Above the mage

Chapter 133 Gerica and the Opportunity

Because he drank the "water of no leakage," his hunger decreased significantly, and Gaode didn't even eat breakfast today.

However, no matter how miraculous the "leak-free water" was, it couldn't enable him to abstain from grains.

After a busy morning, Gaode was still a bit hungry.

With 91 gold and 6 silver coins, my savings are already running low. I can't afford to spend too much money on food anymore; I'll just eat whatever's enough to fill my stomach.

On his way to the college cafeteria, Gao De said to himself.

Half an hour later.

At the restaurant entrance, Gao De glanced at the signboard placed to the side as he stepped through the door.

The menu lists the restaurant's specialties for the day.

"Today's Specialty: Bald Eagle Rice, 10 Silver/serving"

Five minutes later.

"Sir, your bald eagle corn is carefully prepared, please enjoy!"

The restaurant staff served a mysterious dish called "Bald Eagle Rice" to Gaode's table.

We can't spend too much money on food.

But this is a vulture!

I've only seen it a few times, let alone eaten it.

While trying to justify himself, Gao De observed the extremely unusual dish.

The so-called "bald eagle stuffed rice" is actually somewhat similar to the "chicken stuffed rice" of the previous life. Both involve stuffing staple food into the belly of poultry and then cooking them together.

However, here they are using vultures.

What was stuffed inside was not white rice, but hulled wheat and saffron, and then covered with a spicy seasoning similar to chili peppers.

Gao De took a deep breath and first scooped up a spoonful of the soft, sweet wheat grains that had been steamed inside the vulture's belly and put them into his mouth.

The sweetness of wheat, the fragrance of saffron, the spiciness of seasonings, and the indescribable meaty aroma of the vulture itself intertwine, instantly bringing an unprecedented experience to Gaode's taste buds.

You're awesome!

Gao De gave the restaurant's head chef a fierce compliment, while also admitting that his wallet had shrunk even further.

After lunch, Gaode's next destination was the college's library.

Actually, he had wanted to go for a long time.

However, he was not considered a formal student of the academy until he completed the enrollment tasks.

Those who are not formal students cannot enjoy the privileges that belong to students, including borrowing books from the library.

The library of Cyrus College is an ancient stone building, one of the oldest buildings in the college, with a history of over a thousand years.

After thousands of years of accumulation, it is said that the library now houses more than 8,000 books.

—This number doesn’t seem like much, after all, in my previous life, even an ordinary middle school library could have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of books.

But in this world, books are truly "luxury goods," not everyday items.

With a library containing over 8,000 books, there is no other library in the entire Duchy of Sien.

Stepping through the doors of the library, you are immediately enveloped by an atmosphere unique to "library".

The library has only two floors, and with Gaode's access privileges, all the books on the first floor are free for him.

Gao De's gaze swept over the books displayed on the first-floor bookshelf.

These books range from ancient parchment scrolls to exquisite hardcover editions, all exuding a rich historical charm.

However, as Committee Member Lal explained, although most of the books in the library are free for Gaode to access, they are mostly general books or the experience and theories of predecessors.

Truly valuable knowledge, even for students, requires "payment to purchase," and cannot be borrowed for free in the library.

It seems that Seres Academy is being too stingy with its students.

But in fact it is not the case.

Because in this world, due to the monopoly of knowledge, those high-level mages or powerful forces who possess knowledge mostly keep it tightly hidden, and ordinary people cannot buy it even if they have money.

Being able to pay for knowledge is often a huge benefit.

Gaode didn't think too much about it.

For him, even those general books were extremely valuable.

He has never denied his "country bumpkin" identity.

As a student admitted with the highest level of privilege, Gaode enjoys the privilege of borrowing up to ten books from its collection free of charge at one time, as well as a handwritten copy of a collection of previous people's experiences and theories.

Furthermore, the borrowing period has been extended from half a month for regular students to two months.

He did not hesitate to use his "privileges".

After careful selection, he chose ten books covering multiple fields, including history and law books of the Principality of Sien, as well as general books on finance, agriculture, etiquette, and other areas:

"A General History of Sean", "A Compilation of the Laws of the Principality of Sean", "A Comprehensive Overview of Sean Culture", "Etiquette and Social Norms", and "Agriculture and Weather".

Finally, Gaode also saw an article titled "Some Speculations on the Awakening of Expertise" written by "Bio Otero", which seemed to be his graduation project article.

Regardless of who this "Bjørn Otero" is or whether this article contains any real substance, at least the title has caught Gaode's attention.

Therefore, he gave it his quota for borrowing handwritten copies of previous people's experience and theories.

After swiping his ID badge and borrowing a thick stack of books from the library, Gaode headed to his "dormitory".

He wanted to put these books back in Building 30, Section 1 first.

Because if books borrowed from the library are lost or damaged, the borrower will have to pay for them.

In this world, even general-purpose books cost an average of 2 gold coins or more.

Surprisingly, Gaode ran into Jerica on the road in front of Building 30.

