Map
The lack of changes to his stats and wizard ranking was within Leylin’s expectations. After all, he had used the Devilblood Dagger to advance in rank before, and couldn’t be as arrogant now that he was in the capital. The bottleneck was understandable.
What he HAD gained with the materials here was that he’d managed to complete the analysis of the 2nd level of the Weave, removing the restriction on spell slots for it.
‘Though I haven’t been working hard on increasing my wizard ranking to avoid arousing suspicion, I have already accumulated enough resources. There won’t be any problems with becoming a high-ranked wizard. Once I leave the capital, I’ll be able to advance quickly...’
Leylin was very happy about his progress in power, but there was something that made him frown. Since two years ago, he’d already sensed a malicious intent circling the surroundings of the capital, and felt a sense of someone watching him. He had a feeling that if he were to leave all of a sudden, he would immediately be met with a terrifying attack.
’Is it that bunch of evil paladins of the God of Justice?’ This was the capital after all. If Leylin made his mind to hole himself up, the other party could only watch on helplessly. Leylin had a general idea about who those people hiding in the shadows were. He was planning to take care of the problem in one fell swoop when he left.
“I’ve recorded most of the information that I can from the Wizards’ Guild. There are only a few aspects of research left, and those are nearing completion. Dambrath is a small country after all, and it’s already amazing enough that they have reserves suitable for up to rank 15 wizards...”
After the experiences over 2 years, Leylin had the chance to move once more. As for the destination? Leylin already had numerous choices, with Silverymoon City in the north as his most fitting choice.
“But before leaving, there are a few things I need to handle... I should use this opportunity to take a look there...” A map appeared before Leylin’s eyes. This was the sacrifice from the unlucky captain of the Ashen Hawks, who had been a high-ranked warrior.
“The scope of the map is generally the capital, but there have already been changes to the names of places and their locations. Even with my abilities, I’ve only just incidentally found this place... I never expected it to be there. What kind of surprises are lying in wait for me?” Leylin mumbled to himself, before getting up and leaving the room.
“Young Master!” “Young Master!” The maids and servants that Leylin saw on the way bowed to him with exceptional respect.
They were well aware that he was not just a noble, but also a powerful wizard. He was practically the same as those people in the legends of old!
“Mm.” Leylin looked very calm as he hummed in answer, and it was enough of a response for his servants to feel grateful for.
While walking on the streets, Leylin’s wizard robes gathered reverence from many. His symbol which marked him as a rank 10 wizard gave rise to even more cries of awe. Leylin had gradually gotten used to such treatment. In no time, he arrived in front of a tall wizard tower.
“Leylin!” A few low-ranked wizards who were similarly in wizard robes were already waiting there. A delicate and pretty female wizard took the opportunity to greet him, her eyes gleaming at the sight of him.
“Mm. Julia, Jale, Angelo. Good afternoon!” Leylin nodded, with a gentle and calm expression on his face. These wizards were all Simell’s students. He was currently studying with them under Simell, and they therefore they were somewhat like classmates.
“Senior Leylin, help me take a look at this bottle of ‘Exploding Potion’! I’ve tried it so many times but to no avail...” Julia produced a fiery-red test tube, almost leaning against him.
She knew very well what kind of background he had. Not only did he have exceptional talent at magic, his family had control of the tremendous trade in the outer seas!
Such status had turned Leylin into a sort of prince charming for many ladies in the capital. Some had even taken the initiative to proclaim their love for him, but unfortunately, Leylin politely rejected all of them. In his opinion, that sort of thing was just too boring. If he wanted to enjoy himself, there were more than enough means to do so at Delia’s place. Why would he waste effort on this?
The warm treatment he received from the women made other male wizards shoot envious looks at him, but Leylin was completely unperturbed.
He took the test tube and took a quick look at it, “There are errors in the settling time of the neutralising agent. Also, the spell was cast far too early...”
While he had only made a few comments, many wizards suddenly looked enlightened.
“Alright! If there’s nothing else, I’m going in.” After casually chatting with others, Leylin entered the wizard tower, leaving behind gazes of envy.
“Mentor Simell gave Leylin the authority to enter the wizard tower as he wishes. That’s something only a few disciples get the chance to have!” Julia gazed at the tremendous wizard tower with an envious expression.
“He is a rank 10 wizard, the most powerful magic genius here! If you get to rank 10, mentor will also give you that right...” A male wizard beside her glanced at the badge at his chest. The symbol that implied his status as a rank 5 wizard had always been the source of his pride, but it only seemed unsightly now.
