Chapter 733: Borrowing Ability

In a few days we will enter New Era Calendar 2533, the Aix Combat School began construction at the end of September and took three months to finish.

The Combat School is located in the Giant Dragon Forest in the heart of the Augustus Duchy; earlier, to facilitate management and to send the dwarven craftsmen to the site, he immediately set up a teleportation array.

Lei En teleported directly from Glamorgan Castle to the school.

He appeared in a spacious teleportation hall, surrounded by a squad of Spear Wing Knights guarding; upon seeing Lei En they all saluted in unison. The hall is on the fourth floor of the Teacher Building, the lower three floors are teachers' offices, and the top fifth floor is the principal's office.

Lei En had visited the school several times during its construction, so he was very familiar with it.

He went up to the roof, pushed open the door to the wide, bright office, and saw Ouroin Master. Since the prototype of the Combat School appeared and gradually neared completion, Ouroin Master had left Glamorgan Castle and stayed here long-term, watching the school be built day by day.

The furnishings in the principal's office are very simple, just a desk and a set of sofas.

At this moment, Ouroin Master was not sitting behind the desk; he stood on the balcony overlooking the whole school, sensed someone entering, turned his head and smiled: "Lei En, you've come."

"Master."

Lei En walked onto the balcony to greet him, then looked out.

A school of modest size came into view, covering less than a hundred mu; in the center was a rectangular plaza with a statue of the God of Magic. Seven or eight buildings stood around the plaza, their functions obvious at a glance: teaching building, dormitory, cafeteria, magic laboratory, meditation room, alchemy room, etc.

The school's architecture is minimalist; aside from the Teacher Building, everything else is no higher than three stories, boxy in shape, with no decoration on the walls—everything is practical.

The entire school is protected by high walls.

The main material of the walls, over ten meters high, is stone, with a large amount of magic alloy mixed into the interior, inscribed with rune formations, creating a vast "advanced sound-light barrier" that hides the school; from outside only a layer of deceptive illusion can be seen.

When necessary, the walls can also generate a protective shield to resist attacks.

The cost of building the walls and formations alone reached 1.8 million Gold Shields, accounting for over sixty percent of the school's total construction cost.

Outside the walls lies an endless primeval forest.

The Giant Dragon Forest covers an area equivalent to an imperial province; the terrain is rugged, rising from north to south, and the school is built among lofty mountains and steep ridges, with peaks on both east and west; looking far off, the mountain tops are snow‑capped, the scenery extremely magnificent.

The nest of the Red Copper Dragon Galadelos is on one of those mountain peaks.

Lei En chose to build the school here not only because the place is remote and hidden, but also because Galadelos strongly recommended it.

Now that the school is finished, the diligent and responsible dwarven craftsmen are clearing construction debris.

Once the cleaning is done, teaching equipment and household items are moved in, and the ordinary workers hired from the territory adapt for a few days, formal classes can begin.

Ouroin Master turned his gaze from the school to Lei En.

He smiled: "Lei En, you've done well. I've inspected the school inside and out these past few days and found you more thorough than I. Aix's style differs from the academies I imagined; I thought it would be crude, but after seeing it I realized this is what a real school should be."

"As long as the Master is satisfied." Lei En humbly waved his hand.

His design actually copied part of his previous life's alma mater, with nothing extraordinary—just more suited to a standardized education model. Meanwhile, most magic academies in this world still rely on master‑apprentice transmission; the differing concepts made Ouroin Master feel refreshed.

However, the key to education lies in people; hardware merely provides the foundation.

Lei En said: "Master, how is the recruitment of teachers going? The students have been waiting."

Recruitment was completed a month ago; over a hundred students from across the Empire and the Augustus Duchy, aged twelve to sixteen, each screened by him, possess talent far beyond ordinary people, absolutely capable of completing the initial Soul Transformation ritual and becoming Wizards.

Besides talent, the students' character and background have also passed examination.

The recruitment work was entrusted to the Loges Family; among the hundreds of candidate students they sent, several with ill intentions were hidden.

Lei En did not investigate which forces they came from; he simply removed them.

Over a hundred students are now staying in a hotel not far from the castle, awaiting the school's opening.

"I have already found the teachers for the school." Ouroin Master smiled faintly: "They are all Battle Wizards—one Legendary High‑rank, two Mid‑stage and three Initial‑stage. Below Legendary there are another eight, all outstanding in the Battle School, fully capable of handling teaching duties."

