Chapter 17: The Birth of the Battle Mage

Chapter 17: The Birth of the Battle Mage

Axi’s performance greatly pleased Airael.

Little did she know, Axi was scheming on how to make her leave his side.

His enthusiastic demeanor was merely a facade.

Oblivious to this, Airael cheerfully began her self-introduction: “My name is Ailia, and I am a mage. I don’t have any particular favorite or disliked food…”

At that moment, Axi interrupted her, raising his voice, “Wait a second.”

“What’s the matter?”

Airael looked at him, puzzled.

Axi, with a strange expression, asked, “Did you just say you’re a mage?”

“That’s right! I am a mage,” Airael responded, dramatically pulling her staff from beneath her cloak as if performing a magic trick.

Of course, it wasn’t the Staff of Eternity but a temporary staff she had on hand.

Seeing the over-meter-long staff Airael revealed, Axi’s expression turned even more peculiar.

How on earth did she fit such a long staff inside there?

To this, Airael emphasized, “This is magic, you see?”

Not really understanding much about magic, Axi, who only knew that magic was mysterious, easily fell for Airael’s explanation.

He nodded, signaling he understood.

However, Airael’s comments weren’t entirely incorrect.

The Storage Ring was indeed magic, though it was a magical equipment, a very precious one at that.

Despite being misled by Airael on this point, Axi didn’t overlook the doubts he had harbored from the start.

“If you’re a mage, then how come you moved so nimbly just now?”

While humans had a fast training speed, their short lifespan limited them to mastering only one skill.

After asking, Axi stared at Airael concealed under the cloak, beginning to wonder if she might not be human.

Unbeknownst to Axi, Airael didn’t expect to be so hard to fool.

But she wasn’t about to waste her hundreds of years of experience.

If she were a normal elf, she might not have so much scheming, but she was no ordinary elf.

With a slight shift in her mind, she came up with an idea and declared, “This is a new mage profession: the Battle Mage!”

“Battle Mage?”

Axi repeated the unfamiliar term he had just heard.

Airael nodded, “Exactly! Battle Mages exist to compensate for the weaknesses of us human mages in close combat, so from now on, don’t underestimate a mage’s melee capabilities.”

Axi was momentarily at a loss for words.

Finally, he could only force himself to believe Airael’s claims.

After all, no matter what race Airael was, given the strength she had displayed, he was confident he could handle her.

He just needed to be wary of her magic.

Magic, especially some tricky spells, could certainly be quite a headache.

Watching Axi buy into her words, Airael felt relieved and was about to continue her unfinished self-introduction when she saw Axi turning to leave.

“Hey, my self-introduction isn’t done yet!”

Airael hurriedly chased after him.

“No need, that’s more than enough.”

Axi replied curtly and stopped speaking.

He simply led the way, while Airael followed behind, her small face under the cloak showing a sulky expression.

How very domineering!

Not only did he cut her self-introduction short, making it hard for him to understand her, but he wouldn’t even let her expand it a bit.

Although what she wanted to say was mostly unrelated to her true identity, it was still pertinent to her self, allowing Axi to understand her better, which would make their future interactions easier.

If she couldn’t share, at least he shouldn’t hold her back!

In her heart, Airael couldn’t help but rant about Axi’s actions.

You’re no emperor, and I’m not some concubine or maid beside you!

Besides, even if you were an emperor, I’m still a queen!

Axi completely ignored Airael, who was behind him.

After walking for quite a while, Airael suddenly realized they had arrived at the place where they first met yesterday—the Mercenary Guild, or rather, the mercenary tavern.

“What are you doing here?”

Airael asked aloud.

“I’m a mercenary, so of course I’m here to take on tasks!” Axi replied.

“Sigh! Don’t you plan on resting a bit?”

They had been active since deep last night, only pausing for a moment just earlier.

Even though they were both young with plenty of energy, shouldn’t they be a little kinder to their bodies?

Hadn’t they just discussed enjoying life properly?

“If you want to rest, you can go ahead,” Axi said, taking a step into the tavern.

Even though what Axi said was somewhat rude, Airael pretended not to hear and followed him inside.

Rest or not, who’s afraid? Let’s see who collapses first!

Airael was quite confident in her physical abilities.

Her stamina and recovery were both exceptional.

In the first floor of the tavern, Teresa looked in surprise as Axi and Airael walked in almost simultaneously.

Anyone could tell they were together.

But just how in the world did that happen in such a short amount of time?

They had barely spent a day together!

Was it that Ailia’s abilities were so formidable that she effortlessly conquered Axi, or had Axi been lonely for too long and was tired of being a lone wolf, wanting to find a companion?

After her surprise passed, Teresa couldn’t help but begin to gossip in her mind.

However, as a professional host, she didn’t forget to greet Axi and Airael.

Walking up to Axi, Teresa smiled and said, “Lord Axi and Lady Ailia, how may I assist you?”

“I want to take on that mission near the northern border!” Axi declared.

“Lord Axi, are you sure you’ve thought this through?”

Teresa’s expression turned serious.

“Yeah!”

Axi nodded.

Airael glanced at Teresa, then at Axi.

Though she didn’t catch the specifics of the task, it seemed it wouldn’t be easy.

But that was fine.

She had come out to train, so of course, she wanted to engage in challenging tasks.

“Lord Axi, as long as you’ve considered it, that task may be tough, but it shouldn’t be overly difficult for you.”

After addressing Axi, Teresa turned to Airael and asked, “Lady Ailia, are you planning to join Lord Axi for the mission?”