Chapter 200 - Exploiting the Old Man
The journey gave Eden his first real view of the world beyond his farm. As they flew, the landscape shifted dramatically. The plains of Macres gave way to the massive trees of Elenora’s outer regions.
Eden stared in wonder. "The trees are huge." He was still shaken, being so high up in the air. Yet he forced himself to look. He wouldn’t be the type of coward to close his eyes and hide from the entire trip. And so he looked. "Just how big do they get?"
Lumi gave a gentle smile. "This is nothing."
"Eoah." Eden was surprised. "Bigger than this?"
Lumi nodded. "Much bigger."
Eden continued watching with wide eyes as new sights appeared constantly. The vertical nature of Elenora’s ecosystem fascinated him. Structures built into tree branches hundreds of meters in the air, bridges connecting platforms across massive gaps, with settlements existing in three dimensions rather than two.
Eden had to admit something. "This is incredible..."
The phoenix in his arms chirped, apparently excited by the new environment as well. As they approached the more populated areas of Elenora, Eden began to notice something else.
People were staring up at them. Way, way too many people. Dozens of faces turned upward as the airship passed overhead. Figures on platforms pointed at them. Conversations stopped mid-sentence as they flew by.
Eden felt uncomfortable under so many gazes. He held the phoenix tighter, worried someone would covet it. "Lumi, are you sure this is..."
He stopped his sentence as he realized something strange. The people weren’t looking at him. They weren’t looking at the phoenix either, despite how rare and valuable it was. They weren’t even particularly focused on the airship itself.
All the gazes were directed at Lumi.
Every single person who stopped to stare was looking at Lumi specifically. Eden’s gaze shifted to his new teacher.
Is Lumi actually a legendary mage?
The boy had assumed Lumi was powerful, obviously. He had given him a million Ems completely casually, as if it was nothing. But this level of recognition suggested something far beyond just "powerful."
This was widespread fame. Lumi was being recognized on-sight by everyone. Every single one of the men and women down there looked up, clearly knowing who Lumi was.
"Crazy." He couldn’t help but slowly sigh out.
What Eden didn’t know was that all those people staring were players, not natives. Of course they were staring. It was Lumi. The number one player. The guy who’d gotten almost every first achievement. The person organizing tomorrow’s raid that everyone was excited about.
To the players, seeing Lumi fly overhead was like spotting a celebrity. Some of them were probably already posting about it on the forums.
Lumi noticed Eden’s confused expression but didn’t explain. Let the boy think he was just a well-known magician. It would serve him well, anyways.
They landed the airship on a platform in the central district of Elenora.
Lumi turned to Eden as they disembarked. "First thing we need to do is get you proper equipment."
Eden looked down at his worn farming clothes. "What’s wrong with what I have?"
"Everything." Lumi said bluntly. "There are so many reasons to get equipment, it doesn’t even need a detailed justification."
He began to count them off. "Status. You’re going to be a powerful magician. Your my disciple, and the descendent of Phoenix Master Henry. You must look impressive."
"I... I guess?" Eden nodded along. He wasn’t sure if he entirely understood everything, but he didn’t want to tarnish his ancestors reputation.
"Indeed." Lumi continued. "Appearance matters in this world, whether we like it or not. People judge you based on how you present yourself. Like it or not, that’s reality."
Eden thought about what was said. "Hey, wait. If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean I’ll end up dressing all fancy? You have robes though, is that what’s considered high-class in Elenora?"
Lumi didn’t quite follow. "It’s presentable, not exactly a nobility sign. What did you mean?"
"But..." Eden wasn’t sure how to word it. "If it’s just a matter of looking presentable, why not look even better?"
"Oh." Lumi understood the issue now. "No, Eden. Just as warriors use physical weapons and archers use bows, magicians also use equipment. Their wands channel magic, and their robes grant great protection just like metal plates."
"I see..." Eden took in the information. "Blending utility with style. I understand." He thought about how popular Lumi was, and how important he himself apparently was. "Am I... about to get legendary things?"
