[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-471":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},2257475,4404,"Chapter 471: A Wealth of Treasures","above-the-mage-chapter-471",471,"\u003Cp>“Alright, thank you for your trouble.” Gao De took the parchment and the thick list of military merit exchanges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was called a single volume, but in truth it was two volumes bound together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re too kind,” the staff member said, handing the items to Gao De before hurrying away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing at the doorway, Gao De immediately unrolled the parchment—the official letter—and began reading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The content was straightforward:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second-Class Probationary Mage Gao De, during the Marakko District Water Beast Extermination Mission, uncovered the truth behind the water beast incident, earning a Second-Class Merit;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subsequently, as a First-Ring Mage, he courageously apprehended Aldrich, a Second-Ring Mage deeply involved in the water beast incident, earning another Second-Class Merit;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given that this was your first mission and your performance was exceptionally outstanding, after comprehensive evaluation, an additional Second-Class Merit is awarded as recognition.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Lieutenant Lei Sen had said—it was three Second-Class Merits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After waiting five days, it finally arrived!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De felt a quiet surge of joy, then turned his attention to the thick list of military merit exchanges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The military merit exchange list, officially produced by the Sea Sentinels, detailed all items available for exchange and the required military merit for each.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It consisted of three volumes: First-Class Merit Exchange List, Second-Class Merit Exchange List, and Third-Class Merit Exchange List.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the name implies, items on the First-Class list could only be exchanged with First-Class Merit, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These three lists were not handed out all at once—you unlocked the corresponding list only after earning the matching rank of military merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, all three lists were updated once per year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Popular items might see their required merit increase the following year, while rarely exchanged obscure items might see their cost decrease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De had earned three Second-Class Merits and two Third-Class Merits from this single mission, unlocking both the Second- and Third-Class Merit exchange lists at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even bother going to Old Harlin’s Grocery—he returned straight to his room’s living area, shut the door, sat down, and eagerly flipped open the Third-Class Merit Exchange List first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first page contained a categorized index: Magical Plants, Magical Potions, Spell Formulas, Exotic Materials, Exotic Equipment, Books, Miscellaneous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything you’d expect was there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But most were low-tier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De flipped straight to the Spell Formulas section—he scanned it quickly and found not a single rare spell formula, only common ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made clear the quality level of items on the Third-Class Merit Exchange List.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, among the common spell formulas, he found exactly the First-Ring offensive spell he needed most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The official never sold combat spell formulas, so despite knowing twenty-seven First-Ring spells, including [Mage Armor] and [Shield], he still had only five combat-related spells total.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of those, only one was an offensive spell: [Ice Blade]. [Hunter’s Mark] was a damage-boosting spell, incapable of direct damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was extreme specialization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mage’s greatest strength lay in versatility, not combat or destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as a Sea Sentinel mage, combat capability was paramount—he had to quickly fix this weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Gao De focused his attention on First-Ring offensive spells:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heavy Arrow] (Alteration, First-Ring):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the spell’s duration (1 minute), it increases the weight and density of arrows fired from a bow or crossbow before impact, then restores them to normal afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When affected by this spell, damage dealt by your bow or crossbow is treated as if fired from a weapon one size larger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only you benefit from this spell—if someone else uses your bow, the arrows deal damage according to their normal size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Required Military Merit: 2 × Third-Class Merit]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De glanced at [Heavy Arrow]’s effect and skipped past it immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this spell suited mages skilled in archery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He, however, didn’t even own a bow, let alone know how to shoot one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, bows weren’t hard to buy—the real issue was that archery required years of rigorous training and innate talent; the barrier was too high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spend significant time learning archery for a single First-Ring spell that might never be mastered?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Keep going.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heavy Blade] (Alteration, First-Ring):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you strike an enemy with a melee weapon, [Heavy Blade] enhances its momentum and density.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After casting this spell, all melee weapons you carry deal damage as if they were one size larger—for example, a longsword becomes as damaging as a greatsword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only you benefit from this spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others using your weapons deal damage according to the weapon’s normal size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Required Military Merit: 3 × Third-Class Merit]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another spell in the same “Heavy” series as [Heavy Arrow].