Each Low-Grade Yellow Magic Stone was just three Universal Credits outside the academy, so one could only imagine how cheap it was inside the Academy itself, which usually had lower prices. Of course, those prices were charged in Academy Credits, the academy's own currency.
There were rules, though. To prevent students from taking advantage of this system, all the training resources acquired in the Academy can only be used by the Academy Students and inside the Academy Grounds. For example, Alvin didn't bring a single Low-Grade Yellow Magic when he visited his father. Instead, when he tested Linfel's ability, he used his father's Magic Stones.
The Low-Grade Yellow Magic Stones were truly cheap, costing just a single Academy Credit each. That was another reason for all new Maguses to join it. Even if you were for a famous family or some other organization, you still wanted to take advantage of the academy's several benefits.
*plin, plin, plin, plin...*
Suddenly, hundreds of Low-Grade Yellow Magic Stones fell to the ground. There was one thing different about these ones compared to those outside. They all had the academy's mark inside them. It was pretty much impossible to sell them outside without anyone knowing. Obviously, another security measure so no one would take advantage of the academy's rules.
"That's quite a lot," Linfel couldn't help but comment.
Alvin nodded without caring much. "As little as the payments for menial tasks are, they are still big enough so you can afford Low-Grade or maybe even some Medium-Grade Yellow Magic Stones. I accumulated a lot of them so I can use these stones for a long time. There are more if you want too."
Linfel didn't waste time and immediately took ten of those stones, absorbing all their Low-Grade Yellow Magic Energy. The cleaning process lasted only a few seconds. Alvin looked at Linfel's core, and it was easy to see a lot of Yellow-Magic Energy escaping his body, just like the last time. That was all the impure Magic Energy, which even Linfel didn't have much use for.
Linfel then took another ten and repeated the process. This continued a few times until he spent a total of forty-seven Low-Grade Yellow Magic Stones. "Alright, seems like this is the number."
"Number of what?" Alvin and Felia asked.
"Regarding concentration. I needed to use forty-seven of these yellow stones to accumulate the same amount of Low-Grade Red Magic Energy," Linfel explained.
"Forty-Seven!" Alvin and Felia were delighted. "That's the same as forty-seven Academy Credits! This is the greatest bargain of all times!"
Only now, Linfel thought about it. "By the way, I saw the price of Low-Grade Red Magic Stones outside the academy with those Universal Credits. But how much does a Low-Grade Red Magic Stone cost in the academy itself?" He still remembers the cheapest Alvin showed him was 1352 Universal Credits.
"Here? 500 exactly. Outside, the price of the Magic Stones varies according to the market fluctuations. However, the academy always keeps the prices static inside its grounds," Felia spoke. "By the way, Medium-Grade Yellows are 35 Academy Credits, while High-Grade yellows go for 125."
Linfel was surprised. "So you will be able to get a 90% discount from now on with me here. Hahaha!" Right after, Linfel connected with Alvin. "Alright, let's use the Master Familiar Connection. That is the best way I can share this Red Magic Energy without wasting anything."
It was then that Alvin remembered something. "Right! What about Felia? You can't use Master Familiar Connection with her, so how will you give Red Magic Energy to her core?"
"It will need to be the normal process. Linfel will release his Red Magic while I absorb as much as I can before it completely dissipates," Felia explained.
Linfel found that option terrible, though. "Why go through so much pain? Let's both just use Master Familiar Connection with Alvin. That way, the Red Magic Energy I send into his Core can be taken into your core while the connection is active. See? No wastage... Well, there will probably be some waste of energy since you can't reach a 100% MFC with Alvin, but it will be several times better than if I just release the energy in the air."
Unfortunately, Alvin shook his head. "It doesn't work. A Magus can't connect to more than one Familiar at once. The burden to the soul is tremendous. That's why you won't see any maguses, at least none lower than Level Six Maguses, using more than one Master Familiar Connection at once. Even those at Level Six and above will refrain from doing so unless it is absolutely necessary. The risks of damaging the soul and even dying are too high."
"Even less of a problem, then," Linfel crossed his arms, feeling confident. "After all, I'm not a Familiar. Our connection isn't a real connection to start with. With you and Felia, you truly achieve a synergy between each other, a kind of merging property. In my case, however, I'm basically matching Alvin's Soul and Magic Energy Frequencies. Your soul shouldn't even notice I'm there while you still gain all the benefits of a Master Familiar Connection."
"This..." Alvin didn't know what to say.
"Master, the implications of something like this are..." Felia was just as shocked.
Linfel wanted to start. "Stop wasting time already. You need to sleep, but I don't. Once you two go to bed, I'm going out to explore, so let's get over with it."
Felia and Alvin felt a chill in their souls with Linfel's words. Perhaps the world would be over once they woke up the next day. "Please don't! I still wish to live!" Alvin pleaded.
"Where is your trust in me?" Linfel asked, feeling wronged.
"It has never existed to start with," Felia and Alvin spoke at the same time.
Linfel was speechless. "H-Hmph! I didn't need it anyway." He then approached Felia and Alvin. "Come on, let's get started."
