Walking behind the space technique Mage, Hadrian resisted the urge to call at his essence fog.
I will, soon enough.
"A beast on your first hunt." The space technique Mage said, his back to Alia and Hadrian. "Lucky you. You survived."
I know space technique mages have good spacial awareness, but this is either being ignorant or insulting me.
Alia had recounted some parts of their hunt, altering a lot of information.
That cohort is a liability.
He meant the one he'd stolen horses from.
And the bearded man. If he managed to make it out.
Here, I don't have to worry too much about them yet.
Doran's street was north-east to the central part of town.
They had left the market district, approaching a red brick building.
From hawk Hadrian's perspective, he saw it was a four story building.
The three of them were let through by the two front guards who tried not to act like one.
Hadrian's other vessels were stretched out around, trying to act like normal people.
A warm flowery scent graced Hadrian's cheeks. It was dark inside and the ground floor appeared to be a tavern.
Somewhere above and around him he heard muffled moans and groans.
Huh.
"This way." The space technique Mage called out to him and Alia. "Unless you want to indulge." A smile tugged on his lips.
Up through another set of stairs, they finally approached a closed door.
I expected guards.
Two knocks and the space technique Mage pushed the door through. It was silent.
Walking in, Hadrian swallowed.
The room was cooler than downstairs. Mentally, he nodded at the wide opened window.
There were three people in the room. Behind the large ebony desk, a broad shouldered man sat.
Seeing the space technique Mage and the Hadrians walk in, the man relaxed back into his seat.
His eyes were sharp, his jaw wide and his black hair short on top of his head.
The room was minimalistic and smelt of wood.
"What's this?" The voice of the man resounded from behind the desk.
As the rank one space technique Mage recounted, Hadrian did as he had with everyone he met, peering into their essence sea.
The two other people in the room were actually just regular people.
His eyes darting to the wide armed man behind the desk, he suppressed his facial muscles from twitching.
Inside the man's essence sea, three spheres of fog lined with what seemed to be glass, spun.
Three. Three cores. A rank three mage.
A whole rank higher than that corrupted monkey.
I can't begin to imagine.
Sinking back into the moment, he found the man staring back at him. His left brow slightly rose.
He could not have sensed even peeping?
Clearing his throat, Hadrian's eyes darted elsewhere, pretending to study the room.
"An elemental Mage…. " the big man mumbled.
So this is Bagdona.
Hadrian had heard the space technique Mage refer to him as such when recounting why Alia and Hadrian were currently in his brothel office.
Alia Hadrian raised her chin.
Bagdona smiled.
"When did you awaken?" He asked in a deep voice that sent a slight shutter through Hadrian.
"A few days ago." Alia Hadrian did not sound as confident as Hadrian had intended.
Bagdona nodded, tapping his index finger on his ebony desk.
"Does your cohort know you're here? Cohorts are supposed to be close."
"We're still in the early stages. Considering I'm new." Said Alia, "since we just got back from a hunt, they had issues to see to. But we'll reunite soon enough."
"Not if you're here, you won't." Bagdona's brows rose, "with us…. I mean."
Alia took a deep breath in without responding for a moment.
Bagdona leaned forward on top of his desk, making it creak under his weight.
"So, tell me. What is it you wish for?"
"How to rise in rank."
Bagdona chuckled, a deep vibrating chuckle.
"That's it?" He gestured to the space technique Mage standing to the far left of Hadrian and Alia, leaning against the wall. "You could have simply asked him."
I could. Hadrian thought. But you see there's two of your members I'm looking for and want to kill. Or better yet, turn into my vessels.
Alia's lips parted, wondering what to say. Before she could speak, however, Bagdona did.
"It's good you are confident. But if you are to work under me, you need to be smart too."
Bagdona sighed, clasping his hands together.
"Which element are you? Or elements."
"Fire." Alia muttered.
"Just one? Not so lucky, are you?"
Alia's eyes fluttered.
"I should not be wasting my time with this, but gods know Truston wouldn't bother with you. Even if he didn't need to lay low for a while."
Truston. So he's the elemental Mage.
Bagdona's eyes darted between Hadrian and Alia.
"Fine. I'll tell you. In return, that's a month's work for us. You try to default on this deal, and well, we have our ways."
A month?
Bagdona didn't give Hadrian time to turn it down.
"Three ways." Bagdona gestured with his short fingers. "Or maybe two. One, saturating your core either by consuming essence cores of higher ranked mages or by consuming essence fragments residual."
"Quite unfair is it? You don't stand a chance against even a single rank two mage yet you're supposed to consume at least five. And that's only because the jump from rank one to two is the easiest."
"What about the essence fragment residual?"
I've been calling the essence core an essence fragment all this time…..
Bagdona chuckled. "Not anywhere near here, I can tell you that. They've all been collected."
Alia's lips pressed tightly as he struggled not to smile.
So, for the first method I indeed do have an advantage.
Instead of consuming the essence cores, I could simply turn the mages into my vessels or steal their essence cores after they're dead.
Hehe, that's easier said than done.
But this is truly unfair for other mages. I wonder why.
"Second." Bagdona's voice cut his thoughts. "Pandemonium realms."