Nick looked at the apparently dead magic beast in front of him and wondered:
(This thing got the drop on me and was about to do something that I couldn't stop but suddenly, now its dead. What exactly happened?)
Slade clarified for Nick:
[That magic beast put you in a barely conscious state and began to consume your thoughts. This should be a wisdom path magic beast and should be at least rank 3 considering the power and intelligence that it just demonstrated. I don't know how it ended up dead after coming into contact with you. Did you do something?]
Nick was confused about the circumstances since he, in fact, did nothing; the magic beast had completely overwhelmed him.
(I didn't do anything to it. If it really is rank 3, then common sense tells me that I should be dead by now.)
Slade remarked:
[Getting off with just death in this case would be pleasant but it tried to consume your thoughts. Since wisdom path is one of my areas of expertise, I can tell you without doubt that what that magic beast was trying to do would have left you with amnesia after it killed you or in the worst case, its actions would have damaged your foundation as a Magician. A Magician's mind is a sacred place and should never be infiltrated by a foreign influence. You sure are lucky, kid.]
Nick was not unaware of the hypocrisy in Slade saying that but knew from his readings that normally, attacks that influenced the mind were really some of the most pernicious, almost as bad as attacks that targeted the soul.
(Well anyway, the magic beast is dead and its carcass seems completely intact. A rank 3 magic beast carcass should be very valuable, right?)
Slade replied flatly:
[Then how comes you have not stored it yet before that woman has woken from her half conscious state?]
Nick internally slapped himself for not acting sooner and walked over to the carcass, first trying to use his spell, Retrieve Soul, to see if he could obtain the magic beast's soul but the spell had no effect.
(This thing's soul has either been destroyed or it somehow escaped after its body died.)
Nick tapped the carcass with his space band, storing it. After that, Nick nudged Jessica on the shoulder and she almost instantly snapped out of her stupor. She looked at Nick with a blank expression and asked:
"What happened?"
Seeing that she was probably unaware of the events following the wisdom path magic beast's attack on her, Nick made something up to conceal the fact that he so easily obtained a rank 3 magic beast's carcass:
"We were attacked by a powerful wisdom path magic beast but for some reason, it left soon after without harming us."
Jessica opened both of her eyes in surprise. She never thought that they would just come in contact with a magic beast that was capable of putting her into such a passive state but she knew that anything was possible when magic was involved. She looked at Nick seriously and said:
"That encounter probably could have ended much worse, let's get to the undergrounds as soon as possible."
Nick nodded his head, pleased that she believed his story. Jessica got up from her sitting position and once again turned into a torrent of water, speeding off into the distance. Nick did not readily move from his position and asked Slade:
(Do you think that it would be worth it if I dissected the rank 3 magic beast's carcass?)
Slade did not answer immediately but after a few seconds, said:
[I don't think that would be wise. The current you probably won't gain too much from dissecting it while the carcass's value is immense if it remains undamaged.]
Nick thought about it and decided that Slade was probably correct.
(I'll go to the Main Tower after the events at the undergrounds conclude and see what I can trade it for.)
Nick pointed his right index finger towards the sky and cast:
(Space.)
Nick suddenly disappeared from his position, reappearing some tens of meters in the distance almost immediately catching up to Jessica who had a head start.
(One Meter At A Time.)
Nick then cast his other space path movement spell, making great strides into the distance.
(One Meter At A Time consumes less magic energy than Space at the cost of being less efficient in movement but I should be able to keep pace with Jessica using the former.)
Like this, Nick and Jessica traveled together even as nightfall arrived and they crossed the mostly flat terrain using the light of the moon to see where they were going. They only encountered a few weak rank 1 and 2 magic beasts that looked like small apes, large cats and a few bipedal dogs on their journey to the undergrounds which they killed with relative ease.
