Above the mage

Chapter 324 A Virtuous Person with a Pure and Clean Name

The cultural atmosphere of this world is not like that of the country where Gao De lived in his previous life, where humility is a form of etiquette and modesty is a tradition.

On the continent of Nolan, it's perfectly natural for talented people to show off their abilities, and no one will criticize them for it.

What young genius isn't arrogant?

It is precisely because of vigorous spirit that one can make courageous and diligent progress.

Of course, people who are both incompetent and arrogant will be disliked regardless of the cultural environment.

In short, after his amazing performance, Gao De's self-proclaimed "genius" status did not cause any dissatisfaction among anyone.

The second round of interviews is still ongoing.

But for the four examiners, there were no further surprises.

The remaining mages all performed poorly, and naturally none of them were able to pass the test and join the Sea Sentinels.

Gao De even discovered that the mages who participated in the assessment after him and were thrown onto the deck by Paul all suffered some physical injuries, instead of being unharmed as before.

—It seemed that Paul was taking out his frustration on these mages.

Gao De silently mourned for them for a second.

"This concludes the second round of testing. Except for Master Gaode, who remains, everyone else has failed the second round and can now return home."

Seeing that all the mages had already gone into the water and fought Paul, Warrant Officer Sirin stepped forward and loudly announced the final result.

Upon hearing this, a hint of dejection flashed across the faces of the mages, but the outcome could not be changed.

They could only take one last reluctant look at the scene on the ship and the four examiners in their sea sentry uniforms before disheartenedly retreating in twos and threes.

In the blink of an eye, the deck, which had been bustling with more than thirty monks participating in the second round of examinations, was now empty except for Gao De, who stood there all alone.

Warrant Officer Xilin stepped forward and said to Gao De, "Congratulations on passing the test and joining the Sea Sentinels. We'll be colleagues from now on."

Gao De faced the four examiners, bowed slightly, and politely said, "Thank you, Venerable Masters."

"I won't beat around the bush with you. Although you passed the test, your background still needs to be investigated."

Lieutenant Sirin smiled, but his eyes held a scrutinizing gaze. "After all, your birthplace, the Duchy of Sien, has become the Sien Province of the Holy Empire."

"The Holy Empire has long coveted our Plantagenet Dynasty and harbors great ambitions. You come from the Province of Sien. Although there are no suspicious signs at present and you have passed the naturalization interrogation, it is still possible that you are someone sent by the Holy Empire."

As Lieutenant Xilin spoke, he observed Gao De's face, seemingly trying to discern any subtle changes in his expression.

If it were just a normal recruitment of Gaode into the Sea Sentinel, it wouldn't be anything special.

After all, the Sea Sentinels have a large number of members, and occasionally recruiting a few newcomers with unclear backgrounds, even if their origins are not so clean, will not cause much of a stir.

The problem is that Gaode has already demonstrated its amazing potential.

Such promising talents will naturally receive special attention and training once recruited.

Under these circumstances, the origins of Gaode become of paramount importance.

We must first find out Gaode's background before we can make any further arrangements.

Gao De remained calm in the face of Warrant Officer Xilin's "reminder".

Since he has no connection with the Holy Empire, he has nothing to fear and has nothing to hide. Why should he be afraid of this investigation?

"That's only natural," he replied frankly.

"Then go back and wait. We'll notify you to report back once we've investigated," Warrant Officer Xilin asked. "Is that alright?"

"I have no objection."

"It's no use having objections," Gaode replied, while thinking to himself.

The person in charge of the selection of sea sentinels was Captain Merrick, a senior third-ring battle mage.

Haiyuan White Pagoda.

On the second floor, outside Captain Merrick's room, in the quiet corridor, a crisp knock suddenly sounded.

"Come in," Merrick's clear voice rang out.

The door was pushed open, and Warrant Officer Xilin entered. He walked briskly, carrying a thick roll of parchment in his hand.

"Captain Merrick, the results of the Gaode matter that I told you about before are in." As soon as he entered the door, Warrant Officer Xilin stated his purpose directly, his eyes revealing a seriousness.

"Oh? Is that the mage you mentioned who performed exceptionally well in the re-examination, possessed outstanding talent, but came from the Province of Xinen, and whose background needs to be investigated?"

"Yes."

