NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 28: The Art of Killing
"What?" The master suddenly felt cold all over, as if he had jumped naked into the Floating Ice Bay outside the window. He could hardly imagine that this sentence would be said by Eldrin. A twelve-year-old child, a child who was a little silent but hardworking, diligent and motivated, suddenly wanted to learn how to kill?
Suddenly, every picture Eldrin had ever drawn appeared in the master's mind. Thinking of those lines that concealed infinite power, the master suddenly realized that he was wrong. He had always treated Eldrin as an ordinary little boy. In the education system of the human nobles, some twelve-year-old children were already mature, and fifteen was the recognized standard of adulthood . Outside the human active area, some orc tribes ' children were considered adults at the age of six or seven.
Thinking of this, the master sat up straight and asked seriously: "I do know the person you want to find. He is a real expert in killing. But first I need to know why you want to learn how to kill."
"Since Artificer is the creator of war, only by learning to kill can we create better Arcane Knights." Eldrin said calmly.
Eldrin's answer once again made the master feel helpless. After taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm his depressed mood and said slowly: "It's a very good reason, and it sounds very real. But it doesn't matter, as long as there is a reasonable reason. The man's name is Naya, but many years ago almost everyone called him 'Calamity Blade'. You should be able to get what you want from him."
Eldrin nodded, straightened his posture again and saluted the master, then handed over a piece of paper.
The master thought it was another homework assignment, but it turned out to be a payment receipt signed by Eldrin, which confirmed the number of lessons the master had given him this month. Of course, most of these lessons did not exist at all. But with this receipt, the master could redeem the gold coins to Deepblue , and the number of extra gold coins reached 10,000, which was an amount that he could not ignore. This process was also very safe, because the remuneration for individual lessons was ultimately paid by the students, and Deepblue would settle the payment with Eldrin. Since it did not cause any damage to Deepblue 's finances, it would naturally not be traced.
Seeing this payment receipt, the master's heart was confused again. Is this a bribe?
"Eldrin!" The master stopped Eldrin who was about to leave, scratched his messy hair and asked, "Why did you ask me for help?"
"Because it feels like it should be the easiest."
"What if I refuse to help you? Who will you turn to?" The master was unwilling to give up.
" Blackgold ."
The master suddenly realized that in Eldrin's mind, artists and gold coins were equally unreliable, so he chose this as the breakthrough point. But he wanted to know another answer, so he shouted, "Hey! Eldrin, who will you look for in the end?"
Archmages who only want to teach students !"
Late at night, Eldrin left the main tower of Deepblue and came to the auxiliary buildings commonly known as the Fringe District.
There are a large number of mages living in the main tower, and each mage needs at least 20 to 30 people to serve them directly or indirectly. Most of these people live in the Fringe District, because the rent of the Deepblue main tower is not affordable for any magician below level 10 , even for a small house with only a bed.
The Fringe District is also divided into several areas of different levels according to the distance from the main tower. The circular area closest to Deepblue is home to a large number of mages, most of whom are less than level 10. They cannot afford to live in Deepblue , but can barely settle down next to Deepblue .
Wrapped in a dark cloak , Eldrin crossed several areas in a row and reached the outermost edge of the Fringe District. Along the way, he felt all kinds of gazes, from arrogant eighth-level mages, from shady little people with bad intentions, and more people were curious. Most people who wandered in the same area all day knew each other, or at least looked familiar, so strangers were naturally noticed. The third-level magician's symbol on the corner of Eldrin's cloak saved him from a lot of trouble.
At the end of a dark and deserted alley, Eldrin stood in front of a run-down tavern. The wooden sign of the tavern had a big crack, and you could vaguely see a crude and clumsy image of a woman on it. A few dim lights shone through the crack in the door of the tavern. It was very quiet inside, with no noise or band, only a pungent smell of alcohol.
It is winter now, and the cold is everywhere. Only the Deepblue main tower is kept warm by magic, and this warmth radiates to the inner ring of the Fringe District. This is one of the reasons for the high land prices and rents in the inner ring, and it is also the source of the heavy burden and arrogance of the residents in the inner ring. In this alley at the end of the Fringe District, the temperature is already very cold. Even if a tavern of this size turns on the self-heating facilities, it is only slightly warmer than outside. If it wants to reach the temperature of a room, the tavern's monthly turnover cannot cover the energy consumption costs of one day.
That little bit of warmth made a big difference to the Eldrin's senses, but to most ordinary people, there was actually not much difference between minus thirty degrees and fifty degrees.
In this damn weather and in such a remote location, there would certainly be few customers in the tavern.
Eldrin reached out and pushed open the door of the tavern, and walked in.
The pub was not big, with only room for three tables. Behind the bar stood a man of average build and ordinary appearance, with half of his temples graying and looking a bit old.
