Above the mage

Chapter 199 Inheritance (Part 2)

Gao De left the library in a good mood.

Another major task has been accomplished.

Gao De felt that apart from the start, his luck had actually been pretty good.

Especially after entering Seres Academy, he encountered quite a few helpful people.

Whether it was Gerica who gave her a large sum of money, or her mentor Hosie O'Kenley.

"I should tell my mentor the good news about advancing to the next level," Gao De thought to himself.

After successfully upgrading his ring yesterday, he first went through the procedures at the committee and then went to the library.

After finishing these tasks, it was already quite late, so he didn't bother He west.

Such an important matter should be informed to the supervisor immediately.

Therefore, Gao De immediately headed towards Gavin Tower, which belonged to the Rune System.

As he entered the building, he walked in as usual.

However, the already quiet Gavin Building was, for some reason, even more deserted today, with not a single person in sight.

He only found the door to the rune workshop closed when he arrived at it.

In front of the workspace, he saw several people dressed in the uniforms of Cyrus Academy, who should be official staff members of the academy.

They didn't have access to the rune workshop's magic circle, so they couldn't go in and just waited outside the gate.

"A Gaode student?" one of the middle-aged men leading the group asked upon seeing the newcomers.

"Yes."

"I have something to inform you: Director He west has fallen ill."

Gao De clenched his fists tightly.

The word "illness" lingered in his mind.

He couldn't describe the feeling; it was just a strange pang of sadness in his heart.

Perhaps it was because he clearly understood what it would mean for Hosie, at his age, to fall ill.

"Where is my mentor now?" Gao De asked in a low voice.

As I left Gavin House, a light drizzle began to fall.

Gao De remained silent and hurried towards the academy's clinic.

"We must do everything we can to treat Director He Xi. He has dedicated himself to the academy for so many years, and now he has collapsed from exhaustion. The academy has failed him!"

Inside the clinic, a middle-aged male monk with a sharp and sarcastic appearance was spitting as he shouted loudly, as if afraid others wouldn't hear him.

He appears to be the vice chairman of the college committee.

The fairly spacious corridor of the clinic was packed with people.

Gao De glanced at the faces and recognized many of them from Gavin Building.

These are all the rune system instructors; most of them are here.

Besides them, there are also people from the college committee.

"Why are you so late!"

The speaker was Donnie Erther, the current top student in the Rune Department. He spoke arrogantly, adopting a condescending attitude as he launched into a scathing critique.

"As Professor Hosie's only student at the moment, he's been sick all night, and you're only arriving now?"

As Donnie Erther made his accusations, everyone in the corridor turned their gaze involuntarily towards him.

Gaode acted as if he hadn't heard and didn't choose to respond to Donnie.

He walked straight to the door and asked the monk standing there about the situation.

"How is Professor He west doing now?"

The monk shook his head. "The situation is not optimistic."

Gao De made a move to push the door open and go in, wanting to check on He Xi's current situation, but unexpectedly a hand reached out and blocked the door.

"Director He west said he doesn't want to be disturbed and needs to rest well."

It was that vice chairman, who was looking at Gao De with an unfriendly expression.

Although Gao De didn't know where his hostility came from, it was obvious that this person was not friendly to him.

Gao De frowned, about to say something.

At that moment, He west's familiar voice came from inside the door.

"Is this Gaode Maps? Let him in."

This scene feels strangely familiar.

They are separated by only one door.

It's just that back then it was in the rune workshop, and that old voice wasn't as weak as it is now.

Gao De looked up at the vice chairman's hand pressing on the door, but didn't say anything.

"Hmph!" The vice chairman shook off his hand in dissatisfaction.

No one stopped him, and Gaode pushed open the door to go in.

His hand paused abruptly, and he softened his movements considerably.

The room was fairly spacious, with a large bed and a table.

Gao De took two steps forward and came to the bedside.

He west was lying in bed, looking unwell, with his eyes slightly closed, as if he were resting.

"Here you are." He opened his eyes and looked at Gao De when he came in.

"Mentor." Gao De looked at He west, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

It was only recently that he and He west became truly familiar with each other and began to have exchanges outside of talisman literature.

But that time was too short.

"I successfully advanced to the first rank of mage yesterday," he said.

