Albara Castle is the place where great mages and knights who traveled all over the kingdom were born. This area is still part of the Wallen Kingdom, and the most prestigious academy in this kingdom is Albara Castle.
It is called a castle because in the past, the place was indeed a castle used for protection during wartime, but now it is used as an academy, and many buildings have been added.
It is located on the edge of Lake Sindar, situated between the mountain slopes bordering the Wallen and Noir Kingdoms.
"You don't know something like that?!" Velma's blood boiled because the place she was raised in held no interest for Alioth, and the young man didn't even know about it. "Are you a caveman or what?"
"I'm a lost person." That was the most honest and safest statement. "So, it's natural that I don't know, right?"
Velma gritted her teeth. Still feeling annoyed, she didn't question the strangeness of Alioth being lost. The woman looked away and sighed. "Fine, let's just go so we can quickly arrive at the next city and buy a horse."
"Sorry, I can't ride a horse."
If Velma had an attack magic skill, she would surely have blasted this young man's face.
***
Etan City was not too far from Lark Village. It only took half a day, and after paying the entrance fee, they could explore the quite large city.
Immediately after stepping inside, Velma took Alioth straight to a magic shop that seemed very busy with customers; the shop was called Sunroot Spellshop. The shop was indeed large, even three stories high, but the items there also looked classy and expensive, so Alioth had decided not to buy anything and not to touch anything, except just to accompany Velma.
As the two were immersed in the crowds of this shop, Velma was busy looking at magic staffs and searching for a suitable replacement for her old staff. She was surprised that Alioth wasn't looking for a weapon or anything either.
"Aren't you looking for anything?"
Alioth scratched the back of his head, which wasn't itchy. "Looking for something? I don't have that much money." Then his body shivered as he saw the prices listed on the labels of every piece of equipment sold.
Velma saw the direction of Alioth's gaze and understood what he meant. She then looked around; this place indeed had classy architecture and was visited by classy people, so it was impossible that the goods sold were only low-class.
"Ehm, because you saved my life...." Velma looked away, her face slightly flushed. "Choose one item here, anything, and I'll buy it for you."
Alioth didn't expect something like this to happen again. First with Claire, now with Velma. Was she really going to treat him? Alioth couldn't stop his smile from appearing.
Just as he was about to leave to look for items he thought were good, someone shouted from behind.
"Ah, isn't this Miss Velma?"
Velma tilted her head, peering over Alioth's shoulder, and instantly her face twisted. She looked annoyed for some reason.
A man of about twenty-five with hair as red as glowing embers, wide, enthusiastic eyes, and a sharp jawline with a chin thrust that hinted at arrogance, came approaching in his luxurious silk attire. His outer clothing was a robe down to his knees in dark red, and underneath, he wore a complicatedly patterned tunic that was certainly not cheap.
Velma clucked her tongue with a look of disgust. "Why has the Phoenix Incarnate washed up here?" she said after rolling her eyes lazily.
Alioth was very surprised to hear that. Throughout the journey, Velma had never spoken with such a cold and sharp tone. Alioth felt that this newcomer definitely had a less than harmonious relationship with Velma.
The man came closer and noticed Alioth's presence. The smile that was previously plastered on his face now vanished.
"Excuse me, Sir, could you step away a little?" A tall man, who seemed to be the Phoenix Incarnate's guard, said, gesturing for Alioth to move slightly away.
Velma instantly glared. "Hey, you despicable slave, who are you to dare chase him away?!"
The man immediately looked hesitant and stepped back.
The red-haired man's expression showed displeasure. "I apologize, Miss Velma, but isn't it obvious who the servant and who the master is here?" He glanced at Alioth with an expression of disgust, like looking at horse dung. "Hey, you, while I still have patience, please don't interfere. This is enough. Do you want money? Go ahead, take it and go buy whatever you want." He threw a pile of gold coins that fell clattering and were completely ignored by Alioth.
People began whispering anxiously; it seemed the red-haired figure was quite famous, enough to be the subject of conversation.
On the other hand, Alioth's blood was truly boiling. He wanted to draw his sword and slash. It was true that back when his name was Cael, he was just a loser who struggled to survive. But now he was Alioth, the brightest star in the Ursa Major constellation, and now he was being looked down upon like this?
"Oh, Sir Phoenix Incarnate," he said in a cold tone. "Who are you to dare throw gold coins at me?"
The man's brow furrowed deeply, and the guard was already preparing to draw his sword.
However, Velma moved quickly, slipping between them. "That's enough, Adel, stop it and leave! He is my friend, and I invited him here."
The man named Adel's eyes widened for a moment, then returned to normal. A moment later, he smiled. "Alright, I approached you because I wanted to invite you to the auction tonight on the third floor. You'll definitely come, right? In that case, excuse me." Without waiting for Velma's answer, the man turned and headed to the second floor.
Silence lingered between them for quite a while until Velma dared to look at Alioth's face, which was still hard as iron.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"It's fine," Alioth interrupted. "It's not your fault. Who is he?"
Velma still felt guilty, but seeing Alioth's furious expression made her a little afraid to approach. So she chose to explain.
"He is Adel, the most famous student at Albara Castle. He is called the Phoenix Incarnate because his fire magic is incredibly powerful and very hot."
"Is his fire white yet?"
Velma thought for a moment, not about the answer but about Alioth's question. "As I recall, his fire is bright red. What do you mean?"
A mocking smile was etched on Alioth's face. "Ha, he dares to look down on people while still at that level? Do you remember Adam? Don't you remember what color his fire was?"
Finally, Velma understood. Adam, their friend, had a blazing red fire that was almost white. It was just one level below pure white, which meant the fire had an incredibly high temperature. Velma secretly compared them; Adam's fire was indeed more brilliant than Adel's.
"Ah, we should go look at the items here. I'll buy you two things, just choose." Velma changed the subject by pulling Alioth's hand toward the display section for swords, armor, spears, and other equipment. "Now, choose."
Despite this, because of what just happened, Alioth seemed to lose interest in the items here. Although he was impressed by the luxury of the goods, the urge to punch Adel never faded.
Midway through looking around, he asked, "Are you going to the auction?"
The woman quickly answered, "No." A second later, she turned. "Do you want to go? If you want to, fine, we'll go. I have to buy you something here."
"Why do you have to?"
"To be honest," she said. "The things attached to your body are quite pathetic, except for that sword. At least I want to buy you clothes."
Pathetic? "Hey, don't insult my clothes; they were a gift from someone!"
Velma seemed not to hear. She went to one corner and picked up a small bag. "For now, let me give you this as a gift. Do you know what this is?"
"A bag?" Alioth replied innocently.
"Clever." Velma smiled. "The only difference is that this bag has an enormous dimensional space inside. You can store anything here as long as the capacity is enough."
Alioth swallowed hard. Was Velma going to buy him a dimensional bag?