Chapter 1324: Officially Becoming a Mage (2)

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    Unsurprisingly, after Valyr heard what he needed to give in exchange for his information being kept private, he began to look at the old man with his mouth agape.

    After all, it wasn''t really a response he wasn''t expecting, especially from a man that age.

    Briefly feeling both speechless and confused, the young man quickly convinced himself that he might have heard the old man''s words wrongly, which eventually led him to ask the latter for further clarification.

    "Er... I don''t know if I heard you correctly, but I have to pay you 10 gold coins to keep my information private?"

    "That''s correct." Sadly for him, unlike what he convinced himself to believe, the old man did not hesitate to double down on his earlier words, beginning to look at the young man with a hint of annoyance.

    "Of course, if you don''t have that much to fork out, you''re free to give me whatever amount you so choose," continued the old man after some time, inwardly thinking that Valyr had spent most of his money had gone towards the equipment he was wearing.

    "But do keep in mind that the amount of information I decide to keep private would be proportional to that amount."

    "Well... I don''t really have a problem with the cost." Hearing those words, it was now Valyr''s turn to flip the tables around, quickly getting over the surprise he felt from the old man''s response as he took out 10 gold coins from his pouch.

    Giving it to the old man, he then looked at him with a solemn expression as he asked, "What I want to know instead is..."

    "To what extent would the information be kept private?"

    "..." Being the one left surprised by Valyr''s straightforwardness this time, the old man took a while to process the question the young man asked him.

    Though, once he snapped back to reality, it only took a mere moment for him to understand the hidden meaning beneath Valyr''s question, causing them to go through a back and forth of offers and clauses.

    In the end, it was only after Valyr had given the old man thrice the original amount of money did the latter finally promise the young man that he''d make sure every bit of information he obtained through the spell would be discarded without hesitation.

    Alongside that, he also gave Valyr a guarantee that any attempts at obtaining his information through the guild would be purposefully obfuscated, with the old man telling the young man that he''d just look like a slightly above average Rank 1 mage at most.

    "But one thing does leave me curious, though," said the old man at the end of his

    explanation, looking at Valyr with a mix of expectation and curiosity.

    "I''ve already seen my fair share of mages with Legendary and Mythic classes in the past, so I know how high their stats normally get."

    "On the other hand, yours is just... absurd."

    "Let''s just say I''ve consumed a couple of treasures here and there to get my stats to that level." Already knowing what the old man wanted to ask him, Valyr went ahead and took the initiative to respond.

    "However, as to what treasures those might be... I''m pretty sure you''ll have to pay me for that information."

    "I have no plan on prying on your secrets." Finding how Valyr twisted the previous scenario to fit the current situation quite amusing, the old man let out a chuckle before dispelling the appraisal spell he used on the young man.

    After that, he showed Valyr where the money he gave him was going, conjuring a various number of spells and constructs in a matter of seconds.

    Whoosh!

    Watching these various spells wrap around what looked to be the vessel for the information the old man had obtained from him, Valyr watched as these spells and constructs affixed themselves to the vessel one by one, with each one making the information a bit harder to understand than the last.

    However, before he could even continue the train of thought, an old woman manifested in front of him all of a sudden, forcing Valyr to take a few steps back out of surprise. "What are you stepping back for?" The old woman looked at him with a frown. "Am I scary or

    something?"

    "It''s not that...?" responded Valyr, only for his words to get stuck in his throat as the old woman leaned in to take a whiff of his scent.

    "Er... what are you doing, miss...?"

    "Rinea," replied the old woman after nodding in slight satisfaction. "The name''s Rinea."

    "In any case, I see you''ve availed the old man''s services?"

    "Would that be a problem?" asked Valyr in return, his expression slightly tinged with panic. "It would not." Rinea shook her head. "Just rare to see someone avail it."

    "Especially for someone as young as you."

    "Anyways, this next step of the registration process is quite simple," she continued, showing

    no interest in entertaining the previous topic. "Depending on how well you perform, you''ll either be considered an official member of the guild, or you''ll have to go through yet another

    test."

    "What do I need to do?" Valyr looked at her with curiosity.

    "Show me the strongest spell you can unleash," replied Rinea, briefly reminding Valyr of the advice the old man gave him before they parted ways.

    Fortunately, unlike the old man, the old woman explained why he needed to do that.

    "With the spell, I''ll be able to gauge your potential in various areas, which have something to

    do with magic. Of course, there''s the possibility that I might need you to cast the same spell a few more times to make sure of certain things."

    "But once I fully assess your potential in these areas, if your potential is shown to be very high, you''ll be given greater access to all of the amenities the Mage Guild has to offer." "And in the very rare case that your potential is considered to be at the pinnacle... then you''ll even gain access to special areas the Mage Guild has never shown to the public." "...Understood." Finally understanding why the old man had given him what initially sounded like off-handed advice, Valyr took in a deep breath as he briefly scanned the large room they were in.

    Getting a quick heads-up from Rinea by the side that the room could withstand any attack he threw at it, the young man felt a hint of spite awaken in his body as he decided to follow the

    old man''s advice to the letter.

    Whoosh!

    With that, he activated all of the skills necessary to power up his spell, while also bringing out

    the staff that acted as the conduit for the spell he had in mind.

    Swoosh!

    Giving the mana circuit enough time to run at full power, Valyr then began to chant an incantation as he unleashed what he currently considered his most powerful spell for the

    second time.

    "[Arcane Codex]."

    "[Orb of Apyrhan]."