A Meeting
No matter how great the Four Seasons Garden’s secret plane was, it did not belong to him. Therefore, Leylin did not want to reveal his trump cards for the sake of it.
Also, as a newly advanced Magus, it was just a pipe dream for him to own a secret plane all to himself.
Apart from these couple stray thoughts, Leylin did not have any better methods that he wanted to employ.
......
Seven days later, the crisp caw of a Nighthawk sounded. Leylin sat on the back of a Dragon Crown Nighthawk while flying back to the Nightless City.
The missions to maintain the secret plane were indeed some of the most popular missions.
Leylin and Oak only spent seven days to cleanse the eastern part of the secret plane. Not only was the disease cured, they managed to drive away droves of ferocious beasts.
After which, Leylin and the others who, had nothing else left to do, were sent out of the secret plane. On each of their tokens, there was a huge number of contribution points added.
“I can try my earlier plan now. Also, I need to find several more servants. If I were to do everything myself, it would be a waste of my time...” Leylin thought.
After a span of four months, the backlash from consuming the Darkness crystals disappeared. However, the Four Seasons Garden’s supply was far from enough, so Leylin could only shift his attention to that old witch in the Nightless City.
He remembered that the old witch’s shop had a number of good items.
The sea of people in the Nightless City was the same as before. Leylin flew directly to the passage that hosted the revered magicians and showed his ring to the guards, before entering the city under the respectful bows of the guards.
Suddenly, Leylin’s robes shook. A green light forcefully radiated through his robes.
“En?”
Leylin furrowed his brow, and withdrew a pocket sized diary.
A green secret imprint flashed with light, and from it, the voice of an old lady sounded. “Hey Leylin, are you here yet?”
From the tone of the voice, Leylin could detect a sense of urgency.
Ever since he had handed over a copy of his research on spirits from when he was an acolyte to the old witch, she had proved to have an extreme interest in it. Furthermore, she even given her secret imprint to Leylin.
During these past few months, she seemed to have gotten some progress in her experiment, but she was caught in a bottleneck. Hence, she had been continuously sending messages to Leylin.
It was a pity, however, that Leylin had been inside the Four Seasons Garden brewing potions to exchange for contribution points, so he hadn’t paid her any heed.
However, this old witch was extremely patient, and had been sending Leylin a message every few days.
“What is it? Didn’t I say that I would try my best to come over as quickly as possible?”
Leylin said to the secret imprint.
At the same time, his footsteps halted, and changed directions towards a deserted alley. He also applied a layer of isolation magic on his body.
“This time, I have amassed many items. Do you remember the crystallised Darkness energy particles? I have a total of 500 grams here, and I swear that you won’t regret it...”
Knowing Leylin’s temperament, the old witch hurriedly tossed out her bargaining chip.
“500 grams?” Leylin’s brows relaxed, and the original feeling of tension disappeared.
With that many Darkness crystals,combined with the ones he had been saving, it would definitely bring his elemental essence conversion up by another notch.
However, the Darkness crystals were not almighty. According to Leylin’s estimation and the A.I. Chip’s calculations, if these crystals were to bring his elemental essence conversion up to 70%, then it would already be a godsend.
What’s more, the backlash would be extremely terrifying. If his vitality was not superior to other normal magicians, he wouldn’t dare to be this crazy.
“Yeah, this time I spared no expense, and even owe some old freaks a couple of favours now... Do you remember our previous transaction? Give me the latter half of the information, and all of these crystals will be yours. Also, there is some prospect of the things that you mentioned to me before happening. As for the details, wait until you come to my shop...”
The old witch’s voice gradually faded, but Leylin could tell that she had a certain amount of confidence.
“Okay, wait for me. I’ll be right there!” Leylin closed the diary, and hastened his footsteps.
Within Nightless City, Elm Street #231!
“Hehehe... You actually got here so quickly. It seems like you’re also anxious to get the items I have!”
Seeing Leylin entering the shop, the witch immediately closed the main doors. It seemed that she was prepared to stop operating her business for the rest of the day.
“You and I are both Magi, but if not for the fact that we both had something the other party wanted, we would not be gathered like this. Don’t bother trying to play these mind games!”
Leylin carefully scrutinised the old witch’s appearance.
She looked more aged as compared to before. Furthermore, her hair was shrivelling and falling out. It seemed like she had gotten older by thirty to forty years.
“What has happened to you?”
Leylin casually asked.
“It’s nothing much, just a backlash from an experiment!” The old witch obviously did not intend to elaborate.
