Chapter 45

In the end, the Count and the Mage Guild of Shire County reached some secret agreements.

Luosen, as the Baron of White Sturgeon Island, has no subordinate relationship with the Count—at most a helper—was not invited to the secret talks, and therefore has no way of learning the details of the agreements.

At least on the surface, he does not know.

After the agreements were reached, the Count was very pleased.

He added ten magic consultant seats at the Count's residence, reserved specifically for commoner mages with outstanding contributions.

That accounts for twenty percent of all consultant seats.

He also opened a Commoner Magic Academy in Shialin City, establishing a total of 200 magic teaching positions.

The projected cost for the above is 30,000 Ogre per year.

Then the Count spent another 30,000 Ogre to hold a lavish ball in the outer courtyard of the Starry Hall at Maple Castle, inviting the city's elite throughout.

At this moment, Luosen is at the ball.

He is also quite pleased, because his effort this time was not in vain.

The Count not only covered all the military expenses of the Flame Brigade, but also generously gave him a full 20,000 Ogre as a reward for this incident.

Clearly, the Mage Guild's compensation is generous.

The ball is lively, with countless people dancing gracefully in the pool.

But Luosen has no fondness for dancing, so he sits in a corner drinking alone.

He originally thought his wife Selena would love the lively atmosphere, but she found it noisy.

After showing her face in the dance floor for a while and dancing a round with Luosen, she went with the Countess to the inner hall to chat with a group of aristocratic ladies.

He thought he would endure a dull night, but after less than half an hour, a maid approached him.

Luosen recognized her as Masha, the Countess's personal maid.

"Baron, the lady asks you to go to the inner hall for an important matter,"

Luosen was startled: "Now? That's not very convenient, is it?"

The inner hall is a gathering place for aristocratic ladies; his entering as a man would not make a good impression.

Masha whispered, "Indeed it's inconvenient, so the lady hopes you can alter your appearance—perhaps become my form while I take yours—to stay in the main hall on your behalf."

Luosen felt a slight stir, quickly checked the scattered data returned by the Detect Guard, and began to guess the Countess's intention.

He nodded in agreement: "No problem, we'll do as the lady says."

The two slipped into an unnoticed corner, waited a moment, and Luosen borrowed Masha's appearance before heading toward the inner hall.

The inner hall is on the second floor of the Starry Hall; after ascending a staircase carpeted with dark red velvet, he quickly arrived at a small door reserved for attendants.

Pushing the door open revealed a semi‑open, spacious warm hall.

One side of the warm hall is a semi‑circular outer wall, the other faces a level of the dance floor, resembling a viewing suite.

At this moment, the curtain toward the dance floor was drawn down, and an arcane barrier was set in front of it, completely blocking the view and noise from the dance floor.

Luosen's eyes quickly swept the warm hall and he saw sixteen aristocratic ladies seated, ranging in age from their early twenties to just over forty.

From the quality of their clothing, jewelry, and personal defensive artifacts, each came from a very wealthy and noble family.

Considering this is the Countess's arrangement, it is likely the highest‑level aristocratic ladies' gathering in the whole of Shialin City.

Moreover, their husbands are probably all aligned with the Count's faction.

The Countess, seeing Luosen in Masha's form, smiled and asked, "Baron, is that you?"

Luosen performed the full act, bowed deeply, and answered in a magically altered female voice, "It is I, madam."

The Countess pointed at Luosen and told the assembled ladies, "Sisters who have suffered neglect from your husbands, your miraculous mage has arrived~"

Upon hearing that, each lady looked at Luosen with curious, eager eyes.

After a while, the married ladies began to speak all at once.

"Madam, is it really that good?"

"Will it affect one's health?"

"Baron, here's a piece of wood; why not transform into my form as a test?"

"Yes, yes, try it; if it turns out well, I'll change."

Along with the ladies' words, Selena's Spiritual Whisper entered his ears.

"The Countess specifically summoned them; they envy her new appearance and also wish to have beautiful bodies themselves."

"It's not for nothing; the lady said she set a starting price of 300 Ogre, which is already five times the average transformation price in Shire County."

"But the exact price depends on our own skill."

Luosen clicked his tongue in amazement: "There really is such a good thing; we're short on money, tonight we must definitely make a good profit."

Although the Count just gave 20,000, who would complain about having too much? Selena chuckled lightly: "Then it depends on your skill."

Thus, Luosen stepped forward, took the wood, aimed at the ugliest, plumpest lady, and silently thought, "Laifu, perform image optimization—optimize ten samples."

A few minutes later, Laifu completed the work.

Luosen selected one, applied it to the wood, and said, "Madam, how does this look?"

This ugly lady had always been self‑conscious about her looks, especially her overly large mouth and tiny eyes, and was once quietly nicknamed by servants as 'the giant sea turtle of the Wind‑breath Strait.'

But now, after Luosen's alteration, although the overall features remained, they became highly harmonious, exuding a wild, cold‑elegant beauty.

She was instantly won over, clapping repeatedly: "Well done! Perfect! That's exactly how I want to be!"

Luosen smiled faintly, and with a thought, produced three more samples, each lasting ten seconds.

"Are you sure, madam?"

The ugly lady hesitated.

Because each appearance was extremely attractive, and the best part was that each was only a small, clever tweak.

She remains herself, but a more perfect version of herself.

While she hesitated, Luosen turned his head toward the noble ladies. "Ladies, I first guarantee that my Transformation Technique is absolutely safe, because I have conducted countless related magical experiments and ensured there are no problems."

