14 Trouble with a Lesser Nobleman Part 1 (1/2)

Luckily, Gugger did not keep Saleen waiting for long. Although he was also from Ceylon City, Saleen had not seen him before.

Gugger looked to be about thirty-four or thirty-five years old, with a face typical of a nobleman from the North. He had a wide forehead and his brown eyes were neither large nor deep-set, unlike that of those from the South. His blond hair was tied in a wavy fashion that resembled a flame, making him appear even younger.

He was more than a head taller than Saleen and almost 1.9 meters in height. His thick shoulders were quite obviously not made of fat, and his wide palms did not appear delicate. Both were testaments that the viscount had not given up his pursuit of the martial arts and practiced it occasionally.

”Mage Saleen!” Gugger warmly enveloped Saleen in a hug. Saleen frowned. He realized what that strange smell had been; it was Gugger’s cologne.

”Lord Viscount.” Saleen took two steps back and saluted.

The two of them sat down. Gugger said, ”Sorry to have kept you waiting. I was meeting some people from the South.”

”Lord Viscount, please be forthcoming about what you require of me. The payment you are offering is too much. I do not understand.” Saleen wanted to dispose of the formalities; he wanted those few thousand gold coins, no matter what it took.

After a quick evaluation, Viscount Gugger decided not to beat around the bush with Saleen. He said, ”Then I shall be direct. I plan to eliminate pirates during the winter. Your teacher was not willing to come along so I decided to seek your help instead.”

Saleen laughed. ”My Lord, you must be pulling my leg.”

Gugger said solemnly, ”I know you are still an apprentice, but I am not asking you to kill any enemies this time. I just hope you can make some restorative water for the sailors on board. You may not have learned Grade 1 magic yet and I should not make this request of you. But with the troops at sea, many will be sick or even die during these two to three months. Hence, I hope you can help.”

Saleen kept quiet. He was a Grade 3 apprentice and because of his strong mental power, he was just barely able to learn a Grade 1 spell. He had intended to learn the elementary Fireball skill, the most commonly used method of attack among Grade 1 magic.

Restorative water was a type of auxiliary magic, and about one hundred and twenty grams of medicinal water could be produced. Whether ingested or applied, it worked well, and while it did not work exceptionally fast, it had no aftereffects and was harmless.

If Saleen were a Grade 1 mage, such a request would not be a tall order. But Saleen was only a mere apprentice and only could learn a single Grade 1 spell. Before he became a qualified mage, he would have no chance of learning another Grade 1 spell after this.

If a mage skipped a grade to learn these spells, it would determine the direction of magic the mage progressed in during their future advancement. The earlier one learned a spell, the more familiar one would be with it. Upon advancement, the speed of release for the spell would increase.

”Saleen, I know this is asking too much of an apprentice, hence you must accept this payment for the request.” Gugger retrieved that small box, causing Saleen’s heart to stir again.

”Why not hire a holy master?” Saleen had to question further.

”Senior holy masters are too costly. Besides, divine spells need to be released on the spot. If any problems were to arise, they may incur the wrath of the Holy See. It would be different for you. You can stay with me on the largest battleship and won’t be at any risk.”

”When do we start?” Saleen took the box indifferently, and stuffed it into his leather bag without opening it.

Gugger heaved a sigh of relief, and said with smile, ”The end of the year. It is still early. Today we have two guests visiting from other cities. Please stay for a meal.”

Saleen was relieved as well. The money was finally in his hands; it had been unbearable for him up until now.

”Saleen…”

”Lord?”

”I ordered an outfit to be made for you. Would you like to change into it?”

Saleen looked at the robe on him, and finally understood. As the clothing was not made-to-measure for him, it was too big and worn out. Jason did not pay attention to such things. To him, people would respect you no matter what you wore. If Saleen were to stay for dinner, he would need to show the viscount proper respect.

”Mage Saleen, follow us,” the two maidservants giggled as they led Saleen out of the small living hall.

Following the maidservants to the guest room, Saleen saw that the clothing prepared for him had been placed on the table. He shooed the two maidservants out, not allowing them to wait on him. Although the fifteen year old youth had some urges after looking at their bosoms, there were more important matters at hand.

After bolting the door, Saleen immediately retrieved the small box from his leather bag and opened it.

Light from the nuclei shot out, temporarily blinding Saleen. After putting the nuclei into the money bag he had prepared and attaching the bag to his waist, Saleen took out the stack of Qin Empire bank notes from the box.

Each note was worth a thousand gold coins, and there were five of them in total.