Book 03, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts

by Unknown

  “Count Juneau, you are here as well?” A whiskered middle-aged man in a swallow shirt smiled as he walked over.

  Upon seeing this person, Count Juneau’s countenance changed, but he still was able to smile calmly. “Count Demme [De’mu]! It’s almost eleven. Why are you here?” But in his heart, Count Juneau felt that things had just taken a turn for the worse.

  Count Juneau and Count Demme were both considered rather famous collectors of sculpture within the noble circles of Fenlai City.

  “Me? For these three sculptures, of course.” Count Demme stroked his whiskers, then said contentedly, “Count Juneau, take a look. The lines and aura of these three sculptures are so very mesmerizing. The expert who was able to produce such a unique aura must surely also be a unique person.”

  Count Juneau’s heart trembled.

  Indeed…

  This Count Demme had also seen the value of these three sculptures. For him to arrive at eleven o’clock most likely meant he had the same idea as Count Juneau.

  “Miss, come over here, please.” Count Demme said quite courteously to a nearby female attendant, who walked towards them with a smile. Count Demme pointed at Linley’s three sculptures. “I’m willing to pay a thousand gold coins for each one of these sculptures.”

  The attendant said courteously, “Just a moment.”

  She took out a record book and made some notations before placing the bidding slips next to the sculptures.

  “A thousand gold coins?” The facial muscles on Count Juneau’s face twitched.

  Count Demme said to him with a smile, “Count Juneau, these three sculptures really are exceptional. Right, what brings you out here so late at night, rather than resting at home? Are you here for these three sculptures as well?”

  Count Juneau let out a light hum.

  “I didn’t expect that Count Demme would be so interested in these three sculptures. Honestly, I hadn’t paid them much attention yet. Let me take a good look first.” Count Juneau smiled, then turned and began intensely studying the three sculptures, totally ignoring Count Demme.

  Seeing the scene before him, Count Demme sneered mentally. “Old fellow, do you really think you can hide your thoughts from me?”

  Like the murmurs of a river, the music continued to play in the main hall of the Proulx Gallery Count Juneau and Count Demme both quietly viewed various sculptures. The gallery remained as quiet as ever.

  “Dong. Dong.” The clocks on the walls began to chime.

  It was now midnight.

  “Miss, please come here.” Count Juneau said to the attendant, who immediately ran over.

  “These three sculptures, I am willing to buy for 1010 gold pieces.” Count Juneau made his bid at the last moment.

  The attendant saw that the current bid on the sculptures was 1000 gold pieces. She couldn’t help but glance sideways at Count Juneau. It was quite fortunate that Count Juneau had added ten pieces, and not just one.

  “Please wait a moment.” The attendant took out her record book.

  “Count Juneau, you actually just overbid by ten gold pieces? I’ll offer 1100 gold pieces!” Count Demme’s voice rang out. Count Juneau frowned as he turned to stare at Count Demme, who was casually striding over with a jocular air, an arrogant look in his eyes.

  As it turned out, Count Demme had been paying attention to Count Juneau this entire time, and as soon as Count Juneau made his bid, he came over.

  “I bid 1200.” Count Juneau said in a low voice, his fury clearly visible. Seeing the oncoming struggle between the two nobles, the attendant closed her record book and stood off to the side, happily watching the battle. The attendants of the Proulx Gallery loved to see customers enter bidding wars.

  Count Demme glanced at Count Juneau with ‘astonishment’. “Count Juneau, even the sculptures in the hall of the experts is worth only around a thousand gold coins. How could a frugal man such as you be willing to pay 1200 gold?”

  Frugal?

  Miserly was the word! Count Juneau was notorious for his miserliness.

  “Count Juneau, if even you are willing to bid 1200, then I can’t be stingy either. 1300 gold pieces!”

  Count Juneau’s gaze was ice cold. “The only reason why I am willing to offer a high price for these three sculptures is because I am fond of them. Their real value is only around a thousand gold or so. 1500 gold pieces! If you, Count Demme, are willing to make a higher bid, then you can take them.” Count Juneau made his final offer.