Upon hearing this, He west's cloudy eyes brightened instantly.

"Excellent, excellent," he praised repeatedly, but then waved his hand and said, "Please sit down."

At the same time, He west propped himself up on the bed and sat up.

He Xi is very old.

Gaode had previously noticed that the old man's face was showing more and more yellowish-brown spots.

Unexpectedly, the elderly man who had fallen ill was now unusually radiant.

"I'm afraid I won't make it this time."

As soon as he stood up, He west's first words silenced Gao De.

"I sent someone to call you last night, why did it take you so long?" he asked.

Gao De was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "No one came to notify me."

"How could that be?" He west's subconscious question came to an abrupt halt.

He understood something.

He west said "Oh" and then let out a long sigh after a while.

"The interference constant is correct," he said. "I was afraid I wouldn't have time to tell you, so I hurriedly sent someone to call you last night."

After saying that, He west smiled contentedly.

As he was laughing, he suddenly coughed violently.

He coughed as he rummaged through his clothes and pulled out a parchment and a contract.

"for you."

Gao De accepted the parchment and the contract.

The parchment was a will.

The date on the document is from the beginning of this year.

The contract was the agreement that Hosie signed with Dean Gavin.

The deed states that the Rune Workshop is permanently transferred to Hoshi, and below it are Dean Gavin's seal and the official seal of Cyrus Academy.

"The Rune Workshop is yours, including everything inside, my data, materials, and research results."

"In my final days, finding a successor would be a way to give an account of what I've researched over the past few centuries."

"This is the secret command for the rune workshop's magic array; remember it."

"I could have left you some money," He west said, "but in the end, I used up all my savings to verify the interference constant."

"I also left something with the St. Sein City branch of the Oakenley Chamber of Commerce, which is also for you, but I didn't write it in my will."

"Don't let outsiders know about this, and remember to keep it a secret."

Gao De put down the parchment, looked at the old man with a strange look in his eyes, and remained silent for a long time.

Hosie muttered to himself:

"From a young age, I studied alchemy with my father. My aptitude was mediocre, neither particularly good nor bad."

"Later, when I was sixteen, my father died in an accident while testing alchemical weapons for the family. From then on, I developed a dislike for alchemy."

"But my family is renowned for its alchemy skills. How can I, as a member of the family, reject alchemy?"

"I can only try my best to hide my aversion to alchemy."

"It wasn't until I was twenty that I first came into contact with rune literature, and I discovered what I was truly interested in. From then on, I was completely hooked." The old man's throat tightened, and his eyes began to dart around.

"When I was thirty, I became a second-tier rune master. It wasn't that it took me ten years to become a second-tier rune master, but rather my mage level that limited my speed in becoming a second-tier rune master."

"At that time, I wondered, why is it that among all the skills of a mage, the art of talismanic arts is specifically restricted by the mage's rank?"

"In 9326, when I was thirty-five, I discovered that there might be logic and rules in the arrangement of runes."

"I began to devote myself entirely to the study of rune rules."

"In 9365, I was seventy-four years old. After thirty-nine years of research, the mage level remained unchanged, but I made a preliminary discovery of the six major rules. Although they were not complete, they were already taking shape."

"I submitted the results of my 39 years of work to my family, but they didn't even pass the initial review and were thrown out like garbage."

"I returned home dejected and remained depressed for a long time. In a fit of anger, I threw the achievement into the trash heap, unaware that my mother had secretly retrieved it."

In 9366, when I had already abandoned the six fundamental rules of runes, my mother excitedly ran back to tell me that someone in the family had recognized my research findings.

I believed it to be true, but I waited and waited, and nothing came of it.

"Later, I swallowed my pride and inquired around, only to find out that my mother had used my father's pension to bribe the family's auditors, which allowed my discarded work to be sent into the family's Ling Si Lou."

"Isn't it ridiculous? Nearly forty years of research results passed the initial review through bribery, but in the end, they still couldn't escape being regarded as garbage."

"Then, for twenty-three years, I locked myself in my room and never went out, nor did I touch runes again, the subject I thought I would dedicate my life to."

"In the spring of 9389, my mother fell ill. Before she passed away, she held my hand and said that she believed my research results were remarkable and hoped that I would prove them to everyone. It was not that my results were not good, but that their vision was not good."

