Above the mage

Chapter 355 Return to the North

Because she was only five years old, Anna's fingers still had a faint scent of Westland lavender.

At this point, Anna's identity is almost certain.

One event might be a coincidence, but when so many things align, then it must be inevitable.

Finally, in the introduction of the current Western royal family, it is clearly stated that the current queen has given birth to a total of two daughters and one son.

After listening to what Gao De said, Elsa fell into a long silence, seemingly unsure how to react.

clap clap clap!

A burst of crisp applause suddenly rang out.

Anna clapped her little hands vigorously, her big eyes blinking with admiration and excitement. "Brother is so smart!"

Elsa glanced down at the "carefree" Anna and felt a sense of helplessness, as if she wanted to facepalm.

Anna seemed to sense Elsa's thoughts and looked up to comfort her sister, "Sister, brother won't do anything to us."

Although she was young, she knew she couldn't reveal her identity. The reason she wasn't flustered now that her identity had been exposed was because she knew that Gaode had no ill intentions towards them. This was a child's unique intuition.

"And what makes you so sure that I don't have a clear foothold?" Elsa took a deep breath and spoke again.

But her posture clearly told Gao De that he was right.

"Because you haven't even prepared the most important part—the funds for purchasing the ship—the chances of you preparing everything else are very low," Gao De explained calmly.

"Some unexpected things happened," Elsa tried to explain, but then felt that such an explanation would only sound like stubbornness, and finally stopped herself.

"Although the Harland bimast is considered a small vessel, it is also the largest and most expensive among small vessels. The fact that you insist on purchasing a Harland bimast despite not having enough funds, rather than settling for something less, shows that the bimast perfectly meets your needs. Any further and you would not be able to meet them."

Gao De continued, "And what is the biggest difference between the Harland two-masted sailing ship and other small vessels? It's in its transoceanic capability; the two-masted sailing ship is a small sailing ship with a relatively stable transoceanic capability."

"Princess Elsa, you wish to cross the ocean in the Harland sailboat and travel to other continents."

"Midgard is in another direction, so we can basically rule it out. Therefore, your goal should be to set sail from Lagos Port, travel down the Sword Sea, cross the Sea of ​​Light, and enter Terra."

"With the strength of the Kingdom of Westminster, it is far from sufficient to establish a permanent foothold on another continent."

"Therefore, you should only have Terra as your general destination, but you have no plan as to where you will settle down after you arrive on Terra."

"Terra is all endless desert, and the Holy Empire's legions are currently campaigning inland from Terra's coastline, so it's not safe for you to take Anna there."

"That's none of your business." Elsa gave a wry smile. Although she didn't answer directly, her posture was already telling God that everything he said was true.

"If that's the case, why not go somewhere else?" Gao De didn't mind Elsa's stiff attitude, but instead ruffled Anna's hair and offered his idea.

"You're willing to take such a huge risk to sail to the continent of Terra, which shows that the Principality of Ovoga is determined to have you two. But even if you can avoid the Principality of Ovoga's pursuit, there are still various dangers on the way to Terra, after all, it is a completely unfamiliar continent."

"It's fine if you're alone, but you also have Anna with you."

"The continent of Nolan is vast, but where is there a place for us to hide?" Elsa said slowly after a moment of silence.

"Why not?" Gao De slowly replied, "Isn't there another option?"

"Um?"

"The North," Gao De revealed his true intentions, saying directly, "Why don't you go to the North? The journey is much shorter than going to Terra, and the results are no different."

Although the North is also on the continent of Nora, its isolation means it could practically be considered another continent altogether.

"What is there in the North? The North is just endless snowfields. If we go there, Anna and I can only survive like savages."

"Clean drinking water, plenty of food, and warm shelter—none of these are available in the North. Besides, the Ace people in the North are xenophobic. It would be better to go to Terra. At least on Terra, money can solve most problems." Upon hearing God's suggestion, Elsa's first reaction was that it was too absurd, and she shook her head repeatedly.

