Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

"I'm not surprised," said Adam flatly.

He opened his eyes slightly and gazed at the pond. "Stratford has been collecting the blood of his descendants for centuries now. It was all so he could recover his strength after his battle

with Morven centuries ago."

"Morven?" Hudson asked with raised brows. "Who might that be? Come to think of it, Brother Adam, could you tell us exactly what has transpired here?"

"Ah, don't bother me with all that," Adam grumbled. "Ask Kenley or someone. Right now I'm very tired. All I need is a drink and some more drink."

With that said, he made Valerian walk around the pool and head to one of the doors.

Hudson could only smile helplessly. Kenley and Wagner were currently above ground, leading the refugees back to town-or the place where the town used to be.

He decided to make the mission report after Adam had recovered slightly.

Right at that moment, Eleiney stepped forward. "Sir, if it is alright with you, I can tell you everything you wish to know."

"Hmm?" Hudson looked at her curiously. "And who might you be, young miss?"

Before Eleiney could introduce herself, Adam interjected, "Brother Hudson, she's my student. It was thanks to her I was able to uncover the true history of this town. She'll be able to help you out."

Eleiney couldn't help but feel smug hearing Adam praise her in front of so many people.

"Oh?" Hudson's interest was piqued. "So you were able to decipher clues that helped with this mission? Well done!"

Art and Aiden stepped forward. The former looked at Hudson and coughed awkwardly, "Ahem, we too are Magus Constantine's students, you know."

"Yes." Aiden nodded matter-of-factly. "We also helped our mentor."

Hudson's eyes lit up as he looked at the three young Magi standing before him with newfound interest.

If they're Brother Adam's disciples, I'm sure they will grow up to be splendid Magi. Hmm, very interesting, he contemplated.

I should keep my eye on them and see if they can become good recruits for the Brotherhood in the future.

Hudson turned around and instructed a Magus, "Go over what they have to say. Note down everything in detail."

He then looked at Adam and Valerian's disappearing backs and continued, "I'm going to go after them. Something tells me if I don't, then all the items in those rooms will be cleared out."

With that said, he hurriedly followed behind the raven-haired youth and the young dragon.

...

Stepping in through the first door, the three were greeted by a spacious library. All sorts of arcane books were neatly organized and kept on towering wooden shelves.

Hudson flipped through the books one by one, giving them a cursory glance. "As expected of a Mana Vortex Magus! His textbooks contain some great inside into the magic spells and other esoteric knowledge."

"Found anything interesting?" Adam asked as he took large mouthfuls of wine.

"Yes, plenty," Hudson replied truthfully. "There are several books about the School of Invocation and the School of Alteration. Apart from that, there are theories and applications about spell-casting, history of arcane magic, the wisdom of ancient sages..."

Adam patiently listened and then replied with nonchalance, "Oh."

"Huh?" Hudson was slightly taken aback. "As someone who completed the mission, you can choose anything that you like from here. Are you not interested?"

"Eh, not really." Adam waved his hand.

Hudson was speechless, but soon he realized the reason.

I see... His mentor is a mighty Rank 3 Magus, so all these books don't interest him as much...

But the truth was far from it.

Inside Adam's head was a mystical place filled with memories and experiences of powerful Magi from the greater universe.

Anything found within Stratford's library would naturally pale in comparison.

"Brother, look!" Valerian suddenly spoke up as he walked to the other end of the room.

There, placed inside a glass shelf were three, thick tomes.

"These books look important," said the young dragon.

"Oho!" Adam's interest was piqued. He then looked toward Hudson and requested, "Do you mind taking them out."

Hudson nodded before walking toward the glass shelf. As he approached the book stand, he froze. The titles of the book caused his eyes to widen and his breathing to turn ragged.

"Is everything okay?" Adam snapped him out of his daze.

"Y-Yes!" Hudson nodded and opened the glass cabinet. He took out the three leather-bound books and placed them on the nearby table with trembling hands.

"Val, read it out for me," said Adam as he sat on the young dragon's back, enjoying his wine in a laidback manner.

Valerian stepped forward and slowly read the titles of the book aloud.

"Mana Extraction Technique: From Mana Foundation to Mana Vortex Rank.

"Grimoire of Blood Magic.

"The Art of One Thousand Poisons."

"Ah, I see." Adam nodded knowingly. He looked at Hudson and chuckled, "No wonder you were acting so strangely."

Hudson replied awkwardly, "The Mana Extraction Techniques are strongly safeguarded by the various organizations and Magus Families.

"So you can understand my shock when I learned there's a Mana Extraction Technique here that could help a Magus advance to Rank 3!"

"Hmm." Adam nodded. "What's the Brotherhood's protocol for situations such as these? How is the loot distributed?"

Hudson thought for a few moments before solemnly replying, "In cases such as yours, the person or the group that accomplishes the mission gets 25% of the loot, 25% will be redistributed to the common folk who have been affected.

"The remaining share will be taken by the Brotherhood to support our growing members and finance future operations."

"What?! 25% only?!" Adam was furious. "This is daylight robbery! What happened to the Brotherhood's code of Upholding Honor?!"

Considering Adam's avaricious personality, Hudson had predicted that something like this would happen. Hence, he assured, "Please calm down, Brother Adam. 25% of everything here will belong solely to you!

"The people I led here to act as reinforcements will not take a coin. After all, we didn't really

do anything."

Adam went into deep thought. He knew he had to play by the rules of the organization he

worked for. Even back at Clover Academy, it was the same thing.

In the end, he couldn't help but helplessly nod. "Fine, whatever." Then, he bent over and placed his hand on the book titled, The Art of One Thousand Poisons. After keeping it away inside his earring, he instructed Valerian to move to the next room. "What?!" Hudson was shocked at Adam's choice. "Are you not going to take the mana extraction technique?!"

It seemed like the most obvious choice to him.

"Don't need it," Adam said casually as he left the room, leaving behind a dazed Hudson.

Why would he require a mana extraction technique that was only limited to the Rank 3 - Mana

Vortex Rank?

He already had the Five Elemental Codex that would help him advance beyond the rank where he wouldn't even need magical components to cast spells!