Chapter 31: Repair Complete

Ceda the Mage, likewise awakened by the apprentices’ cries, arrived on the scene in time and acted decisively.

Though he never valued the lives of apprentices, at least to him, they were part of his property.

Property is meant to be used, not destroyed like this.

So he had to intervene to stop the giant rat’s rampage.

Facing the giant rat’s lunge—enough to terrify an ordinary person—Ceda the Mage remained eerily calm.

After all, as a senior apprentice who had reached Third-Class Apprentice status for years, ordinary 0-Rank Earth Vein creatures meant little to him.

This giant rat was neither special nor a formidable foe.

Under Gao De’s watchful gaze, Ceda the Mage raised his right hand.

After a brief delay, a brilliant burst of light erupted in his palm, dazzling as a miniature sun, blinding Gao De momentarily.

Even at this distance, the glare stung his eyes; the giant rat charging at Ceda was surely blinded—its rat eyes utterly scorched by the light.

In that instant, the giant rat saw nothing but blinding white, let alone launch an attack on Ceda the Mage.

With the intelligence of a 0-Rank Earth Vein creature, it could not react in time to this sudden flash.

It froze in place, eyes blacked out, as if utterly lost.

That brief pause was more than enough for Ceda the Mage to activate his spell model and cast his next spell.

Ignoring the tears streaming down his face from the glare, Gao De strained to see through the light.

He faintly saw another searing red beam shoot forth from the glow, striking the giant rat’s skull directly and violently.

Then, the dazzling light faded.

The once-fierce giant rat now lay sprawled on the ground, barely alive, its earlier ferocity utterly gone, motionless.

Its body was charred, flesh and blood mangled, occasionally twitching—now nothing but a sewer rat.

Seeing this, Gao De exhaled in relief, yet his heart tightened again.

Ceda the Mage’s power was even more terrifying than he’d imagined! Whether in spell potency, understanding of spell linkage, or casting speed, it inspired deep awe in Gao De.

Even inwardly, Gao De silently thanked the now half-dead giant rat.

Its appearance had given him the chance to better understand Ceda the Mage’s strength before they openly clashed.

“Stop staring. Clean this up, then get back to work!”

Ceda the Mage scanned the apprentices who had finally mustered the courage to leave their rooms, gave a cold order, and turned away.

The surviving apprentices exchanged glances, still stunned.

But Gao De had already rushed forward, opened the door, walked straight to the dying giant rat, and stomped its head without hesitation—ending its last breath.

A rat’s head handed to you? Don’t leave it on the ground!

Wind Spirit Moon Shadow flashed by in time.

Origin:

0-Rank—【Human】(1/7), 【Gray-Eyed Rat】(used), 【Dark Marsh Crawler】(used), 【Wolf Rat】(1/7).

The incident of Earth Vein creatures attacking the herb garden passed without incident.

The deaths of two apprentices stirred not the slightest ripple.

Had Gao De not personally helped bury the two dead apprentices, he might have believed Earth Vein creatures had never appeared.

Occasionally, apprentices would whisper about it during meals.

“Aren’t Earth Vein creatures supposed to live far away in the wilds? How did one get into the herb garden?”

Some apprentices, unsettled and still trembling, even lost sleep: “What if another one pops out while we’re sleeping at night?”

To most common folk in this world, Earth Vein creatures were terrifying beings living only beyond the city’s wilds.

The city, by contrast, was a relatively quiet and peaceful world.

Naturally, this was merely a mistaken belief formed by commoners’ limited understanding, reinforced by the rulers’ propaganda.

“That’s just what the authorities say,” another apprentice murmured. “The city’s so vast, and the City Guards are so few—how could they possibly keep Earth Vein creatures completely out?”

Gao De, dining nearby, nodded slightly.

He thought about it: even in his past life, wild beasts occasionally wandered into advanced cities.

Especially in this world, where urban development was primitive and countless hidden places remained unknown.

And Earth Vein creatures came in many varieties, each possessing supernatural abilities far surpassing ordinary beasts—how could anyone possibly seal them all outside the city, when even his past world couldn’t? There must be Earth Vein creatures lurking within the city, occasionally surfacing.

But even if they did surface and killed someone, they’d be swiftly eliminated, and the incident buried under silence.

Public panic caused by unrest mattered far more than one or two deaths.

This was no different from his past life.

The apprentices understood this. Ceda the Mage understood it even better.

Hence, the giant rat’s appearance and nighttime attack stirred no emotion in him—he simply regarded it as bad luck, a coincidence.

In the workshop.

Gao De sat upright, calming his mind and focusing his spirit.

Deep within his consciousness, a five-petaled lotus emitted a faint glow.

Yet today, beside the fifth petal, another lotus petal was slowly materializing.

After half a month of cultivation, Gao De’s meditation technique had advanced rapidly—he was finally ready to break through and manifest the sixth petal.

The timing was ripe. All he needed now was to push through with full force.

Without hesitation, feeling only a final step away, Gao De began his breakthrough.

He focused entirely, gathering his consciousness upon the lotus platform, using his spirit to shape the sixth petal.

After an indeterminate time…

A low hum sounded—the sixth petal, once merely a vague outline, finally gained substance, manifested by Gao De.

Instantly, warm streams surged from deep within his consciousness, flowing through his entire body, nourishing his mind and spirit, restoring his fatigue.

The sixth petal had formed. His meditation technique had advanced another small step!

Opening his eyes, Gao De couldn’t help but smile.

Any increase in his strength before clashing with Ceda the Mage was welcome—even a minor breakthrough was worth rejoicing.

Perhaps victory would hinge on this tiny margin.

It was worth all the effort he’d poured into his practice over these past weeks.

It also proved his intuition correct.

Though his talent for the Guiding Method hadn’t changed, his soul’s innate aptitude far surpassed the original body’s, accelerating his meditation progress as if someone had pressed fast-forward—far outpacing the former owner.

Not just slightly faster.

In that case, perhaps he could even be called a half-genius in mage talent?

“The Mistfang should be fully repaired tonight.”

After a brief moment of excitement, Gao De quickly calmed, returning to reality.

He still faced his greatest crisis—he couldn’t waste a single moment.

Today marked exactly ten days since his confinement ended, and the Mistfang’s repair had progressed as expected.

But just as his meditation technique reached its breakthrough point, his urgency led him to set aside the Mistfang’s repair and focus first on his breakthrough.

Having succeeded, Gao De wasted no time—he retrieved the Mistfang.

After nine days of repair, the worn, blurred runes on its surface had largely restored, save for a small section at the center still damaged.

And the pattern at the upper right corner, identified by the young vendor as the Oknelli Guild’s mark, was now fully restored.

Of course, Gao De knew nothing about the Oknelli Guild and cared nothing for it.

Channeling his Qi, he activated the spell model of [Repair+]. A glow of transformed Qi emerged from his palm, circling and slowly seeping into the Mistfang like a living current, meticulously stitching the broken runes.

The last remaining damaged portion of the rune began to slowly and orderly repair itself.

After about five minutes, a bead of sweat appeared on Gao De’s forehead.

Qi was part of a mage’s power; excessive short-term depletion naturally triggered bodily sweating.

His Qi was nearly exhausted!

The Mistfang’s repair was within reach.

Gao De clenched his teeth and pressed on.

As the final shimmer of light flowed into the Mistfang, the repair was complete! (End of Chapter)