Lei En couldn't help but praise: "Master, your influence is indeed strong."

Battle Wizards are extremely rare; compared to the numbers of other Wizard schools, they are almost negligible. Apart from himself and Ouroin Master, famous Battle Wizards in the world can be counted on one hand.

"Hehe..."

Ouroin Master confidently chuckled, but then said seriously: "I have examined the character of these people; basically there are no problems. However, before the opening I will have them meet you first, so you can give the final approval."

"All right, Master."

Lei En nodded, but his heart felt a slight chill.

He had never told Ouroin Master that he could discern good and evil in people's hearts, but during the recruitment process some traces leaked out; perhaps others wouldn't notice, yet they could not escape a powerful Holy Soul Wizard.

"After Aix opens, I will dispatch a squad of Extreme Warriors and two squadrons of Spear Wing Knights to garrison as the school's defense force, but they will not be fixed personnel; they will rotate monthly. Master, what do you think?" Lei En respectfully asked.

Ouroin En casually waved his hand: "You decide this yourself."

Obviously, he doesn't care about this.

Lei En also knows this Holy Soul Wizard's character—indifferent to fame and profit; as long as the Battle School is promoted, he won't interfere in other school matters.

Still, he needs to obtain prior consent, expressing his respect and attitude toward the Master.

The two chatted on the balcony for a long time.

The topics were all about the school—teaching, training, school rules, etc. —they had discussed many times before; the most important thing remains developing branches of the Battle School.

When Lei En originally persuaded Ouroin Master, he relied on his ability to assess magic‑soul conflict and fusion degree to open several stable branches, combine the students' talent strengths and weaknesses, and cultivate a batch of outstanding Battle Wizards as pioneers.

A branch must at least be able to advance to Legendary.

This requires at least ten magic souls, and suitable magic souls cannot be bought all at once; they must be selected from a large pool, and a branch may need to purchase hundreds, even thousands, of magic souls.

Of the five million Gold Shield startup funds, half must be spent on buying magic souls.

The magic souls fused by the over a hundred students, plus the soul‑fusion seeds, magic elixirs, alchemical materials, food, clothing, use and residence, etc., are all paid for by the school.

After opening, Gold Shields will flow out like water.

When money was mentioned, Ouroin Master suddenly sighed: "In my life I have never felt how important Gold Shields are; once the school's situation stabilizes, I will go out to hunt magic souls."

This kind‑looking Holy Soul Wizard actually looks a bit worried.

Lei En gave a dark chuckle.

Making money is not easy; for a Holy Soul Wizard to earn money is of course much easier than for ordinary people, but it's not simply a matter of earning several million Gold Shields.

With Ouroin Master's strength, killing a Saint‑rank monster is as easy as reaching out and taking it.

However, Saint‑rank magic souls are hard to find, and those willing to spend money to buy Holy Soul magic souls are even harder to find; those who need Saint‑rank magic souls are generally Saint‑rank powerhouses who prefer to hunt them themselves, rarely willing to spend large sums to buy them, and may not even have that much money.

Therefore the market for Saint Rank demon souls is very small, far inferior to that of Legendary demon souls.

And the value of Legendary demon souls is not as high as imagined; if the attached Element is mediocre, they may be worth only twenty to thirty thousand Gold Shields, with the worst even below ten thousand Gold Shields.

In short, making money is difficult!

Otherwise his own teacher wouldn't have been plagued by Weizelan's debts for centuries.

"Master, you need not worry; the school's accounts still have nearly two million Gold Shields, enough to sustain a few years," Lei En advised, "When the money runs out, I will continue to invest."

Ouroin shook his head, "It cannot be shouldered entirely by you alone…"

"As long as we can promote the Combat School, a few million Gold Shields are nothing," Lei En's eyes were full of sincerity, "Leave the money matters to me; Master, focus your energy on the school."

Ouroin looked at Lei En seriously, then suddenly smiled and nodded, "Very well."

He said only that one word.

Lei En, however, caught the implied meaning and couldn't help but feel great joy.

Ouroin Master promised not only matters of the school and money, but also his stance in the Supreme Council, the vote he holds in his hand!

Bribery succeeded!

Spending those few million Gold Shields was well worth it; the cash ability is indeed handy!

