Above the mage

Chapter 451 Academics and Practitioners

Solon County, Rockwind Guard.

Gao De's eyes flashed as he quickly reviewed the relevant information in his mind.

The South Coastal Capital Region administers four counties: Forth County, Byro County, Solon County, and Etherland County.

In terms of economy alone, Forth County is the leading of the four counties, and therefore the location of the southern coastal capital.

Solon County is the most economically underdeveloped of the four counties.

The reason is simple: although it belongs to the southern coastal region, it is the only one of the four prefectures that is not on the coast.

Meanwhile, Solon County is backed by the Sword Mountains, and most of its territory consists of valleys, passes, and hills formed by the mountains, with river valleys and plains occupying only half of its land area.

This is rare in the entire Plantagenet Dynasty, as it falls short in both aspects. Only the terrain of Luge County, located at the far northernmost tip of the Plantagenet Dynasty, is similar to that of Solon County.

The territory of Luge County is mainly concentrated in the highlands of the northern mountains, with river valleys and plains accounting for less than 10% of its land area, making it even more "miserable" than Solon County.

However, Liuge County belongs to the Wang Mian family, the most prestigious family in the Plantagenet Dynasty besides the Lister royal family.

In addition, there are large mithril veins in the high mountains of the northern part of Ruga County.

Mithril is the mineral with the best magical conductivity of all discovered to date.

Magical equipment crafted from mithril is incredibly powerful and extremely valuable.

Thanks to the special products of the mithril mine, Ruga County will never be poor.

Not to mention, the silver dragon bird, one of the symbols of the Plantagenet dynasty, also lives among the highlands of the northern mountains.

The Sword Mountains, which Solon County is backed by, not only lack these specialties, but also suffer from the frequent appearance of leyline creatures that attack surrounding towns from time to time, affecting the economic development of Solon County.

As for the Rockwind Guard, they were equivalent to the Sea Sentinels in Bairo County, and were an elite official mage organization in Solon County.

In fact, the entire Plantagenet Dynasty consisted of thirteen prefectures, and each prefecture had a similar mage organization that was vertically managed by the Plantagenet Dynasty.

They have different names and perform different tasks, but their fundamental nature is the same.

Both are elite combat mage organizations of the Golden Flower Dynasty, recruiting mage talents from various prefectures for the Golden Flower Dynasty. Through a similar mission system, they both protect the prefectures and train these mages.

The three top mage legions of the Golden Flower Dynasty—the Sentinels of Light, the Vanguard of Justice, and the Silver Dragon Cavalry—have a majority of their mages selected from these thirteen elite mage organizations.

This demonstrates the importance of these elite mage organizations to the Golden Flower Dynasty.

Although Soren County has the worst economy and development among the four counties, its Rockwind Guard is the strongest among the elite mage organizations in the four counties.

The reasons are not complicated.

"Bad people come from poor and remote areas."

Backed by the Sword Mountains, the frequent appearance of leyline creatures means that the mages of Soren County undertake far more missions, both in terms of frequency and intensity, than those in the other three counties.

Over the years, this has fostered a fierce "martial spirit." Not to mention elite mages, even ordinary mages in Solon County are a cut above the mages in the other three counties.

So, what kind of person, what kind of appointment, would make this official from the South Coastal Capital so serious, even refusing an invitation to stay for a meal, just to avoid wasting time, and would it make Captain Merrick, a Sea Sentinel Mage, hear about it and show an understanding expression?

Gao De subconsciously began to ponder.

However, he was just pondering it; he wouldn't be so tactless as to ask questions—it was none of his business anyway, and too much gossip was never a good thing.

Captain Merrick personally escorted the middle-aged official to the door before returning to the mage tower. He said to Goddard, "Lieutenant Colonel Graylin's banquet is ready, and it's just sitting there empty. If you have nothing else to do, come with me to the banquet later."

As a high-ranking figure from the southern coastal region, he naturally had the confidence to refuse the banquet hosted by the lieutenant colonel.

Firstly, he was part of the naval sentinel system and had to be mindful of the attitudes and opinions of those above him. Secondly, Lieutenant Colonel Grayling had promoted him, so he had no reason to refuse the invitation.

Besides, he does have free time.

Therefore, Gaode immediately nodded.

"Go and collect your identification badge, stamp, uniform, and other miscellaneous items first," Captain Merrick said casually, waving his hand.

There is no special awarding ceremony for the rank of warrant officer, but the replacement and receipt of equipment is still necessary.

The first step was to replace the identification badges.

The new warrant officer's badge features an embossed sea sentinel insignia on the front and Gao De's full name and the date of his commissioning on the back.

