Above the mage!

Chapter 607 I'm Here to Challenge
The matter concerning Pale Water Bloom is nearing its end.

The coastal lockdown is expected to be lifted soon, and the Etherland Art Gallery is poised to reopen.

In addition, since he wanted to wait for the rewards for this relief mission, Gao De gave up the idea of ​​going to other counties first, and settled down in an elegant hotel in Morning Light City to wait for good news.

Consider it a two-day short break for myself.

As a famous "tourist city" of the Golden Flower Dynasty, Chenguang City is a place full of charm and attraction.

Even though the Coast of Light is temporarily closed, the city's pleasant atmosphere and local characteristics are still well worth exploring.

I took a stroll around the city using Gaode Maps. As a long-established "tourist destination," the city boasts excellent services and facilities, making for a very pleasant visit.

Of course, the main reason was that he had just made a great contribution and was in an exceptionally good mood, so everything seemed bright and beautiful to him.

Just as Ayra said, the Lightforged were very efficient and didn't keep him waiting long.

The next morning, Gao De had just gotten up and finished washing up when there was a clear knock on the door.

He opened the door, and four people were standing outside:

The leader was a middle-aged monk wearing a military robe with gold trim.

The silver badges on the shoulder straps gleamed, representing the colonel rank of the Lightforged.

Ella stood beside him, still wearing the Lightforged uniform with gold as the main color. The slightly fitted uniform accentuated her graceful figure, and her brows carried a touch of heroic spirit.

Behind the two men were two staff members carrying black carved wooden boxes, their expressions solemn.

"Master Gaode, I hope I haven't disturbed you?" Ella spoke first, a relaxed smile on her face.

The gleam in her eyes was enough to show that the aftermath of the pale bloom went very smoothly, and no further incidents occurred.

"This is Colonel Cole of our Lightforged, who came here personally to present you with this award."

Colonel Cole nodded slightly to Gao De, his tone steady and approving: "Master Gao De, I have heard about your feat of sealing the thousand-year-old Cold Fragrance on your own. You have solved a hidden danger for us in clearing the Pale Water Flower. It is truly remarkable."

"Colonel Cole, you flatter me," Gao De replied politely, stepping aside to invite the four into the room. "Please come in, I was just about to go downstairs for breakfast, I didn't expect you to arrive so early."

"We won't bother you for too long. We'll leave as soon as we finish our business."

Colonel Cole entered the room, his gaze sweeping over the tidy space, and cut to the chase: "You deserve the greatest credit for this mission to remove the condensed fragrance of the Pale Water Blossom. If you were a Lightforged military mage, this achievement would be equivalent to several first-class merits, and a promotion wouldn't be an exaggeration. It's a pity..."

The Lightforged and the Sea Sentinels are both military mage organizations directly under the dynasty, and their internal systems and reward mechanisms are exactly the same.

Upon hearing this, Gao De smiled slightly, quite satisfied with himself.
In Byrneshire, he repeatedly distinguished himself as a sea sentinel mage.

Even a temporary relief mission in Etherland can still make you stand out – that's what talent is all about!

But on the surface, he maintained a humble smile and nodded, saying, "We were all serving the dynasty, there's nothing to regret."

Colonel Cole nodded in satisfaction and winked at the staff behind him: "Bring up the reward first."

Two staff members stepped forward and gently placed the black carved wooden box they were carrying on the round table in the center of the room, then slowly opened it.

Ella stepped forward and introduced the gift to Gao De: "Master Gao De, this is a reward we specially prepared for you based on your needs."

“First are these two bottles of Ring-Up Potions.” She pointed to two crystal bottles placed separately on the left side of the wooden box.

The first potion on the left is light blue and contains a clear liquid.

Countless tiny silver specks of light were suspended in the liquid, like stars in the night sky.

Ella picked up the medicine bottle and gently shook it. The light spots flowed along the liquid, creating a dazzling effect.

"This bottle contains [Silver Star Dew], a top-tier first-tier upgrade potion. It's made from rare materials like moonflower juice and can directly increase the success rate of upgrades by 40%." After her brief introduction, she picked up another bottle of upgrade potions next to her.

