Badge in Azure

Chapter 1378: Persuade to Stay (Part 1)

It turned out that Saleen's slow advancement was related to his personality. After being enlightened by Jason, he went to the Imperial City of the Abyss once to temper his resolve. That did the trick. Since then, Saleen's advancement saw some improvement. Although it still lagged behind some genius mages, the change was astonishing for someone of his innate talent.

This time, Saleen combined all the equipment he took pride in; he no longer wanted to have so many possessions. He did this for the sake of focusing on his progression, something he had learned from his teacher.

Saleen brought Rafel with him. Their bodies were wrapped in mist as they flew towards the forest. By this time, the magical tower was already under Jason's control. Pande's Maze could not obstruct Saleen, so he flew directly above the maze.

Finally, he arrived above the forest. When his Elemental Eye focused on the Holy See's army, he descended. This forest was so different from other forests Saleen usually went to. There were a lot of rivers running through it. This meant there would be frequent downpours here. This was just bad weather that would frequently occur when the plane was expanding.

Windstorms, downpours, earthquakes, volcanoes…

These disturbances would destroy life; at the same time, they were the originators of life. Without them, a great variety of living creatures would vanish. As Saleen descended, he secretly felt joyful. Above the forest were the initial stages of water vapor forming into clouds. He estimated it would take a few days for them to break up.

The forest was teeming with powerful magic beasts. They had no notion of territoriality and only resorted to hunting when they were starving. These magic beasts were controlled by the magical tower. In the mind of each magic beast was a magic array and magic patterns. Created for battle, the beasts' innate skills were formidable. Rafel's various skills were also complex, causing Saleen to sigh as he looked on.

He could perform Alchemy. This was also only possible thanks to the secret technique Jason taught him. If he'd gone by the book, Saleen estimated he would still be inferior to an ordinary alchemist.

When the magic beasts spotted Saleen, they cleared the way for him, one after another. This saved Saleen a lot of time.

"Master…" The magic amplifier's Weapon's Spirit cried out.

"What is it?"

"I can…let you go into stealth," The Weapon's Spirit said hesitantly.

"Huh?"

"Master, what I mean is, I can cover your tracks, just like that dagger. Fycro definitely cannot see through it."

Saleen was again delighted and said, "Let's do it."

"Okay."

The Weapon's Spirit went to work. Saleen felt that a subtle vibrating frequency transmitted from the magic amplifier was surrounded him. Immediately, the objects in his vision became blurred, then clear again. The difference is that there were no colors, just black and white.

In this black-and-white image, the target he was looking at came into sharper focus. It could be seen clearly at different levels.

"Rafel."

"My lord, I cannot see you. If you don't speak, even my perception cannot detect you." Rafel swiftly replied. Now, when Saleen opened his mouth, she already knew what he wanted to say.

"Even a grade-13 angel cannot detect me. Even if the gods have slightly more power, if they're unprepared for any reason, they won't be able to detect my presence. Hmm, but we can't drop our guard. It would be right for such power to have limitations."

"Master, this power cannot be used infinitely. If light is present, the power can be maintained for a short period of time. In darkness, it can hide from night vision and be maintained for more than an entire day."

"Give me more details."

The Weapon's Spirit, which was not familiar with Saleen, gave some vague figures. Saleen was dissatisfied.

"Light is divided into 12 intensities. With each added intensity, the effective time of such skills will be reduced by an hour. Under grade-12 intense light, such concealment will be ineffective," The Weapon's Spirit said as he canceled the stealth skill.

"How often can I use this?"

"This consumes your mental power, master. I suggest that you only use it for a short while just before you are assassinated."

Only then did Saleen realize that the speed of loss of his Power of the Soul had increased slightly. If it had been his original mental power, he would have discovered this long ago. However, the Power of the Soul was peerless in strength, and the speed of its consumption was slow. He was still not too familiar with such power and had not discovered it now.

"Understood. Rafel, we'll move ahead and wait for five kilometers from Fycro." Rafel nodded. This time, Saleen wanted to prepare for an ambush. Using the steal skill for the assassination was only a last resort. Although they were still 50 kilometers apart, Saleen had already retrieved his clan badge.

Shoot first and see. It would be best if he could shoot Fycro's clone to death. If not, this attack would cause Fycro to become preoccupied and lose sight of other things. He would be less likely to cause trouble for Jason.

In Saleen's opinion, it would be even harder for Fycro to defeat the Fycro who possessed the mirror godly item.

With Jason's personality, he would definitely not leave a powerful enemy to his student. Were it not for the fact that Fycro's skill was unique, Jason would never allow Saleen to act. He would deal with it alone.

Because they were both at grade-13, the Fycro who possessed the godly item really could not be considered a powerful enemy of Jason's. He was just troublesome to deal with.

