… you actually…"
She peeked at the piece of metal in Leylin's hand in disbelief, fear apparent while she glanced at Leylin.
Leylin smiled nonchalantly.
In the south coast, rank 2 Magus usually did not make themselves known. Hence, peak rank 1 Magi were the strongest powers out there.
Now, a rank 1 Magus at his peak who was considered the strongest out there, had died by his hand! If news of this travelled out, it would definitely cause a huge stir.
If this was the Leylin from before, he might even try his utmost to conceal this mater.
However, after his second bloodline transition and the sharp increase in his power, things had changed!
This was an unrivalled confidence in himself! So what if news of his battle achievements was circulated? With his current strength, it was enough for him to take care of himself and cause anyone who had designs on him to suffer miserably!
"Awoooo!"
At this moment, a huge Venom Wyvern circled the area briefly and then descended.
It roared loudly and then used its huge head and nuzzled Leylin, trying to get a good response from him.
"This is… is this that legendary Venom Wyvern? How valiant, I like it…"
Her eyes shone like stars, "Handsome! Can you give me a ride?"
Leylin shot her a glance.
To be honest, this female Magus did not look half bad, especially in terms of her figure. In addition, she had not mended her clothes that had been damaged while she was fleeing, thus revealing a whole lot of skin.
Ordinarily, and in a situation where he had time to spare, Leylin was not against playing around with her.
But this was the secret plane! He was still being pressured by both the dark and light Magi factions. It would be a wonder if he was in the mood for this sort of thing.
"Boring!"
Leylin indifferent uttered a word and then jumped onto the back of the Venom Wyvern.
"Awoo…" The Venom Wyvern bellowed at the female Magus as if trying to demonstrate its power and spread its wings, flying off.
"Tsk! Such a petty man! It's not as if I'll die without you around!"
Waiting till the Venom Wyvern's figure complete disappeared into the horizon, she fiercely made a rude gesture in Leylin's direction.
-x-X-x-
At headquarters, in the hunting team's administrative zone.
*Thump!* A huge Venom Wyvern descended from the sky and created two large depressions as its feet touched the ground.
A black shadow flickered, and a robed Magus jumped off the back of the Wyvern.
"My Lord! My Lord!" An old Magus saw the Venom Wyvern, his eyes brightening as he approached them.
"Old man! We'll need to have some words about you escaping at the last minute!"
Leylin couldn't be bothered to deal with him and entered the hall.
"Vice Team leader! Lord Caesar is looking for you!" Two hunting team Magi came before Leylin and bowed slightly, their manners impeccable.
Though Leylin had no real power in front of Caesar, ordinary members like them were small fry. Those who had offended him the other time were still in isolation! Hence, these members were extremely respectful to Leylin, or at least on the surface.
"Great timing, I was just about to look for him!"
Leylin nodded slightly.
*Ka-cha!* The door opened, revealing Caesar's figure behind the office desk. The two Magi who had escorted him here quickly left.
"Magus Leylin! You're just in time. Regarding the previous mission..." Before Caesar even spoke, a huge metallic piece was firmly thrown onto the table.
"It's done!"
On this huge silver white metal, there were indents that formed an old, wrinkled face.
"Metallic lifeform?" Caesar was slightly suspicious, but at the thought of something, his eyes suddenly opened wide.
"I need to inspect this!"
After speaking, Caesar took the metallic sculpture and jogged out of the office, leaving Leylin alone inside.
Though Caesar had issued this mission before, not in his wildest dreams could he have expected Leylin to actually complete it. After all, Marb was a Magus on the same level as him!
However, Leylin had given him something that looked like Marb's head. How could this not astonish him?
In that moment, Caesar even had the suspicion that Leylin had brought him brought a random head to escape punishment.
*Creak!* Ten minutes later, the door opened once more.
Caesar appeared in front of Leylin, but his expression was dark, with even hints of shock in his face.
"I didn't think you would actually be able to do it…" Caesar could not conceal the shock and curiosity in his eyes.
"If it's possible, could you share the process of your mission with me? You know, as the hunting team leader, it's necessary that I know about the entire process and then give rewards accordingly."
Caesar spoke indifferently.
"It was very simple…" Leylin unfolded his arms. "After taking on the mission, I was going to look for you but coincidentally saw him heavily wounded, which is how I completed this assignment."
"Magus Leylin…" Caesar's face darkened further. "Please speak the truth!"
"That's what happened! I even brought along a neutral wandering Magus. If there's anything else you need, you can just ask her."
Leylin was indifferent.
In reality, as long as one was not completely blind, anyone could see this was an excuse!
But so what? Marb was dead. If Leylin said he was heavily injured, that must be the truth!
As for that female Magus, she was just a semi-converted Magus. How could she tell the state of a peak rank 1 Magus' injuries?
"You…" Caesar's face began to flush.
In that instant, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and his entire body relaxed.
"No matter what, Magus Leylin, you have disposed of a peak rank 1 Magus from the other faction, thus showing your loyalty to Four Seasons Garden. Your bravery will be known by all light Magi, and you might even be recorded down in history…"
Caesar congratulated him with a fake smile.
"Thank you for your compliment, but I want to know more about the substantial rewards I will be getting!" Leylin nodded nonchalantly and then spoke.
For him, having a reputation wasn't all that important. With the prerequisite that the situation would not be unfavourable to him, he was, of course, willing to do some good deeds and obtain a good reputation. However, if there were no advantages and him needing to put in so much effort, making a name for himself in history was just something that only idiots would bother doing!
"Hah..."
Caesar breathed in deeply to calm the fire within his heart and said icily, "There will naturally be rewards. As for any promotions, that will have to wait. However, the contribution points have already been issued to you. 1500 points! Don't worry, the organisation is very strict when it comes to things like this, so I don't have the authority to dock points from you."
Immediately after, Caesar produced a green crystal card from within his robes and passed it to Leylin.
An obscure look flashed past Leylin's eyes as he held out his hand to take the card.
*Ka-cha!*
That instant he took the card, a slight explosion happened.
Leylin and Caesar's bodies shook for a second, and they immediately sprang apart.
"What a terrifying rate of improvement! Magus Leylin!" His expression held a trace of fear as Caesar looked at Leylin.
Before, he still had the confidence that he could suppress Leylin, but now, after the probing, he found that this Magus who he had looked upon with contempt had already caught up to him and become a mighty peak rank 1 Magus! He might even be stronger than him!
Caesar could not be so casual with Leylin any longer. Leylin's ranking in his heart had already risen to the same level of opponents who were of equal strength as him.
Leylin only gave a slight smile in response to Caesar's exclamation.
He had even concealed a part of the strength of his Warlock blood. If not, Caesar might be completely stunned.
He took his own contribution point card and swiped the green crystal card above it!
*Beep!* A light flickered and the 0 on Leylin's own card changed to 1500.
"Alright! Magus Leylin, you may return and take a rest while waiting for news from the Elders." Caesar spoke slowly.
Leylin's transformation made him feel a little uncomfortable. He was currently in need of some time to come up with a counterplan.
"Thank you!"
Leylin stood up and took a small bow, each action revealing an unspeakable sort of elegance.
...
"Really? His strength exceeds yours?"
In a room made primarily out of plants, Reynold placed the white porcelain cup on the table, a hand supporting his forehead and a finger curling his hair. Another hand was unconsciously striking the table, producing the dull 'thud' sounds.
The current Reynold looked like an old man who was not in the best state of mind, but all those who were familiar with him could tell this was him pondering over something deeply.
Caesar stood aside, waiting for the final decision from this elder of the Four Seasons Garden.
"If that's the case, we'll give him the position of the head of patrolling at the headquarters!" Reynold thought over this for a long time till the steam from his porcelain cup had vanished, before speaking.
"Alright!" In response, Caesar merely nodded.
"Also, I found out that we might have paid too little attention to that guy… If there's time, I think I want to meet him."
