Above the mage

Chapter 401 Mandatory Mission

After leaving the White Pagoda of the Abyss, Gao De first went to the Walmart Magic Materials Store, where he put his loot from the trip and set the prices.

Joel came from a farming family. Although he had worked as an apprentice at a large magic supply store in the city for a few years, magic supply knowledge was high-level knowledge that apprentices could not access.

Therefore, these pricing matters can only be handled by Gaode itself at present.

It is conceivable that the scarcity of talent is a major challenge for Walmart's Magic Materials Store in its quest to grow and thrive.

The options are either to hire professionals at high prices or to find a way to train Joel and make him a professional.

Clearly, neither of these routes is easy.

Gaode is just thinking about it first and isn't in a hurry.

Walmart's Magic Material Store's top priority right now is still acquiring tree species.

What Gaode truly considers its industry is the Harland shipyard located in Lagos.

Once the shipping route between the North and Byron County is established, even if caution is needed initially and actions cannot be too drastic, the potential huge trade demand between the two places is expected to generate very considerable profits.

With new products being added to the store one after another, the Magic Materials store has become noticeably busier recently.

After gaining some recognition in the surrounding neighborhood, the business of buying tree species became much more prosperous than before.

Gao De flipped through Joel's ledger.

During this period, the shop received nearly thirty new tree species, but seven of them were duplicates of the species he had acquired in Brosster.

This is a case of a misunderstanding caused by information asymmetry.

Gaode Maps has created a list of existing tree species. Tree species already on the list will not be purchased. The map is updated in real time by Joel, who adds each new tree species to the list as soon as it is acquired.

However, he stayed in Brost for three or four days, during which time the tree species he acquired could not be updated in the catalog immediately.

Of course, this is all small change. Even though Gaode offered a high price of 50 copper coins to buy the tree species, this high price is only relative to the value of the tree species itself.

To Gao De's surprise, Walmart's Magic Material Store, after being officially open for so long, has finally acquired the Magic Tree Seed for the first time.

It is a Tier 1 Magic Tree species: Firefly Willow. After maturing, the ends of the drooping silver branches of the Firefly Willow will swell into fruit.

The fruit peel, as thin as a cicada's wing, encases a luminescent liquid that changes color from blue to gold as day turns to night.

These glowing liquids can be used to make potions, the most common being the potion of revealing.

According to Joel, it was sold to him by someone who bought a Tier 1 magic material in the store.

The other party originally came to buy magic materials, but then saw that Walmart's magic material store offered a much higher price for magic tree seeds than other stores, so they sold the goods on the spot.

This is why Gaode wants to acquire tree species in the form of a "magic material store".

Magic tree seeds are mostly in the hands of mages, so shops must first be able to attract mages to their shops in order to have a better chance of acquiring magic tree seeds from them.

"Although the buzzing tree species is on the list, we will continue to purchase it at a price of fifty coppers in the long term," Gao De said to Joel after thinking for a moment.

He considered the bee smelting resin to be of great significance and believed that it should be cultivated on a large scale.

He took all the buzzing tree species from Lake Eismere, a considerable number, but still far from enough to satisfy large-scale planting needs.

He believed there must be other places in Barlow County where buzzing trees existed, so he should be able to make a profit if he bought them at a high price.

"Yes, sir," Joel replied quickly.

Afterwards, Gao De checked the store's ledgers again, and after confirming that there were no problems, he ended the matter there.

He opened the newly acquired spell recipe.

【Identification Skill [Rare]】(Prophecy, Level 1):

You designate an object and keep it in contact with it throughout the spellcasting process.

If the item is a supernatural item or other item imbued with supernatural power, you will know its properties and how to use it, whether it needs to be synchronized, and if it is a charged item, you will also know its current number of uses.

You can also discover whether a spell is affecting the object, and which spell the possible spell effect comes from. If the target was created by a spell, you will know which spell it comes from.

If you come into contact with an item made of extraordinary material, you will be able to determine its rank.

If you are in contact with a living being while casting a spell, you will know whether that being is affected by the spell and which spell is responsible for the effect.

Spell/Potion: One Faded Bookworm, Mirror Iron Ore Powder...

After noting down the main and auxiliary materials needed for the spell potions, Gao De went out, hailed a carriage, and headed straight to Kensington to buy the materials.

