Market
"Really? Then why are you still wielding your sword?"
Leylin rose up slowly.
"The secrets of our Sire cannot be heard by anyone else!" The leader brandishes his sword slowly. "Moreover, the wounds on your body is the reason why you cannot lend a hand!"
"Cough cough......" Leylin coughed feebly, "Accurate discernment! Seems like you have resolved to kill me today? I swear never to reveal a word of today’s matter!"
"Only the dead will keep secrets!" The leader shouted as he slashed at Leylin, his sword reflecting a snow white glint.
Leylin dodged in a rather miserable manner.
The leader’s expression became elated, the muscles on his body bulged, but just as he was about to charge forward, his complexion suddenly changed and he retreated several steps.
Behind him the soldiers and the young lady collapsed weakly onto the ground. Only their eyes could still move. "You actually poisoned us!" The leader snarled in shock.
"As expected of a Knight, you actually have the strength to withstand it!" Leylin nodded his head. Although with his strength now he could completely massacre this crowd, if there was a more convenient method available, why shouldn’t one use it instead?
The leader threw down his long blade and turned to flee. His speed was actually similar to that of a regular human.
"Under a poisoned state, and yet still having this speed. This is rather remarkable." Leylin assessed indifferently.
He raised the crossbow, "A.I. Chip! Calculate wind speed and humidity! Adjust trajectory!"
* Xiu! * A black line pierced through the Knight’s chest. When he saw the arrow that entered from his back and exited his chest bringing blood along with it, fell down with a look of disbelief.
Leylin strode to where the young lady was and towered above her. He stared down then tossed the contents of a bag of powder into her mouth. A moment later, the young lady stood up and stretched her limbs.
"You are...... a Magus?" The young lady looked at Leylin as her eyes filled with curiosity.
"No! Just a Potions master. Shift them all over here and take care of them!" Leylin pointed at the fallen soldiers on the ground.
"Why don’t you do it?" The young lady pursed her lips, but she still shifted the paralysed soldiers over. She even moved the Knight leader and the large guy’s corpse over too.
Afterward, the young lady’s eyes flashed coldly. She took out a dagger from her robes and stabbed all of these paralysed soldiers to death.
Throughout the whole process, Leylin watched on frostily, as the young lady stabbed her pursuers to death.
"You are definitely a Magus!" The young lady said confidently.
"As long as you help me with my revenge, I will hand over all my prized possessions to you. This includes the inheritance of a Magus. And I also will belong to you!"
The girl said as she unfastened her robes.
"Are you sure that there is a Magus inheritance in your family?" Leylin was rather amused as he asked.
"I swear it upon the honour of my family!" The young lady’s expression was staunch.
[Scanning in the process! Target’s blood flow is rapidly increasing. Unusual brainwave activity detected. Conclusion: Lie - 93.3%]
Looking at the conclusion of the A.I. Chip, Leylin shook his head.
"Why don’t you leave!"
"What?" The young lady was obviously shocked, "You don’t fancy me? I have a lot of prized possessions in my family, you can have anything you like......"
"Could it be that you have read too many tales about Knights in shining armour?" Leylin interrupted her speech.
"In a dense forest, an adventurer chanced upon a princess who was fleeing, and even helped her seek revenge. After overcoming a series of adversities. They triumphed over their enemies. The adventurer obtained the treasures, the love and the admiration of the princess. From then on, they lived happily ever after!"
Leylin recited it in a poetic, bard-like manner.
"It’s merely an empty illusory, full of false promise. At most, I’ll obtain your body and flesh then I have to help you seek revenge against a Viscount who has the backing of a huge faction. Do I look like an idiot to you?"
"But......"The young lady was obviously still struggling.
"Get lost!" Leylin bellowed.
The young lady got up helplessly. A malicious and poisonous gaze flashed in her eyes, as she prepared to leave.
"Wait!" After the young lady walked for several steps, Leylin’s voice travelled over.
The young lady, looking gleeful, turned around.
* Xiu! * An arrow bore through the beautiful face of the young lady and pinned her to the tree right behind her.
"Actually, I could have let you go, but I saw a malicious and raging intent in your eyes!" Leylin gradually sighed. "To a person who had always protected and followed you, you did not even bother to bury his corpse before leaving. From this, it can be seen that you are a brazen ingrate."
"Moreover, to get your revenge, you contemplated some sort of reprisal against me. You will definitely announce this matter today to everyone. Although I am not afraid of trouble, I detest such inconveniences very much......"
"With these many reasons, why would I still let you go?"
Leylin pulled out the arrow and heaped the corpse of the young lady, who died with a grievance, together with the others.
From his bag, he withdrew a yellow coloured potion and poured it on the wound of a corpse. * Sssii! * Soon, the corpse putrefied into a puddle of yellow viscous liquid.
Leylin did the same thing for the rest of the corpses, destroying them all completely.
Moments later, the area surrounding the camp, had only a puddle of yellow water left. The large guy, the young lady, and the pursuing soldiers, all of them, had disappeared with nary a trace.