A little after midnight had passed, Nick and Jessica finally arrived near to the entrance of the undergrounds where various tents and portable buildings had been erected. Even this early in the morning, many people could be seen running around or having conversations under the light posts that had been erected in the area. Nick looked at Jessica as they both stood at the edge of the temporary settlement and said:
"This place seems lively for somewhere that should be troubled by earthquakes."
Jessica shrugged her shoulders and replied:
"Let's go have a look around and find out about current events."
Jessica led the way as Nick shadowed her; they walked among the crowds of students who from their conversations seemed to be a mix of both Raylam Priest Academy and Richter Order Academy students. Nick and Jessica even recognized a few students from their academy but did not attempt to interact with them because they usually did not mingle with the other students anyway.
After walking around for a while, Nick realized that the tents that were erected were mostly owned by students with a few of them being owned by the Ministry of Magician's soldiers that were apparently stationed here. Nick pondered:
(This settlement is actually rather large, covering at least a few hundred meters in radius. I wonder If anyone has gotten anything good from the undergrounds yet.)
Nick looked over at Jessica, wanting to ask her what she thought about the settlement:
"What do you think about this place?"
Jessica put on a thoughtful expression and then replied:
"There are many people here. It's difficult to say whether the unearthed resources will be enough to go around."
Nick nodded his head in half agreement and replied:
"It sure seems that way but you should wait until exploring the undergrounds yourself before making a final judgement."
Both Nick and Jessica became quiet after their exchange and continued walking around the settlement until they came upon a building that had a sign above its entrance that read: 'Ministry Of Magic Temporary Resource Center'. The building seemed small, only the size of a one storey house that could fit a family of four, but Nick became excited.
(This is definitely a place where I can get reliable information about things that I've missed out on for the past eighteen months.)
Nick said to Jessica:
"I'm going in there to do some business, are you coming?"
Jessica replied:
"Sure, I'm curious about this place as well."
Nick and Jessica walked into the Resource Center by going through the wooden double doors and what they saw was less than impressive. The reception area only seemed to be equipped with a few old wooden chairs and a wooden counter where two soldiers wearing their green uniforms were currently playing a game of cards; the reception area also had other doors positioned at various places along its four walls.
Nick and Jessica looked at each other and then Nick took the lead in walking to the counter to speak to the soldiers:
"Hello, I just arrived in this settlement and I would like to get some information regarding the current state of things."
The two soldiers stopped their game of cards and one of them with a light scar on his cheek looked at Nick and said:
"Oh, two new students have arrived, huh? Well..."
The white soldier who looked to be in his late twenties and had a head full of curly black hair stopped speaking as he spotted Jessica and his attention remained on her for a while. Jessica frowned at the sudden attention and Nick shifted his eyes between the soldier and Jessica, wondering if they had history.
The other soldier saw that his peer was staring at the female student strangely and slapped him on the shoulder before saying to Nick:
"You can make exchanges here but unlike in Shelter Town, only real money or bartering will do. The use of your Never Ending Battlefield points are not allowed."
Nick nodded and replied:
"Then I would like some information on what's been happening at the undergrounds and I would also like to exchange something in private."
The second soldier with a head full of gray hair who looked middle aged replied:
"Oh, this Resource Center was erected in a hurry but despite how it looks, we actually have a decent assortment of goods to be exchanged. Let me just say that the ministry's outposts are never lacking in goodies. Alright, you said that you wanted to make the exchange in private so just follow me to one of the interview rooms so that we can have a discussion."
Nick nodded his head in agreement while Jessica looked at him blankly, wondering what Nick wanted to exchange in private. The middle aged soldier led Nick through a door situated at the far corner of the room, leaving Jessica with the seemingly nervous young soldier.
Nick walked though a door where a small table and two chairs were all that were contained within within the windowless, metal walled room. The soldier remarked:
"It looks like my companion has taken a liking to your girl. You better watch out, you know what they say about pretty girls and uniformed men, right?"
Nick shrugged his shoulders as they both sat at the old wooden table across from each other. The soldier spoke with clear confidence that came from having been in hundreds of similar situations:
"What is it that you want to exchange?"
