Above the mage

Chapter 346 First-Order Rune Construction

The room was not large, or rather, it was cramped and small, with very little furniture.

Gao De's gaze swept across the room in a short time, taking in everything and quickly identifying the suspicious object.

In the small room, there was a water bucket that could be described as "huge".

This is inherently unreasonable.

The purpose of a bucket is simply to hold water and for bathing.

But for the residents of the Marco district, neither of these needs actually exists.

Gao De walked to the bucket, gently wiped the edge of the bucket with his finger, and felt a disgusting, sticky sensation.

He brought his finger up to his eyes and examined it closely, looking at the grayish-black slime, confirming that it came from a putrid water salamander.

It can be almost certainly confirmed that this bucket once contained a large number of putrid newt larvae.

The problem is that with such a rudimentary environment, it is obviously impossible to cultivate a large number of aquatic mammal larvae.

Therefore, these juveniles must have been bred outside the Macco area and then transported into the Macco area for "release".

After making a preliminary judgment, Gao De walked out of the shed and closed the door again.

Then, he placed his hand on the door, and a gentle wave of magic slowly emanated from his palm, gradually enveloping the simple padlock that had been damaged by the forced entry.

Under the influence of magic, the originally broken parts inside the lock cylinder began to return to their original positions and fit together, and the broken pins also became whole again.

【Repair Techniques+】

After the magical fluctuations dissipated, the padlock returned to its original state, as if the previous damage had never existed.

Of course, all of this happened in the blink of an eye, and it was difficult for others to notice.

Sama was waiting in his boat nearby.

Gao De boarded the ship with a calm expression.

"Do you know who lived in that shack before?" he asked casually.

In the Marco district, there are no public lighting facilities, so most people return to their shacks before dark, otherwise the accident rate would be greatly increased if boats were to sail at night.

But the shed was completely empty.

Given that the place was likely deserted, Gaode decided to "break in" to investigate the specific situation.

"Here?" Sama tried hard to recall, but the Marco district was so big, and he didn't live nearby, so he really didn't know anything about it and couldn't give an answer.

"Master, may I ask for you? When you come back tomorrow, I'll give you an answer." Finally, Shama said cautiously.

"Then I'll trouble you." Gao De nodded slightly, and at the same time reached into his pocket and tossed over a silver dragon coin.

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir." Shama hurriedly accepted the silver dragon coin, his eyes gleaming slightly.

Back to shore.

In Lagos, it's easy to find a coachman willing to take you there if you're willing to pay, but finding a carriage to take you back is a pipe dream.

Gao De wasn't sure when his mission would end, so he didn't make a reservation with the driver when he arrived in the morning.

Not to mention, now there's an extra burden—the tail fins taken from rotting water salamanders as payment for the mission.

So, going back now would be a little troublesome.

Of course, it's just a few minor inconveniences.

After all, Gao De is a mage.

Money can solve 99% of the world's problems, but it can't buy love.

But magic can even manipulate love.

First, I cast a [Heavy Burden] spell on myself, tripling my carrying capacity.

Then, with a "Wolf's Speed" skill, greatly increasing his movement speed, Gao De picked up the bag full of putrid salamander tail fins and flew towards the city of Lagos at a speed much faster than a carriage.

Dusty and smelly, Gao De returned to the Palm Tree Hotel.

Before entering the room, Gao De felt as if he had forgotten something important.

He thought about it carefully, but still couldn't remember.

Finally, he used a "purifying food" spell on himself to remove the stench and dust he had picked up from spending a day in the Marco district before opening the door.

Gao De's gaze swept quickly across the room, finally landing on Anna sitting on the bed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

The little girl was indeed very obedient and didn't run around.

Anna heard the door open and looked at the doorway with a wary, kitten-like gaze, her whole body slightly hunched over.

Then, after she recognized Gao De at the door, her wary gaze instantly turned pitiful, and she looked at Gao De with a wronged expression, saying, "Brother, I'm hungry."

Gao De slapped his forehead, finally remembering what he had forgotten:

Anna wasn't given lunch!

Restaurant.

The slightly greasy table was covered with four large plates of food:

Cassava puree, roasted chicken marinated with local spices, cold cassava leaf salad mixed with onions, tomatoes and other seasonings, and palm oil soup made with palm oil as a base, along with fish, shrimp, meat and various vegetables.

Anna was engrossed in eating.

Gao De looked at her with a slightly guilty expression.

Fortunately, I managed to drag Anna out of bed before she was fully awake and give her breakfast, otherwise the little girl would have been starving by the end of the day.

They almost abused the child.

Although the little girl was starving, she ate very elegantly, using a knife, fork, and spoon to stuff food into her mouth in an orderly and large manner.

The fact that a little girl under six years old could do this even when she was starving is enough to prove how well-mannered and educated she is.

"Is your brother done with his business?" Finally, after eating about 70-80% of her fill and recovering, the little girl looked up, blinked her big eyes, and asked earnestly.

"The main business should take another day," Gao De replied. They had almost finished cleaning up the rotting salamanders today, and tomorrow they would focus on the demon octopus. "However, due to a slight accident, it may be delayed for a few more days."

He was referring to today's unexpected discovery.

However, with the place deserted, finding the mastermind behind it will definitely take some time.

"But after we finish our business, I can help you find your sister first," Gao De said after thinking for a moment.

He also didn't know whether Anna's sister had received the news of her "running away from home".

Given the advanced transportation system of the Plantagenet Dynasty, these two days should have been more than enough time for the news to travel over.

However, according to Anna, her sister did not reveal why she came to Lagos.

So under normal circumstances, the people there probably wouldn't know how to find Elsa, and naturally wouldn't be able to convey the news of Anna "running away from home" to Elsa.

But in short, it's not good to waste too much time.

"It's alright, brother. Your own affairs are the most important," Anna said obediently.

"You're not worried at all now," Gaode shrugged helplessly, unable to understand the child's way of thinking.

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, we returned to our hotel room.

It was still the same routine of training, followed by rune practice.

Anna, just like last night, squatted down to the side with great interest, watching Gao De's every move.

However, Gaode did not continue practicing rune crafting techniques today. Instead, he took out a piece of parchment and began to sketch and calculate.

Anna's words yesterday had enlightened him.

He is now in the Plantagenet dynasty.

In this powerful dynasty, the materials needed for rune constructs are not hard to come by, as long as you have money.

The conditions are met.

At the same time, he is also a sea sentinel mage who often needs to go out on missions and requires the combat power bonus brought by rune constructs.

The demand is also met.

In that case, he prepared to design a first-tier rune construct tailored to himself.

(End of this chapter)