Chapter 135 - Spite (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Lin Li held onto the crystal tightly on the way back to Alanna. His expression was like Sean’s in the daytime—he was in the same trance and absent-minded state. He even felt soft beneath his feet walking on the rugged mountain road; it was as if he was stepping on cotton.

The night’s experience was like a dream. A huge Eternal Adamantine vein, three astounding gemstones, and a piece of weird crystal that could devour even the Shapes.h.i.+fter. Just thinking about it made him feel unreal.

So much so that when Lin Li left, he did not even notice that the golden-haired youth who should have fled was still standing in the camp with a pale face. Beads of perspiration fell from his forehead. Even the golden hair around his ears was dampened with perspiration. His body trembled as he looked at Lin Li as if he was looking at the most terrifying monster…

He could not help being afraid…

He had led a group of people, and they had fought the Shapes.h.i.+fter for half a night. How could he not be clear about the strength of the level-18 magical beast? That was a creature comparable to that of a legendary level. If it weren’t for the sacred weapon they had in hand tonight, even an adventurer ten times stronger than them wouldn’t dare to challenge the majesty of the Shapes.h.i.+fter.

However, such a magical beast had disappeared the moment it collided with the young mage. What kind of terrifying force was it?

If such a powerful figure mistakenly thought he was hostile, who could return to Alanna alive among the 30 adventurers present?

He would swear to G.o.d if he could that it was all a coincidence, and that he was not at all hostile!

Tossing the sacred weapons out at the last moment was part of the battle plan to attract the Shapes.h.i.+fter’s attention, and to buy precious time for the whole mercenary team to escape. Under the cliff of the other side of the camp, the mercenary corps had already prepared 40 rope ladders. It would only take a breath’s time for the surviving adventurers to escape.

However…

Little did the golden-haired youth expect that there was a young mage hiding in the forest.

When he discovered the young mage, the golden-haired youth knew things were bad. Once the Shapes.h.i.+fter surged forth, no one could ward it off. The raging Shapes.h.i.+fter would tear all living creatures to pieces. Not to mention such a young mage, even an Archmage wouldn’t necessarily be able to escape from death.

The golden-haired youth was more or less guilty, having killed a man for no reason.

But very soon, he realized that the Shapes.h.i.+fter was gone!

It was neither killed, nor defeated—it suddenly disappeared…

A hallucination, this had to be a hallucination!

The golden-haired youth refused to believe it, and rubbed his eyes hard!

That was right, it really disappeared…

The sacred weapon was still quietly lying on the gra.s.s, and the young mage was still standing there, but the horrible Shapes.h.i.+fter disappeared from the world in a flash.

“Shock” was not enough to describe his feelings. The golden-haired youth stared at the place where the Shapes.h.i.+fter had disappeared for a full minute.

Then…

He realized a very serious problem.

What he had just done could be described as foolishness. No matter how one looked at it, perhaps it would be regarded as a deliberate provocation.

Although the golden-haired youth knew that this was in fact an accident, he knew better than ever that such an outrageously powerful person would not be in the mood to listen to his explanation. Anril was such a world—only the strong were respected and qualified to speak.

A level-12 warrior was like an ant in the eyes of such a powerhouse. The latter only needed one finger to crush him to death. In this world, who would listen to an ant explain anything?

At this moment, the golden-haired young man was so frightened that even his heart stopped beating. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and his whole body was soaked in cold sweat; it looked as if he was just fished out of the water. His fair, handsome face was full of despair. He looked at the powerhouse amongst the forest with fear and horror, waiting for his final judgment. Everyone’s life and death were all between his thoughts…

It was only a short span of two minutes, but the golden-haired youth felt as if it had been a year. Fear and despair filled his heart. The feeling of waiting to die was like being nibbled away bit by bit by a monster, but he just couldn’t do anything about it.

After what seemed like an eternity, the last thing he had antic.i.p.ated was for the other party to turn away and leave…

The golden-haired young man couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d never thought that the super powerhouse would let him go like this.

When the other party’s figure disappeared completely in the forest, the sense of relief made the golden-haired youth lose all his strength—he could not even wipe the sweat on his forehead. He stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the dark forest with dull eyes…

And all of this, of course, was unknown to Lin Li.

It was late at night when he returned to Alanna, and he had a hard time getting into the gates of the Alanna Guild of Magic.

Before Lin Li could enter the gate, he was stopped by two mages on night guard.

There was no other way out. This was not Jarrosus, after all. No one knew Felic nor his ident.i.ty. The two mages on vigil, who were yawning away for most of the night, only knew that this was the Alanna Guild of Magic—the heart of all magic in the Felan Kingdom. Anyone who wished to enter the guild had to be interrogated.

As for what kind of interrogation… It would be determined by the ident.i.ty of the other party.

Unfortunately, Lin Li’s ident.i.ty was the kind that should be questioned carefully.

A young trial mage, who was also from the countryside of Jarrosus. Everyone knew he was a magic genius, but with no background.

There were many marginal people in an awkward position in the Alanna Guild of Magic, They had gotten rid of their status as mage apprentices, but it was difficult to make any further progress. Perhaps they would only be stuck at level-five even at the end of their lives, so most of the time, they would be sent to do various ch.o.r.es, such as vigils.

No one liked to be on vigil; they had to stand outside at the gate every night in the cold wind. As long as they were human beings, they would harbor some resentment in they hearts, which naturally had to be vented. Therefore, making things difficult for mages who returned late had become their best entertainment, and such entertainment could usually bring some benefits. In order to return to sleep earlier, mages were usually not stingy—they might offer a few words of flattery, or even a little gift.

Of course, they naturally dared not find trouble with those higher-level Magic Shooters in the guild. Once they angered these pestilences, they would not have to be on vigil anymore—a magic spell that came down would banish them to the cemetery.

The subjects of their spite were generally low-level mages in the guild. These people were not high in status as well. As long as they adopted a business-like att.i.tude, in addition to subtle hints, they would be able to reap some benefits in the end most of the time.

Apart from these low-level mages, the ones they liked to spite most were still the ones who came from other guilds for the trials. In particularly, the mages that had come this year were all young talents, and they had no background in Alanna.

This was a very complicated mentality—one of both jealousy and superiority. They were jealous of the other party’s talents, yet they despised their guilds. Except for the Alanna Guild of Magic, other guilds could only remain country guilds.

“What’s your name?” The man in charge of interrogating Lin Li was a middle-aged mage. He looked to be over 50 years of age, and was tall and lanky. He stood outside the guild hall in a black robe, looking like a black bamboo pole.

“Felic.”

“Where are you from?”

“Jarrosus.”

“What are you here for?”

“To partic.i.p.ate in the trial.”

“Why did you return so late?”

“I had something to deal with.”