"If these problems can be solved, will you insist on going to Terra, or will you choose the North instead?" God asked.

"Perhaps...the North?" Elsa thought about it seriously, then said uncertainly.

"In that case," Gao De smiled, satisfied with the answer, "let's go to the North."

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked, puzzled.

"I have some connections in the North," Gao De thought for a moment and used a rather conservative approach. "Once you arrive in the North, I will take care of all your problems, including finding a place to stay, food, and water. You don't need to worry about xenophobia; the people there are very respectful to me and will not disrespect my guests."

"Some connections in the North?" Elsa was completely dumbfounded this time, even doubting whether she had heard correctly.

That's a fresh way of putting it.

"If you don't believe you can use the [Domain of Honesty], I can help you verify it," Gao De said generously, noticing Elsa's hesitation.

"I haven't mastered the [Domain of Honesty]." Elsa shook her head, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Why are you willing to help us?"

"We have never crossed paths with you before."

"Because of Anna," God said truthfully.

"Because of Anna?" Elsa instinctively picked up Anna and looked at God with suspicion.

"Anna is a genius," God said helplessly to Elsa's reaction, and said seriously, "I hope she can learn runes from me."

"Anna is a genius?!" Elsa's eyes widened even more.

Elsa's reaction surprised God, who paused for a moment before asking, "What? Didn't you guys ever notice Anna's talent before?"

"She is indeed very smart." Elsa carefully chose her words, a hint of confusion in her eyes, "but in terms of academics, she doesn't seem to have shown any outstanding qualities."

"You seem to mean she has a talent for runic literature, but..."

Elsa thought for a moment and then confirmed, "Elsa isn't even a mage, she's never studied runic literature before?"

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Gao De frowned, looking at Anna who was sitting "obediently." After a long while, he slowly said, "If Anna hasn't studied runic literature, how did she memorize those runes?"

"When I went to play with those big toys, they would draw and draw next to me, and after seeing it so many times, I remembered it," Anna said bluntly.

"So you've never told your sister, father, or mother about these things?"

Anna stuck out her tongue and blinked shyly, "If I tell them, they'll definitely make me like an older sister."

Gao De turned to look at Elsa.

"I learn things very quickly, so from the age of four, my father arranged many teachers and courses for me," Elsa replied "expressionlessly."

Not only does he possess great wisdom, but he also has a touch of cunning. Gao De couldn't help but chuckle.

"And," Anna said honestly, "they all say I don't have much talent and am far inferior to my sister."

"?"

"Anna's magical talent is quite average. Even with the royal family's resources, she has only just become a first-class mage apprentice." Elsa explained to God, who was looking at her with a questioning gaze.

Ultimately, this world belongs to mages, and a mage's strength is the most fundamental factor and the most important indicator of talent.

Moreover, putting everything else aside, in terms of rune literature, it happens to be the discipline with the strictest hierarchy. A first-tier rune master must be a first-ring mage, and this is absolutely unacceptable.

Given that Anna's talent as a mage is average, it's almost certain that her future achievements in runic literature will be extremely limited.

From this perspective, it's not wrong to say that Anna's talent is average.

"What a waste!" Gao De couldn't help but exclaim.

That being said, he also knew that this judgment was reasonable and based on the logic of reality.

In the existing rune system, the mage talent is an important hurdle that rune masters cannot bypass.

If your mage talent is average, you won't become a high-level mage. If you can't become a high-level mage, you naturally won't become a high-level rune master.

Ana's most outstanding talent in runic arts is calculation, and her innate and unparalleled sensitivity to runes and numbers.

This talent is too advanced for its time and is not yet useful.

Fortunately, Anna met him in time.

"Are you serious?" Elsa asked, half-believing.

Gao De nodded. "None of you realize how incredible Anna's talent is."

"Therefore, you all need to go to the North," he said with utmost seriousness, "because only I can fully unlock Ana's potential in runic literature."

After Gao De finished speaking, the room fell into a long silence.

