Leo took out the spell book and finally took a look at it. It was a book that embodied the spell that was contained in it. The book looked like it was in tatters, but he wasn’t bothered. Everything that was inside the waterfall was deceiving. He opened the first page and read it.
[Valkyr’s Deception]
[Use magic to make objects seem like completely different objects, deceiving even mages. Change your own appearance using this spell.]
Along with the initial description that he already knew, there was a longer explanation of the spell.
[This is a Growth Spell. The power of the spell depends on the mage who uses it. If a 7th Circle Mage uses it, then even an 8th Circle Mage cannot look through the disguise. However, any mage or Aura Knight two levels above the caster can look through the disguise instantly.]
He looked at the warning and smiled. This would be incredibly helpful for him then. After all, where was he even going to find a 5th Circle Mage? He put the book aside for a while. He was planning on learning it as quickly as possible, but he wanted to first look at the final loot that he gained.
He took out the Radiant Apple and took a closer look at it. It was a golden apple that shone brightly. However, it only had trace amounts of Magical Energy which was why he was confused. Why were the mage and lion fighting over this fruit that much? He took a closer look and saw that the Magical Energy wasn’t as simple as he thought.
Even though there was less of it, it was incredibly pure. The energy was very nascent and he would be able to mold it as he pleased. For nascent energy like this, there was an abundant amount of it. If he was taking the fruit at a time like a breakthrough, it would help him a lot.
He smiled and put the fruit away. He took the book and started reading it. He read it for a while before putting it aside. It was incredibly difficult to understand. He was so used to just looking at the Silhouette in his training room perform the spell for him that he was pampered. He didn’t want to read a book – it was too much work.
But since he didn’t have a choice, he decided to walk around first before going back to reading the book. He felt like he deserved a break anyway.
He left the house and walked around the city. He saw the number of people outside wasn’t very high. He realized that a lot of people lost their friends and family in the Beast Wave. He walked to the inn like he always did to go and see a familiar face. He needed that since Daphne was gone.
He walked into the inn. Compared to a few days ago, there were at least a few people getting drinks. He smiled at this and took a table. He waited for a while and saw that Miller finally got free to get to him. He saw Leo and smiled.
“How are you doing?” He asked him.
Leo smiled. “I’m doing fine.” He smiled lightly. However, the smile wasn’t genuine. Even though he was trying to substitute Daphne with Miller, it wasn’t the same. He didn’t have anyone to actually share his joy of looting the forest with.
“That’s great! Actually, I think your friends are here. I’ll tell them that you are here.” He said. He quickly went in another direction. Meanwhile, Leo was confused.
Since when did he have friends? Moreover, why would Miller know them? He looked up and saw Miller was with two people. Leo suddenly realized who the friends were. They were Clarice and Evelyn.
“Hello, Clarice. Evelyn.” Leo said. He smiled lightly again. The both of them smiled weakly too.
“Hello, Leo. How are you doing?” They asked him.
“I am fine. I am more concerned for both of you. You were there to experience the battle against the Beast Wave.” He said.
Evelyn was confused for a short second before realizing what he meant. “I forgot that you were too young to be conscripted. Well, we survived. Everyone on our team did, so that is good.”
Leo frowned. “I am sensing a but coming ahead.”
Leo was shocked. “I am so sorry. Where are you guys going to go?” He asked.
“Eldridge. We all received compensation from the city for participating. We will exchange it for Aura Gathering Pills. If Evelyn also breaks through, then we can both join one of the bigger Mercenary Groups at Eldridge.” She said. “What about you? Are you staying here? It might be a waste of your talent.”
Leo laughed stiffly. He was aware of how the was no longer useful to him. As a 3rd Circle Mage, the only useful thing for him was the stuff he had with him. It wasn’t like he had teachers here. But on the other hand, there wasn’t any incentive for him to leave the city yet. Even if he did go to Eldridge, what was he going to do there?
“I am going to think about it for a while. I’ll decide in a month or two.” He said. “I wish you luck for Eldridge though. It seems like a new start to you.”
They nodded. “Yes. But I must say, you missed a lot of drama at the Beast Wave. Maybe you would have even wanted to be there if you knew what happened there,” Evelyn said.
Leo was very curious. “Why? What happened?”
Evelyn suddenly became very excited. “It started with this Viscount who stole some fruit in the forest while we were fighting the Beast Wave. He got that information from Baron Silvershade.” She started telling him the story.
Leo was immediately invested. The minute he heard that it was about the Viscount who was in the core forest, he knew who it was about. Since he was also deeply involved in the matter, he wanted to know what actually happened.
“And so the Magistrate kicked him out of the city. Meanwhile, it turned out that the Viscount was actually killed by someone. And the fruit is also gone. Everyone guessed that it was the same person. But since the Viscount was close to the Magistrate in strength, it means that the person who did all this was a 4th Circle Mage or Aura Knight.” She said.
Leo smiled sheepishly. “Well… this is interesting. So did anyone figure out what happened at the end?”
She shook her head. Meanwhile, Clarice stopped her sister from talking further.
“I’m sorry for her. I think you were bored by the story. We have to leave now, but it was really nice meeting you.” She said.
“Oh of course. It wasn’t boring at all. I wish you good luck in the future. If I come to Eldridge, I will try to find you guys.” Leo bid them goodbye.