"Master, there are six invitations today, all from third-rank members, from…"
"Decline them all."
At No. 74 Bluebridge Street, in the study, Lynn didn't even look up as he spoke.
The maid, Carter, wasn't surprised by his answer; she nodded calmly.
Ever since the induction ceremony, Lynn had occasionally received invitations from other members to attend their gatherings.
At first, out of courtesy, he had gone to a few. But after realizing they were nothing more than eating, drinking, and meaningless chatter, he began refusing them outright.
Gradually, the invitations dwindled.
But after the news spread that the Faction had made such a show of coming to see him a few days ago, the invitations had suddenly multiplied again.
And today, for some reason, the number had surged once more.
Carter continued reporting other matters, mostly concerning Giggs's business dealings.
Since Giggs handled much himself, their schedules often didn't align, so most of their communication passed through Carter as a go-between.
Once the trivial matters were settled, Lynn followed his usual routine and went to the Greenvine Restaurant.
Unsurprisingly, Faruga wasn't there.
As always, Adeline arrived to activate her magical array permissions for him.
But this time, after she was done, she hesitated, then carefully produced an invitation letter.
"Forgive me, Lord Lynn," she said nervously. "My uncle somehow learned that I know you and insisted I deliver this letter to you."
Another invitation…
Lynn frowned in mild puzzlement as he accepted it. Before he even opened it, the strange symbols on the envelope caught his eye.
They were unmistakably runic terms used in magical arrays.
Instantly intrigued, Lynn studied them closely.
After these past days of learning, he was already able to interpret a long string of such characters.
It looks like a fragmentary design for a magical array… in the form of a ring. Its effect is defensive, capable of resisting both spiritual and physical attacks to a decent degree…
Within moments, Lynn had worked it out, and his eyes lit up.
Strictly speaking, small, portable magical arrays like this were called magical tools.
A magical array was essentially a structure of multiple simple or lower-level spell units, combined to form a higher-level, more complex effect.
By that logic, magical tools operated on the same principles as a massive wizard's tower.
The main differences lie only in their size and purpose.
Beside him, Adeline kept her head lowered, still uneasy, and said softly:
"If you don't have time, please don't consider me, just reject it directly."
Lynn came back to himself, smiling and shaking his head as he opened the letter.
"No, Adeline. You come here every day without fail to grant me access to the magical array. For that alone, I won't refuse a simple invitation.
"And besides, your uncle left a 'temptation' on this letter I simply can't refuse."
"Really?" Adeline looked up, and when she saw his smile wasn't feigned, she relaxed, smiling too.
The letter itself was nothing extraordinary, mostly thanking Lynn for saving Adeline's life, while inviting him to a gathering at his home. At the end, though, it hinted that more magical array knowledge would be offered.
Lynn knew he was unlikely to get such knowledge for free. But even the scraps encoded on the envelope were worth the trip.
After all, this was a genuine, combat-ready magical array design.
Even if he couldn't learn it immediately, it would inspire his understanding of the basics and speed his progress.
Although Faruga hadn't approached him again after that night, Lynn was well aware their conflict was irreconcilable.
It was clear: as long as Lynn pursued knowledge of magical arrays, and as long as Faruga wanted to maintain his "special status" within the Golden Shadow Society, their paths would inevitably clash.
So the sooner he mastered magical arrays, the sooner he could put an end to the nuisance that was Faruga.
At four in the afternoon, Lynn set out on time for the residence of Adeline's uncle, a third-tier member of the Golden Shadow Society.
...
At the same time,
On the first floor of Red Moon Pavilion.
"Lord Faruga, this is this month's tribute. Please accept it."
A young wizard stood smiling obsequiously, both hands offering a pouch of magic stones to Faruga.
Faruga didn't reply. He simply extended one finger, pointing at the table, signaling for him to set it down.
The young wizard kept the forced smile on his face as he placed the stones down, then spoke cautiously:
"Lord Faruga, the magical array in the Red Moon Pavilion has been giving us some trouble lately. I was wondering when you might…"
Faruga waved his hand impatiently. "Shut up, Ide. Can't you see I'm thinking?"
A trace of resentment flickered in Ide's eyes, but he forced a stiff smile and swallowed it back.
After a while, a second-tier member of the Golden Shadow Society entered through the front door of the Red Moon Pavilion and walked straight toward them.
Faruga's eyes lit up when he saw who it was, and he hurriedly greeted him:
"Lord Orlando, you're finally here."
The newcomer was indeed Orlando, the apprentice wizard overseeing the Greenvine Restaurant this month.
"Faruga, what's so important you had to drag me here instead of meeting at the Greenvine Restaurant?" Orlando asked as he took a seat across from him.
Faruga carefully chose his words before speaking slowly:
"It's nothing too serious. I just wanted to ask you about Lynn Kent."
Orlando's eyes narrowed slightly, understanding dawning.
At once, Faruga pushed the tribute the young wizard had brought across the table to Orlando, adding several more magic stones of his own.
Satisfied, Orlando nodded and pocketed the stones. He smiled and said,
"I know what you're after, Faruga.
"Lynn Kent was indeed once part of the Faction, but now he is nothing more than a washed-out apprentice."
"But that night…"
"The Faction members that night? They only went to question him because of the Emerald Shadow incident."
"The Emerald Shadow incident?"
Though the commotion it caused had been significant, very few wizards in Emeraldwood City truly understood it.
"That's not something you need to know." Orlando shook his head lightly, then gave a pointed reminder:
"All you need to understand is this: Lord Kaharman is a body-type wizard. His hearing is sharp enough to pick out every heartbeat on the entire first floor of the Greenvine Restaurant…
"You get what I'm saying, don't you?"
Faruga frowned in thought. After a long moment, realization struck, and he muttered to himself:
"Kaharman heard what I said to Lynn… but he didn't react at all!"
Once he realized that, the shadow in his eyes vanished, replaced instead with anger.
"Lynn Kent…"
He spat the name through gritted teeth.
Orlando only shook his head. He looked as if he might say more, but in the end only remarked:
"Enough. If that's all, I'll be going."
Then he rose and left.
He had no intention of getting entangled in this matter.
What Faruga might not know was that some of the higher-ranking members of the Society already disapproved of his jealous, possessive behavior.
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