The youth called out Saleen's name as he withdrew his hand. Saleen had no intention of hurting him; otherwise the Grade 0 Flame Combustion spell used in such close proximity would have burnt his skin and flesh.
Decca?
Saleen recognized the youth in front of him and felt puzzled. Decca, also an orphan, was someone Saleen knew when he was a beggar. Back then, they were down and out, equally skinny and filthy. At their chance meeting here today, Saleen's demeanour had completely changed, and the same was true for Decca, who looked nothing like the street urchin from those days.
Decca smiled with embarrassment as he had known about Saleen, but had not recognized him earlier. He knew that Saleen had become the apprentice of a magician; he was unsure if he would be still be acknowledged as the friend he had made when they were both poor.
"Wait for me at the entrance," Saleen said as he gave Decca a pat on his shoulder. Saleen appeared to have grown much taller than Decca in this year.
Feeling the warmth, Decca turned to his side and exited the door. He then waited in the shadows across the street.
There was no professional union in Ceylon City, thus the equipment store appeared to be deserted. The adventurers were all gathered at the southern Xinjiang of the Empire, even though there were fewer pirates at the northern coast. Saleen came to the counter and shouted for the owner.
The counter was about one meter high. The owner was drowsy and was dozing off on the counter. He had heard the shout, but did not see anyone when he opened his eyes. He then stood up and saw Saleen, who was much shorter than the counter.
"Hey, Master Metatrin!" The owner saw Saleen and instantly perked up.
Saleen waved his hand, indicating to him to not be noisy. He passed him the list that Jason had given him and asked, "How much of a deposit do I have to pay to order these?"
The owner gave a quick glance to the list and grinned. This was not a small deal, and was worth at least a hundred gold coins. It probably did not mean much in the bigger cities, but this was definitely a rare business deal in Ceylon City.
"Master Metatrin, please wait a moment." The owner retrieved his abacus and started calculating with a cracking sound.
Saleen saw the owner calculating the prices of the items, and decided to walk around in the store. The size of the equipment store was not small, but there were no shelves in the center. All the goods were displayed in the cabinets against the walls. The most striking items were the two suits of armor at the entrance.
These were two fully enclosed suits of knight armor, with even polished crystals set at the segment for the eyes. This type of armor was rarely worn because the knight rank class had died out during the Fourth Dynasty. Now, only the Holy See still maintained a pool of 10,000 knights; the other four empires had done away with the knight body.
The style of these two suits of armor was ancient, and the metal sheet looked as if it had been re-polished. It looked to be an antique; the value of cultural relics exceeds the value of their usage. Admiring the armor, Saleen placed his hand on them.
His mental strength could not penetrate them! They seemed to be really authentic. It was virtually impossible to rely on his Grade 0 magic to break through the armor. This metal armor was better than ordinary leather armor, though Saleen was well aware that it was not as good as magical armor. He knew that the level of his battle power was still lacking against swordsmen in armor.
If he had to deal with two soldiers, he practically stood no chance.
Magic made him sometimes depressed and sometimes excited. With the momentary contact, he could calculate the defense capabilities of the armor and knew which level of magic could be used to destroy it. Unfortunately, he could not see any hope of himself becoming a qualified magician in the foreseeable future.
"Master Metatrin!" The owner replied with a smile, having completed the calculation, "The total is 180 gold coins. See if you can pay a deposit of 100 gold coins. As I am only running a small business here, I do not have a good cash flow."
"Yes", Saleen turned, threw two bags of gold coins on the counter, and asked, "When can we get the items?"
"Same time next week will be fine. Would you need delivery?"
"Not necessary. Teacher does not like to be disturbed by others."
"Please wait while I issue you an invoice." The owner kept the gold coins. Saleen casually asked, "Are we able to order anything and everything here?"
"Master Metatrin, I import from Yaoyang City. Whatever Yaoyang City has can be ordered from here. If you need special items, you have to order from Holy Rock City. It will be slower, and I am afraid you will need to wait a month for these items."
"Ok, noted." Saleen took the invoice that the owner had issued, turned, and left the equipment store.
"Decca," Saleen called out to the street opposite, waving as he stepped out of the door. Decca appeared from the shadows, and faced Saleen, not knowing what to say.
"Let us find a place to eat." Saleen was feeling hungry. He would not go to The Whale of Ceylon this time. As the pair walked along the pier heading north, they found a small shop. It was still morning and there were not many diners. They sat next to the window and Saleen ordered two bowls of fish noodles.
Using their forks to twirl the noodles, the pair ate in silence. When they had almost finished their meal, Saleen put down his fork and asked, "Decca, why did you…"
"You mean steal?" Decca also put down his fork, pondered for a moment, and replied in a low voice, "There was a bandit gang that came to the city this time last year. They took in a batch of children and I was one of them. No one forced me. As you know, children like us could starve to death on the streets at any time."
"Bandit gang?" Saleen frowned. The reputation of a "bandit gang" was not good. Once caught, the majority of the noblemen would kill the bandits even without any interrogation.
