Badge in Azure Chapter 249

Chapter 249: Mage Group (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The mages had been meditating. When Saleen pushed the cabin door open, they all opened their eyes immediately. Morpheus waited outside, and Saleen walked in with Sika and Jupiter.
The sorcerer in a black robe glanced at Saleen and expressed his praise in his eyes. This young man was already a grade-4 mage with a solid foundation, a rare talent even in Alchemy City.
“Sit down, mage.” The sorcerer pointed at the two empty chairs in front of the table. Saleen casually sat down, Sika stood behind him in a precautionary manner, and Jupiter did not dare to sit.
Saleen said in a low voice, “Sit down, Jupiter. If they ask you any questions, answer them properly.”
“Yes sir.” Jupiter greeted those three mages respectfully and sat down uneasily when he saw no objection from them. He had once been a mage apprentice and admiring mages had become his instinct. These mages had unattainable powers and he did not dare to be rude even if they were unruly people.
Saleen introduced himself unhurriedly, “Masters, I’m Saleen Metatrin, a grade-4 mage from Bitter Water Country. I travelled with the hunting ships from Alchemy City over two months ago. Our ships were attacked and completely destroyed, and I have been drifting on the sea since then. This is Jupiter, a pirate I have captured. Perhaps he has some information.”
Instead of looking at Jupiter, the sorcerer looked at Saleen curiously and asked, “Your last name is Metatrin?”
“Yes.” Saleen did not understand the sorcerer’s question. Although Metatrin was a rare surname, it was not so unique that it would catch a mage’s attention.
“Saleen Metatrin?” The sorcerer asked again and Saleen nodded.
“Where is Bitter Water County?”
“The former Bitter Water Prefecture. It was built into a county with the permission of Emperor Chanake less than two years ago.”
“Where’s your hometown?”
“Ceylon City, in Sikeqinya. It is a small city,” Saleen answered frankly. He had nothing to hide concerning his hometown. Information that could be found by Lex’s personnel would be no secret to others.
“Hahaha… ” The sorcerer laughed, leaving Saleen at a loss for what to do.
“What’s your teacher’s name?” The sorcerer continued his questions.
Saleen’s heart leapt. I came to Alchemy City to find my teacher, didn’t I? Does this sorcerer know who I am? He hesitated for a little while and answered, “My teacher is Jason Statham.”
“Well, Saleen. Don’t you know that Alchemy City is not united internally? If you had stated the wrong teacher’s name, you might have been dead before you knew it.” The sorcerer released a strong elemental aura as he spoke, stirring the air outside of his black robe.
Saleen was shocked. How powerful was he? Although he knew that a sorcerer’s ability to control the elements was much stronger than that of a grand mage, he still could not believe it. The sorcerer standing in front of him had achieved the effects of magic using mental power to vibrate the elemental powers around him, without actually using magic!
What? Is the sorcerer threatening me?
Saleen laughed immediately and said, “My teacher told me that he will recognize me as his student only when I am a grand mage. I have achieved this grade through my own efforts, so I can state my teacher’s name now. I am a mage from Bitter Water County and have nothing to do with the affairs of Alchemy City. There are about a hundred sorcerers in the city, and I don’t think other people will find fault with a grade-4 mage like me. Even if they do, how can I refuse to admit that I was guided by my teacher solely because of that?”
“Very good, Saleen. However, this is very important. If you can prove you are Jason’s student, you will not have to go through an investigation after arriving at Alchemy City.”
“Go through an investigation?” Sarleen did not understand.
“Alchemy City has lost one grade-6 mage, about a dozen grade-4 mages, and four ships. They haven’t found the person responsible yet. This accident even affected trade between Alchemy City and Cloudflow. A great number of mages have died, and you come back alive. Do you think they will believe your side of the story?”
Saleen was silent for a while, then answered, “A grade-4 mage like me does not have the power to sink four ships. To go back and accept the investigation is nothing. However, if this will bring any trouble to my teacher, I would rather not mention it.”
“Hey, you have said that you are Jason’s student and I will have to verify it. Young mage, my patience is limited.” As the sorcerer spoke, the elemental vibrations around his body grew stronger. Saleen even felt the prelude of the six great elements forming magic all together.
Saleen pursed his lips, took out the white magic robe that Jason had given him out of the Ring of Gifts, and draped it over his body.
“This robe was given to me by my teacher and I cannot bring myself to wear it.” Saleen fondled the magic nucleus on the robe’s belt, which had not been consumed, and sighed. When I was just a grade-1 mage, teacher must have given me this grade-3 magic robe hoping that I would become a grand mage. I have lived up to his expectations and become a grand mage, and now teacher will surely feel happy for me.
