Chapter 172 - To The Topaz Guild

‘Is it natural that my presence increases now that the number of people I meet has increased?’

Deep in thought, Azriel followed Nak. He headed to a warehouse inside the guild right away. When he pushed aside a rug that was placed on one side of the room, the door on the floor was exposed.

“Do you have the key?” Nak asked bluntly. Azriel took out the key that Ash gave her.

“You can open the door and enter,” Nak said.

He took a step back. Azriel opened the door on the floor. The key turned very softly, but the door was heavy. As she wavered, trying to lift it, Nak interrupted and supported the door.

“Tsk,” looking at her and knitting his brow, he clicked his tongue. There were stairs leading down.

Going down the stairs, Azriel called him, “Mr. Naham?” Nak merely glanced back at her without a response. Not paying attention to that, she asked, “Did I make some kind of a mistake?”

“…No. What mistake would you make since you haven’t done anything yet,” Nak snorted.

Azriel tilted her head and asked, “Then, why do you dislike me when I haven’t done anything yet?”

“…”

“Do I not look trustworthy?” she asked.

Nak only grumbled in a low voice. There was a hall down the stairs. He opened one door without saying anything. It was a room filled with drawers from the floor to the ceiling. On the table at its center, something that looked like a map of the city of Modjankle was spread out. He stood in front of the map, looked back at her, and said, “Since you are the talent the lady specially included, you can probably maintain five alarms, can’t you?”

It would be difficult for a common wizard to maintain one alarm. An outstanding wizard could maintain about three. Only someone with the mastery level of Pendelok Palaios, the director of magic, could maintain five. Thus, it was a question asked to mock her on purpose. However, Azriel did not know the level of common wizards. Of course, she could not notice his intention. Shaking her head, she tried to explain, “No, I—”

“Hah, I guess I expected too much because the lady herself introduced you to me. How many people can you cover? I will make it convenient for you,” he said.

Azriel stayed silent for a moment and said, looking up at him, “All of them.”

“…?”

“I will be in charge of all the targets in the city of Modjankle,” she replied.

His face was distorted. “Give me a break. Do you even know what alarm magic is? Miss, this is not a child’s playground—”

“Are you an apprentice wizard, Mr. Naham?” she interrupted.

“What?” he asked.

“Your robe doesn’t look like an apprentice’s robe. Umm, I think you should train a lot more.” Nak’s face turned red with anger. Before he could say something, Azriel added, “I am not really hiding my mana, but you don’t sense it at all.”

He smirked as if she was being ridiculous. “Miss, you really don’t know anything. How can you know one’s mana without conducting a palpation?”

“…Palpation? Do you have to make contact with someone to identify it?” she asked in surprise.

“What a pity! You don’t even know the basics.” Nak truly felt spiritless.

Azriel was disconcerted a little. ‘But Tarbo Tameion and Grandpa Pendelok knew as soon as they saw me even though they didn’t have dragon eyes. Were they special?’ Genuinely curious, she asked, “Do ordinary wizards need to conduct a palpation to sense another’s mana?”

“Of course! Oh, now I need to explain the very basics…” he grumbled.

“Then, at which level of mastery can you feel mana without a palpation?” she asked.

“…Excuse me, did you even graduate from college?” he asked.

“I didn’t go to college. I learned magic from my master,” she answered.

“Good grief. You learned magic from a hillbilly quack?” He clicked his tongue and raised his glasses. He looked at her with a face full of pity.