Badge in Azure

Chapter 142: Gamble (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Saleen and Lex looked at the tens of thousands of notes, both unwilling to give them away. These notes from the mages had a large amount of information on magic beasts in them and described more than one hundred thousand magic formulae.

The Figaro formula was the basic theory behind all magic. However, that did not mean that by learning the Figaro formula, one did not need to learn the others. There were over ten thousand basic sequences in the Figaro formula alone, and they were even more complicated than the changes in the stars.

A mage could study for all of their life and still not learn all of the formulae, much less create so many of them. However, all of the magic notes in this hall carried related information, and if they were separated, their value would drop steeply. Seeing that Lex was not saying a word, Saleen knew that she was unwilling to give them up.

"How about this? You can choose to take everything from either the second or third story." Saleen proposed a solution, something that Sikeqinya merchants often used. They were used to dealing with large trade deals, and if a merchant wanted to take all of the goods from a certain month, aside from paying for them, they would need to give up the next month's goods to the other party as well.

The prices of goods fluctuated, and thus, taking everything first could lead to either massive losses or massive profits. It was a gamble, and aside from needing a merchant's eye, one needed luck as well.

Lex said without hesitation, "I want the second floor."

The value of the items on the third floor might have been greater. That was usually the case for magic towers like these. However, Lex was not about to give up knowledge on the modification of magic beasts. For a mage, this information might have all seemed the same, but for a country, there was a completely different meaning.

Saleen took one last look at the books and notes on the second floor and called out for Sika and Nailisi before turning to leave. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would regret his decision.

Lex continued gathering the information on the second floor while Saleen went up the stairway to the third floor with his ice plate armor and water shields.

Opening the door tentatively, a killer aura struck him. The water shields on his body seemed to expand vigorously into a giant ball, blocking the entryway. At the same time, he released another water shield as the water shield which had blocked the entrance was crushed by the killer aura. He released a third spell without hesitation.

Now that his magic chords had grown, he could release nearly one hundred Grade 2 spells. Sika and Nailisi were behind him and he could not retreat. He could only release spells one by one to counter the aura.

Thankfully, the defensive abilities of his water shields had reached Grade 4 and water-type defensive magic was the strongest type, making them hard to destroy. The killer aura was stopped by the magic shield for a short while, and using this time, Saleen was able to release a Grade 2 magic shield.

Retreat was not an option; however, the killer aura did not seem to be stopping. While releasing over ninety-six spells, Saleen could only back up a few meters at most.

Saleen toughly persevered. On the exterior of his body, a giant transparent bubble repeatedly expanded. He had no idea of the properties of the killer aura coming from inside the third story of the magic tower, and his magic shields were unusually weak under its attacks.

Saleen broke out into a cold sweat. He had been too careless. There were so many things that were unknown in this world. He had just advanced to Grade 4 and he had already become so full of himself. Even if Lex realized the danger, she would not be able to rush here in time. The water shield would barely be able to last for half a second before breaking.

Sika had already grabbed her cudgel from her back and Nailisi was clenching her teeth nervously, wanting to revert to her demon form. However, all these things could not help Saleen. His body no longer carried the strength of the water shields and once his magic chords were depleted, his body would instantly be crushed.

Saleen held the clan badge in his left hand. At this moment, he could only fight with all his strength. If the badge's method of absorbing energy ended up being the same as it had been on the first floor, he would die.

Just as the ninety-fifth water shield was crushed and Saleen was about to use the unknown energy inside of the badge, the killer aura coming from the door suddenly disappeared.

Saleen's body shook. Consecutively releasing all of those spells had nearly completely depleted his magic chords. He might have done so during training, but his life had not been in danger during those times and he had not been as nervous as he was now. The pressure of imminent death had placed a lot of stress on his body and if he had not constantly used the badge to train, his body would have fallen apart first, even before his focus or magic chords.

The scene of the third floor of the magic tower came into view. It was also a hall and was empty except for a skeleton at its center. The skeleton was almost eight meterss long and half of it consisted of the bones of its tail. It had an interesting structure with two sets of wings. A complicated magic pattern had naturally formed upon its abnormally elongated skull.

The entire skeleton of this magic beast was not too big and the bones of the tail were thick. Without the tail, it was probably a meter longer than the Grade 4 magic beasts in the forest.

There were no other items on the third floor and Saleen began to regret his choice. He had almost given up his life earlier. Would he only obtain this magic beast skeleton in exchange for all of the magic notes on the second floor?

"Saleen, it was this thing just now," Sika said, pointing at the skeleton.

