Meeting
Leylin obviously would not let go of this city of magic. Dambrath didn’t have much information past that to get to the higher ranks, forget becoming a Legend. Furthermore, the A.I. Chip deduced from the ancient notebook Leylin had obtained that the inheritance of arcanists and Arcane Arts was likely to be found in the northern lands. Given all this, it was necessary for Leylin to go to Silverymoon City.
“While the journey took almost a year, it’s not as if I gained nothing...” Leylin smiled as he took a look at his stats.
[Leylin Faulen. Age: 18. Race: Human, Rank 11 Wizard. Strength: 10. Agility: 10. Vitality: 10. Spirit: 11. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Elementary Perfect Body. Spell Slots: Rank 5(2), Rank 4(4), Rank 3(6), Rank 2(???), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)]
After obtaining a Perfect Body, Leylin sensed his body could adapt better to terrible environments. On top of that, his spirit seemed to have broken through some bottleneck. His rate of improvement had increased, as if there was a further boost to his own innate talent in wizardry.
Leylin had broken through to rank 11 after a year of meditation, even without the ability of the Devilblood Dagger. He could now cast rank 5 spells!
In the World of Gods, rank 3 wizards could cast rank 1 spells, rank 5s could cast rank 2 spells, rank 7s rank 3 spells and so on. A rank 11 wizard could cast rank 5 spells, and once one became a rank 15 wizard, they could cast rank 7 spells without backlash. That was when one became a high-ranked wizard.
High-grade professionals above rank 15 would get special treatment no matter where they went, and that was especially so for high-ranked wizards. With a large number of spells that affected groups, their destructive power surpassed that of those that relied purely on their physiques. This put them at the peak of power.
Were there no gods in this world, given that they could cast spells of priests, druids, and sorcerers would long since have named the World of Gods the World of Wizards.
Wizards held the balance of power in the World of Gods. The arcanists had even established a tremendous empire after the dusk of the gods, but with the comeback of the gods they soon collapsed...
‘It’s because of the powerful abilities of high-ranked wizards that information on these spells are strictly regulated in all nations. The only place where things are less stringent is Silverymoon...’ Leylin thought inside.
This was so because they were extremely wealthy and also had the backing of Mystra, the Goddess of the Weave. They naturally had the means to do so.
‘It’s said that the master of Silverymoon City, the Chosen of the Weave Goddess who is rumoured to be her daughter, is a peerless beauty...’ Leylin stroked his chin, ‘The secret rumours state that one can get the favour of the Goddess of the Weave by growing close to her, and it’s even possible to increase the number of low-ranked spell slots in one’s possession...’
This slight benefit was nothing to Leylin. Having analysed the first three levels of the Weave completely, he no longer needed these low-rank spell slots. Furthermore, if he were to get too close to the Goddess, his disguise could be noticed. That would be a true tragedy.
‘Come to think of it, the analysis has progressed more quickly ever since I hit rank 11. Level 3 is almost completely done.’ The higher the rank of a wizard, the further one could make contact with the Weave. The A.I. Chip could therefore analyse the Weave at a faster rate, which was something he had already tested before.
‘Given the resources Silverymoon can provide it won’t be difficult to become a high-ranked wizard, but I’ll need to get lucky to become a Legend. The Devilblood Dagger won’t help much either, there’s no point smelting another one...’
With stats below 5, the dagger’s boost remained obvious. Even from 5 to 10 points it would be found lacking, not to mention its weakness later. On top of that, it wasn’t logical to carry a devil’s item by one’s side for such a slight increase in stats.
After all, this was not a rural area like Dambrath. There were legendary wizards here, but on top of that there were the Chosen, who were personifications of the gods. Leylin had no confidence in facing them.
Since the dagger did not give him any obvious boost, Leylin was already prepared to stop using it even if it had not been destroyed, and perhaps hand it down to his underlings.
