"Ah, I'm tired as fuck," Julius muttered to himself, lying flat on the bed in the same room he had been assigned when he first arrived at Vermillion's Palace. The room hadn't changed—it was cozy, with wooden walls, stone pillars, and soft sheets that barely dulled the ache in his back.
He stared blankly at the wooden ceiling above and sighed.
"I wonder what kind of training the Grand Mage has planned for tomorrow."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Come in," Julius called out, his voice a bit groggy.
The door creaked open slowly, and standing at the entrance was Zhou Rui.
Zhou Rui stepped inside, his hands casually clasped behind his back.
"What's up?" Julius asked as he sat up on the bed.
"Nothing much. Just came to see how training's been going," Zhou Rui said with a casual smile, his stance relaxed.
"It's going well. New training begins tomorrow."
"Ah, yes. That's actually why I came."
"Why?"
"About the new training. You, me, and Lord Marcus are heading out tomorrow to search for the Staff of the Archimedes."
"Staff of the Archimedes?" Julius raised a brow.
"So your team didn't schedule this program either, huh?"
"Nope."
Zhou Rui nodded, then explained,
"The Staff of the Archimedes is one of the finest creations of the legendary magicsmith, Archimedes."
"Can you tell me more?" Julius leaned forward, intrigued.
Zhou Rui sighed, pulled the chair from the nearby study table, placed it in front of Julius, and sat down.
"Archimedes was a magicsmith during the era of Saint Aurora. When magic finally matured into a usable system, Archimedes was the one who developed tools to harness it—grimoires, magic orbs, staffs, wands. He was the pioneer."
Zhou Rui continued, his tone now more scholarly,
"Out of the many tools he forged, some failed, but those that succeeded were dubbed The World's Magic Tools. These tools were then categorized into four major types: The World's Staffs, The World's Grimoires, The World's Magic Orbs, and The World's Wands."
He paused to catch his breath, then carried on,
"Within those, Archimedes created a legendary set known as The Mage's Life, which included 12 tools—3 staffs, 3 grimoires, 3 wands, and 3 magic orbs. Then came the higher tiers: The Mage's Heart, containing 4 tools, and The Mage's Soul, with only one."
"Wait… only one?" Julius asked, clearly invested.
"Yeah. But both the Mage's Heart and Mage's Soul are treated as myths. No one has ever found them."
Zhou Rui adjusted his seating, then added,
"So far, 5 tools from The Mage's Life have been recovered—2 grimoires, 1 wand, and 2 orbs. And now, we've finally located the sixth: The Staff of the Wind."
Julius leaned back, deep in thought.
"Between the Mage's Life, Heart, and Soul, which category is the strongest?"
"Why do you wanna know? The Mage's Heart and Soul don't even exist."
"I just want to know."
Zhou Rui relented.
"Fine. In terms of strength, The Mage's Life is the weakest—ranked third. Next is The Mage's Heart, and the strongest of all is The Mage's Soul."
"I see..." Julius nodded slowly.
"Tomorrow, we leave at 8 in the morning to retrieve The Staff of the Wind. So be ready early," Zhou Rui reminded him, standing up.
"Alright. But the Grand Mage isn't coming?"
"No. He's got other duties to attend to. Won't be able to join us."
"Got it."
"Alright then, get some rest. I'll take my leave."
"Sure."
Zhou Rui pushed the chair back to the study table, gave a quick nod, and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Julius lay back down on the bed, eyes drifting toward the window beside the study table. Noon light streamed through the glass, illuminating the desk and warming the wooden floor. The temperature had risen significantly—it was turning into a hot afternoon.
"The Staff of the Wind, huh?" he whispered.
Then with a smirk,
"Who knows what it might be like… but whatever it is, it's bound to make my wind magic far more powerful."
Julius closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Few hours passed and he felt like something wet was touching him down.
He woke up and opened his eyes slowly—a woman with blond hairs was sucking his dick.
He got startled and pushed himself back and looked at the woman carefully.
He said, "Serena, the fuck you are doing? "
Serena liked her right hand index finger and said, "What do you mean, you did it with Saya but have a problem with doing it with me? "
Her hours were blonde, ponytailed with sharp bangs. She was really pretty. From her clothes, her cleavage was standing out very much and her tits were really big—so were her hips.
Julius said, "No, I don't have any problem but you—How did you even come out without my command? "
She said, "You called me. "
Julius said, "When!? "
Serena said, "When you were sleeping, now let me have my time. "
After saying that, she came forward, grabbed his dick with both her hands and started sucking on it. "
Few minutes passed and Zhou Rui was passing from infront of his room and heard some voice.
"Master, faster.. you are not this lame, thrust with more strength. "
He stooped and looked towards the main door of his room.
GULP
He gulped and thought, "Don't tell me he is doing it with his maidens. "
He walked ahead towards his door slowly, read to open it and take a peak.
He touched the door handle and was going to pull the door but then a voice came.
"Zhou Rui, what are you doing there? Lord Vermillion IV is calling for you. ", it was Marcus who called me.
Serena's voice was loud, but it was not able to reach towards Marcus who was standing few meters away from Zhou Rui in his right direction.
Zhou Rui looked towards him and said, " Yeah, coming. "
Marcus said, "Be fast. " and after that, he went back.
Zhou Rui was still standing infront of his room, gulped again, put his right hand on his forehead and sighed again.
After that, he went to the Vermillion IV.