Reynold stretched, looking pleased as he glanced at Caesar.
"Don't you know how rude it is to bother an old man who was planning on taking an afternoon nap?"
"My apologies! I'll take my leave now!"
Caesar quickly bowed and left, a mysterious grin about his lips.
"Leylin Farlier?"
Behind him, Reynold mouthed this name.
He had naturally taken Leylin's talent into account. If he was truly sincere about joining Four Seasons Garden and that the value of the item he had gotten from the ruins was not too high, Reynold would not go so far as to do anything dirty and covet his inheritance.
However, from how Leylin had been able to improve his strength so quickly, what he had obtained was definitely not as simple as he had thought it was.
It was extremely beneficial to the user and was worth the risk for Reynold to take action.
In addition, based on the information he had gathered, ever since Leylin entered Four Seasons Garden, he still had dealings with dark Magi. He was even involved in a few of the large incidents in Nightless City!
This was just intolerable! Any organisation would not put up with the existence of disloyal members!
Though this was just a hypothesis, this was enough reason for Reynold to make his move!
He was an existence that had stepped into the level of rank 2 Magi! The difference between Magi from each rank was like heaven and earth. Even if Leylin received some amazing inheritance, as long as he had not promoted to a rank 2 Magus, he was powerless in front of a true rank 2 Magus.
Just the fact that he could solidify his spiritual force was enough to suppress most rank 1 Magi!
...
At this point in time, Leylin was oblivious to all this.
He was currently in a laboratory, holding a test tube that contained a grey liquid within. His blue eyes flashed as he constantly scanned the contents.
"The solution that contains a Nefarious Filthbird's feathers! Rumours have it that the ancient Nefarious Filthbird and Trial's Eye were nemeses. Its feathers also carried with it the chaos its original body was known for. It is an item that swindlers love."
The conclusion that the A.I. Chip had was presented in front of Leylin's eyes.
"Based on the information and simulations, this solution is able to take care of the oath I made with Four Seasons Garden. But what happens after? The problem I have isn't just with the oath…"
Leylin mumbled to himself, and looked at his stats once more.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 1 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 20.1, Agility: 13.4, Vitality: 25.9, Spiritual Force: 76.1, Magic Power: 76 (Magic Power is in synchronisation with Spiritual Force). Elemental essence conversion: 90%. Status: Altering heart, progress at 69%.]
"The heart is the location where the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's blood was produced. Through the alteration of the heart, ancient Warlocks obtained similar vitality and abilities to produce blood!"
-x-X-x-
"A very large increase!" Seeing that in his refreshed data, the progress of his strength and spirit and his elemental essence conversion all had a huge change, Leylin wore a pleased expression on his face.
For an official Magus, making any progress was exceedingly difficult; even for a Magus like Leylin who had a high-level meditation technique, they would need to accumulate a lot of time.
But now, after the second transition of his bloodline, his average data had risen to that of a peak rank 1 Magus'.
And after his heart had been remodelled, it was incessantly stimulating the potential of his body towards a higher evolution.
Only in these past few days, his reformation rate had increased by 8% and this had brought about an amplification in his other data — this was absolutely terrifying!
"If it is like this, then maybe I can… "
Leylin quickly calculated in his mind and after which, his eyes emitted a dangerous beam of light.
This beam was very pure and immeasurable; Leylin's eyes, which were brimming with this beam, felt as if it could even absorb a person's soul.
But, a split second later, Leylin had already hidden this beam deep inside.
"The solvent of the Nefarious Filthbird's feathers?!"
Leylin once again focused his attention on the gray solution and a blue ray of light from the A.I. Chip flashed occasionally as he scanned the test tube, and a large amount of data was being projected in front of Leylin's eyes.
"The Void Hallucination Flowers!" exclaimed Leylin, as he saw the three crystals on the experiment table.
Deeply entrenched within these tiny crystals were white flowers that were so transparent they were almost illusory.
This flower was the principal ingredient in many ancient potions. These had previously been extinct on the south coast. It was unknown from which secret plane did Four Seasons Garden discover this flower. Its value was 50 contribution points.
"Crystal seal, undo!" As he reeled off several complicated words, Leylin pointed his right forefinger at a crystal.
*Glug!*
A noise like the ripples on a pond could be heard from the surface of those crystals.
The ripple continuously distorted as it extended to the interior of the crystal….when with a *Clink! Fizz!* — noises like waves rolling and volatile steam evaporating — the solid crystal continuously vaporized into the air. Finally, what was left behind was a delicate, small, white flower that slowly fell onto the surface of the experiment desk.
This exclusive seal removal technique was something that Leylin had obtained from the contribution hall. If he used other magic spells to forcefully remove the seal, though he would be able to effectively remove the seal, the aftermath would be that the material sealed within the crystal would also have perished.
Leylin scrutinised this ancient and precious ingredient.
The Void Hallucination Flower was a very delicate existence; it was the size of a quail egg. Moreover, some veins, like those on a leaf, appeared on the translucent surface of the flower.
This Void Hallucination Flower, the moment it was exposed to the air, it fell down and started to melt.
"This is truly a fragile thing. No wonder that it is now extinct on the entire south coast... "
Leylin muttered this as he used a pair of white tweezers, which he had prepared for such a situation, and quickly put the flowers inside a blue borneol beaker.
"The properties of the Void Hallucination Flower are very surreptitious. By blending it, one can form 43 different kinds of ingredients. Thus, it was a popular major ingredient of many of the ancient potions..."
Leylin mumbled, and seeing the continuously dissolving white flower inside the beaker, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.
"Patrolling troops at the Headquarters? What is the position?"
Leylin gaped in amazement at Caesar. After a busy evening within the lab, He had just come out for a well-deserved rest, when he saw the Magus Caesar.
Caesar's face was all smiles. The vertical third eye in between his brows, which emitted a furtive radiance now appeared to be gentle.
"This was a position personally drafted for you by Chairman Reynold!" Caesar laughed and gave an explanation.
"You know, during wartime, Four Seasons Garden's rule is that the elders have the authority to set up new posts and this Head of the Patrol of the Headquarters is one which Lord Reynold has specially endorsed for you, Leylin. In theory, in the Eternal River Plains' secret plane, regardless of the headquarters, every branch and hunting zone's magicians all will be under your supervision..."
"Is that so?" asked Leylin, expressing his skepticism.
This was clearly a troublesome task — it had no clear-cut authority, and only had supervisory power. It seems that in this post, he could manage everything, yet do nothing at the same time and also would be able to offend more people.
After all, all the leading Magi of every branch and every hunting zone were each powerhouses in their own right, how would they listen to orders given by a central supervisor?
It was obvious that this Reynold had thrown an annoying task towards him!
"Also.... before I came, Lord Reynold also made a private request!" After handing over the appointment letter to Leylin, Caesar brought up yet another matter.
"A private request? What is it about?"
Leylin looked alert; a rank 2 Magus was not someone his current self could contend against.
However, the current him, even if he is unable to defeat his opponent, he still had his means of escape and therefore, he was not particularly afraid.
"Lord Reynold is trying to find some time to talk to you. Of course, this will be private, and is not an order!"
Seeing that although Leylin was beginning to get nervous but still managed to appear calm, a flash of amazement appeared in Caesar's eyes which he quickly suppressed. He meant to convey this to Lord Reynold.
"A lengthy conversation?" Leylin's heart throbbed.
It seemed that his recent chain of high-profile actions finally came to the attention of this rank 2 Magus.
However, this was also a part of his plan; thus Leylin nodded and said, "Certainly! I can meet with Lord Reynold. It is my honor to do so..."
"That is good! I shall immediately go and make some arrangements!" Lord Reynold was the overall commander for Four Seasons garden within the Eternal River Plains' secret plane. He handled numerous matters every day and if it were not for Leylin having performed such a meritorious deed, he would not have had the opportunity to see him.