As Gerica, who entered the academy with the same top-tier treatment as him, also had her "dormitory" in Zone 1.

It's just that Gao De and Gerika followed different paths during their enrollment missions, and the timing was also different, so they never met in the first district.

But I never expected to run into him here today.

After the provocation by Rigley Harrell at the restaurant two weeks ago, Gao De gradually understood what "highest treatment" meant at Cyrus Academy.

In contrast, he received the "highest treatment" purely based on "letters of recommendation."

While a small part of Gerica's "top treatment" stemmed from her connections, the vast majority came from her own efforts.

From this, Gao De understood just how outstanding Jelica's mage talent truly was.

Putting everything else aside, the fact that she had already reached the level of a third-class mage apprentice three years ago when she was only thirteen years old is enough to give us a glimpse into her abilities.

Keep in mind that he is only thirteen years old and is still struggling at the second-level mage apprentice level.

Looking at Gerika's exhausted face, God knew she must have just returned from Creeper Cliff.

Aside from him, who broke the record by mining clams, the other five freshmen from the same cohort are still struggling to mine, with less than half the progress made.

After hesitating for a moment, Gaode still took the initiative to greet them.

Regardless, he still owes Gerica a favor, and now that they've met, he's ignoring her. It just doesn't make sense.

This was the first time the two had met alone.

When Gao De greeted her, Gerica's eyes darted around, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

"Should I call you Google Master, or Gaode?" she said casually.

"You've been holding it in for a while, haven't you?" Gaode found it somewhat amusing.

When they first met at Creepy Cliff, he could tell that Gerika was full of doubts about her presence at Seres Academy and the name "Gold".

Gao De also planned to tell the truth whenever Gerika asked.

But Gerica kept it to herself and never asked God, as if she didn't know him at all.

"I'm sorry, I had to use a pseudonym while in Bremen because I offended some people and was worried about being retaliated against," Gao De explained. "Now that I've left Bremen, I don't have to worry about that anymore, so I'm going to use my real name again."

"I didn't mean to deceive you, Miss Gerica," he apologized sincerely.

"Hmph," Gerica snorted, letting the matter drop.

It wasn't a big deal to begin with, and since Gaode had made his stance clear, she naturally didn't care anymore.

"I didn't realize that besides your superb restoration skills, you also have a unique method of harvesting oysters." Gerica's words were a mixture of praise, annoyance, and envy.

Clearly, the introductory task caused her considerable trouble.

"How far along is Miss Gerica's enrollment assignment?"

Since the topic had come up, Gaode casually asked about it.

"It's less than 1300 kilograms." Gerica became even more exhausted when she mentioned this.

"Then what?" Gao De asked, puzzled.

Since the task is not yet completed, and it's only past noon, why is Gerica stopping work early?

"I'm tired," Gerica said expressionlessly.

Despite her family background, she has been receiving stamina-restoring potions every day.

But the potion only restores physical strength.

Repeating the same "mining" day after day brings a mental exhaustion that no potion can restore.

A proper balance between work and rest is undoubtedly necessary.

Being too tense will drive you crazy sooner or later.

Gao De quickly realized what Gerica meant by "tired".

He was a little embarrassed.

Compared to the tedious mining, the reward-based activity of clam harvesting significantly reduced his fatigue.

Therefore, Gaode was in high spirits throughout the entire enrollment process, only experiencing physical fatigue.

He couldn't empathize with Gerika because he had never even mined a single ore...

Moreover, he was powerless to help Gerika with her enrollment task.

The college has clearly stipulated that the enrollment process cannot be carried out by outsiders.

etc.

As his thoughts wandered, Gao De suddenly remembered something.

"Miss Gerica, wait here for me," he said.

"Um?"

Gao De didn't bother to explain, used the key to open the door of Building 30, and quickly walked inside.

A moment later, he came out with a small tin kettle in his hand.

"Here you go." Gao De handed the water bottle to Gerika.

"What's this?" Gerica asked, taking the kettle with a frown.

"It's a good thing; drinking it can relieve fatigue," Gao De said with a smile.

Gerica opened the kettle lid with a hint of skepticism, then sniffed and could already smell the peculiar fragrance emanating from it.

"Water without leakage".

Such a pleasant fragrance, even she had never smelled it before.

Is it some kind of unique drink?

After a slight hesitation, a very faint, almost imperceptible glint flashed in Gerica's eyes.

[Detecting toxicity].

After confirming that it was non-toxic, Gerica held the water bottle to her lips and took a small, symbolic sip.

Just that one bite made her beautiful eyes light up instantly.

She had never tasted anything so delicious before.

So Gerica, who was only going to take a small sip, ended up drinking the "leak-free water" in the kettle all at once.

Gerica looked a little embarrassed as she looked at the empty tin kettle.

This behavior is not ladylike.

"It tastes very good." She used the compliment to cover up her embarrassment.

Gao De smiled slightly, "It's not just the taste that's good."

He didn't say much.

No matter how much I say, it's not as direct as Gerica personally experiencing the specific effects of the "leak-free water" later.

(End of this chapter)