204 Devil’s Horn Part 1 (2/2)
”Okay.” One of the grade-6 mage immediately took out a book. This book contained information on all of the mages on the ship. After flipping a few pages, he finally found the information.
”Sir, the woman’s surname is Grukos. Could she be the viscountess of the empire?”
”I am afraid so, but what is she doing in Alchemy City?”
”Training purposes. After Emperor Chanake died, the Bitter Water Prefecture has been surrounded by the prince’s men, so there hasn’t been much progress.”
”Does she need money?”
”No, the Bitter Water Prefecture is very wealthy. Although it is not as rich as Alchemy City, it is still able to support the lives of more than one hundred mages.”
”Who are the people beside her?”
”Saleen Metatrin, a citizen of Bitter Water County, but from Sikeqinya. He is a grade-4 mage. Daniel Kan, from Tanggulasi…”
”From Tanggulasi?”
”He is a grade-3 death mage.”
”Oh.” Just now, a burst of murderous vibes had exploded out of that sorcerer when he had heard that Daniel was from Tanggulasi. The people of the Elemental Hand should not have made the mistake of allowing people from Tanggulasi to get on the ship, especially during this period of uncertainty. However, since the person was a death mage, it was perfectly understandable. Currently, the Tanggulasi Empire was sparing no effort in capturing all the death mages they could find. Even the pope was offering huge rewards for them.
”Sir Juno, will they cause problems for us?”
”No, I will be able to handle that woman. Furthermore, she belongs to the Grukos family. They still have to rely on us to defend the southeastern part of the empire. She shouldn’t have any special plans. Once we get back, inform the people of the Elemental Hand.”
However, the sorcerer called Juno could never have been more wrong. The concealment ability of Lex’s magic robe was too strong. Now that the multiple colors had disappeared and the tiago’s hair had been added, no one would be able to identify Lex’s grade unless Lex revealed it willingly. If Lex really wanted to create trouble, she could easily sink this ship.
”For this mission…”
”Don’t let her execute the dangerous tasks. After all, she is of royal blood, and if anything goes wrong, there will be trouble.” The sorcerer closed his eyes, but he did not continue meditating. Rather, he was thinking. When I was grade-5, could I have done that?
No problems had ever surfaced in such hunting missions in the past, but this did not mean that there would be no problems in the future. After all, the hunting was conducted at sea, and moreover, the magic beast in question was grade-6. If special equipment was not available, the grade-7 sorcerer also would not dare proclaim that he would be able to kill the finless whale.
Lex and Saleen still did not know that their insignificant actions had caused them to receive the safer tasks. Besides wanting to maximize their time by training, Lex and Saleen had also wanted to take charge within the small group.
There had to be someone calling the shots in this five-man group. The rest of the mages did not want to lose out to Lex and Saleen, so they stopped talking as well. Some of them even took out blank scrolls and started filling them up.
A situation like that would only occur within the region of Alchemy City. In other cities, mages would always choose to fill out their scrolls in a safe location.
Saleen secretly observed his surroundings. He discovered that only two mages were meditating. These two mages surely possessed high-level guidelines on meditation, for that was why they were not afraid of being disturbed. Mages who were able to practice in Alchemy City were definitely not weaklings. Be that as it may, out of these sixty mages including Saleen and Lex, only four mages possessed perfect guidelines for meditation.
No wonder the only warning which Saleen’s teacher had given him had been regarding the meditation process. If Saleen had imparted his guidelines for meditation without any discernment, Jason would employ the most extreme of methods to get them back.
But why was this the case in the Bitter Water Prefecture too? Did Lex not want to bring glory and honor to magic?
Good guidelines for meditation would allow a mage to boost their mental power slowly alongside obvious signs of growth. Even if Saleen had not had help from his clan badge, his mental power would not have been any weaker than that of other mages of the same grade. The Bitter Water Prefecture provided various magic knowledge and cheap materials, yet was not willing to impart guidelines on meditation.
Everyone on the ship was training. Even the swordsmen were honing their sword auras. When night had fallen, the ship crew then delivered food to everyone. As Devil’s Horn was still one thousand miles away, the ship would require one more day and one more night to reach it, yet not a single cabin with beds had been prepared. No matter how comfortable a chair was, a person would grow tired of sitting eventually. Saleen stood up and walked up front.
Looking out of the window, the ocean seemed to be boundless. Saleen felt an unparalleled freedom in his heart. This feeling was not even attainable in alchemy tower. The moon rose above the surface of the sea, causing the waves to glisten with a silver glow.
Would genuine freedom be attainable only if one lived in a ship on the ocean? For the first time in his life, Saleen felt a strong desire. Sailing on the ocean, without any restraints whatsoever. This dream seemed so near, yet so far in reality.
If one lived on the ocean, he would have to provide for the sailors, fight magic beasts and pirates, and come across navies from other countries. If a storm occurred, the ship would also be shredded into pieces no matter how sturdy it was.