Chapter 102

Early the next morning, Luosen boarded a carriage and left Maple Leaf Castle together with Lady Agneth.

Countess Alice was somewhat reluctant, for she had just played a few victorious games of chess with Luosen, and the food-creation spell she had been researching had only been briefly discussed.

At one point she even wanted to go to White Sturgeon Island together with her aunt.

But she was stopped by the marchioness.

The nobles of the Northern Prefecture are still rather conservative; an unmarried young lady cannot easily leave her parents' side.

On the wide Maple Splendor Avenue, Luosen watched the maples receding outside the window while discussing mana cultivation with Lady Agneth beside him.

Lady Agneth wore a thoughtful expression: "In this regard, I am not your mentor; you have become my mentor."

After thinking, she felt that was not right.

"In terms of magical accomplishment, I certainly cannot be your mentor. After all, your talent is peerless, and you have diligently trained for ten years, whereas I have wasted too much time and energy on worldly trivia these past ten years."

"Although I want to comfort you, mentor, I know it would have no effect on you, because it contradicts the facts."

Lady Agneth laughed and scolded: "You little rascal, can't you say something sweet?"

She then sighed: "However, I tried the cultivation technique you mentioned yesterday, and it really works—my cultivation efficiency has increased by at least ten percent."

Luosen declared: "With your magical talent, mentor, if you perfect it, I estimate you could gain another ten percent."

"This means that, if you devote yourself to cultivation and use a soul‑boosting gem as aid, you would need only about five years—by the time you are thirty‑three, mentor, you should have a chance to advance to the Five‑Ring Sage."

Hearing this, Lady Agneth's heart fluttered, and she felt an urge to drop everything and devote herself fully to cultivation.

Because reaching the Five Rings at thirty‑three would greatly extend her natural lifespan; in her case she could expect to live to about two hundred, and if she broke through to the Six Rings she could live even longer.

Reading her expression, Luosen guessed her thought: "Mentor, cultivation is merely a personal achievement. I personally think changing the world is more interesting."

Personal cultivation may seem attractive to ordinary folk, but in terms of absolute power it is actually not outstanding in nature.

It is like the hundred‑meter dash in a previous life: running under ten seconds makes a human a prodigy, but it means nothing to a cheetah, let alone the myriad man‑made flying machines and even spacecraft.

Therefore, one must still be adept at harnessing external things.

Lady Agneth glanced at him: "Saying whether to wear pants to someone who has none is pointless, you little rascal—your thoughts are even worse than those of King Xieerge Jiu shi!"

King Xieerge Jiu shi of Kao was the grandfather of the present king of Kao.

His famous saying advocated a frugal life, yet he himself lived a lifetime of extravagance and debauchery, even once filling a bathtub with milk and swimming in it every day for a whole year.

Thus he came to be seen by the All‑Nature Alliance as a paragon of hypocrisy.

Luosen had nothing to say and could only laugh heartily.

The walk from Maple Leaf Castle to Shattered Gold Dock takes about half an hour.

After a while, Lady Agneth suddenly said: "Luosen, before I see Selena, let me borrow your embrace again."

She was feeling a bit nostalgic for the sensation she had yesterday in the library.

Luosen thought for a moment, raised his hand to set a magical illusion on the carriage window, then put his arms around Lady Agneth's slender waist, exerted a little force, and seated her sideways on his thigh.

Lady Agneth gasped: "Luosen, this won't do—it's too intimate."

A simple hug could still be called deep master‑disciple affection, but this is really indefensible.

Luosen said nothing, opened his arms, and drew Lady Agneth's relatively petite upper body deep into his embrace; she immediately fell silent, her body tensing from nervousness.

But seeing that Luosen made no unusual moves, she gradually relaxed and leaned against his chest.

After that, they remained silent all the way.

Arriving at Shattered Gold Dock, they rented a medium‑sized cargo ship, departed at nine in the morning, and successfully docked at the pier by noon.

Stepping off the ship and seeing the newly constructed dock, Lady Agneth was greatly astonished.

"I recall the Sturgeon Dock being tiny; now this scale is almost half that of Shattered Gold Dock—where did you get all this stone? Is it locally produced on the island?"

Luosen smiled: "Mentor, you guess."

