261 Inherited Part 2 (2/2)
Regardless, Saleen had already paved his own road as a mage. In fact, he was already an archmage. Perhaps he will even surpass me one day, Jason thought to himself. Saleen gently caressed the ring that Jason had handed over to him. The object was unusually heavily, and yet, Saleen could not tell which materials had been used to manufacture this ring. Jason had wiped away his spiritual imprint on the ring, leaving a space for Saleen to engrave his own, which he did. As soon as he did that, Saleen felt the ring become lighter. However, he was unable to unlock the space within the ring.
”Just wait until you've reached grade-5. Only then will you be able to utilize it. By the way Saleen, what do you think of Lex as a person?” Jason said, popping the question out of the blue, stunning his student for a moment. Seeing that Saleen was hesitating, as if he was debating what to say to his mentor, Jason added on, ”Just tell me how you honestly feel.”
”She's a bit too idealistic. She has big dreams, and is far more talented than I am. If she was not from royal blood and did not think about achieving these irrelevant goals, maybe she'd become an excellent mage one day,” Saleen said honestly.
”Yes, she is idealistic to even think about gleaning magical knowledge from everyone that she meets. That's just impossible. Even most humans in the First Dynasty were unable to learn magic. However, you can help her. It isn't a bad thing to help her, but you must solve a problem first,” Jason said.
”What problem?” Saleen asked.
”Lex has one of the highest ranks in the royal empire. However, she is a woman. If she ever gets married one day, her man might just try to control her, from her movements to even her assets. At that point in time, you'll be in serious danger. If you cannot marry her, don't let anyone else get to her,” Jason said.
”Oh? Is that really so hard to do that you have to warn me?” Saleen asked
”Not at all, my child. Just scare off any male who looks interested in her. Don't you know how to use force if they don't listen? Anything you can't resolve, just leave it to me. Anything that I can't resolve will be passed on to the mages on Sregl Island,” Jason said calmly. However, Saleen detected a murderous tone under his calm facade.
Saleen did not know whether to laugh or cry. He knew Lex too well. It was nearly impossible for her to fancy anyone. Even the most eligible males from the Cloudflow royal family were rejected. Saleen just could not think of anyone more eligible to ask for her hand in marriage. He also could not think of anyone else that would make Lex fall head over heels for him. Plus, if Lex found out about his plans, she would be hopping mad.
It was almost as though Jason could read Saleen's mind, because the next thing he said was, ”Saleen, this matter concerns both Sregl Island and Lex, and whether both parties will work together in the future. If you don't see to this matter properly, don't blame me if I take back the rights to the interdimensional space. I just can't trust an outsider in our current situation.”
Saleen protested, ”But Teacher, Lex has the rights to fifty percent of the interdimensional space. I shouldn't be interfering with what she does with it.”
”Saleen, have you ever considered its worth? What if people get close to Lex because they are coveting a piece of the interdimensional space? Believe me, they will not just want half of it. They will want everything. You can trust Lex, but you can't entrust everything to her. Do you know why I wanted to wait for the capture of the elf of the fire elements before I even brought up this topic? It's because the interdimensional space is worth too much. I would not even dare mess with it unless I had strong powers,” Jason explained.
Saleen mulled over Jason's words for a while before asking himself, If Lex were to have any suitors, how would I feel? Instantly, his blood boiled at the thought of Lex being with another man.
Although he felt puzzled as to why he felt this way, he did not try to find a reason for it. Instead, he simply nodded and told Jason, ”Yes Teacher, I'll do my best.”
Seeing that Saleen had agreed to his proposal, Jason slumped his shoulders in relief. He was merely taking precautions. If Lex ever married another man someday, her relationship with Saleen would never be as close as the one she had with that man. Once the relationship between Lex and Saleen reached that point, they would not work together like they did before. There would be more scheming, calculations, and possibly underhanded means.
The fact that Saleen had agreed so readily meant that he had some interest in Lex. Jason wanted to ensure that Saleen's interest in her could blossom into something beyond just platonic friendship. Once they became closer than ever, it would be very hard for a third party to interfere with their matters.
”Hand me your calabash,” Jason instructed. Saleen complied, not knowing what his mentor was going to do with it. The once pale-yellow calabash was now peppered with many azure-green magical patterns. Saleen noticed the patterns becoming smoother and rounder every second, as though they were naturally flowing on the calabash itself. Jason caressed it gently as he sighed, ”What a shame. At least these magical patterns aren't too bad.”
As he spoke, blue flames suddenly erupted from his hands. They were surprisingly cold to the touch. The calabash seemed to shrink under the presence of the flames. The flames caused the magic patterns on the surface of the calabash to seep deep into it and only ceased burning once the flames followed the magical patterns into the calabash.
”Try again, Saleen,” Jason urged as he returned the calabash to his student. Saleen felt as if the calabash had become even heavier than before, almost as if the magical patterns that he had refined had become one with the calabash. Almost immediately, he noticed the water elements that were present on the surface starting to react.