[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-130":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},2257134,4404,"Chapter 130: Gri Hareler","above-the-mage-chapter-130",130,"\u003Cp>Who is Gao De?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Gao De finished his “special” lunch and was about to rise and leave, a loud voice suddenly rang out at the restaurant’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man’s voice was so loud it instantly drowned out all the murmurs in the restaurant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone, including Gao De, turned to look toward the restaurant’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tall, slender young man with a refined appearance, dressed in a standard academy robe, stood at the entrance, his gaze sweeping over the diners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes were sharply piercing, carrying an inexplicable pressure; few dared meet his gaze directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gri Hareler is looking for someone? What’s he doing acting like he’s here to cause trouble?” Gao De heard someone whisper beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gri Hareler. Gao De turned the name over in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never heard the first name before, but the surname was strangely familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While everyone else was speculating about why Gri Hareler was looking for someone named Gao De, Gao De already had a faint suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Gri Hareler’s gaze had already swept across every person in the restaurant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And during that sweep, he seemed to have already locked onto his target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His sharp eyes finally settled on Gao De, and under the watchful stares of all, he walked straight over to Gao De’s table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De stood up, his brow slightly furrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If someone comes with good intentions, they don’t come like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one named Gao De?” Gri Hareler asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve got the wrong person,” Gao De replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he turned and walked away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Gao De walk off, Gri Hareler clearly froze—he had never expected such a reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t until Gao De had taken several steps and was nearly out the door that Gri Hareler finally snapped back to reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face darkened, and he hurried forward, blocking Gao De’s path again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression toward Gao De was full of contempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder you got in through a recommendation letter—you’re a country bumpkin who won’t even own up to your own name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How could someone like you possibly have the right to study at the Ceres Arcane Academy alongside me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gri Hareler’s voice was not lowered; if anything, he deliberately amplified it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as those words left his mouth, and given that the other students in the restaurant were already in “watching a show” mode and watching the two closely,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>nearly everyone heard Gri Hareler’s words and learned Gao De’s background.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De stared calmly at Gri Hareler, who blocked his way: “First, whether I have the right to study at the Ceres Arcane Academy is not your decision to make.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He added calmly: “Second, my name really is Gao De—but I’m not the only person with that name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just like you’re called Gri—in my hometown, there’s a stray dog named Gri. It’s close to me, barks every day to come find me—but I don’t think you’re that dog.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I only know the dog named Gri. I don’t know you. So the Gao De you’re looking for isn’t me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gri Hareler had never imagined Gao De would respond like this—and he clearly caught the implication that he was being called a “stray dog.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, he stood frozen, speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But only for a few seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh.” Gri Hareler sneered. “You’ve got quite the sharp tongue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As a senior student, it seems I have no choice but to teach you newcomers some academy etiquette.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The academy instructors will teach me etiquette—I don’t need you meddling.” Even in a disadvantageous position, Gao De’s tongue remained unyielding, unlike his deferential tone when dealing with Master Lar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple: with Master Lar, he had a choice—being courteous could earn him courtesy in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with Gri Hareler, whether he was courteous or not, it wouldn’t change the man’s hostility—so why bother? Besides, Gri Hareler was merely a senior student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What troubles could he possibly cause that would compare to the power of Master Lar, a high-ranking academy official?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The first lesson I’ll teach you is to show respect to your elders,” Gri Hareler finally snapped, his pride wounded by Gao De’s attitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your enrollment task is to submit three thousand kilograms of water-gold ore to the Alchemy Division,” a clear, gritted whisper suddenly reached Gao De’s ears—audible only to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Message Spell].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me remind you—I happen to be the current chief of the Alchemy Division. Receiving and verifying water-gold ore submissions falls squarely within my duties. Just watch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gri Hareler looked at Gao De with disdain, as if he could already see the panic rising on Gao De’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as chief of the Alchemy Division, he had no authority to reject Gao De’s submitted ore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he could still make things difficult for Gao De during the process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, by enforcing stricter purity standards when verifying the ore. The Alchemy Division already required a minimum purity level for crafting spell golems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About twenty percent of the ore submitted by new students fails to meet that purity standard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That means, if he enforced strict review, Gao De would have to submit an extra seven hundred and fifty kilograms of water-gold ore just to complete his enrollment task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But by the academy’s longstanding unwritten rule, they never checked purity when collecting ore from new students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever weight of ore a new student submitted was counted as-is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as it was mined from the cliffside caves and met the weight requirement, it was accepted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the enrollment task’s primary purpose was to test the new students’ endurance—the water-gold ore was merely an added bonus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, once a new student completed the task, they became a full student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the world of mages, one or two years meant nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant it was common for seniors to be surpassed by new students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes: “Never underestimate the poor youth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a senior student, there was no reason to antagonize a new student during enrollment—otherwise, you might be the one suffering years later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m terrified,” Gao De’s lips moved, replying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this reply, too, was audible only to Gri Hareler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De remained utterly calm in the face of Gri Hareler’s threats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because, to him, Gri Hareler’s threats were laughable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet from this incident, Gao De drew one clear insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the academy, the deterrent power of rules remained strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Students must not harm one another.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was one of the academy’s rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Gri Hareler dared not act outside the rules—he could only threaten him this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even dare make overt threats, using the [Message Spell] instead, afraid others might overhear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After giving his reply, Gao De said no more to Gri Hareler and left the restaurant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Completing his enrollment task was urgent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already desperate to begin the formal mage courses—not a single moment more to wait!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1151,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2b1b191d15b9902a0a7cd40efd18f3b98b7463f4b71df73dcaa169eb38bcf691","above-the-mage-chapter-131","above-the-mage-chapter-129",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]