"Secondly, I can provide many different transformation samples for you to choose freely."

"As for the price, as the Countess said, a simple face change costs 300 Ogre. Changing the body adds another 300 Ogre."

"If you want to modify everything, including the interior, since that is my unique ability, it will be more expensive, an extra 500 Ogre."

"Finally, if you need an Advanced Constant Technique, you can ask my wife for help."

"I know the market price for an Advanced Constant Technique is 300 Ogre, but my wife is an Arcane Master and also the Dawn Princess, so her Constant Technique is stable, lasting, and noble, starting at 600 Ogre."

After speaking, he patiently waited for the noble ladies to decide.

Not even three seconds later, the ugly aristocrat said, "I want to change everything! I'm fed up with this body."

The noble lady, very generous, directly gave Luosen thirty Ogre gold coins, each valued at 100 Ogre.

"Baron, I want the best."

After speaking, she turned and walked toward the changing room in the warm hall.

Luosen, fearing idle gossip, immediately said, "Madam, please bring your maid; I need her as my assistant."

"No problem."

Thus, the three of them entered the changing room together.

About ten minutes later, a charming, wild, voluptuous beauty emerged from the changing room, walking while covering her face with both hands, her expression full of disbelief.

"Oh~ sisters, look at me quickly, didn't I become prettier?"

The women looked over, subconsciously forgetting to speak; their gazes couldn't hide the astonishment, with a hint of jealousy.

It is the particular jealousy women feel when they see a more beautiful woman.

The ugly noble lady, seeing everyone's reaction, knew she was now absolutely beautiful, and felt an overwhelming sense of delight.

"Hahaha~ This Baron's Transformation Technique is indeed impressive~ This money was truly worth spending!"

She immediately walked to Selena, respectfully saying, "Your Highness, could you give me a Constant Technique?"

Selena smiled, "Glad to serve."

With such a person leading, the other noble ladies were instantly very excited.

Next, each noble lady began to request services in turn; some only changed their faces, some altered their whole bodies, and some boldly demanded perfection.

Luosen also gave his all, having Laifu refine numerous versions, allowing the customers to choose freely.

He was well aware of the noble ladies' competitive mindset and subtly exploited it.

After the whole operation, these top noble ladies of Shire County each spent at least 1,000 Ogre.

Luosen also earned over 20,000 Ogre in revenue.

Adding the 20,000 Ogre from the Countess, plus the over 4,000 Ogre left from the victory chess tournament, he now had nearly 50,000 Ogre in cash.

He thought to himself, "Women's money is really damn easy to earn!"

Moreover, this certainly won't be the last sum, but a beginning.

"It seems I need to study human transformation more, to elevate my business capabilities."

I originally thought today's good fortune ended here.

Unexpectedly, when night fell, after the ball dissolved and the noble ladies left, the Countess took out a wooden box and handed it to Luosen.

"Baron, I'm lending you a good thing."

After speaking, she added apologetically, "According to etiquette, I should give it to you directly, but this item is too precious for me to decide, so I can only lend it to you; it must be returned upon expiry."

Luosen was startled, "What is it?"

"Open it and you'll see."

Luosen followed the instruction.

Opening the wooden box, he saw inside an irregular gem about the size of an orange, red and translucent, with countless brilliant golden threads inside, and the gem was surrounded by a layer of fire‑like solid radiance.

Luosen exclaimed in shock, "Soul Gem!"

Selena, hearing this, also peeked in, "Eh~ it's really a Soul Gem!"

The Soul Gem is a naturally formed rare gemstone; because of its extreme rarity and powerful effect, it cannot be bought on the market and is generally kept by great nobles as a family heirloom.

Its effect is to greatly increase the efficiency of internal magical cultivation, boosting it by as much as fifty percent.

That means, originally it might take three years to progress from the early stage to the pinnacle, but with this aid, only two years are needed.

Unfortunately, this item only improves internal efficiency and does not significantly help in breaking through the number of cycles.

Nevertheless, with its help, a mage can achieve advanced magical cultivation at a very young age.

The Countess said, "Baron, White Sturgeon Island is not peaceful; you need strength to protect yourself, but your magical cultivation is indeed too low, so this should be very helpful for you."

"But once you reach the advanced pinnacle, you must return it to me."

Luosen also felt that low‑level magical cultivation was inconvenient for handling affairs; now with this Soul Gem, he could naturally 'advance.'

But that was just a minor point; what truly delighted him was that he had actually been searching for a Soul Gem all along.

He wanted to study its composition and mechanism, then find a way to refine it using alchemy.

But because it is extremely rare, he had never found one; now finally obtaining the finished product is the greatest gain of this trip to Shire County.

Thus, he directly made a solemn oath to the Countess, "Madam, I will definitely return it on schedule."

The Countess covered her mouth and laughed lightly, "You don't have to be that punctual; after all, my family has more than one Soul Gem, so it's not urgently needed."

Luosen felt a surge of emotion, "The great nobles truly have deep foundations."

Regardless, he expressed his gratitude, saying, "Madam, if you ever need transformation services, send someone to White Sturgeon Island to summon me, and I will come at once to serve you."

The Countess nodded with satisfaction, "I've been waiting for you to say that."

"You are about to depart for White Sturgeon Island; I wish you and Your Highness a swift stabilization of White Sturgeon Island and a happy, peaceful life."

(End of Chapter)