And this time, the meeting was of a private nature, there were many protocols for this. But Leylin need not pay attention to all this; Caesar could arrange for the time and when Caesar calls him, he could go to meet Lord Reynold.
"Thank you very much!" Leylin gave a nod of thanks.
"Don't mention it! It is nothing!" With his face full of smiles, Caesar, very quickly, left.
Seeing Caesar disappear into the horizon and finally vanish from his sight, Leylin appeared more and more solemn.
Finally, his expression turned as dark as ominous clouds.
This Reynold, a rank 2 Magus, now seemed to him like a mountain, extending as far as he could see.
"Everything will soon begin!" Leylin whispered...
Inside the merit points exchange centre.
"Hallo, Sir! May I ask if you need to do any transaction?"
Behind a transparent glass window, an employee asked Leylin.
Through the glass, Leylin could see shelves all over, covered with all kinds of precious objects and high-grade information. There were even many magic artifacts and single-use-only scrolls, and also some secret techniques used by Magi.
These secret techniques were the skills and application of spellcasting
These techniquescould, often, only be learned by official Magi. After having successfully learned them, they could be used to temporarily increase the magic power, or increase the might of a magic spell to the maximum and the sort.
Leylin had viewed them as the next best thing after high-level meditation techniques.
Even if a Magus's degree of elemental essence conversion was sluggish, he could use these secret techniques and increase his magic power. This was no different to increasing the elemental essence conversion.
"Unfortunately, this was only an exterior item. The body's own strength is the most important!"
But even if the elemental essence conversion and secret techniques can amplify the magic power, this also depended on the original might of the magic spell.
The foundation was sturdy and the growth rate was high; it was the most useful for a peak rank 1 Magus!
If the foundation was not good enough, no matter how high the growth rate was, they would not be able to beat another Magus with a low elemental essence conversion but solid foundation.
All in all, among the spells that increase amplification, the most specialized magic spells can only amplify the basic power by 40%.
And the most amplified power of elemental essence conversion was not greater than approximately 90%.
Be it whatever type of amplification spells, up till now, Leylin hadn't seen any which was capable of providing a 100% or more of power. It was as if there was an invisible wall blocking the steps of the majority of the Magi.
"I am the new Patrolling Inspector from the Headquarters! I believe there is a problem here with the transactions."
Leylin took out the recently received appointment letter and flashed it at the employee. The magical radiance on the letter was a characteristic of a rank 2 Magus and caused a blinding pain to the employee.
"My Lord…."
The employee was dumbfounded; after all this position was really bizarre. It could inspect any activities but in reality, the authority to actually execute anything was not that powerful.
While stalling Leylin, the employee pushed a red button located under the desk.
Leylin noticed this small act, but he smiled and did not do anything about it.
"My Lord! Our transactions here are completely equitable and in keeping with the laws, and it is definitely not …."
While the employee was still explaining to Leylin, a translucent shadow took form in front of Leylin.
"I am Pierre! I am in charge of the transaction of merit points. Do you have any problem, the new patrolling inspector, Lord Leylin?"
The shadow's face, on the exterior, looked to be about 50-60 years old, a male. He wore an eyepiece on one eye, and his hair was combed carefully and well-groomed and he wore a dark red colored formal robe, which did not have even a minute crease upon it.
This image caused Leylin to recall the land surveyors and gem appraisers of his previous world.
And, the fact that he knew Leylin's identity so fast show this in-charge Pierre's capabilities of gathering intelligence and his wide network.
"I have my doubts that the exchanges here and the permissions. I need to examine ..." Leylin stated this matter-of-factly.
He deeply understood this authority he owned had an expiry date tagged to it.
It was all the more so, especially when it was a predestined rebellion.
-x-X-x-
From this inessential role that Reynold had assigned him as the Headquarters' Patrolling Inspector, Leylin could tell that Reynold had designs on him.
Even if it had nothing to do with the suspicion of him being a dark Magi, the fact that he increased his strength so quickly had caused Reynold to be wary of him.
In this situation, no matter how hard he tried to keep himself low-key, it was useless.
Since it was like this, why should he not use that bit of power he possessed and gain some benefits?
After all, before Reynold officially stripped him of his role, his cover as the Patrolling Inspector at the headquarters was still able to intimidate a great number of people. For instance, like this man in front of him, at the merit points exchange centre!
"Are you trying to tarnish my reputation?"
Upon hearing this, the face of the apparition called Pierre darkened, eyes seemingly producing crimson rays.
"No… Not tarnishing it. This is just the usual procedural checks!" Leylin smiled gently.
The instant the words left his mouth, a ring of energy particles exploded between him and Pierre.
*Rumble!*
Though the two of them had tried their best to suppress the excess waves of energy from their battle, they still attracted the attention of several Magi bystanders.
Pierre took several steps back before re-balancing himself, revealing a shocked expression on his face, "A peak rank 1 Magus! Seems like "Metal Lunatic" Marb really did die by your hands!"
This information had been proved right before him, and he could do little but be in shock.
Just from that short fight, Leylin had revealed a strength that could rival a peak rank 1 Magus!
Based on the information he had gathered, Pierre was almost sure that the Metal Lunatic Marb of the Lilytell family had most certainly died at Leylin's hands.
Goodness! Even Pierre himself was but a peak rank 1 Magus.
A peak rank 1 Magus, Marb, had died at the hands of Leylin. In a situation where a rank 2 Magus did not make his move, a peak rank 1 Magus was already the strongest in the south coast. It was rare that they were taken down. Furthermore, it was only because it had been only a short time since Marb had died so the news did not travel far yet. Otherwise, this would cause a huge commotion in the south coast.
Pierre, who was aware of this news, was even more fearful of Leylin.
"What do you want?" Pierre did not look good.
"Nothing much. I'm just thinking…" Leylin's voice went so soft to the point that he simply closed his mouth and transmitted a message.
Upon hearing his transmission, Pierre's face changed, first flushing as if he had been humiliated to the extreme, and then turning into a look of pondering.
Moments later, Pierre raised his head and glanced at the Magi nearby.
Due to the strange actions by Leylin and him, they had attracted the attention of many surrounding Magi and acolytes. This caused him to come to his final decision.
"This isn't entirely impossible. Come with me!"
The apparition called Pierre disappeared, leaving behind red energy particles turning into various signs that showed him the way.
Upon seeing this, Leylin grinned.
He was aware that even amongst the light Magi, there weren't that many people who were incorruptible.
At the merit points exchange centre, it was a trading place where one could obtain the most profits. It was definitely not a place free of bribery, but if Leylin really wanted something from this place, it would be his last day with his current role as Patrolling Inspector.
However, he had not forced the other party to do anything. He had merely pointed out a few of his requirements and resulted in the other person making a concession.
Uncaring of the strange looks from the Four Seasons Garden Magi, Leylin followed the signs came to a house behind the exchange centre.
In front of the door, a Magus who looked just like the apparition was already in wait. The one who appeared, this time, was a real body, rather than an apparition.
"You're here!" Pierre's face was dark.
Of course, regardless of who it was, nobody would be in a good mood if someone came up and tried to take advantage of them.
"Hn!" Leylin briefly nodded his head and did not speak further.
Pierre gave Leylin a meaningful look as if trying to inscribe his appearance to memory, "Come with me!"
Next, without waiting for Leylin, he simply stalked off. Leylin rubbed his nose, and with a smile he followed.
On the way, various seals and defensive layers were seen everywhere, but with Pierre, who was familiar with this area, it was obviously a smooth sailing.
*Ka-cha!*
Pierre produced a black copper key and opened a large door, which was full of runes on the surface.
*Rumble!* In an instant, the sparkles of various treasures and crystal balls, as well as the smells of many precious ingredients filled Leylin's eyes.
In front of him was an impressive, huge storage warehouse. Various precious resources were placed in front of him, so much so that it seemed they were endless.
"With my authority, I can only open this secondary warehouse to you. Also, I can give you a 40% discount. That is the bottom line!"