The original sergeant's identification tag was recycled.

After the new nameplate is installed, the second floor of the White Pagoda of the Abyss will also be open to him.

For Gaode Maps, the more important benefit is that it can unlock more books.

In addition, there is the issue of receiving the new uniforms.

Of course, you can't receive it immediately; you have to have your body measured and registered at the supplies office first.

The warrant officer uniform is made of a higher-grade water-patterned fabric, which further enhances its waterproof and windproof performance and also provides a certain degree of protection, making it both beautiful and practical.

Since such precious fabrics were used, the uniforms were definitely not made in a few standard sizes and distributed according to height. Instead, they were custom-made according to the different body sizes of the sea sentinel mages.

After Gao De had his measurements taken by the old tailor, he went to collect his warrant officer's seal.

This is a new thing; neither novice mages nor military mages have this kind of seal.

However, once a military officer is promoted to warrant officer, he gains certain administrative authority and is therefore issued a seal.

However, since it is only the lowest rank of Lieutenant Mage, the seal it is given is only the most basic conch shell seal, which can only be used for ordinary documents.

Although it is the most basic conch seal, the workmanship is not simple. In fact, it can be said to be highly technical. It looks ordinary, but it is equipped with the unique anti-counterfeiting mark of the Sea Sentinel, which ensures that no outsiders can make their own seals and use them.

Finally, there is the registration and cataloging of files.

"Warrant Lieutenant Gao De, your salary will be adjusted to 100 Gold Sparrow Coins per year. In addition, when Warrant Lieutenant Mages go out on missions, the daily accommodation standard will be increased to 5 Silver Dragons, and there will be an additional transportation allowance of 2 Silver Dragons and a meal allowance of 2 Silver Dragons per day."

After completing the cataloging, the staff member in charge of managing the archives congratulated Gao De with a smile.

Reaching the rank of warrant officer suddenly meant that the salary, which was originally just a token amount, became quite substantial.

A salary of 100 Golden Bird Coins would have been equivalent to an annual salary of 100,000 in my previous life.

It doesn't sound like much, but the key point is that this is a "guaranteed minimum wage".

What is a guaranteed minimum?

Even if you do nothing for a year, you will still receive this salary, which is equivalent to giving it away for free.

It fits the nature of a government job perfectly. The initial salary and benefits seem ordinary and not very cost-effective, but the higher you go, the better it gets.

Although the process went smoothly, it still took quite a while, and before we knew it, it was almost lunchtime.

Gao De checked the time and, not daring to delay any longer, left the White Tower of the Abyss, hailed a carriage by the roadside, and headed towards Lieutenant Colonel Graylin's residence.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's residence was located in the Van Tralon district, rather than in the Kensington district, where nobles congregated.

This was somewhat unexpected by Gaode.

However, it certainly wasn't because they couldn't afford it. Even though housing prices in Kensington are high, it wouldn't be difficult for a Sea Sentinel mage with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Grayling to buy a mansion. It's just a matter of personal preference.

Of course, the mansion is located in the best part of the Vanjolen district, right next to the Yadan River.

The banks of the Yadan River stretch out on both sides, with the most famous magic academy in Barrowshire, the Vandrolen Magic Academy, on the left.

On the right bank are rows of mansions enclosed by ornate iron fences.

From this perspective, the price of a mansion here may not be lower than that in the aristocratic district.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's residence was a three-story building with the exterior painted in classic Dorn red, a triangular pediment above the main entrance, and acanthus leaf patterns carved on the lintel.

Above the bronze door knocker is a small sea sentinel badge—the only mark on the entire building that signifies the identity of its owner, a sea sentinel mage.

Gao De disembarked from his carriage in front of the mansion gate, and after identifying himself and explaining his purpose to the servants who had been waiting at the gate, he was led into the mansion.

"The master is waiting for you in the study. Please follow me." A butler in a black uniform stood at the door after passing through a gravel-paved passageway.

His voice was deep and restrained as he took over the servant's duties, leading Gao De through the finely carpeted foyer, up the stairs, and to the study on the second floor.

The study door was already half-open. After the butler knocked lightly on the door, he pushed it open.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling and Captain Merrick were both in the study, drinking tea.

In addition, there was a beautiful lady in an ivory white taffeta dress and a young man in a well-tailored blue bodysuit in the room.

The study's tall floor-to-ceiling windows face the Yadan River. At this moment, the setting sun dyes the river surface golden red, and the shimmering light shines through the openwork pattern of the lace curtains into the study, weaving delicate spots of light on the expensive carpet.

"Petty bourgeoisie".

