Badge in Azure Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Alchemy Tower (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Peng!
Lex removed a component from the body of a fully constructed puppet and dropped it on the table. This component was about one foot long, and its core was a complex metallic gear. The exterior was interlocked, forming layers of small annular sheets.
“Ee?” Hogina jumped off the table and tried to take that component. Nailisi, who was standing to the side, extended her arm and stopped Hogina’s arm in its place.
“Hogina, you want this item right?” Saleen said. He felt that Nailisi was becoming increasingly useful. Without Saleen saying anything, Nailisi could accurately sense whatever thoughts he had.
“Hmph, I have seen many puppet components.” Hogina might have said that, but she yearned to touch the component in the bottom of her heart.
“Is this item not valuable?” Saleen looked extremely astonished.
“It is valuable, but it is not enough for an apartment,” Hogina replied angrily as she yanked her arm out of Nailisi’s grip. Her strength was inferior to that of Nailisi’s. In fact, even if Hogina was blessed with the Potency spell, she would still not be stronger than Nailisi. Hence, she could only look at this wonderful alchemical machine component, and she could not touch it.
“What if I have the complete set?” Saleen and Lex were fairly skilled in business negotiation. They had not brought out the complete fully constructed puppet. They had only used a single component to tempt Hogina.
“Complete set? Impossible! This item has a history of over one thousand years. If you have a complete set, then you should send it to the Holy Rock City where you can fetch a better price.” Hogina possessed a very keen pair of eyes, and Saleen marveled at her judgment. Furthermore, whenever Hogina spoke, it completely did not sound like her age at all.
Lex laughed and said, “If I take it out right now, your floor will be damaged. This floor is made from sea pear wood, and if it is damaged, you will claim compensation from me.”
Hogina looked at Lex, and her eyes darted darted about wildly as she considered the proposition. Then, Hogina spoke to herself, “A grade-6 mage should not be lying. Teacher, teacher!” Hogina suddenly ran out of the room like a gust of wind, and hollered along the corridor.
“What is it?” A gentle and elegant voice sounded from the other end of the corridor.
“Teacher, there is a good deal.” Hogina knocked on the door at the opposite side while shouting anxiously.
Saleen looked at the door to the opposite side. The door was split into a left and right piece. Both pieces of the door slid open and a man who was around Jason’s age walked out. Saleen was taken aback. This man looked fairly normal. It was just that…
Hogina’s teacher had six legs, and a tail at his back. Furthermore, there was a thick, large piece of metal equipment on his left forearm. This tubular metallic equipment kept spinning on top of his arm.
“Teacher…” Hogina dragged this six-legged man forward, and pointed to the table in her room.
“Oh? That’s interesting.” The six-legged man caught sight of the alchemical component in one glance. His legs flitted at an astonishing speed, and in almost the span of a single breath, this man had come before the table.
At this point in time, Saleen discovered that the lower half of this man was fitted with a set of alchemical equipment to replace his two original legs. This equipment had a copper color and resembled a kind of giant desert scorpion. So, this man was Hogina’s teacher?
Hogina’s teacher did not wear a magic robe. He only had half a piece of magic armor on his upper body, and his hair was bundled together by a metal ring. Even Saleen’s icy sight could not decipher his grade.
Saleen knew that if he could not identify a person’s grade, then the person must have been a sorcerer. Unless a person wore a magic robe like the one on Lex, Saleen could identify the levels of professionals who were of grade-6 and below.
Hogina’s teacher stared at the component on the table for around a minute. Then, he spoke, “Master Saleen, you want to buy an apartment in the alchemy tower?”
“Oh, yes.” Saleen was not surprised at all. The two rooms were separated by only a corridor, so it was not surprising that Hogina’s teacher had overheard the conversation.
“This component can be exchanged for the smallest room, the kind which is used to store food. If you have a complete puppet and you can also guarantee that this component is authentic, then you can exchange them for a larger room.”
“No, I want an apartment.” Saleen immediately rejected the deal when he heard that a fully constructed puppet could only be exchanged for one room. Saleen had five people with him, and he definitely did not want to share a room with a death mage.
“An apartment? Do you know how much an apartment on the top floor of the alchemy tower costs?” Hogina’s teacher asked.
“No, I don’t. I only know that it would be extremely arduous to find another puppet like this on the entirety of the Myers Mainland.”
“If you have two of these puppets, I will give you an apartment. Saleen, an apartment in this alchemy tower spans a few hundred meters. But…”
“But what?” Saleen followed the pace and tone of the man and asked this question.
“If you possess the drawing for this puppet, you can exchange it for an entire story,” The man spoke in a seductive tone and he used his pale blue eyes to look at Saleen. However, Saleen shook his head.
“There’s only one. If you want two, we will have to renegotiate the terms.”
“Hmph!” The metal tube on the man’s left arm spun furiously. He rubbed his eyebrows and looked at Saleen. Saleen felt like he was being watched by a scorpion. The tail on the man’s back was wagging, and if those needles at the end of the tail stung someone, the outcome might end up more fatal than a sting by a giant desert scorpion.