Pierre was resolute. From his wounded expression, it was obvious that these were his limits. Hence, Leylin did not press on.
"Alright, alright! I won't be too difficult to you."
Leylin spoke without sincerity and walked into the warehouse.
The way Leylin treated this place like it was his own home had Pierre grinding his teeth in annoyance, but he did not dare say anything else.
To be honest, there was something here that would result in him being apprehended if it was ever found out. He would be stripped of his position and would even face punishment.
Compared to this, letting Leylin taking advantage of the situation wasn't much.
Leylin walked past piles of potions and ingredients that were worth thousands of merit points, looking rather calm.
For him, there were very few items that he coveted.
In addition, what he was in urgent need of were methods to increase his battle power. Hence, a few offensive techniques were of more value to him.
Leylin's footsteps did not stop until he came to the side of a wooden frame with an intellectual crystal ball on it.
"Research" "Experiments" "Secret techniques"
At the side of the frame, there were all sorts of detailed inscriptions that recorded all sort of intellectual-type information and what they included, making it easier for Leylin to search through.
He came in front of the column that had secret techniques.
"High energy Eagle Eye!" "Dog nose transformation!" "Liver transplantation!" "Fire elemental negative energy layering spell!"
All sorts of secret techniques, with some that even Leylin had not heard of, were displayed before him. He was almost getting dizzy with the sheer amount there was.
"Excuse me! Can you deactivate the defense formation? I want to take a look at the content!"
Though Leylin sounded apologetic, his actions were nothing but that.
"You…" Pierre was speechless but still headed over, fished out a token from his robes and flashed it at the frame.
*Weng!*
A milky-white magical light was emitted from the token, and soon after, the spell defense formation around the frame deactivated.
"With my authority, you'll at most be able to see the first one-third of the contents. Any more than that and the spell formation will start working again, and I have no way to do anything about that…" Pierre spread his hands while he explained.
"That's enough!" Leylin nodded, taking the information that recorded the way to have eagle's eyes and sped through it.
On the surface, he was skimming over the crystal ball and trying to find the information he wanted, but in actuality, the A.I. Chip was hard at work in his brain, recording down all the information he read through.
There he only had access to a third of the information, this was already enough for the A.I. Chip. Based on that, it could deduce the rest of the information. It was just a matter of time.
Half an hour later, Leylin had already looked through all the information in the intellectual crystal ball. The A.I. Chip had benefited greatly as well, having recorded down a lot of precious information.
"Give me this projective technique, Dire bear transmutation and bloodline modulation theory!"
Of course, the A.I. Chip was not able to infer all information in its entirety. Behind the clauses that the A.I. Chip came up with, there was a list of ingredients that could not be deduced.
Leylin looked around and, based on his needs, asked for a few more items.
"Not counting the miscellaneous items, the total comes to a thousand merit points! With the discount, it is 600 merit points!"
With this, he was able to save 400 merit points. Even if the team leader Caesar were to come, Leylin estimated that he would at most get a discount of 20%.
However, he had been able to get a 40% discount on any of the items in this treasure house!
"And this, this… that… give me one of all that!"
Leylin very quickly spent the 1500 merit points he had just obtained.
Hours later, Leylin left the area under Pierre's gaze as if he had met a calamity.
"What a great harvest!" Leylin rubbed his sack that was full to the brim and sighed in contentment.
"If only I could come here once a day!"
Leylin was aware that this was just delusional thought.
If he did this once more, it would backfire on him and result in a huge counter attack from those who had a vested interest in the items. He was so arrogant, and that was only because he had no intentions of sticking around in Four Seasons Garden.
If not, in a light Magi organisation, this would cause public anger. There were plenty of ways to kill him!
"After fishing up all the benefits from the merit points exchange centre, there's still somewhere else…"
Looking at the vast Eternal River Plains' secret plane and the steady stream of Magi constantly entering, his lips twitched and he began to give a bright smile.
Days later, tales of Leylin were spread throughout.
"Metal Terminator!" "Greedy Dragon!" These were his newest nicknames.
Metal Terminator referred to his battle achievement of killing off the Metal Lunatic, Marb! It was in this battle that Leylin had openly killed a peak rank 1 Magus, thus setting the foundation for his reputation as a powerhouse.
As for 'Greedy Dragon', this referred to the series of 'robbing' activities he had done without restraint.
Whether it was at the merit points exchange centre, the defense team, garrison, and even a few Magi divisions and zones, they had all been places he had pillaged and extorted from shamelessly!
To be honest, the greediness of Magi truly exceeded his expectations. In all the areas he had checked on, none were upstanding people.
No matter how well the accounts had been done, with the terrifying abilities of the A.I. Chip, nothing escaped his eye.
-x-X-x-
Under the circumstances, each division could do little but pinch their noses in distaste while they did as Leylin wanted. However, his reputation had gone straight to the gutters and had gained him the reputation of 'least welcomed' at all divisions.
To be honest, when he had first received news of this, Leylin was a little surprised but found it very amusing.
In the Magus world, strength was to be respected. Reputation wasn't entirely useless, but it only applied to those within the same ranks of strength.
As long as he continued to improve his strength, after he advanced to become a rank 2 Magus, these people would stick onto him like dogs, wagging their tails and lamenting that they had not let Leylin taking more advantage of them.
"Magus Leylin! Greedy Dragon! Lord Reynold would like to see you tomorrow at 7pm. Please be prepared."
Caesar expressionlessly announced in front of Leylin and left.
"This is a little earlier than expected. Have I finally angered the heavens?" Leylin laughed without fear.
He did not take his position as the patrolling inspector seriously, and on top of that, he had been doing all sorts of things. It was no surprise that all of the Four Seasons Garden viewed him as an enemy and opposed him.
If he did not make any preparations, he was going to die!
This was definite. After all, Leylin himself was not completely innocent, and investigations would spell his downfall.
In addition, the inheritance from the Great Magus Serholm would definitely attract the attention of rank 2 Magi!
In the Magus World, there were all sorts of spells that could be used to detect lies and test one's spirit.
The reason the Magi here did not use them was because they were light Magi and did everything in sequence. However, this was wartime! Everything was about power. Furthermore, there were also a lot of mysteries about Leylin.
Currently, if any of these spells were used against him, he wouldn't even have the chance to explain himself!
Actually, Leylin had long since suspected that the Four Seasons Garden had discovered his activities with the dark Magi. Though he left no proper evidence, there might have still been some traces left behind.
If not, why would he, a high-level potion master who was young, talented, and sure to be held in high regard wherever he went, be assigned to this place to fight?
"But this is enough."
Leylin's lips quirked in a slight smile.
He had already been mentally prepared to be found out. After all, Magi had too many unknown methods, and he had no way to guard against everything.
Being able to have up to 2 years and allow his bloodline to transition, as well as being able to accumulate a large amount of resources and knowledge, had Leylin feeling quite satisfied.
"It looks like it's time to fall out with them!"
Leylin looked apathetic. Theoretically speaking, he was the one who had betrayed the Four Seasons Garden, but this was for his own sake! For benefits! To chase his dreams! He was not going to turn back from this route.
"Alright! I'll use this!" Leylin turned over to the palm of his hand, revealing a well-preserved test tube in his right palm.
Within the test tube was a grey solvent. It was a type of grey that people would find disgusting, and just a glance at it would cause one to feel dizzy.
"The solvent of the Nefarious Filthbird's feathers! Tests have been conducted on it. In order to break away from Four Seasons Garden and perhaps even become enemies, it's necessary to dispel the constraints of the contract witnessed by the Trial's Eye!"
Leylin stared hard at the test tube in his hand, looking unusually excited.
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the room was shrouded in a layer of faint yellow light. Leylin then carefully removed the covering from the mouth of the test tube.
*Tsss!* A grey gas floated out of the test tube, and upon contact with the air, the solvent of the Nefarious Filthbird's feathers produced innumerable tiny bubbles and began to evaporate violently.
