As expected, Ashars tent was erected further than the rest. It wasnt that she was ostracised by the other Magisters, she just preferred to be alone. She didnt wish to mingle with anyone.
Locke went over in the afternoon to clean her room and the makeshift laboratory. The shadowmancer rarely tidied her living quarters since she refused to make physical effort for sothing achievable via spellcasting. Though magic brought great convenience, it wasnt the perfect solution for tidiness. It could only reach larger areas, leaving the small crevices essentially untouched.
Now that Locke had been her assistant for six months, he was fully aware of her preferences. While her room in the Sanctum tower was cleaned by tower spirits and slaves, Locke was the only help she could get on Botania.
This was all self-initiative; Ashar had never requested his help. Locke had never stopped assisting her despite the lack of reward, to which the Magister made an effort to acknowledge his efforts.
As he returned to his tent, Locke began to ponder about his future. Becoming a Ritter was the next step after becoming a high-rank Knecht. Even so, there was still an interdiate phase widely known by the public as a quasi-Ritter or peak high-rank Knecht.
Locke still had a long way to go before he could beco a Ritter. Plus, he had yet to look into the specific criteria for its advancent. Speaking of which, he was already off to the Sanctum with Angelina as soon as he advanced as a high-rank Knecht.
The Hall of Knights had offered the most comprehensive knight training system in Zauberia. Locke had thought about joining another organisation but he was already a mber of the hall; the hall had left a ntal imprint on him during registration. All he needed to focus on now was to achieve the quasi-Ritter rank.
The injuries sustained during his infiltration of Mist City had left Locke feeling vulnerable. He felt lacking; before he could even encounter the level-one Botanian city lord, the lemon general was already a handful to handle. Locke wouldve died in Mist City if it wasnt for the combination of the strong magic robe, his agility and mastery of wind impetus.
During his ti at the Princeton Hall of Knights, Locke had been lucky enough to encounter quasi-Ritters and the group of spellbane knights at the trading street, whod kindly shared with Locke so knowledge and their experience of quasi-Ritter advancents.
Simply put, it was bound to be a long process of accumulation. High-rank Knechts would need to hone their impetus to its peak and apply everything theyd learnt over the years to beco a Ritter.
It was typical for all quasi-Ritters to have a unique skill set since it was the foundation for all level-one lifeforms and beyond. Locke was self-conscious enough to admit he had nothing special to offer. Compared to the other high-rank Knechts, his only advantage was his frequent participation in wars. Governed by the Sanctum and Hall of Knights, the Three Western Isles lived in peace. There were rarely wars on their territory so Lockes survival experience was incredibly valuable. If Romm wasnt a level-two Erdritter during the Shalorian war, Shalor wouldnt have anything to offer in the battle; the Aomarian Empire wouldnt have been forced to shut an eye for peace.
I should try my luck with the towering major monster soon, murmured Locke under his breath. There were four base-rank major monsters in their contingent. He had an inkling that the strongest among them was the dark towering major monster.
Locke required a copious amount of high-rank and above Botanian essence for the sake of his advancent. From what he knew, the towering base-rank monster had devoured at least one Botanian of quasi-Ritter capabilities during the attack of Mist City. Locke had consud Botanian essence of that quality once and was pleasantly surprised by its amazing performance.
He didnt need much; he just needed five pieces of supre quality Botanian essence to pair with his daily training. Locke was confident that he could beco a quasi-Ritter within two years.
Locke and the girls dug into their dinner that night in front of his treehouse. Apart from Angelina and Daenie, the massive scorpiondrake familiar too had joined them on the grass patches for a warm al.
He rotated nurous at skewers periodically over a fire, droplets of fat dripping downwards and producing audible sizzles. The sll was amazing, causing Angie who had been dozing off on the side to start salivating profusely.
The girls busied themselves to help with al prep. Daenie was tasked with cleaning the at with clean water while Angelina would control the fire intensity with pyromancy. Locke and Angelina made a good pair; they worked seamlessly together and there was barely any burnt at. If there was any, they were all promptly fed to Angie. The three humans and one scorpiondrake stargazed on the cooling grass after a hearty al. Their minds began to wander as they admired the dense network of stars above.
