205 Devil’s Horn Part 2 (1/2)

Quietly, Lex crept up behind Saleen and asked, ”What are you thinking of?”

The fragrance from Lex’s body mixed with the faint fishy smell from the seawater, turning into an intense smell which filled the lungs. Saleen declared honestly, ”I want a boat so that I can live a life without restraints.”

Lex laughed gently, ”Hey, that won’t do. You still have many things to do in the Bitter Water Prefecture.”

”I can’t really do much. Aside from my rapid training, the only other important aspect of myself would be the good teacher that I have.” Saleen gazed at the ocean, and for the first time ever, he said whatever was on his mind.

”Do you feel that if it was not for your teacher, I would not have allowed you to leave that place?” Lex did not directly mention the hell of god’s punishment, as she was not sure whether other people would be able to hear their conversation.

”Not necessarily. It’s just that judging by your intentions now, you want to have me oversee many matters which I don’t actually enjoy doing.”

”Father talked to me about you in the past,” Lex suddenly claimed.

Saleen had never expected that Emperor Chanake would have spoken about him. Saleen had been full of admiration for the emperor and was very curious about what the emperor had thought of him.

”My father said that you were a man without great ambitions, but you would be able to accomplish great things. Even though you are only a grade-4 mage now, your future achievements will definitely surpass mine. Some people place their goals too far away. That is why they do not accomplish much throughout their lives. But you will complete whatever task is in front of you with great tenacity, and every step you take will be full of confidence and solidity.”

”Surpass you? It won’t be that easy,” Saleen replied honestly. Saleen viewed Lex as his goal simply because Lex was around the same age as him. However, Lex possessed a big head start, so even though Saleen had tried his best to build up his foundation, he still felt that there were many areas where he was inferior to Lex.

”After grade-6, the effect of money on magic training does not do much anymore. You also know that a grade-7 magic nucleus can’t be acquired with money.”

Saleen remained silent because he knew that Lex was speaking the truth. For this trip to Alchemy City, both of them had held the motive of finding out how Alchemy City had managed to support the training of so many sorcerers.

Now, both of them vaguely knew that Alchemy City was simply using the simplest of all methods – plundering.

Alchemy City was the holy ground for magic. One could purchase whatever magic materials and knowledge they sought from this place. If a foreign mage wanted to acquire these items, then they would have to carry out certain tasks for Alchemy City. Some examples included hunting, collecting, and mining. These tasks took up a lot of time and some were even life threatening. Hence, Alchemy City allocated these tasks to the foreigners, and the city even collected a fee from them.

Was this logical?

Perhaps not. But year after year, throngs of hopeful mages still decided to come to Alchemy City.

”It would be difficult for you to lead a life like that,” Lex continued speaking gently. A feeling of fatigue welled up in Saleen’s heart, but he quickly brushed away the strange emotions he was experiencing.

”Lex, that is not difficult at all. Just that I will need to let you take over some matters temporarily, as I don’t have the time to start on them. When I am more free, I will get a boat to go one round around the Myers Mainland, then…”

”Then what will you do?”

”Then I will keep moving towards the end of the ocean. I would like to see what is at the end of this plane.”

”That is… such a romantic thought.”

”I think you mean unrealistic, right?” Saleen smiled.

”To a mage, nothing is unrealistic. Do you know what I want to do?”

”You want to locate my teacher as soon as possible.”

”Hey.” Lex did not deny it. Before coming to Alchemy City, she had thought too simply about things. However, after coming to Alchemy City, she had discovered that the city did not belong to an individual and actually belonged to a group of people. Power struggles existed wherever people did, and even Alchemy City was no exception.

”I was just thinking about whether I would still be considered a mage if this goes on.” Saleen was a little emotional, completely unlike how someone his age typically behaved.

”Then are you still going to help me or not?” Lex changed the topic.

”Help? Of course I am helping!” Saleen shifted his body sideways to make a bit of room for Lex to stand in front of the window. Then, he whispered, ”I can’t let you have all the benefits of that thing.” The thing that Saleen was referring to was, of course, the hell of god’s punishment.

”Unfortunately, the Bitter Water Prefecture is situated deep in the empire’s land. If the prefecture had an entrance at sea like Alchemy Port, a navy could be established and people would be able to traverse freely just like they can in Cloudflow.” Lex ignored Saleen’s banter since she was very clear on his intentions.

”There are two ports in the north, but they aren’t as convenient as those in Alchemy City, so those places might not be ideal. However, the Phoenix Duchy is situated in the north. Isn’t there a large piece of no man’s land?” Saleen shared his thoughts as he recalled that there was an empty piece of land indicated on maps of the Myers Mainland.