53 Nut Mercenary Part 2 (1/2)

After dinner, everyone became more familiar with one another. The arrangement of the Nut Mercenary was an interesting one. There were no assassins and no swordsmen who specialized in thin swords. Aside from the mage, everyone was clad in heavy armor.

Out of the eight of them, two used a heavy sword, four used an eight-sided sword, one used a spear, and then there was the mage. This arrangement would have been terrible for a low-grade mercenary regiment. Even for a powerful team like the Nut Mercenary, it was lacking because there were no people suitable for being the scout.

Everyone’s armor was heavy, but wouldn’t it also be strange for the mage to scout at the front?

Saleen was not someone who was chatty, at least not in comparison to Aini. Aini was chatting away happily with Flamenco and the others while he could only discuss some technical problems with Walnut to pass the time. Sika couldn’t speak the Qin language and Nailisi couldn’t even speak the common language. The mercenaries soon realized this problem after speaking to them for a few sentences and had been quick to give up.

”Mage Saleen. If you don’t mind me asking, who is your teacher?”

”Just call me Saleen.” Saleen paused before sighing. ”My teacher won’t let me speak his name until I become a grand mage.”

”Oh.” Walnut didn’t find this strange, as many mages had this rule when they passed on their magic lineage. If they did not reach certain standards, the teacher would not acknowledge them as students. This was a means of encouraging the student to improve themselves. Walnut took no notice of it and said, ”Saleen, why haven’t I seen you use a magic staff?”

Saleen was a little embarrassed. He had possessed a magic staff but had thrown it away. Since leaving the Chaotic Swamp and having handicapped one of his hands, he had no need for a magic staff.

A magic staff was used to increase the effects of magic and preserve some mental strength as well. Saleen didn’t know much magic and had mastered all the magic that he knew. He didn’t have much need for a magic staff, and since he had a much higher mental strength than other mages of his grade, he hadn’t thought of buying a new staff at Aini’s shop.

”I haven’t found a magic staff that is suitable. Anyway, Walnut, who is your teacher?”

Saleen wasn’t familiar with the pedigree of mages. Even though Jason had owned a lot of books, none of them had touched on this.

”I have no teacher.” Walnut seemed a little dejected.

”You’re impressive. If I didn’t have a teacher, I wouldn’t be anything now,” Saleen comforted Walnut. For a mage without guidance, it was almost impossible to become a grand mage. Walnut was gifted. If he had a teacher, he might have been similar to Jason and become a grand mage at the age of thirty.

”I’m too poor. I can’t afford a teacher.” Walnut caught a glance of the white crystal ring on Saleen’s hand and felt conflicted. He had mistaken Saleen for a rich kid, thinking that was how he afforded a magic teacher. Looking at his ring, it had to be worth tens of thousands of gold coins.

”How much did it cost to hire a teacher?” Saleen was confused. Jason had never talked to him about receiving money. He had even given him money.

”Any registered student has to pay a hundred thousand gold coins every year.”

”So much!” Saleen was shocked. He was very sensitive to money. A hundred thousand gold coins? Even Viscount Gugger from Ceylon City couldn’t produce that much gold. And that was only a year’s worth of fees! Moreover, this was for a registered student. Saleen didn’t know his teacher’s fees, but he did know what a registered student was.

Before Jason had acknowledged him, he had been treated the same as a registered student. Jason had not given him any guidance and had let him figure things out on his own. After he had gained the recognition of Jason, only then did he have a chance to attend weekly magic tests. Sometimes he would pass on some wisdom to Saleen and Saleen could ask him anything that he hadn’t been able to understand from the books.

This difference was too big.

Seeing Saleen become shocked, Walnut was confused. Could it be that his teacher was passing on their skills for free? At this thought, Walnut couldn’t help but display his jealousy on his face.

It wasn’t an obvious expression, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Saleen had been a sensitive person since he was young, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

Aini, for one, would have never had this expression. In that instant, Saleen felt a growing distance between him and Walnut. Jealousy was poison to a mage, and even though Walnut was gifted, his disposition wasn’t firm enough. Probably because of this, no grand mage had taken a fancy to him. To many mages, money was a small matter.

My success has nothing to do with you.

This was a saying from a very powerful mage. This mage had been born a commoner, and without any guidance from anyone, he had reached Grade 9 before he was forty.

Saleen had the fortune of reading the magic diary of this mage when he was a youth and had nothing but respect for the personality of this mage. Despite coming from a poor background, he had persevered and gone down the path of magic one step at a time. Such was the life journey of that mage.

Saleen had not seen anything worth flaunting in the diary, nor any words of grievances.

Even though Saleen felt disgusted with Walnut, they still needed to spend the next three months together and hence he did not display it. Instead, he said enthusiastically, ”If a chance comes up in the future, I’ll introduce my teacher to you.”

”Really?” Walnut was ecstatic. This was precisely the reason he had gotten close to Saleen.