"How so?" Merrick asked, intrigued. He leaned forward slightly and looked at Warrant Officer Sirin.

Merrick was a kind-looking old man.

He was injured in a battle with sea monsters years ago, which damaged his very essence, and since then, his mage level has been difficult to improve.

However, because of his considerable contributions and the fact that it was a work-related injury, he was later promoted to captain-level mage.

In recent years, Merrick has retired from the front line and mainly takes charge of the logistics of the sea sentries, including recruiting new people.

"I have had someone investigate in detail, and I have also deployed some people who are lurking in the province of Xinen. Combined with the information that Gao De revealed when he became a citizen, all of his experiences have been summarized here."

As Lieutenant Xilin spoke, he handed over the thick roll of parchment in his hand.

Merrick took the parchment. "Give me a brief introduction."

"This Gao De claims to be from Hogen City in the Bremen region of the Principality of Sien. However, two years ago, new ley lines appeared around Hogen City, and the ley line creatures that emerged completely submerged Hogen City."

"Therefore, much of the past information about Hogan City has been lost and cannot be found."

"What a coincidence?" Upon hearing this, Merrick subconsciously frowned.

This "coincidence" is undoubtedly a stain on Gaode's resume, making it hard not to suspect.

"That's what I thought at first, but then I made other discoveries." Warrant Officer Sirin smiled slightly and gestured for Merrick to open the roll of parchment.

Merrick opened the parchment, and a yellowed contract came into view:

"On this day, the 18th of the month of Flower Flame in the Nolan calendar 9655, in Hogan City, in the presence of Mr. Bellamy, this contract is hereby made as witness."

"Seller: Gaode"

Transferee: Oliver

"."

Subject matter of the contract:

"The transferor agrees to transfer the aforementioned medicinal garden, together with all crops, buildings and ancillary rights thereon, to the transferee for 300 Sean Gold Coins. The transferee shall pay the transferor the full amount in Gold Coins in one lump sum upon signing this contract."

"."

"What is this??" Merrick's gaze fell on the prominent "Gaode" sign behind the seller's name.

Above the name is a bright red fingerprint.

"A transfer contract for a medicinal garden came from a merchant who narrowly escaped from Hogan City on the night of the ley line eruption," Warrant Officer Xilin explained.

"I had my undercover agents investigate thoroughly, and it took quite a few days to confirm that the Gao De listed here is the same person as the Gao De we are investigating."

"This Gao De is truly extraordinary!" Warrant Officer Xilin couldn't help but exclaim. "Not only is he exceptionally gifted, but his character and courage are also outstanding."

I'm currently reading the error-free version! This is my first novel. (Reading)

"Oh?" Merrick looked up from the parchment again, raising his head to look at Warrant Officer Sirin, waiting for what was to come.

"According to the merchant, this herb garden originally belonged to a third-class mage apprentice named Seda."

"This Seda is from Bremen. He bought this garden in Hogan and turned it into a medicinal herb garden after some management."

"After that, Seda started taking in homeless children from Hogan City as his apprentices. In reality, they were just free laborers and test subjects. Seda was researching a first-tier magic potion formula and needed human test subjects."

"And this God was an apprentice of Seda, which matches his self-proclaimed background as a homeless beggar."

"According to the merchant, Naseda suddenly disappeared one day, most likely dying of old age, and Gaode became the leader of the herb garden."

"At that time, he resorted to coercion and enticement, trying to forcibly acquire the medicinal garden from Gaode."

"You can't fight city hall, but Gao De was clever. He pretended to flatter them and signed the transfer contract, then tricked them with a box locked with a secret magic, and disappeared with the money."

"Less than a month after Gao De left, the Hogan ley lines were reborn, and the ley line creatures surged out, plunging Hogan City into dire straits. If this kid hadn't left early, he probably would have died in that beast tide. It can be said that he turned misfortune into blessing."

"Later, when Gao De reappeared, he was already at Seres Academy, as a freshman."

"Based on this information, we traced it back in time and quickly found out the whole story. He was using the alias Google, first going to Bremen, and then..."

"With the letter of recommendation, Gao De was able to enter Seres Academy and officially begin his path to becoming a mage."

"He quickly demonstrated his talent, and in just one year, he stood out among his peers, becoming the top freshman of that year, and successfully advanced to the first ring mage."

