Chapter 37: Seda the Mage

“Gao De, Gao De, Gao De.” In a daze, Gao De heard urgent, concerned calls echoing around him.

But he simply lacked the strength to open his eyes and respond.

Until, after an indeterminate time, warmth surged from deep within his body, quickly spreading through every part of him, jolting him awake from unconsciousness.

Gao De snapped his eyes open, scanning his surroundings with caution.

A dark, cramped room.

A faint beam of light pierced through a tiny air vent in the southern wall.

A familiar scene.

A month ago, when he first arrived in this world, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was exactly this.

Gao De instantly realized where he was.

It was his own narrow, suffocating bedroom.

“Gao De, you’re finally awake!” Amy, seated at the bedside, was the first to notice his awakening and hurried over in delight.

Gao De had just regained consciousness and felt utterly weak and drained.

He looked closer and realized his body was bound with various cloth strips, from which a cool sensation emanated—likely infused with medicinal herbs.

Gao De steadied himself and recalled everything that had happened before he fainted.

“Did Seda the Mage die?” he asked again, confirming it.

“Yes, he’s dead!” Amy nearly wept with joy, exclaiming: “Gao De, you’re incredible! How on earth did you do it?”

Gao De did not answer Amy’s question. Instead, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.

His greatest enemy, the sword of Damocles hanging over his head, was finally gone.

The tension that had gripped his mind for a month finally dissolved.

“How long was I unconscious?” he asked, opening his eyes to look at Amy.

“One day,” Amy held up one finger. “After the explosion in Seda’s room yesterday, I gathered the courage to investigate and found you lying beside him, covered in wounds. You were clutching a weapon stained with blood, and Seda was already dead.”

As Amy spoke, he gestured toward a wooden table beside him.

There lay the weapon, washed clean of blood: the “murder weapon,” Veilfang.

“I immediately carried you back here and bandaged you with herbs from the herb garden.”

Saying this, Amy sighed in relief: "Now that Master Seda is dead, no one will bother me for using his herbs."

“Thank you,” Gao De said seriously to Amy.

If Amy hadn’t found him in time and treated his wounds, he wouldn’t have woken so quickly.

“I should be thanking you—you killed Seda, you’re the savior of us all!” Amy blurted out.

“I did it to save myself. Saving you was just a side effect.”

Gao De did not accept this credit—not out of nobility or hypocrisy, but because he truly didn’t need Amy’s gratitude.

He smiled at Amy. “Seda is dead. You’re free now.”

Hearing this, Amy did not react with the ecstatic joy Gao De expected. Instead, he looked uneasy, as if wanting to say something but too shy to speak.

“Just say it outright,” Gao De noticed Amy’s hesitation.

Amy bit his lip and shouted loudly toward the door: “Gao De is awake!”

At Amy’s words, the room’s door burst open instantly.

The six remaining apprentices from the herb garden had all been waiting outside—and now they crowded in, filling the already cramped room to capacity.

Everyone, including Amy, suddenly knelt on one knee before Gao De’s bed.

“What does this mean?”

Gao De stared at them, bewildered, unsure of what was happening. They exchanged glances, and finally, Amy—the “longtime roommate” of Gao De—stepped forward as their spokesperson.

After all, theoretically, he had the closest relationship with Gao De.

“Seda the Mage is dead, but the herb garden still stands, and we’re used to working here.”

Amy spoke earnestly and sincerely: “We know that although we’ve been Seda’s apprentices for years, we’ve learned almost nothing. With our current skills, we couldn’t even survive outside the garden.”

“We want the herb garden to keep operating.”

“Without Seda, keeping the garden running won’t be easy—but it’s not impossible.”

"You killed Seda, and you can independently brew Basic Spider Poison Potion. So why not replace him? Inherit his herb garden. We’ll work hard for you."

“The herb garden will remain unchanged—only the owner has changed.” Amy finished his proposal in one breath and fell silent, anxiously awaiting Gao De’s response.

A new herb garden owner must possess both the ability to command respect and some mastery of alchemy to ensure the garden’s continued operation.

Among the fewer than ten apprentices in the garden, only Gao De—the one who had successfully slain his master—met both conditions.

Gao De, caught off guard by Amy’s proposal, fell into thought.

To be honest, he had never once considered what would happen after killing Seda.

For Gao De at that time, such thoughts were too lofty and unrealistic.

But now that it was done, he truly needed to plan his next steps.

And Budebushuo ， Aimiyuxuetumendetiyisuiranchuhutadeyiliao ， Keyequeshirangtaxindong 。

To grow into a powerful mage, resources were unquestionably the top priority.

Learning spells cost money, cultivation cost money, food, clothing, shelter, travel—all of it cost money. In short, everything required money.

For Gao De right now, the herb garden was the greatest source of income he could control.

Under Seda’s years of management, the garden’s entire operational model was already perfected.

As long as it continued operating as before, it would generate income steadily and continuously.

Gao De needed this herb garden—to earn the resources required for his mage cultivation.

And the other apprentices in the garden needed Gao De to ensure the garden continued operating as before.

Therefore, if Gao De accepted Amy’s proposal, it would be a win-win for both sides.

In this light, there was no reason to refuse.

“Alright,” Gao De nodded slightly and made his decision decisively.

“My lord,” the apprentices kneeling on the ground immediately lit up with joy, exchanged glances, then all spoke in unison.

Amy, seizing the moment, pulled a box from his chest and held it out with both hands before Gao De.

It was a box exquisitely carved from an unknown wood.

The lid bore intricate runes and symbols representing magical elements.

These patterns clearly were not mere decoration—they represented magical power.

“What is this?”

“Seda’s room was reduced to rubble by the explosion. We searched for a long time. Most of the items inside were destroyed, but this box remained intact.”

“Whether it’s the runes carved on the lid or its survival through that terrifying explosion, it’s clear this box is a supernatural artifact.”

“And whatever Seda kept inside this box must have been his most treasured possession.”

“But no matter how I tried, I couldn’t open it.”

“Now that you’re the garden’s master, everything else Seda left behind rightfully belongs to you,” Amy said respectfully to Gao De.

(End of Chapter)