The news of Qiaolin shattering the Mana Measuring Stone quickly spread throughout the arena.
People assumed he was some reclusive Great Archmage; for such a powerful figure, his appearance no longer mattered to them.
Eventually, staff members arrived to explain that there had been a quality issue with that specific Mana Measuring Stone.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qiaolin performed a second test.
“6 feet! Pass!”
When the result was announced, the crowd let out a collective sigh of relief for some unknown reason.
“You’ve got some skill, kid. I underestimated you.”
The Blue-robed Mage patted Qiaolin’s shoulder and asked with a smile, “Did you heal my ears? Could you be a Healing Mage?”
“You have a keen eye, sir. I am indeed a Healing Mage.”
“Not many people study Healing Magic these days. Thanks for fixing my ears. Dinner is on me tonight.”
The Blue-robed Mage was quite generous.
Qiaolin, not wanting to be rude, thanked him and accepted the invitation.
“I’ll be bringing someone with me. Of course, her expenses will be on my tab.”
“No matter, no matter. I’m not a stingy man.”
“Qiaolin!”
While they were talking, a young girl with blonde hair and crimson highlights squeezed through the crowd and hurried to Qiaolin’s side.
Seeing the charming girl, the Blue-robed Mage blinked in surprise before asking, “Is this lady your companion?”
Qiaolin nodded.
Gabriela gave the Blue-robed Mage a friendly wave.
The man managed to squeeze out a smile.
“She really is… quite something.”
—
The three of them found a high-end local restaurant.
Qiaolin and the Blue-robed Mage clinked their glasses and began drinking together, while Gabriela kept her head down, focused entirely on devouring her food.
“Won’t this lady with the healthy appetite have a drink?” the Blue-robed Mage asked, already sounding a bit tipsy.
“Haha, my partner doesn’t have a high tolerance for alcohol. My apologies.”
“Then you’ll have to drink her share, too!”
“Of course.”
With that, Qiaolin poured a full glass and downed it in one go, earning a roar of approval from the Blue-robed Mage.
“Good! A real man!”
He gave a thumbs-up and then turned to Gabriela.
“I’m almost jealous of your boyfriend. He’s young, talented, and has such a high tolerance for alcohol!”
Gabriela’s face flushed.
She glanced at Qiaolin, then at the mage across from them whose eyes were blurry and unfocused.
Qiaolin, by contrast, was perfectly calm.
He didn’t look the least bit intoxicated.
Qiaolin glanced back, his eyes meeting the girl’s shy gaze.
He smiled slightly, causing her to look down in a panic and bite into a meatball.
The small gathering ended when the Blue-robed Mage finally passed out.
Qiaolin wiped his mouth and called for a waiter.
“Are you full?” he asked Gabriela softly.
“Mm… I guess so.”
The girl gave a sweet smile, and the corner of Qiaolin’s mouth twitched.
‘She really is the Demon King of Gluttony.’
“This is my friend. He’s too drunk to move for now, so please look after him,” Qiaolin said, handing a silver coin to the waiter.
“This is for your trouble.”
“I understand, sir.”
Before leaving, Qiaolin secretly slipped a gold coin into the Blue-robed Mage’s pocket.
It was to cover Gabriela’s meal—there was no helping it; the girl ate far too much.
“You passed the test, right?”
Gabriela asked as they walked down the street.
“Yes, but that was only the first round. There are three rounds of testing in total,” Qiaolin explained.
“It should be over by tomorrow.”
“It does seem a bit difficult. Reaching a height of 6 feet on a Mana Measuring Stone requires quite a lot of mana. That’s at least the strength of a Second Crown or higher,” Gabriela mused.
“But there are many people at that level. Besides, mana capacity isn’t the only standard to judge a mage’s strength. Perhaps the two tests tomorrow are the real deciders for who is capable of learning the Arcane King’s magic.”
He couldn’t rule out that some people were simply naturally gifted with large mana pools.
However, this was the most basic assessment of magical quality.
The Arcane King likely didn’t want anyone to risk being drained dry because they lacked the mana to sustain his spells.
“By the way, Qiaolin, why did the stone in front of you explode this afternoon? I heard those stones absorb mana and convert it into a pillar of light. Did you fail to control your strength and just overfill it?”
“In your experience, does a Mana Measuring Stone actively suck out a person’s mana?”
Qiaolin asked in return.
Gabriela’s eyes widened, her expression turning blank.
“A stone that actively drains mana? Could it be… that thing?”
Before Gabriela could remember the name, Qiaolin pulled out a small black fragment and handed it to her.
“I picked this up at the scene. Take a look.”
Gabriela examined the black stone closely.
Then, she popped it into her mouth and started chewing.
“It’s a Shimo Stone. These are only produced in the Demon Realm. I recognize the taste.”
“Oh?”
“It looks almost exactly like a Mana Measuring Stone, but a Shimo Stone actively drains mana from anyone who touches it.
Its appetite is massive, too—it can hold about ten times as much mana as a standard Mana Measuring Stone.”
“But they claimed it was a quality issue with the stone,” Qiaolin said, his voice sinking.
“Something feels wrong.”
“Eh? Could I be wrong? Maybe it was just because…”
“No, I don’t think you’re wrong. I trust your conclusion. There’s definitely something fishy going on.”
Qiaolin looked toward the Imperial Palace.
That was where the testing had been held.
From the moment he entered that arena, he felt like he was being monitored.
Qiaolin searched his memories for any enemies he might have offended.
Though the list was endless, the number of people who could have lived to this era was tiny, and most of them weren’t human.
Even the descendants of Nolan had forgotten Qiaolin’s existence; his name wasn’t even on the list of the kingdom’s founding heroes.
Qiaolin thought for a few seconds before deciding to let it go.
His priority right now was to get this Demon King back to her Demon King’s Castle as quickly as possible.
“Whatever. We’ll take it one step at a time. Let’s find a place to stay first, Gabriela?”
Qiaolin looked at the girl beside him, only to find her cheeks were burning bright red.
“Lord Demon King — “
“Whoa!”
Qiaolin playfully blew into the girl’s ear, jolting her out of her daze.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s… it’s nothing. It’s just… when you said you believe in me and all that… I felt a bit embarrassed.”
Gabriela turned her face away, not daring to meet his eyes.
“Don’t think like that. If I can’t trust a companion who has fought by my side and watched my back, who can I trust?”
“I suppose that’s true…”
“Let’s go. We need to find a place to sleep. This time, neither of us has to sleep on the floor.”
Qiaolin walked ahead with light steps.
Gabriela watched his back, her mouth hanging open slightly.
She couldn’t help but mutter to herself.
“Just… companions? Ugh…”