Chapter 23: The Mage Apprentice's Surprise

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After sunrise, Lide Kachar boarded the carriage of the Golden Wheat Commerce.

The guards and merchants of the Golden Wheat Commerce who had suffered greatly should have shown low spirits and dejection... after all, they had been robbed.

But at this moment, it was quite the opposite. Among the merchants traveling together in several groups, the guards of the Golden Wheat Commerce, dressed in their tattered clothes and damaged carriages, were all smiling and in high spirits.

This puzzled many people. They had clearly encountered robbers; why were they so joyful?

Goddess above, these people must have gone mad.

But once they learned the details, they were both envious and jealous.

It turned out that the Advanced Mage of the Mage Association, Lord Lide Kachar, had acquired the Golden Wheat Commerce.

These bumpkins were about to have some good fortune. A commerce protected by an advanced mage would undoubtedly fare much better in Green City.

The scene they envied appeared immediately.

When passing through the city gate of Green City, as usual, the guard officer prepared to stop the Golden Wheat Commerce.

Though it was clear that this unfortunate lot had been robbed, it didn't stop them from planning to extort some money from these merchants.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lide appeared, his luxurious magical robe instantly silencing the guard officer who was about to speak.

Damn it, how could the Golden Wheat Commerce have a mage?! These haughty lords were even more troublesome than the nobles.

His expression immediately turned into a fawning smile, "Master Mage, forgive me, I didn't expect you to be with the Golden Wheat Commerce."

Lide replied indifferently, "From today onwards, the Golden Wheat Commerce will be under the protection of the Crimson Mage Tower; future entries and exits will follow the kingdom's laws for fees."

The Crimson Mage Tower?

At these words, the guard team did not dare say more. That was a mage tower established by an advanced mage. Could this be the legendary genius mage, Master Lide Kachar?

"Please proceed, from now on, the Golden Wheat Commerce will no longer be stopped by Green City soldiers. Rest assured."

The guard officer displayed utmost humility, with none of his earlier arrogance in front of the other merchants.

As figures standing atop the pyramid like nobles, mages enjoyed privileges that ordinary merchants and civilians could not compare to.

No gate-guarding soldier, no matter how bold, would dare extort an advanced mage.

Lide nodded, casually tossing out a Gold Puck, which floated before the guard officer under the control of Mage's Hand.

"This is your reward."

A Gold Puck? The guard officer had not expected such an unexpected joy, as it was more than two months of his salary.

Excitedly, he quickly accepted it and commanded the personnel behind to let the convoy through.

After Lide left, the guard officer immediately boasted proudly to the dozen or so soldiers beside him.

"Did you see that? This is the reward from a mage lord. Compared to those filthy peasants and merchants, this is the true noble style. Today, I'm treating everyone to drinks at the Azalea Flower Pavilion to taste the flower of Green City.

From now on, keep your eyes sharp. The Golden Wheat Commerce is not to be stopped anymore."

The guard officer's words instantly stirred up a commotion among the gate soldiers.

The nearby merchants watched this scene with faces full of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Half a day later.

The carriage carrying Lide stopped in front of the Crimson Mage Tower, while the rest of the carriages had already returned to the Golden Wheat Commerce.

Laurent opened the wooden carriage door and respectfully set up the short ladder for dismounting.

"Lord Lide, please."

Lide did not decline, stepping off the carriage in a few strides.

Looking up, the twenty-five-blade-high crimson mage tower appeared exceedingly magnificent.

The Crimson Mage Tower.

It was the first time Lide had seriously observed this mage tower that completely belonged to him.

The cylindrical tower had a square spire at the top, and the reddish alchemy materials of the outer walls possessed excellent magic conduction properties, enabling faster magic power accumulation.

Building this mage tower had cost him a whole 1000 Gold Pucks, and many precious magic materials were sponsored by the Mage Association for free. If converted into Gold Pucks, the cost could potentially triple.

In front of the Crimson Mage Tower was a wide bluestone ground. Passersby subconsciously avoided it even though there were no marks forbidding passage, the reputation of mages made them instinctively keep their distance.

"Follow me inside."

"Yes, Lord Lide."

After crossing the bluestone ground and climbing twelve steps, Lide used Mage's Hand to push open the five-blade-high mage tower door.

The mage tower door was engraved with as many as ten magic arrays, requiring specific magical power to open.

Mage's Hand, being the simplest phase-one spell, was essential for mage apprentices. Therefore, Lide had designated Mage's Hand as the key to open the Crimson Mage Tower.

