[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-90":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},2257094,4404,"Chapter 90: Visit","above-the-mage-chapter-90",90,"\u003Cp>A discreet yet luxurious private carriage moved along the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the Month of Sunlight, the weather gradually growing hot, yet inside the carriage, it was unusually cool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Lady, he’s merely a repair artisan—accepting payment to fix your ‘Lakeheart’ is his duty,” the uniformed butler gently reminded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what? ‘Lakeheart’ is the only thing my mother left me. Compared to that, a little favor is nothing.” Jelica said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, compared to the other Jiwei  who wield their father’s status to flex their power, I’m just remembering a small favor—hardly worth mentioning.” As she spoke, a hint of scorn flashed in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I used to tread carefully, guarding my family’s reputation, afraid to overuse its resources lest I tarnish my mother’s name. But now it seems others won’t spare me just because I hold back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Lady, that was merely an accident.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps. Hehe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps Jelica truly did help Gao De with the “tap water” after returning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps the “advertisement” at the Artisans’ Guild entrance had finally taken effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or perhaps it was simply good fortune turning his way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, Gao De’s repair business improved dramatically after seeing off Jelica on the 10th of Sunlight Month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost daily, people came to him to repair alchemical devices; sometimes two or three clients arrived in a single day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though all were repairs of 0th-level alchemical devices, the income remained substantial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The repair fee for a 0th-level alchemical device typically ranged from 30 silver, or 1.5 gold, with minor fluctuations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike other repair artisans who incurred material and tool wear, Gao De relied entirely on [Repair Shu +].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, zero cost, 100% pure profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he completed just one job per day, his monthly income would reach a staggering 45 gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, under normal circumstances, a repair artisan’s business would never be this good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, there simply aren’t that many broken alchemical devices needing repair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, competition among repair artisans is fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such Fenliu , an ordinary repair artisan was lucky to get one job every two or three days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao De was anything but ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because his craftsmanship was exceptional—extraordinarily so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alchemical devices repaired by him showed not the slightest trace of prior damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even devices so severely damaged that other artisans could not fix them, he often managed to restore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, his repair time was short: clients often commissioned him in the morning and retrieved their “perfectly repaired” devices by afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His prices were fair; he never exploited his “exceptional skill” to charge extra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Gao De’s reputation spread quickly within a small circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People nearby knew that at 437 Kamengdejie, there was a young repair artisan with extraordinary skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this “celebrity effect,” his business naturally grew ever busier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Gao De knew this burst of popularity was temporary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the total number of alchemical devices in a city fluctuates only slightly, and those broken and unusable are exceedingly rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason his business had been so booming was that many devices previously deemed unrepairable by ordinary artisans had piled up—and he had cleared them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Setting down the recently repaired device, Gao De stretched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He calculated mentally: from the 10th to the 25th of Sunlight Month, just two weeks, he had taken on a full sixteen jobs, earning a staggering 25 gold coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additionally, through repairing alchemical devices, he had learned many strange 0th-level spells, gaining knowledge in this unusual way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This reinforced Gao De’s belief that his choice was correct. Moreover, the spell models for [Detect Poison], [Prestidigitation], [Open\u002FClose], and [Message] had all been fully constructed a week ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His spell repertoire had expanded again, becoming more comprehensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his repair business was thriving, Gao De had not forgotten his true purpose in coming to Bremen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was not here to “work”—his real goal was “advanced study.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking up his keys, Gao De stepped out again, heading for the restaurant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since arriving in Bremen City, he had nearly dined daily at the small eatery across from Mrs. Misu’s house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To observe whether any suspicious individuals lingered near Mrs. Misu’s residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet so far, he had found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once this month passes, if by Harvest Month I still detect no signs, I can relax a little and plan my next move.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De murmured silently as he sat once more at the window seat on the restaurant’s second floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caution was necessary, but excessive caution was unacceptable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How many things in this world truly offer a hundred percent certainty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using a month to confirm whether anyone still watched the Misu family was already cautious enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anything more would not be caution—it would be wasting time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, the restaurant’s dishes had barely changed in a month—he was sick of them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, again, he found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunlight Month slipped away quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wheat, having endured the scorching sun of Sunlight Month, now ripened and bore grain, ready for harvest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Harvest Month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harvest Month, 1st day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De finished breakfast early, hung a sign reading “Closed Today” at his door, then boarded a public carriage and left Kamengdejie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, he went to the large store in Serene District and spent 30 silver on two bottles of elegantly packaged sparkling wine, then took another public carriage to Devise District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Total transportation cost: 12 copper, or 1 silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Bremen City, inter-district public carriages charged a flat rate of 4 copper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Kamengde District to Serene District required crossing two districts; Serene District and Devise District were adjacent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devise District was also a bustling commercial area, but dominated mostly by small shops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to Serene District, it was like the difference between an “old commercial street” and a “Wanda Plaza.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De walked down Devise Street, carrying the two bottles of wine, following the house numbers on signs along the road until he turned into a quiet alley deep within Devise Street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, he stopped before a small house, confirmed the door number was correct, then gently knocked on the carved wooden door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, as the hinge turned softly, a familiar old man appeared at the door, staring at Gao De in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Long time no see—don’t tell me you won’t welcome me?” Gao De raised the two bottles of wine and extended them toward Pierre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pierre, whom Gao De had not seen for over a month, looked exactly as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha, who wouldn’t welcome someone bringing good wine?” Pierre took the bottles and asked with a smile: “When did you arrive in Bremen City?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he stepped aside, inviting Gao De inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1098,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","aa1a774021508eaf3080879fc7b3ed9470555e4895daba8bdd41005e34a6cdaa","above-the-mage-chapter-91","above-the-mage-chapter-89",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]