These potions that could putrefy corpses, and the paralysis powder- all were Leylin’s inventions, done when he was bored. Although they do not have much effect against a Magus or even an acolyte, it was still extremely effective against normal humans.
"Right now, the most important thing still is to get enough ingredients to treat my wounds. Anything else would just be an inconvenience!"
Leylin sighed, "What a waste of a newly erected campground."
Leylin packed his things once more, and erased any sign of his existence, before disappearing into the woods.
......
Nighttime, on the outskirts of a densely packed forest.
A figure fully draped in black robes and even had on a conical bamboo hat to conceal its face, appeared.
"Lost Forest, it’s here!" Leylin took in his surroundings and compared it again with his map. Without turning around, he entered the darkness.
His leather shoes stepped on the dried twigs, which let out a * Chi-Chi * sound. In the darkness, it sounded even eerier than normal.
"A.I. Chip, initiate area scan!"
[Beep! Slight illusionary field discovered! Field effect: Regular humans who enter will be baffled, walk around in circles, and eventually leave unknowingly.]
"Indeed, no wonder there are tales of ghosts and demons in here. There is often news about humans going missing." Although they were under the illusion, if any Magus met an unsuspecting victim, they wouldn’t mind having another sampling for their experiments.
"Hello! acolyte! Welcome to the Magus Market!"
A black figure leapt down lightly from atop a tree and landed on a broken gravestone. Its eyes were gleaming with a dark green light.
Leylin walked closer, and discovered it to be a black cat.
"A Magus’ companion? A modulated organism? Or the result of a spell?" Leylin thought inwardly. He then bowed slightly.
"I am a wandering acolyte who heard that the market here is open to any Magus, is that correct?"
"Indeed, this market is governed by the mighty Walker family. Moreover, it promises that every Magus who enters will be ensured safety and protection. Of course, that is only within the perimeters of the market!" The black cat licked its paws as it let off a human-like snigger.
"Then, I wish to enter!"
"All acolytes have to pay a fee of 1 magic crystal! It’s free for all Magi!"
"Here!" Leylin nodded his head and tossed over a low-grade magic crystal over.
The black cat caught it in its mouth, turned around and while leaping away from the gravestone, it made a beckoning gesture towards Leylin.
Leylin shrugged and followed it.
The further in they got, the denser the white mist became. However, there was a road under their feet that seemed to be specially constructed before.
"We’re here!" Along with the black cat’s voice, the mist ahead dissipated and boisterous clamouring sounds could be heard. This made Leylin feel like he had returned to his academy’s trading area.
The only difference was that the people here were all tightly wrapped in cloaks or grey robes, not revealing any piece of their skin at all.
Occasionally, some did not bother about concealing their identity, which made Leylin broaden his horizons.
In here were some marine species who had scales on them, and half-beastmen who had fur on their necks. They were different from beastmen, since they were rather a loving and affectionate of species. There Magi could be produced too, and Leylin even saw a Magus with the head of an owl.
A large number of these people also exuded the energy waves of acolytes, but Leylin felt that their aura reeked of blood.
"Although the acolytes in the outside world do not have a firm foundation compared to those in the academies, they are able to advance in an environment where resources are scarce. Their experiences must be bountiful, and they even may be more adept at fighting!" Leylin’s heart sank.
The potions in his hands were almost consumed, and right now he was at the most a stronger acolyte amongst the level 2 acolytes, having barely enough strength for self-preservation. If he were to reveal the potions he was carrying, these acolytes would swarm around him like crocodiles and rip him to shreds.
Lowering his head, he found that the black cat had vanished completely.
"Sir! Do you need a guide? I only ask for 1 magic crystal!" A rather skinny little boy ran over.
He had the energy waves of a level 1 acolyte coming from his body., Even though his face was extremely thin, his eyes were very lively.
"Bring me around to have a look!"
"Alright!" The boy was in glee as he hurriedly ran in front of Leylin to lead the way.
"This market is under the protection of the Walker family, a well-received family by both wandering acolytes and Magi alike. Look over there, the wooden hut in the centre is a shop personally set up by the Walker family.
The small boy tried his best to fulfill his duties as a guide.
"So these are other people’s stalls?" Leylin pointed at the acolytes displaying their goods on the floor. Their goods were much better than those in the academy, and of course, more of them were counterfeits too.
"Yes, you only need to settle the procedures in the central hall, pay the fees, and then you’ll be able to obtain a place to set up your stall!" The little boy nodded, "Sir, is there anything that you’d wish to sell? The Walker family also provides consignment services."
"I’m not in a hurry now. Bring me to the centremost area for a walk!" Leylin said.
In this Magus Market, he discovered several official Magi with activated defensive force fields surrounding them. These are existences he could not fight against right now, so he was more cautious than usual.
"This is the smithy! It specialises in selling weapons! Next to it, with the sign which has a test tube on it, is a Potioneering shop. On the far left is an auction house. From time to time, they have a few premium goods!" The little boy was extremely familiar with this place.
"An auction house? Then will they have the information about magic artifacts?" Leylin casually asked. He was a little more interested now.