Above the mage

Chapter 446 Warrant Officer Mage

Gao De glanced at the scheduled time for the title conferment ceremony: the fifteenth day of the month.

It is currently the 3rd of the month.

The invitation was sent yesterday, so it must have been sent out on the 1st.

The letter was sent fourteen days in advance to ensure that Gaode could arrange his schedule and make time to participate in the title awarding ceremony.

Moreover, the invitation was signed by the Earl of Roland.

As the lord of a city, a count, personally invited Gao De, he had no reason not to go.

In fact, even without showing such sincerity and importance, Gaode would have accepted the invitation without hesitation.

This is similar to an awards ceremony in the entertainment industry in my previous life. Of course, the winners could choose not to attend, and it would not affect the awarding of the prize.

But unless they really can't get away, they will attend most of the time.

After all, if someone gives you awards and honors, you naturally have to reciprocate with face.

The same applies to the title conferment ceremony.

In Auckland, the fact that such a significant and prestigious title was bestowed upon Gaode is ultimately due to Gaode's contributions, but regardless, it is a huge benefit to him.

He naturally accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Thinking this, Gao De quietly put the invitation away from his body.

As for the remaining two "expired" invitations, he didn't care and casually put them back in the mailbox.

Although the invitation was a private one, inviting only him, the date on the invitation and the date of the banquet were only one day apart.

According to the aristocratic etiquette of the Plantagenet dynasty, invitations to regular banquets that are not for festivals or important occasions need to be sent 3-14 days in advance to ensure that the invitee has enough time to adjust their schedule, and also to show respect to the invitee.

If there are special circumstances that prevent adherence to this time, a handwritten explanation must be attached to the invitation.

However, this invitation from the Burns family was all alone, without any explanation or clarification.

Combined with his previous interactions with Zuo Wen Burns, it's clear that the Burns family still treats him with condescension, and this banquet is hardly a pleasant one.

Even if Gaode had made it in time, let alone missed the time, he still wouldn't have attended the banquet.

As for the invitation from the city lord's mansion, although the delivery time was very close to the banquet time, it did not conform to the usual etiquette - invitations for such festive banquets usually need to be sent out one month to six weeks in advance.

However, the invitation came with a long, flattering explanation. In short, it said that they hadn't originally intended to invite him, but his outstanding performance in the Auckland disaster relief efforts caught the attention of the city lord, who praised him as a young talent and thus extended a special invitation.

If we really missed it, there's nothing we can do about it.

Thinking this, Gao De passed by his home without entering and left the dormitory again.

However, he didn't go far. He walked to the nearby commercial street, entered a heraldry and paper goods shop, and bought a set of (5 sheets) of top-grade stationery for 5 gold coins.

That's equivalent to one gold coin for a single sheet of paper. Even in this world, where paper is still considered an expensive commodity, this price is extremely outrageous.

But you still have to buy it if you need to.

According to the etiquette of the Plantagenet dynasty, if one intends to accept the invitation, one must write a reply by hand on the same type of stationery within two days of receiving the invitation.

Of course, since Gao De is not an aristocrat, it is not a serious breach of etiquette even if he does not strictly follow the etiquette process, and it is understandable.

However, since they are aware of these procedures and are currently in a honeymoon period with Auckland, Gaode is still willing to do the superficial work that needs to be done properly.

Putting aside other things, in a dynasty like the Golden Plantagenet that believed in ancient doctrines and virtues, a reputation or persona of politeness would be more convenient in all aspects.

Back in his dorm, Gao De took out a pen and ink, then a sheet of paper, and began to write a reply by hand.

You get what you pay for. This letter paper, worth 1 gold coin, is indeed made of exceptional materials. It is thick and sturdy, with an extremely smooth surface and a slight sheen, which should be due to the addition of gold fibers to enhance its luster.

The receipt was also very simple.

First, express your gratitude, then directly respond to the invitation and confirm your attendance.

After writing the reply slip, Gao De thought for a moment, then took out another piece of cheap parchment from the drawer and began to transcribe it quickly.

This time, I wrote a report on the change of mage level for the Sea Sentinels, which was also an application for salary and benefits adjustment.

The salary system for sea sentinels combines military rank with mage level.

That is, the salary itself consists of military rank salary and mage level salary.

Even if your military rank remains the same, as long as your mage level increases, your salary will also increase accordingly.