Alvin and Felia were still skeptical about Linfel's idea of using the Master Familiar Connection at the same time as they were doing it. So, to make sure things wouldn't go out of control, Felia and Alvin did it first.
One might wonder, since Linfel could match Alvin's Soul and Magic Energy Frequencies, why couldn't he do it with Felia. The rules of the Master Familiar Connection didn't seem to apply to him anyway. The truth is, he probably could. It's just he didn't mention it. Linfel wanted to see if he could achieve a Master Familiar Connection while someone else as doing it.
Felia's core changed into the shape of two interlaced bracelets, with a few little chains connected between the bracelet and five rings on Alvin's fingers. Their Magic Energy merged, and Alvin gained full control over Felia's reserves.
Linfel nodded and began to connect with Alvin, too. Well, he was just matching his Soul and Magic frequency now that he was connected to Felia. "Sure enough, there is a slight change when you two connect to each other. Don't worry. It is still pretty much the same," Linfel spoke. Finally, he made the necessary changes and got to merge his magic Energy with the one Felia and Alvin had merged previously. "Success!"
Alvin and Lifnelia felt Linfel's magic Energy, including Red Magic Energy. It was shocking since even Felia felt she could control that energy directly without the need to pass through Alvin first. "Master... you now have the Magic Energy of two Familiars for use. How big is the difference?"
Alvin got up and tried to control both of them. Felia wasn't as perfect, but Linfel was truly without any issues whatsoever. Simply put, he only needed to focus on Felia as he always did. It was as if Linfel wasn't even there. But, at the same time, all his Magic Energy was free for use, completely merged with his own and Felia's. "Do you believe me if I say I think I could put a fight against a Low Level Two Magus?"
He controlled all those reserves of energy, and even though it was yellow, the intensity was so high that he could make up for the difference in quality. He didn't even need to touch Linfel's Red Magic Energy.
"That's good and all," Linfel spoke. "But we are wasting time here. You two, take the Red Magic Away and absorb it into your Cores. There is still a lot of yellow Magic Energy to clean from these Magic Stones."
Alvin and Felia quickly accepted the order. Alvin sat on the bed again and began to use half of the available Red Magic Energy while Felia used the other half. Both of them could see the huge advantages of using Red Magic Energy to level up. Still, it was a slow process, so it took them almost thirty minutes to use what Linfel prepared.
"Phew..." Alvin took a deep breath. "We are done, Linfel."
Linfel nodded and pulled more Yellow Magic Stones. "From now on, I will maintain a constant flow of Red Magic Energy. How long do you intend to absorb it?"
"Three hours," Alvin quickly spoke. "More than that and I will start to saturate my core. This is not good for a Magus's Future."
"I understand," It was good so he could leave earlier. "By the way, I'm creating Low-Grade Red Magic Energy. But, as you saw back in your father's house, I can go as far as Medium-Grade Red Magic Energy. It's just that it will cost a lot of these Low-Grade Yellows, and the amount I will create will be quite pitiful. What do you think?"
"Keep the Low-Grade Energy," Felia asked. "There is no point in us acquiring a higher level than that. It would be a waste since Low-Grade Red Magic Energy is the limit of what our cores can absorb. We simply don't have a high enough level."
"Oh! I see!" Linfel gave up going that far. "Alright, just continue using the Low-Grade then."
They continued during all the three hours Alvin asked, and even Linfel could tell that Alvin's Core was indeed getting someone lethargic through the Magic Energy Waves Frequency. It was to the point he found it hard to keep that connection. "We should stop here. More than that, and it might truly get dangerous."
Alvin nodded before Felia detached from his hand, returning her core to the original shape. Linfel, too, ended his connection with them. "So, how was it?"
Alvin's calm expression then disappeared as his excitement returned in full force! "Hahaha! This is incredible! I feel like I did the work of an entire week in a single day! Linfel, this Red Magic Energy of yours is even better than the Red Magic Energy I got from the Red Magic Stone I earned from the Academy years ago! It is sooooooo easy to absorb and integrate to the core!"
Felia quickly followed. "Yes! This is the best absorption session I've ever experienced. I wonder if this is how high-level Familiars feel when they are using those expensive Magic Stones. Even if it is, it shouldn't be far off."
"The best part is that our cores will be much stronger once they level up now that we are using such high-quality energy," Alvin didn't forget to add.
Linfel was happy to hear that. "Good! Good! Seems like I can keep our deal going." However, he also pointed at the Yellow Magic Stones. "Yet, I'm sorry to tell you, but you should take a look."
Alvin's smile instantly froze. "W-Where are the rest?"
"You two used them," Linfel spoke. "Did you forget? You two were absorbing it at the same time. Now, there are just these 53 remaining. Well, you said you still had more, didn't you?"
"I do..." Alvin bitterly smiled. "However, I only have another two hundred. If we train like this tomorrow, they will all be gone."
Those words meant one thing and one thing only for Alvin and Felia. "We need to take missions... and absolutely need to increase our Rank in the Field Exam."