I was in front of the crew, besides them were Aisha, Zhang's men and Omar. In the case of Omar, Will had already paid off his debt and now became the official Captain of the second ship working as our subordinate. Among Lord Leo's old warriors, Sir Arthur was the only one left, since his men remained on Aisha's island. Ted had not yet returned from his duties, but he would be notified about this meeting later.
I started talking about the tower's recruitment, I told them that I would pay for everyone's test, of course if someone didn't want to test their talent for magic they were free to refuse. But I reminded them that this recruitment only happened once every 30-50 years and they would regret it if they gave up this rare opportunity. After I finished the speech saying that I would pay for their fee, everyone applauded and we agreed to go to the tower early tomorrow to expedite Henry's departure.
After the meeting, it was almost night, so my friends and I went to the inn, gathered our things, and along with the other members of the Order, we went to our new tower and mansion. On the carriage ride there, I showed Jack the new shadow skill book, and Omar told me about the two recruitments. Everyone chose to join the Beast Garden Tower as it was called. After the long day, we spent our entire evening taking care of our personal quarters and setting up the traps and alarms I had purchased throughout the mansion and tower. Everyone was pleased with the mansion, but we would not be living there. Our personal rooms and laboratories would all be in the new tower, which was more secure.
While the Order of Sages settled into their new home and prepared for tomorrow morning's talent test, all of Asshai was buzzing with news of the fight at the port.
In the Yin and Yang Tower, Master White Shadow was listening to an informant's reports about the entire battle. It was not necessary to confirm that the person who killed 3 mages and seriously injured another was the Red Sage himself. His magical weapons capable of causing a terrible loud sound were heard by everyone in that region. This loud sound had become a signature of the Red Sage himself fighting. The man also made clear his abnormal ability to see through shadows. Only mages with powerful souls could sense invisible enemies. Others could sense them, but only when they were ill-intentioned. For they were sensitive to the danger related to their own lives.
The incident at the port caused all espionage organizations to immediately withdraw from the places where the mysterious Sage lived. This included the tavern where he was, his new shop, house, and tower. Natasha, who was next to her master listening to everything, was still open-mouthed, especially when she heard about the terrible weapon capable of killing someone from more than 100 meters away. There were few basic spells that could reach someone from so far away. Before she could speculate further, another man arrived at the tower and brought letters. She went to look and when she saw the name on one of them, she was startled and screamed before running and handing it to her master. He dismissed the informant and began to read the letter quickly. During the reading, he only looked at Natasha once in surprise before finishing.
"What did he say, master?"
"He said he has no ties to the Green Seer nor does he receive visions from him. His visions come from other methods and an inheritance. Besides, he said he met you today? Why didn't you say anything?"
Natasha was shocked. The only strange person she had met today was the man named Rafael... 'So it was him!'
Natasha didn't hide anything and narrated her entire encounter with the man who identified himself as Rafael and all the words they exchanged.
"Hm, if he didn't know something so simple, it proves that he really is a novice who only wants to study magic and understand his own heritage. Send messages to the other Masters telling them that he has no ties to the Green Seer and that they should avoid him if possible. You should try to get closer to him since you are both apprentices, he seems to have a great legacy involving alchemy as well and that can help you. Give him the Book of the Luminous Explosion as a gift from our tower."
Natasha nodded and soon left to fulfill her mission of sending the messages.
***
In the temple of Bacalon, the Pope received Raphael's letter and was reading every word carefully. His entire body was covered and only his eyes were visible. They were a pale ice blue that would leave anyone paralyzed just by looking at them. His pupils moved a few times as he reread the letter once more. Beside him, a cadaverous man who was 1.80 meters tall and weighed no more than 30 kilos awaited the Pope's orders.
"So, Your Holiness? Should we suspend the specter that is observing him? After the accident I ordered him to move far away and now he only observes from afar."
"He was kind enough to give me an answer and even mentioned something about a blood oath to prove the truth of what he is saying. He does not want trouble with anyone. Tell the specter to keep a good distance from him and only observe the places he visits and the people he meets. As long as he does not affiliate himself with the Temple of Light, we do not need to make an enemy of him."
As soon as he finished, the corpse-like man left the room, turning into a white mist and disappearing. The Pope then approached a dark place where it was barely possible to see a statue of a child, nothing of the child's appearance could be seen in the dark place, he knelt in front of the statue and began to pray in silence.