"I know her intention was never to prove anything; she wouldn't care about any of that."

"All she ever cared about was her child. She just knew about the pain I'd endured over the years by giving up runes, and she wanted to help me escape that pain and get back on my feet."

"She never understood what I was researching; she just believed her child was good."

"That year, I was already ninety-eight years old, yet I was still immature, even causing my mother to worry about me before she passed away. Gao De, do you think I was unfilial?"

He west's breathing became increasingly rapid.

"Let bygones be bygones," Gao De said, holding the old man's hands tightly.

"But we can't get through," He west murmured.

"After my mother passed away, I left the family and went far away to bury myself in the study of the six basic rules of runes."

"During that time, I traveled to many places and countries, and finally settled down at Cyrus College."

"I'm so lucky to have met you in the last days of my life."

"With your help, I did it. I proved that the six fundamental rules of runes are correct and exist, but it's too late. She can't see it."

From 9389 to 9656, countless upheavals and hardships have been condensed into the few words spoken by He west at this moment.

"She can't see it anymore, so what's the point of me doing it?"

"People say I'm stubborn, you say I'm pure, I accept it all. Actually... I've had regrets. If I had never come into contact with runes, and had stayed by her side instead, would the ending have been better?"

It is said that a virtuous person has no shame in his life.

But who can truly live a life without any regrets?

"She never blamed you," Gao De said softly, trying to comfort him.

A mother's tolerance is the breeding ground for genius.

"But I blame myself," the old man's voice had become indistinct, and his breath was getting shorter.

The old man's hand suddenly tightened in Gao De's hands.

"Mother--"

With his last ounce of strength, he let out a soft shout.

This was the first and last sentence Hosie spoke after coming into this world.

The clenched fist gradually softened.

Hosie O'Kenley closed his eyes.

Gao De lowered his head and remained silent.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death always happen suddenly and without reason.

The light rain outside the window suddenly stopped.

The air felt suffocating, as if it had been squeezed shut.

Gao De remained stunned for a long time before he could process the sad news of the old man's passing.

He stood up, pushed open the door, and addressed everyone still waiting outside.

"Professor Hosie has passed away."

Gaode was still immersed in a slightly bewildered and sad mood.

But it was different from what he had expected.

The group of people who were just making a racket outside the door, seemingly concerned about the old man's health, showed no sign of sadness at this moment.

The vice chairman and Donnie Erser were the most prominent examples.

The two remained expressionless and silent, seemingly deep in thought.

A moment later.

The vice chairman stepped forward, staring intently down at Gao De: "He west should have told you the secret order for the rune workshop's array, right?"

Give it to me.

His tone revealed an unquestionable domineering air.

Gao De was immediately pulled out of his sadness.

He squinted at the vice chairman, whose expression was cold and arrogant.

Clearly, the other party did not feel the slightest sadness over He Xi's death.

Even the loud and boisterous admonitions he gave outside just now were nothing more than a performance.

This is normal.

What's unusual is that He west's body was barely cold, or even before he was buried, yet the other party was already so impatient.

That's a bit too blatant and shameless.

Gao De knew that the other party was at least a mage of the third ring or higher.

But that didn't diminish his anger.

"Why should I give it to you?" Gao De asked after a moment of silence.

Gao De's answer clearly exceeded the Vice Chairman's expectations.

He laughed in anger, "The rune workshop is the academy's property. It was just lent to He west before, but now that he's gone, it should be taken back."

"That's not how it is," Gao De shook his head slightly. "This rune workshop is not borrowed by Instructor He west, but belongs to him."

"Professor He west has signed a transfer agreement with Dean Gavin."

"And now, my mentor has left the rune workshop to me."

"Therefore, this rune workshop is now my property, and not the property of the academy."

"Haha. What are you?"

Seeing Gao De's rebuttal, the vice chairman pointed at Gao De and loudly reprimanded him: "The things in the academy have always belonged to the academy. Not to mention you, a student, even if He west were still alive, there would be no way for them to be privately owned."

People who "do academic research" tend to oversimplify things.

Even though Hosie had already thought things were complicated from the beginning.

The living will never acknowledge the belongings of the dead.

Those who are alive only care about their own interests.

(End of this chapter)