“We really can’t match up to that talent...” The few other wizards were around rank 5, and could only smile wryly at each other after hearing that sentence.
“Grandmaster Simell!” Leylin had rather good luck. Simell hadn’t been performing any experiments, rather resting in the entertainment room outside.
“Oh, it’s Leylin. Come in, take a seat!” Simell was a very spirited old fellow, less than a metre tall with a kindly look on his face.
Strictly speaking, Leylin was not his disciple. Their relationship was similar to modern-day postgraduate students who helped their mentors with experiments, and things were easy and comfortable between them.
After hearing that, Leylin did not hold back and sat down, exclaiming, “Grandmaster Simell, I hope to get the authority to enter Alchemy Room Number 1!”
As he spoke, he placed a golden card on the table. While he was free to do as he wished, there was still a price to pay. Leylin knew this very well.
“Mm, looks like you’re finally preparing to begin! Have you gathered all the materials?” Simell chuckled as he glanced at Leylin’s left hand.
“Thanks to you, I’ve collected everything. I still need to perform the last step in lab conditions within the wizard tower...” Leylin rubbed the ring on his left hand.
“Mm, I’ll authorise the tower genie to let you in. Also, please take Julia and the others into your care a little. I don’t have that much time...” Simell spoke.
How could ordinary, low-ranked wizards or wizard disciples compare to Leylin in his extravagant spending? Every day, they could only accumulate spell slots, and then through brewing potions or smelting items at an elementary level, gain rewards of a few gold coins.
For those who were unlucky, they would have to copy large quantities of spell scrolls and slowly save them so that they could be exchanged for spellbooks and other materials to break through. Some mentors would just completely forget their students. Simell having Leylin help out meant he was already quite kind.
“Alright, I got it!” Leylin got up and took his leave. Within the alchemy lab, Leylin took off his Ring of Wizardry on his left hand.
This ring that could increase the number of spell slots of rank 5 spells by 1 was like a divine artifact for low-ranked wizards. It was also made of unique material with possibilities to strengthen it further. Through his studies under Simell and his own ideas, he had finally found a way to strengthen the item.
“Tower genie, do I have the right to go in yet?” Leylin asked bluntly.
“Master has authorised wizard Leylin Faulen to use Alchemy Room Number 1, as well as the elemental pools, particle accelerator, rank 2 magic puppets...” A robotic voice sounded. This was the tower genie of the entire wizard tower.
With its help, a wizard’s abilities could be displayed to the limits. However, the tremendous price to create one meant that even if many wizards hoped to have one of their own, they couldn’t go through with it.
Mithril, adamantine, and all sorts of items were shifted out of Leylin’s bag of holding.
“It took me such a long time. I finally have a way to use it...” Leylin had a smile on his face, the Ring of Wizardry already on the table. Dazzling lights enveloped the ring.
......
Seven days later, Leylin gazed at the brand new ring in his hand, a look of satisfaction on his face.
The A.I. Chip immediately showed the stats.
[Item Name: Ring of Wizardry. Weight: 15g. Materials: Obsidian, Wizard’s Alloy, Dragon Blood, Mithril, Adamantine, Rainbow Feathers. Effects: 1. Spell slots for all spells under rank 6 increase by 1. (Specific to Wizards) 2. Secondary rank 5 spell, Wail of the Banshee. (Available for use once every 7 days). Power is comparable to a weaker version of Wail of the Banshee. Description: This is a powerful ring that other existences might covet. Its materials have been utilised to bring out its utmost power. Close to becoming a Legendary item.]
The Ring of Wizardry now seemed darker in colour. The powerful magic rays from before had completely disappeared.
“Mm! After refining the soul force on the ring, I get a rank 5 spell? Wail of the Banshee, a rank 5 sound attack spell? Not bad!” Leylin was very content with this improvement.
Wearing the ring that was now slightly heavier than before on his left hand, Leylin got up and left the wizard tower. He had accomplished all that was possible for him to do here, and there was now nothing holding him back from leaving.
‘All that’s left is this map...’ Leylin looked through the information the A.I. Chip supplied as he muttered to himself.
‘The names here are the original ones, and it’s been hundreds of years since some of these places had these names... Seems like this isn’t Siegfried’s treasure map but something even more mysterious...’ Leylin even had the suspicion that Siegfried had not explored the map enough, because there were far too many riddles here, to the point that Leylin was left scratching his head in his confusion.
Thankfully, Leylin had had a lot of time in the past two years. He’d whiled his free time away trying to decode the map. Recently, he had finally begun to discover its true secret!