Lady Agneth quickly discovered the secret: "It's magically solidified dirt. Hiss—you used the Stabilizing Spell everywhere, are you crazy? How much would that cost?"

She saw that the entire dock was like that.

Soon, the two boarded the carriage that had come to meet them, and, traveling along the island's only widened road that had been solidified, they drove cheerfully toward Crescent Castle.

By the midpoint, Lady Agneth had already figured it out: "You've created a cheap stabilizing spell, right?"

"Exactly, mentor."

"How cheap is it?"

"If I were to rebuild the Mage Guild headquarters in Dawn City, I might need only one‑thirtieth of the cost."

"Oh, this world is truly mad—new spells are being invented everywhere."

Luosen twitched slightly: "Mentor, have you heard any news of new spells in Dawn City?"

"Yes, Aaron passed it along, saying they've devised a flame‑thunder weapon that can shatter boulders from over a thousand meters away, and they plan to mount it on warships."

"That sounds truly terrifying."

Lady Agneth's eyes showed undisguised shock.

Luosen's hand, which had been resting casually on the outer edge of the window, also twitched involuntarily.

"This news is indeed frightening."

This must be an application of flame‑earth.

King Dange truly lives up to his title of Lion King, having managed to produce otherworldly cannons in less than a year.

One can infer that this Lion King's heavy emphasis on the wartime application of new magical achievements shows he is surely gearing up for war; and if those cannons are mounted on warships, it would usher in the era of great‑ship cannon of the age of sail.

Even those sailing warships probably won't last long; they will soon be converted to magical propulsion.

Because war is the greatest catalyst for new power.

The three great kingdoms of the continent have always been secretly competing; now that Aaron has a new gadget, Kao and Levinde will surely strive desperately to catch up.

"I certainly cannot fall behind either. Since someone has already taken a step ahead, I too must stride forward in hot pursuit."

But even so, I still feel considerable pressure in my heart.

Because the three great kingdoms each have populations over a hundred million, their combined national strength is astonishing; if they truly switched to war mode and began mass conscription, it would absolutely be utterly frenzied.

Even if Luosen truly mastered weapons with a technological edge, insufficient numbers would still leave him unable to compete.

Moreover, he might not even be able to generate much of a technological gap in weapons.

After all, no matter how strong his personal creativity, it is hard to compare with a nation that possesses millions of official mages and tens of millions of unofficial mages.

He secretly thought: 'Only by swiftly taking control of Weilan, gaining over thirty million people and nearly five hundred thousand square kilometers of land, will he truly have a seat at the table!'

At that moment, Lady Agneth's voice came again: 'What is that building complex over there?' 'It is the newly constructed Magic Method Center, still under construction and not yet finished.'

'And over there? That row of flat-roofed houses.'

'It is a refugee shelter, intended to take in refugees from the Duchy of Bohemia; no one has arrived yet, but the first batch should be coming soon.'

'Hiss~~~ You've set your sights on the Duchy of Bohemia?'

Lady Agneth had already been shocked many times, yet she was shocked again by the apprentice's methods.

'And over there? That large expanse of buildings?'

'The magic academy on the island; I am training a batch of basic mages.'

'You're doing all this at once—do you have enough money?'

'It's fine, because the labor on the island is basically free; as long as they are fed, it works.'

'The main expense is various magical supplies and hired personnel; but with smuggling business, we can barely make ends meet.'

As the carriage drove up the slope of Crescent City, Lady Agneth again saw a new building complex on the other side of the city.

That building complex looks unimpressive, half on the plain and half hidden in the mountains.

'What is that then?'

It is a secret, but facing the mentor, Luosen does not conceal it.

'It is the under-construction magic factory zone. Most of it is still being built due to lack of manpower. Once the academy's first batch of students is trained, they will be sent there to work, mass-producing cheap magical goods.'

After hearing that, Lady Agneth fell into deep thought once again.

After a few minutes, she suddenly said: 'Luosen, even if we have refugees from the Duchy of Bohemia, we will still lack people, right?'

'Hmm.'

'What do you plan to do about this?'

'Find ways to encourage having more children.'

Lady Agneth couldn't help but raise her hand and tap Luosen's shoulder, laughing and scolding: 'Children aren't weeds; how could they grow that fast?'

She thought for a moment and said: 'My brother is also a notable figure in the Northern Prefecture; I will have him step forward, unite other northern prefecture counts, and quietly send a batch of people to your island.'