Only by inputting a specific amount of magic power could the door be pushed open with Mage's Hand. Otherwise, one could only press the magic doorbell outside or wait for someone from the mage tower to come out.

Sometimes Lide found himself reflecting on this world, maybe lacking modernized objects, but clearly walking a different path. The derived uses of magic also had their merits.

Entering the mage tower, the first floor of the hall was the spacious area most favored by mage apprentices.

The space was large enough to practice magic without worrying about damaging items or triggering magic arrays.

Upon seeing Lide's return, over ten apprentices in the hall immediately stopped what they were doing and respectfully saluted him.

"Lord Lide."

"Welcome back, Lord Lide."

"Lord Lide, I'll pour you some tea."

Lide nodded slightly, signaling toward Laurent, who was looking around curiously.

"From now on, the Crimson Mage Tower will be the controller of the Golden Wheat Commerce.

This is Laurent, responsible for the Golden Wheat Commerce. You may get acquainted; you'll be interacting frequently in the future."

The group of mage apprentices all looked curiously at Laurent. This was the first time the Crimson Mage Tower accepted an outside commerce.

Previously, Lide had been indifferent to everything except magic.

"Koli, go fetch Veina for me, and also take Laurent to the Contract Temple to purchase a contract."

The Contract Temple, established by the believers of the God of Contract and Justice, sold contracts recognized by the God of Contract.

Once a contract was signed, if someone broke it, they would be punished by the God of Contract and Justice.

Thus, signing contracts had become a common scene in commercial activities.

A young man stepped forward, leading Laurent away.

Watching the hopeful gazes of the mage apprentices, Lide paused,

then realized that the Blood Clan Ancestor had completely neglected teaching this group of mage apprentices.

Seeing the desire in their eyes, he hesitated for a moment but was moved by their thirst for knowledge.

In the center of the first floor of the mage tower, over twenty seats were arranged. Lide stepped to the main seat.

Today, I'll give these little ones a lesson.

"Alright, since I have some time today, you can ask me any questions about magic. You have two days' time."

The room fell silent, everyone looked at him in disbelief.

The apprentices had thought Lide would leave as usual, but didn't expect him to voluntarily offer to guide them in magic.

This was the first time in three years.

"Lord Lide, are you serious?"

Seeing their cautious eyes, Lide's mouth twitched. The Blood Clan Ancestor really didn't regard these apprentices as humans before.

"Nonsense, sit down quickly. If you don't want to ask, I'll leave."

Confirming Lide's words, everyone hurriedly sat down in order, looking at him excitedly.

Although Lide had been involved with magic for a shorter time than these mage apprentices, he had the Blood Clan Ancestor's memories, so answering some usual magic questions was manageable.

"Lord Lide, why does Mage's Hand produce inconsistent effects when casting?"

"Cast it for me to see? Hmm, your problem is uneven magic power control. Remember, casting magic must follow a specific amount of magic power to operate the magic model. If the magic power amount is incorrect, several scenarios can occur.

One, the spell fails, unable to activate the magic model.

Two, if the magic power is excessive, the magic model collapses, causing spell backlash.

Three, like your situation, different magic power amounts lead to differing spell effects despite successful casting.

The solution is simple, just practice controlling your magic power, casting spells to find the optimal magic power output point."

Lide spoke eloquently without hesitation.

"So, that's how it is. Lord Lide surely gained significant insights on this trip, otherwise he couldn't explain it so thoroughly."

"That's truly impressive~."

The group of mage apprentices' eyes lit up. For them, after entering the mage tower, it was the first time Lide personally guided them in magic.

Usually, Lide would at most hand them the magic models to practice on their own. Not only would he not explain in detail like now, but he was also reluctant to answer when errors occurred.

Because of this, several apprentices had suffered serious injuries from magic backlash due to practice errors.

But they had no complaints. To be accepted into the mage tower and study the mysterious magic was already a blessing from the Goddess of Luck.

Seeing the eager eyes of the apprentices, Lide shook his head slightly.

The Blood Clan Ancestor simply didn't intend to teach these apprentices, only using them as a cover for his status. Without his arrival, even the most talented of these apprentices would struggle to become true mages.

"What a waste, these mage apprentices are precious resources."

Although the Blood Clan was naturally adept at spellcasting, in Green City, raising a cadre of competent mages would greatly benefit him.

In any world, talent is the most precious resource.

And in this world, spellcasters undoubtedly occupy the highest echelon.

Taking advantage of the time, he decided to genuinely instruct this batch of apprentices. If the Blood Clan Ancestor wouldn't use them, he certainly would.

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