by Zhuang Bifan
Since Lin Li was the one who brought Sean to Alanna, he knew Sean's ability better than anyone else.
When he'd just reached Alanna, Sean's ability was at most level-7. But, in the past few days, Lin Li could clearly sense that it was close to level-10 now.
The advancement from level-7 to level-10 was a massive leap.
At Jarrosus, Lin Li had experienced such a leap before. He knew better than others how freakish such a leap was.
Lin Li felt extremely tormented by his unspeakable curiosity as he witnessed the growth of Sean day by day.
Yet that fella declined to reveal anything to him. Sometimes when Lin Li got a little to pressurizing him, his signature phrase—"I promised someone to keep it a secret"—always allowed him to dodge Lin Li's questions. That made Lin Li gnash his teeth helplessly…
When he got back to the house, Mason and Orrin were dining.
From the day the Supreme Council announced their decision, those two fellas worked extraordinarily hard. Especially Mason—he quit his habit of laziness to visit the Omniscient Tower every day to read religiously, and only reached home at nine o'clock at night. It did not stop there. Mason even insisted that Orrin practice magic with him at the Spell Testing Hall after that.
Mage was a very fair occupation. One would always be able to reap the results of the effort he put in. In just two days, Mason finally reached level-10 to become a Magic Shooter he had always been dreaming of.
Of course, the price of being a Magic Shooter would be to be beaten up by Orrin every single day and groan in pain before falling asleep every night.
Orrin had become a true level-12 Magic Shooter now, making his abilities comparable to Lin Li's. How would a level-10 Magic Shooter be of any hindrance to him?
"Felic, you're back?" Mason's face was still as swollen as before. When Lin Li was standing in the door, he was chewing on his bread loudly and glaring at Orrin with eyes full of enmity.
"I've just arrived," Lin Li replied. Then, he asked curiously, "Why did y'all not go to the Omniscient Tower today?"
"Don't mention it… That old dude nagged at us from the moment we woke up, and only left just now." After telling Lin Li that, Mason glared at Orrin fiercely, and said, "Pretty boy, let's fight after eating! I'm gonna teach you a lesson today!"
"Moron," Orrin muttered without even looking up.
"…" Lin Li was beyond speechless. The two guys would get really uncomfortable if they didn't fight every day. Mason especially—it was as if he got himself addicted to being tortured by Orrin. Even if he got bruises all over, he would get even motivated to challenge Orrin the next day. Normal people could never win against him in such a fighting spirit.
"Oh, yeah. Felic…" Mason spoke right after Lin Li took a seat and only chewed a few mouthfuls of bread. "Just now, that old dude said he is going to come back in the afternoon to speak to you." "
"Oh." Lin Li nodded, and continued eating his bread.
Just right, he also wanted to discuss some issues with Macklin.
When he was journeying back, he had decided that he needed to go visit the Fire Plume Ridge the moment he got the Fire Salamandrid skin. He had to deal with those black lotuses there. Any further delay would become a problem for him.
Furthermore…
When he found out that the Marathon Family was after him, he could not help but feel threatened. It would be a lie to say that he was not concerned about such a massive power. Although Lin Li was not scared of the Marathon Family, it would be ideal for him to have more cards in hand.
And the black lotus was undoubtedly the best card.
Looking back at his battle with Cromwell when he was in Jarrosus City, if not for his Elixir of the Sages, the consequences would be unpredictable if Lin Li were to be hit by that level-18 spell.
Although the Fire Plume Ridge was not very far, it was not that near, either. He would need at least a few days to return.
After all, Macklin was still their trial mentor. It would be rude to leave without informing him.
Actually, apart from that, Lin Li had another plan too…
But such a plan was still at the guessing stage. He could only verify it for himself when he reached the Fire Plume Ridge…
"Pretty boy, have you finished eating?" After swallowing the last mouthful of bread, Mason looked at Orrin challengingly. "I'm definitely going to beat until your face turns black today!"