The other materials were readily available, but the faded bookworm was a very uncommon material.

This is a translucent worm that feeds on expired ink from old books. It only exists in ancient books and has limited uses, so it is not commonly seen.

After failing to find a solution at several potion shops, Gaode had no choice but to place a pre-order at a large and reputable one.

The staff carefully noted down his requirements and promised to notify him immediately once the goods were in stock.

In the following period, Gao De focused his main energy on his training, while continuing to hone his swordsmanship at the Collingwood Martial Arts Academy.

As a training institution for sea sentinels, its "faculty" is exceptionally strong. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced student, as long as you have money, you can find a corresponding instructor to teach you.

Gaode spent most of his remaining free time in the library of Haiyuan White Pagoda, absorbing all kinds of knowledge like a sponge.

Thanks to the Sea Sentinels' powerful resources, even the free library open to novice mages is far more precious and rare than those in the Sairis Magic Academy.

The longer Gaode stays in this world, the more he realizes the importance of knowledge.

It's not just about knowledge of Buddhist teachings; knowledge of governance, urban management, commerce, and other areas is also something he urgently needs to supplement.

A mage, by virtue of their abilities and status, has access to and can come into contact with far too many areas.

Fortunately, the long lifespan of monks, coupled with their extraordinary memory, allows them to adapt to this multi-disciplinary learning.

After finishing reading in the library, Gaode would go to the lobby to see if there were any tasks he could take on.

It seems like I've been having a run of bad luck lately, and haven't been able to find any assignments to take on.

But Gaode remained calm about it.

There are still 7 drops of liquid mana needed to complete the first ring, which will take at least half a year. There's still time.

Besides, he's still young. If his spell library hasn't reached a satisfactory level by then, he can simply stop for six months or a year.

Considering the long lifespan he gained after practicing the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture," this year is really nothing.

Of course, for Gao De at his current age, the sooner he advances to the second-ring mage level, the more impressive his resume will be in the Sea Sentinels.

There's not much difference between a 50-year-old second-ring mage and a 51-year-old second-ring mage, but there is still a difference between a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old second-ring mage.

On the other hand, the bookworm that Gaode ordered from the magic supplies store has yet to arrive.

There's not much he can do about it; he can only wait.

Another seven or eight days passed.

Good news has arrived.

[Crab Plague Risk] The two-week observation period for the task has ended, and it has been confirmed that the task has been completed.

Six third-class merit awards followed immediately.

After calculating in this way, Gao De's military merits amount to 7 third-class merits.

Since the magic potion for the [Appraisal] skill was still not in place, he simply went to the supply depot again and spent all the military merits he had just acquired, exchanging them for magic recipes.

This caused Neil to look at him with increasingly strange eyes.

He had never seen a mage like Gao De, who used all his military merits to exchange for spell recipes, before in all his years working in the supply department.

Seven third-class merits were ultimately exchanged for two ordinary first-level spell recipes: [Entanglement] and [Burning Hand]. The former required three third-class merits, while the latter required four.

[Entangle] (Alteration, 1st Ring): This spell causes tall grass, weeds, and other plants to entangle any creature that enters or is in the area. The creature will be entangled, and the entire area of ​​effect will be considered difficult terrain.

If the area is covered with thorns or other similar plants, the creatures in the area will not only become entangled, but will also be harmed.

[Burning Hand] (Energizing, Ring 1):

A cone of scorching flame erupts from your fingertips. All creatures within the flame zone will suffer fire damage, and if the flames come into contact with flammable materials, they will ignite.

One is a crowd control spell, somewhat similar to the [Tidal Net], which can be called a land-based version of the [Tidal Net], albeit a lower-spec version.

After all, the casting of [Entanglement] requires more specific natural conditions; for example, it is almost useless in cities.

No wonder it's a common spell, while [Tidal Net] is classified as a rare spell.

【Burning Hand】is an area-of-effect spell.

This is Gaode's current weakness; it lacks effective means of launching group attacks.

Additionally, fire elemental spells are generally more versatile in lower-level stages of the game, hence the use of [Burning Hand].

Gaode Maps ranks it very highly.

The main and auxiliary materials required for the spell potions of these two spells are quite common, and Gaode was able to buy them easily.

This is one of the advantages of common spells compared to rare spells: most of the time, the materials needed for spell potions of common spells are easier to obtain.