Nick replied indifferently:
"What is an undamaged carcass of a rank 3 wisdom path magic beast worth to the ministry."
The soldier opened his eyes wide in surprise at Nick's hint, thinking:
(The carcass of a rank 3 magic beast is a dime a dozen for the ministry but if the carcass is undamaged and is really that of a wisdom path magic beast, then it is slightly special. How did this kid, who is clearly still rank 2 like myself get a hold of such a treasure.)
The soldier asked Nick in response:
"Are you saying that you have such a carcass to trade with?"
Nick replied simply:
"Yes, I do."
The soldier rubbed his chin with his right hand and said:
"Then this exchange will require my supervisor to complete."
The soldier took out a small cellphone from his pocket that looked like one of the old models with a number pad and made a call, speaking when the person on the other end accepted the call:
"Hey, Sergent McKoy, I have a student here that says he wants to make an exchange using the undamaged carcass of a rank 3 wisdom path magic beast. Can you come to room 1 with a supply space band to make an exchange?"
After listening to the other person speak for a while, the soldier ended the call and spoke to Nick:
"My supervisor who is a rank 3 Sergent is on his way to mediate an exchange, make sure to show the proper respects when he arrives. My name is Warren Clint by the way."
Nick silently nodded his head and waited with Warren in silence for the latter's supervisor to arrive. Ten minutes later, the room's steel door opened and a teen aged boy walked into the room. The boy was a head shorter than Nick, had a head full of black, curly hair and his eyes shone with a strange purple glow. He wore a green combat uniform like officer Warren but there was an emblem with three horizontal bars and two red stars pinned to his right breast area. The boy closed the door and spoke to the sitting Nick with authority:
"No need to stand up, my Name is Sergent Dave Mckoy and I will be making any exchange that involves a rank 3 item. Warren tells me that you have an undamaged carcass of a rank 3 wisdom path magic beast within your possession. May I see it."
Nick put on a thoughtful expression and visibly hesitated but noticing this Sergent McKoy spoke:
"Don't worry, all these room are monitored by the ministry so no one can harm you and get away with it. This may be the wilderness but the ministry's resource centers are not a place where people can do as they please. You and your belongings are safe here."
Nick slowly nodded his head and tapped his space band, summoning the carcass of the wisdom path magic beast. McKoy examined it for a few minutes and said to Nick:
"From the feint magic energy that I am sensing from this carcass, this magic beast was definitely rank 3 when it was alive. As for whether it was a wisdom path magic beast, normally, I would need to wait for the appropriate personnel to come and check the carcass since wisdom path is not my area of expertise but this magic beast actually fits the description of one that has been attacking soldiers and students within the surrounding area for weeks. These attacks have left many people who were revived in Shelter Town with various degrees of memory loss and mental problems. Where did you encounter this magic beast and how did you kill it?"
Nick expected such questions so he detailed his encounter with the magic beast without any misdirection in case the Sergent had a method to detect lies:
"...In the end, when it was trying to consume my thoughts, the magic beast just fell down dead. I don't know why."
Sergent McKoy rubbed his chin while squinting his eyes and said:
"You are a very lucky young man then."
Nick shrugged his shoulders and replied:
"I guess."
Sergent McKoy decided to avoid any more questioning about the magic beast's death since the details weren't that important to him anyway. He spoke to Nick while summoning a piece of paper from seemingly no where:
"This is a list of items that we currently have in our possession at this resource center. Choose one or a mix of items that you think can compensate you for the value of that carcass."
Nick took the list from the Sergent and browsed through it, thinking that he might exchange the carcass for more soul path materials or an inheritance. The list did indeed have a few varieties of magic materials, inheritances, weapons and magic tools along with their descriptions. After ten minutes of reading through the list, Nick decided that he would attempt to trade the carcass for a new sword and a partial soul path inheritance but that changed when he saw the description of one item on the list and mumbled its name:
"Baby Void Dragon Bones."
