[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-78":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},2257082,4404,"Chapter 78: Bremen City","above-the-mage-chapter-78",78,"\u003Cp>The caravan members, upon realizing what had happened, looked at each other, speechless for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one had expected that the half-grown boy, who looked like he was heading to a big city to seek relatives, was actually a mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And judging by the spell Gao De had just cast, he was clearly no mere “naive apprentice” who could only summon Mage Hand to pour water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Check on Caro and Kuli’s injuries,” the caravan leader finally spoke, dispersing the group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He himself walked toward Gao De and first thanked him: “Master Mage, thank you for your intervention.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since we travel together, helping each other is only natural,” replied Gao De, composed as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutual aid among fellow travelers was an unspoken rule, and being a mage made no exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Mage, as per custom, the burrower’s corpse is your loot,” said the caravan leader with unusual respect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can’t carry it away, and I’m too lazy to process it—how about I sell it to you at a discount? The difference counts as your due reward,” Gao De said, glancing at the massive corpse and thinking for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Mage, just call me Jose,” nodded the leader Jose. “Your offer is more than welcome.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The corpse of a 0-Ring ground-living creature typically sells for 20 to 25 gold, depending on its valuable parts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it’s an edible ground-living creature, its value rises another tier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the burrower’s meat is sour and rotten—inedible. The only valuable parts are its carapace and internal acid glands.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Jose looked relieved. “Normally, when threatened, a burrower sprays its acid glands.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With that corrosive acid, unless a mage intervenes, all of us ordinary folk would be badly hurt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fortunately, this one flipped over and couldn’t even spray acid before it was killed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De had to once again lament his own lack of experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a mage, his knowledge of ground-living creatures was far inferior to Jose’s as an ordinary man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jose continued: “We’re not professionals—we can’t dissect the burrower’s corpse to extract useful materials, so we can only drag it to a shop in town to sell.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shops typically pay half its value.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s assume the corpse is worth 22 gold—maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more, depending on market conditions, but the difference rarely exceeds two gold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, the shop would likely offer about 11 gold for this corpse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De nodded slightly, knowing Jose spoke truthfully, without deception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shop’s purchase price halved seemed harsh, but it was perfectly reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When buying non-mass-produced items like ground-living creature corpses, halving the price is standard practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because there’s risk involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the corpse is valuable, it’s only money once sold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Non-mass-produced items mean they’re not essential goods, meaning there’s no guaranteed buyer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it’s worth a fortune, merchants can’t guarantee when it will sell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day unsold, it ties up the merchant’s working capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So without at least a 50% profit, merchants won’t touch it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To sell quickly, you must accept a steep discount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Six gold. The whole thing’s yours,” Gao De smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t kill this burrower alone, and some of you were injured. Besides, without you, I couldn’t have dragged the corpse back. This is your due reward,” he explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jose met Gao De’s gaze and sincerely said, “Thank you for your generosity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The burrower’s attack was a minor incident on this journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two cart drivers thrown by the burrower’s tail suffered injuries—broken bones—and would need long rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Gao De, it was pure gain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gold +6.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, [Burrower] +1.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Origin:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>0-Ring—Burrower (1\u002F7). Too easy, he even began hoping to encounter one or two more on the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The facts proved the main road was relatively safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only this one incident occurred along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day later, at noon of the second day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trees grew sparser; signs of human activity began appearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, they had essentially left the forest. The tense atmosphere eased; people grew lively, chatting and laughing, imagining reunions with family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fields stretched out along both sides of the road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were the villages surrounding Bremen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Farmers worked in the fields; seeing the caravan pass, they glanced over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, spotting the burrower’s corpse on the cart, they all wore expressions of awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The road widened and grew busier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After traveling a long while, the caravan carrying the burrower’s corpse finally neared its destination:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bremen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The largest city in the Bremen region, it lay beside the region’s largest lake, “Deepflow Lake.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Deepflow Lake as its hub, waterways connected to most cities in the Bremen region.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Water transport was the most convenient means of travel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of this prime location, Bremen City became the region’s top city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In comparison, Hogen City’s backwardness and poverty, lacking any waterway, were entirely understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the afternoon sun, the lake shimmered with golden light, like countless fish scales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The massive Bremen City stood beside the lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its walls rose high, built of ancient gray stone, crowned with orderly towers and magic-crystal lanterns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city gate loomed, carved with intricate runes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re here!” came cheers from the caravan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go inside!” laughed Jose, the leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Bremen City came into view, Gao De leapt down from the cart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The driver, Grul, blinked in confusion. “Thank you for your care along the way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aren’t you coming into the city with us?” Grul asked, startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Gao De waved him off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entering the city with so many others, especially while carrying a burrower’s corpse, would draw attention—something Gao De wished to avoid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse, with so many eyes, he had already revealed his [Flame Arrow] spell yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the road, caution toward strangers was essential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To avoid possible trouble, Gao De chose the safest way to enter the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would wait until the caravan entered, then enter alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De departed with decisive clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching his figure fade away, the others merely sighed, knowing their brief encounter with a mage was pure luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, Gao De was ultimately just an unusual passerby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since they had parted, they let it go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the gaze of many townsfolk at the city gate, the caravan slowly entered Bremen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1032,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","148d7ab32b815ee044f7208d567f774edfe3c8a422d86f3e64092b3d3a63356b","above-the-mage-chapter-79","above-the-mage-chapter-77",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]