Chapter 174: Comrades

Words : 1087 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

The first thing that caught his attention was the set of artifacts locked and displayed inside twelve reinforced glass containers, adding a bit of order to the otherwise messy Imperial Treasury. The next thing he noticed was an impressive sword with a long, thin blade hanging on the far end of the runestone walls, glowing with a faint red aura. Hal couldn’t help but wonder who would have used such a sword, or who even could. After all, in the Imperium, wizardry was the most widely acknowledged and dominant form of combat. A swordsman, no matter how skillful, would always be defeated by even a mediocre wizard. He knew he had no business touching those impressive artifacts. So, Hal turned his attention to the neatly lined shelves, filled with spellbooks of all rarity tiers. There was even a dedicated shelf, half-full of spellbooks with dark orange covers. Those were the elusive legendary-tier spells—ones that even money couldn’t simply buy in a straightforward manner, as there would be added conditions aside from a massive sum. A few circulated in shops from time to time, but they were extremely rare, and more often than not, aristocrats were already in talks with the shops about how they could acquire those spellbooks. But then again, he was only here for a pitiful rare-tier mastercraft grade weapon artifact. He could only admire the treasures he couldn’t lay his hands on. ’Hmph, I won’t even benefit from those, anyway...’ he consoled himself. It was then that the scarred middle-aged man spoke: "There, that pile in the far left corner is the rare-tier mastercraft-grade weapon artifacts with official effect cards attached. You may select one from there. No need to rush, as I’ll just be sitting over here." Hal nodded and immediately headed over to the pile. ’D-Damn, rare-tier artifacts are just piled to the side like some common loot here?’ he mused. Arriving a minute later, Hal began scouring the pile for the artifact he was looking for. He picked up a fire elemental wand and checked the official card attached to it: == Effectiveness of Fire Elemental Spells: +30% Mana Consumption of Fire Elemental Spells -10% Mana Regeneration Rate +5% Artifact Rarity: Rare Artifact Grade: Mastercraft Crafter: Master Vegan == Hal nodded repeatedly, impressed by the quality of Master Vegan’s work. However, for some unknown reason, he didn’t feel like he wanted to be like the man, despite not having met the guy yet. He temporarily placed the wand to the side. It was a good option, but perhaps there were better ones, so he continued looking through all the fire elemental weapon artifacts. In the end, he chose the fire elemental staff made by Master Bei’Thor, as it was the one that suited Ennya the most. It gave her a twenty percent boost in casting speed, a fifteen percent reduction in mana cost for fire-elemental spells, and a measly five percent increase in fire-elemental spell power. With her Ifrit’s Core already boosting her flames by 500 percent, casting speed and mana cost reduction mattered far more than any additional increase in spell effectiveness. Hal was satisfied with his pick and was about to return when he noticed and recognized an artifact in another pile. ’Oh? Isn’t this...’ He picked up the necklace, and sure enough, it was something he had made. ’Hahaha! Indeed, my crafts should be of Imperial Treasure level!’ he mused, before returning the artifact to the pile and heading back to where the drunkard was. "I choose this elemental staff, please..." ** * "I knew it..." Isolde sighed and shook her head with a smile. As per what Hal told her, only accessory-type artifacts that boosted mana affinity during meditation proved useful to him, so the moment he agreed to a weapon-type artifact, she knew he was picking one for Ennya. "Yeah, well, I’m worried about that midget. She’s quite du— err, willful... This elemental staff will at least help ease my heart a bit..." Hal explained, to which his master only nodded in response. ’I doubt Freyra would allow her student on such a mission without a decent weapon, though.’ Of course, the headmistress didn’t say that to Hal’s face. She simply appreciated the camaraderie between two childhood friends and future Magnas. The two of them getting along this well was a tremendous boon to the empire, after all. "Well then, since the ceremony is over, you’re now officially a Magna Prospect, and I’m your master," Isolde began as she led the way, with Hal following a few centimeters behind. "As stated by the Grand Eunuch, you’ll be affiliated with both the army and the Imperial Wizard Guild and will perform certain missions that benefit the Imperium in exchange for privileges and rewards. Of course, you can refuse some assignments, but only if they’re not directly for the empire. Lucien Winter’s right to refuse to save you and Liora was an example of a request that could be declined. The current mission assigned to you, however, is not. So as much as I hate the thought of sending you away without having taught you anything, I have no choice." "I understand, master," Hal responded. He had already understood this for quite some time now, and he had made peace with the idea of being sent to a battlefield in the southeast. He wasn’t really that against it, to be honest. The only problem he had with it was that Ennya was going too. ’At least I’ll be there with her...’ he thought. Soon, he and his master arrived at an open space outside the west wing of the castle, where a platoon of young Imperial Army soldiers was camped, and a few Manatech jeepneys were parked. Hal immediately realized that these were the soldiers assigned to him. Apparently, for every mission, he could choose whom to take with him, or all of them, if needed. Those who perished in battle would naturally be replaced. But overall, if they continued to perform well, they would remain his long-time comrades. Hal couldn’t help but think back to the time Lucien’s subordinate, Monk, had died. Would he also develop such painfully close bonds with the young men and women standing before him? They were all older by two to three years, but they looked at him with respect as they scrambled to line up under the orders of their temporary platoon leader. A few moments later, they stood in two proper rows, saluting him. "Greetings, Lord Hal!"

Chapter 174: Comrades

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