Chapter 45: The Bequli Gem

Although he had not witnessed the effects of many spells, there was no doubt that Constantine was already quite familiar with this particular spell by now. So, he wisely did not try to resist it directly. Instead, he just grabbed his shield. In the next second, his slender body was violently flung into the air by the impact and crashed down heavily to one side! The force of the heavy collision made the boy let out a cry of pain. He almost thought he had been shattered into pieces—this strike’s power seemed even greater than what his ring could produce!

“Not bad… I thought noble brats all had empty heads like young trolls… I didn’t expect you to actually have something resembling thought… You must know, for a Mage, the most important thing isn’t Mental Power or technique, but this kind of imagination. You have some talent, and an even broader future… if trained properly.”

The Roman-style shield truly lived up to its perfect reputation. Although the severe impact had badly deformed the shield’s curved surface, the structure as a whole had not completely collapsed—of course, Constantine knew that was partly due to the mysterious wood and some kind of Magic, but clearly, its sturdiness was satisfactory enough for most people. Therefore, the Black Robe Mage uncharacteristically did not stint on his praise.

However, the target of his praise did not feel any pleasure from being complimented.

“You… this madman! Idiot! Are you trying to kill someone, damn it?” Constantine shook his slightly dizzy head and couldn’t help but curse loudly… In fact, Constantine, whose clothes were already torn in several places by the shattered wood splinters, was barely holding back his killing intent. He struggled to get up from the ground, and this movement made him feel like every joint in his body was groaning in pain.

“Little brat! I already reduced the spell’s power to the minimum! Or do you want another hit?” The Black Robe Mage did not get angry at the boy’s cursing; his voice just became a bit more hoarse. Then, he casually threw the small shield he had just made to Constantine. He then went back to busying himself with his own tasks: “As is customary, consider this the price for the idea…”

“You think you can fob me off with a failed piece? … Indeed, a brutal guy is bound to be stingy too.” The boy caught the small shield, which was like a metal disc, and his expression still did not improve: “Don’t forget, we are companions who share the same faith now, aren’t we? Or do you actually want to kill me to silence me?”

Actually, the boy really wanted to teach this guy, who completely disregarded others’ lives, a lesson. But his reason, which had regained the upper hand, stopped this impulsive thought—he currently did not have the ability to challenge a great Mage… The other might not take his life, but making him suffer would not be difficult at all. Until he possessed power at least at a level like Walter’s, he did not have the means to solve problems through force.

Power… Constantine’s heart stirred slightly. Nowadays, he sometimes felt a desire for this kind of thing… This line of thinking seemed to be getting closer to Hartdiel’s usual mode of thought… Or perhaps, it was an influence from the Lich currently attached to him?

He shook his head and turned his attention to the item in his hand. The shimmering Gemstone actually soothed his resentment a little—according to the Lich’s introduction, this shield should be considered decent Magic equipment. The Tear of Tempus alone was quite valuable. The lightweight shield body was very suitable for the boy’s current thin frame, and it seemed to have some defensive spell attached to it—he tried to channel a wisp of Mental Power into it, and a warm feeling immediately surged up.

“Smart people always use their brains more than their mouths. Only fools show off their tongues… If you have time to complain, come help me mix potions instead! Then I might find some useless stuff for you!” The Black Robe Mage’s hands never stopped. Pieces of wood in his hands were like clay in a potter’s hands, smoothly changing shape, becoming shields bearing crests. Constantine’s eyes flickered; he noticed the crest etched on them was actually a phoenix—this legendary divine bird was the very emblem of the Phoenix royal family.

“My time is quite precious… If you want help, you pay first. Besides, I already said, don’t think you can fob me off with just this kind of thing… Otherwise, I think I can discuss the matter of idea compensation with Archmage Nikolai, or perhaps… Archmage Satanber might be more familiar with this sort of thing?” Constantine refused irritably. This old fellow seemed to care about nothing but his flasks, jars, and Magic weapons. If Constantine didn’t still need something from him, he would have left far behind long ago.

“Greedy brat! Are you trying to threaten me?” The Black Robe Mage suddenly turned around. The boy noticed the scarred face within the hood’s Shadow twitching unnaturally! It looked a bit frightening… But the boy facing him just showed an ‘innocent’ smile—not being able to solve things by force didn’t mean Constantine had no bargaining chips. Last time’s experience was enough for Constantine to know that Satanber seemed to care about his existence, and Nikolai obviously held some regard for him too. Relying on the presence of these two Archmages, this old fellow might make him suffer a bit, but definitely wouldn’t dare to actually do anything serious to him.

“Don’t worry… I’m not asking for anything very valuable. Old man, you’re an Alchemist, you must have quite a lot of various Gemstones and such, right? I want a little.” Of course, such matters required knowing the limits, so the boy needed to probe where that bottom line was.

“Hmph! Go pick!” The Black Robe Mage’s gaze swept over the boy. Then, with a cold snort from him, a large stone slab in the laboratory wall rotated open, revealing over a dozen rows of carved display shelves inside.

Constantine glanced at that cabinet and couldn’t help but sigh softly. In legends, those high-level Mages were a group who didn’t treat wealth seriously. It seemed this wasn’t unfounded—inside the cabinet, various Gemstone raw materials, some in bags, some a few pieces, shimmered with luster. Various crystals were sorted and arranged, reflecting the Magic light sources in the laboratory, like a river of stars in the sky.

However, after a careful look, the boy couldn’t help but let out a disappointed sigh… Although the dazzling array of Gemstones here seemed to have everything one could want, black-colored crystals were pitifully rare. And among them, the translucent crystals with ink-black smoke that the Lich had described to him were completely absent.

