Starlight's incredible leveling speed made Laxi and the others watching from the side cast envious looks.
It had taken them the better part of their lives to rise from the lowest rank to Rank 4, yet for Starlight, it had only taken a few minutes.
However, as the support team, they were also able to reap some benefits, and since this mission had involved almost no danger for them, they quickly came to terms with it.
After assisting Starlight with his registration, Nicola took a heavy coin pouch from the cash box behind her, handed it to him, and spoke.
“Mr. Starlight, this is the final transaction amount for the pelts you left here earlier. It’s a total of three hundred and twenty-seven gold coins. Would you like to count them?”
Taking the heavy bag, Starlight simply opened it for a cursory glance before indicating there was no problem. He thanked Nicola and asked a question.
“By the way, Ms. Nicola, because I left in a hurry last time, I didn’t finish my professional rating. I don’t know where I misplaced that numbered plate you gave me. Could you give me another one?”
However, upon hearing this, Po Kong immediately waved his hand to interrupt Nicola’s movements and asked with some confusion, “I say, you’re already a Rank 4 adventurer now. Why waste time doing that entry-level professional rating? Isn’t that just a waste of time?”
Reminded by this, Nicola also realized and nodded. “That’s right, Mr. Starlight. The main purpose of having you do a professional rating back then was to increase your adventurer rank, but the highest it can take you is only Rank 3. Since you’re already at Rank 4, there’s no need to do a special rating!”
Hearing this, Starlight nodded. “Is that so? Then forget it. The rating isn't that useful to me anyway... and the wait in line is a bit too long.”
Seeing this, Po Kong easily draped an arm over Starlight’s shoulder, a bright smile appearing on his handsome face. “Exactly! Since the business here is done, how about we go celebrate? Now that you’ve been promoted to Rank 4, shouldn’t you treat me to a feast or something?”
“Treat you to a feast? What does that mean?”
“No way? We’re teammates now, aren’t we! I’ve helped you out quite a bit, right? And you’re not even willing to do this?”
“No... I mean, what does it mean to ‘treat someone to a feast’?”
“...It means having a meal... Is what I’m saying that hard to understand? Is it your problem or mine?”
“If it’s just a meal, that’s fine. Laxi, you and the others should come along too!”
“Alright! Everyone heard that, right? Someone’s treating us to dinner today!” Laxi responded loudly, and the atmosphere instantly became cheerful.
...
Not long after, the group left the guild hall amidst laughter and chatter, bringing Starlight’s first commission to a perfect close.
In the days that followed, Starlight found a house in the Violet City-State and settled down.
Now that he had the status of an adventurer and some savings, he intended to start investigating certain matters.
To his surprise, Po Kong had somehow found out his address and actually moved in next door the very next day.
As a high-rank adventurer, he didn't need to go to the hall every day to seek a living like ordinary people. After all, high-level missions weren't available every day. Bored, he spent his time accompanying Starlight to inquire about information everywhere.
According to Po Kong, since they were teammates, they should live close to each other to help one another.
During this time, he tried to ask about Noah more than once. However, Noah was currently unwilling to communicate with him too much. When he got truly annoyed by the questions, he would use the excuse of needing rest to brush him off.
Perhaps Noah felt a bit guilty about tricking Po Kong. Additionally, during this period, he had successfully modified and perfected the soul link spell with Starlight, allowing them to speak directly in their minds as long as they were close. Since he didn't have a body anyway, he was even less willing to speak aloud.
Po Kong, however, didn't mind Noah’s coldness at all. He even solemnly pulled Starlight aside to remind him that those big figures from ancient times might be a bit eccentric and told Starlight to be careful.
Little did he know, every word he said was heard clearly by Noah, while Starlight had to suppress his laughter to keep from exposing the truth.
One evening, after returning to his room, Starlight asked in his mind, “Noah! Why is Po Kong so convinced of your identity? If he keeps asking like this, I’m really going to lose it!”