"No." Lumi shook his head. "Equipment has inherent magical properties. If the power is too powerful for your current capabilities, they won’t work properly."
Eden was curious. "What do you mean? What happens if I try to wear something too powerful?"
"At best, it would exhaust you," Lumi said. "You’d be tired constantly, and the equipment wouldn’t be used to its full capabilities."
He paused, then continued. "At worst, it could kill you. There’s many ways for that to happen. It could cast a spell by itself. It could send mana flooding back into you. It could misjudge your intentions."
Eden’s eyes widened. "That can happen?"
Lumi nodded. "Yes. So we’re getting you equipment appropriate for someone just beginning their magical training. That said, that doesn’t mean it’ll be useless. We’ll get the best."
"The best, huh..." Eden ruminated over that. How had things gone this way? He was just... a normal person, right? How was he suddenly the descendent of a hero? How was he... he didn’t even know what he was.
He didn’t know what he was doing.
He sighed. "What do I even need?"
Lumi thought about it. "In your situation, what you need is specific functionality."
He began listing them off. "One, to look presentable. As I said, appearance matters."
"Two, to store mana externally. The phoenix will consume enormous amounts of mana when you work together, and you don’t have that mana."
"Three, a focus. Some way of channeling your mana to connect with your phoenix more efficiently. That is, a custom made wand."
Eden nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Where do we get equipment like that?"
Lumi smiled slightly. "Luckily, I know just the person." He turned and started walking toward the Great Library.
Eden hurried to follow, still cradling the Phoenix in his arms.
...
They arrived at Merath’s library to find the ancient magician examining a scroll near one of the reading tables.
Merath looked up as they entered. "Lumi. Back so soon? You’re treating this as your second home!"
Lumi gave him a smile. "I hope you don’t mind."
"Given that yo-" Merath’s eyes shifted to Eden and the phoenix and froze mid-sentence.
Lumi wasted no time. "Merath, I need your help. This is Eden, my new disciple. He needs equipment suitable for a beginning phoenix master."
Merath furrowed his brows. "You can’t just ask for equi- What did you say!? Phoenix Master?!" His gaze snapped on to the phoenix. His scroll fell from his hands, forgotten. "That’s..." His voice was barely a whisper. "That’s an Imperial Phoenix."
"Yes." Lumi confirmed.
"Where did you..." Merath stepped closer, his eyes wide. "How?"
Lumi gestured to Eden. "Meet Eden. He is a descendant of Phoenix Master Henry."
Merath’s head snapped toward the boy. "What?"
Lumi explained. "Eden found an egg on his farm. It hatched two days ago. The phoenix bonded with him immediately."
The ancient magician looked between Eden and the phoenix several times, his mind clearly racing. "This is... Lumi, you can’t just show up with something like this!"
Merath took a deep breath, visibly trying to compose himself. Lumi had just waltzed into his library and casually dropped a world-shaking revelation like it was nothing. It was one of Henry’s descendants. With an Imperial Phoenix.
Merath was a very, very old man. He’d lived through centuries, witnessed countless events, accumulated knowledge that most people couldn’t comprehend.
And unlike Eden and Lumi, he knew the true significance of an Imperial Phoenix.
Even Lumi only vaguely understood they were supposed to be extinct..
Merath knew the truth in full detail.
Henry’s Imperial Phoenix had been the very last of its kind, period. Not just rare, not just endangered. The absolute final member of a species.
The only possible explanation for a second Imperial Phoenix existing was if Henry’s phoenix had left behind an egg before dying.
In fact, Merath remembered now, Henry had mentioned once that his partner could lay eggs despite not having a mate. Merath took that as a unique magical property of Imperial Phoenixes. It made sense.
But everyone had assumed it never happened. Henry had never mentioned an egg. No evidence of one had ever surfaced after his death.
Clearly, everyone had been wrong.
And if there was an egg, Henry would never have let it be found randomly. Obviously, he had somehow orchestrated things so that one of his descendants would inherit the Imperial Phoenix.
Henry had planned it centuries in advance.