Chapter 28: The Quiet Sewer

  Viktor is not just a music-obsessed, dim-witted fool; he's well aware of Wolf's hostility towards him. He feels a mix of anger and amusement inside, knowing it's not like he stole the opportunity to hold a concert at the Saint Chorale Hall from Wolf, but rather that he and Wolf were both in the final discussion when the board was selecting musicians. If anyone is to blame, it's probably Wolf himself for being better at writing reviews than composing music, having forgotten his own musical pursuits.

  "Of course, Wolf. I've just finished writing a new piano concerto and I'm very satisfied with it. Would you like to hear it in advance?" Viktor smiled back at him, his piano concerto having already been registered with the musicians' association, so he wasn't worried about Wolf plagiarizing it after hearing it.

  Wolfe didn't expect Victor to suddenly regain his confidence after weeks of depression, and his face immediately turned iron-green. He hummed twice and stiffly said: "Victor, I'll still keep a little curiosity, hoping that three months later, in the Sacred Song Hall, you won't disappoint me." Victor was so confident that Wolfe feared that if he listened to his piano concerto, not only would he be unable to think of sharp words to attack him, but it would also make him lose his appetite and sleep for the next three months.

  Victor spread his hands and said with a smile: "What a pity, I was hoping you could give some advice."

  Wolf didn't want to continue on this topic, his gaze shifted and he saw Lucien next to Victor, saw his shabby and cheap linen clothes, and with disdain raised his chin and said: "Victor, when did you get acquainted with such a lowly, uncouth and poor commoner?"

  Although no one in Wolf's direct line of descent had received a title since his great-grandfather, he still had a viscount and several barons among his distant relatives, which allowed him to consider himself a member of the nobility, looking down on Viktor and other musicians of common birth with an air of cold haughtiness. Lucien, being a poor man, was even more contemptible in Wolf's eyes, and his dislike and hatred for Viktor made him feel like he had seen a disgusting rat run onto his dining table whenever he saw Lucien by Viktor's side.

  Lucien's tone towards Wolfe was almost abusive, with only a hint of anger and deep amusement. Wherever there are differences in wealth and status, people will artificially distinguish between "noble" and "vulgar". In this strange world that combines the Renaissance and the Dark Ages, this phenomenon is starkly exposed and even proudly displayed. To change such discrimination can only rely on one's own strength.

  Viktor, a commoner by birth, had an unspoken aversion to Wolf's attitude as well. Frowning, he said seriously, "Mind your words, Wolf. This is Lucien, a student who has recently started learning music from me, ah, a young man with great musical talent."

  Although Viktor himself did not have much prejudice against the poor, the atmosphere and education of the entire world still had a profound impact on him. When introducing Lucien, in order to avoid being discriminated against, coupled with his own dislike for Wolfe, Viktor couldn't help but exaggerate, even though he himself was unclear whether Lucien would be born without a sense of music until now.

  "Hahaha, he, hahahah, does he have musical talent? A lowly plebeian who has never received any musical education or training, will he have musical talent? Viktor, I think you've gone crazy from preparing for the concert." Wolf seemed to have heard a very funny joke, laughing so hard that he lost his composure, leaning forward and backward, his previous gloomy mood completely disappearing, loudly ridiculing Viktor and Lucien.

  Victor didn't expect his kind words to provoke such a strong reaction from Wolf, and while he couldn't help but wonder at the other's intensity, he could only continue to bluff: "Altos is the City of Hymns, the Capital of Music. Every single person here has been blessed by the Lord and nurtured by music. Even among the poor, there are many excellent minstrels. And some people's musical talents are gifts from the Lord, innate and inborn. Later education and training only serve to wipe away the dust that obscures the brilliance of the gemstone, allowing it to shine with its original radiance, don't you think?"

  Wolff laughed and shook his head, pointing at Lucien: "Such a musical genius does exist, but since he has received the blessings of the Lord, the power of the Blood God should be easily awakened. So Princess Natasha is, Count Verdi is, and you, this 'student', what's your name, ah, Lucien? Definitely not! If he can become an excellent musician, I will publicly apologize to you and him in Music Review and never hold a concert again."

  With a sense of pride, Wolf quickly made an affirmative guess, but he was also cautious and deliberately added the word "outstanding" in front of the musician. Anyway, when the time comes, as long as it's not widely recognized as outstanding, even if Viktor brings up this sentence to find himself, he can still deny it.

  According to what Lucien knows these days, Princess Natasha is the only blood heir of Grand Duke Valois, Countess Violet, and this title must be inherited by each Grand Duke before taking office, because the Valois family is the Violet family. Her musical talent is very good, skilled in violin, flute, harpsichord, if not for her identity, she would have become an outstanding musician, of course, as a knight, Natasha is also an exceptional fifth-level great knight, only twenty-five years old, and not far from the rank of Heavenly Knight.

