"Professor, what are we doing here?" Anfey asked, confused, looking at the highly-secured magic array in a distance.
"Picking someone up," Saul said.
"Who is it?" Anfey asked.
"Someone you know," Saul said with a smile.
Anfey thought about it and frowned. Among the people he knew who could make Saul come to pick him up, it had to be that old fellow.
Soon, the magic array slowly started. A thick radiance soon covered the whole magic array. Saul walked up, still smiling. He walked two steps forward and then stopped. He looked very sharp.
Bruzuryano walked out of the magic array first. He was followed by a middle-aged man, and then four young elves. Of course, they were comparatively young. Everybody knew elves had long life spans. Those elves looked like they were about 18 years old, but in fact, they had lived in this world for hundreds of years.
"You are on time" Saul said in a low voice.
"I got stuck with something, otherwise we could have been in Sacred City yesterday," Bruzuryano said with a shrug.
The middle-aged man behind Bruzuryano stopped and stood next to him. They looked quite different. Bruzuryano was thick and strong, while the other man was thin and tall. He was almost a half head taller than Bruzuryano. Bruzuryano looked calm, while the middle-aged man looked aggressive, with sharp eyes, ready to pinpoint something wrong with others.
The moment the magic array started, Saul immediately sensed two strong surges. At that moment, the middle-aged man was not shy standing next to Bruzuryano. With the information Saul had, it was not hard for him to guess who he was. Saul slowly asked, "Are you Reaper Manstuly?"
"Dear Master Saul, it is my great honor to meet you." The man respectfully bowed. He sounded very humble, but his smile looked as aggressive as his eyes, giving others a feeling that he was dangerous.
"I am flattered." Saul reached out his hand to give the man a handshake. Saul glanced at Bruzuryano and saw him just standing there with no facial expression. Saul thought about it and said with a smile, "This is not a great place to talk. I have prepared a place for you to stay. It has been cleaned and tidied. Follow me."
"Master Saul, I think we are missing a person." Manstuly did not move. He looked around and asked, "Where is Master Jacob?"
"He is not in the Sacred City right now," Saul said.
"Not here?" Manstuly’s smile disappeared. "Didn’t you find him?"
"Yes, we did, but Jacob had something urgent he had to deal with. He cannot be here right now."
"Then what about our cooperation?" Manstuly asked.
"As far as I know, we are going to talk about cooperation in more general terms, not just about creating Sacred Spirit potion," Saul said casually. "Jacob is not here, but that will not affect us working together, especially since Jacob has told me that the job of creating Sacred Spirit potion will be finished by his student."
"Jacob has wanted to create this legendary Sacred Spirit potion for many years. How could he give up this opportunity?" Bruzuryano asked in surprise. "When did Jacob enroll a student? Why didn’t I know about it?"
"You should ask Jacob these questions yourself," Saul said with a smile. "You have seen his student actually. He is the alchemist in Anfey’s legion. You saw him often hanging with Anfey. His name is Hagan."
"Alchemist? I do not think we should give such an important job to an alchemist. I really do not get what Master Jacob is thinking?" Manstuly said.
Anfey was worried that his plan would fall through. It was his idea. However, it was easy to suggest something, and harder to carry it out successfully. Anfey thought Bruzuryano was easy to fool. He had made a mistake. Luckily, Saul had a great reputation. When a honest person lied, others tended to believe him, so he was not easily caught in the lie. That Manstuly focused on Jacob and did not doubt Saul. Anfey could help with nothing at that moment. He had no positi
on to talk, so he could only watch Saul coping with changing situations.
"Jacob has told me Hagan is very talented. He is the only person Jacob has ever found who could possibly take on his skills and knowledge. It was not a big deal for Hagan to create a potion, not even a Sacred Spirit potion." Saul still looked normal. "If you are still worried, we can wait about ten more days until Jacob comes back to Sacred City."
Either talking about the future arch-alchemist, or mentioning the 10 more days seemed to do the trick. Manstuly smiled again. "My honorable Master Saul, please forgive my rudeness. After all, it would benefit both of us if we can successfully create Sacred Spirit potion."
"Anfey, come here." Bruzuryano waved at Anfey.
Anfey was shocked for a second and unconsciously looked at Saul. He did not walk toward Bruzuryano until he saw Saul slightly nod in agreement. "Master Bruzuryano, how can I help you?"
"These are the elves I personally picked for you. From now on, they will teach you Nature magic. You do not need to treat them as your teachers. In fact, they will be your maids. However, you cannot do anything bad to them, otherwise there will be consequences."
