[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-94":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},2257098,4404,"Chapter 94: Rarely Foolish","above-the-mage-chapter-94",94,"\u003Cp>\"Until three months ago, Master Sedda fell ill due to poor health and spent all his time immersed in alchemical research, eventually bedridden and unresponsive to medicine, until—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Gao De’s full account, Lady Misu fell silent for a moment, then whispered softly: \"After our parting thirteen years ago, it was our final meeting in this life.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De felt a flicker of surprise inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Lady Misu’s emotions carried sorrow, they were far calmer than he had expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could any ordinary person remain so composed upon hearing of her husband’s death?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was there some hidden truth? Or had her feelings for Master Sedda simply faded over such a long separation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Before he passed, Master Sedda instructed me to deliver this news to you personally, and to hand you this potion recipe myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still uncertain of the situation, Gao De continued with his planned course.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took another ancient parchment from his chest and handed it to Lady Misu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Misu let out a soft exclamation as she took the ancient parchment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Spiritualizing Elixir (Tier-1 Potion)\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Main ingredient: half an ounce of Spiritual Bone Powder (approx. 14g), one pair of Phantom Butterfly Wings\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Auxiliary ingredients: one portion of Silverthread Grass, Mandrake Bark, dried Stinging Nettle, Sage?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the incomplete recipe for the Spiritualizing Elixir from Master Sedda’s belongings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This... this is?\" Lady Misu hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Sedda devoted immense time and effort to this recipe. Before he fell ill, he was only missing final verification of one auxiliary ingredient,\" Gao De said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Success was within reach—unfortunately, it was...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lady Misu, though the recipe is incomplete, it is nearly finished.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You must understand how valuable this recipe is. That is why Master Sedda insisted I deliver it to you personally.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He wouldn’t trust anyone else with it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But he also warned me that someone in Bremen City may be secretly watching or surveilling you—told me to be cautious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Sedda said he was driven away from Bremen City precisely because of these people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, Lady, forgive me,\" Gao De apologized, \"I used a false identity at first—I needed time to confirm whether anyone was still watching. I’m truly sorry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand. It’s not your fault. No need to apologize,\" Lady Misu sighed, carefully tucking the recipe against her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even before he left, I foresaw this day might come,\" she sighed, tears finally glistening in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides this recipe, there must be another item he asked you to deliver to me personally, correct?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De’s heart skipped—a critical moment was coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That item isn’t needed for me. Keep it for yourself,\" Lady Misu said before he could speak, leaving Gao De frozen in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lady, you mean—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That item is a scroll, isn’t it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, Gao De nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With things this far revealed, even if only to see what game she was playing, he had no reason to pretend ignorance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s a letter of recommendation from the Seris Arcane Academy,\" Lady Misu said directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With this scroll, one may enter the Seris Arcane Academy without conditions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De appropriately showed surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It was also the reason my husband was driven away,\" Lady Misu continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person behind the scenes—he knew perfectly well: they were from the Harrel family, once close friends with his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In generations past, the ancestors of my husband’s family, the Norman family, and the Harrel family were sworn brothers-in-arms, who together made great contributions to the Kingdom of Sein during an ancient ruin expedition.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When rewarded, they both chose a letter of recommendation from the Seris Arcane Academy as a safeguard for their family’s legacy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But later, my husband’s family gradually declined, while the Harrel family flourished—eventually leaving Bremen City and establishing themselves in Shengxi City.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By my husband’s generation, his family had dwindled to just him alone. The once-great house existed only in name; few remembered the Norman name anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It wasn’t a problem—we lived quietly, contentedly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But thirteen years ago, someone from the Harrel family came to our door, demanding to buy his recommendation letter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed, outside him, only the Harrel family knew he possessed it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yet my husband refused outright, insisting the letter had already been sold.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I kept urging him: no need, no need—family together is worth more than any object. Why cling to a thing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But he wouldn’t listen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So he was forced to flee to Hogen City. Our family was torn apart—and we never saw each other again.