The reason is simple: ordinary spells have a lower barrier to entry, so more people will learn them, and the demand for spell potions will be greater.

Demand determines the market—an eternal truth.

Dorne was, after all, the capital of Barrowshire, so the day after the military achievements were reported, the bookworm that God had ordered for so long finally arrived.

As soon as he got his hands on the bookworm, he immediately concocted the corresponding spell potion and drank it down.

His second-level mental strength, coupled with his unique spell model construction method, made learning first-level spells a piece of cake for him.

He completed the spell models for all three first-level spells in just two days.

Looking at his remaining 4 elemental numbers, Gao De thought for a moment, took out a small amount, and clicked on […].

[Identification Techniques] Part 1.

This is not just because it is a rare spell.

The Identification spell can even be considered the spell with the longest duration among the rare spells of the first rank.

Even at the fifth or sixth ring, mages will still use this spell frequently.

For this reason alone, Gaode cannot be stingy with this source.

Moreover, this spell is indeed very useful.

First, the most common and basic use of this spell is to determine the grade of extraordinary materials.

Although mages can roughly determine the grade of a material by the level of magic it contains, they are generally not wrong.

But this can be faked.

Some mages skilled in this art have the ability to disguise low-grade extraordinary materials as higher-grade extraordinary materials and resell them at high prices.

To see through this scam, you either need to have enough knowledge to spot the forgery, or you need to be strong enough to use the "authentication technique" to verify it.

During a lifespan of hundreds or even thousands of years, a mage would certainly engage in numerous transactions with others.

The necessity of mastering such a spell is self-evident.

In addition, if you obtain some unknown equipment after an accident (murder), such as a mysterious sword, you can use the appraisal skill to find out whether the sword has extraordinary power, special abilities, or is cursed, which is also essential to avoid being scammed.

Furthermore, many extraordinary items require synchronization to unleash their full power.

The term "synchronization" actually refers to the fact that some extraordinary items require special activation methods to unleash their full power.

Most commonly, some family heirlooms that have been passed down for a long time often require a secret magic seal to activate;

Or perhaps some extraordinary objects of holy light need to absorb sunlight at dawn to fully unleash their power.

Whether or not synchronization is required is generally not something that anyone other than the creator can directly know.

It would be a pity to obtain an extraordinary item but fail to unleash its true power because you don't know it needs to be synchronized.

Finally, if you encounter a creature controlled by a strange spell, you can use the Identify spell to quickly determine what spell it is under and find a way to remove it.

[Appraisal] is not an offensive spell, but for mages, its functionality surpasses most offensive spells, which is why it is listed in the rare spell list.

One ring origin -1.

After a familiar "cutscene," the spell model of [Appraisal] expands into many new branches, with changes far exceeding those of other first-level spells.

【Identify + [Rare]】 (Prophecy, 1st Ring): You designate an object and remain in contact with it throughout the spell's cast.

Additional: When the item is a transcendental item that requires synchronization or other objects imbued with transcendental power, you may know how to synchronize it (the probability depends largely on your own level of transcendental knowledge).

When the item is made of extraordinary materials, you will be able to perceive certain properties of it;

When you encounter a creature affected by a spell, you will be able to know the remaining duration of the spell, allowing you to better determine whether to dispel it or wait for the effect to end.

The higher the level of the extraordinary item, the more mana will be required to identify it.

This is a comprehensive upgrade, which is equivalent to adding a "mod" to the spell.

Gao De immediately went to Walmart's Magic Materials Store to conduct a preliminary test of the effects of [Appraisal Skill+].

He cast [Appraisal+] on the scales of the Blackwing Scale Serpent he had recently acquired.

After the two drops of liquid mana were consumed, some information emerged from his mind.

Second-tier extraordinary material... sturdy... water-resistant...

Gao De had just returned to the Vanjolen district from the Walmart Magic Supplies store and hadn't even entered his dormitory when two Sea Sentinel staff members hurriedly ran towards him, shouting loudly from a few steps away, "Master Gao De!"

"What's wrong?" He stopped and looked puzzled.

"Emergency mandatory mission."

"Auckland has been hit by a massive cyclone, and the situation is dire. All Sea Sentinel Mages currently on standby in Dorne are ordered to proceed to Auckland immediately to participate in disaster relief efforts. No delays are permitted!"