Book 03, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts Read online

  Turning around, the old man nodded at one of the servants, who took out a small golden sack from within his clothes.

  Taking the gold sack, the old man turned to Linley with a smile. “This is a hundred gold coins. Although it isn’t much, it represents the gratitude of our Debs clan. I hope, Linley, you will accept it.”

  “No need. It didn’t take any effort on my part.” Linley said quite courteously. “I should be heading off now.”

  The old man didn’t persist. Smiling, he watched Linley depart.

  “Tony, you three should go home as well. Your parents are no doubt extremely worried.” Smiling, the old man spoke. After bidding farewell, Alice, Niya, and Tony all headed back to their own homes.

  When Kalan and the silver-haired old man returned to their own living room, the old man’s face suddenly turned cold. In a voice filled with frozen rage, he barked out, “On your knees!”

  With a thud, Kalan immediately fell to his knees. “Second Grandpa, it was wrong of me. This time, I brazenly took three of my friends to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts without clearly investigating all of its associated dangers. Second Grandpa, please punish me.”

  “Hmph! Brazen?”

  The old man’s cold glare stared daggers at Kalan. “Kalan, you are already an adult. In addition, you are the heir and successor to our Debs clan. How can you make such a foolish, such an utterly moronic mistake? How could you possibly imagine how dangerous the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts is? You dared to traverse it without so much as even informing the clan? Hmph! I’ll let your own father decide what punishment would be suitable. Just let me remind you of one thing – in the future, if you continue to act so foolishly, even if the clan is handed over to you, you will wreck it!”

  Hanging his head, Kalan didn’t dare to speak.

  The Debs clan could be considered one of the three top clans in the Kingdom of Fenlai. The reason the Debs clan was so powerful was not because it had a high rank of nobility; it was because the Debs clan was the direct trading partner in Fenlai of the Dawson Conglomerate, one of the three greatest trading unions in the Yulan continent.

  The wealth of the Dawnson Conglomerate could match an entire kingdom’s wealth. It’s business stretched across the entire continent.

  Any of the three trading unions on the Yulan continent possessed a terrifying amount of both wealth and power. Here in the Kingdom of Fenlai, many clans wanted to do business with them, because being able to do business with the Dawnson Conglomerate meant being able to ride atop a titanic war-machine.

  For the Debs clan to be able to do business with the Dawnson Conglomerate was an extremely impressive thing.

  After all, even the two major alliances and the Four Great Empires had to do their best to watch their step around the trading unions and to do their best to make them happy.

  … ..

  After departing Fenlai City, Linley took the road towards the Ernst Institute. Bebe was perched on Linley’s shoulders, keeping watch, while Doehring Cowart was also walking side by side with Linley.

  “Grandpa Doehring, have you ever felt that this world is a terrifying place?” Linley said mentally.

  Doehring Cowart nodded, but he didn’t speak. He just quietly listened.

  “In the past, when I visited Fenlai City, I didn’t notice anything. But upon returning from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, I’ve learned so much. The ruthlessness and mercilessness of the mountains is naked and open. It’s bloody, without any concealment.”

  “If we look at the high ranking magi and warriors, as well as the nobles, of Fenlai City, on the surface, they all seem to be polite and courteous. They make the entire Fenlai City seem so splendid. But the class system in Fenlai City is so severe, so callous.”

  “Even the law itself gives nobles far more privileges than the commoners. Although Fenlai City is very prosperous and gaudy, filled with laughter, its unspoken rules are far more binding than those of the mountains. In the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, there are no such things as nobles or commoners, only the strong and the weak.”

  Linley was slowly beginning to understand the world.

  In this world, the nobles had all the advantages, while the commoners were trampled upon. No matter how gentlemanly and refined the nobles acted, or how benevolent they behaved, there was no way they could alter the severe inequality that existed in the world as a whole. If you wanted to have status as a commoner, your only choice was to become a powerful warrior or a powerful magus.

  If you didn’t strive hard, you would be discarded.

  “Human society is far more complicated than the world of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. They just hide the same brutality which exists in the mountains under a beautiful set of clothes. But sometimes, this set of beautiful clothes can be very useful.” From the bottom of his heart, Linley felt contempt for those nobles who pretended to be kind but really were not.

  After seeing the cruelty of the mountains, as well as the splendor of Fenlai City, Linley’s mentality had begun to change upon seeing the great contrast.

  “Are you afraid of struggling?” Doehring Cowart suddenly asked.

  Linley smirked. “Afraid? No. I enjoy it. If there were no struggles in the world, and everything was calm and peaceful, how boring would that be? I like struggle, especially struggle that is exciting. Dancing on the edge of a knife… that’s the sort of life which is the most exhilarating.”

  “Squeak squeak!” Bebe let out two cries as well.

  … .

  They stepped into the Ernst Institute.

  After having travelled into the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts and after having witnessed the cruelty of mankind, Linley cherished the genuine friendships he had formed at the Institute even more than before. Upon entering his dorm, he heard these words… .

  “Big bro Yale, Linley still isn’t back yet. Could he have run into a dangerous situation in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?”