This system is quite similar to the salary system within the system in my previous life: the mage level is equivalent to academic qualifications, and the military rank is equivalent to job level.

Even if your job title remains the same, but your degree is upgraded, such as from undergraduate to postgraduate, you can still get a salary increase after the application is submitted and approved.

The core purpose of this system is to encourage monks within the organization to continuously improve their own qualities, diligently practice, and optimize the structure of the monk team.

This also ensures a more reasonable and fair compensation system, so that compensation can better match the mage's abilities and level.

He has successfully advanced to the second ring mage level, from a first-ring mage to a second-ring mage. Naturally, he needs to report this to his superiors in order to receive higher pay and benefits.

The entire "salary increase" process is not too complicated, consisting of only three steps.

One is to confirm the mage's level.

It's impossible for the sea sentinels to recognize you as a second-ring mage just because you claim to have been promoted to a second-ring mage. Verification and valid proof are required.

There are many ways to prove it, the simplest being to cast a spell corresponding to the ring number:

A first-ring mage may defeat a second-ring mage, but they absolutely cannot cast second-ring spells; there is no exception to this.

Second, submit an application.

After completing the certification, submit the certification results to the Supplies Department, and at the same time submit an application to change the mage's level.

Once the materials department confirms the certification results are authentic and valid, and the application meets the requirements, they will prepare the relevant materials and submit them to the higher authorities for approval.

Finally, there's the adjustment and implementation of salary and benefits.

Once approved by higher authorities, the salary will be adjusted according to the new mage level standards.

The reason why Gaode rushed to report the change of mage level was partly due to salary and benefits, but it was also a secondary reason.

Ultimately, the salaries of sea sentries are not high to begin with, so how much could they possibly increase even if they did get a raise?

The real reasons are twofold: firstly, to provide a reasonable explanation for his nearly month-long disappearance.

The cultivation of a mage is not like the fantasy novels he read in his previous life, where cultivators would go into seclusion for several years at a time.

At least before the fourth ring, low-ring mages need to sleep to recover their energy. In addition, due to limitations in mental strength, the total time for daily cultivation is limited.

In such cases, the concept of seclusion for spiritual practice is rarely mentioned.

There is only one exception.

That's an ascending ring.

The Ascending Ring is like a life-or-death hurdle. If you pass it, you will soar to the sky. If you fail it, it's not as exaggerated as "dying and disappearing," but in most cases, it means that your potential has been completely squandered and your future is bleak.

Therefore, in order to maximize the success rate of ring enhancement, mages will prepare various external items, including ring enhancement potions, choose an environment rich in magical energy, and try to avoid all external interference.

In such situations, mages often choose a secluded place to go into seclusion to avoid being maliciously disturbed during their ascension to the next level, or encountering any unpleasant events that could negatively affect their state of mind. Mages do not have inner demons when ascending to the next level, but the principle that state of mind affects one's condition is universally applicable.

In addition, monks preparing for the ordination ceremony often live a regular and peaceful life for 10-20 days in order to adjust their physical and mental state to the best.

Whether doing this will improve the success rate of IUD upgrades remains to be seen.

But for mages preparing to upgrade their rings, since it only takes an extra half month, the cost is negligible, so they might as well believe it's true.

Putting everything else aside, even just getting some psychological comfort is a win.

It was because of this claim that God dared to disappear from Dorne for such a long time.

Another reason is to continue to cultivate and reinforce his image as a genius mage.

A sixteen-year-old second-ring mage would definitely be considered a top genius in the Golden Flower Dynasty.

His performance after joining the Sea Sentinels was, frankly, a bit too outstanding, which offended some people both openly and secretly.

Although bound by the overt rules, they could not resort to barbaric means against him, but given the background and power of these nobles, there were still many ways to make things difficult for him or trip him up.

In this situation, there are only two options to protect yourself.

Alternatively, one could be like Ur Newman, accepting the "recruitment" of the nobility and becoming one of them.

Either make yourself stand out so much that they can't target you.

Gaode's choice is naturally the latter.

The Sea Sentinel's review process is quite fast.

Just the day after the application was submitted, staff notified Gaode to go to Haiyuan White Pagoda to reassess the mage's level.

If this were within the system of my previous life, it would have taken at least a week to complete.

However, this is not because the people in this world are of higher quality than those in the previous world.

The main reason is that he is a sea sentinel mage, while these staff members are just ordinary people or ordinary mages, whose status is naturally lower than his. They are more like servants to him than colleagues.

