Griffis interrupted the conversation and looked at Reyn.
"The enchanting techniques on these items are fairly simple; they're not hard to appraise," he said with some surprise. "You're a mage; surely you can see it?"
Reyn felt awkward. Alchemy was almost essential knowledge for casters, especially mages renowned for their erudition. It encompassed two main branches: enchanting and potion-making. Not every mage mastered alchemy perfectly, but at least had basic knowledge and appraisal skills. Reyn, however, was a complete novice in alchemy, like a fake mage.
He scratched the back of his head and answered honestly:
"I became a mage just a few months ago, and I've devoted all that time to boosting my combat power. Haven't gotten around to magical studies yet."
Dissatisfaction showed on Griffis's face.
"If you don't want to end up a wandering mage," he shook his head, "you should start learning as soon as possible. I understand you're new to being a mage and focused on power growth, but if you don't correct course in time, don't pursue magical truth, your path won't be long, and you'll pay for it later. A mage must look like a mage. Even a battle mage needs vast knowledge. The Goddess teaches us: knowledge is power. I hope you remember that."
"Yes, Master Griffis," Reyn accepted his words sincerely.
In truth, he wanted to dive into magical studies soon himself, but various circumstances kept distracting him, and he was still lingering at magic's threshold—able to cast spells but not grasping the essence.
Seeing his genuine remorse and seriousness, Griffis softened. Thinking for a few seconds and eyeing Reyn twice, he asked:
"I heard your favorite weapon is a battle hammer, and your elements are mostly strength-based, right?"
Reyn nodded. He'd come empty-handed today.
"Battle hammer too heavy, inconvenient to carry?" Griffis asked with a sly smirk.
Reyn nodded again. The question hit a nerve. "Icebreaker" weighed over two hundred forty pounds sterling. Though not too bulky, lugging it daily was a real hassle and hindered daily life. Plus, after raising "Steel Body" to the second level, his own weight had surged too. He looked a bit slimmer outwardly, but actually weighed over three hundred fifty pounds sterling—more than two grown men combined. Traveling by carriage, he overloaded it with the hammer, tiring the horses badly each time. Even the griffon from the demon extermination squad struggled to take off with him sans hammer. So Reyn hadn't flown on griffons in ages and lately stuck to public transport. But carrying a hammer on the bus was awkward; it always drew stares.
Griffis went to the shelves and soon returned with an enchanted item. In his hands was a simple-looking but finely crafted leather belt. It was made from some creature's skin, gray-white with a scaly pattern. The belt faintly shimmered with purple light, forming pale runes.
"I made this 'Dragon Skin Belt' myself. It might not be the most valuable, but it suits you best right now."
Griffis handed the belt to Reyn. Hearing "dragon skin," Reyn flinched involuntarily. He took it and felt that this seemingly ordinary item was very dense to the touch. Pulling lightly, he confirmed it wouldn't yield—it was far tougher than it seemed.
"Is it really made from dragon skin?"
Griffis guessed Reyn's thoughts and chuckled:
"Don't overthink it. The main material is mutated chimera skin, a higher draconid with giant dragon blood—a dragon subspecies, sort of. If it were real dragon skin, would I make just a masterpiece from it?"
Reyn was embarrassed but grumbled inwardly. If not real dragon skin, why call it "Dragon Skin Belt"? It was misleading on purpose! Still, Reyn knew it was wishful thinking. Real dragon skin was top-tier alchemical material; even a small piece would cost far over a thousand gold and wouldn't be here.
He stroked the belt in his hands and asked respectfully:
"Master Griffis, what enchantments are on this belt?"
"Two secret arts."
Satisfaction flickered in Griffis's eyes.
"One is 'Secret Burst.' No need to explain that. The other is 'Storage Hand.' You get it, right?"
Reyn looked confused. Get what? He knew "Secret Burst"—a famous second-circle secret art creating an explosive wave of secret energy around the caster, with astonishing power. It was very like "Repelling Fire Ring." The difference: "Repelling Fire Ring" dealt fire damage, while "Secret Burst" was mostly physical, with weaker magical damage but greater destructive force. But he'd never heard of "Storage Hand."
Seeing his expression, Griffis felt a bit disappointed, like with a lazy pupil. He shook his head but patiently explained:
"'Storage Hand' is a fairly rare second-circle spell. It lets you manipulate secret energy to temporarily create a subspace and store an item in your hand there."
Reyn's eyes lit up. Spatial gear! But from Master Griffis's description, it differed from spatial gear, with a different magical principle. True spatial gear cost tens of thousands of gold or more, comparable to artifacts. The Silver Star Duchess wasn't that generous. Per Griffis, it was a spell, not an item.
Reyn pondered and asked:
"Master, how many times a day can you use 'Storage Hand' on this belt?"
"You're sharp," Griffis said with rare praise, then answered: "Three times a day. Only one item per use. You can store your battle hammer and retrieve it when needed. Three times is plenty."
"I get it," Reyn nodded, enlightened.
Both the room and the item retrieval counted as spell usage. Since it was a spell rather than a full-fledged item, and it had limits on uses and capacity, it was far less convenient than spatial equipment, hence the huge price difference. However, he only needed to store his warhammer, and this spell suited him perfectly.
Felion, who had been watching them for a while, suddenly said:
"Reyn, don't underestimate the 'Hand of Storage.' It's a rare-level spell, but it appears as rarely as many superior elements. In all of Longsand, only Griffith possesses this spell and can enchant it onto equipment. Even if the material is the cheapest, such an item can be sold for a thousand gold shields or more. Plus, this 'Dragon Skin Belt' is also enchanted with 'Secret Explosion'—its value is no less than two thousand gold. " Felion looked at the gray-white scaly belt and smirked. "Even I was a little tempted."