Decca saw Saleen's worried look, and consoled him, "It is nothing, this bandit gang does not do red cases". Seeing that Saleen did not understand, Decca explained, "We merely take things; we do not kill. Generally, we do not rob, and mainly cheat. If the matter were brought to light, we would walk away. It is rare that anyone would pursue."
"It is not for the long-term", Saleen could not help saying. Being bandits, very few would die natural deaths. For senior bandits who had made money, it would be hard for them to withdraw at the height of their peak.
"I have no choice; it is too late for me to withdraw now," Decca said in a low voice as his glance swept across the door.
"How do I find you in the future?"
"It is easy to find me. How about we go back to the hideout and meet with my gang leader?"
"Huh," Saleen's face turned stony, his two distinct eyebrows raised almost at the same time. He looked at Decca intently and said, "This was your gang leader's idea? You need not to say anything more. Go back and tell him not to make me his target if he still wants to live."
Decca felt a shiver run through his body. Saleen's glare was sharp like a sword, making him want to reach for the dagger in his boots subconsciously. But as his wrist moved slightly, he felt a pain in his hand. The scald on his hand had reminded him of Saleen's identity.
"Saleen, I cannot help it. Actually, during winter, the team leader will let me go look for you."
"I have no interest in the bandit gang. If my teacher learns about this matter, I may not able to protect you. Decca, you better take good care," Saleen finished what he wanted to say, retrieved a gold coin, placed it on the table, and left without turning back.
Decca sat there stunned, and was out of sorts. Saleen was no longer the innocent child he was before. He had simply made a vague suggestion, and was seen through. Could this be the power of magic?
Saleen walked out of the door, feeling the breeze. The pent-up emotions in his heart finally released. To think that a bandit actually wished to connect with a magician! Even his teacher had not want to be bothered with the Lord.
This person did not know what was good for him. The best solution was to kill him and not let him be a burden to Decca. He was the only friend he had left in Ceylon City.
Saleen had not realized that he had become more decisive after the incident half a year ago. He was also more alert to danger. Jason had not done any additional coaching with him; he had merely read books, cooked for Jason and ate with him. Gradually and subtly, Saleen's demeanor had totally changed.
He found the grain shop, placed the order, and made payments. Saleen had purchased sufficient food to last half a year. He then left Ceylon City dispirited. More than once, he had fantasized about living wealthily in the city, wearing the best clothes and indulging in wine and music. Now that he finally had money, he realized that the thought was naïve. As the dark clouds gathered across the horizon, Saleen quickened his pace, knowing that the summer rain in Ceylon City was unpredictable.
Upon returning to the ancestral house, Saleen went to see Jason and told him about the collection date of the goods.
Jason suddenly asked, "Saleen, how long have I been here?"
"A year and six days."
"Ok, bring this along when you collect the goods next week," Jason gave Saleen a huge leather sack. Then he added, "Starting next week, on the first day of every week, join me as I conduct experiments."
"Teacher!"
"From today onwards, you are officially my student."
Saleen was thrilled. Jason had never allowed him to watch his experiments before. He thought that he would never receive his teacher's personal guidance, nor did he ever think this day would come so quickly. He was not aware that Jason had followed him from a distance during his trip to the city. In fact, Jason had even heard his conversation with Decca.
Saleen had passed this test. If there were something amiss in his conversation with Decca, Jason would have had to give him up as an apprentice. To groom a student required energy as well as emotions. As for Saleen's lack of affinity with elements, he would have to think of a solution in time to come. Jason smiled and looked at his student. He took out a bottle and passed it to Saleen, saying, "There is medicine in here. Take one pill daily to improve your body structure. Get more from me after you have run out."
Saleen touched the palm-sized porcelain bottle, not knowing how to express his feelings.
"Go read your books. I hope that you will continue to be this diligent in the future."
"Yes, Teacher!" Saleen answered, with joy and cheer in his heart. He returned to his room, removed his boots and took off his robe. He then threw the remaining gold coins on the table, and took a breather.
After being accepted by Jason, Saleen was even more diligent. On the first day of each week, he would be with Jason in the laboratory as he conducted magic experiments. Jason would explain the principles of magic relating to the experiments. On the fifth day of each week, he would enter the city to place orders and collect the materials he had ordered the previous week.
He had placed Decca at the back of his mind. There was an underground bandit group in Ceylon City which had become a headache for the Lord. Saleen had accepted the teachings from the books in which the magicians were detached from the outside world, and except when hired, were to not interfere in the lives of ordinary people.
In another half a year, Saleen had mastered the sixth Grade 0 magic, namely the Magic Alarm. This was an Enchantment Magic, and with each release, it would last for two hours. Depending on the method of release, the resulting magic alarm could be either audible or inaudible.
An audible alarm would be beneficial for team protection, as everyone could hear it. An inaudible alarm could only be detected by the magician himself, and even the person who had triggered the spell would be unaware.