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao De didn’t skip past it like he had [Heavy Arrow].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know swordsmanship either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he had [Northwind].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former Seventh-Rank Frost-Ice Martial-Magic practitioner sat right there—he couldn’t ignore it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wouldn’t spend months learning archery for a First-Ring spell, but learning swordsmanship for [Northwind]? That was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, even without swordsmanship, using [Northwind] like a shock baton was crude—but still usable—and [Heavy Blade]’s effect could stack on top of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This spell—he’d learn it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he saw the required military merit beneath it, he was momentarily speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Same “Heavy” series, just arrow versus blade—and yet [Heavy Blade] required one more Third-Class Merit than [Heavy Arrow].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking it over, he understood: [Heavy Blade] had far broader applicability. Melee weapons were easier to pick up, had wider range, and were more versatile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if you’d never trained, you could still swing a sword or swing a hammer—but without archery training, you wouldn’t even know how to nock an arrow, let alone hit anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Keep looking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reward for the Marakko District Water Beast Extermination Mission was only two Third-Class Merits—exactly one short of what [Heavy Blade] required.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had three Second-Class Merits, equivalent to thirty Third-Class Merits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn’t even seen the Second-Class Merit list yet—and it likely contained rare spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rare spells took priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, maybe there was an even better common First-Ring offensive spell on the list?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De folded a corner of the page listing [Heavy Blade] as a bookmark, added it to his shortlist, and decided to return to it only if he had leftover merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Stone Fist] (Alteration [Earth], First-Ring):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the spell’s duration, your hands turn into living stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When affected, your unarmed strikes deal lethal blunt damage and partially ignore the hardness of objects struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Required Military Merit: 2 × Third-Class Merit]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De remembered this spell vividly—it was the one Metis used during his evaluation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just a common spell, yet in Metis’s hands, it had been devastatingly effective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spell potency varied, but the same spell could differ wildly in strength depending on the mage wielding it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He skipped it again. A mage using a sword was his limit—barehanded combat wasn’t magecraft, it was brawling!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic wasn’t meant to be this crude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Magic Missile] (Evocation, First-Ring):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You create three glowing darts formed of magical force, each targeting a specific creature within spell range that you can see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each dart deals force damage. All darts strike simultaneously, and you may choose whether they hit the same target or different ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Required Military Merit: 4 × Third-Class Merit]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De took a deep breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other spells could wait—[Magic Missile] was non-negotiable. Must learn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This spell was simply too iconic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Magic Missile] in First-Ring was like [Fireball] in Third-Ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every combat-oriented mage would never miss these two spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were “national-level” spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like even the pickiest eater wouldn’t refuse a plate of tomato and scrambled eggs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the required merit? Ridiculously inflated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De knew [Magic Missile] had immense universal appeal—everyone wanted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Sea Sentinel exchange rules, popular items increasing in cost the next year was an unspoken rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But magical plants and potions? Rising prices made sense—they were consumables. But spell formulas? Zero cost—you could copy a hundred copies in one go. Why this nonsense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grumbled, but he’d still exchange for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further down: [Electric Claw], [Water Surge], [Flash Burst], [Ear-Piercing Screech], [Burning Hands].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Page after page of Evocation offensive spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For pure damage output, Evocation spells were still unmatched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then scattered spells from Necromancy, Illusion, and others: [Ray of Sickness], [Prismatic Spray].