Elsa was deep in thought, a fierce internal struggle raging within her.

To be honest, she couldn't completely believe Gao De's claims about "having connections in the North" and "Anna having incredible talent," and even had more doubts.

After all, Gaode was just a stranger to her.

The problem is that if the latter is true, and she rejects God's suggestion and takes Anna to Terra, wouldn't that be a waste of Anna's exceptional talent?

Even if there's only a slight chance, Elsa doesn't want to jeopardize Anna's future.

Anna was her only remaining family member in the world; she was her own sister.

This is what made Elsa waver and gradually gravitate towards Gaode's suggestion.

Gao De also noticed Elsa's dilemma.

"Perhaps you could ask Anna for her opinion. Although she's only five, she has the right to express her opinion on such an important decision, doesn't she?"

Elsa was taken aback.

She looked down at Anna. "Anna, what do you think?"

"I believe in my brother."

Elsa paused, then asked, "You mean..."

"I trust my brother. I think going to the North is better!"

"Okay, I understand." Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I agree to your proposal." She opened her eyes again, the confusion gone, replaced by determination. She looked at Gao De, "How exactly do we get to the North?"

Gao De was prepared. He took out a piece of parchment from his pocket, laid it flat on the bed, then leaned down slightly and pointed at it with his right hand.

"This is the coastline of the Plantagenet Kingdom and the coastline of the North. You depart by ship from the port of Lagos."

"After leaving Sword Bay, sail north along the Sword Sea," Gao De said, pointing to the dot on the parchment that represented the port of Lagos.

"After crossing the Irwinaya Mountains," God's finger paused briefly at the line representing the Irwinaya Mountains before continuing forward, "you will continue sailing north along the coastline. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how long this journey is or what the specifics are. You'll need to explore the route yourself and, while you're at it, fill in the outline of the coastline for me."

"Until you see a bay like this, called Vallar Bay," Gao De's finger landed heavily on the area representing Vallar Bay, "it's an extremely deep bay, and you definitely won't miss it if you sail along the coastline."

"You will land at Vallar Bay, and someone will meet you there."

"I will also provide the ships for the voyage."

"Is that okay?" Gao De asked.

"Okay." Having made her decision, Elsa stopped hesitating, nodded, rolled up the parchment, and put it away.

"However, I need to take Anna away first. It's too dangerous for her here. The fact that the Ovoga people were able to track us all the way to Lagos means that something has happened to Mage Keith. The pursuers are very strong, at least third-ring mages."

She stood up, pulled up her hood, and said, "If you want to find us, just go to Haiyinrong Orphanage in the city. That's where I'm staying now."

"no problem."

Goodbye, brother!

After Elsa and Anna left, the room returned to silence.

Despite some setbacks, things went smoothly overall, Gao De thought to himself.

The most important thing now is to raise the funds needed to purchase the Harland shipyard.

He knew all too well that things could go wrong if things dragged on. The Ovoga people were currently searching for Elsa in Lagos. Even though he had managed to get past the shipyard, no one could be sure what might happen if things dragged on any longer.

Every day he delays increases the danger, so he must act as soon as possible.

Gao De immediately got up and took all the luggage he had prepared.

After confirming that nothing was missing, he extended his right hand.

"Astral teleportation," Gao De murmured to himself.

The next instant, the back of his hand suddenly began to glow.

The light shifted from dark to bright, spreading rapidly to form a complex and mysterious silver rune. The lines of the rune were twisted and dynamic, containing endless mysteries.

A dreamlike, iridescent light flowed from the silver runes like mercury spilling onto the ground.

Gao De gazed silently at this strange sight.

About ten seconds later.

The multicolored light no longer flowed from the silver runes.

A portal made up of countless tiny particles of light appeared in front of Gaode.

The portal flickered with light and shadow, constantly changing into various wondrous scenes, as if connecting to another mysterious world.

This is the astral portal back to the North.

Gaode took a deep breath and stepped inside.

(End of this chapter)