  In all honesty, Count Demme was not as insightful as Count Juneau. He didn’t discover the unique, strange aura to these statues.

  In Count Demme’s eyes, these statues didn’t hold any secrets. They were just three good pieces of art, worth a thousand gold or so. If he raised the price any further, there wouldn’t be much point.

  “Haha.” Count Demme laughed. “It’s so rare for Count Juneau to be so refreshingly magnanimous in his bidding. In honor of this occasion, I certainly can’t rob a man of his beloved possessions. These three sculptures are all yours, Count Juneau.”

  Only now did the attendant step forward again and begin recording the bid into her book.

  “Milord Counts, it is already midnight. The gallery is about to close. Count Juneau, tomorrow I will arrange for people to deliver the sculptures to you.” The attendant smiled. Only now did Count Juneau also smile.

  Count Juneau flicked a glance at Count Demme, feeling scornful. “Kid. How many years have I spent analyzing stonesculpting? You don’t have any insight, and you still want to bid against me?”

  *

  Book 3, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts – Chapter 6, The Invitation

  “Hrm, there were three sculptures in the main hall which sold for 1500 gold pieces each?” Austoni [Ao’Si’Tuo’Ni], a manager at the Proulx Gallery, stared at the records in astonishment. After flipping through the biographical details of the sculptor, Linley, he couldn’t help but be even more amazed. “These three are all made by Linley, and he’s only fifteen?”

  The world of sculpture was definitely that of a pyramid.

  The entire Holy Alliance had only five or six master level sculptors who stood at the peak of this field, and perhaps a hundred or so expert sculptors. From this, one could imagine how rare these experts were. Usually, someone who could be termed a ‘expert sculptor’ was someone who had an understanding of life and whose skill in this art was such that he could infuse this understanding into his sculptures. Only then would their sculptures have special auras.

  A fifteen year old expert sculptor?

  All but unheard of!

  “And this Linley fellow is a student at the Ernst Institute?” Austoni was growing more and more shocked. The Ernst Institute was the number one magus academy in the entire Yulan continent. “And he is a student of the fifth class? A fifteen year old student of the fifth class?”

  Austoni sucked in a cold breath.

  Genius!

  “Even if these three sculptures were only worth a thousand gold apiece, based on the age of the sculptor alone, the true value of these sculptures would definitely be several times greater.” Austoni became absolutely convinced of this.

  For a fifteen year old sculptor to be able to produce sculpture at this level meant that the value of his artwork would be exponentially greater.

  For this fifteen year old sculptor to also be a student at the Ernst Institute meant that he was a genius amongst geniuses. Once again, this would multiply the value of his sculptures.

  “This afternoon, I am going to the Ernst Institute. It has been quite some time since the Proulx Gallery has enrolled a new expert sculptor amongst our ranks.” Austoni made his decision. By virtue of the fact that all three of his sculptures had fetched a high price, Linley clearly had proved his worth.

  He was fully qualified to be invited to have his sculptures displayed in a private booth in the hall of experts.

  That very afternoon.

  A horse carriage drew up outside the main gates of
the Ernst Institute. It was Austoni and two guards. Arriving at the main gate, Austoni took out his identification showing himself to be a manager at the Proulx Gallery. The Ernst Institute actually deployed one of their own guards to escort him.

  At the instructional areas for the fifth grade students at the Ernst Institute.

  “Lord Austoni, this is where most of the instructors for the magi of the fifth rank congregate.” Smiling, the escort pushed the door open. Currently, around ten or so magi were here, chatting and laughing. To be qualified to instruct magi of the fifth rank, one would be a magi of the seventh or perhaps even the eighth rank.”

  As the door opened, these magi of exalted rank all turned to look.

  “Milords, this is Lord Austoni of the Proulx Gallery. He has some business which he would like to beseech your aid for.” The escort said respectfully.

  The magi all nodded calmly.

