Chapter 90
Chapter 90: Three pairs of eyes in the darkness
“I can get the black iron ore for you, yes, but you also know that it’s not that easy to obtain. How many gold coins do you intend on spending to buy it?” Han Shuo weighed things up internally as he spoke slowly with a calm expression.
His mental state sharpening, Lawrence drew himself upright and said with some excitement, “So you can get it. Heh heh, I only need the size of a fist to forge weapons. The black market currently has a shortage, so name your price!”
Rubbing his chin, Han Shuo remembered a conversation he had with Phoebe last time and hesitated, saying faintly, “How about this? Give me five thousand gold coins and I’ll try to get a piece for you.”
“No problem, although black gold ore is even more rare, a black iron ore the size of a fist is indeed worth five thousand gold coins. If you can get a piece of black iron ore, you can come find me at the knight school. We’ll do an exchange of goods and money.” Lawrence said joyfully.
Nodding, Han Shuo remembered how he’d been beaten up by Lawrence a few months ago at the knights school. His eyebrow flicked upwards as he chuckled. “I’ll get you a piece of black iron ore within ten days. Why don’t you practice with me again right now? I’ll be very happy to be a human target for you again.”
“Alright, then let’s begin. I can check out just how wonderful you are. Even someone as proud and aloof as Phoebe continuously complimented you in front of me. I’m quite curious about your strength.” Lawrence struck a pose excitedly and was prepared to immediately fight with Han Shuo.
It was noon, and most of the students in the courtyard had just put their things away and were getting ready to go to lunch. Only two or three students sunbathing in the far distance seemingly hadn’t left because they’d fallen asleep. Han Shuo swept a glance around the perimeter and smiled, “Let’s go to the left. There aren’t that many people there and we won’t affect anyone.”
Han Shuo lifted his head provocatively at Lawrence after he spoke and walked to an empty clearing behind the railing to the left. Lawrence tightened his fists and chuckled lightly, following behind Han Shuo and also making for the empty lot on the left.
When he arrived, Han Shuo circulated the magical yuan throughout his body and started adjusting his bodily condition. Lawrence was a few steps behind Han Shuo and had just walked down the stone steps when Han Shuo had already doubled back like lightning, bringing a fist crashing down on Lawrence without giving him time to react.
“Eh, do you have the blood of barbarians running through you, or can you go berserk like the berserk warriors? Phoebe was right, you are a marvelous person!” Lawrence first asked in astonishment and then murmured to himself.
Han Shuo also understood his deficiencies after the two had sparred. His body and magical yuan was indeed wondrous, but Lawrence had obviously been trained in martial arts and there was quite a rhythm in his punches and evasive maneuvers.
Han Shuo had never learned martial arts, and his attacks were always the simplest methods. Compared to Lawrence, he lacked effective attacking methods. He made a mental note of this deficiency. Han Shuo planned on thoroughly pondering this when he had time and see if there were any other attacking styles left behind in Chu Cang Lan’s memories.
“I don’t know. Alright, let’s stop here for today. I’ve finally redeemed myself for last time. I’ll come to the knight school when I obtain the black iron ore.” Han Shuo mentally weighed a few things and made his careless farewells to Lawrence as he returned to the necromancy major with furrowed brows.
Lawrence didn’t get mad after coming off a bit worse for the wear this time. After he bid farewell to Han Shuo with a smile, he walked towards his knight school and muttered, “A strange person indeed. The durability of his body can probably be compared with orc warriors!”
Han Shuo mused privately as his footsteps continued to take him towards the necromancy major. Phoebe needed some time to prepare the rations and he didn’t intend on returning to the cemetery of death in the short terms. Duke was currently residing within the school and Han Shuo still didn’t know his exact plans. Therefore, he decided to remain within the necromancy major after some thought.
Han Shuo’s dorms had long since been arranged by Fanny, but he’d never lived in them. Now that he’d decided on temporarily staying within the academy, the dorms were finally proving to be of some use to him.
The Babylon Academy of Magic and Force was the largest institution of learning within the Empire. Its facilities were very comprehensive, and it was no wonder that a high tuition was enacted from every student.
Han Shuo’s quarters were in the corner of the second floor and were roughly fifty to sixty meters squared. It included a bedroom and a bathroom, with tables, chairs, and mirrors. It was the difference between heaven and earth compared to the warehouse Han Shuo had stayed in before.
It was already past noon after he’d arrived at his dorms. Han Shuo had missed meal time and could only take out a few chunks of meat jerky from his space ring to pad his stomach.
Han Shuo didn’t leave the dorms after he finished eating. He closed the room door tightly and sat on the bed, taking advantage of a quiet lull to practice his magical yuan. The magical yuan started circulating and slowly began to coalesce in his mind from all parts of his body. A sort of clear, slightly-cool feeling permeated through his brain, making Han Shuo feel that his brain was immersed in a refreshing pool of water.
However, this feeling only lasted for a short while. The comfort of his mind was replaced by a soul wrenching pain. The training of the “molded spirit” level caused Han Shuo’s brain to continuously switch between comfort and pain. He would feel lazily at ease one second, and so much pain that it felt like someone was digging through his brain with a sharp knife the next.
What was most agonizing about this for Han Shuo was that every time the pain surged, his mind would become immensely clear headed. This would cause the pain to be suddenly magnified ten times. The clarity of his mind was specifically for him to suffer through even greater pain. This made Han Shuo wish to curse whoever created this magical yuan technique was seriously a perverse masochist.
After a long, long time, Han Shuo breathed out lightly and halted his magical yuan training. Hot air rose from his body like he’d just taken a hot shower and a strong sense of manliness rolled off his body.
Training his magical yuan had taken Han Shuo from afternoon directly to night. The night scenery outside his window was captivating as the cool night breeze blew in. It was desolate and silent all around.
Sitting up from his cross legged position, Han Shuo turned on the hot water in the bathroom and laid back leisurely in the tub, enjoying this rare moment of carefree ease. He even hummed a small tune.
The dead of the night was the perfect timing for those with ulterior motives to come skulk around. Two small sounds suddenly sounded in Han Shuo’s ears, just as he was lazily showering. One of them came from within the dormitory building, the other outside the window.
Three original demons flew out, without a sound, from the back of Han Shuo’s neck. Two of them went out the window to check what was going on outside. One of them floated towards the origin of the sound, while the other stayed near the window, silently observing any abnormalities. The last original demon floated out the crack in the door and arrived in the hallway of the dormitory building, moving forward along the hallway and floating to where the sound had come from.
The one that had gone outside finally discovered Duke surreptitiously floating around the sides of the buildings after traveling for a while. Duke hadn’t used nightwalker clothes this time. He appeared like a ghost in the darkness, floating to the dark major’s classroom buildings without any weight at all.
The original demon within the hallway had discovered one of the dormitory room doors had been lightly opened, with Fitch tiptoeing out quietly with a sinister face. He was walking towards Han Shuo and judging from his facial expressions, seemed to bear ill will.
Han Shuo immediately jumped out from the bath tub and quickly towelled himself off. He put his pants back on and lay down on the bed with his back facing the door, even breathing sounds emitting from his mouth.