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After scanning all offensive spells, Gao De turned to the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he didn’t exchange now, understanding them was useful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One advantage of spell formulas: they never ran out of stock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as it appears on the military merit exchange list, the spell formula will remain available indefinitely, unlike transcendental materials or transcendental equipment, which are often time-limited and quantity-restricted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, after flipping through it quickly, there were indeed some ordinary first-ring spells that caught his interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Unrelenting Pursuit] (Alteration, First Circle):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You enhance your body’s capacity for long-distance travel. The stamina consumed during rapid march and forced march is halved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additionally, during the spell’s duration, you may ignore all fatigue caused by travel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the spell ends, you will become fatigued. If already fatigued, you will be exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Military Merit Required: Two Third-Class Merits]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After temporarily marking all first-circle spell formulas that interested him, Gao De did not look further at higher-circle spells, but instead turned to the section on magical plants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within this category of magical plants, the subcategories were far more numerous and varied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Broadly speaking, they fell into two main types: one, magical plants used to brew magical potions—the foundation of potioncraft; and two, magical plants that could be consumed directly or applied externally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second type of magical plant resembled potions in some ways, granting users effects similar to those of potions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Gao De’s view, the difference between them was akin to that between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magical plants were like traditional Chinese medicine: their effects were usually weaker, less immediate, and took longer to produce, making them more expensive, but their properties were gentler and carried no medicinal toxicity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magical potions were like Western medicine: they delivered potent, rapid effects, were easy to mass-produce, and were relatively cheaper—but their properties were harsh and caused toxic accumulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, compared to potions, magical plants possessed one unique, incomparable advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was: certain truly “heavenly treasures” among top-tier magical plants often contained mysterious, unique powers that potions could never replicate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, the fourth-rank magical plant known as Tears of Mandora, which Gao De discovered on Dandong Snow Peak, granted him the Mandora Magic Eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, Wolf’s Blood Ginseng directly enabled him to condense a dozen drops of liquid mana in one go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were things potions could never achieve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Needless to say, the magical plants listed on the Third-Class Merit exchange list were mostly of the first type; even the second-type ones were mediocre and unremarkable varieties:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Mermaid’s Comb] (First-Rank Magical Plant):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A magical seaweed found in the sea, radiating vibrant energy. One who consumes a portion of Mermaid’s Comb gains the ability to breathe underwater as if in air, lasting eight hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Military Merit Required: Two Third-Class Merits]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Observation Slime] (First-Rank Magical Plant):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A purple clay fungus growing in lightless depths. Applying its slime to the eyes grants Darkvision, lasting twenty-four hours. If Darkvision is already possessed, its range increases by thirty feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Note: Frequent use of this magical plant causes permanent purple blotches to form around the user’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Military Merit Required: One Third-Class Merit]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First-rank magical plants generally required between one and five Third-Class Merits for exchange. Further pages contained higher-rank second-rank, third-rank, fourth-rank, and even fifth-rank magical plants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The military merit required soared to a staggering five hundred Third-Class Merits—absurdly high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Potions were even more numerous: those aiding cultivation, healing wounds, curing diseases, neutralizing poison, restoring mana, enhancing status, and even aphrodisiacs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Transcendental materials were similarly overwhelming in variety, ranging from organs and bones harvested from Earth-Mai creatures to naturally formed minerals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Transcendental equipment was fewer in number, and even the lowest-grade first-rank transcendental equipment required at least five Third-Class Merits for exchange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Books and miscellaneous items were somewhat eccentric: ancient relics of unknown purpose, ancient texts with limited practicality, yet potentially valuable finds—better suited for mages with abundant military merit and leisure to explore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also included were high-grade blood food for beast companions’ growth, exclusive cultivation manuals for beast taming, analyses of Earth-Mai creatures, and other assorted books and items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Notably, only the Jin Quehua Dynasty could provide such a vast array of ancient artifacts for Sea Sentinel mages to exchange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the Jin Quehua Dynasty was the oldest dynasty in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human history divided the Ancient and Medieval eras at the emergence of the first human eighth-circle mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It divided the Medieval and Recent eras at the founding of the first human dynasty—the Jin Quehua Dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over countless centuries, the Jin Quehua Dynasty amassed innumerable treasures and antiquities; in terms of ancient artifacts, it naturally possessed the greatest quantity and most comprehensive collection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a cursory review of the Third-Class Merit exchange list, Gao De immediately turned to the Second-Class Merit exchange list.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to see what treasures lay within!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2160,"2026-06-19T14:28:50.414Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9afd26df5dda6bf4b56aef606079a03c6c41633af63bb6502204652749a1fb1e","above-the-mage-chapter-472","above-the-mage-chapter-470",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]