Of course, it also depends on how the Combat School develops thereafter. If Ouroin Master is dissatisfied, or discovers that he has merely been perfunctory and failed to develop a strong school branch, he may change his stance at any time and retract that vote.

Lei En decided to press on, putting out more chips.

"Master," he said softly, looking at the busy dwarf craftsmen in the school, "I currently have a plan to explore a New Continent, to establish a new city, expected to commence within half a year. Once built, the Aeks School can open a branch within the city, publicly recruiting students. Master, are you interested?"

Ouroin was greatly surprised.

He immediately guessed Lei En's thought, "You want to rebuild New Village City?"

"Yes," Lei En replied, "Not just rebuilding, but an entirely new city, larger in area than New Village City, with greater investment."

Ouroin shook his head repeatedly, noting that Lei En was speaking of 'my' plan, not Weizelan's, clearly this was being driven solely by Lei En.

He pondered for a long while, sighing, "This is no small matter; does Anxi support it?"

"I only mentioned it to the teacher once; the teacher neither supports nor opposes, and for now doesn't even know I've already started executing it."

Lei En said truthfully, "However, the teacher promised that if the Disaster Legion and New Village Floating City attack my city, he will intervene, avenging the deceased Weizelan Wizards."

He looked at the founder of the Combat School, solemnly saying, "If Master can also intervene, I hereby guarantee that in the future I will build another Combat School in my city, all costs borne by me, similar to the Aeks model."

Ouroin did not answer immediately, "Tell me your plan in detail."

"Very well."

Lei En explained everything, mentioning the Saint Rank powerhouses Kuilu and Yizite, the follower of the dark maiden Ilyas, potential blood‑elf allies, the teleportation hub he had built, plans to invite dwarves to construct the city, etc.; apart from the Thundercast Celestial Soldier, he concealed almost nothing.

Ouroin grew more astonished as he listened, discovering that even Zuo Er and blood elves were involved, and he was thoroughly impressed by Lei En's lavishness.

This is a long‑term grand plan.

Just the initial city‑building investment exceeds ten million Gold Shields, and subsequent spending will only increase, possibly reaching twenty to thirty million Gold Shields without stopping.

From the expansion plan, he truly witnessed Lei En's wealth and ambition.

Ouroin gave Lei En a deep look, "I agree."

Before Lei En could rejoice, he added, "However, I need to have a face‑to‑face meeting with Anxi; based on the outcome of my discussion with him, I will decide the extent of my support for you."

Lei En expressed understanding; this involves a possible battle with the Disaster Legion and must be handled cautiously.

"Master, please proceed."

Ouroin turned and vanished; Lei En sensed him entering the teleportation array downstairs and returning to Mo Du.

Lei En turned back, scanned the school, found his target, opened a random door but did not step through, and said, "Lord Bulestein, please come for a word."

A stout dwarf stepped out of the random door.

In the cold winter, he wore only a linen short shirt, seemingly feeling no chill at all. Flaming red beard covered most of his face, leaving only a massive nose and a pair of eyes exposed; the beard was braided into several plaits hanging to his chest, and he held a metal staff in his hand.

"Lei En, what's the matter?" Bulestein asked, looking up, "Are you ready to settle the final payment?"

The dwarf's tone and bearing reminded Lei En of a foreman.

However, calling him a foreman wouldn't be wrong.

Lei En had cooperated with Bulestein twice and knew his straightforward temperament well; he produced a box filled with Gold Shields and smiled, "Indeed, this is ten thousand Gold Shields; please, Lord Bulestein, keep them safe."

Seeing the Gold Shields, the dwarf's eyes lit up.

Bulestein carefully counted the Gold Shields in the box twice, while Lei En waited patiently beside him.

After more than ten minutes, the dwarf finally said joyfully, "Ten thousand Gold Shields, not a single one is too many. Lei En, you are a straightforward person; even Rongyanbao can't find many employers as quality as you. If there are any more projects, be sure to contact me."

"Lord Bulestein's craftsmen and workmanship I naturally trust," Lei En first praised, "I happen to have another project, many times larger than Jin Gang Fort and the Aeks Combat School, so the remuneration naturally…"

He was cut off before finishing, as Bulestein's eyes brightened and he asked impatiently, "How big is this project?"

Lei En replied casually, "Around thirty million Gold Shields, possibly up to fifty million, even over a hundred million."

Bulestein, as if struck by lightning, was instantly stunned.

(End of Chapter)