Above the mage

Chapter 76 Knowledge Monopoly

The Radiant Bead is simply a basic magical item with the [Radiance] spell attached.

[Light] (Evocation, 0 Ring):

You touch an object whose size does not exceed 10 feet in any direction. Before the spell ends, the object will emit a bright light within a 20-foot radius and a dim light within a 20-foot radius beyond it.

The color of the light is determined by you; when the object is completely covered by something opaque, its light is blocked.

If you cast the spell again, or use an action to dispel the spell, the spell ends.

A zero-ring trick with a similar effect to Flash of Light was slightly modified by an alchemist and made into a magical item called the Light Orb, which resembles a "rechargeable lamp".

The damaged areas only involved some of the runes wearing away.

The damage was extremely minor; Gaode Maps used a "Repair+" function, and it was fixed in just a few seconds.

In order to conceal his methods, Gaode stayed in the workshop for a full fifteen minutes and deliberately wasted some materials to create the illusion of a normal repair process before leaving the workshop.

Even so, it still seems too fast.

After all, Gao De had never witnessed a real craftsman repairing magical items.

A moment later, Bass, dressed in a long robe, strode over with shining eyes, his face no longer showing any of the suspicion he had shown before.

"Did I pass the test?" Gao De asked knowingly.

"Of course!" Bass stepped forward excitedly, shook God's hand and said, "Welcome to the Craftsmen's Guild."

"What should I call you?"

"Google Ditu," Gaode announced his impressive pseudonym as usual.

"Anna, help Mr. Google register as a craftsman. Also, Mr. Google doesn't need to pay membership fees, and remember to reserve a spot for him at the very top of the notice board by the door."

When Gao De left the Craftsmen's Guild satisfied, his identity had changed to that of a repair craftsman recognized by the Bremen City Craftsmen's Guild.

He will enjoy the union's "legal and economic protection," a stable and favorable source of materials and a large customer base, as well as participation in the union's regularly held activities.

Most importantly, these are all free!

Mr. Bass, a senior member of the guild, waived his first year's membership fee.

Furthermore, starting tomorrow, a notice will appear at the top of the notice board at the entrance of the Craftsmen's Guild, lasting for a week:

"Google Ditto, a newly registered repair craftsman in our guild, undertakes the repair of 0-ring and 1-ring spell items. Reasonable fees, superb skills. He lives at 437 Carmond Street and works from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with a two-hour lunch break."

Gaode's next destination is the Bremen Buddhist Association.

The city's three major mage associations are all located in Deepstream District.

I still traveled by public carriage, and the full fare was still 4 copper coins.

Nearly forty minutes later, I got off at Gaode Maps and walked for another five or six minutes to reach my destination.

No. 3, Sham Liu Street.

What comes into view is an ancient and solemn standalone building.

Even in the densely populated Severn River area, where land is extremely valuable, the Bremen Buddhist Association still owns a large, three-story building of its own.

This demonstrates its strength and financial resources.

Of the three major mage associations in Bremen, the Bremen Mage Association is undoubtedly the leader, and the reason is simple:

It is an official organization.

The main building is constructed of dark stone, with intricate magical runes carved into the stone walls.

The building's roof is covered with blue glazed tiles, which shimmer with a captivating luster in the sunlight.

Several mechanical birds, magical creations, circled above the roof ridge, serving a function similar to a "heavenly eye."

The gate, made of bronze, is currently open, and above the door frame hangs a prominent sign:

A bird spreading its wings, ready to take flight.

Gao De strolled into the gates of the Bremen Buddhist Association.

As soon as you enter, a faint scent of lavender greets you.

The first floor of the Bremen Buddhist Association is an extremely spacious hall.

Inside the hall, there weren't many people; most were sitting quietly, doing their own thing.

Upon hearing footsteps, some people glanced up before continuing with their tasks, while others remained engrossed in their own work.

Gao De silently walked to the counter.

The young woman in charge of reception looked up, glanced at Gao De, and asked:

"Sir, what do you need? Do you need to rent a magic circle, or hire a mage to answer your questions?"

"Do you sell spell recipes here?" Gao De asked casually.

There is no doubt that the Bremen Mage Association, as an official mage association, has the legal right to sell spell recipes.

This is the advantage of big cities, which is incomparable to small cities where even those with money have no legitimate channels to purchase spell recipes.

That's right, it's Hogan City!

Upon hearing Gaode's question, the young woman with brown hair opened a drawer on the counter, took out a small booklet, placed it on the counter, and pushed it toward Gaode.

"Of course, sir. All the spell recipes sold by our association are listed here. You can take a look."

Gao De opened the book with great interest.

It can be observed that the spell recipes listed in the book are only for level 0 and level 1.

"Aren't there any spells above the first ring?" Gao De asked in surprise.

Logically speaking, there should be quite a few mages with a rank of 1 or higher in Bremen.

Logically speaking, there should also be spell recipes for level 1 and above available for sale.

The young woman was not impatient and patiently explained, "According to the regulations, our authority to sell spell recipes is limited to 0-level spells and 1-level spells."

"Only the Saint-Sien Mage Guild has the authority to sell 2nd-level spell recipes."

"Above that, those are not for sale."

So it's not surprising that second-ring mages can only buy spell recipes from the Saint-Sien Mage Guild.

The upper classes in this world already have an extremely serious monopoly on knowledge, let alone the most precious knowledge such as magic recipes.

The fact that the Mage Guild can sell spell recipes is already the result of negotiation and compromise.

After all, if official channels are completely blocked, it will only lead to a proliferation of private transactions involving spell recipes.

Furthermore, since someone has to make this money, why doesn't the government keep it under control?

With that thought in mind, Gao De began to carefully browse the books:

0-ring spells: [Light Dance], [Detect Magic], [Mage Hand], [Repair], [Magic Trick], [Read Magic], [Light], [Spark], [Detect Poison], [Switch], [Message], [Blade Protection].

1st Ring Spells: [Endure the Environment], [Oily], [Appraise], [Language Proficiency], [Hypnosis], [Water Strike], [Magical Aura], [Fright], [Erase].

"That's all?" Gao De looked up in surprise.

After successfully constructing the three spell models—[Water Creation], [Northern Direction], and [Purify Food]—given by Pierre, his spell library has expanded to 15 spells.

The number of level 0 spell recipes sold by a spell association is less than the number of spells in its own spell library.

How is that possible?

Moreover, it is quite obvious that most of these spells are utility spells, and there are not a single damage spell.

"Yes, that's all."

The young woman calmly replied, "The spell recipes sold by our Mage Association are the most complete in Bremen."

"If you go to the Ancient Books Keeper's Guild or the Emerald Alliance, you'll find they sell even fewer types of spell recipes."

(End of this chapter)