\" The tears in her eyes finally spilled over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lady, please accept my condolences,\" Gao De sighed inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After weeping silently for a long while, Lady Misu wiped her tears with a handkerchief. \"Forgive me—I lost composure.\" Gao De shook his head, signaling it was nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My husband intended to use this recommendation letter to send Sel to the Seris Arcane Academy,\" Lady Misu explained, regaining her calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Though the letter guarantees admission, entering the Seris Arcane Academy is never truly easy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Harrel family now resides in Shengxi City with immense power. Perhaps they’ve already believed Sedda won’t return, and have abandoned surveillance of our household.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But if I step onto the streets of Shengxi City—even before I arrive, while still on the road—they’ll learn of it,\" Lady Misu said, chillingly calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In Bremen City, my husband was driven to such despair. How could I, a widow with a child, possibly stand against the Harrel family, entrenched as local overlords in Shengxi?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, I no longer care for grand ambitions. Having family together is enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even if one enters the Seris Arcane Academy, it doesn’t guarantee success. Achievement ultimately lies in the person—the environment merely assists.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"An ordinary person bears no guilt—but if he carries a priceless jade, he invites blame or disaster.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My life and Sel’s are fine as they are. I don’t want this useless recommendation letter to disrupt it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since you are my husband’s disciple, I give you this letter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re not like me—the Harrel family doesn’t know you. You can use this letter to enter the Seris Arcane Academy without hindrance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The turn of events exceeded Gao De’s expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet somehow, it made perfect sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the Norman family has declined so far, why keep this letter so long without ever using it?\" This had always puzzled Gao De.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Lady Misu sighed. \"This letter was left by my husband’s ancestors as a last resort—a means to restore the family’s fortunes in times of decline.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But when decline finally came, a new problem arose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As the family dwindled, so did its potential heirs—there might not even be anyone left capable of using the letter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For example, my husband—he had no talent for magic. Even with this letter, he’d barely become a Tier-1 mage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Frankly, it would be a waste. There’s only one such letter, and a Tier-1 mage cannot revive a fallen house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s why this letter remained untouched until now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De nodded slightly. Though he didn’t fully agree, he now understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like playing cards: holding only one bomb, you’d want to use it to win big.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If played well, you might win big. But if played poorly, everyone else discards their cards—and your bomb becomes useless in your hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s another problem,\" Lady Misu sighed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As the family declined, even reaching the Seris Arcane Academy became a challenge,\" she said helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"From Bremen City to Shengxi City spans over a thousand kilometers—treacherous, arduous. You can imagine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, that’s the same problem I faced earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So I urged him: just sell the letter to the Harrel family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A lump sum of gold is more practical than a letter you can’t bring yourself to use.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But he wouldn’t listen to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long after Gao De had left, a quiet sigh echoed through the silent house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De claimed to be his husband’s disciple—but where did he learn the craft of repair? Surely not from Sedda?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sedda was skilled only in potion-making; he knew nothing of repairing alchemical items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Repair craftsmanship requires both inherited knowledge and years of practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything contradicted Gao De’s story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he produced letters from his husband, the potion recipe, and detailed knowledge of Sedda’s life in Hogen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t know the full truth or details—but she had no desire to investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew only one thing: her husband was certainly dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She understood only this: whatever he concealed, that was the target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De gave her the letters, gave her the recipe—but withheld the one item her husband valued most: the recommendation scroll.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her \"voluntary\" gift of the scroll to Gao De wasn’t just because of his story—it was because she knew: whether she gave it or not, the scroll would never remain in her hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so, why not pretend to believe his tale? Why not \"voluntarily\" give it to him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least she’d earn goodwill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Misu rose slowly and walked into the kitchen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sel would return soon—she needed to prepare dinner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Extremely shrewd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rarely foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1497,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","1c552de610a973843e06a3ab35f8d2610bf1425e9c5b717fdb4fa1051cf23257","above-the-mage-chapter-95","above-the-mage-chapter-93",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]