Badge in Azure

Chapter 49: Aini’s Family (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Aini laughed and said, “You really are a pure mage. Actually, death magic isn’t that scary. The only things I need to figure out now are my body’s condition and the money.”

“You can buy the death flame?”

“Even though it may be short in supply, if you put in a little effort, it can still be found. If you need anything special in the future, let me know. I will help you think of a way.” Aini was starting to like this low-grade mage Saleen. Saleen was not prejudiced against any types of magic, he was knowledgeable, and they were of a similar age. Even if they had not had any business interactions, they got along well either way.

“Why don’t you help me price these gemstones.” Saleen started digging them out from his bag. Even though Aini was from a large family, he was amazed by the sight in front of him. Saleen stopped after taking out a hundred gemstones. These gemstones were all of good quality and were around the size of a finger.

Aini separated the gemstones into four different types and said, “You can take back these amphiboles as it won’t be easy for me to price them correctly. If you were to sell them to me, you would probably lose out on a lot. You’re a mage too. Keep them for your own use next time.”

Saleen pushed them back and said, “Take it as the money for my medicine. I’m paying in advance.”

“Alright.” Aini accepted it without another thought and said, “I will follow you to the Qin Empire and take care of the magic medicine.”

“What about the shop?”

“I’ll close it. My family has no hope of striking it rich here anyway.”

Saleen took out a dozen more gemstones and placed them on the bench, “Can I choose some equipment with these?”

“Of course. This is my shop. Whatever I say goes. I can give you a twenty percent discount.” Aini used his special leather bag to store away the gemstones before giving Saleen sixty thousand gold coins. Saleen felt more at ease. If he were to train diligently, he would need at least one Grade 3 magic nucleus every day. That had become the present situation for a Grade 1 mage like him.

A Grade 3 nucleus cost about a hundred and fifty gold coins, and a hundred and fifty gold coins each day would total fifty-four thousand gold coins in a year. If he didn’t use any magic nuclei to restore his magic chords, his progress would be slowed by many times.

There were many people who claimed to be genius mages in the mainland. However, not one was poor. If they relied purely on meditation for restoration, they would not have been able to do it so quickly either. These sixty thousand gold coins were enough to sustain him for a year of training; however, he should give some to Sika’s village too. Without Sika, he wouldn’t have gotten a single gemstone.

Seeing Saleen storing his money carefully, Aini asked, “What equipment do you need?”

Saleen also had no idea what gear Nailisi would need. Since they had spent most of their time escaping, he hadn’t thought of asking her what skills she possessed. Saleen called over Nailisi, who had been playing with a magic puppet, and asked, “I intend to replace a set of equipment for you. Do you need any armor or weapons?”

“Master, demons do not require this, but…”

“But what?”

“Master, I know how to use spatial equipment. Could you…”

“Spatial equipment?” Saleen was overjoyed. His Ring of Gifts was not limited to a certain grade but the space it possessed was too small. There did not seem to be any empty space left inside.

Aini had no idea what Saleen and Nailisi were saying. He stood at the side watching, as Saleen was obviously speaking a very ancient language. Aini was from a large family, but that did not mean he had a powerful lineage and he had not had as many magic books as Jason either. When it came to the Myers Language, he was completely clueless.

“Aini, do you have any better spatial equipment here?”

Saleen’s words gave Aini a scare. High-grade spatial equipment was counted in millions of gold coins, and moreover, only a Grade 6 mage or above could use it. This pretty lady with her weird language, could it be that she was a grand mage? Or even a sorcerer?

“I do have one. I was planning to use it myself in the future…”

Saleen removed his bag and opened it, pouring out the remaining gemstones.

Aini stared in shock and it took him a while before he said, “Saleen, did you rob a giant dragon?”

Even though Saleen had not robbed a giant dragon, he had cleaned out a temple. Although these gemstones were the fragments that Nailisi had processed, they were worth something as well. Saleen had poured out almost a thousand pieces, enough to have made anyone dizzy. Aini drew a cold breath, holding in his cough.

After keeping quiet for a while, Aini said to Saleen, “Saleen, this really isn’t enough. My equipment alone cost a million gold coins, and it even has a constant Grade 8 magic on it. I was planning to exchange this equipment for gold coins to buy the death flame. As you know how hard it is to activate the summoning portal to the death universe…”

Constant Grade 8 magic? Even though it was not a prop like a scroll, it still required a Grade 6 mage or above to activate it. No matter what Grade 8 magic it was, it had required a Grade 9 mage to cast it on the equipment. For this, it was definitely worth a million gold coins. In reality, it was impossible to entice a Grade 9 mage with money. No matter how many gold coins one had, it was possible that others would simply not be willing to cast the constant magic.

Saleen tipped the corner of the bag, and several hundred more gemstones came out.

Aini clenched his teeth, his eyes red, and said, “Deal.”

