Chapter 381: Attainment

Spirit Marrow!

So this is Spirit Marrow.

Gao De looked at the three drops of viscous, blue, gelatinous substance in the crystal vial, feeling a sudden wave of emotion.

This was the very thing that had brought Lagos City its brief "Golden Decade."

The price paid for it was the long-term economic depression that followed the Spirit Marrow Fever, as well as the birth of the Makoko District.

The latter had even become a "malignant tumor" that Lagos City found impossible to eradicate.

However, compared to the Spirit Marrow itself, Gao De was actually more concerned with the information revealed in Mage Lu Ping's words.

"The Embroidery Needle Gang was raided, and all their assets were confiscated?"

According to his understanding, for the sake of secrecy, the matter of the Makoko District water beast was known and participated in only by Aldrich and those seven lackeys.

"Yes."

Mage Lu Ping nodded slightly, not avoiding the topic with Gao De, and said directly, "They usually engage in petty, under-the-table dealings, and the local nobles and officials turn a blind eye, which is fine. But since they participated in the Makoko District water beast incident and you discovered the connection, they naturally cannot be tolerated any longer and must be liquidated together."

"In gangs like this, not a single person is clean; it's just that usually, no one bothers to investigate them."

So that was it.

Gao De's mind suddenly cleared.

From this perspective, the Embroidery Needle Gang had been implicated by Aldrich, but they were definitely not innocent.

Eliminating harm for the people.

That was good.

"All confiscated assets are turned over to the public; that is the rule. Extracting a portion to distribute to those who rendered meritorious service is an unwritten rule."

"The Makoko District water beast incident had a massive impact. As the discoverer, you deserve the primary credit."

"But the Embroidery Needle Gang's overall involvement in this matter was not deep; it was only related to Aldrich. Therefore, the final reward given to you is these three drops of Spirit Marrow taken from Aldrich's private stash."

Mage Lu Ping knew that Gao De was new to the Sea Sentinels and might not be familiar with the various rules and traditions within the organization, so he took the opportunity to educate him.

"This is the most precious item among all his assets."

Gao De observed the Spirit Marrow in the crystal vial, his eyes gleaming.

Before heading to Lagos City, he had already sought information from Meiliya, so he had a certain understanding of Spirit Marrow.

Spirit Marrow contains extremely powerful magic power; its magic content is equivalent to three days of meditation for a fourth-circle mage.

The most astonishing aspect of Spirit Marrow lies in its incredibly high magic density.

A single drop of this gelatinous substance is tiny in volume, yet it can contain such a massive amount of magic power; it is not hard to imagine how astonishing the energy per unit volume is.

The two main uses for Spirit Marrow are: first, after a purification and refining process, it serves as a high-level power source for driving golems and alchemical machines.

Second, it serves as a raw material for concocting "Spirit Burning Fluid," which rapidly increases a mage's magic power.

"You can keep the Spirit Marrow to find a professional alchemist to concoct Spirit Burning Fluid, or sell it directly for cash. However, never swallow Spirit Marrow directly." Seeming to notice Gao De's fiery gaze toward the Spirit Marrow, Mage Lu Ping warned him.

He was very friendly toward Gao De, as his task was actually just to deliver the Spirit Marrow, and this warning was out of kindness:

"You are from out of town and might not know much about Spirit Marrow, thinking that since it contains such rich magic power, it is like a magical plant that can be swallowed directly."

"Magical plants can be consumed that way because they are plants and are edible."

"But the essence of Spirit Marrow is a mineral resource. Therefore, besides magic power, it also contains various impurities harmful to the human body. Swallowing it directly will cause great damage to your body."

"When Spirit Marrow was first discovered, some people did try to swallow it raw. At first, with the help of the rich magic power in the Spirit Marrow, their magic power did indeed surge."

