Elite Mages' Academy

“So this is the mining ground for starmetal. It’s incredible. This mountain range had been searched through long ago and it should be impossible to find any more starmetal here.”

Lilith walked over and sighed while opening her palms. In it were a few broken rocks. Xiao Lin took them and looked closely with the aid of the magic lamp. They were just ordinary rocks, but there were grains finer than sand mixed on the rock surface. Those particles glowed faintly in a silver-gray light just like stars shining in the night sky.

“Is this starmetal? It’s pretty, but doesn’t seem like a lot.” Xiao Lin threw the rock aside. Very few silver particles were present in those fist-sized stones.

“Yes, starmetal is very scarce in quantity and so far, it has only been found in Silver Province. Although the current reserves are still plentiful, they’ll be used up sooner or later. By then, we’ll...” Lilith suddenly remembered that there the little vampire Ibeiya was right next to her. She wanted to say that their resurrection tower would not be able to be built if that happened, but she thought better of saying those stuff in front of the natives.

Xiao Lin also understood what Lilith meant, but it was not up to them to think about the future. He turned and looked warily at Ibeiya next to him. The little vampire had a look of utter innocence and curiousness. Xiao Lin thought about it and passed her the rock in his hand.

“Thank you, Uncle!” Ibeiya happily took it.

Xiao Lin’s eyelids twitched slightly and he lamented to himself that it would be difficult to change his ‘uncle’ designation.

Ibeiya used her nails to grip the rock forcefully, as if she wanted to dig the starmetal right out. In the normal mining process, the starmetal-rich rocks would be placed into the crucible for heating, stirring and filtering. Since starmetal was extremely heat-resistant, the final filtered product would be pure ore.

An approach like Ibeiya’s was practically torture. Her fingers were soon dripping with blood and her nails were slightly bent. Xiao Lin wanted to stop her, but was in turn stopped by Lilith. The two of them quietly watched Ibeiya’s persistent movements for a moment. After some time, Ibeya exhaled slightly, and stretched out her palm rather proudly. Her blood-stained palm was shining with the silver light of the starmetal.

“Are your hands alright?”

Xiao Lin wanted to look for something to bandage her, but then casually sucked her finger in her mouth. When she took it out a few minutes later, the wound had healed more than half. The healing ability was so powerful that it startled Xiao Lin, and Lilith was frowning pensively too.

The group continued to explore the valley again, and a few stone houses were present at the exit. There was nothing in the house except for basic daily utensils. Xiao Lin was elated because they finally found water and food there. From there on, the death energy seemed to be confined to the area within Wildfire Town. There was no sign of contamination and he could eat it with confidence.

What left Xiao Lin feeling a little concerned was a half-covered pot of soup on the kitchen stove that had long since dried up. It seemed that the owner there had no choice but to leave it behind and depart the area in a hurry, so much so that they could not care less for the food on the fire. It had turned inedible, but there was a lot of dried meat and bread around.

Xiao Lin ate a piece of bread and drank a few mouthfuls of water, but he still felt unsatisfied. He licked his lips after seeing the dried meat, and after less than ten seconds of hesitation, he made the decision to replace a clean pot. He carried up some firewood, lit them, and found some spices. Next up, he started to enjoy himself as he boiled the soup.

Lilith was searching for clues in the other rooms, while Ibeiya was completely attracted by the starmetal outside. Ten minutes later however, they were all attracted by the fragrant aroma of meat wafting around inside the house.

Lilith was a little surprised, perhaps even a little envious, and she asked, “You can cook?”

Xiao Lin nodded triumphantly. His skills were not actually that good, but thanks to Song Junlang and those strange dietary treatments, Xiao Lin’s cooking skills had improved quite a bit. At the very least, his cooking was still considered somewhat delicious.

Lilith glanced at a small half of bread in her hand and threw it aside without a second thought.

That night, under the bright twin moons, the three of them wolfed down the delicious soup. Xiao Lin felt that he had drunk the best meat soup in his entire life. He probably did not even remember what ingredients were in the soup, but in any case, he poured in all the ingredients he found and the result ended up tasting unexpectedly good.

Once they had their fill, they did not even bother to clean up since they figured they would not be back there again anyway. Lilith discussed the next course of action with Xiao Lin. Turning back to Dawn Academy’s colony would require them to go through Wildfire Town again, which was not a good choice under the current uncertainty.

“Let’s go to Gold City then! It’s the biggest city in Silver Province and the largest transit point for the starmetal. Most colleges have offices there,” Lilith proposed.

“Gold City? A city for Gold-rank individuals?”

“Uh, not exactly. The ‘silver’ in Silver Province refers to the entry of people at Silver-rank only, but the ‘gold’ in Gold City refers to gold of actual value. Gold is a precious metal in Planet Norma too. It’s the main currency of the higher-level people. You’ll know when you arrive.”

Although Lilith said that many colleges had offices in Gold City, what she really meant was Judge Academy. It was clear that the woman no longer trusted Dawn Academy.

While she was talking, Ibeiya’s expression changed drastically as she drank the soup. She whispered, “There are people coming here. It seems to be a lot of people!”

Ibeiya’s vigilance was higher than that of Lilith and Xiao Lin. After the two of them held their breath and focused their attention, they vaguely heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching them.

“It’s too late.” Xiao Lin glanced at the pot that was still emanating with the smell of meat. He smiled bitterly and suddenly realized how they had been discovered.

“Let’s have a look at who they are.” Lilith seemed rather nonchalant about it. She was not afraid of facing an opponent after having her fill, but she did not want to rush into action because countless adventurers and merchant groups went back and forth in Silver Province every day. Although the mining ground seemed to be relatively hidden, it was not unusual for an occasional caravan to get lost and be drawn to the smell of meat.

A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps came closer and the moonlight enabled them to distinguish the appearance of the man leading the group. They were all heavily armed, mostly in light chain mail or leather armor, as well as holding swords or bows of various sizes. They did not look like a merchant group at all.

The other side appeared to be quite alert and did not spring into action too quickly. Both parties soon encountered each other. Xiao Lin took the initiative to greet them in his half-baked Normese and rummaged around his brain for the Normese vocabulary he had mastered. He expressed his intention as clearly as possible, because the accent of those menacing-looking people suggested that they neither spoke Chinese or English. Surprisingly, the subsequent discussion went simpler than Xiao Lin imagined.

“It’s only the three of you?”

“Mm, we’re a merchant group that lost our way...”

“Only the three of you?”

“Yes?”

“No one else?”

“You could say that. We just happened to pass through by accident...”

“Oh, only the three of you. DIE!”

“What?”