[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-106":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Above the Mage!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2257110,4404,"Chapter 106: Progress","above-the-mage-chapter-106",106,"\u003Cp>After confirming Gao De’s intention to stay, the staff wrote “Harvest Month 4” on his summons and stamped it with an official seal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Gao De received another five gold coins as his “daily wage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he estimated that the original number of recruited mages was about five hundred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After one day, one-tenth had chosen to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest had chosen to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If calculated at four hundred fifty, even if all were mage apprentices, the daily hiring cost for Bremen City would be roughly 4,500 Xien gold coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In one day, the team could advance only ten or so kilometers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If everything went smoothly, it would take nearly half a month to complete this mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, 4,500 gold—by purchasing power, this was roughly equivalent to 4.5 million yuan on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This labor cost was astonishingly high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after careful thought, Gao De felt it wasn’t unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Earth, the construction cost for one kilometer of highway ranged from 20 to 30 million yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In comparison, spending 4.5 million yuan to advance ten kilometers—and gaining loot from corpse harvests of ground-pulse creatures—was quite efficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The value of these ground-pulse creature corpses might not let the authorities break even or make a small profit, but at least it would offset much of the cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this trip, Gao De had bought five sets of “Blue Light Elixir” from the potion shop, and replenished another five sets of “Basic Magic Elixir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ten sets of Basic Magic Elixir purchased on Harvest Month 2 had been fully consumed yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just for potions, his monthly expenditure reached 60 gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao De could only grit his teeth and accept it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more battles he experienced, the more he felt his mana was insufficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, spending gold to accelerate mana growth, though seemingly extravagant, was absolutely necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dinner, Gao De found a quiet corner, took out a bottle of Basic Magic Elixir, drank it without drawing attention, and sat in stillness to begin his guiding practice, ignoring the surrounding noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in the wild, he had no intention of interrupting his cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this journey would keep him outdoors for nearly half a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De could not tolerate such a long interruption in his cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, as dawn broke, the logistics guards had already boiled meat broth in large pots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, there were no notions—scientific or otherwise—that “breakfast is the source of daily energy” or “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, not everyone in this world ate breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially among the laboring class, rising at dawn to begin work was common.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If breakfast was served, it was simple: leftover rice or dishes, cold bread from the previous day, paired with water or weak wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though everyone needed to perform their duties and expended great physical strength, serving each person a bowl of meat broth was already an exceptional privilege.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staple food remained dried rations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After breakfast, everyone gathered according to yesterday’s team composition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yesterday was the first day; some came on a whim.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After today’s mission, those still here won’t leave anytime soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me introduce myself—I’m Ma Qieyi, a 1-Ring mage, member of the Enforcement Squad.” The team’s leader, who had withheld his name yesterday, now volunteered it before departure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please share your names and mage ranks—we’ll be together for nearly half a month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Ma Qieyi setting the tone, everyone exchanged basic information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De counted: their temporary team, including Ma Qieyi, totaled twenty-three people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from Ma Qieyi, the 1-Ring mage, the remaining twenty-two consisted of eleven Third-Class mage apprentices and eleven Second-Class mage apprentices—exactly half and half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A quick glance told Gao De that he was likely the lowest-ranked member in the entire team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because even the youngest among them looked to be well into their twenties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that age, even as a Second-Class apprentice, they were far beyond this “new recruit” who had only just advanced to Second-Class a month ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if my rank is low, I know more spells.” Gao De thought to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, when clearing the Grey Spike Bee swarms, over half the team could only stand by helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without mana, knowing more spells meant nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And vice versa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief cleanup, the main force resumed movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrangement was identical to yesterday’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Advancing along the imperial road, every kilometer or so, two teams were deployed into the dense forests on either side to clear land and open up new areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Days passed. Everyone’s ability to handle ground-pulse creatures and their coordination steadily improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as clearing progressed, casualties gradually emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost every day, several mage apprentices died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De’s team was lucky: though some were injured, no one had been lost yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing that disappointed him was that he hadn’t encountered another “reward event” like the Grey Spike Bee swarms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harvest Month 8.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five days had passed since the main force departed from Bremen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the cart near the campfire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De sat cross-legged, already in a meditative state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the temporary camp, many mage apprentices were doing the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, wild mages who answered the summons mostly still had a fighting spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diligent cultivation was the most basic requirement for any mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De opened his eyes, a smile on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Finally another breakthrough!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His guiding technique had just advanced a small level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Gao De’s mana could support him casting eight cantrips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He calculated: his last guiding technique breakthrough had been on Sunlight Month 1, right after arriving in Bremen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only thirty-seven days had passed, yet he had advanced again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faster than expected by several days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps it’s because I’ve been constantly using and restoring mana.” Gao De thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then closed his eyes again, focused, and opened the crude information panel for “Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Origin:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>0-Ring—【Human】(2\u002F7), 【Digging Worm】(1\u002F7), 【Wolf Rat】(4\u002F7), 【Magic Burst Frog】(1\u002F7), 【Ferocious Rat】(3\u002F7), 【Earth Magic Bat】(2\u002F7)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of the total eleven entries, five origin points had been fully collected and used; six remained in progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Human】could be ignored for now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Digging Worm】too—throughout these five days, neither his team nor any other had encountered one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed the ground-pulse territory connected to “Hogen Ground-Pulse” did not contain this creature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Wolf Rat】was only three short—closest to completion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for 【Magic Burst Frog】, just thinking of it still gave Gao De chills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed the weakest among these entries, labeled “frog.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the supernatural world, one must never judge by conventional logic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, over these five days, the Magic Burst Frog had been one of the most troublesome 0-Ring ground-pulse creatures Gao De encountered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It possessed supernatural power, with spell-like abilities, capable of firing a powerful energy beam from its mouth—devastating in strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Ma Qieyi, the Magic Burst Frog’s spell-like ability was equivalent to the cantrip 【Magic Burst】.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And 【Magic Burst】was nearly the strongest cantrip, even surpassing 【Flame Arrow】.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the Magic Burst Frog could not fire its energy beam continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after injuring one mage apprentice, Gao De swiftly and precisely struck it down with a 【Flame Arrow+】, reducing it to charcoal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Ferocious Rat】was the weakest among these entries—neither as large as the 【Wolf Rat】nor appearing in swarms like the 【Ferocious Bat】.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So as soon as it was spotted, the team’s mage apprentices would casually dispatch it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Earth Magic Bat】was another 0-Ring ground-pulse creature with supernatural ability, but not spell-like—it could spit out cone-shaped stones from its mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its power was no less formidable, and it appeared in groups of eight or nine—a rare sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But thanks to Ma Qieyi’s timely intervention as a 1-Ring mage, the group of 【Earth Magic Bat】caused no major damage to the team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, as flying ground-pulse creatures, Gao De had managed to kill two of them using the extended range of his 【Flame Arrow+】.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, over these five days, Gao De’s team had cleared far more ground-pulse creatures than these.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But “it’s damn hard to get the kill!” Gao De muttered again—this complaint had repeated countless times these past days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1352,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","dfdd36d2a92fbb0118d39eac3b8c133176f9b1d6533caa8370f4c2279d0c74f3","above-the-mage-chapter-107","above-the-mage-chapter-105",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]