“All 500 grams of Darkness crystals are here!” The old witch shook her head and placed a black bottle on the counter. Her body was extremely thin, as if she could collapse and die any given moment.
Inside the bottle, there was a layer of half solid and half liquid translucent crystals—the same as what Leylin had seen before.
“Before this, how about the thing I had entrusted you to look for previously? Are there really any prospects now?”
He had made a request to the old witch before, and that matter was no ordinary task.
“Of course, people who are similar are the most sensitive to one another. From your aura, I completely believe in your identity as a dark Magus. Furthermore, the guild behind me is very willing to have you join us...”
The old witch panted and sat on a chair made of vines while talking.
What Leylin had asked of the old witch from before was naturally to seek out an organisation operated by dark Magi.
Even within the Nightless City, which was controlled by the light Magi, there would definitely still be the existence of shadows. These were the grounds where the dark Magi would operate!
After all, Leylin was still a dark Magus through and through. To him, slowly gathering resources like other Magi, and spending time and effort to seek a chance to break through, was far too inefficient for him!
Furthermore, Leylin did not own a secret plane, and with his current wealth, he would definitely not be able to establish one. As a result, he could only work for an organisation in exchange for resources. Such a cumbersome process was unbearable to him.
As for the crudest way of obtaining resources, it was always done through bloodthirsty means. How could a slow and steady accumulation beat the instant gaining of resources through plundering? Although this method had a certain degree of risk, after doing some calculations, Leylin felt that it was within his risk threshold.
In fact, this was the most common thought of the dark Magi.
One could nurture a secret plane on any given day, but once there was an immediate increased need for resources, looting or plundering would have to be done.
As for the previous encounter, Leylin realised that this old witch was not just a dark Magus. Her shop was most likely a contact point for the disposal of stolen goods, and a meeting place for the dark Magi.
Hence, he had a notion about what was to come.
After all, with his current capabilities, he would not be able to plunder a secret plane, so he would need the help of other magicians.
“En! When will you bring me to see your head?” Leylin asked.
“What about my reward?” The old witch refused.
“First, look at this!” Leylin tossed a scroll to her after thinking.
The old witch caught the scroll, and her eyes squinted. “En! It seems to be an introduction to a type of spiritual force potion. The ingredients required are really rare; you actually need a spirit...”
“Guk Kuk...” Suddenly, as if something got stuck in the old witch’s throat, she let off a gag, her face filled with disbelief.
“This is... A spiritual force formula of the ancient Magi! The primary steps have actually been filled in...”
She looked at Leylin in alarm. “Give me the rest of this information, and the deal will be sealed! I can even give you other types of compensation, and my treasures will be for your taking!”
Towards the old witch’s suggestion, Leylin scoffed. “Are you kidding? A copy of a spiritual force potion of the ancient Magi is only worth this much?”
“Then what do you want?”
The old witch’s face darkened, and a dark spiritual force energy wave emanated from her body.
*Whoosh!* As if a strong wind had passed through, the items in the shop began to shake.
“You wish to attack? Don’t forget that we’re in the Nightless City right now!”
Leylin reminded her as he smiled gently. After which, his eyes flashed, and an immense wave of spiritual force with an inconceivable darkness enveloped the shop.
*Bang!*
The two forces clashed, and several explosions occurred in the air. The glass bottles in the surroundings cracked open, and several organs and fresh blood seeped from them.
“You actually have such a huge improvement in your spiritual force?” The old witch staggered back two steps, apparently shocked.
“Not only that, look at this too!” Leylin withdrew the identification badge of the Four Seasons Garden, and flashed it at the witch.
“The identity token of the Four Seasons Garden! To think that you had already joined them!”
The old witch was evidently more afraid now.
“Hey hey! Is this Elm Street #231, Marie’s Emporium? I detected strong spiritual force energy waves from your shop earlier; do you need any assistance?”
A milky white light from a secret imprint floated on the old witch’s counter.
“No... It’s nothing. Just a leakage of a failed experiment from earlier...” The old witch looked Leylin in the eye, and said to the secret imprint.
The other party was silent for a moment. “Then I will make this record. Moreover, you have flouted clause 762 of the Nightless City’s security law; please come to the communal centre to pay your fines before the 13th...”
Evidently, the other party had his suspicions, but as the perpetrator of this event, the old witch did not voice any problems, so the other party did not bother to pursue the matter any further.
“I know!” The old witch answered the other party in a superficial manner, before shutting off the secret imprint.
In the Magus world, strength alone was not everything. One needed to have some kind of backing as well.