At the table in the corner, two burly men in ragged clothes were sitting lazily against the wall, drinking wine intermittently . The wine smelled very strong, but the taste was very pungent, so it must have been very cheap. The food they ate with the wine was a small dish of thin dried meat slices. I didn't know what kind of meat it was, but it looked so dry and dehydrated that it made people lose their appetite. However, the two men picked up a piece of meat carefully, put it in their mouths, chewed it hard, and savored it before they took a few big gulps of the bad wine. It looked like they couldn't finish this small dish of food all night.
Eldrin looked around and had a full view of the tavern. The man behind the bar was cleaning the glasses, glancing at Eldrin and saying, "Little guy, didn't your mother tell you that you can only drink after you become an adult? Of course, if you have money, I don't mind pouring you a couple of glasses."
Eldrin lifted the hood of his cloak and said, "I do not come to drink, but to seek a soul."
"Who are you looking for?" The man behind the bar seemed a little interested.
"Calamity Blade." As soon as he said this, Eldrin suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He was instantly frozen stiff, unable to move a finger! Except for his head, it seemed that his entire body was no longer under his control. Moreover, the cold air that came with it was filled with sharp piercing intent, as if thousands of needles were piercing his skin fiercely. This was the first time Eldrin knew the taste of killing intent.
As if time had stopped, the two men at the table stopped what they were doing. One of them was still pouring wine from the glass, while the other was carefully holding a piece of wind meat that was so thin that it was almost transparent, and holding it in the air. However, they were obviously not like Eldrin who couldn't move a finger. Although their movements were still, their eyes were fixed on little Eldrin, and there was no extra expression on their faces.
The man behind the bar stopped wiping his wine glass and looked up at the flickering candles on the wall, apparently lost in some memories. After a moment, he came back to his senses, looked at Eldrin, and said, "Calamity Blade was my old nickname, but it has been a long time since I last used it. Now I'm Naya. You know Calamity Blade, so you're considered a friend, although I'm curious about what a child who hasn't grown up wants to do here."
"I want to learn how to kill." Eldrin's words were always concise.
"Why?"
"Because I feel that I may need it soon," said Eldrin.
Naya nodded, and without further asking why, she said, "This is Deepblue . Even if it's just the outermost part, it's still Deepblue . So..."
"I have prepared the tuition," Eldrin said.
Naya grinned and smiled: "My courses are very expensive, at least 500 gold coins a day."
like an icy spike disappeared with this smile.
Eldrin pulled out a fine enchanted leather purse, opened it, and dumped a pile of shining gold coins onto the bar. "I have prepared a thousand, so teach me all you know!"
Naya glanced at the piles of gold coins nonchalantly, smiled playfully, and said, "A child who is not yet an adult, with so much money, ran into a killer's lair, aren't you afraid that I will just eat you up? I know that it was probably the guy who likes to draw women the most who introduced you, but that guy is a coward and can't be trusted at all. So, little guy, now give me a reason why I shouldn't just kill you."
"Because I only brought today's gold coins."
Naya smiled even more happily and said, "Smart kid! But you'd better give me some other reasons. Sometimes I do things for money , and sometimes I don't. So to be on the safe side, it's better not to guess whether I just want some money now."
Eldrin hesitated, then said, "My name is Eldrin, Eldrin Malificus . My teacher is Her Highness Isabella, and my father is Gordon Malificus ."
The smile on Naya's face suddenly froze . He suddenly spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground and yelled at the two men at the table: "What do you think! Old buddy!"
The man on the left put down his glass and said, "Those two are crazy! If you do anything to little Eldrin, Gordon will find you even if you escape to hell, and His Highness will make you regret why you are still alive for the next thousand years."
The man on the right put the wind meat back on the plate, looked at little Eldrin, and said, "Don't you think this little guy is interesting? Teaching such a little guy must be very fulfilling, not to mention there's money to be made! If you think the money is too much, just give it to me. Anyway, Calamity Blade was a thing of more than ten years ago. Who knows if you can still play with a sharp knife now. And I just happen to be short of money now!"
"Red Beard, don't even think about it!" Naya roared, sweeping all the gold coins on the bar into his pocket, fearing that if he was slow, something might happen again. After collecting the money, he finally looked at Eldrin with a slightly different look, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "What I want to teach you is not just killing, but the art of destroying life. Let's start now."
In the early morning, Eldrin returned to his living quarters. On his way to the bedroom, he saw the scarred iron puppet again, with its round head standing out without any scratches. Looking at the puppet full of pain, Eldrin suddenly sighed and said to himself, "From now on... I will no longer need you."
Eldrin passed by the doll, his left hand drawing a faint trace, brushing the doll's neck, and then walked towards the bedroom.
With a clang, the puppet's head silently separated from its body, fell to the ground, and bounced far away. The cut on the neck was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been cut open by a sharp blade.