"Ugh!" Leylin pinched his nose tightly. "What a terrifying stench!"
He had taken in just a small breath, yet he was already on the verge of fainting from the smell. It was just too stinky! Even with his vitality of over 20, it was almost unbearable for him.
The Nefarious Filthbird was originally a congelation of all of the filthy things in the world, and its feathers held traces of its filthiness.
In actuality, the solvent made from the feathers did not get its power from the feathers themselves, but from the projection of the Nefarious Filthbird's strength onto this part of its body!
The ancient Nefarious Filthbird was an existence that was the archenemy of the Trial's Eye! Not only had their battles affected the Magus World, they also affected several other large-scale areas.
There were traces of them present everywhere in legends and myths.
"Filth! Chaos! How did these characteristics come about, and how did they work?"
A curiosity that could not be concealed appeared in Leylin's eyes. Whether it was the chaotic characteristic of the Nefarious Filthbird or the fairness of the Trial's Eye, they were very much different from the spells in the Magus World. They were more like a type of regulation, which gave Leylin the strongest urge to find out even more.
Magi usually liked to research about all types of strange phenomenon and strengths, as well as to try to find ways to make that power theirs.
In terms of trying to chase after the truth, Magi were similar to the researchers and scientists in Leylin's previous world.
"It's a pity that this sort of thing can only be approached by those who are at least Morning Star Magi!"
Whether it was the Trial's Eye or the Filthy Bird, both could traverse through the entire world and weave through terrifying beings. Their existence surpassed that of normal beings, and they had entered a level that Leylin could not hope to even reach for, much less understand.
The current Leylin wasn't even an ant to them; he was probably a little smaller than a speck of dust.
Even if he wanted to offer sacrifices and summon them, he would only see an apparition that lacked power. It wasn't possible to explore and find out more about them.
Even though Leylin was a little disappointed, what he felt was, even more, fire and a stronger desire within.
"One day! One day, I'll reach the peak of the Magus World and make people take note of the other great existences, and chase after the truth and eternity they hold…"
*Tsss!*
After the volatile grey solvent in the test tube finished its reaction, Leylin's body was engulfed by grey mist.
This mist was unbearably smelly, causing Leylin to feel suffocated.
The grey mist seemed to have a life of its own as it climbed onto Leylin's skin as if trying to find ways to enter his body.
*Rumble!*
Leylin suddenly felt faint, and his expression changed.
*Pak! Pak! Pak!* As if provoked, several apparitions of the Trial's Eye appeared on his body.
These apparitions were mostly only the size of his thumb, and the biggest was as big as his fist. There were a few mysterious threads connected to it that winded around Leylin.
"The power of regulation?" Leylin extended his right hand, trying to touch those threads.
Unsurprisingly, his hands went straight through the threads as if they were thin air.
"These must be the threads from the contract and regulations! The small Trial's Eye represents the agreement I had with the old witch, while the largest one is the contract I made that was witnessed by the rank 2 Magus, Reynold!"
The largest Trial's Eye had the thickest threads and was inseparably close to Leylin's body.
Some part of him gave him the idea that if he went against the contract, these lines would break, and it would end in a result he did not want to even think about.
*Tssss tssss!*
After witnessing the apparitions of the Trial's Eye, the fluctuations from the grey mist became more intense. Through an unknown channel, a mysterious piece of information was transmitted to Leylin.
"One feather solvent can only dissolve one contract?" Leylin nodded, and spoke in the ancient Byron language, "I choose this one!" He pointed at the largest Trial's Eye.
Not only was the ancient Byron language the basis of spellcasting, it even held a mysterious power that allowed all beings with spirits to be able to understand its intended meaning from its words. Hence, it was a language used throughout the Magus world and in other places.
*Chi chi!*
After receiving Leylin's answer, the grey mist quickly became denser, and the chirps of a bird were sounded in the middle.
The coarse chirps of this bird were was extremely unpleasant to hear, like the bawling of a woman.
Along with the chirps, the grey mist spread out two wings and turned into a faint, large grey bird in the mist.
"Is this the actual body of the ancient Nefarious Filthbird?" Leylin carefully took down the Filthy Bird's appearance. However, with the hindrance of the mist, besides the bird's main appearance, nothing else could be clearly made out.
"Judgement!" "Judgement!" "Judgement!" "Judgement!"
At this moment, as if provoked by the Nefarious Filthbird, the Trial's Eye image on the surface of Leylin's body began to vibrate.
Small bolts of lightning were produced around the Trial's Eye, the void crackling around them as sounds of sacrificial hymns sounded out.
The Trial's Eye in the middle immediately expanded several times, powerful undulations overflowing as it tried to break through the void to borrow a bit of power from its original body.
"Chii!"
The giant bird in the grey mist extended its wings, where large amounts of grey-black mist emanated.
Filth! Chaos!
Leylin felt dizzy again and was almost unable to tell where he was.
"Chi Chi!" The grey black mist and blue electric currents tried to devour each other, and eventually perished together.
However, it was obvious that there was much more mist than blue lightning, and in a few seconds, it was in an advantageous position.
"Chi Chi!"
Under the shroud of mist, the Trial's Eye shook wildly and even stopped all attempts at contacting its original body.
At this moment, the large bird in the grey mist soared into the air, and like a predator hunting for food swooped down from midair!
*Pop!*
With a peck from its grey beak, the apparition of the largest Trial's Eye was pecked out.
*Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!* The threads that connected Leylin and the Trial's Eye were snapped in twain.
As the threads snapped, Leylin felt his body slouch in relief, with even his spirit feeling a sense of freedom, as if a weight had been taken off of his mind.
-x-X-x-
"These thin threads must represent my contract with the Four Seasons Garden! Now that they're completely broken, it must mean that I've destroyed my contract with the Four Seasons Garden."
A hint of glee appeared on Leylin's face.
Having destroyed his side of the contract, he could reap a lot of benefits! Leylin was now no longer under the constraints of the contract and was free to do anything that might harm the Four Seasons Garden, including brazenly killing their members.
As for Reynold, who represented the Four Seasons Garden, and was the one who Leylin had made a contract with, he had to abide by the regulations stated in the contract. Without evidence, he would not be able to do anything against Leylin!
Also, this method of destroying his end of the contract would not alert Reynold. This was one of the special chaotic characteristics of the Nefarious Filthbird.
*Rumble!*
The Nefarious Filthbird, which was hovering in mid-air, swallowed the Trial's Eye down its beak! Leylin could even see a round protrusion at the Nefarious Filthbird's neck, travelling down and into its abdominal area.
"Chi chi!" After swallowing a Trial's Eye, the Nefarious Filthbird made joyful screeches and transmitted a message to Leylin.
"Trial's Eye will eventually perish, and chaos will remain eternal!"
"More! More summons! I will wipe all traces of the Trial's Eye from you!"
Little pieces of information were transmitted to Leylin and were transformed into a form that Leylin could understand.
"I will do so!" Leylin bowed deeply. Though he had no idea if the other party could really understand his actions, Leylin still had to remain polite on a superficial level.
The Nefarious Filthbird nodded in a very human way and produced a long, loud cry.
Amidst its terrifying, ear-piercing screeches, the Nefarious Filthbird's body exploded into the grey mist.
The grey colour of the mist gradually faded into the air.
At the same time, Leylin could feel the chaotic attribute that had been surrounding him ever since he had opened the test tube, dissipating.
The Trial's Eye was an existence on the same level as the Nefarious Filthbird! Without the chaotic power that the solution automatically let out, which isolated the area, the probing from the Trial's Eye and the transmissions to Leylin would long since have attracted the Trial's Eye here.
After the Nefarious Filthbird vanished, Leylin sensed some changes within his body.
His contract with Four Seasons Garden was now completely destroyed. Other contracts with the Trial's Eye were still there, but they had no reaction, as though nothing had happened.
