2024-04-28 17:44:25"I'm not trying to scare you, but you haven’t seen old Thorpe's reaction. He was excited when he held that potion bottle. He was stuttering and stammering, saying it was a masterpiece, something for the history books, and more. It was strange..."
The young mage became even more curious. Thorpe was famous in Rebillion City for his potion-making skills, always aiming high. Even the Great Alchemist of the Twin Moons chamber of commerce didn’t impress him, as he usually ignored both old-timers and newcomers.
Solon rarely heard him praise anyone. Just hearing him say “acceptable” was a big deal.
But losing control like this? Talking about future history books...
‘Was the potion that special?’ he wondered.
“You know me, I’m not an expert in potion-making,” Sikoa said, glancing at his disciple. “But Thorpe mentioned that each bottle of this potion might bring another Great Mage to the Sage Tower!”
As he finished, Solon gasped. ‘Forget Masterpiece and history books, this is about Great Mages...’
The Sage Tower had 13 Great Mages, with only 7 residing permanently. The big three had been in hiding for most of the past decade. External affairs and resource conflicts were handled by these seven. In other words, the Sage Tower's status depended a lot on them.
With seven Great Mages...
If Thorpe was right, and each bottle could bring a Great Mage, Solon couldn’t imagine what would happen.
Any power gaining Thorpe's favor could challenge the Sage Tower in Rebillion City. The three big shots knew this. If someone controlled them, destroying the Sage Tower would be easy.
Cold sweat dripped down Solon's forehead at the thought.
On the bright side, Thorpe seemed to prefer staying out of the spotlight. He hadn't revealed his plans yet, sending a young mage with the potion and giving the pass to another young mage.
The key to figuring this out was those two young mages...
Especially Sifa Spellbound. He must be close to the creator, or else Thorpe wouldn't have given him the pass.
‘No wonder Master acted that way…’ Solon thought. ‘If the Twin Moons chamber of commerce was involved in Flint Spellbound's shipwreck and their plot came out, they'd face the wrath of an incredible Great Alchemist...’
As Solon thought, Sikoa ended their discussion. “Given the situation, only a fool would cooperate with the Twin Moons chamber of commerce.”
The young mage suddenly sympathized with the father-son pair. They'd prepared for six months to cooperate with the Sage Tower, only for a potion to overshadow their efforts.
“Okay, I've told you everything. It's up to you to handle it. Don't rely on me. You'll take over my seat sooner or later. Learning to handle these matters is important.”
“Yes, I'll take care of it...”
...
A month passed. Since their discussion in the reception room, Solon kept a close eye on the young mage.
He found the young mage fascinating. His reading range was vast, from light histories to profound Jide Formula knowledge. Solon often wondered if there was any reason behind his choices or if he just read for fun.
Solon wanted to remind him of the rare opportunity in the Sage Tower’s library. Many mages would sell everything for it. Yet he seemed to take it lightly, picking random books daily. Solon feared he might regret it one day.
Today confirmed his fears.
Solon went to the library after breakfast and saw the young mage reading a book with a red-striped cover. ‘Here we go again...’ Solon sighed. It wasn’t light reading; it was at least Great Mage level. For a recent 1st Rank Mage, it was leisurely.
It wasn’t the first time Sifa had done this. Solon even saw him read a silver-striped magic book once, suitable for High Mages. Solon couldn’t bear it. How could a mage not respect knowledge?
Even a book only for Great Mages was just leisurely to him. He wasn’t pondering, just flipping pages with a pleased expression. Solon wondered if he was studying at all.
If only Solon knew he’d guessed right this time...
Caster had tired himself out this month. To quickly understand the current era, he had read through more than a dozen bookshelves. His reading speed was so fast that it would have melted someone else's brain.
Today, when Caster went to the library, he decided to take it easy and not work his brain too hard with boring historical knowledge or comparing magic from different eras. He wanted to find a fun book to read...
So, Caster picked up a book called The Fanrusen Formula. To him, these books for Great Mages were just for fun. It didn't take much effort for him to read page after page. Sometimes, he found mistakes and criticized the errors.
Sitting in the sun, reading and criticizing the author, it was a nice life.
“Tsk tsk tsk, a High Mage who doesn’t know right from wrong, still believing in that seven-string theory? Such a mess...”
“What do you mean by mess?” When Solon approached, he heard the last part and gave Caster a strange look.
“Good morning, Mage Solon. Nothing’s a mess, did you mishear?” Caster raised his head and answered.
“Is that so...” Solon smiled and didn’t say anything else. He had come to remind Caster out of kindness.
Maybe because Caster got his pass too easily, he didn’t seem to appreciate it. His choice of books and attitude while reading seemed too casual. He might regret it later when he aimed to become a Great Mage.
As someone more experienced, Solon didn’t want to see this happen. Sometimes, if an opportunity was missed, it couldn’t be grasped again.
“Mage Spellbound, that...” Solon started talking before hesitating. Although Caster was only a 1st Rank Mage, there might be a Great Alchemist behind him. He couldn’t lecture him in a way that might anger him.
“Eh? What?”
After a moment, Solon said, “It’s not important, I just came to ask if you had any requests. As one of the guests with the highest pass, if you have any requests, we’ll satisfy them.” After this polite opening, Solon paused and then said, “Oh right, Mage Spellbound, do you need any book recommendations? I’ve worked here for two years and know the books.”
Solon felt a bit stuck being so polite to a 1st Rank Mage. He couldn’t help it; there might be a hidden Great Alchemist behind him. Even his teacher Sikoa didn’t want to act without thinking. He had to be careful; if he was too direct, he might annoy Caster.