Hey... No more risky missions, okay? grumbled Angelina as she hugged Lockes arm. She basked in the warmth of this mont.
I couldnt say no. It was a mission given by your grandisterin. Locke tried to explain himself.
Im going to need to speak to her if it happens again! Angelina gritted her teeth. Despite treating Parlina like her own grandmother, it appeared that she could be angry at her.
Shh Its alright. Locke caressed her long blonde locks.
Daenie stayed out of their interaction. Though she was once afraid of the vicious-looking scorpiondrake, she had a complete change of perspective after having the chance to rest on its back.
Angie was only eight years old at most. Under Angelina and Lockes training, the familiar was now incredibly ruthless towards enemies but very kind to its allies. Often, one would find the scorpiondrake salivating and brandishing its fangs as a greeting. Locke would always punch it away whenever that happened.
Daenie, on the other hand, wasnt as rciless as Locke. Though Angies saliva was soaking through her periwinkle robe, she still liked the intimidating but innocent scorpiondrake regardless.
Hey! If you keep feeding it, itll grow fat and it wont be able to carry you around anymore. Locke was quick to chastise Daenie, who had been feeding the scorpiondrake non-stop.
Angie was still a mid-rank major monster; it was only about as strong as the weakest cannon fodder of the slave army. Yet, it was lucky that its owner was soone of a stronger background. Angelina had always brought it around the battlefield after the war to gather spoils. Since Angelina was Grandisterin Carlas ntee, all the casters would turn a blind eye to her antics.
The potential of the scorpiondrakes bloodline was major. Angies advancent from birth to becoming a mid-rank major monster had been smooth sailing. Every step of its journey had been so easy that even the most talented Angelina was jealous of her familiar.
The fastest way for a scorpiondrakes advancent was to feed continuously. The elental compatibility of its nutrition wasnt all that crucial; while there werent many dark or dragon-attribute monsters in the camp, there was plenty to eat here.
Flesh, blood and crystal cores of other elents brought limited performance for scorpiondrakes. However, they had lots of major monsters in the contingent to work around. Angies capabilities were improving exponentially through the effort of accumulation. Its size was the biggest testant to its growth. It was considerably massive now but Locke knew that the scorpiondrake was heading towards a five-tre length very soon.
Im sure Angie will beco a high-rank major monster in three months or less, said Angelina.
Lockes heart couldnt help but sting at that. His route to becoming a high-rank Knecht had been incredibly gruelling; he was close to death by the end of it.
The scorpiondrakes advancent would bring added advantages to Angelina. Through their bond, there would be a considerable transfer of power between the master and the familiar. Angie would beco a reliable bodyguard and a source of power to the Faustian princess.
With that, Angelina could rely on Angies capabilities to calibrate her ntal abilities and magic to the sa level of competency. Even without it, Angelina was bound to beco a high-rank Lehrling in the future since she was already under the tutelage of Grandisterin Parlina and Grandisterin Carla.
When morning arrived, Locke was quick to roll out of bed. Hed do his daily training and greet Angelina before setting out for the slave camp. Today, he was going to et the dark towering base-rank major monster.
Angelina had taught him much about the base-rank slave. It was a komodo monster native to Zauberia that probably committed a cri so bad as to garner enslavent. Locke wished to trade with the komodo monster. From what he had learnt, the major monster used to serve Magister Reiner; Locke would have to display so sincerity to achieve his goal.
Ill trade everything here for one Botanian core fit for quasi-Ritters. A colourful line of potions was spread in front of the slave. There were even two high-rank major monster hearts that were still palpitating, which Locke had gotten from a well-acquainted Lehrling. The fresh beating hearts belonged to a stone and terra elent monster respectively, there was no way the komodo monster could resist that.
If that isnt enough, there is more!
The slaves eyes widened at a glimpse of the half-filled silver potion tube in Lockes grip.
It was the Iron Body potion concocted with a base of a level-one hilder monsters blood. Locke was offering his trump card! The potion boasted an intense temporary boost to ones defences and could even permanently fortify the resistance of ones skin. Yet, the dark towering major monster remained silent.
While Locke considered offering the remaining half of his Speedy Dragon potion, an excruciatingly pungent sll perated the air. Bit by bit, two differently sized Botanian essences ca rolling out of the komodo monsters salivating jaw.
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