[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-37":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},2257041,4404,"Chapter 37: Seda the Mage","above-the-mage-chapter-37",37,"\u003Cp>“Gao De, Gao De, Gao De.” In a daze, Gao De heard urgent, concerned calls echoing around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he simply lacked the strength to open his eyes and respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until, after an indeterminate time, warmth surged from deep within his body, quickly spreading through every part of him, jolting him awake from unconsciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De snapped his eyes open, scanning his surroundings with caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dark, cramped room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint beam of light pierced through a tiny air vent in the southern wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A familiar scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A month ago, when he first arrived in this world, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was exactly this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De instantly realized where he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his own narrow, suffocating bedroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gao De, you’re finally awake!” Amy, seated at the bedside, was the first to notice his awakening and hurried over in delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De had just regained consciousness and felt utterly weak and drained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked closer and realized his body was bound with various cloth strips, from which a cool sensation emanated—likely infused with medicinal herbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De steadied himself and recalled everything that had happened before he fainted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did Seda the Mage die?” he asked again, confirming it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, he’s dead!” Amy nearly wept with joy, exclaiming: “Gao De, you’re incredible! How on earth did you do it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De did not answer Amy’s question. Instead, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His greatest enemy, the sword of Damocles hanging over his head, was finally gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension that had gripped his mind for a month finally dissolved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How long was I unconscious?” he asked, opening his eyes to look at Amy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Amy spoke, he gestured toward a wooden table beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There lay the weapon, washed clean of blood: the “murder weapon,” Veilfang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I immediately carried you back here and bandaged you with herbs from the herb garden.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, Amy sighed in relief: \"Now that Master Seda is dead, no one will bother me for using his herbs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you,” Gao De said seriously to Amy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Amy hadn’t found him in time and treated his wounds, he wouldn’t have woken so quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I should be thanking you—you killed Seda, you’re the savior of us all!” Amy blurted out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did it to save myself. Saving you was just a side effect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De did not accept this credit—not out of nobility or hypocrisy, but because he truly didn’t need Amy’s gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled at Amy. “Seda is dead. You’re free now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just say it outright,” Gao De noticed Amy’s hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amy bit his lip and shouted loudly toward the door: “Gao De is awake!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Amy’s words, the room’s door burst open instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone, including Amy, suddenly knelt on one knee before Gao De’s bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What does this mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, theoretically, he had the closest relationship with Gao De.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seda the Mage is dead, but the herb garden still stands, and we’re used to working here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We want the herb garden to keep operating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Without Seda, keeping the garden running won’t be easy—but it’s not impossible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"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.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the fewer than ten apprentices in the garden, only Gao De—the one who had successfully slain his master—met both conditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De, caught off guard by Amy’s proposal, fell into thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, he had never once considered what would happen after killing Seda.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Gao De at that time, such thoughts were too lofty and unrealistic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now that it was done, he truly needed to plan his next steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Budebushuo ， Aimiyuxuetumendetiyisuiranchuhutadeyiliao ， Keyequeshirangtaxindong 。\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To grow into a powerful mage, resources were unquestionably the top priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Learning spells cost money, cultivation cost money, food, clothing, shelter, travel—all of it cost money. In short, everything required money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Gao De right now, the herb garden was the greatest source of income he could control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Seda’s years of management, the garden’s entire operational model was already perfected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as it continued operating as before, it would generate income steadily and continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De needed this herb garden—to earn the resources required for his mage cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the other apprentices in the garden needed Gao De to ensure the garden continued operating as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, if Gao De accepted Amy’s proposal, it would be a win-win for both sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this light, there was no reason to refuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” Gao De nodded slightly and made his decision decisively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord,” the apprentices kneeling on the ground immediately lit up with joy, exchanged glances, then all spoke in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amy, seizing the moment, pulled a box from his chest and held it out with both hands before Gao De.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a box exquisitely carved from an unknown wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lid bore intricate runes and symbols representing magical elements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These patterns clearly were not mere decoration—they represented magical power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And whatever Seda kept inside this box must have been his most treasured possession.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But no matter how I tried, I couldn’t open it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now that you’re the garden’s master, everything else Seda left behind rightfully belongs to you,” Amy said respectfully to Gao De.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1136,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ebef86ddd8342e53a0ddfd8246b95854352083f0528bef140fe3a16f47f7af98","above-the-mage-chapter-38","above-the-mage-chapter-36",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]