  “Shut your stinking mouth, fourth bro. Third bro will definitely come back to us safely. Come on, let’s go eat… ” As he raised his head, Yale saw that familiar shadow standing in the doorway. He paused, stunned. George and Reynolds were stunned as well. But then, immediately afterwards, the three of them charged forward towards Linley.

  “Haha, third bro, you finally came back!” Yale was the first to reach Linley, wrapping his arms around Linley in a bear hug.

  Reynolds also shouted out happily, “Wow, Linley, do you know that Big bro Yale and George have been muttering about you every day? They were all worried about you. I was the only one who was totally sure you’d make it back safe.”

  “Fourth bro.” George stared at him. “Just now, you were talking about being worried that Linley had encountered something dangerous.”

  “Me?” A look of ‘confusion’ was on Reynolds’ face. “Did I say such a thing?”

  Seeing his three bros together, Linley’s heart instantly felt warm. Yale immediately waved his arm ostentatiously and said, “Alright, enough chitchat. Third bro’s safe return from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts is a major event! Let’s go have a good celebration!”

  “Second bro, fourth bro.” Linley laughed as well. “Let’s go. We have to all go and have some drinks. My treat!”

  “Whoah.” Reynolds stared at him. “Your treat?”

  Yale laughed loudly. “Right, third bro has to treat us. Don’t forget that a while back, those representatives from the Proulx Gallery contacted us and send us that letter of invitation. Those three sculptures of third bro managed to sell for over 4000 gold coins. We have to have a good celebration.”

  “A letter of invitation from the Proulx Gallery?” Linley was startled.

  Yale hurriedly explained, “Third bro, your sculptures sold for high prices. The Proulx Gallery has already totally recognized your abilities as an expert sculptor, which is why they are now inviting you to start up a private booth at their ‘Hall of the Experts’. Right, let me give the letter to
you.” Yale immediately ran towards the interior of the dormitory.

  Reynolds said in a very secretive way towards Linley, “Linley, you wanna know something? Ever since that guy from the Proulx Gallery came to our school, the news that you’ve been invited to have a private booth at the gallery has spread across the entire institute. You fame has tremendously increased.”

  “It’s been spread across the entire institute?” Linley was somewhat numb with surprise. He himself had just found out, after all.

  “Right. In the entire institute, you might be the last one to know about this, actually.” George chortled as well.

  “Linley, this is the letter of invitation the Proulx Gallery sent us.” Yale came running out of the dormitory with a white enveloped that had a golden seal affixed to it.

  *

  Book 3, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts – Chapter 26, Violet in the Night Wind (part 2)

  Night time. The four bros of dorm 1987 were walking along a dark, silent street of the Ernst Institute, casually talking about what had happened over these past two months.

  “As vicious as that?” Reynolds, amazed, tugged aside Linley’s shirt. Seeing all the crisscrossing scars across Linley’s chest, he couldn’t help but hold his breath. The nearby George also went silent. Only Yale was able to laugh, “Haha, you guys have no experience. When I was a kid, I saw way worse than this.”

  “Big bro Yale, are you serious?” Reynolds said in astonishment.

  Yale smiled cockily. “Of course I’m serious. And I’ve seen more than a few as well. For example, killing prisoners by torture. Or real people fighting against magical beasts with their bare hands. When they fought barehanded against the beasts, they were surrounded by a ring of rich spectators. The sight was really bloody.”

  Hearing Yale’s words, Linley was able to picture the scene in his mind.

  “It’s good to be on campus,” George sighed.

  Linley also nodded in agreement. By this time of the night, many couples could be seen walking together on the road, some holding hands, others seated together on the backs of a magical beast. Campus life was very leisurely.

  “Right. Big bro Yale, aren’t you going to go spend tonight with your girlfriend? Why aren’t you getting ready to leave?” Reynolds suddenly said.

  Yale said with dissatisfaction, “Girlfriend? My bro has just come back from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts after encountering so many near-death situations. And I’m going to go spend time with my girlfriend? Reynolds, you have to remember these words: Bro’s are like your arms and legs, while girls are like your clothes. They’re just good for playing with.”

  A look of contempt immediately appeared on Reynolds’ face.

  “Linley!” A surprised voice suddenly rang out from far away.

  Linley and the others all turned their heads and watched as a tall, slender, beautiful young woman with golden hair ran towards them happily. Upon reaching Linley, she exclaimed in surprise, “Linley, you’re back from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts? This is wonderful. You disappeared for two full months this time. I was so worried. Are you injured?”

  “Delia, I’m fine,” Linley laughed as he responded.

  Delia was also someone whom Linley had met just as he had enrolled in school. They were on very close terms with each other. When he was together with Delia, Linley felt as though he could totally relax, and be without any mental pressure. It was just like when he was with his three dear bros.

  “Delia, Uncle’s carriage is outside waiting for us. Let’s not waste any time.” A cold voice rang out.

  Turning his head, Linley saw a youth dressed in long robes standing some distance away. It was Delia’s elder brother, Dixie, one of the two geniuses of the Ernst Institute. Dixie’s robe was extremely clean and neat, without a single blemish or stain. His eyes also seemed very clear and tranquil.

