New Appointment
Dolorin had seen Leylin’s merit point card and knew that Leylin only had five or six hundred points there.
Even if Leylin were to use them all up, it was still within his spending limit, which was why he was acting rich and very generous.
“I understand, my lord!”
All the personnel here seemed to know Dolorin. After receiving a blood-red crystal card from Dolorin, one of the employees smiled at Leylin, “My lord! As Lord Dolorin has used his authority, all items on the screen will be sold to you at a price of 10% off.”
“Good!”
Leylin nodded. “Give me three portions of Fantasy Flowers!”
This type of flower was an essential ingredient in brewing ancient potions. Leylin had thought they were extinct on the south coast, but to his surprise, he had actually found it here!
“Alright! Each is 50 merit points!”
The worker took Leylin’s card and swiped it on a card reader.
*Beep!* A clear sound came from the medal.
Immediately after the number on the screen behind changed from 563 to 428.
After confirming that the transaction had gone through, he quickly passed three crystals the size of a fist to Leylin. Within the crystal, the phantom of a little white flower could clearly be seen.
This little flower was very pretty with its translucent petals and roots. One could almost see the veins in the flower. At the bright yellow heart of the flower, several faint yellow stamens delicately revealed themselves.
Sealed within the crystal, it appeared to be floating just like in a dream.
“A Fantasy Flower!”
As he took the three crystals, Leylin murmured under his breath.
“The moment precious plant ingredients like these are exposed to the air, they will quickly dissipate. Hence, crystallisation has been used to preserve them. The way to undo this magic is to...”
The worker quickly informed him of the important procedures.
Leylin nodded and kept these words in mind. He carefully put the items away, pointed at a line of text on the screen, and said, “I’ve always admired Master Tywin’s potioneering diary. I want that.”
Dolorin’s gaze followed Leylin’s finger and fell upon the little words on the monitor. “Condition of Master Tywin’s potioneering diary: Half of it is lost. Fixed price of exchange: 100 Merit points.”
His face stiffened. From the looks of it, Leylin was going to use up all his merit points in one go.
However, he had come here with the mentality of sacrificing his wealth to avoid a calamity. Since he hadn’t really used many of his quota this month, even if Leylin used up all of his own points, he would still be able to afford it. At the most, he would be hard pressed for merit points this month, so he did not oppose Leylin.
Another 90 merit points were spent, and a diary with a black cover, which was not in the best condition, was passed to Leylin. He could not contain the happiness brimming about his face.
“I also want that ancient potion formula, as well as...”
Leylin openly pointed out the precious resources and high-level knowledge he wanted. There were some items that he had searched high and low for to no avail, and there was information that only light Magi academies were privy to, and could not be bought easily. Now, however, they had all appeared on the table of items he could exchange his merit points for.
Minutes later, the numbers on Leylin’s merit card had rapidly decreased until they had reached 0.
Even if they had been working there for a long time, it was rare for the people working here to see a customer spending so much in one go.
Dolorin could feel his heart aching. Leylin had pretty much used up his spending limit for that month, but at this point, he just gave a sigh of relief. “Haha... You’ve spent so much in one go. I’m afraid you might be breaking some sort of record here...”
At that instant, he was stunned.
All he saw was a bright smile on Leylin’s face as he produced an identification token, passing it to the person at the counter.
“Based on the rules I saw, if I don’t have any more merit points, I can use contribution points from the Four Seasons Garden to exchange for items at a ratio of 2:1, right?”
At that moment, Dolorin could feel that Leylin’s smile was akin to that of a devil’s smirk, and he felt that he had fallen into a bottomless abyss.
Moments later, Leylin emerged from the exchange centre with a look of satisfaction on his face. Dolorin, on the other hand, had an icy expression and bade farewell as quickly as possible.
The amount that Leylin had spent at the exchange centre had far surpassed his limit. He even had to pay a portion with his own money! It was no wonder that Dolorin did not look to be in a good mood.
However, he seemed to be considering something and hesitated to turn against Leylin.
“Yet another pitiful person constrained by rules and regulations!” Leylin glanced at the figure of Dolorin as he left.
The lifespans of official Magi were quite long. Hence, they were quite tolerant of those at the same level of power as them, and could coexist harmoniously.
Dolorin and Leylin were in the same organisation, so it was inevitable that they would meet every day.
He had done Leylin wrong when he had first met him, so even though Leylin might have done a little too much, Dolorin still tolerated it.
