Chapter 279: Magic Test
No matter how much disdainful glances were thrown their way, neither Darcel, Aniela nor Masami visibly reacted. They were keenly aware of the consequences of unwittingly starting trouble they can't resolve.
Their best option was to simply ignore the ominous atmosphere surrounding themselves.
Internally Darcel remained calm, and Aniela felt slight frustration gradually bubbled inside her.
But Masami had the most intense reaction. She could feel her irritation shooting up by the seconds but still had enough rationality to hold herself back. In fact, she knew that they were lucky enough the Mages weren't outright shooing them away.
Being the unofficial leader of their group Darcel walked first towards the main desk. Aniela and Masami stuck close to his back, and their eyes began roaming more over the Siren Blood Mage main hall.
As creepy as their constant Crismon design is, Aniela and Masami couldn't deny there was a certain magnetic charm to this place.
Once the trio got a couple feet away from the desk, Aniela and Masami snapped their attention forward.
Behind the main desk sat a beautiful woman who naturally exuded a refined, calming aura. Just one look, and anybody could tell she has a higher status among the Mages here.
Compared to the other Siren Blood Mages members, this woman had several bright? Crimson Stars plastered on her robe.
When the trio approached her, Darcel didn't even have to say anything. The Siren Blood Mage immediately snapped her attention to them, showcasing a plain indifference within her eyes.
But, though she looked the most indifferent to their presence, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami could still sense the air of superiority oozing out of her natural aura.
The Siren Blood Mage didn't give Darcel a chance to introduce themselves as she immediately said, "Are you three here for a transaction or to become Mages?"
Even before answering, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami could practically feel several nasty stares directed back on them.
Ignoring those looks, Darcel spoke in a calm, unwavering tone.
"We are here to become Mages."
Immediately when saying so, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami didn't think it was possible, but somehow the atmosphere turned even tenser. Most obviously, these Siren Blood Mages still aren't so keen on cultivators attempting to become Mages.
Darcel simply didn't care for their increasingly dampening reputation.
But Masami and even Aniela were half tempted to retort those stares. Their annoyance rose as they thought, didn't you all give the option for cultivators to become Mages?!
Alas, Aniela and Masami kept their retorts to themselves. Though, from behind their masks, both of their expressions were scrunched up in immense displeasure.
Compared to all other Mage's reactions, the Mage behind the counter only had a subtle shift in expressions.
She merely blinked her eyes before reaching under her desk and telling Darcel's group, "Wait. Siren Blade will be with you shortly."
Compiling with her words, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami watched as the Siren Mage took out a crimson color contact ring
The Siren Mage lightly clenched the ring, pouring a small stream of Magical Energy into it. A brief bright red flash lit up the ring and immediately dispersed the next second.
Darcel could admit it was a bit awkward waiting in silence with the girls. These Siren Mages truly wanted to make sure they don't forget that they're not particularly welcome around here.
Thankfully for them, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami only needed to wait several seconds until another presence showed up.
The trio didn't notice it initially, but there was a deep corridor right beside this main desk.
And coming out of this corridor was another Siren Blood Mage.
This Siren Blood Mage had a comparable status to the woman behind the desk, donning several bright crimson stars on his robe.
"Siren Blade, it's three this time." The Mage behind the desk explained immediately upon Siren Blade's arrival.
Siren Blade only took one brief glance at the desk Mage before peering over at Darcel's group. His expression was utterly indifferent as he roamed his eyes up and down on Darcel, Aniela, and Masami.
On very first impression, Siren Blade's opinions of the trio were already low. Even barring past the fact they are cultivators, he didn't detect any noteworthy aura from them.
Though he just met them, Siren Blade already wanted this meeting to be quickly done with.
And while his expression was indifferent, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami could sense the apparent disdain Siren Blade had towards them.
'Tch-tch. I don't like this guy. Not one bit. Even more so than the other annoyances here.' Suddenly then, Darcel heard Masami's annoyed voice echo out in his mind.
Before he could even process her statement, Darcel immediately heard next,
'This guy...so shady. We need to keep an eye on him.' This time it was Aniela's more cautious voice blaring in Darcel's mind.
