Badge in Azure

Chapter 102: Demon’s Magic Book (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Seeing the look of honesty on Saleen’s face, the mage in grey robes did not know what to say. Saleen looked at him while he looked at Figo. Figo was talking to Faerun and was not looking at him.

“You…come back. This set of equipment shall be yours.” He had been defeated by Saleen. If Saleen wanted to fight with him with reason, he had many ways of luring him into making a mistake. Once a fight broke out, the emperor would naturally not side with an outsider. If Saleen did not take the bait, his actions now would seem suspicious to the emperor.

The storage room was under his management, yet the things inside were not his. No matter how much he liked this set of equipment, he could not keep it for himself.

A mage could understand another mage best and Saleen had definitely seen past him. He did not have to use any other tricks.

Saleen had no idea what was up with this set of equipment and had only judged it based on his newly gained intuition. In this storage room, the most valuable item had been this set of equipment, and moreover, he had seen a magic book.

There were already three magic books in his Ring of Gifts. However, all three of them were blank and served no use in combat. This black magic book should have been able to give him a surprise. He took down the black book, which was half the size of a normal magic book, from the shelf and opened it gingerly, almost as if it were a holy item.

On the black pages, words had been written in red ink. These words were complicated, almost like a music score. Each line was split into three levels and was even more confusing than the Figaro formula.

Saleen could only recognize less than one percent of these words. This was demon language, and it had been written out according to the demonic form. If it had been twenty or thirty thousand years ago, this magic book would have been a common item. Truly powerful magic was written out in ancient Myers language.

However, in present day, even a small demon like Nailisi was a powerful warrior, and this knowledge had been left behind by a supreme demon.

Demon magic book!

Humans had not enslaved demons for a short period of time. Back then, when humans had captured living beings from other dimensions, aside from using them as coolies, they had also used them to fight. Demons were a clan of sentient beings and could learn magic, and the masters of demons would create equipment for them to increase their combat abilities.

The demon magic book had been created around then. Until now, demons had disappeared in the Myers Mainland and the demon magic book had become a decorative object as well. No matter how powerful a mage was, they would not be able to grasp demon language, and since it had been too long ago, this meaningless heritage had been stopped as well.

Saleen maintained his composure. He might not have been able to fully understand the demon language, but Nailisi could. Once she matured, she would be able to obtain the demon’s memory. Then, he could have Nailisi translate for him and the magic book would be able to demonstrate its true usefulness. Seeing how unwilling the grey robed mage was, he must have been able to understand a little of the demon language.

Perhaps the knowledge in this book had not been much to humans back then, but for humans now, it was a powerful instrument.

Flipping through the pages towards the end, only then did Saleen come across a blank page.

The black page was slightly thicker than usual, almost like metal. Aside from the magic patterns on it, there was not a single trace of words. Saleen rubbed it between his hands and the mage in grey robes could feel his heart bleed. Saleen looked up at him and gave a smile, thinking: This magic book is definitely weird. It has some space reserved for magic but does not have any elemental properties.

With the exception of silver magic books, a normal magic book would leave eighteen pages blank for storing magic. From Grade 4 to Grade 6 magic, every grade could store six spells. It was for one of each of the spells of the six elements.

This demon magic book had only six pages of space to store magic and had not been separated by the elements. It did not leave behind any fixed magic formulas and there was not a single word of spells or magic arrays.

Could it store any kind of elemental magic within its pages? Saleen did not dare to experiment. Before grasping demon language, he could not fool around with something so precious. If the magic that he stored was fixed, it would be such a waste.

Saleen extended his hand and took the black ring, putting it on. Using his focus to give it a quick scan, he released the secrets of the ring. It was an ancient spatial ring. The space was tiny, much smaller than the Ring of Gifts and less than ten square feet. The only difference it had from a present day spatial prop was that the space was definite, almost like a box. The interior had magic patterns etched onto it.

It was said that a demon ring could not store any magic. Its value was very different from the bracelet that he had gotten from Aini. The space inside of it was too small, but for now, it was a rare toy for Saleen. Since it was a spatial prop that was not controlled by the grade of the user, he would be able to accept its small size.

Saleen stored the demon magic book inside of it and took another bracelet from the shelf, putting it on his wrist.

There were nine troughs on the bracelet to inlay gemstones. There were no magic arrays etched on it and the quality of the metal was unknown, so it might have been a special metal found only in the demon dimension. Putting the demon bracelet on his wrist, Saleen could naturally feel the changes in the bracelet.

