Badge in Azure

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

Cuisi crumbled onto the ground. He was well aware that in this era it was extremely difficult for mages to get their hands on demons. Saleen already had Nailisi by his side so he would not be too interested in researching about demons. Even if he did he could easily get his hands on one. This mage in front of him was just too powerful, so powerful that he did not even harbor the notion of resisting. He only prayed that he would not be used for dissection.

In the past the armies of demons must have felt the same way when they faced their human counterparts in battle.

"Sit," Joey pointed at the floor. Saleen decided that he might as well sit beside Cuisi. Su sat down as well, not showing any hints of doing anything rash.

"Master Joey, you have asked me to come. I am here." Saleen did not really know what to say. He had no idea why Joey had asked him to come.

"Oh, your body is in good condition. You have recovered well. It will not affect your advancement into a sorcerer," Joey said casually. Saleen suddenly realized that the magic metallic structure in front of Joey was transforming slowly. The mechanics looked complex, but did not make any sounds.

"Is it regarding what you requested previously?"

"What's the hurry? Don't tell me you offended someone you couldn't afford to?" Joey smiled. Compared to the first time when he did not even bother to look at Saleen, the way Joey treated him now was totally different.

"Not really. I am Sikeqinyan so I don't like to feel indebted."

"Hmm?" Joey looked surprised. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled Saleen towards him with some kind of magic until they were only four to five yards apart. Saleen was scared out of his wits. He could feel that the technique used by Joey was beyond magic and more like a swordmaster's skill.

Su drew his sword in alarm.

"Sit down!" Joey roared. Su felt as if his brain had been hammered by a gigantic warhammer. With a plonk, he crumbled down again.

Joey looked pleased and said, "Hmm, a swordmaster's techniques are interesting. They are much quicker than magic. Too simple though. Saleen, let me take a look."

The moment he finished, Joey grabbed Saleen's collar and pulled it apart. Saleen's clothes were pulled apart along with his demonic magic robe, revealing his chest.

Saleen looked at Joey quietly and did not resist. Joey put his palm on Saleen's chest and Saleen felt a cool aura entering his body. This was an elemental power, but he could also feel that it was extremely complicated. It resembled the Goddess of Myers' power of life and seemed to contain boundless information.

This power circulated Saleen's heart once before being reabsorbed by Joey.

"What is it?" Saleen knew that Joey did not intend to kill him. There was no need to.

"Did you meet anyone recently? From the Holy See?"

"Fycro, the first oracle. He forced me to sign a bond," Saleen answered honestly. What he had been worried about had come true. Fycro had done something to him. Saleen was in a hurry to meet Joey, partly to confirm his suspicions. Fycro was more powerful than him by such an overwhelming margin that Saleen did not manage to detect what Fycro did even though he possessed God's Left Hand.

"It is not the power of the bond. The bond that you struck with him must have been a fair one, otherwise he would not have done anything else to you after that. Fycro, hehe, it's funny a proud person like him would actually resort to such methods against you. This means that he holds you in high regards."

"Is there any way to remove it?" Saleen asked carefully.

"Yes, but he will realize it immediately," Joey replied. He seemed to be deep in thought as he looked at Saleen.

Saleen decided to ask him outright, "This Fycro, can you defeat him?"

Joey did not try to hide from the question and said, "If we were to fight in this courtyard, he would be as good as dead."

"And if you were to fight somewhere else?"

Joey stared at him and said, "Wishful thinking. I will not go to Metatrin City with you. Mages are definitely more powerful than holy masters, but the difference between us is small. He possesses a godly item that I will not be able to deal with if I leave this place, but he will never be able to kill me."

"Even if he became a God?"

"Become a God? Him? Ha…," Joey laughed dryly. He seemed to know Fycro very well. Saleen knew that he could ask no further so he kept quiet.

"I remember, you promised me one thing," Joey said.

"Two."

"Alright, there are two things, but you must do one of them for me first. Let me tell you, the power that he has left in your body can kill you anytime, but that can only happen after the bond between both of you has been completed. I will now combine this power with some of my own. If you can survive this the power that I have added will cause a retaliation of a very strong curse."

"Survive it? I don't think I have that ability," Saleen replied in frustration.

"It's not as troublesome as you think. He can kill you easily, but he chose not to do so because he wanted to kill you secretly without interfering with the bond. If you are able to drag the bond out and not complete it for the next twenty years, I will diminish this power so that if you are a sorcerer by that time, it will not be able to kill you."

Saleen understood and sighed, "Alright."

Joey's plan was to use a more conservative method to diminish what Fycro had put in Saleen's body. It could not be removed totally or Fycro would realize immediately. As long as Saleen was able to advance into a sorcerer before the bond was completed, he would be able to survive the attack.

Joey's suggestion was very safe. If Fycro realized what was going on, Saleen had little confidence of his chances of survival.

Joey was pleased with Saleen's answer and said, "Remove your clothes. This equipment is for demons. What are you thinking?"

