After that, Armad felt relieved. It was as if a heavy burden was taken off his chest.
He returned to the room and woke Inara up. They ate together and then headed for the pol market in the city. Armad used a turban to cover his face. Even though he didn't have any problem with people identifying him in the palace, the people in the city were different. Anybody who recognized him would no doubt hand him over to the authority even just for the money. He refused to believe that everyone would just ignore 1.5million ayrids.
Still, that wouldn't stop him from living his life. Armad had planned to start teaching Inara today.
As they arrived in the market, a white-clad guard showered them in without any scrutiny.
Armad and Inara found a small shop selling materials. The man on the counter was short with long white eyebrows. Seeing them standing in front of his shop, he looked up and said, "Welcome, dear customers, what can I get you today? We have all kinds of goods including demon remains, dordor nails, Ururu tomatoes, djinn woods, and even djinn bones."
Armad replied, "We want two djinn kinds of wood: fire-style and lightning-style."
The man looked into the store to make sure he had the items and then turned to them and said, "A hundred ayrids for each."
As the man talked, he kept looking at Armad, feeling like he knew him from somewhere. But he just couldn't put his hands on it. Maybe he could remember if the man in question removed the turban covering his face.
Armad could see the man trying to identify him, so he looked away from him and covered his face further.
Inara paid for the items. For some reason, Armad felt he should be the one making the purchase. However, he didn't have any money. Perhaps, it was time to start looking for ways to make some money.
After buying the woods, they left the market and returned to the palace. They went to the special training grounds in the palace. A day before, commander Djinn had given them the clearance to enter most of the palace so they had no problem with the guards there.
The training ground was a bit different from the commercial ones. Small rings were built inside the training ground with each ring surrounded by a long, thick wall. There were some flashy runes drawn on the walls to fortify them.
Armad and his student picked one and entered.
He gave Inara one of the woods and asked him to inspect it. It was small and smooth. A mild feeling of danger radiated from its surface.
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The wood had many uses for Bending and one of its uses was to determine the power of the demon that a person possessed.
Inara produced a small ball of fire in his hand and hit the wood with it. The fireball disappeared inside. The boy waited for a moment before he fired another ball, which was absorbed by the wood as well. It went on for the next few minutes before the wood changed color from white to red. Inara stopped producing the fireballs and just stared at the wood, waiting anxiously. Armad watched silently from the side.
A few seconds later, the number 'four' written in Aldurish dialect appeared on the wood. It meant the maximum power Inara could achieve using his djinn was level four. Inara was overjoyed and he jumped excitedly. On the other hand, Armad just sighed.
It was a long time before Inara realized something was wrong and calmed down. "Is there a problem, teacher?" He asked.
Armad didn't hide his feelings, directly saying, "At least there are six levels of connections between djinns and humans. The sixth level is the strongest. And you are happy with just level 4. Do you think you can ever compete with someone on the 5th or 6th levels? You may not have a problem if you just want to learn the basics and go back to the sea, but you still have to reach the peak as long as you are with me. That's the only way I'll be proud to call you my student. "
Armad pulled out his sword and ordered Inara to unsheathe his sword so they could begin training from the first step. No elemental Bending was used on that day. Armad focused on teaching the boy simple swordplay.
It was later in the afternoon when Armad dismissed Inara. After the boy left, Armad retrieved the other wood from his pocket and poured lightning into it.
The wood turned green. Then Armad's number appeared on it. It was the number 'six' in Aldurish. Two of them even - one number on the left side and the other on the right side.
Armad no longer have a djinn in him and his lightning came from his body, so it wasn't difficult for him to reach the sixth level. But why did he have two numbers? He'd never heard of such a thing.
At that moment, Ilias, Spoon, and Inara ran into the training area. They looked excited for some reason.
"Good news, Armad," Spoon said excitedly. "There is a way to find out if Nusi is in the equatora or not."
Armad carefully hid the wood in his pocket and then said, "Really?"
Ilias nodded and explained, "The Ururu headquarters in the seventh world record the names of all the people in the equatora and the wall prison in a book they called Register. If we get to the Register, we will know if Nusi is really in the equatora. Get ready if you want to go, we'll be leaving tomorrow morning."
Armad frowned at the man's last statement. Of course, he would go. "Nothing can stop me from finding her? Don't forget I'm the reason she went missing," Armad said, smiling. "Although, we may have to get the Register in the next six days. I have an appointment with someone in seven days."
"Is it the princess?" Ilias asked. He knew Armad wouldn't give up so easily.
"Yes..." Armad only realized it after answering the question.
Spoon burst out laughing. "Someone is finally admitting he's in love. Don't worry, young Armad. I know exactly how you feel."
They laughed and patted each other on the shoulder.
"Alright." Armad looked at them seriously. "Whoever calls the name Nostalgia or princess again won't be putting his stuff in my spatial ring. I wonder how someone will carry his extra baggage of food on his head."