Trifling Issues
*Rumble!*
Crystal clear spring water continuously flowed from a white canteen.
Under the white canteen was a half-nude marble statue. The statue was depicting a poised, long-haired maiden. In her eyes, there was an expression of indolence and perplexity. One hand was tugging on the skirt on her lower body, and the other hand was holding a white canteen upside down.
The spring water gathered below, forming a small pond. Different colored pebbles and fishes in the pool were reflecting the light.
Next to the pond were was a small garden. Inside the garden were different coloured flowers of unknown names. Different fragrances were mixed together, but it didn’t feel jumbled; instead it provided a unique scent that made one feel refreshed.
Leylin leisurely walked around the garden before returning to the villa.
This was the new villa that he had recently rented for a year. The address was: Nightless City Zone 3, Large Whale Street #56.
There were very strict regulations for each of the three zones.
The zones above the third one were only for official Magi and trade, with the exception of some specialised servants that were permitted to pass through.
This villa had a huge area, and its magic defenses against spells were also strong. According to Leylin, a level 3 acolyte, or even an official Magus, would have no chances of entering. If they wanted to destroy this place, it would require a huge amount of effort from them.
However, Leylin still wanted to add some modifications and more defensive spell formations to this place.
Regarding the spell formations that the Nightless City had, Leylin didn’t trust them enough.
In the area around Leylin’s villa, there was another Magi. Previously, there was even a red haired old man who waved to Leylin. He seemed quite friendly.
*Click!*
They sound of a copper key entering the lock could be heard, followed by the sound of a door opening with a squeak.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Leylin leisurely strolled around his villa.
This villa had 3 floors, two of them being above ground, and also a basement.
The apparatuses in the lab were very complete, and the furniture and other things were up to date, making Leylin feel that he had truly received his money’s worth.
The bedroom was on the second floor and even had an open balcony.
Leylin stood on the balcony and observed the distant scenery.
The sun was setting; the dark curtain of night gradually enveloping the surroundings.
*Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!*
By the side of the road, one lantern after another was being lit, extending far into the distance.
The little spots of light had an effect as they lit together, finally forming a huge body of light.
A bright — but not blinding — light flooded the entirety of the Nightless City.
“No wonder that Teljose City was referred to as the Nightless City!” Leylin exclaimed.
While he was used to this kind of setting in his previous life, the Magus world was different. A huge amount of energy was needed to be able to support this many lights, and perhaps only the volcano’s never-ending geothermal energy could barely support the city’s needs.
*Ding!*
Something like an incandescent light bulb lit up inside Leylin’s room.
“All of this energy, this overbearing splendor, is provided by the communal centre free of charge!”
Leylin shook his head and commanded, “A.I. Chip scan the whole villa, and in addition, try to modify the defensive spell formations!”
Following Leylin’s command, a spot of glittering and sparkling blue light flashed in his eyes.
[Beep! The overall layout of the villa has been recorded, no tracking spells have been detected!]
The response from the A.I. Chip came after a very short amount of time.
[According to the Host’s request, modifying the spell formation of the entire villa allows an optimization of 13%…]
Afterwards, the A.I. Chip projected the places where the spell formation needed to be altered in front of Leylin’s eyes.
“Spell formations requires extreme fine-tuning, and once they are altered, even the places where they were previously concealed will be exposed…”
With a confident smile, Leylin brought out some materials from his bag in order to alter the villa’s spell formations.
By the time that Leylin had hurriedly finished his work, it was already midnight.
Leylin then placed a warning spell outside his bedroom, before reclining on his soft bed.
The effort of constantly running while covering his back to prevent assassination attempts from the Lilytell Family had caused Leylin to be mentally exhausted.
Now that he had finally reached his destination, even the Lilytell family couldn’t do anything inside the Nightless City. Leylin felt like a huge mountain had been lifted from his shoulders, allowing him to relax completely.
“Speaking of which, I only have these things left ever since I left the academy…”
Leylin opened the package and emptied its contents onto the bed.
A silver colored metallic hoop, a couple of separately packaged flowers and such, and an assortment of different materials and magic crystals appeared in front of Leylin.
First, Leylin brought out the metallic hoop.
This was the spoil of his fight against the clone. It was a counterfeit Hoop of Imprisonment recovered from the body of the Lilytell elder’s clone. Even if it was a counterfeit, this magic artifact was still a middle-grade artifact. At that time, if it wasn’t for the fact that Leylin had activated his Fallen Star Pendant, he might not have been able to escape the confinement of this magic artifact.
According to the A.I. Chip, there were no hidden traps, so Leylin took it for his own use. He was planning to later alter it, or just simply sell it.
Ever since Leylin’s advancement, the A.I. Chip also received a huge upgrade.
A lot of things that he couldn’t discern back when he was an acolyte were now laid bare before him.
That Lilytell elder was simply at the level of a rank 1 Magus, and couldn’t hide anything from Leylin.