After thinking, she added: 'Send those mountain dwellers living in the hills who pay no taxes and are extremely hard to manage. Let the counts sell them to you for some money; they will surely be willing.'

Luosen thought it over and felt the idea was good; the lifestyle of the mountain residents is similar to that of the island's natives, and if they come, they can perfectly blend with the island's indigenous people.

'Then I'll trouble you, Mentor. Anyway, I want as many as I can get, and I will absolutely not let the counts lose out on price.'

'Of course, I cannot pay in cash; I can only compensate with various magical implements.'

Lady Agneth nodded: 'No problem; the north lacks magical implements, and yours are exquisitely made.'

She then said: 'I also see that you definitely lack talent, especially high-end mage talent.'

'Coincidentally, I have some reputation in Weilan's magical circles; I will later write letters to various magic academies and renowned magic mentors, recommending your White Sturgeon Island to them.'

'At the same time, you should offer as competitive a salary and benefits package as possible; that way you can attract a batch of newly graduated mages.'

Luosen was very pleased: 'Thank you, Mentor.'

Lady Agneth laughed: 'Don't get too excited just yet.'

'Your White Sturgeon Island is too small, and its past reputation was not good; at first, not many top talents will come.'

Luosen smiled: 'But having something is still far better than having nothing!'

Lady Agneth, however, was concerned about Luosen's financial situation.

'We can't pay everything in goods; someone will need cash. Do you have enough money?'

Luosen immediately recalled the 2 tons of gold buried in the mountains and nodded: 'It should be enough.'

Lady Agneth did not believe him: 'I can tell at once you're just bluffing.'

'Fortunately, I have saved up quite a bit over the years—about 200,000 Ogres. Rather than leave it in Dawn Bank for the Duke to lend out, I might as well use it to support you.'

'Don't get too happy too soon; I am lending it to you, not giving it to you.'

Luosen gave a heh laugh: 'Of course it's a loan; how could I take such a big advantage from you, Mentor? I'll still have to pay interest.'

Cash, of course, the more the better.

'Forget the interest; I am a mage, not a Gamo person who lives by lending.'

'Gamo people' refers to one of the six duchies of the Natural Alliance, the Duchy of Gamo. The Duke leads in lending, especially favoring usury, and is deeply disliked.

At that moment, the carriage drove into Crescent Castle.

Selena had already received the telegram notification, knew Lady Agneth had arrived, and was waiting early at the lord's manor gate.

When Lady Agneth stepped down from the carriage, she hurried over and tightly embraced her close friend: 'Anna, at last I see you again.'

Lady Agneth was also excited, tightly embraced her for a while, then carefully examined Selena's face and commented: 'Your face has become rounder, your eyes brighter, your flesh more plump, even your bosom fuller—looks like you haven't endured hardship.'

Selena giggled: 'My life is very good; aside from being a bit bored, everything is fine. But now that you've come, even the boredom is gone~'

She took Lady Agneth's hand and led her into the house: 'Anna, are you really planning to stay long-term on White Sturgeon Island?'

'Of course, I couldn't let you face this alone.'

'Oh, that's really good, though it seems you haven't experienced this either.'

'But I have heard and seen far more than you have.'

While chatting and laughing, the two young, beautiful ladies walked into the inner chambers of the lord's manor.

After Luosen had settled everything and returned to the inner chamber's warm hall, the mentor was already examining the basic magic lessons of his sister, Evelyn.

She resumed her stern instructor's manner, once again subduing the gradually recovering mischievous little sister so she didn't dare to take a breath.

And her mother, Mrs. Saxon, was no better off than her sister; she clearly hadn't expected the esteemed Lady of Shire County to come to the castle as a guest.

Seeing Luosen enter, Selena told him a piece of news.

"Dear, I want to inform you of some news: tonight I want to have a good chat with Anna, so you'll have to spend the night alone in the guest room."

Luosen shrugged: "No problem, but don't chat too late."

"Besides, there's another piece of news: Master Alonso came by this morning to see you, saying he has several wonderful ideas he wants to discuss with you."

Upon hearing the news, Luosen felt delighted, poured himself a cup of water, took a big gulp, and immediately turned and went out.

"I'll go check it out right away."

(End of chapter)