***
In the temple of the Lord of Light, Pope Grym sighed as he read the letter where the new Hero declined his invitation to join his temple, but he smiled when he mentioned a donation, followed by one of the phrases his priests usually say during their sermons. He understood the young man's stance and decided to wait for the donation before writing another letter thanking him.
***
It was late at night when Salim was called by his team leader saying that the King wanted to see him, Salim started to sweat coldly, he didn't know why the King wanted to find someone as small as him... Did he make a mistake?
The man he was about to meet was known to the people as the Master of Whispers. Not only was he the current King of the Shadowman tribe, he was also an extremely famous and powerful Shadowmancer Master. His fame spread not only in Asshai, but throughout the Shadowlands, and his Tower of Whispers was known as the largest espionage organization in the city.
When Salim arrived at the infamous tower that he had never set foot in before, he watched everything with curiosity and fear. Without any talent for magic, he had always respected and admired those who had such talent. And his King, who stood at the height of his power, was his greatest idol. After climbing the stairs, he finally arrived at the hall where his King was sitting. The King was covered in black clothes and a black hood covered even his head, making it impossible for even his eyes to be seen. Beside him was another person with the familiar blood-red mask common to shadow men, but Salim ignored him and immediately knelt down along with his supervisor who was also summoned by the King.
"Are you Salim? I heard you were hired by a man named Rafael?"
Salim didn't hesitate and answered in a loud tone: "Yes, your majesty, it was last night!"
"That person almost killed the man who is beside me today, he had been sent as one of my shadows to spy on the two newly arrived ships. Did you know that this Rafael was so powerful? And the magical weapons he used, do you know anything about them?"
Salim started to sweat, he had left with the other boy named Ted, and he wasn't there when the fight started, despite hearing the loud noise and Ted saying something about his boss fighting with someone, the two followed orders and didn't return to the ship. It was only later that he heard that some spies had been killed on the ship, but only now did he hear that someone from his tribe was part of those spies. Why was his King spying on Rafael? Was he someone important? Without leaving anything out, he then told everything, saying that he was close to the place and heard the noise of the magical weapons, but he wasn't close enough to see them, he then explained everything he had done with Rafael in the last whole day, and even his work with the boy Ted who was Rafael's assistant. The King then turned to his supervisor.
"From today onwards Salim will assume his position as supervisor of the port, taking care of all the scouts and men in that region, you must pass all matters to him tonight, after that you will assume the position of leader of a new caravan in the Land of Shadows."
Salim saw the man thank the King a few times. He knew that the caravan leaders were all very powerful and influential, so he understood the man's happiness, but he did not understand why he was being given his previous position. He was still so young and felt that he was not prepared for such an important position, but he also thanked the King for the promotion. The King then continued:
"Salim, when you return to work, select a deputy supervisor to help you with your new supervisory work until you finish your work as Rafael's guide. After that, stay as close to Rafael as possible, use all the young people working at the port to fulfill what he asks of you, and give him a special 50% discount to buy any information he needs. You did well to give him Esmer's information, that was a good move since the information wasn't worth much. Just remember to maintain a good relationship with him. He wants to know about the pirates, right? Give him this information for free, so he knows how capable he is of obtaining information from the shadow men. Other than that, I want a daily report of Rafael's movements, no matter how simple they seem, okay?"
Salim then bowed once more:
"I won't disappoint you, my King!"
After leaving the room, the man took Salim in another direction. And when he asked where they were going, the supervisor said:
"You are a supervisor now. You gain a powerful Alteration as part of the position, you will receive a shadow bag and a low-level artifact."
Salim was open-mouthed, not believing everything he was going to gain, only now did he understand how great this position was! He was very lucky, and all thanks to Rafael's arrival. He soon began to reflect on how he could maintain his good relationship with his new "boss" without ruining everything while at the same time fulfilling his King's orders.
After everyone left the room, the Master of Whispers looked out the window at the top of his Great Tower and a mist-like shadow began to leak from his body. The mist soon spread throughout the city of Asshai, covering every alley, street, house and mansion without exception. The only things that were not covered by the black mist were the powerful Towers. But that was enough for the King, who now heard and observed everything within the city. Such a great and powerful ability can only be felt by powerful Masters and some more talented ones with the affinity of the shadow element. But they could do nothing but just be more cautious about the topics discussed outside their Towers. This was the powerful ability of this Shadow Master, named and popularly known by the inhabitants of Asshai as the "Shadow Watcher".
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Magic Apprentice: Parsa, Pato Senalima, Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Vinnie, Jan, frimorigo, Scott Robertson and Takatchi!