Chapter 255: Guarding Against Thieves

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

How could Hoffman tell him? A once-in-a-century genius pharmacist like Lin Li would be a highly sought-after individual. Letting another force in on such a talent’s identity would mean more competition. Hoffman had never mentioned it, but he was already planning on how he’d bring this young man into the Glittergold Trade Union.

The potion formula was just a test. As a businessman, he was more adept at beating around the bush and building trust as compared to people like Johnathan and Englos.

Hoffman was shrewd indeed. After that pharmaceutical discussion event, there were at least a dozen forces vying for Lin Li. But at present, there seemed to be only a hopeful few, and that included Hoffman’s Glittergold Trade Union.

He had gotten into Lin Li’s good books with the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, and had Lin Li owe him a favor with the Dry Soul Curse. If nothing would go wrong, Hoffman believed that the Glittergold Trade Union he represented had the highest chance among all the other forces. It was a 20-year-old potion master they were talking about—it was a matter of time before he broke through the level of a pharmaceutics guru. When the time came, everyone would be at the beck and call of the Glittergold Trade Union!

Seeing that the opportunity was just within reach, Hoffman held his guard up against Herza.

Herza represented the Supreme Council. When Felic joined the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, he’d joined the Supreme Council’s influence as well at the same time. It was simply too easy for the old man to win Felic over. He’d only need to hand down a transfer order, and all the forces, including the two holy shrines, could only watch as the genius pharmacist entered the Supreme Council.

F*ck, I’ll only tell you over my dead body… Hoffman clenched his teeth determinedly. However, there was perplexion on his face. “How would I know? I’m not from the Guild of Magic, so it’s natural that I know nothing about him. Old fellow, don’t be so quick to suspect me, alright?”

“Cut it out…” Herza didn’t believe it at all. He knew the fat man too well. He might look honest and candid, but was in fact ill-disposed at best. If there were to be a truthful sentence coming from his mouth, it would be a miracle.

“This is a trade secret. I can’t tell you even if you ask!”

Hoffman began to act shamelessly. He’d use “trade secret” as an excuse regardless of what Herza asked. There was nothing Herza could do despite being someone who held the highest position in the Supreme Council. The only thing he could do was to glare hatefully at Hoffman and curse, Fine, you won’t say? I can f*cking see for myself!

As the two men were talking, the battle on the Aurora Square was drawing to an end.

Aldwin stood up from the VIP stand. “The winner for the first round is Felic from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic!”

“Clap, clap, clap…”

Applause thundered in the Aurora Square. Thousands of mages stood up one by one to salute the winner with warm applause and cheers.

In the world of magic, the strong were always respected.

The mages would never hold back their applause for a real powerhouse.

The battle was amazing. The young man from Jarrosus had only used low-level spells throughout the battle, but all the mages present were not blind. How could they not know what these low-level spells meant?

Since the insidious Crystal Nova, everyone knew that the young man’s spell-casting skill was no worse than that of many Archmages. Although the elemental structure for the Crystal Nova was simple, it was not easy to rearrange it. Who would dare to risk it without a profound understanding of the essence of magic and a precise control of mana? It was easy to trigger the bite of mana with a single slip. Moreover, he had done it with so much ease; there hadn’t been any hesitation at all as the Crystal Nova was released with a lift of his hand.

Granted, the outcome wasn’t too satisfactory…

However, this had nothing to do with magic. The Battle Mage was an anomaly, let alone a Battle Mage with the blood of the Savages. They possessed an innate brute force and a powerful resistance to magic. Their resistance to magic, in particular, was terribly enhanced after they had cast various amplifying spells on themselves.

These Battle Mages were said to be able to withstand spells up to level-10 with their bare bodies. With this, the three icicles that Loken had received were considered nothing…

Moreover, the Magic Quell and Flaming Storm that followed were the real highlight of the battle.

If they were to use an adjective to describe their feelings, it would be “amazed”.

