Chapter 469: Promotion and Reimbursement

After leaving the port, Gao De stayed an extra half-day in Lagos City.

This was because he couldn’t easily handle Aldrich and the seven “henchmen” who had been raising stinking salamanders in the Makako District.

According to standard procedure, he could have simply used his identity as a Sea Sentinel mage to clear the way and temporarily imprison them in the local mage jail.

But this matter involved nobles within the city, so he couldn’t act that way—it might alert the culprits.

Still, the issue wasn’t serious; Gao De sent a brief report back to Dorn, requesting support from the Sea Sentinels, and simply waited for them to send someone.

In the meantime, he took advantage of this rare free time to collect a variety of local tree species in Lagos City.

Lagos was 361 kilometers straight-line distance from Dorn, so its tree species differed considerably from those in Dorn.

Without sparing any money, Gao De gathered fourteen tree species not found in the Valar Bay within less than half a day.

In truth, even though Lagos was a coastal fishing city, the number of tree species present was certainly far greater than this.

After all, in his previous life, where no supernatural forces existed, over sixty thousand tree species were already known.

In this supernatural world, where the continent was vastly larger than his previous life, the number of tree species could only be greater.

But market rules were the same: the tree species available for purchase were only those with economic value and easy to cultivate.

Gao De understood this well, which was why he resolved to purchase a shop in Dorn City to facilitate long-term acquisition of tree species—and even magic tree species.

Trees could be roughly classified into six categories by use:

First, timber and industrial raw material trees—this category accounted for the largest share, three to four tenths of all tree species.

Second, edible trees, including those yielding fruits, seeds, oils, sugars, or other substances for human or animal consumption—this category accounted for one to two tenths.

Third, ecological trees, commonly used for windbreaks, sand fixation, and soil and water conservation—this category also accounted for one to two tenths.

Fourth, medicinal and special-substance trees, from which drugs, spices, and other materials could be extracted—this category accounted for about one tenth.

Finally, ornamental trees and other special-purpose trees, such as flowering trees or mulberry trees, each accounting for only half a tenth.

Of course, this classification was crude, and many tree species often served multiple purposes simultaneously.

On the market, tree species sold were mostly from the first two categories.

All fourteen tree species Gao De bought in Lagos fell into these two categories.

Two were edible trees: one was the Red Stone Grain Tree, whose fruit was cheap and easy to grow, and whose branches boiled in water could treat diarrhea; the other was a coconut-like tree that produced sweet water.

The remaining twelve species were all related to shipbuilding or fishing.

For example, the Hibiscus Tree, whose bark fibers were commonly used by fishermen to make ropes; the Casuarina Tree, whose wood was burned to charcoal for grilling seafood; and the Teak Tree, a large species yielding high-quality wood resistant to seawater corrosion.

These species were all extremely practical and urgently needed by Phoenix.

Especially in Gao De’s envisioned development plan, the Northern Region would inevitably develop its own shipbuilding industry.

Therefore, the raw materials required for shipbuilding needed to be secured in advance.

To start planting trees only when you’re ready to build ships? That would be absurd!

Moreover, if you couldn’t be self-sufficient, shipbuilding costs would soar, and you’d become vulnerable to control—or even “sanctions.”

So Gao De purchased over a hundred seeds of each species.

Though the quantity was large, it didn’t cost much.

Seedlings were cheaper—a single one might cost a few copper coins; larger saplings could reach the high price of one silver dragon.

Tree seeds, however, were not valuable at all; on the market, they were usually sold by weight, not by count.

For example, Hibiscus seeds cost only five copper stones per pound.

But he gained nothing from magic tree species.

Compared to ordinary tree species, magic tree species were vastly more expensive, and more importantly, they rarely appeared on the market.

Returning from the market fully loaded, Gao De headed toward his newly booked inn—and at the inn’s entrance, he found two mages in Sea Sentinel uniforms waiting for him.

One of them was an acquaintance.

“Mage Melia, Lieutenant!”

Gao De hurried forward to greet them.

He hadn’t expected the Sea Sentinels to send mages of such high rank.

Melia was only a First-Class Apprentice Mage—though one rank above him, she was still an Apprentice Mage like him.

The key was the other mage, whom he didn’t know, whose uniform shoulders bore two parallel gold stripes.

That was the insignia of a Lieutenant.

“Mage Gao De, I heard you stirred up quite a commotion.” Melia joked upon seeing him.

“Just lucky—I happened to stumble upon it,” Gao De chuckled.

“This is Lieutenant Raisen,” Melia introduced him; the latter nodded slightly to Gao De.