"What happened next was even more complicated."

"You mean, Gao De was originally imprisoned in the mage prison by the dean of Seres Academy because of the internal strife within the royal family, but he was able to escape only because the Holy Empire's army was pressing in, the regime changed, and a general amnesty was granted?"

After listening to Lieutenant Sirin's account, even though Merrick was a man of many experiences, he had never seen such a bizarre and dramatic experience as Gao De's.

"Yes, Gao De is a tough guy. He would rather die than submit to the oppression of these nobles. If it weren't for his amazing luck in catching this amnesty, he would probably still be suffering in prison or already dead." Lieutenant Xilin said this with admiration in his tone.

The Plantagenet dynasty was an ancient dynasty that regarded the classical doctrines of justice, honor, and duty as the supreme principles.

Therefore, most citizens of the Plantagenet dynasty held people with excellent character in high regard.

"After the amnesty, he left Saint-Sien, probably heartbroken by the incident and unwilling to stay there any longer. That was on the 23rd of Frostgold in the year 9656 of the Norlan calendar."

"After that, no trace of him could be found. He reappeared a year later on the 1st of Frost Gold in the Nolan calendar 9657," Warrant Officer Xilin continued.

"That is, twenty days ago, Bard, a resident of Holder Town, was attacked by ley line creatures in the Sword Mountains and was rescued by him."

"According to his own account, he was a wandering mage during this period. He must have entered our dynasty's territory after leaving Saint Sein City, traveling by waterway, and then crossing the Green Tooth Mountain Range and the Sword Mountain Range."

"That's why we haven't been able to find any trace of him over the past year, since he's basically been in the desolate, uninhabited mountains."

"All the clues and information match up," Warrant Officer Xilin said, spreading his hands.

"This Gaode's background is impeccably clean; he's just a mage from the lowest rungs of a small town in a small principality who rose to prominence through his own talent." He concluded.

"This guy is not only talented and daring, but also incredibly lucky. A first-ring mage managed to safely cross two mountain ranges and arrive in our Dorne."

After listening to Warrant Officer Sirin recount Goddard's "inspirational" and "legendary" experiences, Merrick couldn't help but sigh.

He wholeheartedly agreed with Warrant Officer Xilin's statement that he was innocent and clean.

How could a native first-ring mage, who was framed and imprisoned by nobles the night before the Holy Empire occupied Saint Sein City, become a spy for the Holy Empire?

"In the last century, the situation for our Sea Sentinels has been far from ideal. Those who can even enter the Light Sentinels are already at the bottom of the rankings among all regions," Warrant Officer Xilin said with deep concern.

"Such a decline has caused great concern among all the members of the Sea Sentinels, who hope to change the situation. Gao De is indeed a talented individual. With his background, experience, and performance, he has a bright future. If we recruit him, I think he has a great chance of joining the Light Sentinels in the future."

"Moreover," he said with a smile, "it might not be just that. It's not impossible that we could recruit a future bigwig who could influence the landscape of the Plantagenet dynasty."

"You certainly dare to dream," Merrick chuckled.

Regarding what Warrant Officer Xilin said about Gao De being able to join the Light Sentinels, he did indeed think there was a slight possibility.

After all, Gao De's talent, temperament, and luck can already be seen from his resume.

However, Merrick was completely skeptical that he might become a major figure who would influence the Plantagenet dynasty's future.

It wasn't that he looked down on Gao De's potential, but rather that Merrick was well aware of the state of the dynasty.

Unlike the Holy Empire, which ruled solely on merit, birth was extremely important in the Plantagenet Dynasty.

Having a certain background does not guarantee a high social status.

But without a good family background, it definitely won't work.

The Golden Broom Flower was an ancient dynasty, but the other side of antiquity is often decay and severe class stratification.

The older generation of noble families firmly held the core power of the dynasty, making it extremely difficult for those at the bottom to break free of these constraints.

"Alright, now that his identity and background have been confirmed, let's recruit him into the Sea Sentinels." Merrick made the final decision and neatly signed his name on the document confirming the recruitment of God.

"He might be the most outstanding new recruit to join the Sea Sentinels from under my supervision, and I might even benefit from that," Merrick said casually, looking at the newly signed documents.

(End of this chapter)