“How should I know! Is there really some super-ancient Great Mage named Noah? And that idiot just happened to mistake me for him? But that’s too much of a coincidence, isn't it?” Noah quickly replied, expressing that he was also completely baffled.
“Maybe you should just come clean with him? I feel like lying to him all the time isn't right!” Starlight suggested.
“No way! Don't I need to save face? And where did I lie to him? As Carlos’s clone, don’t I count as a Saint Archmage? I didn't make up the name Noah either! Except... the timing might not quite match up, that’s all,” Noah countered.
“Fine... but I think since you’ve already been exposed in front of Po Kong, there’s no need to hide so strictly. Come out and say a few words to him occasionally. If he asks me every day like this, I really won't be able to handle it!” Starlight said helplessly.
“Fine... I’ll consider it, but you should also be careful not to let anything slip!” Noah responded flatly.
“Alright, then you handle it. Anyway, I don’t know how to keep this story straight for you.”
...
After several days of inquiring, Starlight and Po Kong finally obtained some useful information at the guild.
Unlike Swordmasters who frequently had to enter and exit battlefields and front lines, existing Saint Archmages were not only fewer in number but also exceptionally elusive.
Starlight’s goal was to find Saint Archmages of the basic elements—water, fire, earth, wind, light, and dark—to seek guidance from them, but only two could be tracked with specific details.
Among them, the wind-type Archmage, Eventador, was currently the principal of the Central Spiritual Arts Academy, making him the easiest one to find.
The other was the Saint King of the Holy Church of Light, Serar. Although he held a high position and wasn't someone just anyone could meet, there was at least a trail to follow.
Noah, the fire-type Archmage, indicated he might have some clues, but they would only know for sure once they went there.
As for the water-type Archmage, Badora, the most recent news was from seven years ago. The Adventurers Guild records only stated that she lived in the far north, but the specific city was never disclosed.
The other two Archmages had almost no information available. All they knew was that the earth-type Archmage was a dwarf, while the dark-type one seemed as if they had never existed.
Regarding the difference between the terms “Archmage” and “Saint Archmage,” the two also received a detailed explanation from Noah.
Saint Archmage merely represented the peak realm of a modern mage, whereas Archmage was a rating standard of the Archmage Association. It required the individual to have performed great service for the continent or the magical world, while also receiving recognition from more than half of the Archmage Association's elders.
This title was more of a recognition from the magical world toward a certain mage; it wasn't something automatically obtained upon reaching the Saint Rank. For example, Serar of the Holy Church of Light was not a member of the Archmage Association and therefore had not received the title of Archmage.
According to Po Kong, several decades ago, the number of Saint Rank experts among humans was much higher than it is now.
However, the great war with the Demons caused more than half of the Saint Ranks on the Leon Continent to fall in battle, and the numbers had still not recovered.
The existing Saint Ranks not only had to guard various strategic locations across the continent, but many had also deliberately hidden their tracks. Therefore, finding them to ask for guidance was indeed no easy task.
It was worth mentioning that while inquiring for information, Starlight had specifically made a trip to a magic bookstore, hoping to purchase some spellbooks to learn new magic and improve his strength.
After clashing with that mysterious person, he deeply realized his own shortcomings. However, reality gave him a harsh wake-up call.
He had thought that with over three hundred gold coins in hand, he could buy quite a few things. But when he went to ask about the prices, he was instantly stunned. He finally understood what Po Kong meant when he said “mages are expensive.”
A textbook for mid-tier spells or higher cost at least five hundred gold coins, and that was just for a single element. If he wanted to buy books according to his elemental affinities, he wouldn't be able to walk out of the bookstore without several thousand gold coins.
As it turned out, modern spellbooks required many special materials and had to be handwritten by high-rank mages using elemental power. Furthermore, most high-tier spells were their own unique techniques, which kept the prices of these books consistently high.
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