Well, he simply needed to never betray the sect. And complete one mission per year instead of having to run around everywhere all the time!
Kai would be stupid not to take such an offer, and for what? Pride? There was nothing wrong with taking on a master and becoming their disciple. In fact, gaining a powerful master was something to take pride in.
What else? Freedom? Why would the dead need freedom? After all, in this world, if you are not strong enough, you are bound to die sooner or later.
"Alright. I will gladly become your disciple… only…"
"Only?" the Green-robed Mage raised an eyebrow, thinking she had misjudged his character of being utterly practical for someone who might have actually had his own principles on the inside. Not a moment later did this confusion vanish like mist in front of strong winds.
"Who are you?"
A smile appeared on the Green-robed Mage as she said with a satisfied tone, "Aria. You can call me Madam Aria, or just Madam when outsiders are not around."
"Alright. So… how do we do this?" he asked hesitantly.
"It is already done. Here, your rewards. Also, if you inject your Spiritual Energy into that necklace of yours, or into this ring, you will be able to look into the contents inside the Spacial Tools, and if you select what you wish to take out from inside, it will be pulled out and appear in your hands, if you are using the ring, and in front of your chest if you are using the necklace."
Madam Aria handed a ring which looked exactly the same as Kai's old Bluestone Sect ring, except it now had an engraving of some sort on the inside of the ring. Kai did not know what it was, but he still put it on.
"Everything I promised is inside it. You can collect your monthly Mana stones from the reception at the Battle hall, after all I am an elder of the battle hall. Anyways, just tell me which element you intend on learning. Based on the fact that you did not use a single spell while fighting that Rank 1 mage, I assume you have yet to learn one."
"…" Kai became silent for quite a long time. He was not sure what to say. If he told her the truth, she would likely disown him immediately, and he could forget about all the benefits he just agreed to.
But he did not feel like lying, since that would inevitably come back to bite him in the future.
His face gradually stiffened as he began to think about how to answer this, until he finally recalled how Madam Aria had behave till now.
"I'm not sure you will like the answer to this. Are you sure you want to hear it from me right now, or be surprised when you learn about it once I become A rank 1 mage?" Ka tried to present his teasing words in as humble and formal of a tone he could think about.
The mage in blue robes finally opened his eyes and glanced at Kai, his gaze no longer looking down on him, but rather looking at a curiously elusive and rare creature.
'He has guts… I'll give him that. And the worst part is… It will likely work!' the blue-robed mage sighed as he looked over at Aria, who was already grinning upon hearing Kai's words.
"Alright then. I will ask you then. For now, go and prepare. You will need to train the meditation method very diligently, but you will need to spend a lot more time on deducing your spells. I can already see that you have enough Spiritual Energy to learn a Rank 0 spell. Focus on the spells more and you should be able to reach your goal quickly."
"Thank you." Kai kneeled down on one knee and bowed with his hand on his chest, as this was the noble's way of giving respect which Pops had taught him. According to him, female Magi liked it when male magi greeted them like this, so this was his most logical course of action.
However, before he could do anything further, the blue-robed man had already appeared in front of him, his face full of rage as countless icicles flew right at him at blinding speeds.
Almost at the same time, a green barrier of Life energy appeared around Kai as Aria blocked the Blue-robed Mage's attacks.
"Max! Calm down. He is but a child who does not know what he is doing."
"How could he not?! Every mage knows what-"
"Look at his face! Does that look like the fae of someone who knows?"
"Of-" Max, the blue-robed man hesitated for a moment, but kept his attack up as icicles smashed against the barriers hoping to find a gap.
"See? Child, do you know what you were going to do just now?"
"Yes. Pops said that Lady Magi like it when boys did this. Why?" Kai replied in a hurried tone.
"…" As soon as Kai finished, the bombardment of icicles stopped, as the ones present in the air fell to the ground, without anything controlling them anymore.
"Child. What you were going to do, is a ritual. If a normal human were to perform it, there is nothing wrong. However, if a mage does it to another Mage, it is considered an act of pledging your loyalty to them. Loyalty that cannot be taken back. To a mage of the same gender, it signifies trust, but to those of the opposite gender, it shows… love. Yeah, rather odd of a thing among those like us, but it does happen now and then."
"Oh…" Kai mumbled as he turned his gaze towards the blue-robed man. He had already sensed something between the two, especially the way the old mage looked at Madam Aria.
"So, Sir Max is in love with Madam Aria, and therefore got infuriated when I did this… Makes sense. But the question then arises, does Madam Aria also…?" Kai turned his gaze towards her, before turning his head, followed swiftly by his body and he ran out of the room like a frightened rabbit, his heart racing as thought it was about to burst out of his chest.
'Did she want to kill me or thank me?' Kai mused while racing back to his temporary dorm, checking the items he received along the way.