Chapter 985 Alicia''s Advice
"Impressive! No wonder you''ve been assigned as my trainer!" Alicia said as she felt the weight of her body seem to lift much higher, barely able to move.
Even though she was in pain and had suffered quite a defeat to someone of her talent and level, she wasn''t angry, but excited about the future. This wasn''t herst fight with Vicente in this type of encounter. Many more asions simr to this one would happen before she got her eighth pentagram.
Vicente retracted all his mana back into his body, appearing to be just an ''ordinary'' 1-Star Magus again, rxing a little as he let go of his thoughts. He smiled at Alicia, liking her personality.
Since they would have to train together for a long time, it was good to see right from the start that she wouldn''t be the tough type of person to deal with.
He then asked, "I guess our training today is over, right? How will we meet again after today?"
She pulled herself together, while using a towel to dry the sweat from her face. "About that, I really can''t train again today. I''m going to take some time to meditate and digest our training. We''ll talk about our next sessions after that, okay?"
"Hmmm."
"For now, I have someone who should already be waiting for you outside this room. She''ll guide you around the city if you want, as well as taking you to my meetings and passing on messages from me."
When she had finished drying off, she followed him out of the training room, repeating part of what she had just said.
"I don''t know how many more fights we''ll have to have together. You''ve given me a lot of tips, so I''ll have to look into it after each of our meetings. But it''s likely that you won''t have to stay in Ponddown for more than a week. Is that a problem for you?"
He smiled at her as he shook his head in denial. "Not at all. In fact, it coincides well with some of my ns." He thought about how Larissa and some of their fellow faction members would finish what they were doing around the time he returned to Ravengarde.
"But before I go, there''s something I''d like to talk to you about."
She changed her expression when she heard him, stopping in front of the exit to the training room.
He said, "There are two people following me since my exit from the local airport and the entrance to the tower. I don''t know who they are, so I''d like your opinion."
Vicente already had his sses—Prisiche—on his face again, ready to leave Alicia. But after the fight with this woman and feeling that she could be a local ally, he decided to share this information with her.
"Two people?" She brought one of her hands to her face. "Is there a possibility that they are observers of the sect? It''s not umon for good talents like you to be observed when they leave headquarters."
Like Vicente, Alicia was also part of one of the Light Cay sects. But she didn''t belong to any of Stonewall''s rival forces, which allowed her good rtions with one of the sect''s allies, the Manifold Family.
"I don''t know about that. I didn''t want to get close to them. My question is, what is the possibility that they are enemies? Is itmon here in Light Cay for critical information from disciples to leak to enemy forces?"
Because of the way he phrased it, Alicia couldn''t help but raise one of her eyebrows when she saw its implication. "Aren''t you a native of the ind?"
She, like most of those who had seen Vicente''s official fights, didn''t know about the fact that he was a magician ascended from a lower ne.
Realizing his mistake, Vicente took a more careful approach. "Yes, that''s why I''m not so familiar with the ind..." He didn''t make explicit the fact that he came from a lower ne, leaving open the possibility that he was from another ind.
''How unusual. I wouldn''t have thought it.'' n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Alicia thought silently, but given Vicente''s strength, it made sense. Given how out of touch with reality he was, she imagined that he probably came from a stronger ind.
''Light Cay is not among the most powerful inds. We''re focused on technology and it''s only because of our artifacts that we''re on an equal footing with other inds. He probably came from one of those ces focused on raw power, that''s why he''s so strong!''
"I see. Don''t worry about your secret. I''ll keep it to myself," she said as she gestured an oath to Vicente. "As for your previous question, it is possible. There have been several cases of betrayals and incidents that began with the leaking of sensitive information.
There is a nefarious force in Light Cay called the Dark Hands. This is not a group like your sect, but an association that anyone can join, do business with, and get on with their lives. This group is known for selling information, contacting assassins and individuals interested in murder, etc.
Although, for the most part, Light Cay is a fair and honorable ce, don''t be fooled. There are corrupt and nefarious people here. Some of them will sell other people''s critical information if it benefits them.
Someone with such impressive power as you would probably have your information sold in no time."
''Dark Hands, huh?'' Vicente engraved that name in his mind, seeing that he would most likely be in serious trouble soon.
He still couldn''t be sure howplicated the situation with the two Magus would be, but he was sure it was only a matter of time before something hairy caught up with him.
Alicia advised him, "Be careful. And if you need help, don''t hesitate to call me. I''ll certainly try to move as much of the family as possible to help you."
Vicente thanked him and then left, leaving Alicia alone in that cultivation room to recover from the tough fight she had had.
Shortly afterwards, he came across a woman waiting for him, the person Alicia had already warned him about. When he met Helen, he would soon leave for a cultivation room, with the objective of meditating for a while before letting his guide help him at the start of his stay in Ponddown.