Chapter 124: Kuli Cliff

Level-1 spell formulas clearly contain far more content than Level-0 spell formulas.

Thus, the entire leather-bound booklet is much thicker than the previous one.

This is primarily because the spell model’s nodes have increased, making the entire model structure more complex, and thus requiring more diagrams and explanatory notes.

When Gao De flipped to the end of the spell formula, a corresponding potion recipe appeared before his eyes.

This was something absent from the Level-0 spell formulas.

Even though Gao De already had the potion on hand, he still examined it with keen interest.

Potion for the Spell “Acquire Familiar” (Tier-1 Potion): Prerequisite potion for learning the spell “Acquire Familiar.”

Main ingredient: 2 drops of Mind-Drifting Thorn sap, one-quarter gu si of Deepwater Octopus brain fluid; Auxiliary ingredients: 2 gu si of Rootless Pure Water, 5 silver bell herb leaves, 1 pair of blue butterfly wings. Gao De’s gaze continued downward, but suddenly realized the potion recipe ended here.

Where are the preparation steps??? A complete potion recipe must at least include three basic elements: “potion effect,” “main and auxiliary ingredients,” and “preparation steps.”

Some recipes also include additional items such as “usage instructions” and “cautions.”

But the spell potion recipe before him contained only these two items: “potion effect” and “main and auxiliary ingredients.”

Logically, this should be an incomplete potion recipe.

Did Master Lar give an incomplete spell formula?

Unlikely—he’s a senior figure in the academy; doing this would be beneath him, and there’s no clear reason for him to do so.

If the recipe itself isn’t flawed, then the spell potion must possess unique properties differing from other types of potions.

I still lack too much knowledge. No, it’s not knowledge—I should call it common sense. For a mage born into a mage family, this ought to be common sense, Gao De thought silently.

Fortunately, he had now joined the Ceres Spell Academy; soon, he would master all these common senses.

All the hardship he endured to come to Shengxi En City was indeed the most correct decision, Gao De remarked again.

Gao De stayed in Building 30 for only a moment, tidied his belongings slightly, then left Building 30.

As with all new students, the first two things they care about are always “dormitory” and “dining hall.”

After viewing the dormitory, Gao De’s next target was the dining hall.

It was just mealtime, so when he arrived at the cafeteria, it was already bustling.

The cafeteria offered a wide variety of food, with options ranging from as cheap as 2 copper for “black bread + pea soup” to as expensive as 2 gold for “honey-roasted chick + Heralu mushroom soup.”

At the entrance of the cafeteria stood a prominent sign: Today’s Special: “Charcoal-Grilled Bird Spider,” 10 silver per serving.

Sss—Bird spider, probably a kind of spider. Eating spiders? Are mages really this grotesque? And it’s so expensive—10 silver per serving. With that money, I could eat anything else, why eat a damn spider? Gao De sneered inwardly, disgusted.

Five minutes later.

“Sir, your charcoal-grilled bird spider, enjoy!” The server placed a large platter of charcoal-grilled bird spider before Gao De’s table.

Gao De, whose rationality had been temporarily suppressed by curiosity, examined this specialty dish.

One bird spider was several sizes larger than his palm—he wondered what it ate to grow so big.

The roasting technique was extremely refined: only the surface was charred, crisping the shell while preserving the spider’s full form, presenting it before him as a complete “corpse.”

It didn’t make Gao De’s scalp tighten.

Beside the charcoal-grilled bird spider lay a unique set of utensils for consuming this dish.

Toothpick—made from the spider’s own fangs.

A genuine toothpick.

“I’ve already paid.” In the end, the 10 silver coins decisively overruled Gao De’s reason. He tore off a charred, crispy leg, then, like eating crab, used the toothpick to extract the meat hidden beneath the shell.

Contrary to its fearsome appearance, the bird spider meat had a faint golden hue, highly appetizing.

When Gao De forced himself to stuff the leg meat into his mouth and chewed carefully, he was surprised—it wasn’t nearly as “dark” as he’d imagined.

On the contrary, it was exceptionally delicious.

The meat was tender and elastic, with a subtle smoky aroma and a barely perceptible sweetness, as if perfectly fused from nature and flame.

Gao De’s eyes lit up; his hands and mouth moved faster.

The leg meat was firm and elastic; the abdominal meat was soft and juicy, offering two entirely different experiences.

When he finished tearing and extracting the last leg, Gao De even felt a faint warmth spreading through his body.

This was a special effect inherent to the ingredient—it replenished qi and blood.

This made Gao De no longer resent spending the “fortune” of 10 silver coins.

A unique dish with excellent flavor that replenishes qi and blood—these three qualities would make it perfectly reasonable even in his past life’s hyper-developed food industry: five hundred credits per serving wouldn’t be excessive.

The next day.

Nightday 4.

Gao De finished breakfast early and, half an hour before eight, carried all the tools issued by the academy, finding his way to the reporting point assigned by Committee Member Rachel: Kuli Cliff.

Kuli Cliff, located west of the Ceres Spell Academy, is a sheer cliff rising a hundred meters high.

Beneath the cliff flows the Dahe River, the largest river by drainage area within the Shengxi Kingdom.

Along one side of Kuli Cliff, mages had constructed a winding, spiral staircase at a forty-five-degree angle, connecting the cliff base to the summit.

Though he had arrived half an hour early, Gao De was not the first to arrive.

The first to arrive was a muscular adult man with a body like a steel tower, bare-chested, his pectoral muscles bulging prominently.

He looked less like a mage and more like a brute with a big chest and no brains.

Of course, this world had no such thing as a “brute”—he was clearly a mage.

The giant stood with his hands behind his back; upon seeing Gao De, he merely said flatly, “You’re early.”

Seeing the man had no intention to speak further, Gao De remained silent and waited beside him.

Only when five minutes remained until eight did the other five new students arrive one after another.

The five new students included three males and two females; one of the females was Gao De’s “old acquaintance,” Jie Li Ka.

She arrived last, barely making it on time.

Today, Jie Li Ka was no longer dressed as a noble lady; instead, she wore a fitted top and trousers, looking neat and efficient.

This attire harmonized well with the basket on her back and its contents.

Unlike the other girl, who seemed unaware of the nature of the enrollment task when she saw the tools, she had come dressed in an elegant, expensive silk long dress.

Her outfit, paired with the tools she carried, gave off a jarring sense of a wealthy daughter playing at rural life. Upon seeing Gao De, Jie Li Ka instinctively widened her mouth.

After freezing for a second, she regained composure, realizing the gesture was too unladylike.

She quickly controlled her emotions, returned to her normal expression, and joined the new student line.

Yet her peripheral vision kept flickering toward Gao De, revealing her inner mind had not calmed as her face suggested.

(End of Chapter)