To cast both a level-eight Flaming Storm and a level-five Magic Quell was so difficult that even Archmages would flinch facing such a task. In order to control such a perverse casting skill, it’d need at least years, if not decades, of repeated studies. Only then was it possible to divide one’s mental strength to control two kinds of mana at the same time. It seemed easy to release two kinds of spells in this subconscious state, but it was in fact akin to dancing on the tip of the sword. A slight mistake would result in a horrible end for the mage.

There was no lack of Archmages among the thousands of spectators. However, none of them was confident enough to say that they could display such a perfect casting skill like the young man.

Nobody thought the applause and salutation were unfitting.

“Well done, Felic!” Mason was over the moon seeing that his roommate had won with such ease.

“I just took advantage of the opportunity…” Lin Li giggled, and asked Mason, “When does your round start?”

“I’m in the third round. Don’t worry. Do I not know Larry’s strength? It’ll be a piece of cake. I’ll see if that old man dares to jinx me when I advance to the second stage…”

“Fool. It’s good to be confident, but it’s best if you can get a grasp on the situation…”

Nobody knew when Macklin had come. The old man was like a ghost, appearing behind Mason without any sound.

“Weren’t… weren’t you at the VIP stand?”

“Fool. Felic achieved a splendid victory. As his trial mentor, I have to come over and compliment him. But you, kid, you’d better be cautious. I’m not joking. Larry has improved tremendously ever since he returned from Shadowglen. I’m afraid he’s not any weaker than you.”

“For real?” Mason was slightly stunned. The old fellow really did not look like he was kidding. Has Larry really made a tremendous improvement recently? F*ck, why am I so unlucky? I thought I’d picked a weakling; who knew this weakling had gotten a boost!

“You’ll know when the battle starts…” Macklin said gloatingly. Then, he turned his gaze to the Aurora Square. “Eh? Seems like it’s Gryffindor’s turn now…”

“Oh?” Lin Li followed Macklin’s gaze, and saw Gryffindor walking to the center of the square with a smile on his face. His opponent was someone Lin Li knew. He was Fedrick, Sarsen’s teammate in the Shadowglen, and the one who had wanted to fight Lin Li.

Lin Li lost interest seeing that Gryffindor was up against Fedrick. That fellow could not be more than level-12 in strength. He was almost like an ant in front of Gryffindor. To figure out Gryffindor’s ability in this match was like asking for the moon.

To be honest, this was what everyone thought—including Fedrick himself.

He wanted to just drop dead on the spot as he stood before Gryffindor. He had never thought that he’d be so unlucky to have picked Gryffindor in the first round.

Gryffindor was the number one magic genius in Felan. He had broken through to the Archmage realm in his twenties. Although Fedrick had improved tremendously ever since he’d returned from the Shadowglen, he was only at a mere level-11. How could he possibly win against Gryffindor, who could crush him with just a finger?

“M-Mage Gryffindor, please go easy on me…” Perhaps only Fedrick knew that this was not merely a conventional remark. He really wanted Gryffindor to go easy on him.

“Mage Fedrick, you’re too humble.” Gryffindor chuckled, and said nothing more. He took two steps back and pulled their distance away further. At the same time, he gestured to the referee to indicate that he was ready.

“Looks like both apprentices are ready. Then, let the match begin!”

Fedrick began his recitation as soon as the referee’s voice fell. His voice was rushed and hoarse. The magical waves around him were in so much disorder that even Lin Li, who hadn’t paid much attention to the battle, could feel it. Fedrick was on the verge of suffering a bite of mana. His recitation speed was simply too fast. There was a compression of time in every three characters of the incantation. This was something only an Archmage could do. Fedrick, a Magic Shooter, was only seeking death doing it.

However, Fedrick had no other choice.

His strength was worlds apart from Gryffindor’s. The only thing he could do was to earn a slight chance for himself with a supernormal spell at the beginning, when they were still on the same starting line.

Unfortunately, Gryffindor did not give him the chance.

Fedrick was halfway through his recitation when he suddenly felt the flow of mana in his body being blocked…

Darn, Mana Retroaction! So soon? Fedrick’s heart tightened, and his chubby face turned ghastly white at once. He couldn’t understand how Gryffindor had released a Mana Retroaction so soon. There was no sign at all; it was as if the spell was released with just a thought.