Saleen pretended not to notice it. There were rules in Alchemy City, and they had to abided by. Otherwise, it would be as good as not establishing those rules. In Alchemy City, there could be no robbery and no fights. Otherwise, that irksome mage who had been harassing Lex would have been blasted into smithereens already.
“What terms?” Hogina’s teacher narrowed his eyes.
“One fully constructed puppet for an apartment on the highest story. And that is only the basic deal. The additional condition is that I will give another fully constructed puppet in exchange for the results from your research.” After Saleen finished speaking, he laughed and continued, “If I had the drawing, I would have been able to sell these puppets already. I would not have bothered to negotiate with you anymore.”
“Saleen, are you from Sikeqinya?”
“Yes.” Saleen was not embarrassed. Since it was a transaction, there was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a mutual affair for both parties to negotiate the terms and conditions. Saleen could tell that Hogina’s teacher was being sarcastic. The teacher meant to say that he thought only of temporal gain.
Hogina’s teacher had not expected Saleen’s response to be like that. He had thought that Saleen was a pure Qin person due to his blue eyes and black hair. Unexpectedly, Saleen had actually replied that he was indeed from Sikeqinya.
“People from Sikeqinya used to say that a good neighbor means a good deal. Saleen, if you want stay in this alchemy tower, then you’ll have to be a good neighbor.”
Saleen grinned and said, “Master, when the people from Sikeqinya have new neighbors, they gift items to them. Take this component as a gift from me to you then.”
“Then, I shall accept it.” Hogina’s teacher remained indifferent and stored the alchemical component into his spatial equipment. This time around, Saleen could see very clearly that the spinning metallic tube on the teacher’s arm was in fact a type of spatial equipment.
“What about your present?” Saleen asked unabashedly. Since Saleen had seen that Hogina’s teacher did not have the intention to reciprocate, he had to ask for it directly.
“We have to sign a magic contract before anything else, Saleen. As a mage, you should have patience.” Hogina’s teacher took out a book of contracts placed it on the table. Then, he said, “Take a look first.”
Saleen took the contract book and flipped through a few pages. This was one of the safest kinds of contract there were, as it was used purely for business transactions. There were magic images and magic words in the contract book to specify the details of the property for sale. The blank spaces were reserved for the purchaser’s conditions, signature, and magic imprint.
“Forty-ninth floor?” Saleen saw the picture on the magic image and noted that the apartment in the contract book was not situated on the highest story.
“The fiftieth story is a farm. It is not suitable for humans to live in. If you have any magic beasts, you can keep them on the fiftieth story. There will be specialists from Alchemy City who will look after them for you.”
Saleen read the terms of purchase repeatedly. When he felt that there were no more issues, he then dipped the magic pen in ink and signed his name in the contract book before writing down the terms of purchase.
Hogina’s teacher was not required to sign anything. Nine signatures naturally appeared on the contract. These nine names represented the ultimate powers of Alchemy City – the nine grade-9 sorcerers.
Once the contract was completed, a magic light lit up and the contract book was split into three portions. Saleen took one set, while Hogina’s teacher collected the other two.
“Hogina, lead them to the house. And remember to bring the puppets back.” Hogina’s teacher made no mention of reciprocating Saleen’s gift, so Saleen stopped probing as well. That was the first time Saleen had seen a sorcerer who had brushed him aside.
“Follow me.” Hogina grinned from ear to ear as she walked out of the room with light, quick footsteps. Saleen and the others followed suit and left the room. Then, Hogina’s teacher suddenly called out for Saleen.
“Saleen!”
“Master?” Saleen turned around.
“My name is Inbosa. I will give you a copy of the research results of the fully constructed puppet when I am done.”
“Thank you very much, Master.” Saleen executed a mage’s bow, and caught up to Hogina’s pace. The pictures did not mean much to Saleen. Not only did the production of fully constructed puppets require high-level alchemy and large amounts of money, but a lot of time would be required as well. All these things were not an issue for Alchemy City, but Saleen did not possess so much time and manpower. He wanted the results only because Lex wanted them.
The land under Bitter Water Prefecture was expandable, but its location was not ideal so the population could not be increased easily. It would not be enough to rely solely on their current manpower if Lex wanted to develop her county in a sustainable manner. The fully constructed puppets were far more useful than the war puppets on the battlefield. An emblem group only needed ten fully constructed puppets to increase their offensive ability by multiple folds.
In the hall on the tenth story, Saleen accidentally caught a glimpse of the mage who had been harassing Lex. That mage was waiting in front of the doors to the lift. The three men behind him had looks of worry on their faces.
Lex’s jovial mood was now ruined. The mage in a grey robe glared voraciously at Saleen, causing Saleen to be puzzled. What have I done? Why is that idiot looking at me in this manner?
“Mage, I want to challenge you to a duel!” The mage in a grey robe stared at Saleen unwaveringly.
“Not interested.” Saleen shook his head, and said to Hogina, “Let’s go, I don’t know this fellow.”