Reynold
“Let’s go!” Wade called towards the distracted Leylin.
“What, do you like these guys?”
Wade pointed at a creature in front of Leylin that looked like an elephant, but had a layer of white feathers on its body that appealed to Leylin.
“I’m very interested in these kinds of strange creatures!”
Leylin gave a slight smile while he made a decision. He would come here often and look around, and if he was lucky enough, there might even be a few creatures with ancient bloodlines!
“Come on!”
Wade brought Leylin to where two gigantic Dragon Crown Nighthawks were.
These huge birds that resembled eagles had steely black feathers covering their bodies and their necks were dyed red. On their head, there was a beautiful protruding bone in the shape of a crown.
Wade unlocked the bronze collar on the Dragon Crown Nighthawks’ necks and tossed one of the green metal sheets Leylin.
“This is the key to controlling them. Come, let us leave!”
Leylin climbed on one of the Nighthawks’ backs in curiosity. On its back was the leather saddle of a mount. It seemed to be manufactured for the comfort of the riders.
Leylin sat on the saddle and willed a trace of his spiritual force to enter the green metal sheet.
The moment his spiritual energy touched the metal sheet, Leylin could feel his mind instantly connecting with the Nighthawk.
The Nighthawk’s mind was very simple, and it was only able to receive commands such as fly, drop, increase speed, turn, and so on. Its intelligence was similar to that of a child of around seven or eight years of age.
[Dragon Crown Nighthawk. Strength: 5.2, Agility: 7.6, Vitality: 4.9, Special abilities: None.]
The stats given by the A.I. Chip were simple. From the looks of it, this type of Dragon Crown Nighthawk was only suitable as a means of transportation.
“Let’s go!”
The large Nighthawk spread its wings, and in doing so, swept up a dust tornado.
Following two cries of the Nighthawks, Leylin and Wade made themselves comfortable on their backs as they flew into the sky.
*Whoosh*
The strong air pressure made Leylin feel as if he were in the middle of a hurricane.
“Hehe! Leylin, how does it feel?"
Wade, who was on the Nighthawk beside Leylin, spoke up.
Leylin’s eyes closed in a contented manner as he enjoyed the scenery zooming past him on both sides, as well as the blue sky and white clouds that seemed to be in close proximity.
For official Magi, whose bodies were much more resilient than the regular human beings, this sort of pressure was akin to a slight breeze.
“It’s not bad!”
“Haha… Back then, I had regretted that I had not memorised a flying type spell. However, ever since I got my precious, I did not have those thoughts anymore. Perhaps one day, you can have a look at it! I swear that you will be enchanted by it…”
Leylin chatted with Wade along the way as he observed the flying path of the Dragon Crown Nighthawk.
Ever since he had left the Nightless City, the Dragon Crown Nighthawk had been flying eastward.
With the passing of time, the air in the atmosphere turned chillier.
Finally, a snow covered mountain range appeared in front of Leylin. The Dragon Crown Nighthawk let out an excited growl, and began to soar upwards.
On a patch of ground covered with white snow, the Dragon Crown Nighthawks that carried Wade and Leylin landed.
“Welcome to the Four Seasons Garden’s headquarters!”
Wade led Leylin into a tall passageway.
Two acolytes that seemed to have been waiting for them began to receive the Dragon Crown Nighthawk, and brought them to their stables, before beginning to scrub and feed them.
The passageway was extremely winding, and the walls were covered with pure white snow. On the inside, however, a warm wind was circulating.
From the various forks on the passageway, Leylin could see several Magi with acolytes walking past them. They carried notebooks and seemed to be in a hurry.
After half an hour and several checkpoints, they finally reached their destination.
“We're here, this is my mentor’s room, Lord Reynold’s office!”
Wade pushed open a big black metal door while explaining to Leylin.
It was extremely spacious behind the door, and there were many green vines creeping in the surroundings.
The ancient tree vines were twisted and intertwined, taking the shape of the table and chairs. Also, where some knots were, several beautiful white flowers were blooming, emitting a sweet fragrance.
Behind the desk made of black vines, an old, white-haired Magus wearing gilded spectacles smiled at Leylin.
“Welcome!”
“An honour to meet you, my Lord!” The energy waves radiating off the old man’s body completed surpassed that of a Rank 1 Magus. Leylin had only come across this sort of undulation from the chairman and a couple of other Magi at the bloodbath in the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.
It was obvious that this old man was at least a rank 2 Magus.
“Don’t hold back. The Four Seasons Garden was created by the great Potions Master, Amesandenisa, for the sake of exchanging research and potion formulas. Our objective is to create equality and freedom!”
The white-haired man laughed with a kind demeanor.
“Being able to enter the Four Seasons Garden is an honour, my lord!”