However, in this situation, Dolorin had, from the victimiser, become the victim. If any conflicts happened with Leylin in the future, the public opinion would be biased against him.
If Leylin planned to continue in the light Magi camp, it would be unwise for him to abandon his reputation and lose his cool over such a small matter.
However, Leylin wasn’t just a light Magus! The covert mission he had been given by the Thousand Meddling Hands had placed Leylin on the opposite side of the entire light Magi faction.
What was worse was that Leylin was unable to decline the demands of the dark Magi organisation, in which there was actually a powerful rank 2 Magus! He was linked to the entire dark Magi faction in every way possible.
Hence, Leylin estimated that even if he were able to free himself from the mission, it would be impossible for him to stay in the Four Seasons Garden.
There was a large possibility that when he met with Dolorin in the future, they would be enemies. If Leylin didn’t take advantage of him now, he would just be an idiot.
As for Dolorin’s position as the vice team leader of the defense squad, Leylin lamented upon it for a while and then placed it at the back of his mind.
He went to the heavily-guarded centre structure built by the Four Seasons Garden in the Eternal River Plains’ secret plane. He waited to be granted entrance and receive a new mission.
In an office that had furniture shaped from plants, Leylin once again saw Reynold, the head of the Four Seasons Garden.
“Lord Reynold!” Leylin bowed, the spiritual force concealment method he had obtained from the old witch operating at full speed.
Behind Reynold’s gold-rimmed glasses were a pair of pupils brimming with wisdom. They were fixated on Leylin, occasionally flashing with distrust.
“Magus Leylin! Your accomplishments at Zone 13 have been noted by us elders!”
After some time, Reynold did not notice anything suspicious from his observations, so he eventually began speaking in a light tone.
“We all agree that being a Magus guard is a total waste of your talent. You should be promoted to a more suitable role that can allow you to fully exhibit your abilities.”
Leylin looked respectful, but he was inwardly rolling his eyes. What ‘more suitable role’? Wasn’t it just a random decision made by the elders?
However, Leylin obviously did not dare voice his opinions or show his thoughts on his face.
In contrast, a faint blush appeared on his face as he slightly ducked his head, “I thank the elders for their trust in me. I’ll work hard at my new position.”
“Very good!” Reynold nodded, signing the document that appointed Leylin to his new role.
“Leylin Farlier! I hereby appoint you the vice team leader of the hunting team, and you will be the direct subordinate of Caesar. Retrieve your mission from him!”
“The hunting team! Caesar!”
Leylin immediately thought of the three-eyed Magus. It seemed that his ties with Magus Caesar were not easily cut off.
“What’s wrong? Do you have any objections?” Reynold stared at Leylin in interest as if trying to prod something out from his expression.
A faint undulation of spiritual force dithered about Leylin, trying to find out his true emotions.
Unfortunately, with the scanning of the A.I. Chip, this trace of spiritual force was easily discovered.
“It’s nothing! I’m just a little surprised. After all, I am a mere Potion Master and a Magus guard. I know next to nothing about the inner workings of the hunting team...”
Leylin spoke indifferently, burying his feelings in the depths of his heart.
“That’s not a problem. Caesar will train you well!”
Reynold was full of smiles as if he was unaware of what had transpired between Caesar and Leylin.
“Alright! I’ll consult Lord Caesar!”
Leylin stayed silent for a while and then went forward to take his new document of appointment.
After Leylin left, Reynold tapped his cane on the floor.
*Thud! Thud!*
The dull knocking sounds resounded about the office, and immediately, the bookcase at the side of the office split open.
Countless vines spread out in two directions, revealing a pitch-black passageway.
A Magus wearing a black robe adorned with blood-red flowers emerged from the passage.
The most striking thing about this Magus was that he had three eyes!
“Caesar, that little guy is going to be under you! Look after him!” Reynold told Caesar.
“Naturally!” Caesar nodded, breaking out in a bloodthirsty smirk.
“I am extremely interested in how he was able to increase his strength in such a short period of time!”
Caesar’s expression became serious. “It seems that the inheritance he obtained was anything but simple...”
Reynold shook his head.
“I examined him carefully just now. Leylin’s elemental essence conversion is at around 50%. Coupled with the record of him using his contribution points to exchange for crystallised elemental particles, I can only assume that he must have forcefully increased his strength. To be able to achieve such a battle record must mean that he obtained some powerful magic artifact or secret technique in the ruins...”