Nick read its description and thought:
(This description says that this is a complete set of bones, excluding the skull, obtained from a slain baby void dragon which is an early stage rank 3 magic beast. I don't know exactly what kind of magic beast a void dragon is but I remember that in the past, a magic beast that looked like a dragon flew over my neighborhood when I was still in high school. Thinking back to that time, it looked so cool.)
Nick did not know much about the power levels of rank 3 but knew that at that rank, there were clear stages that a Magician or magic beast belonged to. Nick pointed at the description on the list and asked Sergent McKoy:
"Could you tell me about this item?"
Sergent McKoy looked at the description that Nick was pointing at and then replied:
"That describes the bones of a baby void dragon which is a space path magic beast. All dragon type magic beasts start out at rank three once they are born and are usually extremely difficult to deal with if you are the same rank as them. Void dragons' flesh can be used to make very effective and unusual potions but their bones are mostly used as materials for making magic tools like space bands."
Nick listened to Sergent McKoy's words with rapt attention and when the Sergent finished explaining, Nick continued going through the list and came upon the description of a book titled: 'Notorious Magicians in History'. Its description stated that the book was a collection of stories related to some of the most unusual and infamous Magicians going back two thousand years. Nick smiled as his curiosity took over and thought:
(This seems interesting.)
After an hour of looking over the list, Nick made his final decision and declared it to Sergent McKoy:
"I want the baby void dragon bones, this book about notorious Magicians and an assortment of these soul path materials."
McKoy took a look at the items on the list that Nick was interested in and nodded his head, saying:
"The baby void dragon bones and the book should be worth about the same as that magic beast carcass. I'll throw in the soul path materials at an acceptable quantity as well."
McKoy tapped his space band and a pile of bones, an old leather bound book and an assortment of plant materials and powders were summoned onto the room's table. Nick looked over everything and said:
"I'll take everything here."
Sergent McKoy nodded his head and retrieved the wisdom path magic beast's carcass by storing it within his space band. Nick stored the rest of the items within his own space band and the exchange was officially completed. Sergent Mckoy immediately left the room after and Warren and Nick did the same soon afterwards. Warren absentmindedly asked Nick:
"Do you have an interest in dragons, those bones don't seem all that useful? Even if you are able to find someone that could make them into a magic tool, that will cost a lot of money while you could have just traded for a magic tool on our list."
Nick shrugged his shoulders and said cryptically:
"Dragons are cool and magic beast bones are more interesting than you think."
Nick said that while remembering the almost four years that he spent dissecting magic beast carcasses. It was not far from the truth to say that he had developed a sort of interest in magic beast anatomy.
Warren felt that Nick was a weird young man and so he just silently led him back to the counter where Jessica seemed to be waiting on him. Nick said to her:
"I'm surprised that you didn't leave."
Jessica shook her head and replied:
"I bought some good information and spent some time looking through it, waiting on you was just a convenient happenstance."
Nick chuckled at Jessica's forthrightness and proceeded to buy information from Warren's colleague with his student ID. Nick and Jessica then left the resource center, at which point Nick said to Jessica:
"I need time to rest and digest some information. Do you have a plan for what you are going to do next?"
Jessica put on a thoughtful expression and replied:
"I'm going to continue exploring this settlement and when the sun rises, I'm going to explore the undergrounds."
Nick nodded his head in understanding and said:
"Then, this is where we'll have to part for a while, I'll meet you at this resource center in five days at noon. Do you agree?"
Jessica thought for a while about Nick's proposal:
(He says that he needs time to digest some information but that's a little hard to believe since it only took me an hour to read through the same information that I bought from that creepy soldier in the resource center. I'll humor him for now since I do need to explore the area on my own to gain a better understanding of the situation.)
Jessica flatly replied to Nick:
"I agree, we'll meet at the resource center five days from now at noon."