In this situation, Gao De subconsciously thought of a word that did not exist in the current world.

Lieutenant Colonel Grayling sat in the central seat, while Captain Merrick sat on the lower seat to his left, maintaining a perfectly humble posture.

The beautiful lady's chair was at a 45-degree angle to the main seat, neither overshadowing the main seat nor preventing her from naturally participating in the conversation, while the young man casually leaned against the desk.

Judging from their seating arrangement and posture, the identities of the woman and the young man are quite obvious; they should be Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's wife and son.

"Is the process complete?" Lieutenant Colonel Grayling saw Gao De enter and placed the bone china teacup back on the silver tray, the cup and saucer clinking softly.

"I'm done," Gao De replied while exchanging greetings.

"Please sit down," he gestured to a seat beside him. "Don't be shy. You're a guest here now that you're here."

"Let me introduce you, this is my beloved wife, Emily Laurent." After God sat down, Lieutenant Colonel Grayling nodded to the side.

Mrs. Emily maintained a perfectly measured, aloof smile as she nodded slightly to Warrant Officer Gao De, the curve of her lips precise and elegant: "Warrant Officer Gao De, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Then Lieutenant Colonel Grayling looked at the young man leaning against the desk. "This is my son, Theodore Laurent, who is currently studying at the Vandroren Academy of Magic. You are actually four years younger than him."

Before the lieutenant colonel could finish speaking, Theodore straightened up, raised his chin, and curled his lips into a faint smile. His carefully styled curly hair fell across his forehead, and he made no attempt to hide the sharpness in his eyes.

"I have long admired the name of Warrant Officer Gao De. After all, it is rare to find someone who can be personally recommended by one's father."

Gord didn't care about Theodore's subtle "hostility," but was more concerned about his surname—Lieutenant Colonel Grayling's full name should be Grayling Ball, which means that Theodore actually took his mother's surname.

That's quite rare.

"Don't be rude," Lieutenant Colonel Graylin seemed displeased with Theodore's words, frowning slightly as he reprimanded him. He then explained to God, "Theodore has been studying at the Vandroren Academy of Magic and has achieved excellent grades, hence his arrogance."

"Not just excellent, but in the top three," Theodore corrected earnestly.

That must be the third place, Gao De thought to himself.

"Yes, yes, but although Warrant Officer Gao is younger than you, his abilities far surpass yours."

Lieutenant Colonel Graylin's tone carried a hint of slight indulgence, but his words were still mainly admonishing: "Warrant Lieutenant Gao De was promoted to a second-ring mage at the age of sixteen, and he has made great contributions. He even defeated a second-ring mage when he was a first-ring mage. Such practical combat ability is something that a mage like you who came from an academy cannot compare to. Don't treat him like this just because he is younger than you."

Upon hearing this, Theodore was speechless. He had only been promoted to the second ring two or three months ago, and he was indeed inferior to Gao De in terms of talent.

But he was still somewhat unconvinced by the second half of the statement, muttering, "Who said that our academic mages are no match for your Sea Sentinel mages in actual combat?"

Before Lieutenant Colonel Grayling could say anything, Mrs. Emily, who was stirring her tea with a silver teaspoon, paused slightly and glanced at Gao De's young face out of the corner of her eye.

She spoke slowly, her tone carrying a unique composure and nobility: "Since you are so unconvinced, Warrant Officer Gao De, if you don't mind, why not do me the honor of having a duel with Theodore before dinner begins, so that he can understand the difference between academic mages and practical mages like you?"

"So that he won't bury himself in his studies at the Vandrolen Magic Academy all day long, and become arrogant and ignorant of the world outside after achieving some success."

"There's even this part waiting for me," Gao De couldn't help but think to himself.

Upon hearing his wife's suggestion, Lieutenant Colonel Graylin's eyes lit up slightly, seemingly finding it amusing as well. He added, "Theodore was only promoted to the second ring three months ago, which is two months earlier than Warrant Officer God. In terms of mage level, they are evenly matched. A sparring match wouldn't hurt, just to help me curb this brat's arrogance."

Since things had been said to this extent, Gaode felt embarrassed to refuse.

Besides, it was just a playful sparring match, nothing serious.

So he immediately nodded in agreement, looked around, and asked, "I'm just wondering where would be a suitable place to spar?"

Let alone a second-ring mage, even a first-ring mage fighter could demolish Lieutenant Colonel Greylin's mansion into ruins.

"I have a dedicated fighting arena in my residence. The space isn't large, but it should be sufficient for fighting of this level," Lieutenant Colonel Graylin said, standing up with a hearty laugh.

(End of this chapter)