“Also, these ingredients need to be used soon. I’ve kept them for too long, and their medicinal properties are decreasing…”
Leylin looked at the several remaining stalks of plants and flowers which were under some preservation spells.
This was his loot from the Dylan Gardens. Previously, he had harvested them in a hurry, so their current appearance was not too pretty. Afterwards, he had been on the run, so he could not find much time to add more layers of preservation and maintenance spells. Hence, they currently were in a rather withered and dried up state.
A black diary lay quietly at the side. It was the Book of Giant Serpent, and even now Leylin had to flip through it every once in a while.
Although he had recorded everything with the A.I. Chip, Leylin still felt that the methods of the great Magus Serholm did not just end with the writings.
Moreover, the materials used to make the Book of Giant Serpent were extremely strange. The amount of information it could store was alarming, which gave Leylin the urge to conduct more research on it.
What was left was the Fallen Star Pendant hanging on Leylin’s neck, as well as some magic crystals and some other miscellaneous items.
Everything that was present, if added together, was all of what Leylin had.
“A rank 1 Warlock wishing to advance must never lack in the meditation and bloodlines. If not, just based on hard work, it is simply too difficult. One requires the aid of resources!”
High-grade meditation technique required precious resources as a complement and they were extremely precious. Some even existed only back in ancient times, and they have been extinct by now.
Leylin summed up his wealth and realised that he would at most lead a comfortable life in Nightless City. If he thought of relying on what he currently had to obtain enough resources to advance into a rank 2 Warlock, it was no difference from a pipe dream.
Subconsciously, he looked at his current stats.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 1 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 7.1, Agility: 6.7, Vitality: 8.5, Spiritual Force: 28.4, Magic Power: 28 (Magic Power is in synchronisation with Spiritual Force). Elemental essence conversion: 1%. Status: Healthy]
Every day, Leylin did not neglect his cultivation in a high-grade meditation technique. The Kemoyin’s Pupil was indeed a well-suited meditation technique for his bloodline. Leylin could feel that his spiritual force was growing at a steady pace daily.
As for the progress of the elemental essence conversion, it was not that satisfying.
“According to the records of the meditation technique, the conversion progress is more difficult the higher it is. The stages of a semi-converted elemental Magus of 50% and a Magus with an elemental essence conversion of 80% especially are two bottlenecks. I wonder how many Magi had been obstructed from advancement because of this!”
Leylin’s face was somewhat solemn, “Right now my spiritual force could be increased with a high-grade meditation technique, and my bloodline is extremely pure. These two aspects do not require further planning for now. The only thing holding me back right now is the progress of the elemental essence conversion!”
The breakthrough of a high-grade meditation technique will often lead a Magus to breakthrough automatically. Right now Leylin had 3 levels of the Kemoyin’s Pupil meditation technique, so his spiritual force progress would just be a breeze.
As for the aspect of bloodlines, he had obtained the purified blood of an ancient creature, the Giant Kemoyin Serpent. This creature, in its mature stages, could reach the level of a rank 4 Magus — a Morning Star Magus.
Right now Leylin was just a rank 1 Warlock, and with respect to the concentration of his bloodline — it could most likely surpass a pre-pubescent Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Every day, he could feel the strength of the bloodline affecting his body. According to Leylin’s estimations, his second transition stage ever since obtaining the bloodline was soon approaching.
These two aspects left Leylin extremely satisfied. The one thing slowing down his progress was the elemental essence conversion.
The elemental essence conversion progress seemed to have something to do with the aptitude of a Magus’ soul. As for Leylin, he only had a third-grade aptitude, which was a common, middle tiered aptitude.
The higher the aptitude of a soul, the faster the conversion would naturally become. People like Leylin could only slowly improve through the passing of time.
Leylin was, however, on the wanted list of a Magus family, so naturally, he did not want such a slow progress.
Apart from relying on time to progress, some precious ingredients could also hasten the progress of the elemental essence conversion.
However, Leylin looked at the ingredients on his bed.
“The Book of Giant Serpent must never be sold! The Fallen Star Pendant and Hoop of Imprisonment are rather handy for me at this stage, and are also magic artifacts which I’m lacking, so I cannot sell them too.”
“The only choice left are these plants and the amassed magic crystals from before!”
Leylin was somewhat frustrated.
These items would at the most exchange for only a few of the resources he needed. His current situation was akin to pouring a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood.
Right now, he was reminiscing about the Dylan Gardens.
That was a secret plane left behind by a rank 4 Warlock. Just the harvest each year was worth a million magic crystals! With it, Leylin would not have to worry about the resources needed to advance to a rank 2 Warlock.
It was a pity, however, that the Dylan Gardens was destroyed by a self-destruct formation left by the great Magus Serholm.
“Perhaps, he did not wish for his inheritor to obtain too many items, for fear of losing the will for improvement!” Leylin surmised.