Badge in Azure

Chapter 103: Demon Magic Book (Part 2）
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Viscountess Lex and Saleen and the others were arranged to stay in the palace. As they were brought to the place to stay, Saleen found out that all of the soldiers and mages who followed Viscountess Lex had received some form of reward by the emperor.

In Bitter Water Prefecture, Saleen had thought that Viscountess Lex was very rich. Since coming to Holy Rock City, he immediately felt that Bitter Water Prefecture had only been just that. The equipment that Viscountess Lex gave out was counted precisely, but the emperor carried out sets upon sets of equipment out from the storage room.

These new pieces of equipment had an ancient look to them, almost as if they had been sealed away for many years.

It was a pity that there was not some form of royal banquet. Their dinners were sent directly to their rooms. After eating, the servants took away the cutleries and sent up some tea before disappearing. Saleen spread himself out on the bed. The ceiling was very high and if he had not possessed have the sharp eyesight of a mage, he would not have been able to make out the drawings on the ceiling.

Saleen was not excited. Even though he had risen from a beggar to a mage and he even had the chance to stay in a palace for a few days, this massive change in position had been hard to accept.

His teacher had disappeared and he had no home to return to. Others might have been able to pursue knowledge freely, but he could only store up his energy. Even if he did manage to kill Earl Sufonso, so what? He had a country but no home. No matter how large the Myers Mainland was, he was but a guest. Saleen did not begin practicing magic as he usually did. Instead, he took out the badge and some receipts his father had left behind.

The oldest receipts were at least seven to eight hundred years old. Back then, the Metatrin family had not yet completely declined. Perhaps after exacting his revenge, he could find the people whose names were on the receipts to recollect their money.

Saleen folded his legs and took a look at the family badge by his side. There was a lightning shape mark etched deeply into the black badge, almost as if it had just been formed.

“Master?”

Saleen lifted his head, seeing Nailisi standing at the doorway. Her elegant magic robe was missing and she was back in her dazzling attire. Saleen had explored much of the outside world and naturally, this set of clothes was a little too eyecatching. It was simply that he was too lazy to bother with Nailisi any longer. She would always have her reasons, and perhaps these clothes would stop her from causing so much trouble.

“Come in.” Saleen waved at her. Nailisi smiled and ran to the bedside, jumping onto it. The bed was big and had no problems sleeping four to five people. Nailisi leaned against Saleen. Looking at the receipts on the bed, she asked, “What are these? They don’t seem to be worth much money.”

“My father’s belongings,” Saleen replied nonchalantly.

“Master, are you sad?” Nailisi blinked, resting her hand on his chest.

“Nailisi, do you miss home?” Saleen pushed her hand away and asked.

“No,” She replied straightforwardly.

“Why?”

“Because I can’t go back anyway.”

Hearing this from Nailisi nearly made tears flow from Saleen’s eyes. Because I can’t go back anyway. They were such simple words. How was he any different from a demon that had been enslaved? They both had nowhere to go. Without hope, there was no reason to talk about despair. Everyone had a family, even Aini. Viscountess Lex had left her father when she was young, but at least she could return to visit.

Seeing Saleen saddened, Nailisi straightened up and gave him a hug, saying softly, “Master, do not be sad. Nailisi will accompany you.”

“But you are a demon. All the books say that demons constantly fantasize about their masters getting into trouble, hoping that they will be lonely and miserable.” Saleen did not push her away. In this moment, he was dazed.

“Why does that matter? I do not hate you. Even if no one cares about you, you are still my master.” Nailisi was expressionless, almost as if she were talking to herself.

“Do you want freedom?” Saleen asked suddenly.

Nailisi released him and sat up again. Now she was the one dazed.

“You still want your freedom…”

“If the contract is annulled, I will eat you first.” Nailisi looked even sadder than Saleen. She turned away, pulling her knees up, and placed her chin on her arms.

“Why?”

“So long as you are alive, I will never be free. Was this not mentioned in the books?”

Saleen sighed. This had been written in the books. He had just wanted to know if Nailisi would speak the truth. Nailisi had spoken the truth, but he was not happy at all. So long as he was alive, she would never be free.

“Master, do not think about such unhappy things. Take that thing out,” Nailisi pointed at Saleen’s demon ring.

“Do you understand this?” Saleen put away the receipts and badge and took out the demon magic book.

Nailisi took the magic book and opened it, caressing the words on its pages. “As I have said, I may be a small demon, but my blood is pure. Demon language… it is not something that any demon can understand.”

“What is written in it?” Saleen was very concerned about the contents of the demon magic book.

“This is a diary.”

“A diary?” Saleen was disappointed. Had the demon who had written this book had problems? This was such a rare magic ingredient and it had used it as a diary?