"The power of chaos is amazing! The ancient Nefarious Filthbird is truly the mortal enemy of the Trial's Eye! I wonder how the dark Magus behind Giant managed to obtain this solution."
Leylin murmured to himself.
In the south coast, contracts made with the Trial's Eye were very common. They were very trustworthy, and there were almost no cases of them being tampered with.
Besides, the feathers of the ancient Nefarious Filthbird had become extinct over a thousand years ago.
Hence, even Reynold would not imagine that Leylin would use this method to break away from the constraints of the contract.
"This power is truly terrifying!"
Leylin could not help but raise the status of Thousand Meddling Hands in his heart, in awe of the ability of this dark Magus organisation to procure a solution that was already extinct.
"But even in the organisation, there shouldn't be a lot of this solution…" Leylin was quite sure about this. If not, the Thousand Meddling Hands would have used it a long time ago and wreaked havoc upon the south coast.
Night descended. Though they were within the secret plane, the moonlight was still bright, making it no different from the external world.
At this moment, a black figure donning a cloak that covered his face sneakily crept into Four Seasons Garden's camp and constantly moved towards the outer areas.
*Chila!*
At a place where there was a devilish tree that was somehow divided into three parts, the black figure stopped and lit his hand up with crimson flames.
"You're finally here!"
The surface devilish tree twisted for a moment, and a man's face appeared on the bark. It suddenly opened his mouth and spoke to the Magus, "Come down from here!"
*Tsssla!*As the wooden face spoke, a huge hole opened up at the roots of the devilish tree and revealed a pitch-black passageway.
The Magus nodded and quickly walked down.
*Boom!* After his figure disappeared into the passageway, the entrance immediately closed and the human face vigilantly surveyed the area, before disappearing back into the tree trunk.
It became peaceful once more as if nothing had happened.
The passageway was very long, and this Magus walked for about ten minutes before he reached the end.
At the end was a huge basement, the surroundings of which flickered with yellow earth magic. It most likely had been made very recently.
In the spacious basement, there was the vague form of a giant with great amounts of green fog floating around him. Upon seeing the Magus, he seemed to smile. "You're here!"
"Hn!" The Magus nodded and pushed back the hood to reveal a handsome young face.
Black hair, elegant face, fair skin, and eyes that gave off a devilish glint.
Just by standing there, he was able to give off a strange charm.
This person was, of course, Leylin. His eyebrows were currently furrowed because nothing good could be happening if Giant chose this moment to summon him here.
At the same time, Leylin's nostrils flared.
"Did you receive a lot of guests just now? I seem to sense the aura of many familiar people…"
Giant looked at Leylin with some surprise. "Yes! They're all our comrades from the Thousand Meddling Hands. I'd already wiped off all traces of them, but you were actually able to notice! Looks like the rumours out there aren't wrong, and you're already a peak rank 1 Magus!"
Giant glanced at Leylin with some apprehension in his eyes. "Looks like our leader's initial choice to attract you into entering our organisation was a right one!"
Leylin only gave a mysterious smile in reply.
After the second bloodline transition, he could feel that the quality of his body constantly increasing. Even a few of his organs seemed to have awoken from a deep sleep and obtained many miraculous abilities.
Though these abilities were of no help to him in battle, they could usually exhibit surprising effects at unexpected moments.
"Looks like you're planning something grand!" Leylin looked Giant straight in the eye.
From what he had sensed, Giant had actually called out all of the elites of the Thousand Meddling Hands.
Getting in contact with him was a huge risk, and he had even gotten Leylin to enter the inner circle of the Four Seasons Garden. It was easy to tell what Giant had planned to do.
"Hehe! That's not my plan, but the idea from the Lord behind me!" Giant brought up the rank 2 dark Magus behind the Thousand Meddling Hands once again.
"So, the feathers of the Nefarious Filthbird are rather useful, yes?" Giant asked.
"I've used them!" Leylin lifted his brows. "If there's anything you want to say, say it!"
"Alright! Our target, this time, is the resource warehouse in the Eternal Plains' secret plane that the Four Seasons Garden is in charge of!" Giant told him their goal without beating around the bush.
"This time, not only will our members go all-out on this mission, even the Lord behind us will make his move at opportune times."
Leylin's face twitched slightly at this news, but he accepted this peacefully.
In the Four Seasons Garden, there was Reynold, who was at least a rank 2 Magus, taking charge! If there wasn't an opponent with a similar level of power to attract the brunt of the assault, the invading dark Magi would just be committing suicide no matter how many of them there were!
"Alright. What's my mission?" Leylin inquired.
"Good!" Giant pointed his thumb upwards. "Your mission is simple. The time we make our move is tomorrow night at 7. Reynold is planning on seeing you, right?"
Giant spoke matter-of-factly, but this made Leylin's heart turn cold.
For him to know about even this, there must have been other spies from the Thousand Meddling Hands in the Four Seasons Garden!
But putting your hands on everything will only expose your own identity! Leylin smirked inside.
Giant had not noticed any abnormalities in Leylin and was still speaking, "At that time, we will lead Reynold away. Your mission is to pass through a spell formation inside his office and activate this spell design."
As he spoke, he passed a fist-sized red crystal to Leylin.
*Pak!* Leylin firmly caught the red crystal.
"What is this spell design?" The interior of the red crystal was laden with tiny runes. When the runes connected together, they looked like a gold liquid constantly flowing inside the crystal.
Though the A.I. Chip had never recorded such runes before, Leylin was sure that this was a spell design specially catered to a specific spell formation or artifact.
After all, how could something Reynold had placed in his own office and was personally protecting, be anything simple?
"It's just a regular spell design to lift a seal!" It was obvious that Giant did not want to explain any further.
Leylin stared at the Giant for a long, long time, and then spoke. "You want me to do something in the area where the Four Seasons Garden has the tightest defense, which is a rank 2 Magus' office. Are you trying to get me killed?"
As he spoke, Leylin's eyes turned into an amber hue.
A powerful spiritual force with a depthless darkness quickly descended upon the area!
Bloodlust and terror! Spiritual force that carried dense elemental particles with it formed a phantom of a black, giant serpent, which glided around Giant. Its eyes were fixated on Giant, as if it was looking for a place for it to sink its teeth into.
"Such an imposing aura and such bloodlust! How many people has he actually killed?"
Giant's heart went cold. He himself wasn't any good person and had taken the lives of countless people. However, compared to such a cold-blooded and strong bloodlust, he was still on a lower level than this person!
What made Giant even more shocked was that Leylin's spiritual force had already reached an amount that only peak rank 1 Magi possessed. He might have even surpassed Giant himself!
"He actually dares to attack here!"
Gazing into Leylin's ice-cold pupils, Giant's heart suddenly chilled, feeling as if his opponent knew all of his secrets.
-x-X-x-
"Don't worry, we won't abandon you!"
Giant tossed a detailed map that had a route marked out in red to Leylin.
"After completing your mission, follow this route, and you'll definitely be able to leave safely before any other Magi find out. The Lord behind us will divert Reynold's attention, and we'll provide support as well."
Giant spoke calmly, even going out of his way to mention the rank 2 dark Magus supporting Thousand Meddling Hands. It was obvious that he was trying to threaten Leylin.
Leylin was silent for a while. "I will try…"
If it was much too dangerous, he wasn't going to risk his life for this organisation!
"Alright! You'll find that this is a very simple and effortless mission!" Giant smiled, "After finishing this, you can rejoin us as a dark Magi! How about it? Which academy or organisation do you want to join? Just tell me."
Leylin shook his head. He had no such plans yet, and he still did not entirely trust Giant's words.
If one was not shrewd when dealing with dark Magi, it was certain that they would be taken advantage of so thoroughly that every last bone of theirs will be gobbled!
"Alright! To ensure that things go well, you will need to sign this!" Giant threw a black scroll to Leylin.
"Hm?" Leylin looked through the contents of the scroll and was amazed. "A Trial's Eye contract? After I have taken the solvent of the Nefarious Filthbird's feathers, you still dare to use this?"