  “Oh.” Letting out a disappointed sound, Delia looked at Linley. “Linley, father asked me and my brother to go back. Our carriage is outside waiting for us. I have to go back now.”

  “Alright, Delia. We can chat when you come back.” Linley smiled as he replied.

  “Right. Bye.” Delia clearly felt rather disappointed at not having more time to chat with Linley. Dixie walked over to them as well. He only glanced at Delia, and Delia immediately began walking towards him. But then, Dixie turned to look at Linley. “Linley, I heard you successfully returned from your training exercise in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Congratulations.”

  Linley was stunned.

  This Dixie was actually speaking to him?

  Dixie’s coldness and aloofness was legendary at the Ernst Institute. Most people would feel themselves to be under enormous pressure next to Dixie, especially when his cold, clear eyes fell upon them. That sort of psychological pressure was enough to cause some to break under the strain.

  “Oh. Thanks.” Linley replied.

  Dixie barely nodded, and then escorted his sister Delia to the school gates.

  … .

  Austoni carefully looked at Linley, sighing in amazement, “Linley, I must say, you really are a genius, a super genius! A fifteen year old youngster who is a genius amongst the geniuses at the number one magus academy in the entire Yulan continent, and also someone who has reached an incredibly high level in the art of stonesculpting.”

  “For you to be able to accomplish all this is a miracle.”

  “Putting aside the fact that you are a genius magus, even in the world of artists, in this day and age, most sculptors who qualify to be invited by us to open up a private booth in the Hall of Experts are at least forty years old. You are the youngest one. Even in our entire history, there are only two unparalleled geniuses who are a match for you. But the difference is… not only are you a genius sculptor, you are also a genius magus. Wow… what a genius.”

  Austoni’s words of praise caused Linley to be embarrassed and not know what to say.

  “Austoni, stop wasting time. Hurry up and finish. We four bros are going to go out and have some fun.” Yale urged.

  Only now did Austoni seem to come to himself. He hurriedly pulled over a stack of documents and withdrew a silver magicrystal card. Smiling, he presented it to Linley. “Linley, this silver magicrystal card was specially designed by the Golden Bank of the Four Empires. It represents that you are one of our expert sculptors. In the future, any and all proceeds from sales of your art will be directly transferred by us into the balance for this card.”

  “Right now, this silver magicrystal card doesn’t have an owner imprinted. Use your fingerprint to seal it to you. In the future, you can use it.” Austoni respectfully handed the magicrystal card to Linley, then said in an eager voice, “Linley, might I ask if you brought any sculptures for us this time?”

  Linley nodded his head slightly. “I have. Three in total.”

  Austoni’s smile immediately became even more radiant.

  … .

  Night time. Within the Jade Water Paradise. Linley, George, and two courtesans were there by themselves, drinking while talking and laughing. By now, Reynolds and Yale had long since retired to their rooms with their courtesans.

  “Jeeze, those two, Big bro Yale and fourth bro… ” Linley drank a cup of wine as he spoke to George, who was in the middle of laughing and chatting with his girl. “Second bro, my head is getting a bit dizzy. I’m going to go out to cool off a bit.”

  “Sure.” George replied, then continued to chat with his companion.

  Heading downstairs, Linley directly left the Jade Water Paradise. Upon departing the lively premises, Linley suddenly felt a cold, refreshing night wind blow past him, helping to clear his mind. Compared to the Jade Water Paradise, the outside was much calmer and more tranquil. Linley began to take a casual walk around the streets of Fenlai City.

  The cool night breeze was very refreshing.

  There were some noble estates lining the streets, but compared to the Greenleaf Road, the estates on this street, Dry Stree
t, were clearly on a lower level. And on the balcony of one two-story estate in particular, Alice was standing, enjoying the night breeze.

  Staring up at the bright moon in the empty sky, Alice couldn’t help but think about Linley, who had saved her life.

  At that moment, when she had fallen into despair, he had descended from the heavens and vanquished that Bloodthirsty Warpig and saved her life. That action had shaken her deeply. It could be said that that event had left a deep impression on her soul.

  “Big brother Linley is a bit taciturn, but when he gets into discussing magic, he’s rather handsome.” A faint smile appeared on Alice’s face as she reminisced.

  Suddenly, Alice saw a figure walking on the streets below. His frame seemed very familiar. Taking a closer look, she immediately recognized him, and a smile lit her face up. She hurriedly waved while shouting, “Big brother Linley, big brother Linley!”

  Linley, who was walking on the street while enjoying the cool night, looked up suspiciously as he heard someone calling his name.

  A distant balcony, a shadowy form dressed in violet, the bright moon illuminating from behind. The violet clothes fluttered in the night breeze, and under the glow of the moon, seemed to radiate. Long hair fluttering alongside the violet clothes. Suddenly, Linley seemed to smell Alice’s fragrance.

  That fragrance, was so mesmerizing…

  “Alice… ” Linley couldn’t help but walk towards that balcony.