[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-84":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},2257088,4404,"Chapter 84: New Spell (Four)","above-the-mage-chapter-84",84,"\u003Cp>\"Alright.\" Gao De sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without needing to ask further, he understood—it was still due to knowledge monopolization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the authorities were willing to open a small loophole to sell spell formulas, it would only be a tiny one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These ruling elites could never truly sell all spell formulas at fixed prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially powerful offensive spells were strictly prohibited and never sold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To truly learn those valuable spells, one still had to join a major mage organization or serve the state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was cutting off the path of rogue mages, Gao De muttered to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was the same in any world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like in the cultivation world, lone cultivators could only buy low-tier spell scrolls that families and sects didn’t value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To learn high-tier scrolls, one still had to join a sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much do they cost?\" Gao De asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Six gold for a 0-level spell formula, twenty-five gold for a 1-level spell formula—fixed price, no bargaining,\" replied the young female clerk in a soft voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want these four: [Detect Poison], [Minor Illusion], [Open\u002FClose], and [Message].\" Gao De wasn’t surprised by the high price of the spell formulas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed to the entries in the book, counted out twenty-four Sein gold coins from his pouch, and pushed them toward the clerk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was only a First-Rank Apprentice—far from becoming a 1-level mage—no need to rush buying 1-level spell formulas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need them yet, and twenty-five gold per formula was simply too expensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, learning the specific effects of some 1-level spells from the catalog was an unexpected bonus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please wait a moment,\" the brown-haired woman tucked the coins away and left on her low-heeled leather shoes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a short while, she returned with the four spell formulas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the brown-haired woman didn’t hand them to Gao De immediately; instead, she pulled two more standard forms from a drawer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She scribbled rapidly on them, stamped both with a heavy seal, then handed them to Gao De: \"Please fill in your details. If there’s an issue with the spell formulas, you may use this receipt to have us address it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, there was even a payment receipt—no wonder this was an official channel; not necessarily great, but at least the formality was proper. Gao De took the two forms and saw they listed the exact names of the spell formulas he’d bought, the purchase date, and the payment amount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below, several blank lines were meant for his personal information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very bottom, a tiny note read:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spell formulas purchased from this association may not be resold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De picked up the feather pen, wrote his name \"Gao De\" in full, and pressed his fingerprint onto the forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each receipt was held by one party—the buyer and the seller.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After securing the receipt bearing Gao De’s fingerprint, the brown-haired woman handed him the four spell formulas:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Detect Poison] (Divination, 0-level):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can determine whether a creature, object, or a five-foot cubic area is poisoned or contains poison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you are familiar with the poison, you may identify its exact type through this spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spell penetrates obstacles, but is blocked by one foot (about 0.3 meters) of stone, one inch of ordinary metal, a thin lead sheet, or three feet of wood or earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Minor Illusion] (Illusion, 0-level): Within a ten-foot casting range, you create one of the following magical effects: a harmless sensory effect, such as a spark, a gust of wind, faint music, or a strange odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You immediately light or extinguish a candle, torch, or small campfire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You instantly clean or dirty a non-living object no larger than one cubic foot. You instantly chill, warm, or season a non-living object no larger than one cubic foot—the effect lasts one hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You create a colored patch, mark, or symbol on an object or surface—the effect lasts one hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You create a palm-sized non-magical trinket or a phantasmal image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you cast this spell multiple times, you may maintain up to three different non-instantaneous effects simultaneously, and may dismiss one effect with a single action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Open\u002FClose] (Transmutation, 0-level):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You may open or close (your choice) doors, chests, boxes, windows, bags, bottles, or other containers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything obstructs the opening or closing motion (e.g., a bolt on a door or a lock on a chest), the spell fails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additionally, this spell can only affect objects weighing less than thirty pounds (about fourteen kilograms).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, doors, chests, or similar items designed for giant creatures exceed the spell’s capacity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Message] (Transmutation, 0-level):\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You point your finger at a creature within 120 feet and whisper a message.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The target (and only the target) hears the message and may reply in a whisper audible only to you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You may cast this spell through solid objects, but you must be familiar with the target and know it is behind the barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magical silence, one foot of stone, one inch of ordinary metal, a thin lead sheet, or three feet of wood blocks this spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This spell does not require a straight line—it may freely bend around corners or pass through holes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These four cantrips bring Gao De no direct combat boost, but each is extremely practical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Detect Poison] needs no explanation—it’s a divine skill for daily life or wilderness survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High-level mages may have ways to resist poison, but for apprentice mages, poison is still deadly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mastering this cantrip ensures that, with sufficient caution, you are nearly impossible to poison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And regardless of other uses, [Detect Poison] at least guarantees you won’t eat poisonous mushrooms in the wild.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Minor Illusion] is similarly practical—its effects are numerous, and its true potential depends mostly on the mage’s imagination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even ignoring all else, the seasoning effect alone in [Minor Illusion] is worth the price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cast [Create Water], then use [Minor Illusion] to flavor it—suddenly, I can drink \"magic cola\" anywhere. Thinking of this, Gao De couldn’t help but marvel at how magical spells truly were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Open\u002FClose] and [Message] are the same—both are highly flexible and practical cantrips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Open\u002FClose] can avoid traps, operate mechanisms from a distance, or aid in stealthy entry; [Message] enables encrypted communication in specific situations—the classic use being battlefield coordination between teammates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the Bremen Mage Association with a full haul, Gao De boarded a public carriage again and returned to Kamengde District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn’t head straight home; instead, he went to the Street of Workshops and ordered a cloth banner embroidered with a carving knife pattern and magical runes, to hang at his front door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he visited the nearby market and bought enough wheat bread, root vegetables, and meat for three days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Gao De, dining out was occasional—he mostly cooked for himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additionally, he spent four silver on a one-pound tin of Sri Lankan black tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This tea had a rich flavor, with a fresh citrus aroma and a sweet aftertaste—a mid-tier variety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spent this money not just for daily breakfast, but mainly because guests arriving at his home needed something to be offered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After completing all this, Gao De finally ended his day’s busyness and returned to his House No. 437.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1188,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3249b843178a82a763c2275fde2d76d7e000f81678be9fa853b9856eac17e897","above-the-mage-chapter-85","above-the-mage-chapter-83",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]