Seeing the bitter look on Saleen's face, Joey patted his head and said, "It's not difficult to refine a magic robe that is fitting. Give me eighty-thousand to one-hundred-thousand magic nuclei and I will do it for you."

Saleen breathed a sigh of relief. This demonic robe was extremely important to him. It was the main reason why at his current level, he could already cast spells while flying. The robe was also able to protect him from knives and swords. Even a swordmaster would not be able to destroy a demonic robe easily.

Nonetheless, Joey was still able to pull it apart so easily. Saleen certainly believed that Joey could refine something better. Coincidentally, Saleen did have eighty-thousand to one-hundred-thousand magic nuclei with him.

Joey was stunned to see Saleen starting to retrieve magic nuclei from a dimension stone. He did not think that Saleen would actually have one-hundred-thousand magic nuclei with him right now!

Saleen was afraid that Joey might feel awkward. Instead, Joey smiled generously and snatched the dimension stone over and said, "I will return this to you later. You got yourself a bargain. Give me the demonic robe and I will refine it for you. It will be suitable for you even if you reach my level in future."

Saleen removed his robe and put on an ordinary shirt. Then, he retrieved all his dimension stones from his demonic ring. Seeing how many dimension stones Saleen possessed, Joey was tempted to take some, but he was not sure if Saleen would agree to it.

Saleen noticed his expression and said, "This was given to me by my teacher. If you like, I can give you one."

"Humph, why should you give it to me for free? Tell me, what should I use to exchange for it?"

"I really mean to give it to you. It's already the second time you helped me when I had issues with my body."

"Since you put it that way, well, I heard that you have built a city with many mages under your command. You must need magic equipment. Unfortunately, those two trees of mine have been chopped down and given to Lex and I still need to use the branches. You… must be envious of the spirit snake armor?"

Saleen nodded then Joey said, "I will give you the blueprint of a real magic armor and I will help you create ten suits of armor that are of golden grand swordmaster level. Once a follower of yours puts it on, they will be able to fly like a golden grand swordmaster. This kind of armor can only be worn by those that are at least black metal grand swordmasters though."

"Is there any armor that can enable swordmasters to fly?" Saleen saw the opportunity to press further. He was both fearful yet appreciative of Joey. Without him, Saleen would have died long ago. This time around, he was less fearful of Joey and felt closer and more familiar with him instead. He asked his question very naturally.

"Of course. It is something even you can design, except my design will inevitably be better. If you want a swordmaster to fly, hmm, he will need to be a middle-level swordmaster at least so that he would have the corresponding mental strength. Quite a large amount of magic nuclei will need to be used. Using all these resources on a swordmaster seems wasteful."

Saleen was overjoyed and said, "I will not create too many. There are not too many middle-level swordmasters anyway. I also want to know how many magic nuclei is required for an armor like this to fly for one-hundred miles?"

"Not a lot, about six pieces of grade-4 magic nuclei," Joey answered easily.

Saleen's heart jerked. Grade-4 magic nuclei would suffice! This was too cheap. Others would need to spend a fortune on magic nuclei, but this was not a problem for him at all.

"Can you create a spatial equipment to be used by swordmasters? It need not be like a mage's. It is only for carrying items around easily."

Joey smiled and said, "Of course. It is approximately twenty cubic yards and the space is very small. Each time you open it, you will need to use up one piece of grade-4 magic nucleus."

Saleen was ecstatic to hear that. Since the usage of magic nuclei was not a consideration for him he was now one step closer to building a strong and powerful army. Just imagine, a regiment of swordmasters who could fly and did not require any auxiliary soldiers. Such an army has never been seen before on the mainland.

Joey seemed to know what Saleen was thinking. He said, "This kind of armor is not rare and was actually very common during the third dynasty. Subsequently, the amount of available magic nuclei was depleted so the fourth dynasty could not afford to use them. By the end of the era, this kind of armor was no longer in use. It is not difficult for mages to create it again, but it is just not practical."

Saleen agreed with what Joey said. A regiment of swordsman using this armor meant that one-thousand spatial equipments would need to be created. Each time they were triggered, a piece of grade-4 magic nucleus would be used. According to the market rate, that would be four-hundred-thousand gold coins. It seemed that even if he successfully created such an army, it would only be used as a normal army most of the time. Only in crucial moments would they leave behind their auxiliary counterparts and fight independently.

Nonetheless, his equipment could be extended to the officers. If they did not have their own supplies of magic nuclei, then the armor would be totally useless. He could use this as a means to control the leaders within the army.

Forget it, there was no point thinking too much. All these thoughts would not help him in his magic training. Saleen suppressed his excitement and told Joey, "Then I shall count on you. Please accept this dimension stone in exchange."

Joey was satisfied and smiled, "That's the way. Hmm, Saleen, Lex asked me to help you. What can I do for you?"

Saleen was stunned. The way Joey put it, it seemed like Saleen did not have to give him the dimension stone in exchange. Seeing Joey's mischievous smile, Saleen smiled bitterly and said, "Then I shall not stand on courtesy."