  The Proulx Gallery had multiple branches in all of the kingdoms and empires in the Yulan continent, and it possessed astonishing power and influence. Thus, even proud, arrogant magi would be fairly cordial when dealing with the Proulx Gallery.

  “Milords magi.” Austoni said with a smile. “I’m here in search of a student named Linley?”

  “Linley?”

  All of the magi laughed. Amongst them, a purple robed magi said with a smile, “Linley? That’s one of the two utmost geniuses of the Ernst Institute. He is a dual-element magus, wielding earth and wind. Go speak with his wind-element instructor. He might know.”

  “You can forget about the earth element instructor. This Linley fellow, in the past three months, has only shown his face twice in our earth element classes.” A whiskered old man said unhappily. “But Linley attends virtually every single wind element class.”

  Another bearded elder said with a smile, “I am Linley’s wind element instructor. I’m fairly knowledgeable about him. If you have any questions, you can ask me.”

  Austoni nodded. “A month ago, Linley brought three sculptures over to the Proulx Gallery. His sculptures already possess the grandeur of a expert. Based on the price it fetched this month, we have determined that Linley is qualified to have his sculptures displayed in a private booth in the hall of the experts. Thus, I have come to gift him with a silver magicard.”

  “A private booth?”

  Those magi were all amazed.

  These proud, lofty magi were all fairly knowledgeable when it came to sculptures. They all knew that it was extremely hard to even carve a physically perfect sculpture, much less one with a special aura or essence. To have a private booth at the Proulx Gallery was the dream of countless sculptors.

  “Are you sure it was Linley? This Linley fellow is normally quite diligent and hardworking in his studies. And he is only fifteen years old.” Linley’s wind element instructor, that silver haired, white robed old man said disbelievingly.

  Austoni smiled. “This is beyond any question. At the Proulx Gallery, we recorded down all of Linley’s biographical data. And, based on our data, he came to the Proulx Gallery in the company of young master Yale.”

  Those magi all nodded.

  And then, they all began to talk amongst themselves animatedly. One of the two utmost geniuses of the Ernst Institute was actually a expert sculptor as well. For a genius magus to be able to secure a private booth at the Proulx Gallery was something which would rarely occur even a single time over the course of a thousand years.

  Naturally, these magi were all amazed.

  “Milords magi, can any of you inform me where Linley is residing?” Austoni asked.

  That silver haired, white robed elder said, “Linley resides in dorm 1987.”

  “Dorm 1987?” Hearing this, Austoni was about to head there right away.

  The silver haired, white robed elder continued, “But please wait. Although Linley lives in dorm 1987, I happen to know that three weeks ago, he departed from the school to engage in training. Thus, unfortunately, I’m afraid you came here for nothing.”

  “Training?” Austoni started.

  Austoni knew quite well that magi of the fifth and sixth ranks were qualified to engage in real world field training. The Ernst Institute also strongly encouraged this practice.

  Austoni couldn’t help but sigh.

  He didn’t expect that despite rushing to the Ernst Institute so enthusiastically, this would be the end result.

  “Then milords magi, I will take my leave.” Austoni bowed respectfully. Those magi all nodded casually towards him, signifying acceptance, and no longer paid him any heed. All of them began to excitedly chat amongst themselves.

  “I didn’t imagine that this kid Linley is so formidable… “

  All of these magi instructors were unable to stop praising Linley who, without anyone knowing, was able to qualify to have a private booth at the Proulx Gallery.

  *

  Book 3, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts – Chapter 7, The Journey (part 1)

  Let us go back in time a few weeks, to June 5th.

  This afternoon, Linley bid farewell to his three bros. Carrying a leather sack on his back, Linley headed on the road to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.

  “Squeak squeak!” The little Shadowmouse squeaked happily from his perch on Linley’s shoulders.

  “Boss, we’re finally headed to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Wow, I’m so excited!” The little Shadowmouse’s voice rang out in Linley’s head. Linley just smiled. At this time, a white ray of light shone out and transformed into Doehring Cowart.

  Doehring Cowart instructed, “Linley, when travelling alone, you must be careful. Perhaps you will meet with bandits.”