"Jerk, just you wait…"
Subsequently, the two men headed out together…
Macklin came knocking on the door right after Mason and Orrin stepped out of the dorm.
"I finally found you…" Macklin started to complain incessantly the moment he came in. "I say, Felic, where were you the entire morning? I've been waiting for you for so long that my hair turned white."
"I just went to the black market to take a look and bought some things. But what's with you? What was it that made you so anxious?" Lin Li said as he rolled his eyes.
Don't tell me exaggeration is contagious. I'd only not seen this old man for a few days, how did he become more ludicrous than Mason in his words?
"It's a big matter!" Macklin shouted harshly.
"Alright, alright. Shoot…"
Macklin told Lin Li the supposed 'big matter' after a dry cough. "Someone from the Pharmacists Guild visited this morning to pass you an invitation letter. He said it was to invite you to what meeting…"
"What meeting?" Lin Li asked in confusion.
"How would I know? I'm not a pharmacist…"
"…"
"Yes, he wanted me to tell you that the invitation letter was personally sent by Grimm Burnside." Macklin paused as he glanced at Lin Li suspiciously. "You actually know Grimm Burnside?"
"Yea, he taught me some magic before." Lin Li felt awkward at the mentioning of Old Grimm. When he was at Jarrosus, Old Grimm put in all his effort to help improve his ability, but now that he was in Alanna, he did not even pay him a visit afterwards. That made him seemed like an ungrateful fella.
Why don't I use this opportunity to visit Old Grimm, and take a look at what is that 'what meeting'…? Gosh, that's awkward…
"You are really a lucky fella…" Macklin commented enviously. When he was at the age of Lin Li, he had never met many archmages, not to mention the legendary-mages. As for mentorship… Does being beaten up by an archmage count as mentorship?
"Where's the invitation letter? Give it to me."
"Oh, sure…" Macklin suddenly remembered that invitation letter. He reached into his pocket for a while, and took out a crumpled envelope.
"This…" Lin Li looked at the envelope, then at Macklin in a daze. This… really was the invitation letter sent out by the Pharmacists Guild? And not a tissue that the old man carelessly mistook the letter for?
"Don't ask me, I don't know why, either. It was like this when I received it…" Macklin defended himself innocently.
"Is that so…" Lin Li glanced at him curiously before speed-reading the contents of the envelope.
There was nothing much written in the letter. Without the ordinary diplomatic language, the true content was really little. It just mentioned that the Pharmacists Guild discovered an unusual potion formula, and if Master Felic was interested, he could join the research at the guild one week later…
"What formula would be so powerful…?" Lin Li murmured curiously. He was not new to the Pharmacists Guild, and according to Andoine, even the guards of the guild had the knowledge of creating Recovery Potions. How would they be affected by the formula of any potion? Unless… unless the formula was at the level of a Guru… or Divine Smith?
Lin Li was shocked by the sudden thought. After staring blankly for a couple of minutes, he forced himself to put the matter in the back of his mind.
"Oh, yes. Mr. Macklin, I would like to take a few days of leave."
"Leave?"
"Yeah, I need around four to five days to attend to some private matter."
"What kind of private matter wou
ld require such a long period of time? Do you need my help?" Macklin asked nervously.
This fella was the treasure of Alanna Guild of Magic. Without the protection from Aldwin and himself, what if anything were to happen to him? Furthermore, these few days were extremely crucial. Who would know if the Marathon Family would do anything to him…
"It's not a big deal, just going to collect something. Don't worry, I'll be back in four or five days."
"Please stay safe…" Macklin only cautioned him, and did not force Lin Li to tell him what he was going to do.
"Yes, I will," Lin Li said while nodding his head.
Chapter 169 - Ink
The sun had just risen the next day when Sean was stopped by Lin Li.
This fella woke up early, planning to sneak out just like in the past few days. However, today he had just touched the door handle when he heard Lin Li's voice coming from the back.
"Morning, Sean."
"Morning, Mr Felic…" The greeting that came from behind almost made Sean die from shock. He turned around with a frightened look, and saw Lin Li stick his head out from the blanket, looking at him with a sleazy smile.