"This is a special contract that the Lord behind us specifically made for you!" Giant pointed out, emphasizing the last three words. "Also, that solution was the very last one in our organisation. If you can find another, we can only blame it on our bad luck."
It looked like he was quite confident about this.
"Hehe… in that case, you're the first person who dares to do something like this!" Leylin scrutinized Giant and smirked.
At the same time, the phantom giant serpent suddenly opened its mouth wide and bit towards Giant!
*Rumble!*
As it neared Giant, the phantom giant serpent suddenly collapsed and turned into a mass of shadow, slamming against Giant's green fog and producing the sound of waves crashing on the shore.
"Haha… I was just cracking a joke! I'm but a regular member in the Thousand Meddling Hands, so how would I dare to pit myself against elders like you?"
A bright, gentle smile suddenly appeared on Leylin's expression!
"You'll become an elder soon enough! After this operation, I can nominate you!" Giant spoke after a moment's thought.
"In that case, thank you!"
Leylin lightly tapped on the scroll, and the imprint of a black snake instantly appeared on it.
*Rumble!*
The apparition of the Trial's Eye gave Leylin the feeling that this was even more powerful than the one that Reynold had summoned the previous time.
Under its emotionless gaze, the scroll in Leylin's hands began to spontaneously combust.
Green flames enveloped the scroll.
The moment after the scroll completely burned up, a ray of light that represented the contract and its restrictions flew into Leylin's mind.
Afterwards, the apparition of the Trial's Eye automatically dispersed into the air.
He had skimmed through the contract. The only conditions were that he could not help the Four Seasons Garden; there weren't any harsh conditions. After all, they still needed his help and could not go overboard.
"It didn't detect traces of the acts of the Nefarious Filthbird?" Leylin wondered.
He then left the area without a word.
Only Giant was left standing quietly in the basement as if he was waiting for something.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Minutes later, Giant's body, which was covered in green fog, began to shudder violently, and the wall behind him suddenly exploded!
After the dust settled, a large portion of Giant's fog had dispersed, revealing a giant figure that was up to 2 metres tall.
"Crazy! That person's a lunatic!"
Giant murmured to himself and proceeded to laugh maniacally. "Haha… Good! Interesting! Things are getting more interesting!"
He then transformed into a green fog and drifted out of the area.
Behind him, the basement gave way and dust filled the air...
The next day, Leylin punctually arrived at Reynold's office at seven in the evening.
"Lord Reynold!" He knocked on the door gently.
"Come in!" From behind the door, Reynold's gentle voice was heard.
Leylin took in a deep breath and pushed the door open. Reynold was seated on a chair of vines, wearing a pair of spectacles as he drank a green beverage. Beside him was a little round table and a similar chair.
"Leylin, you're here! Take a seat!" Reynold pointed to the chair beside him.
"Many thanks!" Leylin bowed once more and sat near Reynold.
"Here! Try the juice of the Jaded Daro Flower! We're just having a private conversation now, so don't be too reserved!" Reynold seemed just like a hospitable old man.
As if a little embarrassed, Leylin gave a slight smile and drank from the cup on the table.
The refreshing scent of nature pervaded his taste buds and extended throughout his four limbs. Leylin felt as if warm water was rinsing his body and making him feel rejuvenated.
"How is it? It tastes pretty good, right?" Reynold asked with anticipation.
"The collections of an elder like yourself are pretty good!" Leylin praised sincerely.
"Haha…" Like a child who had received a compliment, Reynold laughed aloud brightly.
"Here, let us have a friendly chat. Leylin, you seem to be from the Chernobyl Islands right? I went there once when I was young. Resources are scarce in such a barren land, and it's lacking in Magi…"
Reynold was a very entertaining speaker, and he began to chat with Leylin about his past experiences.
As they spoke leisurely, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, an hour had passed.
All of a sudden, Leylin suddenly smelt something very sweet.
"What is this?"
"It's a type of incense from the Wetland Gardens. It's said to be useful in replenishing one's spiritual force, and is a favourite of the Magi there."
Reynold explained lightly, his voice seemingly less and less discernible. A thread of silver spiritual force slowly extended.
Leylin's expression became slacker and he could feel his eyelids becoming heavier. He eventually fell asleep.
Seeing Leylin in a deep sleep, a smile appeared on Reynold's face.
He took off a ring on Leylin's hand and inspected it closely.
"Ring of Sobriety? Looks like it has a few other effects that can defend against probings! There are seven different potions smeared on it as well. Looks like you've prepared well, but it's a pity…"
Reynold glanced at Leylin with a victorious smirk.
"The juice of the Jaded Daro Flower, as well as the pollen from the Intoxicated Dragon Petals, are something even a rank 2 Magus might not be able to withstand. What use is a mere ring and potion?"
These two items were a special combination that Reynold had picked out specifically for Leylin. Some of them even had to be transported from the secret plane, and he had used up a portion of his allowance as the chairman to obtain the items.
This had delayed his plans and allowed Leylin to have the chance to wreak havoc in the Four Seasons Garden.
Of course, since he had paid such a huge price, the effects were superb.
A peak rank 1 Magus was an existence that even a rank 2 Magus like Reynold needed to be careful of! Also, these Magi also had special methods, and might have had a high resistance against hallucinations and enchantments. What was more troublesome was that Leylin was still a member of Four Seasons Garden, so without actual evidence, Reynold could not do anything that might have severe aftereffects.
As an experienced, veteran rank 2 Magus, this was not a problem for Reynold. Now, using a special concoction, he had made Leylin pass out.
In addition, these two ingredients were not harmful to the body, and at most, they would cause Leylin to faint. His resistance to hallucinatory magic would be temporarily lowered, but after this, his body would ultimately benefit in the long run. Hence, Reynold was not going against the contract with the Trial's Eye.
"Even so, the effects of this type of hallucinogen will not last for a long time. With his body, he'll awaken in about half an hour, so I have to be quick.
The vined chair under Reynold began to move until Reynold was right in front of Leylin.
"Open your eyes and look at me!"
Reynold spoke lightly, his voice having a strange effect that made one feel dazed.
As he spoke, silvery white rays of light shot out of his eyes. This was the appearance of the solidification of his spiritual force!
Upon hearing Reynold's words, Leylin's eyelids flickered and then opened.
"Your name?"
Reynold asked, the silvery white rays so intense that they seemed to be on the verge of piercing through Leylin's eyeballs.
"Leylin Farlier!"
"Where were you born? Do you have any relatives?"
...
The questions Reynold asked were quite simple at the beginning, and as time went on, he went deeper and increased the difficulty.
Soon enough, after tens of questions, he got into the heart of the matter.
"Why were you wanted by the Lilytell family?"
Reynold asked gently, with some tremors in his voice.
"It is because in order to obtain an inheritance from a ruin, I killed Bosain Lilytell!" Leylin answered in a dazed manner, unable to control the words that spilled out of his mouth.
"What inheritance?" The silver light in his eyes became more concentrated.
"An inheritance that contains incomplete information about the Branded Swordsmen! There's also a high-grade magic artifact." Leylin answered.
"Is that so?" Reynold shifted his glasses.
"Branded Swordsmen? A branch of the ancient Magi?" He sized up Leylin's body.
"A tall and strong body with some brands on the surface. It seems quite similar to the legends…"
As his vitality was amazingly high, the muscles on Leylin's body were now very obvious, and he had a terrifying amount of strength within. If he tried to impersonate a Grand Knight, nobody would doubt him.
"In that case, what is your relationship with the Thousand Meddling Hands?" Reynold came to the key question.
-x-X-x-
*Rumble!*
Just as Reynold was using the illusionary spell to interrogate Leylin, a mighty energy wave fluctuation came from afar.
This fluctuation was so immense that even the buildings had mildly shook.
"What? A sneak attack?" Reynold stood up abruptly.