“Where are they now?” he asked directly.

“I’ve temporarily housed them in an unused warehouse.”

Because he had Dania sign the purchase contract for the Harland Shipyard as his agent, to avoid linking him to Harland Shipyard, Gao De had already left the Lonely Courtyard and moved Aldrich out of it.

“Take us there.”

Gao De led them to the warehouse where Aldrich was held.

“Tell me exactly what happened—give me the mission log,” Lieutenant Raisen said upon seeing the man, finally showing interest in the details.

Gao De’s earlier report was only a brief summary; it couldn’t cover all the specifics.

Without hesitation, he swiftly handed over the parchment stored against his body.

Lieutenant Raisen took the parchment and carefully read Gao De’s recorded testimony.

At first, he had been somewhat dismissive—but the more he read, the more astonished he became, until finally he snapped his head up, staring at Gao De.

“This Aldrich, second-in-command of the Embroidered Nail Gang, is a Second-Ring Mage? And you captured him?”

“He was promoted to Second-Ring less than half a year ago,” Gao De nodded casually, offering a rough explanation.

“A First-Ring Mage defeating a Second-Ring Mage? Impressive!” Lieutenant Raisen raised an eyebrow, inwardly astonished.

But he didn’t ask how Gao De, as a First-Ring Mage, had managed to subdue Aldrich, a Second-Ring Mage.

Not only would he not ask—when Gao De returned to Dorn to report, the Sea Sentinels wouldn’t ask either.

It wasn’t that they didn’t care.

In the mage world, weak defeating strong was not unheard of, but it was exceedingly rare—each case drew massive attention.

First, before mastering the Spell Stabilization Technique, a mage could be defeated by unconventional means.

Traps, poison, or other underhanded tactics.

Second, the second of the Three Mage Principles is: “Never let others know your spells”—a universally accepted axiom among all mages.

It refers to spells, but more broadly, it means “methods.”

Including equipment, familiars, and even more private “specialties.”

To demand a detailed account of “how you won the fight” would be equivalent to forcing a mage to reveal his “specialties” and “spells.”

There was no such precedent—even official bodies dared not violate this principle.

Otherwise, morale would collapse; everyone would hide their methods, inevitably.

To avoid possible questioning, no one would dare to give their all.

Therefore, among the Sea Sentinels, they only cared about results and evidence; as long as your methods weren’t cruel or immoral, no one would inquire—and no one was permitted to inquire.

Even if Lieutenant Raisen was curious, he wouldn’t violate this principle.

He returned his gaze to the parchment and finished reading the remaining testimony.

Then he took a deep breath and handed the parchment back to Gao De.

“A routine task to drive off aquatic beasts—yet behind it lay such deep connections, and you, an Apprentice Mage, uncovered it all. You’ve done a great service.” Lieutenant Raisen couldn’t help saying.

“Lieutenant Raisen, how many military merits do you think I’ll earn from this?” Gao De tucked the parchment away, his heart filled with anticipation.

Lieutenant Raisen thought for a moment. “I heard this is your first mission outside?”

“Yes,” Gao De nodded.

After a pause, he raised his right hand and held up three fingers. “Three Second-Class Merits.”

“One for uncovering the connection behind the Makako District aquatic beasts, one for defeating Aldrich, a Second-Ring Mage, as a First-Ring Mage, and one extra Second-Class Merit as a rookie!”

Three Second-Class Merits!

Even with prior expectations, Gao De’s eyes brightened.

Three Second-Class Merits equated to thirty Third-Class Merits in evaluation.

But it wasn’t just numerically equal—the actual value and significance were incomparable.

For example, in merit exchanges: one Second-Class Merit could be traded for ten times the goods of a Third-Class Merit—but not vice versa.

For military promotion: an Apprentice Mage must have at least one Second-Class Merit on their record to advance to the Non-Commissioned Mage rank; even a hundred Third-Class Merits wouldn’t suffice without it.

Beside him, Melia was envious beyond words.

Three Second-Class Merits.

She had never earned even one.

“I’m almost jealous—a rookie, on his first mission, earning such a huge reward? I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Lieutenant Raisen couldn’t help remarking.

It was true. Even though he was already a Lieutenant, earning a single Second-Class Merit wasn’t easy.

Because merit ratings were often tied to one’s strength.

Gao De earned a Second-Class Merit for defeating Aldrich because he was only a First-Ring Mage.

If he had done it himself, he’d have gotten at most a Third-Class Merit.

“Just lucky, just lucky—I happened to be in the right place,” Gao De smiled modestly.

“Luck? The Makako District aquatic beast mission has been going on for years—why did no one else earn this merit, but you did?”