How could Sean have know that Lin Li had woken up early and even placed a Warlock's Eye in the room for surveillance just to stop him? He would not have been able to leave even if he used Invisibility, much less moving around stealthily.
Just by looking at Sean's panicstricken face, Lin Li knew that this fella tried to sneak out again…
If it was a few days ago, Lin Li would to turn a blind eye to it. After all, Sean's strength had obviously risen in the last few days. Sometimes, Lin Li suspected if Sean would be able take over him in levels at this rate… Naturally, nobody would complain about having too much of such a good thing. Even if Sean remained silent, Lin Li would still continue to support him. In the end, he had a type of intrinsic trust in Sean.
However, not today. Today he had something else more important to do.
Lin Li coughed, and casually asked, "Going out to get food?"
Sean looked guilty after being questioned, and he could only ambiguously reply, "Erm… Erm… Mr Felic, what do you want to eat? I'll help you buy it."
"No need, we'll go eat in a bit." Lin Li wore the Robe of the Void as he spoke. After he had folded the blanket, he turned over to remind Sean as if he thought of something. " Oh, yes, don't wander around today. Go with me to Fire Plume Ridge later."
"Fire Plume Ridge?" Sean was in a daze for a while before deciding that Lin Li was not pulling his leg. Instantly, Sean started stuttering. "Really… It really is Fire Plume Ridge?"
"What else did you think it was…" Lin Li wore the Robe of the Void and started to urge the dazed Sean without explaining further. "Why are you still in a daze? Hurry, pack up. Our trip this time will be for a few days."
"Oh…"
There was nothing much for Sean to pack. There was only one double-edged sword and a Fire Salamandrid leather armor. These two pieces of equipment cost about twenty thousand gold coins. Usually, Sean could not bear to use them, and left them in his room. He even cleaned it properly three times a day. It made Lin Li question if those items that he bought were actually equipment… There was no need to be afraid that it would rust by taking such good care of it every day…
However, today was still alright. For the first time, Sean wore the Fire Salamandrid leather armor, and strapped the Abyss Fiendish Iron Greatsword to his back, looking magnificent and mighty. It was as if he had the aura of a high-level warrior.
When they left the Guild of Magic, the streets were still somewhat empty. There were only a few vendors that sold breakfast, pushing their carts around, serving steaming hot breakfast to customers. Lin Li was a person that disliked inconvenience. He gobbled down his food after he had bought breakfast for Sean and himself. It made a few of the customers look at him in disdain. They probably had not seen such an uncouth mage before…
Sean was nibbling on his food; he seemed to be somewhat absent-minded. There were a few times he struggled to speak, but every time the words came to him, he swallowed them down with hesitation.
"If there is anything you want to say, just hurry. Don't keep turning around, it's making me dizzy…" Lin Li saw his expression, and knew that this kid wanted to say something.
"Mr Felic, I was thinking…"
"Thinking about what? Just hurry, stop turning around. This trip is going to take a few days, you should notify the others. In any case, they taught you some martial arts."
"You… You…" Sean was dumbfounded. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. He stuttered "you" for a while before he completed the sentence. "How did you know?"
"How could I not know…" Lin Li rolled his eyes. He thought to himself, You're behaving like a thief every day, leaving in the morning and coming back at night with a secretive look. Your strength has improved tremendously, faster than anyone cultivating the Yin Yang Combo and Dual Cultivation Method. Even a blind person could see it. If not because of a master guiding you, how could you improve to this state?
Of course, Lin Li did not say it out loud. He just waved his hand impatiently. "Just hurry up. I'll be at the store where I bought your equipment. Once you're done, come look for me over there."
"Oh…"
After chasing Sean away, Lin Li devoured his breakfast in a few bites before walking over to the equipment store at the corner.
"What is going on…" Lin Li realized something was wrong when he just entered the store. The store was in a mess. The weapons and armor were sprawled all over the floor like a hideous mess. It was as if there was a locust plague recently.