The three mages looked at one another. They were familiar with this magic robe. It had belonged to Jason when he was young. A robe, however, was not convincing proof, and they needed to be cautious about this.
Saleen saw their expressions and knew that he needed to show them more evidence. He took out the crystal white ring from his collection, put it on, and showed it to them. He explained, “This was given to me by my teacher, a white crystal ring with his spiritual imprint. Other people will need to clear this imprint before they can use it.”
“Let me take a look,” the middle-aged female mage said. She pointed at the ring and a white flash hit the white crystal.
Saleen admired this female mage for her skills. She had cast Light Magic and used the minor vibrations of the light elements to examine the spiritual imprint. Her skills were superb.
“Jason’s spiritual imprint is still on it.” The female mage smiled, and said to Saleen, “Welcome, Saleen. We three are senior to Jason under the same teacher.”
“How can I trust you on this?” Saleen felt ecstasy in his heart but his expression did not change. He also feared that they were lying to him.
“This is simple. Either way, you can neither defeat us nor run from us. We will take you to Jason.” The sorcerer laughed out loud. Saleen also laughed. He had thought about how powerful the group of mages which included his teacher would be. Judging from this, at the very least, the powers of the sorcerer were strong. His ability to control the elements even exceeded that of a grade-8 sorcerer.
Mages valued inheritance very much. If these three people are from the same group of mages as my teacher, then they will be my powerful backers since their foundations are more solid than mine. Saleen had used to think that he would be able to defeat a grade-5 mage, but after meeting two people from his teacher’s group of mages, he knew that he had been wrong.
“My name is Gaia. This is Tritiny and Baifan.” The sorcerer immediately changed his attitude after verifying Saleen’s identity. Saleen felt that a new, familiar aura had appeared around him, and the aura was similar to that of his teacher.
“This is Sika, my good friend.” Saleen stood up, greeted those three elders again, and introduced Sika specifically.
“A great Caucasian warrior. Saleen, take good care of her,” Gaia gave Saleen an earnest warning, in magic language this time.
“Of course. This man is, um… Jupiter, a man who is useful to me,” Saleen responded in magic language.
“Don’t worry, Saleen. Since you have met us, we won’t do anything to those pirates. But don’t go to Alchemy City just yet. Come with us to Sregl Island and help us figure out the matters regarding Alchemy City.” Seeing that Saleen wanted to say something, Gaia stopped and waited for Saleen to speak.
“There are also two companions and a follower of mine on the ship behind us.”
“A follower? You are so young, Saleen. Why do you have a follower now? Isn’t that tough?” Gaia unreservedly wanted to teach him a lesson in Jason’s place.
“It’s not like that. That guy knows some secrets of mine and he is being hunted by the Holy See. I have to keep him around me.”
“Well, why don’t you just kill him?” Gaia asked naturally.
“Um… killing is not really a good thing to do. Daniel is not a good guy, but he has not done anything evil either. Uncle Gaia, I can’t depend on my teacher for everything. Daniel has good skills.”
“Well then, bring them here.” Gaia was obviously not interested in this follower.
“I should do it myself to avoid any misunderstandings,” Saleen stopped him hurriedly. Other people would not be able to find Lex.
“Okay, I will have Morpheus take you there.”
“Don’t worry about that. I don’t need a boat.”
“Really? Saleen, that ship is about half a mile behind us. You can’t fly there even with flying equipment.”
“I can manage,” Saleen said with confidence. Gaia and the others were curious. Saleen was merely a grade-4 mage. How would he cross such a distance?
The three mages who were older than Saleen by half of his age followed him outside in curiosity. Saleen grinned and greeted them. His body was enveloped by heavy water vapor that soon took the form of dark clouds.
“Eh?”
Gaia, Baifan, and Tritiny were all surprised. They were familiar with elemental conversion, but were surprised by the fact that a grade-4 mage had been able to master the skills of a grade-7 sorcerer.
Saleen flew away. A flash of dark cloud disappeared into the sea without producing the same turbulence as a Flying spell. Gaia looked at the other two sorcerers and said, “Jason’s student is good, but his grade is too low to help us with the current problems on Sregl Island.”
“Hmph! Even our teacher is not with us anymore. We are not afraid of anybody else. Don’t tell Saleen about the situation on the island. We will be doing Jason a favor if we send him away without getting him involved.”
“Argh! I have no idea how Jason’s doing with his promotion to a sorcerer,” Gaia sighed. Saleen’s abilities had surprised them, but a grade-4 mage would not be able to change anything in the end. The pressure facing Sregl Island could be alleviated if Jason became a sorcerer.