"But the good times didn't last. Just a few days later, those who swallowed Spirit Marrow raw began to experience symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. In severe cases, they even fell into comas or suffered convulsions. Upon examination, it was determined that these were caused by the toxic and harmful substances in the Spirit Marrow."

"This condition was also named Spirit Marrow Disease."

"Thank you for the warning." Gao De nodded solemnly and then put away the crystal vial.

"There is one more thing you should pay attention to," Mage Lu Ping pondered slightly and warned again, "For the next year or two, it is best if you do not accept any missions in Lagos City."

"What do you mean?" Gao De's eyes flickered slightly, already guessing something.

Mage Lu Ping nodded, "The Makoko District water beast incident was extremely vile. To prevent the people behind it from sacrificing their pawns to save their knights, we Sea Sentinels launched a thorough investigation at the fastest speed, uncovering the whole truth before they could react."

It was indeed fast.

Only twenty days had passed since he returned to Dorn, and now they were already at the stage of rewarding merit; one could imagine the scale of the Sea Sentinels' operation this time.

Mage Lu Ping continued, "This incident has far-reaching implications. Many nobles in Lagos City were involved, and some even lost their titles because of it. The impact is huge, causing a great shock in Lagos City."

"You have rendered great service in this matter and are the key discoverer. Those nobles who were punished because of this certainly wouldn't dare to harbor any dissatisfaction or seek revenge against our Sea Hai Shao Bing organization."

"However, for an outsider mage like you, they will inevitably harbor resentment. If you happen to accept a mission in Lagos City at this time..."

He paused before continuing, "Once you are on their turf, although they shouldn't be lawless enough to retaliate against you directly, it is highly likely—and extremely easy—for them to secretly trip you up."

"I understand." Gao De said.

It is the same in any world; those so-called "upper-class people," after being punished, often do not reflect on their own faults but instead rack their brains thinking about how to retaliate.

After seeing Mage Lu Ping off, Gao De thought for a moment and decided to follow his original plan: go out and head to the Collingwood Academy across the street to take a sword technique class.

During this period, his arrangement for himself was to settle down.

Now that he had three second-class merits, there was no pressure for evaluation, so Gao De did not plan to go on any missions until he had mastered sword techniques and completed the construction of the Leomund Magic Pulse Network.

It was also a good way to avoid the limelight.

A month passed in a flash.

The Noland calendar year 9657 ended silently, and the year entered 9658.

Many things had actually happened throughout this year.

In the first half of the year, Gao De had found a foothold in the Northern Realm.

In the second half, he had gained an official status in the Cornflower Dynasty.

Two blossoms at once.

During this month of diligent and low-profile cultivation, the construction progress of Gao De's Leomund Magic Pulse Network had progressed steadily, successfully crossing the threshold of two hundred magic pulses.

By this time, the six hundred bottles of Pulse-Opening Tincture that Mage Naxi had helped him apply for previously were already bottoming out.

Having no other choice, Gao De had to apply for approval once again to request a new batch of Pulse-Opening Tincture.

The entire process went very smoothly; just the next day, another six hundred bottles of Pulse-Opening Tincture were delivered.

This quantity of Pulse-Opening Tincture was enough for him to complete the construction of the remaining magic pulses in one go.

On the other hand, he had been taking sword technique classes for a month and a half. Because sword technique itself is a process of cultivating muscle memory, Gao De had not missed a single class.

The spacious and bright sword technique training room.

The wooden floor glowed with a brownish-yellow luster under the light.

The air was filled with a faint scent of sweat.

The sword technique instructor, with a lithe figure, held a refined steel longsword and kept thrusting toward Gao De.

Every strike he made carried steadiness and sharpness, and his sword style was like flowing clouds and water—sometimes swift as a tiger, sometimes light as a swallow—launching wave after wave of attacks at Gao De.

Gao De focused all his attention on every move of the sword technique instructor, relying on his own keen perception and quick reactions to skillfully block, dodge, parry, and counter-attack time and again.