Despite hearing their voices in his mind, Darcel remained entirely calm. He made no sudden movement as if he's used to this happening.
But though he appeared calm, Darcel was mildly surprised. Because he has the most control over his Darkness Soul link, Darcel could easily transfer his thoughts to Aniela and Masami.
Although for the girls they have no such luck.
Only when their emotional state gets heavily affected or intense can they unknowingly transfer their thoughts to him.
By now, Darcel was still unsure of how he should help the girls cultivate this ability. Undoubtedly, if they all could perfectly communicate with each other telepathically, they could have even better teamwork in battle.
Alas, Darcel simply had no proper guidance on how he should work his Darkness Soul link now. Plus, he wasn't all that willing to use it much after the encounter with the yellow-eyed woman.
'Just relax. We're here to focus on only one goal.' Darcel's soothing voice flowed into both Aniela and Masami's minds.
Without even looking back, Darcel could sense Aniela and Masami ease a bit of their tension.
"Come with me."
After a second of silence, Siren Blade had finally spoken. His tone was unemotional, sounding a bit ominous to listen to.
Then, without waiting for their response, Siren Blade turned on his heels, walking back into the corridor.
Darcel, Aniela, and Masami didn't delay, following right behind Siren Blade's back. Strolling through this corridor, neither Darcel, Aniela, or Masami see or sense any other Siren Blood Mages around here.
The only sounds echoing out in the corridor were Darcel's group and Siren Blade's soft footsteps.
Eventually, after a couple of minutes of a slightly awkward walk, Siren Blade stopped in front of a crimson-colored door.
Wordlessly Siren Blade opened the door and stepped inside. Darcel, Aniela, and Masami were, of course, a step behind, entering the room right after Siren Blade.
"Oh? This is quite pretty." Aniela leaked her honest thoughts upon the first step in this room.
They ended up with a considerable large room filled to the brim with an assortment of multicolor crystals.
Each crystal had a certain luminous shine about them and their colors seemingly harmonized with one another. Although, as it's tradition for this group, the color of Crismon was the most prominent hue here.
"Hmph. Not only does it look nice, but the energy here is also so...so...good." Masami told her honest thoughts next.
Indeed, she, Aniela, and Darcel could all sense a more concentrated amount of Magical Energy running through the atmosphere here.
It nearly reminded the trio of the Qi Haven Space since there was a colossal abundance of Magical Energy within this room.
Darcel didn't have anything noteworthy to say. Instead, his attention mainly focused on three star-shaped crystals orbs floating midair.
And as if he could sense his thoughts, Siren Blade began to explain, "These Magical Crystals will awaken any latent Magical Potential you possibly have slumbering within your soul. Simply touch these crystals and don't resist any energy that will flow through you."
Darcel, Aniela, and Masami readily nodded. It all sounded simple enough, and the trio was confident they had something related to Magical Energy deep within their souls.
The sensations they felt from the Magic Crystal Bella found was more than enough to prove they certainly have a connection.
Calmly walking up to the star-shaped Magical Crystals, the trio sensed the Magical Energy running through the atmosphere turned denser near these Crystals.
With confidence surging within their veins, Darcel, Aniela and Masami had then placed their palms upon the Magical Crystals simultaneously.
'Oh?!'
Almost immediately, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami felt an overflow of Magical Energy run through their entire body.
Their eyes lit up as none of them felt any natural rejection towards Magical Energy. In fact, the Magical Energy was incredibly warm to the trio.
As they calmly took in Magical Energy, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami began to fall into a slightly enlightened trance unknowingly.
"Hm? This is...?"
On the outside, Siren Blade narrowed his eyes on the Magical Crystals. Only several seconds passed, and already a faint red Magical glow covered each Magical Crystals.
This faint red Magical glow indicated Darcel, Aniela, and Masami might have a dormant Magical potential lying within their souls.
Usually, this really wouldn't cause any reaction within Siren Blade. However, the speed that the trio used to cause the faint red Magical glow to appear was undoubtedly curious.
Out of the years he's repeatedly done this, Siren Blade could say this was one of the fastest reactions.
Still, Siren Blade didn't have much expectations out of the trio.
After all, he firmly believed it certainly wasn't possible for a trio of average cultivators to achieve any significant amount of Magical results.