  “I know, Grandpa Doehring.” Linley laughed.

  Grandpa Doehring had already repeated his warnings over and over about the dangers of traveling solo. Right now, Linley was dressed in sturdy cloth slacks and a sleeveless shirt. Just judging from his bulging alone, anyone would definitely be certain that he was a warrior.

  Per Grandpa Doehring, in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, a mage’s robes would be rather unwieldy and get in the way.

  Linley moved very quickly. Although the road from the Ernst Institute to the mountain range was rather rough, based on Linley’s stamina as a warrior of the fourth rank, in a single hour he easily traversed forty kilometers. Just at this time, he suddenly saw three people up ahead.

  “Hrm?” Linley’s gaze focused on one person in particular.

  That person was actually dressed in the robes of a student of the Ernst Institute. Of the other two, one was extremely muscular and bore a giant warblade on his back. The other man was extremely skinny, and had a shortsword sheathed by his side. That skinny man alertly turned his head and stared at Linley.

  Linley couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to them, and just sped up, preparing to pass them by.

  “Linley, is that you?” A voice suddenly said.

  Linley turned his head questioningly. That man dressed in the robes of a magus of the Ernst Institute smiled and called out, “Linley, I’m Delsarte [De’sha’te], remember me?”

  “Oh, Delsarte, it’s you!” Linley came to a halt.

  Linley actually knew this Delsarte.

  Delsarte, like him, was a wind magus of the fifth grade class. Although they couldn’t be considered to have a deep friendship, they were classmates after all.

  Delsarte brought the two warriors over, smiling as he warmly said, “Linley, I didn’t expect that you, a magus, would be dressed like this. I barely recognized you. Only when I saw that little Shadowmouse on your shoulder did I realize it was you.”

  “Kava [Ka’wa], Matt [Ma’te], let me introduce you. This is Linley, one of the two ultimate geniuses of our Ernst Institute. He’s only fifteen years old, but he is already a magus of the fifth rank.” Delsarte enthusiastically introduced.

  Kava was that muscularly built warrior, while Matt was the skinny warrior.

  “I’ve long heard Delsarte talk about the two ultimate geniuses
of the Ernst Institute. I didn’t expect that today we would have the good fortune to meet you.” Matt said courteously, while Kava’s eyes widened as round as an ox. “You are a magus? Why do you look like a warrior to me?”

  Linley didn’t explain. “All of you are heading to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?”

  Delsarte nodded. “Right. Kava and Matt travelled with me last year for field training. We have good teamwork. This year, we plan to do some exploration around the borders of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Linley, you should come with us. In a group, we’ll all be safer.”

  Linley nodded.

  “I’ll travel with them for now. Delsarte is a classmate of mine, so he should be trustworthy. When we reach the mountains, we’ll split up.” After making his decision, Linley and Delsarte’s trio all headed towards the mountains together.

  The four of them travelled at very high speed.

  Even the physically weak Delsarte was able to move rapidly through usage of the wind-style spell ‘Supersonic’. Thus, their group moved quickly through the barren roads.

  Kava’s loud voice rumbled, “Linley, if you join with us, then we would have two magi of the fifth rank. When the four of us work together, we might even be able to kill a magical beast of the sixth rank. The magicite cores of magical beasts of the sixth rank are worth around a thousand gold apiece. If we kill a few of them, we won’t have to worry about our living expenses for a century.”

  For most people, in a year, ten gold pieces was more than enough for living expenses.

  A thousand gold coins was an enormous sum.

  Linley’s heart was swayed. In the back of his mind, he suddenly was reminded of the books regarding magical beasts he had read. These books had discussed the energy core all magical beasts had within them; the magicite cores.

  “These magicite cores will solidify in the bodies of beasts of the third rank and higher. But for beasts which have not reached the sixth rank, the value of the cores is not high. They probably aren’t even worth as much as one of my sculptures.” Linley thought to himself.

  However, the magicite cores of magical beasts of the sixth rank were still only worth about a thousand gold.