Map
The lack of changes to his stats and wizard ranking was within Leylinâs expectations. After all, he had used the Devilblood Dagger to advance in rank before, and couldnât be as arrogant now that he was in the capital. The bottleneck was understandable.
What he HAD gained with the materials here was that heâd managed to complete the analysis of the 2nd level of the Weave, removing the restriction on spell slots for it.
âThough I havenât been working hard on increasing my wizard ranking to avoid arousing suspicion, I have already accumulated enough resources. There wonât be any problems with becoming a high-ranked wizard. Once I leave the capital, Iâll be able to advance quicklyâ¦â
Leylin was very happy about his progress in power, but there was something that made him frown. Since two years ago, heâd 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.
âIs it that bunch of evil paladins of the God of Justice?â 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.
âIâve recorded most of the information that I can from the Wizardsâ Guild. There are only a few aspects of research left, and those are nearing completion. Dambrath is a small country after all, and itâs already amazing enough that they have reserves suitable for up to rank 15 wizardsâ¦â
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.
âBut before leaving, there are a few things I need to handle⦠I should use this opportunity to take a look thereâ¦â A map appeared before Leylinâs eyes. This was the sacrifice from the unlucky captain of the Ashen Hawks, who had been a high-ranked warrior.
âThe 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, Iâve only just incidentally found this place⦠I never expected it to be there. What kind of surprises are lying in wait for me?â Leylin mumbled to himself, before getting up and leaving the room.
âYoung Master!â âYoung Master!â 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!
âMm.â 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, Leylinâs 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.
âLeylin!â 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.
âMm. Julia, Jale, Angelo. Good afternoon!â Leylin nodded, with a gentle and calm expression on his face. These wizards were all Simellâs students. He was currently studying with them under Simell, and they therefore they were somewhat like classmates.
âSenior Leylin, help me take a look at this bottle of âExploding Potionâ! Iâve tried it so many times but to no availâ¦â 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 Deliaâs 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, âThere are errors in the settling time of the neutralising agent. Also, the spell was cast far too earlyâ¦â
While he had only made a few comments, many wizards suddenly looked enlightened.
âAlright! If thereâs nothing else, Iâm going in.â After casually chatting with others, Leylin entered the wizard tower, leaving behind gazes of envy.
âMentor Simell gave Leylin the authority to enter the wizard tower as he wishes. Thatâs something only a few disciples get the chance to have!â Julia gazed at the tremendous wizard tower with an envious expression.
âHe is a rank 10 wizard, the most powerful magic genius here! If you get to rank 10, mentor will also give you that rightâ¦â 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.
âWe really canât match up to that talentâ¦â The few other wizards were around rank 5, and could only smile wryly at each other after hearing that sentence.
âGrandmaster Simell!â Leylin had rather good luck. Simell hadnât been performing any experiments, rather resting in the entertainment room outside.
âOh, itâs Leylin. Come in, take a seat!â 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, âGrandmaster Simell, I hope to get the authority to enter Alchemy Room Number 1!â
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.
âMm, looks like youâre finally preparing to begin! Have you gathered all the materials?â Simell chuckled as he glanced at Leylinâs left hand.
âThanks to you, Iâve collected everything. I still need to perform the last step in lab conditions within the wizard towerâ¦â Leylin rubbed the ring on his left hand.
âMm, Iâll authorise the tower genie to let you in. Also, please take Julia and the others into your care a little. I donât have that much timeâ¦â 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.
âAlright, I got it!â 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.
âTower genie, do I have the right to go in yet?â Leylin asked bluntly.
âMaster has authorised wizard Leylin Faulen to use Alchemy Room Number 1, as well as the elemental pools, particle accelerator, rank 2 magic puppetsâ¦â A robotic voice sounded. This was the tower genie of the entire wizard tower.
With its help, a wizardâs 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 couldnât go through with it.
Mithril, adamantine, and all sorts of items were shifted out of Leylinâs bag of holding.
âIt took me such a long time. I finally have a way to use itâ¦â Leylin had a smile on his face, the Ring of Wizardry already on the table. Dazzling lights enveloped the ring.
â¦â¦
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, Wizardâs 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.
âMm! 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!â 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.
âAll thatâs left is this mapâ¦â Leylin looked through the information the A.I. Chip supplied as he muttered to himself.
âThe names here are the original ones, and itâs been hundreds of years since some of these places had these names⦠Seems like this isnât Siegfriedâs treasure map but something even more mysteriousâ¦â 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. Heâd whiled his free time away trying to decode the map. Recently, he had finally begun to discover its true secret!