“The owner of the demon was a powerful human. He brought it along to countless dimensions. At the fifth dimension, they stopped to find the flame elf. Elves have elemental protection and survive like the gods of the warm abyss…”

Saleen slowly quieted down, reading along with Nailisi and going into the story of this demon.

Being different from every other human book that described demons, this demon magic book was a true reflection of the feelings of a certain demon. This demon had respected its master a great deal and had eaten anything that disrespected its master. During their travels through the various dimensions, the demon had transformed from a combat warrior into a powerful mage and gained the ability to control the elements. Everything that it learned from the various dimensions was translated to magic, and it created many unusual spells.

However, the lifespans of humans were too short. A demon could survive for tens of thousands of years while a human could only survive for around three thousand years. So that its master could survive, the demon distorted the coordinates of the dimensions so they could come to the fifth dimension.

“You mean humans can live for three thousand years?” Saleen was shocked. Why could humans now only live for hundreds of years? Even a sorcerer could not live for more than a thousand years.

Nailisi did not bother replying to his question as she flipped through the black pages of the magic book, explaining the rest of its contents.

Flame elves had survived in the lowest level of the abyss. In addition to the various living things within the abyss, fire elements protected them as well. Beneath the fire of the abyss, fire elements would never wither. The demon and the master had needed to separate temporarily and researched ways to deal with the Fire Magic. Different ways to counter fire magic were found, but this magic only had a temporary advantage in the abyss. Unless the abyss itself was destroyed, the fire elements would not be completely destroyed.

The demon crossed to other dimensions and collected a large amount of water elements, condensing them to create magic that had never been seen before. All of the water elements from that dimension were gathered and combined at the demon’s side. The demon overlooked the entirety of the abyss, until all the water element in the dimension had dried up and formed a large comet which crashed into the abyss.

The huge impact caused the destruction of the abyss. The two dimensions combined into one, and the flame elves died.

The chaotic elemental storm caused a mass extinction of all the living things in the two dimensions, and at the same time, destroyed the coordinates of the dimension. The human and his demon were trapped there and as time passed, the human started aging and dying a hundred times faster.

The demon was distressed. After ten thousand years passed, the elemental storm stopped and the dimension’s coordinates returned to normal. The demon came to the Myers Mainland to search for any traces of its master.

The Myers Mainland had been cruel, and as the demon travelled across the land, he found that all traces of its master were gone.

The gods were gone too and its master’s soul was nowhere to be found. Revival became a longlost hope. Could it be that a demon should not have any faith? The depressed demon destroyed everything its master left behind. The only thing it kept was the first set of magic equipment its master had ever prepared for it.

“This isn’t a story,” Nailisi closed the book and said to Saleen.

“Did the book perhaps include anything related to magic techniques?” Saleen did not want to talk about anything depressing and moreover, he could not understand the pain of the demon. Could a demon fall in love with a human? A human that had enslaved it?

“Yes, however you wouldn’t be able to learn it.”

“Why?”

“It’s a Grade 10 or above spell.”

Saleen was truly disappointed. A Grade 10 spell could even be used to defend against the gods. Even the grand sorcerers would not be able to cast such magic. The Myers Mainland of today was not the same as it had been before.

“However, you can still use this magic book. It can store six unlimited spells.” Nailisi closed the demon magic book.

Unlimited spells referred to restorative spells that were not separated by their elemental types. At the same time, this magic book had no grade restrictions. Once a spell was used, it could still store another spell and would not form a fixed memory.

Even though a magic book like this was harder to use and the number of spells it could store was considered little, for Saleen, it was enough.

Other magic books could store eighteen spells but Saleen was only able to use three of them. Even if he had mastered the secrets of the elements, he could only activate spells consisting of water elements.

In essence, even though Saleen had allowed his water element magic props to possess the properties of the other five elements, he had not mastered the magic of all six elements, but rather, only understood the meaning behind these magics.

Understanding something was not equivalent to possessing it. Magic chords determined everything, and before ingesting the magic medicine, he had not expected that he would need to pay such a price. If he had not possessed the Myers Goddess’ necklace and used it to understand the relationships between the elements, he would have forever remained as a Grade 3 mage who could never improve.

Saleen was not exceptionally pleased. Whenever humans wanted to gain something, they needed to give up something of an equal price. Having gained the Myers Goddess’ necklace, he would definitely need to give up something in return. However, at this point in time, he had not yet figured out what he would need to give up. Even if he figured it out, he would not be able to turn back time. Unless he was content with being a normal mage forever?

Saleen touched the Ring of Gifts. Thinking back to how he had obtained it, he still could not find anything amiss. Placing a bet with Baron Minghui had been a spur of a moment decision. However, his experiences with it had been puzzling. This ring had actually led him to the temple that Nailisi had been trapped in.

Saleen refused to believe that a goddess that had fallen tens of thousands of years ago would have any motives towards an orphan.

What did someone like him have that was worth coveting?