Saleen thought, since when did he have the same degree of confidence as Jason?

Without the envelopment of the stealth skill, the world regained its colorful appearance. Saleen could still continue to sneak around. His Quickcloud Spell could not only be used for flight, but it could also condense around his body in a mist. This was a dense water element.

Rafel was also concealed within the mist. Saleen relied on water element to conceal his body, while Rafel's was a battle instinct. Her steps were soundless. If Saleen wanted to achieve this, he would need to have both his legs leave the ground and rely on elemental power to slowly move forward. Once he moved quickly, strong people would discover that a mage was concealed within the mist.

There was still a distance of 50 kilometers; the pair's conversation would not reveal their position. Saleen said to Rafel, "If you keep on refusing to believe in the gods, will your rank fall?"

"No, I'll slowly turn into a fallen angel. Or I could become a grade-13 human. It will just be impossible for me to advance."

"You should give it a try…"

"I can't learn magic. It's impossible for magic chords to form in my body."

Once Saleen heard this, he knew that the martial arts of humans would also be impossible for Rafel to learn. Since it was impossible for her to cultivate magic chords, it would similarly be impossible for her to cultivate a sword aura. Even if Rafel's outer appearance was the same as humans, it was useless. It was the same with Nailisi. Without incarnating as a human, she could not learn the skills of humans.

"I have a secret technique. It's just that my understanding of it is not too deep. If you are willing to learn, I can teach you."

"My lord, a human's secret technique…isn't that something that can't be imparted easily?" Rafel asked doubtfully.

"Mm, you can become my follower. Also, the secret technique I'll impart cannot be cultivated by me. You will need to feel your way through it yourself."

"What is this secret technique?" Rafel asked curiously.

"I know that angels don't have a soul. After cultivating this secret technique, you can form a soul. In other words, you can at least become a death mage."

"Oh, a death mage…" Rafel chuckled. This wasn't much. In the beginning, the Metal God had once annihilated a divine kingdom of undead. The undead could also become a god. It was just that it was comparatively more challenging for them.

If she became a death mage, she would have to deal with that group of bone racks. Rafel was not even sure what kind of life-form she counted as. Maybe she was a woman. At the very least, she felt somewhat uncomfortable facing the undead.

"You can also become a Fallen Holy Master. First, go and believe in the Myers Goddess. Then, abandon the faith and it will be complete," Saleen tempted.

"My lord, why do you want me to be able to continue advancing? Could it be that you still don't have enough helpers by your side?" Rafel's question was extremely direct. It was also the angels' style of contemplating problems. The gods created angels non-stop for the sake of war. Why did Saleen need so many followers?

"Because…only a few people can continue advancing. I don't like feeling lonely when there's no one to talk to by my side." Saleen had not randomly come up with a reason, but this was not what he really felt.

In his future, there would probably be many days where he would have to go to battle with the gods. Rafel was an angel and was much more familiar with the gods' weaknesses than he was. With Rafel as his helper, he would be able to avoid the deaths of numerous warriors.

But saying things like this was probably far too tactless.

"Even if what you say is true, I am already weary. After helping you kill Fycro, I want to leave." Rafel's gaze flashed. Since Saleen was walking in front of her, he didn't see it.

"Leave? Is there anyone by my side who's caused you to feel uncomfortable?"

"No, it's just that I need more clarity about what I want to do. I want to explore this world by myself."

Saleen didn't know what to say. Should he say that he was afraid Rafel would face danger? At least within the next few years, Rafel wouldn't have that many people who would be her match on the Myers Continent.

"Of course, if you want me to stay, I won't leave," Rafel added.

Saleen could not help asking, "Why now? The metal angels already have a place to call home. Even if you leave, I'll still treat them well."

"If you just want me to stay and it's not for the sake of anything else, I will give you my word. This will be meaningful." Saleen did not understand what Rafel was saying. He was not Rafel. He did not understand how angels felt after losing their god.

"Of course, I want you to stay…" After Saleen finished speaking, he felt somewhat regretful. He felt his tone was not sincere enough. He coughed and said, "It's not like that. I hope you can help me do battle. You'll be one of my comrades, just like Jola and the others. I'm willing to witness your continued growth and possession of a soul. There are no other reasons. It's because I'm a mage. I like seeing a world that's overflowing with life, and I like to see people who are full of hope."

"Mm, my lord, I'll leave this matter and put it aside. When the time comes when I want to leave, you can think of how to persuade me further. Perhaps you will no longer need a grade-13 angel like me."

Saleen instantly became solemn and said, "Very well. I hope you'll not be like Nailisi."

"Like Nailisi?" Rafel asked curiously.

"Mm, when I met her, it was only because I tricked her into signing a Soul Bond contract. But in the beginning, if I hadn't frightened her, she could have eaten me. Otherwise, the relationship between the two of us would be reversed and