  Count Verdi is also a member of the Violet family, the grand duke's nephew, who has written several excellent compositions and is currently not in his own territory but serves as the highest commander of the city guard in Alto and has just become a fifth-level great knight.

  After finishing speaking, Wolf didn't look at Viktor even once and walked towards the staircase with a smile.

  Victor shook his head in disgust and said to Lucien, "Don't bother with this narrow-minded, sarcastic, and mediocre guy. Just focus on your studies and do well. You go take care of other things this afternoon, and tomorrow morning come find Eirina, let her take you to the library. And from now on, you'll have one day off a week, either Saturday or Sunday, depending on how you discuss it with your fellow librarian. Alright, I'm going to the concert hall."

  Seeing Viktor off, Lucien turned around and handed the contract to Irina: "I'll be troubling you tomorrow, Irina."

  Elena smiled, a faint dimple on the left: "This is my job, Lucien. By the way, don't mind Mr. Wolf, in the Association, most people don't like him, except for those few directors, yes, with titles."

  "Heh heh, Mr. Wolf, who always looks down on us with his chin up, would he be humble and respectful to look at the chins of a few directors?" Lucien made a humorous remark based on Irina's words, making her burst into laughter.

  After exchanging a few words with Irina, Lucien busied himself returning to explore the entrance of the waterway and then took his leave.

  "Lucien!" A few steps away, Lucien suddenly heard Elena's shout and turned around to look at her in confusion.

  Irina clenched her right hand into a small fist and waved it: "Lucien, I believe in you. Even if you can't become a musician, you must become an outstanding performer. Let's see what Mr. Wolfe's expression will be then!"

  Before entering the Musicians' Association, Irina's life was between poverty and common people, so she felt the same way about Wolf's tone just now, very dissatisfied.

  Lucien learned that she waved her fist and perfunctorily said: "Definitely!"

  …………

  At nine o'clock in the evening, except for a few drunks, Adet district was already devoid of human shadows. In the quiet night, there were occasional low barks of stray dogs. For the poor people of this world, it has always been early to bed and early to rise. There is no rich and colorful nightlife at night, and in the morning, they need to get up early and be busy with their daily livelihood.

  At dinner time, Lucien told Uncle Joel and Aunt Elisa the good news that he had found a very good job with Mr. Victor's help, then excused himself to return to his small cottage to meditate and prepare to study the analysis of magic.

  He slipped out of the small hut, quietly closing the wooden door behind him. Lucien's footsteps were light as he made his way to a secluded entrance of the sewer that he had explored in the afternoon. Once he deciphered the four magic arrays, he would be able to set up and use some weakened, auxiliary versions of formal magic with the help of magical materials, such as "Micro-Petrification into Mud". This was useful magic for opening up secret passages from his house to the sewer and building a magical laboratory inside the sewer. By then, he wouldn't have to go in and out and arouse suspicion.

  After patiently observing the surroundings with no one around, Lucien carefully entered the sewer entrance.

  This time, the foul smell, the slippery and dirty surroundings, although still making Lucien uncomfortable, could not stop his enthusiasm for learning magic. He darted through the sewers, searching for secluded corners, and in the Soul Library, he marked out a crude map of the sewer tunnels.

  Moreover, during the process, Lucien also scraped off a lot of moss that emitted a faint glow on the wall and put it in his left trouser pocket. This kind of moss is called "fluorescent moss" and is a casting material for an apprentice-level informal magic spell called "Darkness Sealing Technique".

  As Lucien searched, he found it strange that he still hadn't run into the beggar Correa had told him lived in the sewers. The surroundings were eerily quiet, except for the faint sound of his own footsteps.

  Soon, Lucien found a very suitable place for magic experiments. This was a three-forked road, with the front about a dozen steps away being sealed off by huge rocks, and the left side leading deeper in. As long as one's position was good, it would be easy to discover whether someone was approaching from the left or behind.

  He pinched out a handful of sulfur powder from the right pocket of his linen shirt, and Lucien couldn't help but sigh. If he couldn't become an official magician, just carrying around the materials for spells would be quite troublesome. He only had four kinds, which could still be put in each of the four pockets separately. Those with dozens or hundreds of kinds probably needed a special magic robe with rows of small pockets on the waistband.

  Recalling the analyzed spell structure and his own understanding of the magical construction process, Lucien stretched out his right hand, pinched his fingers together, and a fine sulfur powder slowly fell from his hand. A strange, awkward voice came from his mouth, and his expression was solemn and gloomy under the fluorescent light.