Compared to the instructor's flowing style, Gao De's movements were clearly greener, stiffer, and more rigid, but they were filled with power.

The sword technique instructor saw an opening, took a step forward, and thrust his sword toward Gao De's chest like lightning.

Gao De's pupils constricted; he quickly turned sideways, and at the same time, the sword in his hand swung upward, precisely knocking away the instructor's blade.

Immediately following this, he turned his feet and swung his sword in a smooth arc to counter-attack, the wind of the sword whistling.

The opponent nodded slightly, a flash of approval in his eyes, then immediately deployed his movement technique, easily dodging Gao De's attack, and took the opportunity to launch another series of rapid attacks, the sword shadows crisscrossing in a dazzling display.

This time, it became difficult for Gao De to parry, let alone counter-attack. In such a fast-paced confrontation, fine beads of sweat began to seep from his forehead.

But his technical level was what it was, and after all, even the most careful person makes a mistake. Finally, the sword technique instructor thrust his sword at an unexpected angle, accurately aiming for Gao De's chest.

Gao De could not parry in time, and the opponent was clearly going all out throughout the process, without holding back at all. In such a situation, it was absolutely impossible to pull back his strength.

Seeing the extreme danger, neither of them showed the slightest panic.

Clang!

The sword tip of the instructor seemed to hit an invisible barrier, stopping abruptly and emitting a dull collision sound.

【Blade Protection+】.

The instant-cast 【Blade Protection+】 was enough to make Gao De invincible against such weapon attacks.

This also allowed the sword technique instructor to increase the intensity without any worries, conducting real combat drills with Gao De without fearing accidental injury.

Once the intensity went up, progress naturally became faster.

The sword technique instructor slowly put away the sword in his hand, performed a swordsman's salute, and smiled, "Mage Gao De, today's sword technique class ends here."

"Sorry for the trouble." Gao De also put away his sword.

"Your progress is too fast." The sword technique instructor smiled.

With a fixed 1-2 hour class every day, plus the fact that the instructor himself truly possessed some genuine skills, Gao De's progress was visible to the naked eye.

"Even excluding the bonuses brought by your mage abilities, you have extremely high talent in sword techniques." The sword technique instructor couldn't help but praise.

"From the beginning, when your posture for holding and thrusting the sword was full of errors, to now, being able to spar with me for such a long time—and achieving this in just a month and a half of practice—is simply unimaginable."

If I weren't a mage, could I perhaps be an amazing swordsman?

Gao De imagined in his heart.

Of course, that was impossible.

A Sword Immortal might be worth considering, but a swordsman is not worth half a hair compared to a mage.

Just like his sword technique instructor, who was already top-tier in sword techniques, but what use was that in front of a mage?

A single cantrip, 【Blade Protection】, would be enough to cripple the opponent.

In terms of cultivation, Gao De did not skimp on himself, directly renting a third-rank cultivation room in a nearby cultivation hall for three months.

The normal rental price for a third-rank cultivation room is 10 gold per two hours.

The monthly package price allows for two hours of use per day, with a total monthly cost of 250 gold.

As long as he maintained perfect attendance, it was equivalent to saving 50 gold.

Nothing more to say; Gao De waved his hand, tossing out 750 Cornflower coins, equivalent to throwing in a shop.

This is the money-burning ability of a mage.

Of course, Gao De's situation was rare; it belonged to advance spending.

Generally speaking, only second-circle mages would rent a third-rank cultivation room.

It was extremely rare for a first-circle mage like Gao De to rent a third-rank cultivation room for daily use.

Noble mages who had this kind of money had their own high-level cultivation rooms at home and did not need to rent.

As for non-noble first-circle mages, how could they afford this cost?

You get what you pay for.

Under the benefits of the third-rank cultivation room, Gao De successfully condensed his 41st drop of liquid magic power.

Of course, there is an upper limit to the magic concentration benefit for a first-circle mage's cultivation.

