The Vastness of Magi Chapter 6 - 6 Six Experience

??Chapter 6: Chapter Six: Experience

Chapter 6: Chapter Six: Experience

There was another awkward silence, as the three of them just picked up their glasses to gulp down their drinks wordlessly, as if trying to numb themselves with the alcohol. Sowhat lost in thought as he watched the tipsy patrons co and go, Kor’s face revealed a hint of a smile as he finally broke the silence, “Alright, let’s not all have such long faces anymore. We’re back now, and that’s a good thing. Are we supposed to act like a bunch of won, wailing and sobbing? Ridiculous! Tell

about what you’ve been up to these past few years.”

With a grimace worse than crying, the Horse-faced Youth spread his arms carelessly and said, “I’m stronger than you guys. When I got the exile orders, I went to the Mogan Plateau. My old man had a friend there, the Human Fortress Commander. I beca an officer there, stuck it out for two years. I can’t boast of much else, but my martial skills have improved a lot.” Finished speaking, the Horse-faced Youth proudly did a chest-expanding exercise to show off his robust physique.

“Mogan Plateau, that’s beastn heaven. You weren’t captured by the beastn in exchange for ransom?” Kor joked with a laugh.

“Heh, the more dangerous it is, the safer you are. In the past couple of years, the beastn were relatively ta. There wasn’t much trouble, but I hear they started getting restless again after I ca back this year,” the Horse-faced Youth said, with a look of concern for his country and people.

“Pfft, as if their being well-behaved these past couple of years was all thanks to you,” Kor said jokingly with a laugh.

“Hehe, not really, I just got lucky. It’s good the beastn were quiet; otherwise, I wouldn’t want to fight them head-on for real. That’s not a joke. How much in compensation did the fortress spend each year, a few hundred thousand Gold Shields? It was only because things cald down these past two years that I didn’t go courting death.”

A familiar sly look appeared on the Horse-faced Youth’s face, a look Kor recognized. This guy seed clumsy, but using subtlety was a knight’s trick—pretend to be weak to show vulnerability and then deliver a fatal blow. This wasn’t going to fool Kor or Proton, two brothers-in-arms who had grown up together.

It seed this guy hadn’t wasted his ti these past couple of years; not only had his martial skills improved significantly, but he had also been using his brain to think things through.

“What about you, Puber? Where have you been slacking off these past few years?” Kor gradually regained his usual bossy deanor, moving as if the initial awkwardness from the trio’s reunion had never existed.

“Hehe, I’m unlucky. I was sent straight to Phoenix City, supposedly to study and hit the books but it was really just a cage. I only returned a couple of months ago because I couldn’t stand the restrictions there anymore,” the pale young man replied casually, clearly not wanting to delve into his painful experiences.

“Oh? Phoenix City? Looks like your old man wanted you to learn a thing or two about politics, to beco an Administrative Officer.”

Squinting sowhat mockingly, Kor chuckled derisively to himself.

This was the fate of a bastard child who couldn’t inherit titles—either join the army and beco cannon fodder or learn sothing to climb up the ranks in officialdom from the very bottom. Or you ended up like those loitering wastrels in the streets: once you co of age, you’re kicked out with a ager inheritance and beco a beggar or a destitute household once your fortune runs out—in short, turning into trash that no one cares about.

Phoenix City is the second biggest city of the Nicosia Duchy, located on the plains to the west of the duchy. The renowned private school—Phoenix Elite Academy—is there, and it’s one of the best places to train entry-level bureaucrats for the duchy. But only entry-level; high-ranking officials would never co from there.

Many common people from other countries on the Continent also go there to study, hoping to find a satisfactory job after completing their education.

Giving the other a slightly awkward look, and still as sharp-tongued as ever, Puber hung his head and wiped his face, his usual way of dodging the topic, “Heh heh, Boss, there was no helping it. We’re in the sa boat, after all. We both know our uncertain futures; we just have to keep on living, right?”

With a long sigh, Kor nodded silently and lifted his glass to down the drink in one gulp, “Humph, don’t lose heart, there’s always a way out. Since the heavens have brought , Kor, into this world, they won’t neglect us. There will be bread, there’ll be everything.”

“Boss, when did you also learn to speak like those priests who enlighten the foolish n and won?” The horse-faced youth said with a chuckle.

This guy was never a devout believer, often coming up with heresies that would get him roasted at the stake or imprisoned for decades by the Church Tribunal if they ever heard him. Fortunately, the restrictions within the Cyprus Team weren’t too strict, which also was a characteristic that made Cyprus vibrantly different from other regions.

“Boss, how have you gotten by these three years?” After taking a light sip of the drink, the young man’s face flushed with color, evidently not a good drinker. However, a pair of bright and profound eyes proved his thoughts were still clear.

“Let’s not talk about it, in comparison to you guys, it’s like one in heaven and another in hell. Aside from being a wanderer, of course, there were so other unexpected events that transpired, which I will tell you about slowly in the future.”

Kor shook his head, raised his glass, and let the liquor swirl in his mouth as if savoring sothing deeply. His experiences over the past three years were probably far beyond anyone’s expectations, and he himself was not keen on recalling those days. Although tribulations were a form of training for a person, this kind of tornt, teetering between life and death along with endless pain, was not a pleasant topic of reminiscence.

“Boss, it’s obvious you’ve had so special encounters; I’d bet on it.” The horse-faced youth’s face showed a look of certainty, and excitent flickered in his eyes, “I can feel that you have an aura about you, like those magicians in our fortress do. Boss, did you learn magic?”

Startled, Kor scrutinized the horse-faced youth for a mont. He hadn’t expected the kid’s sense of sll to be so sharp. He’d simply wanted to use the Wave Transmission Technique to eavesdrop on the conversation of the odd-looking fellow nearby, but the kid had detected it.

“Hehe, I happened to learn so inconspicuous little tricks by chance, hardly worth ntioning in polite company,” Kor didn’t deny but also didn’t elaborate, “What do you think of those people over there at that table? What are they up to?”

Following Kor’s gaze, the horse-faced youth’s attention was instantly diverted. The robust figure, the massive head adorned with several beautiful feathers, the rock-like, well-defined bronze face, and these n were downing cups of the fiery Red Maoshao Liquor that many dared not try—one looked to be truly relishing it.

With a shrug, the young man observed casually, “Oh, they are barbarians. Lately, these guys have co around quite frequently. It seems they have encountered another year of disaster on their side and are forced to buy food and necessities here.”

“Yeah, that’s likely. A couple of days ago, I saw so barbarians bringing in quite a lot of ore to the market to exchange for food. They’re probably having a hard ti. Usually, those guys rarely set foot in Cyprus. But the batch of ore I saw looked pretty valuable, a lot of which was pri material for forging excellent weapons. It’s just too bad that those greedy rchants took advantage of the bargaining, and those barbarians, clueless as they are, probably sold it for only a tenth of its value.” The young man smacked his lips, his face full of pity.

“Oh?” Kor was intrigued. In the past three years under his teacher’s tutelage, he learned quite a bit about the art of refining tools. Though not an expert, he knew that adding special substances to many tools could increase their value a hundredfold, far exceeding the inherent value of the tools themselves, but this required the refiner’s own strength and the properties of the additive.

“Let’s go and take a look. We might just co across an adventure or a stroke of good fortune,” Kor said, raising his eyebrows and standing up.

Not understanding why Kor suddenly took an interest in a group of barbarians, both the horse-faced youth and the young man still instinctively stood up and followed Kor with a stagger, heading over.