The grand mage extended his hand and pushed aside the alchemy prop made from over three thousand metal parts. His hand was clearly protected by a layer of magic shield. It was the simplest invisible shield.
This shield had problems defending against magic that was Grade 2 and below, much less from the corroding rays that were being shot out from the alchemy prop.
However, the way in which the grand mage positioned his hand while pushing the prop away from him was amazing. The entire alchemy prop seemed to be a necklace without its string, coming apart instantly like dominoes and falling apart in a balanced and elegant manner.
The corroding rays disappeared instantly, while the zoisite floating within the prop fell with a plop and disintegrated into dust.
Saleen’s eyes popped. Even though the zoisite hadn’t been big, it had been worth more than the white crystal on his ring. Even if it had been haphazardly altered by the corroding rays, it would still have been worth tens of thousands of gold coins. Although it had been destroyed in the grand mage’s hands, he did not seem the least bit upset. He did not even bother to care whether the pendant was created successfully. Did the viscountess actually let him squander away money like this?
"I have already grasped the Figaro formula. There is no more meaning to this experiment."
Saleen had many questions but had no idea where to begin. The grand mage naturally saw Saleen’s confusion. Smiling, he said, "There are three different kinds of mages in this residence. A hundred and twenty-eight combat mages, seventy lifestyle mages and thirty-two entourage mages.
Saleen was shocked. Even though he had heard about the number of mages in the Qin Empire and how every big city had a magic tower before coming here, having more than two hundred mages in the viscountess’ residence was surreal. Mages were not cabbages that could be harvested in the autumn after planting.
The one hundred and twenty-eight combat mages stood out in particular. It seemed like they were of a higher grade than Saleen. Whatever their grades were, once they were together, killing a swordmaster in seconds wouldn’t be a problem.
How did the viscountess’ residence have so many mages? Wouldn’t the emperor have gotten suspicious?
Although a viscountess was of a lower rank than a princess, she still owned a large amount of estates, armies, taxes, and was similar to a grand duke. Most importantly, even in countries of religious authority like the Taggulasi Empire, females had the chance to inherit the throne.
"The viscountess was chased out of Holy Rock City. Back then, the Bitter Water Prefecture was barren and was one of the poorest places in the empire. Only after ten years of reign do we finally have what we see today. There are so many people who wish to seek the patronage of the viscountess now. Saleen, do you think these people are wrong?"
Saleen shook his head. What was wrong with that? Training to be a swordsman was meant for helping the country and accomplishishing feats. Then, what about mages? Not many were as lucky as him, and many ended up doing mercenary missions for dozens or hundreds of gold coins. It seemed like the viscountess was not stingy with her mages when it came to money. A sentry could borrow magic books and a grand mage could destroy a piece of zoisite as he wished.
"So, do you still feel wronged?"
Saleen thought for a moment and answered cautiously, "I do not lack money, and I have my own magic lineage."
"Behind this courtyard is a magic tower eight stories high." The grand mage’s words were shocking. Saleen’s throat dried up. He had not seen any magic towers yet but he knew that grand mages would usually use various methods to hide their magic towers. Mages at his grade would not be able to notice anything.
An eight story magic tower. That meant that there was a Grade 8 sorcerer in the viscountess’ residence. Even if Saleen did not need money or ingredients, to get the guidance of a grade eight sorcerer was very rare to say the least, and would allow him to spend less time on the wrong path in his magic training. However, would the sorcerer guide him?
Saleen was still considering this when the grand mage answered his question
"Teacher appears at the study hall every week to impart his magic knowledge for an hour." Without waiting for Saleen to say anything, the grand mage continued, "Only mages in the residence are allowed to listen. Do you understand now why the viscountess has so many mages seeking her patronage?"
"I do," Saleen said with much difficulty. Even he would not be able to resist such a temptation. Guidance from a Grade 8 sorcerer, and it was once a week for an hour. Moreover, he had caused so much trouble, and yet no one would find him here.
Attacking anyone in the viscountess’ residence was as good as challenging a Grade 8 sorcerer. What was even more extreme was the fact that the sorcerer’s magic tower had not been built outside the city, but was right here in the viscountess’ residence.
It seemed like only the emperor’s palace was safer than this place. It was said that the palace had three Grade 9 magic towers in it.
"What do I need to do?" Saleen relaxed. He already intended to stay at the viscountess’ residence to train, and now that he had been shown this temptation, it would be hard to chase him away.
"There are people taking care of the food and lodging. You wouldn’t be missed. You shall be my assistant."
Saleen was overjoyed. Even with Jason, he had only been allowed one day of experiments with him each week. To be able to train beside a Grade 6 mage was practically a gift from god!
"Thank you, my lord." Saleen bowed. He was not someone who was unable to differentiate good from bad. The mage must have seen something in Saleen to be willing to let him be his helper, and to guide and support him. If Jason were to have put up a notice for helpers in Ceylon City, wealthy people from hundreds of miles away would have thought of any means to get the youth in their family to sign up, regardless of the costs.