It was then that Saleen understood. There were no offensive magic arrays on the entire third floor, and the only thing present was this pile of bones. This magic beast had probably died over a thousand years ago. Otherwise, it would have still had its skin and fur. After thousands of years of decay, it could still almost kill a grand mage like him. How strong must this magic beast have been when it was still alive?

Sika walked forward cautiously and carefully touched the skeleton's skull. She said to Saleen, "Saleen, give me this skeleton."

"Me too," Nailisi said with inappropriate timing.

"What's yours is mine as well." Saleen glared at Nailisi and said, "Think of a way to put this away."

The skeleton of this magic beast was long but not wide. Its size was not considered big either. Upon closer inspection, it was roughly the same size as one of Lex's war puppets. Nailisi begrudgingly put away the magic skeleton.

It was then that Saleen asked, "Sika, what do you want to do with this?"

"The magic beast soul is still inside this skeleton. Once I become a true warrior priest, I can ride it." A joyful glow was in Sika's eyes. Saleen had never seen her this happy before.

Saleen felt much better after this. Despite losing the magic notes, he had managed to gain the smile of Sika. It seemed like a good trade. He owed her too much. At least he did not care about her too much.

As for the riding that Sika had mentioned, Saleen did not think too much about it. This magic beast had been powerful when it was alive, but it was only a pile of bones now that it was dead. Even if he could use alchemy to make it into something similar to a puppet, it would not be able to fly. Thinking about it dragging its four wings and running on the floor made Saleen happy. This skeleton was likely very tough. The entire third floor had only contained this magic beast, and anything that a Grade 10 mage raised was at least Grade 9. If this skeleton was used to process a magic prop, it would be a top-grade material.

"Saleen, the magic beast soul within this skeleton is very powerful and will be incredible in the future." Sika was afraid that Saleen would be regretful and explained it to him patiently. Saleen felt his heart flutter. Sika's cudgel had not been processed by Faerun in the beginning, and using the magic beast soul within, she had managed to block a divine spell from an ascetic. That magic beast had not been complete and had been of a lower grade than the magic beast she had obtained now. Looking at it this way, this magic beast skeleton of at least Grade 9 must have had a pretty high value. Even though they were not the magic notes from the second floor, if Sika had not come here, she likely would not have been able to obtain such a strong magic beast soul in her lifetime.

"I understand. We did not lose out." In his heart, Saleen thought that the magic nucleus of this magic beast must have still been here. If there was no other way, he could dig it out and sell it for an astronomical price.

Seeing how Saleen was still bothered, Sika became a little depressed. However, thinking about how she would be able to roam the world with this magic beast soul once she became a warrior priest, she felt much better. The number of warrior priests among the Cascausus people were very few, and one that possessed a flying magic beast soul had been unheard for a few centuries.

At that time, she could use the opportunity to fashion a convenient weapon and she would no longer need to use this cudgel. The more she thought about it, the happier she became, beginning to laugh softly.

Nailisi did not get anything and bared her teeth towards Sika's back, thinking in her heart: You can laugh for now. I hope you choke the next time you eat something.

If Saleen had been able to read Nailisi's thoughts, he would have discovered that she had become kinder. If this had been the past, she would have poisoned Sika's bread or secretly backstabbed her.

Saleen's magic chords temporarily could not be restored and hence he waited for Lex on the third floor. Holding a magic nucleus in his hand, he sat on the floor and started meditating. The feeling of losing his magic chords was horrible, and for a mage, one's magic chords were more important than their limbs. Without his magic chords, Saleen felt discomfort throughout his entire body.

When Saleen opened his eyes, Lex was already waiting beside him.

"You met with danger?"

"Yes." Seeing Lex, Saleen shuddered at the thought of what had happened. If Lex had been beside him, he would not have embarrassed himself. Lex surely possessed some special magic props with her or would have been able to release a Grade 6 magic scroll to aid him. In that case, at least he would have been able to escape.

"Let's not travel separately." Lex did not say much. Seeing the third floor empty, she knew that there was not anything on this floor. It seemed that she had won this gamble. Once she returned to the Myers Mainland, she could use the powers of the country and start creating these special magic beasts on a large scale. They could be used for battle or for their magic nuclei.

"Hopefully the fourth floor doesn't disappoint." Saleen stood up, having Lex go ahead. Lex burst out into laughter. Saleen seemed to be quite well psychologically, and whatever he had lost on the third floor could easily be made up for on the other floors. It was possible that they would even get a chance to gamble again on the next floor.

They already had an enormous loot from the first three floors and even for a wealthy mage, he or she might not have gain so many resources in their lifetime. Saleen had accepted it and did not count his losses any longer. He followed Lex towards the fourth floor and released a water shield for her at the same time.

If a mage could not keep a positive outlook, they would walk further away from the crossroad and eventually lose sight of their goals.