Nick nodded his head and watched as Jessica turned around to leave without saying another word. Nick looked at Jessica's back eerily and thought:
(I hope that woman doesn't become a problem for me later on.)
Nick left in the opposite direction and eventually found a spot that was somewhat distant from the surrounding tents and summoned his safe-house, after which he entered it. Nick took a shower and then had a meal at his desk where he also thought through the information that he had bought at the resource center:
(The last earthquake happened about four days ago but they have been going on for about one year with increasing frequency. Every time an earthquake happens, many resources shoot up from out of the undergrounds or are revealed through openings created in the ground within the area. Many battles usually follow the appearance of these resources between the students and many times between students and magic beasts. For now, I'm not going to compete for these resources directly since I have my own agenda in coming to the undergrounds.)
Nick finished his meal and summoned his new book on infamous Magicians from his space band. Nick smiled and began reading it with rapt attention. Nick did not stop reading the fairly thick book until two days later when a violent earthquake hit the area.
Nick felt the entire safe-house shake and quickly went under his desk and stayed there until the tremors stopped. Nick then took a look at the surroundings through the safe-house's surveillance system and saw that there was not much damage to the surrounding area which was mostly flat grassland which only had a sparse number of trees.
"The undergrounds must be pretty lively by now."
Nick sat back at his desk and looked at the open, leather bound book and commented:
"The stories in this book are incredible and I've never heard of most of the Magicians that it details. One Magician's story particularly peaks my interest."
Nick rubbed his chin and thought aloud:
"The Murderous Warlock. The book says that this Magician used the blood of an ancient giant which was a rank 7 magic beast to strengthen himself, quickly raising his rank and committing millions of murders on Grand Earth until one day, when he was executed by the then Director of the Magician's Association..."
Nick breathed in deeply before saying:
"Hmmm...a warlock. This book is actually the first piece of literature where I've encountered the word but from reading about a few of them, they seem to be Magicians that have fused their bloodline with that of magic beasts in order to gain special magic powers and increase their potential. Isn't that similar to the bloodline curse that I'm afflicted with right now?"
Slade immediately remarked:
[Not quite, kid, the bloodline curse definitely originates from a human Magician and the nature of it is only superficially beneficial to you. It is a curse after all and even though we currently have it under control, that may not be the case as you get stronger and the curse becomes stronger as well. You are not a warlock.]
Nick asked Slade:
"What do you know about warlocks?"
Slade replied:
[I know that they are crazy and incredibly difficult to defeat in combat at the same rank and stage. I have only encountered three of them in my life time and each encounter left me with a life threatening injury. Killing warlocks is usually more trouble than it is worth and while they do have the advantage that they are destined to reach the rank of the magic beast whose blood they incorporated into their own bloodline, having great potential, but they will eventually reach a limit based on that particular bloodline and be unable to advance past that limit.]
Nick thought for a moment about Slade's explanation and the baby void dragon bones in his possession and spoke:
"Blood is produced from bone marrow, right?"
Slade quickly remarked:
[Kid, I know what you're thinking and those are very dangerous thoughts. If you fail, you will definitely be close to death.]
Nick replied without any shame:
"When I decided to become a Magician, I already began moving towards death and self-destruction. What's the point of hesitating now?"
Nick's eyes shone with a firm resolve as he said that; he then continued, saying:
"If mine is already a path to destruction, then I'll make damn sure that I reach for the greatest rewards while I'm on my way there."
Nick's eyes suddenly shone with an eerie red light and unbeknownst to him, the human figure of gold light within his mindscape stopped walking on its endless road and looked towards the mindscape's sky. The symbols for the word, 'Devour', that was present on its forehead faded and the figure's facial features suddenly became more defined, seeming to be identical to Nick's facial features. The figure of light then continued walking on its lonely road, undisturbed.
Nick quickly summoned a piece of paper and a pen from his space band and then started making notes.
(I'm going to be the strongest Magician.)