Anfey did not know if he should laugh or cry. Slanbrea died, but planted a seed of Light in his body. He had wanted Anfey to learn Light magic. Now Bruzuryano gave him four elves to teach him Nature magic. Why would everyone think Anfey was so good?
"Thank you, but I do not want to learn Nature magic." Anfey turned Bruzuryano down. "I think I have found the magic I am interested in."
"You can ask your professor’s opinion before you turn it down," Bruzuryano said.
Anfey looked at Saul and saw him nodding after thinking a bit.
Anfey scratched the back of his head. Since he had seen Entos’s Instant Transportation magic, he had shown strong interest in it. If he could have similar ability, with the martial arts he inherited from his family, his fighting power would improve significantly. The key was that Anfey could escape using Instant Transportation magic when he was in danger. Anfey as an assassin had to design a plan B, otherwise he would not be a successful. Anfey had always put considerable stress on his escape plan. In Chinese history there was an assassin called Jing Ke. He sacrificed his life for the brotherhood without considering himself. More specifically, he should not be considered an assassin, but a hero. Anfey never wanted to be a hero. He’d rather accept failure than give up the opportunity to live on. If he could master the Instant Transportation magic, he could fight as he wanted, or escape as he wished. No matter what he decided to do, it would be very convenient to know Instant Transportation. Anfey had made the decision to practice Space series magic. He even put the internal energy practice aside, since he had not been able to go further with it. At this moment, he could not spare any time for Nature magic.
"Anfey, there have been very few people in our history who could connect with the Heart of Nature. Don’t worry. I am not going to hurt you," Bruzuryano said slowly. He looked sincere and determined.
Since Saul had nodded and Bruzuryano also said something like this to convince him, it pushed Anfey into a corner. He hesitated, then decided he needed to accept it. "Ok, but I am stupid. I hope you will not get mad at me if I cannot get Nature magic."
"You are stupid?" Bruzuryano could not help laughing. "Ok, let me introduce you. This is Jane, Pagelya, Weiss, and Yubokeve."
The four elves had their heads down. As Bruzuryano called each name, the elf would look up without saying anything. Every year, elves and druids would have bloody and brutal battles on those horrible elf hunting teams. However, elf hunting teams never dissolved, even though they were banned. It only proved how attractive those elves were to men on the Pan Continent. Without a market, elf hunting teams would have disappeared long ago. Among the four elves, only Pagelya was not gorgeous, but the other three could be described as out-of-this-world beautiful. They looked feminine. They looked elegant in dresses that highlighted their curves. Most girls would look plain standing next to them.
Anfey did not show any interest in the elves. He nodded to greet them. Manstuly’s face changed as he saw how Anfey interacted with the elves. He thought Anfey would definitely have some ridiculous look on his face since he was so young that he should have strong sexual desires. He did not expect Anfey to look so aloof towards those elves. He looked at them like they were just regular stones on the road.
"Anfey, from now on, they will be your maids." Bruzuryano waved his hand. "Don’t think I am nagging you. You have to protect them well. Do you understand?"
"I do not need maids. I can take care of myself," Anfey replied.
"Anfey, you are going to be a nobleman soon. You should have a few elves with you. It is nothing special," Saul said in a low voice.
"Well…" Anfey said.
"Are you not happy with them?" Manstuly frowned.
"No, you misunderstand me. I am just used to taking care of myself." Anfey tried to please Manstuly with a smile.
"I will take these elves for you this time." Saul casually shook his magic robe to tidy it. "Let me take you to your place now. There are some details we need to discuss."
"After you." Manstuly turned to the side and said humbly.
Bruzuryano patted Anfey’s shoulder and smiled. He walked behind Mantsuly and Saul. The four elves looked at each and did not know if they should follow Bruzuryano or Anfey.
"Uncle Ernest," Anfey asked as he watched Saul, Manstuly and Bruzuryano walk away. What does that Manstuly do? Is he a top power?"
Ernest had been quiet. Bruzuryano had nodded at him with a smile as a greeting. It was not unexpected, since they had known each other for a while. The middle-aged man named Manstuly acted like he did not see Ernest. It was not nice of him, but Ernest did not seem to get affected by how other people saw him. Hearing Anfey’s question, he cleared his throat and said, "Druids have three kings: Protector—Bear King Bruzuryano; Reaper—Wolf King Manstuly; and Insighter—Hawk King Mauso. They are all archdruids."
"Haha… Sacred City is getting busier. Uncle Ernest, let’s go," Anfey said, glancing at the elves.
"Okay," Ernest responded.