"I’m Faerun. Even though I cannot be your teacher, please do not call me lord. Sir would be fine."
Saleen’s heart skipped a beat. In the Qin Empire, calling someone sir was the same as calling them a half-teacher. He hadn’t expected his luck to change this quickly, from escaping for his life to having a Grade 6 mage as his half-teacher.
Faerun took a look at Saleen. He was delighted with him but kept his emotions to himself. He had no students, and if it Saleen had not mentioned that he already had a magic lineage, he would not have minded letting Saleen become his true disciple. Saleen’s background would not be difficult to check and the viscountess would be sending someone to his hometown soon. They would soon know everything about him even from the times he had been young.
Faerun was a grand mage with much experience. Looking at the white crystal ring on Saleen’s hand, he knew Saleen’s teacher was not just anyone. He was definitely someone equal in level to him.
Someone like Saleen would be good if he were not a spy.
Thinking this far, Faerun spoke softly to Saleen, "Do you know why I did not allow Liki into the yard?"
Saleen shook his head again. He would not have had any idea about this. It had barely been an hour since he had entered the viscountess’ residence. How would he have known what was going on here?
"Because he wasn’t worthy." Faerun’s voice was calm and yet a sense of pride oozed from him. "Since entering the residence two years ago, he has been finding ways to win us over, but has neglected his training. In another year, the viscountess will chase him away. You’re good, unlike him."
Saleen blushed in shame. If it wasn’t for Jason and the gemstones at the ruins of the fallen goddess, he might have had the same thoughts as Liki.
The less temptation one has, the purer their soul. Saleen thought about this saying and felt it even more strongly.
"Who are those two?" Faerun asked.
"This is Sika, my partner. This is Nailisi, my servant," Saleen answered simply. Even though he was not lying, he hid the fact that Nailisi was an imp. Faerun did not ask for more. Saleen’s magic props were all high-grade. He must have been from a wealthy family and it was normal to have a servant with him.
He had much better eyesight than the people from the Nut Mercenary. Even though he could not figure out Nailisi’s identity, he could tell that she was a powerful warrior. A mage like Saleen together with two warriors was surely a perfect combination.
"What did the viscountess say about them?"
"She allowed the two of them to come with me." At this point, any worries in Saleen had vanished. If the viscountess was someone who loved to enslave mages for fun, why would she have allowed him to have two people serving him?
"There are two more rooms in this court. You may all stay here. Do not disturb me in the morning. I conduct my experiments after lunch. You may come and help then."
Saleen finally had a place to settle down. The three of them would be staying in Grand Mage Faerun’s court. Although the court was big, only two rooms were left. Since Sika and Nailisi were not willing to room together, Saleen had no choice but to let Nailisi sleep beneath his bed.
To be honest, since he had seen Nailisi open her jaws and chew on the headless rider, Saleen had grown a little unsettled. However, he knew that so long as the soul bond was still in effect, she would not attack him.
On the two sides of the court were lateral courts. They were smaller, and only after staying for two days did Saleen find out that they housed the servants of the mages. Faerun’s court had sixteen rooms all filled with mages, and the servants staying in the lateral courts were meant to service these mages. These servants had been following the viscountess since they were young and had come over from Holy Rock City. They were even more prim and proper than most of the wealthy. Since Saleen already had Sika and Nailisi, he was not assigned a servant and had no problems with that.
There were eight mages among the remaining fourteen rooms. Five were female and three were males. They were all very young and none were grand mages yet. The remaining six rooms were empty and Saleen had no idea who stayed in these rooms. Saleen did not ask, and every day after lunch, he would make his way to Faerun’s room to conduct experiments with him.
These experiments opened up a new world for him. Faerun did not teach him any new content and only allowed him to continuously familiarize himself with the Figaro formula.
This formula was used to calculate the points of balance between magical elements and was especially important to a mage like Saleen.
Since everything he practiced was high-grade content, his combined magic was extremely dangerous. If one was not familiar with the theories of the relationships between magical elements, the combined magic could cause fatal explosions.
Even though Saleen could only move water magic elements, they were still an important topic for him.
A powerful mage would be able to find even the smallest flaw in an enemy’s combined magic. Usually, an imbalance of elements would not cause much magic chaos. An explosion of magical elements required time, and during this period, so long as a mage released the magic and did not keep it in their hands, they would be fine.
However, if the enemy noticed a critical point of elemental imbalance, Grade 1 magic could even take down a grand mage.
A sorcerer would have no flaws in their combined magic as long as they completely understood the theories behind elemental balance.
In a few days, even though Saleen had not learned any real magic, he had improved immensely in theory and felt as though he had been reborn. Being fully prepared and focused with Jason and not wasting a single moment had definitely paid off now.