Before reaching a fourth-rank spirit land, magic concentration and cultivation speed roughly follow a linear relationship.

After reaching a fourth-rank spirit land, the increase in magic concentration almost provides no improvement to Gao De's cultivation speed.

Therefore, there is no such unreasonable thing as Gao De's mage level advancing by leaps and bounds if he cultivates in an eighth-rank spirit land.

An inappropriate analogy is that the difference in experience for a guest between a 1 silver dragon per night hotel and a 5 silver dragon per night hotel is visible to the naked eye.

However, the difference in experience between a 5 gold per night hotel and a 50 gold per night hotel is not that great.

Gao De, immersed in cultivation training, received another piece of good news at the end of Frost Month (January):

A promotion!

More accurately, it should be a military rank promotion.

"In view of Mage Gao De's performance and contributions in the Noland calendar year 9657, after a comprehensive evaluation by the Sea Hai Shao Bing Military Merit Department, it has been decided to promote your military rank..."

"..."

"Your military rank is promoted from Second-Class Apprentice Mage to First-Class Apprentice Mage..."

Looking at the still-fresh promotion notice document, Gao De nodded with satisfaction.

Although it was only a small military rank promotion, for a grassroots mage to have this speed of ascent was already quite remarkable.

Moreover, the military merit requirement for an apprentice mage to be promoted to a Sergeant-level mage was just a second-class merit, which he had actually already achieved.

It was just that he had not been in the Sea Sentinels for a full year yet, so he could not be promoted directly.

Here, one must mention the military rank promotion system of the Sea Sentinels.

The primary indicator is undoubtedly military merit, which carries the highest weight.

As long as military merit meets the standard, it is not impossible to be promoted two or three times in a year.

Another important indicator is one's own mage level.

For example, for a Warrant Officer-level mage, besides military merit meeting the requirements, one also needs to reach the second-circle mage level; this is a hard indicator, and there is almost no possibility of an exception.

But for the requirement of years of service, it is not that strict, or one could say it doesn't exist.

The reason Gao De was stuck by the time limit was also due to special circumstances:

The first year in the Sea Sentinels is called the Apprentice Year.

During the Apprentice Year, a mage's military rank naturally cannot be separated from Apprentice Mage.

Generally speaking, no mage can render enough service in the first year to be promoted to Sergeant-level mage, so this restriction is basically not a restriction.

But now, Gao De happened to be stuck by this restriction.

There is no reasoning with this kind of thing; he could only accept it.

Anyway, the credit was there, it wouldn't be lost, and there was no such thing as clearing it to zero, so Gao De was not in a hurry.

Hoo! Haa!

The continuous sound of breathing rose and fell like ocean waves.

That long and powerful rhythm was exactly the same as the rhythm of the ocean waves.

Gao De sat cross-legged, his body rising and falling with the rhythm of his breathing, full of rhythm and a sense of power.

Inside his body, heat waves were scorching.

That was the medicinal power of the Pulse-Opening Tincture flowing, bringing heat and stinging pain wherever it went.

At this moment, inside Gao De's body, dense hundreds of thick magic pulses were intertwined and connected, complex yet orderly, just like a carefully designed traffic network.

These thick main magic pulses, compared to those imperceptible tiny magic pulses, besides the difference in size, also shimmered with a faint golden light, which was particularly dazzling within the body.

Magic power flowed like traffic between these magic pulses.

Without the slightest blockage, it was high-speed throughout. With any part of Gao De's body as the destination, there were corresponding direct routes, allowing magic power to reach its target quickly and accurately.

At this moment, Gao De was channeling the medicinal power of the Pulse-Opening Tincture, forcing open yet another magic pulse as thin as a strand of hair, reshaping and expanding it to make it tough and wide enough to carry more mana.

This was the 365th main magic pulse he was to construct, and also the last magic pulse of the Leomund Magic Pulse Network.

Today was the day the Leomund Magic Pulse Network would reach attainment!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 382 =====