The bottle of this potion was thicker and darker, and contained a viscous, pale golden liquid.

"This is a unique Tier 3 upgrade potion in this county, namely the Cold Whale Potion, which is made by using Cold Condensation Incense as the main ingredient. It can also increase the success rate of upgrades by 40%."

Gao De's gaze fell on the two bottles of potions, and a clear look of joy flashed in his eyes.

This is exactly the resource he desperately needs.

The first-tier upgrade potion was intended to be taken back to Leni Thornvine and Flora to work together to decipher the magic element reaction formula and mass-produce weaker upgrade potions.

As for the [Frost Whale Potion], it was for his own use.

Gao De's "Qingmu Longevity Scripture" has been in seclusion for a month in the Wood Element Demiplane, and his cultivation progress has already reached the second ring of perfection, so he can try to advance to the next ring at any time.

However, in order to enhance the strength of his awakened third-ring specialization, he needs to slow down his progress a bit and master more spells before he can break through.

After introducing the two bottles of Ring-Up potions, Ella pointed to the other side of the box.

There were five rolls of parchment, each bound with silver thread, and each containing a bottle of magic potion.

“Master Gaode, these five scrolls of parchment contain the second-circle spell recipes you need, and we have also prepared the corresponding potions for each spell for you.”

"This is [Heal Moderate Wounds], this is [Flash Dust], this is [Monster Stun], and there are two rare spell recipes: [Divination] and [Alchemical Rumination]."

Ella handed over three common spell recipes first.

With great interest, Gao De gently untied the silver thread and unfolded the parchment to examine it closely.

[Heal Moderate Wounds] (Conjuration Mage, Second Ring):
By touching a living creature with your palm, you can channel positive energy to continuously heal it until its injuries are completely cured (at most, moderate injuries can only be completely cured).

Since undead creatures are driven by negative energy, this spell will harm them rather than heal them.

[Flash Dust] (Conjuration, 2nd Ring):
A cloud of golden particles enveloped everything and everyone in the area. During the spell's duration, creatures became blind, and invisible objects were revealed by their outlines.

Everything in the entire area was covered in light dust, which could not be removed and would continue to flicker until it went out.

Any creature shrouded in light dust will have its stealth movement hindered.

[Monster Stun] (Enchantment, Second Ring):
This spell will cause low-health monsters to become mentally confused, rendering them unable to act.

All three common spells are typical spells within the Lightforged Military Mage system. 【Heal Moderate Wounds】 is a healing spell commonly used by Light-attribute practitioners. Compared to 【Healing Spell】, it has a more powerful healing ability and a faster duration.

Unless the injury is severe, it can be completely healed in one go by continuously consuming mana, allowing for a rapid recovery of combat power.

[Flash Dust] goes without saying; it's a typical light-attribute spell with additional bonuses, which is very useful when encountering invisible monsters or when you need to limit the enemy's vision.

【Monster Stun】is a spell that military mages often use when carrying out ley line creature extermination missions.

Especially when encountering groups of low-level monsters, a single stun spell can control a large number of enemies, buying time for teammates to deal damage.

All three spells are useful.

Moreover, even if it's not practical, learning another spell is never a loss, especially since he finds learning spells exceptionally easy.

Therefore, he accepted them all with a smile.

“These three volumes of common spell recipes may not fit your spell system, but their practicality is undeniable. They were carefully selected by us.” Seeing that God had no complaints, Ella’s smile deepened.

Then, she picked up the other two spell recipes and handed them to Gao De, saying, "These two spell recipes are rare spells, and extremely rare and priceless ones at that. They require a great deal of merit to exchange for in our Lightforgers' exchange list."

She paused, looked into Gao De's eyes, and added, "So, although you have made a great contribution, once I give you these two rare spell recipes, the reward for this mission is considered complete."

"Of course, if you are not interested in these two recipes, we can also give you an equivalent reward, such as Golden Bird Coins, high-level extraordinary equipment, or other types of potions, which are all negotiable."