A layer of white light which seemed to be a communication device shone on his body in an instant.
"What's happening?" Reynold asked indifferently.
"It's the dark Magi! We suffered a sneak attack from the dark Magi! The first and second defense lines have already perished. We're currently at the third line of defense!"
From the communication device, the image of a fair-skinned burly bloke who had donned a military uniform was projected.
This was the leader of the defense team who was specially assigned to defend all of Four Seasons Garden. The expression on his face was wrought with fright and worry. It seemed that the dark Magi had placed him under great pressure!
A simple and tiny issue.
"I will mobilise the fighting and hunting teams to your area as soon as possible, you…" Reynold replied to the communicative device.
Suddenly, his face darkened.
Through the projection of the communication device, he could see a gigantic black hand land from the skies and mash the burly bloke between its fingers.
"Ah…" The burly, fair-skinned bloke cried out miserably as he produced large amounts of milky white flames.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
A large number of miserable looking faces appeared on the gigantic black hand, their mouths opening wide as they swallowed the milky white flames.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
The bone-chilling sounds of gnawing sounds were heard. After swallowing the white flames, they actually began to gnaw at the burly, fair-skinned man's body.
"Jejeje..."
In midair, solidified silver spiritual force appeared and formed a human face.
"Reynold, my old friend! Why aren't you coming to greet me?"
The face sneered.
Immediately after, the huge black hand swept the area and made a mess of the Four Seasons Garden's defensive line. Under the tyrannical abuse of a rank 2 Magus, the ordinary rank 1 Magi were as insignificant as ants.
*Pak!* The armrest of Reynold's vined chair was kneaded until it broke.
*Shua!* In a flash, he turned into a green figure and rushed out.
*Ka-cha! Ka-cha!*
After he left, his vined chair squirmed and constantly twisted, gradually turning into something that resembled a human. It stood by Leylin who was still unconscious as if keeping guard.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
Huge undulations from the magic that were even more immense than before travelled over. This was an intense fight between two rank 2 Magi.
As they fought, they moved further and further away as if deliberately trying to avoid this area.
In Reynold's office.
All of a sudden, Leylin who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes.
At that instant, his eyes turned amber.
Innate spell formation—Eye of Petrification!
The vined human that had been keeping watch over him immediately turned into a grey stone statue.
After his second bloodline transition, this spell and Kemoyin's Scales had evolved.
Leylin surveyed the area and stretched lazily, fixing the Ring of Sobriety that was on the round table back onto his finger.
"Though the process was a little unexpected, nothing bad happened."
Leylin's eyes were very clear. Where were the traces of him being caught in a hallucination?
Previously, Reynold had used a few ingredients and set up a trap, which had indeed cause him to fall into a hallucination.
But that was just for a moment. The power of the bloodline of the ancient being, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, was flowing in his veins and devouring all external substances!
His vitality of over 25 degrees had made it easier for him to quickly come back to his senses.
At that time, Leylin had beat Reynold at his own game and pretended he was still in a daze, thus lowering Reynold's guard.
With the help of the A.I. Chip, his breathing, his body's situation, and waves of his spiritual energy had been feigned spectacularly, which even deceived Reynold.
All that nonsense about the Branded Swordsmen was obviously just that—lies. With the adjustments made by the A.I. Chip, making up runes was a simple matter.
Only now did Leylin have the time to really look at the rank 2 Magus Reynold's office.
Based on his interests, the office was made of plants. The bookcase and window, as well as the tables, chairs, and even a few strange books were all made of plants.
The entire setup was very clever and wasn't very big, giving off a cosy and tiny feeling.
"Where is the place at which I need to place the spell design for it to activate?" Leylin mumbled to himself, producing a scarlet crystal from his pocket.
The crystal now was emitting a bright red and was boiling hot.
"Is this… some sensing technique?
Leylin touched his chin, using the crystal to discern the direction in which he should be moving.
He eventually found out that when he pointed the crystal at Reynold's desk, it would emit the brightest light and be the hottest, to the point that he felt his hand was being burnt.
Following the crystal, he came before Reynold's desk.
This was a large green table with rings on it that indicated the age of a tree.
*Weng Weng!*
At this moment, the crystal in Leylin's hand exploded in a ring of light and mysteriously hovered in the air.
"This is… a spell formation that is triggered automatically!" Leylin's eyes widened, and he pointed his right hand at the crystal, causing tendrils of black gas to crawl onto it like snakes.
*Crash!*
Under the shine of the scarlet crystal, the dark green desk suddenly shook, and most of the papers, quill, ink and various items on top of it rolled off of the surface.
The surface kept squirming, and the various types of plants making up the table began to grow and extend.
*Pak!* The green desk was split into two, and under these two parts, numerous plants grew and acted like little feet which scurried away.
In the place where the desk had been, there was now a huge pit.
In the heart of the pit was a huge sealing spell formation that was shining with all sorts of runes that were floating around.
On the surface of the spell formation, there were a few gaps. After making some comparisons, Leylin figured that the spot right at the middle could fit the red crystal.
"Classified information like this actually got out, and there was even a spell design specially made for this…" Leylin mumbled to himself.
All of a sudden, something strange happened!
The scarlet crystal that had been hovering in midair suddenly burst out into blood red flames, zooming like a fire arrow towards the part of the formation that was caved in.
In the crystal, there was a requirement that required it to make contact with the spell formation before it was activated.
Combined with Giant's obvious attempts at hiding the truth, Leylin could easily tell that it wouldn't be good if the crystal activated.
However, there was no sense of flustering on his expression. Rather, there was a profound look on his face.
"I've been waiting for this!" He reached forward with his right hand!
"Snake Binding!"
The little black snakes that had been crawling on the crystal immediately began to squirm and turned into a huge snake ball, securing the red crystal within.
Black gas pervaded the area, on the verge of concealing the red light the crystal was emitting.
*Weng Weng!*
The red crystal constantly expanded, and Leylin seemed to hear a sound of unwillingness from within.
"As expected, there's even a backup plan! It's a pity…"
Leylin rapidly chanted incantations and sprinkled some light blue powder into the air.
"Freezing River!" As he finished the last syllable of the incantation, a light blue light surrounded the snake ball.
*Tssss!* White threads of mist were produced, and on the surface of the snake ball, the white mist condensed and turned into a layer of thin ice.
The amount of ice became greater and greater, until, at the end, a thick layer of ice had been formed around the snake ball. The entire snake ball seemed like it had turned into a huge ball of ice.
The red rays of light that the crystal had been producing was now completely contained within.
As if it had lost its detection abilities, the large spell formation in the pit ceased its rumbling, and all sorts of runes ceased to move on the surface of the formation.
*Shua! Shua! Shua!*
Three large ice pillars were like pylons, or perhaps chains, as they connected with the blue ball of ice.
"Hn! The power of this sealing spell formation is not half bad!" Leylin nodded in satisfaction.
This sealing spell formation was something he had gained from blackmailing Pierre at the Four Seasons Garden. It was definitely something worth being kept safely in the warehouse as it was quite effective. It looked like Pierre had not given him inferior items to go against him.
Leylin then shifted his attention to the spell formation that was caved in in the middle.
"A.I. Chip! Compare the runes on the spell design!"
A blue ray of light brightened in his eyes and shone straight at the spell formation.
A huge amount of data flashed past Leylin's eyes.
Countless runes and designs were currently being compared.
The red crystal from before was merely a key. The runes used on it were strange, and Leylin previously had no way to tell its function from the runes.
But now, both the key and the keyhole were here. Hence, he was able to make comparisons between the runes on both ends and tell the rough functions of the spell formation and crystal.
Seconds later, the A.I. Chip's conclusion appeared before Leylin.
"The part that's caved in is a sealing formation, and the crystal's function is to detonate?"
A cold look emerged on his face as Leylin read through the first two lines. "Very good, Giant! Just you wait!"
The A.I. Chip's robotic voice continued to intone.