Leylin bowed once more.
“Now then, are you prepared to sign the contract?” Reynold asked.
“I hope you don’t mind, but could I see the contents of the contract?” Leylin asked.
“Right! Don’t mind me, I’ve already gotten so old that I have forgotten these things…” The old man chuckled and pointed at a piece of parchment on the table.
Leylin picked it up and looked through the conditions.
Just as he had expected, the specifications were quite lax.
It was stated that Leylin had to swear not to harm the Four Season Garden’s interests and that he had to complete a specific number of missions per year. In exchange, the Four Seasons Garden would provide him with information and resources. In all other areas, the conditions were lax and did not restrain him in any way. There wasn’t even any mention of what would happen to Magi who left the organisation.
“It is just as Crew mentioned. Due to some history, the Four Seasons Garden’s pact is quite loose!”
Of course, Leylin was aware that this was just for him to gain access to some of the Four Season Garden’s resources. He was unable to gain further access to the more important items.
That was only possible from the start if the contract was much more strict, to the point that he had to leave a part of his spirit here.
However, Leylin wanted to enter a large organisation by taking on the role of a guest professor or special guest. It was for his convenience to obtain high-grade information and resources in the future. He had planned to travel across the world in the future and search for various Magi remnants and did not want to just be tied down in one place.
Leylin took extra care to examine the margins of the parchment paper, which was extremely clean, with no additional conditions or runes inscribed onto them.
Some ancient characters were extremely difficult to notice and even similar to runes. Leylin had heard that many magicians loved to use such devious traps in order to trick others.
Although the Four Seasons Garden might not stoop down to such a level, Leylin still felt that he had to be more careful for his own sake.
“A.I. Chip! Scan! Check if there are any pitfalls or unknown constraints in the contract!”
Leylin commanded silently.
[Mission establishing, beginning detailed scan!] The A.I. Chip’s voice intoned.
Currently, after several upgrades, the A.I. Chip was still able to hide all traces of its existence before a rank 2 Magus.
[Beep! Scan complete! No strange or concealed restraints on the contract!] The A.I. Chip’s voice intoned.
“These conditions are very good, I have no reasons to refuse them!”
The A.I. Chip’s indication could only be heard by Leylin. From Wade’s point of view, Leylin had only given it a cursory glance, before readily agreeing.
“Very well!” Reynold chanted an incantation.
*Buzz buzz!*
There was an undulation in the air, and immediately, a mysterious eye appeared in mid-air.
This eye was completely black, save for the scarlet light within the pupil.
“Trial’s Eye!” Leylin said inwardly.
This eye was extremely similar to the clone he had summoned, but it was at least ten times bigger than what he had seen before!
It was obvious that when summoned by a rank 2 Magus, the Trial’s Eye’s might would be multiplied.
If it was said that the Trial’s Eye that Leylin had summoned when he was an acolyte had less than a billionth of the strength of its true body, this vertical eye that Reynold had summoned would most likely have the strength of a millionth of the Trial’s Eye’s real body.
The Trial’s Eye floated in mid-air quietly, and Leylin seemed to even see a trace of intelligence within its pupils.
“This is different from a phantom that has no consciousness when summoned by an acolyte. The might of the Trial’s Eye, when summoned by an official Magus, is even stronger. Moreover, it is intelligent and can think on its own, so it is able to judge the contract fairly between both parties!
Reynold explained to Leylin.
That was to say, if this Trial’s Eye had appeared in the past, Leylin’s past ploy in deceiving the vengeful spirit Roman with a word game would have been exposed, and he would have suffered the punishment of the Trial’s Eye.
“I declare that the ceremony starts now!”
Reynold announced in a low voice, and the moment he spoke, the Trial’s Eye trembled. Leylin could tell that the atmosphere in the air had changed and became denser.
“Witnessed by the mighty and impartial Trial’s Eye! Leylin, do you agree to sign this agreement?” Reynold asked, his voice clear and powerful in the ancient Byron language.
“I agree!” Leylin answered his speech also in the ancient Byron language.
The moment the words left his mouth, he could feel his spirit tremble, seeming to repeat the words that he had just said.
The phantom of the Trial’s Eye shook, seeming to be the witness to this contract.
“So then, I, Reynold, hereby declare the contract as established!” Reynold called out.
*Boom!*
The contract on the parchment paper in Reynold’s hands suddenly combusted, turning into ashes as they entered the phantom.
*Xiu Xiu!*
The Trial’s Eye exploded and turned into two black rays, entering Leylin and Reynold’s bodies at a speed that the naked eye could not follow.
“Congratulations. From today onwards, you are now an extrinsic Magus! Not only can you obtain a portion of precious resources every month, you are also allowed access to most of our labs and the library!”
Reynold said to Leylin.