Seed Of Speed

It took several days practice before Diego was able to get used to his speed while using [White Lightning Array], but an unexpected benefit was that it pushed his {Essence of Speed} into the second level, allowing him to use [Speed Sight] at will, although he could only use it for a second while it was at the first level. He also took a day to head into the Catacombs with Stormblade, Moonfall, and Tovao and, while his gains were not as impressive as the first day, everyone still left with over three thousand pellets. With his small fortune, he headed for the Exchange, a marketplace within the sect where the students would sell off anything that they made, or found while exploring, that they did not need.

The Exchange was just north of Masters' Row and created from a gathering of large, multi-colored tents. Although there were a few elders that could be found within, they had little authority in the area as they were only there to ensure no one was daring enough to try and steal something or trying to pass off a 'fake' product. Nearly every single person behind a stall was wearing adapt red, as were most of the people shopping, but there were a few apprentices mixed within the crowd.

Diego moved through the crowd, making his way up and down the row of stalls. The four branches of professions that he had learned first about from Grand Master Shadowbolt were all represented within the marketplace. Clearly, Alchemy and Blacksmithing were the most popular professions as both professions took up over half of the stalls in the Exchange.

He perused the long line of alchemy stalls, finding all sorts of pills, salves, and even incense sticks. The pills had the most variety of uses from aiding cultivation to treating poisons and to increase strength, defense, or speed for a short amount of time. The salves were mostly for healing the body while the incense could help calm the mind and aid with cultivation.

There were a number of simple golems for sell, but none were above the Servant-class rank. The section for talisman crafters was surprisingly busy despite the small area they were assigned. It was not until Diego was able to reach one of the busiest stalls that he finally understood why, and what, was so popular. Stacks of paper talismans that could conceal killing intent were selling like hot cakes, to the point that there were a few stalls that exclusively sold only those. Even he was tempted and bought stack of ten, so that he could finally help kill the skeletons in the Catacombs.

The Blacksmithing section was divide so that one side was armor while the other side held weapons. Diego quickly understood why this area was so empty compared to the other sections as the prices for the weapons would cost him four days-worth of clearing the Catacombs with Stormblade's original team. The cheapest weapon he saw, a blue-silver short sword, was priced at fifteen thousand pellets which was way more than what he had on him.

The armors set were set to astronomical amounts to the point that he doubted anyone would be able to purchase a full set, at least at the apprentice rank. Thankfully, most stalls would only have one armor set while the rest of the wares were priced individually, making them slightly more affordable. He kept window-shopping until he saw something that made him stop in his tracks.

A dark, silver helmet rested on a red velvet pillow, but what caught his eye about it was the fact that it looked just like the helmet Russell Crowe worn in the movie, Gladiator. The back and top of the helm had small spikes while down the center, a metal plume had been sharpened to the point of becoming a blade itself. The only difference from the movie one and the one in front of him was that a set of red lenses had been set into the facemask to cover the eyes of the wearer.

The adapt behind the counter noticed his interest in the helmet and smiled as he said, "Not a bad eye, apprentice. This helm has been imbued with the 'Analyze' enchantment as well as a series of enchantments to help increase its defense, both magical and physical. Since its one of my early works, I'm only asking for five thousand pellets."

(Any help?) Diego asked silently.

::The 'Analyze' enchantment will allow you to 'see' the energy in your opponents' just before they attack, allowing you the chance to react quicker than normal. This is actually a good fit for you now that you have unlocked your [Speed Sight] as your reaction time with the skill is already increased by many folds in comparison to other people::

Diego pulled out his token and swept the contents of his storage space with his mind quickly. He had just over five thousand, so he could buy it, but that would leave him broke until he returned to the Catacombs.

"I'll take it," Diego said after a moment.

The adapt's grin grew bigger as he pulled out his jade token. Unlike the black one that the elders used for taking payments, Diego had to focus his will to transfer the five thousand pellets to the adapt's token. The adapt tucked away his token and handed the helmet to Diego.

"You just need to bind it with a drop of blood then you will able to use the enchantments," the adapt said.

"Thanks," Diego replied with a nod and stored away the helmet into his storage space.

With little money left, Diego made his way out of the Exchange and headed for Gambling Arena. Katalina had brought up the fact, more than once, that he had been letting his martial training fall to the side while he focused solely on magic. It was not a bad thing, but as the holder of the 'Seed of Speed', he would be regulated to an attacker, and not a supporter like the magic he had been focusing on. The three hundred pellets would allow him to make at least three fights if he made an open challenge. Any apprentice would be able to accept his duel and, if he managed to win, he would be able to put out more as long as he was not too badly injured.

Unlike his first time to the Gambling Arena, he did not go towards the private dueling rings, and instead, head to the heart of the large coliseum. Before he even reached the stands, he could hear the roar of the crowd who were watching the various matches. The crimson color worn by the martial students turned the stands into a sea of deep red with only the occasional apprentice tan or fiery adapt red to break it up.

Down on the sandy ground below, fifteen dueling rings were set up with people fighting inside. The ones in the very center of the field were larger and had adapts fighting within while the other ten seemed to be for apprentices. Most of the apprentice rings held martial students, but there were three in particular that had shaman students inside.

Diego made his way down to the bottom of the stands and watched the shaman students fighting. One ring had a fire wielder fighting an ice wielder while another had two earth wielders competing in strength, both physically and magically as they traded blows and wrestled for control over the ground under their feet.

The last ring was a shaman versus a martial student and, despite attacking with a number of flashy spells, the martial student always seemed to stumble out of the way of any incoming direct spell. When the shaman tried to counter this strange dodging technique by using a spell to affect the area around him, the martial student would throw out a punch or kick that would hit the spell before it could close in on him. Diego remembered his new helmet and pulled it out. After he squeezed a drop of blood onto the helmet, he put it on and the world turned to black and white except around the fighters.

Diego focused on the battle between the shaman and martial student and could finally see how he was countering the attacks. His entire body was coated with a hazy yellow glow, and just as the shaman prepared a large spell, he would strike out, sending the yellow energy to clash against the spell and causing it to activate before it could draw close to him. The helm also showed the color of the energy the shaman was channeling, allowing Diego to see the element he was about to cast which would give him the able to counter magic easier.

A few more moves were exchanged before the shaman grew anger and quit. He was unable to attack the martial student with any of his spells and seemed to fear approaching him in close quarters, so he could only forfeit the match before he ran out of mana. Diego chuckled as he watched the martial student shrug and pull out a wineskin. He sipped on the leather pouch as he walked out of the arena, but the shaman remained in the ring.

"A hundred-pellet contest, open to any apprentice shaman," the shaman called out in a loud voice that was magically amplified throughout the stands.

Diego grinned and hopped over the railing separating him from the arena then said, "I'll take you on!"