“Little brat, this place contains almost most of the common Gemstone varieties on the Continent. What exactly do you want? Supreme Morning Sapphire perhaps?” Perhaps the collection here was something the Black Robe Mage took pride in? The disappointed look on the boy’s face made him even more impatient.

“Nothing that exaggerated, just looking for some smoky quartz…” Constantine’s eyes carefully scanned the collection again, trying to find any part he might have missed. But unfortunately, although the variety was quite comprehensive, this cabinet did not have the material he needed.

“Smoky quartz? That stuff only appears in places thick with Undead aura. Besides being used to trap Souls, it’s useless… It was banned hundreds of years ago. Only those Necromancers would need it…” The Black Robe Mage’s face twitched, and his voice began to fill with an icy chill: “What do you want that thing for?”

“Um… it’s gray, transparent quartz… but others might work too…” The suspicious gaze from under the hood’s shadow made Constantine shiver. He quickly covered up with a laugh, but his heart felt a bit cold—since even Vernal said there was no smoky quartz, then obviously obtaining it through other channels wouldn’t be too easy either. Did he really have to wait until his power increased and travel far to that ancient battlefield beyond the Western Frontier to get the Lich to leave him?

Just as the boy was feeling disheartened, the Lich’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind: “I seem to sense something, boy. Look around. Is there a Gemstone emitting a green light?”

So Constantine immediately noticed that oval Gemstone placed on the top shelf. Actually, he couldn’t not notice it. This solitary Gemstone, placed in the highest corner of the shelf, emitted a bluish-green glow that was almost like some kind of lighting system.

“Excellent. How big is it?”

“About… half the size of a pigeon egg.”

“That’s the one!”

The Lich’s eager display made Constantine smile slightly. He reached out to take that Gemstone placed on the delicate stand. But before his fingers could touch the stone emitting the bluish-green light, they suddenly hurt for no reason!

“You really have an eye, greedy brat! I could let other things slide, but that one cannot be given to you!” The Gemstone floated up eerily and then landed in the Black Robe Mage Vernal’s hand: “This Bequli Gem is something that old fellow Nikolai asked me to cut and polish. He said he needs it in the next day or two. If you want it, go talk to him directly!”

“This is the Bequli Gem?” Constantine’s heart tightened. Frequent chats with an Archmage actually had their benefits; for instance, some anecdotal knowledge would unconsciously increase.

The Bequli Gem was one of the few Gemstones in this world that could rival diamonds in value, even more expensive than regular high-grade Gemstones like diamonds or rubies. While the aforementioned things were expensive due to difficult mining and crafting, the Bequli Gem’s costliness was because it was simply too rare—this deep green Gemstone, which emitted a dazzling light in the Darkness, differed from other Gemstones most in its origin: it came from the deep sea. Only the most discerning merfolk and sea Elves would discover it. It very rarely appeared in Human markets. Even with money, there was hardly anywhere to buy it.

“Precisely because it’s a Bequli Gem that it works… The Soul is one of the most complex existences in the universe. Therefore, trying to store it elsewhere without causing damage is very difficult. Unless using a large Magic Array, it’s easy for Magic Power to go out of control. Besides smoky quartz, which easily harmonizes with Souls, nothing else can fully succeed.” The Lich sighed in Constantine’s mind: “Doing so requires increasing the Magic Array’s power, but most Gemstones can hardly bear such massive Magic Power and would easily crack and be destroyed directly. However, the Bequli Gem should have sufficient hardness! It should be considered the sturdiest among known Gemstones. Although slightly less hard than diamond, it isn’t as brittle as diamond. Back then, I didn’t have any in stock either. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have ended up in this state.”

Constantine reached out and wiped the bridge of his nose…

Clearly, this hard-found item would be difficult to obtain again… Although last time he had provided the old Mage with several practical experimental tools, he had also taken half a bottle of precious potion from him. Asking for this Bequli Gem now, shamelessly, obviously wouldn’t have high chances of success. But he still casually pulled out from a corner of the cabinet a small bag… filled with sand-like fine powder. Diamond dust.

“Do you have any more Bequli Gems? I can still trade some ideas for it…” As the display cabinet slowly rotated back into place, the boy asked persistently again, though he clearly knew how precious this Gemstone was.

“Foolish brat! Who do you think you are? An Alchemist? Actually, if it weren’t for this suddenly arrived, stingy-to-the-bone order from the palace guard regiment, I wouldn’t have been interested in using your bratty ideas either…” The Black Robe Mage let out a disdainful sneer: “As for Bequli… there aren’t many of these to begin with, and few can work with them. I don’t have much in stock here either.”

…

“The Bequli Gem? That seems to have been obtained quite recently by chance… It doesn’t hold any great significance, really. I don’t need to use it either.” When the boy, having undergone another dizzying teleportation process, stood before the master of the Archmage Tower, the old man said lightly.

Before Archmage Nikolai, there were still steaming vapors, bubbling cauldrons, and piles of Parchment. At the moment, he seemed focused on writing something on a piece of Parchment—clearly, this Archmage’s abilities were beyond what the boy could compare to. The glowing quill tip moved swiftly across the paper, yet he could still speak and think.

“However, I still can’t give it to you, because…” Just as Constantine secretly rejoiced, the old Mage raised his head: “I’ve already added that Gemstone to the reward list for the upcoming Mage selection. The list has been published now. Making a temporary change doesn’t seem easy.”

“Of course, obtaining it isn’t difficult for you either, because you now possess the qualification too.” The old Mage’s serious mouth curved into a strange smile: “I can add your name to this test’s participant list. As long as you can get that Gemstone during the test, your goal will be achieved. So, how about it? Want to give it a try?”