Buck was picking up the items, and one of his hands was covering his left cheek. It seemed to be swollen.
"What happened, Boss Buck?"
"No…. Nothing…" Buck stood up with difficulty while covering his left cheek and squeezed out an awkward smile at Lin Li. "I can only blame it on my luck, running into troublemakers early in the morning…"
"Oh." Lin Li nodded, and did not question further. Such incidents were very common in Alanna. Frankly speaking, equipment business was a firearms business. Which of those patronizing such stores was a law abiding citizen?
If you do not believe, you can ask the vendors outside selling breakfast and see if they would come here to buy weapons and armor.
Such places had always been full of troubles. Today's situation could be considered minor. Blood splattering without a single word was as common as eating.
Furthermore, such incidents were of no concern for Lin Li.
Since Buck could open an equipment store and a smelting workshop at the same time, how could such a person have no background? The losses he suffered today could be recouped in a few days. There was no need for Lin Li to worry for him.
"Oh, yes, Boss Buck. Has my batch of magical beast leather been tanned?
"It has been tanned, Mage Felic. Sit here for a while, I'll bring it over now."
Buck took out bag from the storeroom. It contained 10 pieces of tanned Fire Salamandrid leather.
After Lin Li exchanged a few polite greetings, he asked for recommendations for a leatherworking shop. There was no special request, and Lin Li was too lazy to do it himself. He dealt with the ten pieces of Fire Salamandrid leather at the leatherworking store across the street. It was going to be a total of two pieces of leather armor, two pairs of leather boots and two leather pairs of leather gloves.
After returning to Buck's store. Lin Li saw that Sean had not returned yet. He decided to borrow a room from Buck, and focused on dealing with these two sets of leather armor.
This was the most crucial step. Although Fire Salamandrid leather had high fire resistance, before it had been treated with inscriptions, it could hardly negate the temperatures of Fire Plume Ridge. This was one of the reasons why Lin Li had to get his hands on the raw leather, or he would have to rely on the set that Sean was wearing, and it would be barely enough to just test the waters at Fire Plume Ridge.
&n
bsp; After Lin Li closed the door, he took out a Fire Resistance Potion first from the Ring of Endless Storm.
When he was at Endless World, the various potions were what Lin Li drank the most. There was no other way. Resistance potions were too important for a hunter battling at the Well of the Sun. Without these items, he would have died at any given time from various types of magic.
Yet, Lin Li hardly drank such things when he came to Anril.
This was the difference between a hunter and a mage.
Even though resistance potion could provide high magic resistance, it could severely diminish the sensitivity towards magical elements. For a mage, drinking potions and casting spells was like wearing dozens of c.o.n.d.o.ms…
However, the Fire Resistance Potion in his hand was not meant for drinking.
Placing the Fire Resistance Potion aside, Lin Li continued to retrieve items from the Ring of Endless Storm. He took out a bottle of star sand, a glass beaker, and a crystal pen.
Lin Li only picked up the star sand after all the materials were all set, and he carefully poured it into beaker. This thing was not like the navy sand, which could be found in all magical material stores. The bottle in Lin Li's hand was extorted from the Gilded Rose store while relying on Ysera's connections.
A thin layer of star sand sat at the bottom of the cup, looking like a plain of stars. It seemed like it really was brilliant and as dazzling as a sky full of stars. After Lin Li admired it for a moment, he uncapped the bottle of Fire Resistance Potion, and gently poured some into the beaker.
After doing all those, Lin Li held the beaker with his hand, reciting a short spell at the same time. Flaming Hands lit up, and he carefully controlled his mana as he had to maintain the temperature of Flaming Hands within a small range. This was an essential process in concocting star sand ink. The magical elements contained within the star sand had to be heated up before they could be released.
The star sand and Fire Resistance Potion in the beaker started blending together as Lin Li released his mana bit by bit, permeating the room with a white mist. Lin Li carefully observed the changes in these two materials as he swirled the beaker gently, allowing the two to blend more uniformly.
