Chapter 128: An Old Acquaintance, A Harbinger of Disaster

(First update of the day, more to come tonight~~) Chapter 128: [Old Acquaintance, Harbinger of Misfortune]

Walking into the Magic Guild, Xia Ya was still looking around with great curiosity. After all, the profession of a mage was highly prestigious, and as the headquarters of the Byzantine Empire’s Magic Guild, it could be considered the core holy land for mages on the continent. Since this guild was responsible for managing the magical world of the continent, it was bound to be a truly extraordinary place.

However, once inside the main hall, Xia Ya was deeply disappointed.

The entrance led into a circular lobby, decorated with nothing more than simple stone floors. The walls were coated with white paint, devoid of any mysterious or magical patterns. In Xia Ya’s view, even the study at the Cavill family’s manor on his first day in the capital was far more solemn and impressive than this.

It was... quite literally just an ordinary, dull reception hall. The area was barely ten steps wide. In front was a staircase, and a high, long desk blocked the path. Behind the desk sat an old man with a full head of white hair, leaning on one hand and dozing off. The fellow wore a grey robe but lacked any mage insignia.

Seeing Xia Ya and Duoduo Luo enter—or rather, "hearing" them enter—the old man finally lifted his head with great effort. His face was full of sleepiness, his eyes barely able to stay open. He mumbled indistinctly, "Good afternoon, two mage gentlemen. What is your business here..."

As he spoke, he slurped back a trail of drool from the corner of his mouth, wiped it with a dirty sleeve, and lifted his head to inspect the two newcomers with dim, aged eyes.

After they locked gazes, it was obvious that Xia Ya was not dressed as a mage, so the old man fixed his gaze solely on Duoduo Luo.

"Honorable mage, I am Dohari, a receptionist at the Magic Guild. Please state your identity so I may register you, and then inform me of your purpose..." As the old man spoke, Xia Ya noticed his teeth were nearly gone and his cheeks were sunken. He tried to stand up to salute Duoduo Luo, but his body trembled, and he struggled for a long time before he could barely straighten his back.

Duoduo Luo puffed out his chest proudly. "My name is Duoduo Luo. My name is in the guild’s register." He paused and glanced at Xia Ya. "Um... this... this is my companion."

"My apologies." The old man nodded respectfully to Duoduo Luo. "Since you are a mage, you should know the rules here. Even for your companion, we must register his name."

"Xia Ya," the country bumpkin said indifferently. "Xia Ya Leiming."

"Hmm..." The old man sat for a moment, trembling as he picked up a quill from the desk to write on a form. Due to his advanced age and frailty, his handwriting was crooked. He muttered as he wrote, "Hmm, visitor... the honorable Mage Duoduo Luo, yes... and... the mage’s attendant, Xia Ya Leiming... hmm, what a strange name. Does anyone actually have a name like that..."

Hearing the old man refer to him as Duoduo Luo’s "mage attendant," Xia Ya glared and was about to retort, but Duoduo Luo hurriedly signaled him with his eyes, nodding and pleading with his hands until Xia Ya finally shut his mouth.

"Very well... Mage Duoduo Luo, please state your purpose... I..."

"I need to request an audience with a deacon. It concerns my personal reputation, so may I ask, which deacon is on duty today?" Duoduo Luo answered cautiously.

The old man said "Oh," as if he were hard of hearing. After Duoduo Luo repeated himself, the old man nodded. "Hmm, please go upstairs, the second door on the left. Deacon Harris is on duty today; you may go see him."

Duoduo Luo breathed a sigh of relief and smiled bitterly at Xia Ya. "Please wait here. Um... in the Magic Guild, unless there is a special reason, commoners are not allowed inside."

Xia Ya looked around the lobby. Besides this decrepit old man, there were no guards. If he were to force his way in, could this old man really stop him?

However, on second thought, this was the Magic Guild, after all. Perhaps it had some unique, formidable defenses. He wasn't here to cause trouble, just to look around and satisfy his curiosity. In that case, waiting here would suffice.

Watching Duoduo Luo head up the stairs, Xia Ya looked around the lobby. There wasn't even a chair. The receptionist had sat back down, propping his head on his hand, his head bobbing as he began to doze off again.

Feeling bored, Xia Ya took a few steps forward and struck up a conversation. "Old sir, are you a member of the Magic Guild?"

The old man seemed impatient. He frowned at Xia Ya and muttered through his toothless mouth, "Is that a stupid question? If I weren't a member, why would I be sitting here..." He shook his head, looking quite dismissive of Xia Ya.

"Oh? Then... given your age, you must have been in the Magic Guild for a long time?" Xia Ya asked curiously.

"Hmm..." The old man barely opened his eyes and extended a finger to count. "It’s been... fifty... um, fifty-three years now..."

Xia Ya felt a surge of respect. "Then, surely you must be a mage as well?"

The old man gave a sheepish laugh, then glared at Xia Ya, his tone turning sour. "You young man are truly rude. If I were a mage, would I still be sitting here? Hmm... I am just a magic apprentice."

A magic apprentice?

Xia Ya stared at the old man. He had to be at least seventy, if not eighty! At this age, he was still an "apprentice"?!

The old man’s dim eyes suddenly sharpened as he noticed Xia Ya’s strange expression. He couldn't help but huff and squint. "Young man, are you looking down on me? Hmph, let me tell you, I am no simple character! I’ve been here for so many years that even some real mages are polite to me when they see me."

He paused, as if showing off. "Let me tell you, the current Chairman of the Magic Guild, the Archmage Raphael, was my classmate at the magic academy! We graduated together and both received the title of magic apprentice!"