‘When it comes to raising strength quickly, there are quite a number of ways in Beelzebub’s memories. They can all help one reach the realm of Legend and above... It’s a pity that there’s either terrible repercussion or the contamination of devilish energy. It’s far too troublesome to deal with that. I guess it’s better to walk the path of a wizard step by step... It’ll be even better if I can get the inheritance from the arcanists...’
Just when Leylin was deep in thought, a shy voice sounded from his side, “May– May I know if you are a wizard apprentice heading towards Silverymoon City?”
It pulled Leylin out of his thoughts, and he eyed the three females behind him– No, the three little girls behind him. They had evidently heard about the sea having calmed down and come on deck.
The one who had spoken was the youngest of all. She had brown hair, and under her fair forehead were a pair of azure eyes. The slight smile on her lips easily gave one a favourable opinion of her.
Beside her were two female companions, one taller than the other. They seemed to be sisters, with similar faces and both wearing blue checkered skirts with little flowers at the edges.
Tiff glared at the girls who had interrupted his young master. Though he concealed his strength, his aura alone left the three girls feeling suffocated and terrified.
“I– I’m sorry, mister! I– I was just curious!” The girl in the middle grasped her skirt, looking on the verge of tears. Though they had housekeepers and nannies sent out by their family by the side, they had never faced an old man so stern that it was frightening.
“Stop it, Tiff. You’re scaring our friends!” Leylin saw the figure behind him and chuckled like the warmest spring wind. It melted away the terror.
“My apologies, young master!” Tiff took a step back, “And the three young ladies as well!”
“It’s alright...” The girl spoke more fluently now, “My name is Bessany, and the two sisters here are Ena and Isadora. We’re all looking to apprentice in Silverymoon... Are you the same, mister?”
‘Wizard apprentices...’ Apprentice wizards were below rank 3. They had talent in wizardry and could use magic, able to cast rank 0 spells. Leylin scanned the girls to see that they all had the spiritual undulations of wizards, and they’d all made contact with the first level of the Weave.
“My name is Leylin, and I’m a wizard!” Leylin smiled, hiding his rank. After all, there was no point in that.
“As expected!” Isadora spoke from beside Bessany, “Where are you from, Leylin? Why do I hear a southern accent from you?”
These girls were like excited little sparrows as they surrounded Leylin, asking a whole bunch of questions noisily.
Leylin smiled as he conversed with them. This was the sort of infectious power he had, able to instil a favourable impression in the hearts of weak existences. Of course, this could also be attributed to his training as a noble.
From his conversation with the three girls, Leylin quickly came to know of some basic information. Bessany and the sisters came from two little families in the north. They had tested with talent in wizardry, and their families had sent them to train in Silverymoon.
Bessany was good-natured and spoke the most enthusiastically. As for the sisters, Ena was not as carefree and bright as Isadora, seeming more shy.
“My family gave me 500 gold coins this time, and I’ll need to use it sparingly. Hopefully, I’ll be able to train under a middle-ranked wizard...” Bessany suddenly sighed, looking worried.
500 gold coins was obviously a huge amount that was enough for even a noble to live liberally for five years! However, this amount was far from enough for the development of wizards.
But what could be done? Bessany’s family was merely the smallest of noble families. The 500 gold coins themselves had required quite a bit of effort, and they’d had to sell some property to raise that much.
Still, it would all be worth it if a wizard arose from their ranks. At this thought, Bessany inwardly gritted her teeth.
“The registration fees for the poorest wizard academy in Silverymoon is already 100 gold coins. As for studying under a middle-ranked wizard? That’s basically impossible... Apprentices like us from small noble families can only help others with experiments or copy scrolls to earn money...” Isadora laughed wryly. Evidently, she had a better understanding of the training of wizards.
Leylin realised something. These wizards were probably sucking up to him so that they could become allies.
‘As expected of nobles, huh? After studying so much, they consider more than the average person. It’s a pity that most of it is useless...’ Leylin sighed.
He looked less than 20, and without the emblem that showed his wizard ranking it wasn’t surprising for him to be mistaken as an apprentice. If he really was a low-ranked wizard, he might have played along for a while, but he had no intentions of doing that— they were not at the same level!