So, Solon could only sigh inwardly, ‘I’ve given you the chance, it’s up to you whether you take it.’
“How could I trouble you with that…” Caster found it a bit annoying. He had finally decided to take a break. ‘What kind of recommendation can you give me? Are you disturbing me on purpose?’
But declining wasn’t an option because Caster could tell that Solon had good intentions. Thus, Caster could only say a few polite words while thinking of an excuse to brush him off.
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Chapter 248
Producing something like that with the tools he had would be hard—extremely hard.Caster wiped a line of soot from his cheek as he examined the half-sketched blueprint. “If I’m off by even a millimeter,” he muttered, “the detonation won't focus, and all that energy will bleed out before it does anything useful.”He leaned back, tossing the chalk aside. The idea of a hybrid engine still buzzed in his mind, but the practicality? Not so simple.“Maybe I’m overcomplicating things,” he said aloud to no one in particular. “A steam engine would be easier. Just need a water tank and a heating rune—let the pressure do the work.”He tapped the side of the parchment thoughtfully. Steam engines wouldn’t be as powerful, but a simple heating spell was efficient. More importantly, it was consistent.‘Would be nice if I could tweak the heat settings on those spells,’ he thought, standing up and stretching his arms. ‘There’s going to be a lot of trial and error involved… and what for? What would I do
Chapter 247
Caster sat at his workbench, staring at the mess in front of him. Tools were scattered everywhere, papers and sketches covered the surface, and there were notes scribbled in every corner. It all felt overwhelming. His fingers tapped the wood of the table, a soft rhythm that couldn’t drown out the restlessness gnawing at him.There was so much he had to do. So many ideas, so many things he wanted to build. But where to start? His mind was a storm of thoughts, and none of them seemed to stick long enough to make sense.He muttered to himself, almost as if trying to remind himself why he was still here. "If I’m going to stay in this city, I might as well make the most of it," he said quietly, his voice raspy with exhaustion. "Maybe I’ll find something here. Something worth the effort."Caster shifted his gaze toward the window. Down below, the street was alive with people, carts rolling by, voices shouting, children playing. The city pulsed with energy. But it was the construction site
Chapter 246
“It is okay Wayland, do you have any further issues you wish to discuss before venturing head into the project?” Caster questioned, calmness lining his tone remarkably despite the nervous tapping of his fingers on the workbench. There was still some haze and the smell of the lightly coloured sawdust and the sharper than apple smell of oiled metal. The foreman mulled it over for a few moments, digging the jagged claws of his sweat-streaked hands through the coarse beard on his coppery face. His eyes moved on the workers who preparing some equipment around them and their voices were just ringing low as communication only. “Well, I do not know that directly without a second thought,” was his response but there was a brief moment of a shadow crossing his eyes to tell a different story. “However, do not hesitate to let me know if you have any ideas in your mind when the proceeding starts.” Caster hesitated, his thoughts swirling. His workshop had always been a sanctuary—a place where
Chapter 245
Caster was mature enough to see the world as it was. He understood that most younger folk saw it through a lens of hope and ambition, their dreams of treasure and fame setting them apart from his more grounded approach. Some were from humble beginnings: sons and daughters of farmers; young people from families that were better off but that had fallen on hard times and now were boy or girl determined to claw back some of that perceived lost respect, no matter the price."My jaw twisted into a small smirk as I imagined their wide eyes and wide, baseless plans and all they think is, ‘Get some gold, a shiny sword, you’ll be a hero.’" It was the same story, time and again: things that were often only dreams, rarely aligning with reality.Lowfield had been a deliberate choice despite what she had become. Knowing full well it wouldn’t be clear, he took the fast route but he took the fast route. The road taught him about its steep hills, its rocky passages and on occasion, the unfriendly tra
Chapter 244
The early morning breeze bit into the cloak and the underdress at Caster’s shoulders as he walked the narrow cobblestone path into Lowfield. Today he had gotten rid of his imposing helmet and heavy armor. Dawn's fresh smell of its own earth together mingling with the familiar taste of his workshop on his clothes. He wasn’t hiding his identity, or painful silence had been left behind, today. Today was about remembering the life that kept breathing after his magesmith-tools stopped.The caravan had added liveliness to the town which reminded me of festival time, the town was waking up. Some of the faces settling onboard Caster recognised—newcomers amongst the adventurers. With fresh ambitions and none of the resolve yet tested, they walked on their own journey wide eyed and reminded him of the person he used to be. He watched the newcomers with a kind of quiet amusement, catching snippets of eager chatter about dungeons and imagined battles, bravado thick in the air.A young man, prob
Chapter 243
Casting his small treaty of provisions, a load of stale bread crusts, some wrinkled fruits, and a hard wedge of cheese that once lived on a more hospitable broke surviving clunk to clunk. He made a gagging noise as he peered at the dried meat again and poked it with distaste. "Wouldn't it kill the fates to give me a real meal?" Just once. Something hot, even." He sneaked a look over at where a stove should be, the ones that made his mouth water when a hearty stew bubbled away. For a moment he smirked, "No stove yet … maybe I could conjure a magical pan up." "Oil might be asking for a miracle."Peering out the window he squinted at the city in the early light. Carts creaked along cobbled paths and vendors hawked fresh fish and newly baked bread in the place I had walked into, even now. He’d done a lot with the house in the week that he’d been there, turning it into something livable, barely. "What the hell?' he murmured, 'Doors actually close now' he concluded feeling a bit more proud
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