“This is ability, not luck,” Lieutenant Lai Sen said seriously.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Lai Sen.” Seeing this, Gao De no longer refused.

“Why thank me? I didn’t help you at all,” Lieutenant Lai Sen replied bluntly, waving his hand. “You’re done with this matter now. Go back and report.”

“Understood.”

After packing his things, buying a airship ticket, and boarding the airship, Gao De returned to Duoen City by evening.

As soon as he arrived, he went straight to the Deep Abyss White Tower and entered the Supply Office.

If he waited any later, they’d be off duty.

“Submit mission,” Gao De handed over the parchment scroll of the “Markako Aquatic Beast Extermination Mission” along with his mission settlement vouchers: the stinking tail fins of water salamanders and the eyes of magic octopuses, to Master Neil, who was stationed at the Supply Office.

Master Neil glanced at the parchment, counted the tail fins and eyes, then looked up at Gao De and said: “No issues. According to mission criteria, you’re entitled to one Third-Class Merit.”

“But the Markako Aquatic Beast Extermination Mission is special—reward is doubled. So you get two Third-Class Merits. Do you have any objections?”

“None.” Gao De shook his head.

Seeing this, Master Neil took a parchment from his drawer and began writing.

He was preparing Gao De’s Merit Ledger.

The Merit Ledger was standard equipment for every Sea Sentinel mage.

The Sea Sentinels meticulously recorded every merit earned by a mage, including the mission’s details, the process, and the final merit awarded.

Staff would log each entry, stamp it with the official seal for verification, seal and archive it in a box labeled with the mage’s name.

When the time came for rank promotion or competing for positions, the Merit Ledger became vital reference material.

In Gao De’s words, it was essentially a personnel file.

It was said that mages in the Sea Sentinels with officer rank or higher had accumulated several thick boxes of Merit Ledgers.

After finishing the record, Master Neil looked up and saw Gao De still standing there. “Is there something else?”

Gao De grinned and handed over the parchment containing the confessions of Aldrich and others. “Also this.”

“Hmm?” Master Neil, surprised, took the parchment.

At first he glanced casually, but gradually sat up straight.

After reading it all, he looked up at Gao De.

“This merit claim requires evaluation—it’s beyond my authority. I must report it upward. It’ll take one or two days to decide.”

“Thank you, Master Neil,” Gao De said gratefully.

“You’ll definitely get two Second-Class Merits,” Master Neil said, clearly less familiar with Sea Sentinel merit evaluations than Lieutenant Lai Sen—his estimate was conservative.

“And since it’s year-end review time, with this major merit, you’ll be promoted directly to First-Class Apprentice Mage.”

“Though minor rank promotions aren’t especially hard, this pace is rare,” Master Neil added, his tone tinged with amazement.

If not for the written evidence, he’d never believe a simple, despised Markako aquatic beast extermination mission could lead to such a major merit.

The boy’s luck was one thing—but seizing the opportunity was another.

After submitting the mission, Gao De took his leave—but he didn’t leave the Mage Tower. Instead, he turned aside and went to the Finance Office.

—There was still reimbursement to handle!

It wasn’t much money, but even a mosquito’s blood counts.

Paying out of pocket? Impossible.

“Miss Rosan, good evening,” Gao De remembered Mei Liya’s advice and entered with a smile.

“Master Gao!” The young lady with freckles gasped. “You’re here for reimbursement?”

“Yes,” Gao De nodded, handing her a small stack of receipts and vouchers. “Hope I’m not adding extra work.”

“No,” Rosan said seriously. “I still have half an hour left in my shift.”

She took the vouchers and carefully counted: “Round-trip airship fare from Duoen to Lagos: 4 gold, 3 silver, 20 copper. Accommodation: 3 silver dragons per day, ten days’ receipts—that’s 3 Jin Quehua coins. Plus daily 1 silver dragon for meals and transport subsidies—you were away for 24 days. That’s 4 gold, 8 silver.”

As Rosan calculated mentally, Gao De already had the answer.

12 gold, 1 silver, 20 copper.

“12 gold, 1 silver, 20 copper!” she finally finished, checking with him. “Does that look right?”

“No issues,” Gao De said, shaking his head.

“Good. But it still needs review. Only after approval can reimbursement be processed,” Rosan said seriously.

“Review usually takes three to five days. If you don’t want to waste time making a wasted trip, come back in five days.”

“Understood. I’ll come back then,” Gao De said, unsurprised—reimbursement, especially within bureaucratic systems, was never settled the same day, no matter which world you were in.

(End of Chapter)