The nine troughs on the bracelet were in complete contact with Saleen’s body. It did not matter if there were magic nucleuses or gemstones inlaid within. Either of their powers could be used directly.

It was something simple and practical, just like the white crystal ring that Jason had given him. Once a gemstone was inlaid, the bracelet would possess a function that was appropriate to it. For example, inlaying a white crystal could allow magic chords to be restored rapidly. Inlaying a black crystal would enable it to store death magic. Inlaying benitoite would increase the powers of divine spells…

Saleen smiled as he carefully stored the clothes, shoes, and gloves from the shelf, thanking the mage in the grey robes. Seeing his items being taken by Saleen, he looked away, not caring about him.

Saleen heart skipped a beat. Even though this set of equipment had not been the most valuable in the room, it was definitely the rarest. He could understand the pursuit of knowledge of another mage, something that money and power could not be compared to. He had understood this after staying in Bitter Water Prefecture for some time. Not many mages had seen as many books as him. The number of books that Viscountess Lex provided for the low-grade mages was considered a lot, but they barely numbered in the hundreds. If he took away this demon magic book, this mage in grey robes would never be able to continue his research.

Demon language was different from human language and the words themselves carried magic. Every time they were read, there was a chance of learning from them. It was no wonder that the grey robed mage was this upset. If it had been him, he would have been upset too.

“Mage?” Saleen said softly

“Yes?” The mage turned back and Saleen said respectfully, “I am slightly knowledgable in the field of demon language, and even though I really want to stay and ask for your advice, I think I will be leaving soon. Could you leave your address? I will write to you.”

The grey robed mage was momentarily stunned before he understood what was happening. This young mage was a regular mage and had a proper lineage. He was used to exchanging ideas and not keeping knowledge to himself. This could be seen from how he immediately found the demon equipment. He definitely knew what he was doing. A regular mage would not chase after power blindly. He would be curious about any and all knowledge.

The grey robed mage immediately changed his impression of Saleen and said softly, “If you are knowledgable in the field of demon language, then this equipment will not be wasted on you. My address is here. I won’t ever leave this place. What…what is your name?”

“Saleen. Saleen Metatrin.”

“I’m Sith… Saleen, before you leave, you can come find me again. I will give you what I have discovered in the past few years,” The grey robed mage said in a serious tone.

Saleen was a little embarrassed. He had eyed the demon magic book for its combat ability. Sith, on the other hand, was a fanatic for the knowledge inside of it.

“Master Sith, I’m honored…”

Saleen had not expected that a small act of charity could have won the grey robed mage over. It seemed unbelievable. However, with much thought, he could understand why it had happened. For a royal mage, the price of equipment did not matter. With an enormous empire backing them, the only thing they required was the pursuit of true knowledge.

In the time that Saleen and the mage were having this conversation, the rest of the mages had already found equipment that they were satisfied with. Saleen did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw that Nailisi and Sika had each taken a set of magic equipment too. Nailisi had put on an expensive set of magic robes. Twirling in front of Sika, she asked, “Are these clothes pretty?”

“Disgusting.” Sika was wearing magic armor. Magic armor was a rare item as it was difficult to gather the materials for its creation. Each individual material was not expensive, but when it came together in a set, a lot of time was required and its effects were similar to that of magic robes.

In any case, for a heavy weapon, thin magic armor was like paper. The only advantage it had was that it was easier to move in, but what sort of mage would compare their physical capabilities with anyone else?

Keeping a distance and using magic to control the tempo of combat. That was the way mages fought. Once they let a warrior come close, even a beginner swordmaster’s sword aura could kill a grand mage.

Saleen did not stop the two. In any case, the Qin Empire had money, so they might as well take it. The only regret he had was that besides the demon equipment, there was no other equipment that included a magic book.

Narnia had chosen equipment that included a dainty magic wand with chlorite inlaid in it. This magic wand could also store magic and was a rare item. The other mages gained much as well, and at least everyone had managed to get a piece of spatial equipment for themselves.

Spatial equipment was something that usually only grand mages could open, and moreover, it was not cheap. These lifestyle mages had a good eye for things, and had chosen all of the more expensive items.

Faerun did not take any equipment, but he took a set of scrolls.

The six magic scrolls contained six Grade 8 spells in them. These scrolls had been the most expensive items. Saleen was slightly envious. However, he could not have done anything with them anyways. Only a Grade 7 mage or above could activate them.

After they had chosen their items, the grey robed mage named Sith sent them out of the storage room and looked regretfully at the empty shelf at the corner. Even though he had used memory magic to memorize the contents of the demon magic book, he would never be able to experience its ever-changing demon language ever again.