As he spoke, he took off a bracelet from his wrist and passed it to Saleen. Saleen could not help but admire Aini, for even in the face of all these gemstones, he did not have any intentions to kill. Even if he was a descendant of a large family, he might not have seen this many gemstones in his life. Moreover, Aini had such a strong determination to practice magic that he would give away millions of gold coins for a chance. He was very similar to Saleen in this aspect.

The bracelet was made of gold, and the dull silver at the bottom had a hint of blue to it. It probably had legendary seven-degree gold in it. Saleen had a large piece of seven-degree gold that he had obtained from the temple, and if he were to process it, it would probably only be enough for a ring.

While it had been refined, the golden bracelet had a natural pattern etched into it. The inside had six indents which could fit a gemstone. This was probably to activate the constant magic, and if a similar grade magic nucleus or gemstone was inlaid in it, a Grade 6 mage and above would be able to activate the constant magic.

There was a huge price to pay for casting constant magic. Unlike normal magic, after a mage cast constant magic on a prop, it would take up to three years to gain back the magic chords he had expended. Moreover, this expenditure of magic chords was cross grade, meaning that to cast a constant Grade 1 magic, a Grade 2 magic chord would be expended instead.

This explained why very few mages were willing to cast constant magic, as a decrease in magic chords for an extended period of time was not as simple as a decrease in fighting skills, but affected the speed of their training too.

For example, if Saleen helped someone else cast a constant Grade 1 magic, his magic chords would be halved. Before he could restore his magic chords, his training speed would be halved too. What would have taken him two years to promote to a Grade 2 mage would take at least a year longer now.

This was with Saleen having twice the magic chords of mages of his grade. If it had been any other Grade 1 mage, they wouldn’t even have had the ability to cast constant Grade 1 magic.

“What constant magic is on this?” Saleen held the bracelet gingerly. He was so full of respect that it seemed almost as though he were facing a Grade 9 mage who was casting a spell.

“Grade 8 mirror magic.” Aini looked reluctantly at the bracelet in Saleen’s hands

Saleen grabbed another bunch of gemstones and shoved them into Aini’s hands without a second thought. Grade 8 mirror magic was powerful enough to reflect any damage, not just magic.

Mirror magic was a magic that could be advanced with level. Any Grade 5 to Grade 9 mage could learn it. Grade 8 mirror magic could not only reflect any magic that was Grade 8 and below, but it could reflect also any sword aura from a silver swordmaster or below. Even when this skill could only be used once, it was unusually valuable, much less this bracelet which could be used repeatedly so long as it was inlaid with a Grade 8 magic nucleus.

Saleen held Nailisi’s hand and helped her put on the bracelet. “Try it.”

Nailisi placed her hand on the bench, grabbing a gemstone. A pale blue light flashed across it and the gemstone disappeared. Seeing Aini’s shocked expression, Saleen finally understood. The reason why Aini hadn’t stolen the gemstones was because he was afraid of Nailisi.

“Master, I can use it. Why don’t you pass me all the gemstones in Sika’s bag?” Nailisi held Saleen’s hand while acting like a spoiled child.

“And allow you to escape?” Saleen reprimanded.

“Master, we have a soul bond…” Tears welled up in Nailisi’s eyes. Seeing this, Aini could not bear to look any longer. This Saleen didn’t know how to treat a woman right!

“Hmm, you can give up now. Let me tell you that in the past ten thousand years, no one has managed to open the demon universe! If you want to escape back there and break the soul bond, no number of gemstones will do that!” Saleen thought back to his teacher’s teachings as he spoke harshly to Nailisi.

“Master, master…” Nailisi burst into tears. Aini was shocked. He had no idea what Saleen had said to her.

It was so hard to take care of a demon! He watched Nailisi cry in front of him. He didn’t want to scold her in front of Aini. In reality, he had no idea how to punish a demon either, hence he said softly, “Okay, Nailisi, don’t cry. Those gemstones belong to Sika, so I can’t take them by force.”

Nailisi sobbed, “I was only trying to help. She can’t run as fast as me. It seems dangerous for her to carry that many gemstones…”

“That will have to wait until Aini isn’t here. Nailisi, when there aren’t any outsiders, I’ll pass the gemstones to you.”

“Really?” Nailisi stopped crying and smiled, grabbing Saleen’s hand and shaking it while looking more and more like a magic pet.

Saleen started feeling egotistical, predicting that the problems with Nailisi were just beginning. A soul bond could only ensure that Nailisi was loyal to him. It couldn’t change her habits or her way of thinking. However, what he needed most right now was a demon as a helper. Nailisi’s fighting skills should have been greater than Sika’s and she could use spatial equipment, so he was definitely reluctant to give up on her.

Whatever. His teacher had used to say to him: Whatever one owns, one will need to pay the same price for. It seemed like a saying that all mages should understand.

What was the price of owning Nailisi? Saleen couldn’t figure it out, but it likely wasn’t a greater price than what he had paid to obtain his magic chords.