Without delay, Gao De immediately went to the White Tower of the Abyss to conduct the mage level assessment.

The method he chose to determine his mage level was not by casting second-circle spells.

This is indeed the simplest way.

But according to his own experience, he should have just successfully advanced to the next level in the last few days. It's really unreasonable that he mastered a second-level spell so quickly.

Moreover, the origin of the second-circle spell recipe is also unclear.

Therefore, Gaode decisively rejected this identification method and instead conducted the test through the legal platform.

He had experienced this thing once during the initial selection of the Sea Sentinels; it was an alchemy machine specifically used to detect the status of mages.

Once the mage stands on the platform and activates it, a continuous stream of magic will sweep over the mage's body, ultimately revealing the mage's specific mage level, down to the exact number of drops of liquid mana.

Spells and specialties are a mage's absolute privacy and should not be easily revealed.

In comparison, the mage's level is not so secretive.

Moreover, he has only just advanced to the second ring, and is in the purest initial stage of the second ring with sixty patterns, so he is not afraid that the Dharma Platform will reveal his true strength.

Standing on the altar, Gao De received a stamped certificate of his second-level mage status a few minutes later.

After obtaining the certificate, he immediately went to the supplies department next door.

"You've become a second-ring mage?!"

At the supplies depot, the familiar "NPC" Mage Neil shifted his gaze from the application and level certificate submitted by Gaode to Gaode's face, looking astonished.

Although he had a vague suspicion when Gaode exchanged for the second-ring upgrade potion, Green Vine Dew, last time, he was still shocked to learn that Gaode had successfully upgraded his ring.

"After the Auckland disaster relief mission, in addition to the military merit reward for the Sea Sentinels, Golden Feather Fortress also gave me an extra reward, which included a 30-year-old Dragon Bird Blood Fungus. With the help of this Dragon Bird Blood Fungus, I broke through to the first level of perfection. I felt that the time was right, so I drank the Green Vine Spirit Dew."

Gao De shrugged, feigning helplessness, and said, "And then I successfully upgraded my ring."

"Good lad," Mage Neil said after a moment of silence, then added, "The materials are fine, I will submit them to the higher-ups for approval as soon as possible."

"Thank you for your help," Gao De said gratefully.

The third floor of the Mage Tower.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's office.

A knock came at the door.

After receiving permission, the door was pushed open, and Lieutenant Colonel Grayling looked up as Captain Merrick walked in.

"Merrick, is there something you need?"

Captain Merrick nodded and handed over a roll of parchment.

"I just received an interesting salary adjustment request from the staff. I thought you might be interested, so I sent it over for you to take a look as soon as possible."

"Oh?" Lieutenant Colonel Grayling raised an eyebrow, showing some interest.

Captain Merrick wouldn't bother coming to him for such a trivial matter; it could only mean that there was something special about the application.

Thinking this, he took the parchment and unfolded it to examine its contents.

Master Gao Huan's reading speed and information processing ability are extremely exaggerated, so he only glanced at it casually and had already imprinted all the information in his mind.

"Is it the Second Ring Road?"

He looked up, slightly surprised. "Didn't you tell me that during last year's Sea Sentinel selection, his mage level was only mid-stage of the first ring, with 24 drops of liquid mana?"

That's right.

"Only nine months have passed, and it's already the Second Ring Road?" Lieutenant Colonel Grayling raised an eyebrow.

"One is that, as I said at the time, he had not enjoyed any resources before joining the Sea Sentinels, and he achieved this level of mage purely through his own cultivation."

After joining the Sea Sentinels, resources became abundant, and potential was unlocked, so the speed at which the mage level increased was naturally different from before;

"Another thing I know is that, because of his outstanding performance in the Auckland disaster relief mission, the city lord also rewarded him with a 30-year-old Dragon Bird Blood Fungus," Merrick said.

"A thirty-year-old Dragon Bird Blood Fungus can increase one's magical power by approximately 10-20 drops of liquid mana, let's say 15 drops. So, in these nine months, he has also increased his liquid mana by 20 drops on his own," Lieutenant Colonel Graylin calculated for a moment, then nodded in praise, "This God, his mage talent is truly outstanding!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Grayling, what you said back then—that if God could be promoted to a second-circle mage before the age of twenty, he would be promoted to warrant officer—should that be carried out as planned?" Captain Merrick hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously.

(End of this chapter)