Xia Ya couldn't help but smile.

A classmate of the Magic Guild Chairman? It was just a pity that after graduation, the other guy rose all the way to become an Archmage, while this old gentleman remained stuck at the level of a magic apprentice for his entire life... one could only call it the cruelty of fate.

Just as he was feeling sentimental, he heard footsteps at the door.

A mage walked in slowly. Before he even reached the threshold, he laughed in a hoarse voice, "Old Dohari, I’ve come to see the deacon. That application I submitted last time, did you actually pass it on to him?"

Upon hearing the voice, Xia Ya immediately found it familiar. He turned around and saw a mage entering, wearing a grey robe and a large cloak, with a low-level mage insignia pinned to his chest.

When he saw the mage's face, the man also looked toward Xia Ya. Their eyes met, both were stunned for a moment, and then both shouted at the same time.

"It’s you?!"

"Ah!! You!!"

The moment the mage saw Xia Ya, his face changed. His expression twisted as if he wanted to turn and flee, but before he could, Xia Ya caught up in one stride and pressed a hand onto his shoulder. His strength was immense; the mage was pinned in place, unable to move. He could only smile bitterly and turn around, wearing a strange expression. "Ah... so it’s you, the... Mr. Demon Hunter?"

Xia Ya squinted at him. "I remember you... you’re that guy from the Four Beaux of the Capital, right? What was your name... um, that Ni Ma Ge Bi... ah, you’re that mage, Pidaldo!"

Pidaldo seemed deathly afraid of Xia Ya. He looked at him, his legs trembling, his eyes darting around. Finally, he laughed bitterly. "Indeed... your memory is truly excellent, to recognize me at a glance..."

Deep down, however, he was lamenting: Why did this guy come to the capital? This is bad... does he know that the path I pointed him to last time was a lie? As expected, Xia Ya squinted and sneered. "Huh? You seem very guilty! Hmph, I remember that thanks to you pointing me in a direction last time, I still haven't repaid that favor!"

Pidaldo didn't dare to have Xia Ya "repay" anything. He hurriedly put on a forced, obsequious smile. "No need, no need. Um... I didn't expect to run into you here. Well... I have some business to attend to, so excuse me..."

He turned to leave, but Xia Ya grabbed him. "Don't be in such a hurry! We are old acquaintances, after all."

Xia Ya huffed and continued, "I really should thank you for the path you pointed out to me last time!"

Pidaldo gave a bitter smile and decided to bite the bullet. "Um... the path I pointed out was a mistake made in haste; it can't be blamed on me. Besides, I..."

"Besides, you did it on purpose, right?" Xia Ya snorted, applying more pressure to the man's shoulder. Pidaldo’s face turned pale, and sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly cried, "Let go! Let go! This is the Magic Guild! It is highly inappropriate for you to lay hands on me here!"

Xia Ya chuckled and pulled back his hand. "I won't hit you. Even though you intentionally pointed me the wrong way last time, I didn't fall for it, hmph..."

Pidaldo had been about to run the moment Xia Ya let go, but upon hearing this, he froze, eyes wide as he stared at Xia Ya. "You... you didn't fall for it? Then, did you really find that..."

Realizing he had spoken too much, Pidaldo glanced at the old receptionist and shut his mouth, though he couldn't stop staring at Xia Ya.

Xia Ya chuckled, acting mysterious without answering.

Pidaldo was anxious and couldn't help but ask again, "Did... did you really find it?"

Xia Ya shook his head and sighed deliberately. "Hmph, I didn't find anything. I guessed you were leading me astray at the time, so I went in another direction. Although I didn't find what you mentioned... I did manage to hunt a decent magical beast."

The country bumpkin wasn't stupid. He had gained a dragon, a huge harvest. He knew well enough from his days in Wildfire Town that one shouldn't show off wealth, as it would only invite covetous eyes.

Pidaldo didn't doubt him. He knew that while this guy was strong, he wasn't strong enough to kill a dragon—if he had actually found that dragon, he would surely be dead.

Moreover, Pidaldo had received news that his teacher and the other mages who went looking for the dragon had never returned; they had likely been killed by it.

If even those mages died at the hands of that dragon, how could this guy survive? Since he was alive, it meant he hadn't seen the dragon—hmph, he was just lucky.

Pidaldo did have legitimate business at the guild today.

His own strength was meager, and he usually relied on hanging out with the other three of the Capital's Four Beaux, scamming drinks and meals to survive.

His teacher had died in the Wildfire Plains while hunting the dragon, and none of the mages who went with him returned. His teacher was a formal mage registered with the guild and held a position there, unlike other independent mages.

Every mage registered with the Magic Guild had a "Life Magic Mark" stored within. If a mage encountered danger and died, the guild would be alerted immediately. That was how Pidaldo knew his teacher and the others were dead.

But a mage, especially one of decent ability, was usually very wealthy! A mage’s private property included valuable magical gems, mana crystals, mythril, and other precious materials. These items possessed both magical value and could be exchanged for vast wealth in the secular world.

According to guild rules, the property of a deceased mage could be inherited by their disciples—but only those with formal mage certification; magic apprentices had no right to inherit.

His teacher’s estate was quite substantial. The problem was that the teacher hadn't left a will, and he had five disciples: two apprentices and three who held mage certification.

Pidaldo and his fellow disciples had fallen out completely over the inheritance, as everyone knew that obtaining a few precious magical artifacts could significantly boost a mage's strength!

Without a will, the power to distribute the estate fell to the Magic Guild. Pidaldo had been running back and forth countless times for this, and today he had come to see the deacon, only to run into Xia Ya, this harbinger of misfortune.

(To be continued)