"Two thousand gold shields!"
Only now did Reyn realize he had underestimated the value of the 'Dragon Skin Belt.' It was more expensive than his own 'Icebreaker.'
"Thank you, Master," he said hastily.
"It's just an enchanted item," Griffith replied indifferently. "Even if you hadn't taken it, someone else would have. I make two or three such things a year. You're lucky you stumbled upon it today."
Reyn nodded slightly, remembering the kindness.
Meanwhile, Pollock and Frida had already chosen their equipment: a spirit rifle and an enchanted necklace, respectively. Both looked very pleased with their selections.
Felion didn't linger. He had a lot on his plate and was about to leave the tower.
"I'll walk you down."
Griffith offered to escort him, showing basic respect to the legendary superhuman.
They left the alchemy laboratory and descended to the lower floor of the tower via the magical lift. Griffith's appearance in the main hall drew attention from passing mages. Almost everyone recognized the Master Alchemist and cast frequent glances his way. Reyn had already tied the 'Dragon Skin Belt' around his waist and was looking around.
As they exited the tower, another magical lift descended to their right. Three mages stepped out and headed to another door. By chance, Reyn's gaze fell on them, and his expression changed abruptly. The soul of the mage in the middle was enveloped in crimson-black faith flames rising from his head into the void.
"A follower of Loxi!"
Reyn could hardly believe his eyes. He had spotted a follower of an evil god right in the Mage Tower! Judging by the faith flames, this mage wasn't just a follower—the flames were so fierce they had almost entirely dyed his soul in crimson-black hues. At first glance, he even resembled a fallen one. This was a fanatic, utterly devoted to Loxi! Reyn was absolutely certain he wasn't mistaken.
"Wow! This guy's incredibly bold! He not only infiltrated Silverstar Academy but openly strolls through the Mage Tower. Isn't he afraid of being exposed? If they're caught, it's certain death!"
Reyn wondered how he had managed it. The Mage Tower, as a bastion of the Holy Soul mage, surely had ways to detect followers of evil gods and prevent infiltration, including various mental spells, divine arts, covert surveillance, and so on. How had they missed this heretic? This evil god follower must have somehow concealed his faith.
Since the man was facing away, Reyn allowed himself to examine him a bit longer. Judging by his soul's state, he was a fifth-level mage, an elementalist specializing in earth magic. Reyn caught a glimpse of his face: unremarkable, average height, about thirty-five years old. For a fifth-level mage, that was very young, promising a brilliant future.
"A true mage, but worshiping the deceiver Loxi?"
Reyn felt regret. Whatever this man's goals, whether he achieved them or not, his end was unlikely to be good. A spellcaster, instead of worshiping the Goddess of Magic, had become a follower of her sworn enemy Loxi. Even if he avoided death now, he probably wouldn't advance far on the path of magic in the future. With his magical power, the stronger he grew, the more likely he was to attract the Goddess of Magic's attention. If this mage didn't halt his development or abandon studying higher-circle spells, sooner or later the Goddess of Magic would blacklist him or unleash divine punishment, incinerating him on the spot.
A few seconds later, the evil god follower and his two accompanying mages exited the tower. Reyn's view was blocked, so he immediately activated the Voice of All Things to eavesdrop. He caught only a few phrases about magical matters. It seemed this evil god follower was a teacher at Silverstar Academy, and the other two were his students, newly minted mages.
"An academy teacher?"
Reyn recalled the information he had extracted from the Razim he killed. A Shadow Blade agent was hiding in Silverstar Academy. This was very likely him.
"Too bad I didn't catch their names; it would have been easier."
By then, Griffith had already escorted them to the tower exit, and they were about to part ways. An idea struck Reyn. With the most sincere expression, he said:
"Master Griffith, I'd like to start studying magical knowledge as soon as possible, but I missed the academy application deadline. Could you allow me to study independently in the Great Silver Star Library for now, and next time I'll apply for admission?"
The Great Silver Star Library was the largest and richest in books in all of Longsand. It also served as a temple and headquarters for the Goddess of Magic's church in the city. Per the Goddess's teachings, the library was open to all seeking knowledge and truth, with free entry. Every city in the Empire had many such libraries spreading the Goddess's wisdom. However, to enter the Great Silver Star Library, one first needed to enter Silverstar Academy. This created an invisible barrier. Besides academy students, outside mages wanting to visit needed an academy pass, issued after strict checks. Without connections, it was very hard to get one. Reyn had asked Viola about it earlier, and even with her connections, she couldn't resolve it immediately. If Griffith agreed to help, there shouldn't be issues.
Hearing Reyn's request, Griffith looked quite pleased.
"Your intent is commendable," he nodded. "I can put in a word for you, but you'll still need to pass the requirements check to get the academy pass."
"Thank you, Master. I'll diligently study magical knowledge."
Reyn looked overjoyed. With the pass, he could freely enter and exit the academy, come and go as he pleased, without long-term commitment or restricting his movements. After all, he just wanted to identify this evil god follower and find a chance to eliminate him. A fifth-level mage's soul would fully charge his "battery." Of course, Reyn truly needed magical knowledge and planned to study in the Great Silver Star Library.
Griffith smiled. It was rare to meet a young man who had also chosen the path of a battle mage, with such potential and strength, impeccable reputation, and who had done Longsand such a great service. He was happy to help. Just an academy pass—child's play.
Before leaving, Griffith suddenly added:
"If you have questions during your independent studies in the Great Silver Star Library, you can come to me in the Mage Tower."
Even Felion was a bit surprised by this. Pollock and Frida were filled with envy. It seemed Reyn was headed for a meteoric rise!
Reyn felt deep gratitude toward this senior fellow battle mage and said seriously:
"Master, I won't disappoint your expectations."
Griffith nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned to return to the tower.