Upon hearing Ella's words, God immediately became interested.

A spell that can be described as priceless by a well-informed Lightforged Mage and requires great merit to exchange for must have something unique and extraordinary about it.

Gao De took the two scrolls of spell recipes and unfolded them to read:

【Alchemical Rumination [Rare]】(Change type, 2nd Ring):
Make your mouth emit a white glow, allowing you to spit out potions (second tier and below) back into their original container. You will gain all the effects of the potion, but you will not consume it.

The same potion can only be used once for this spell.

“This…” A hint of surprise flashed in Gao De’s eyes.

There's actually such a "freebie" spell?!

It's important to know that potions, especially high-level ones, are extremely expensive, and mages often hesitate to use them frequently for fear of depleting their supply.

With [Alchemical Rumination], you can essentially get a free bottle of any potion of tier 2 or lower, or at half the price.
Moreover, this should only be the common usage; the real usage should be for those extremely rare, or even the only remaining, second-tier potions.
In addition, it brings many other benefits, such as reduced burden for resupply.

Gao De suppressed his excitement and began to read the second volume of the rare formula.

[Divination Skill [Rare]] (Prophecy, Second Ring):
Divination can tell you whether a particular action you take in the near future will have a good or bad outcome for you.

The base probability of getting a meaningful response is 70% plus a luck bonus, with a maximum of 90%, and this determination is made in secret.

A very clear question may automatically yield a successful result, while a particularly vague question may result in no success at all. If the divination is successful, you will receive one of the following four results.

Ji: If the action will bring good results
Ominous: If the action will bring about bad results.
Auspicious yet inauspicious: If the action will bring both good and bad results.

Ping: If the behavior will not have a particularly good or particularly bad outcome.
If the spell fails, you will get a "draw".

The sorcerer who receives the "flat" result will be unable to determine whether this is the result of a failed spell or a successful divination.

Divination can only predict the future within half an hour, so anything that happens after that time will not affect the outcome.

Therefore, this result cannot be used to judge the long-term outcome of an expected behavior.

Divination performed by the same person on the same question will all yield the same result as the first divination.

After going to Gaode Maps, I finally understand why Ella rated those two second-circle spell recipes as priceless.

This review is absolutely spot on.
Divination can be described as a kind of metaphysical magic, or even a "fortune-telling" magic.

This spell has such a wide range of applications that Gao De instantly thought of countless uses.

For example, if you are about to enter an unknown and dangerous area, or are about to fight a powerful enemy, using divination to determine whether it is safe to enter the area and whether it is advantageous to launch an attack now can greatly reduce the risk.
For example, if you are about to concoct a magic potion or carry out a certain craft, you can use divination to see if the outcome will be smooth.
Gao De looked up at Colonel Cole and Ella, and solemnly cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Colonel, thank you, Mage Ella. I really like these two rare spell recipes, so there's no need to change the reward."

"Your merits deserve this reward." Although Colonel Cole held a very high rank, he showed no arrogance when facing a second-ring mage like God. His tone remained gentle, even carrying a hint of an elder's appreciation for a junior.

"At such a young age, to have such a calm mindset and superb control over magic, one's future is limitless."

He then casually asked, "By the way, what is your rank among the naval sentries?"

“Currently a warrant officer, Colonel Cole,” God replied.

"Warrant Lieutenant?!" Colonel Cole and Ella were both surprised.

This is already considered an officer rank, but Gao De is clearly only a second-ring mage, and so young. What great achievement did he make?
"No wonder he performed so well; he truly is a talent," Colonel Cole paused, then praised.

“However,” he asked, somewhat puzzled, “all the counties are busy with the Gym Challenge this year. You are so young and promising, why aren’t you participating in the Gym Challenge or carrying out missions? Instead, you’ve appeared in Etherland County. You can’t be here in Dawn City for a vacation, can you?”

Gao De paused slightly upon hearing this question.

He certainly wasn't here for a vacation.

However, his true purpose was somewhat difficult to answer.

After all, the Ethershire Magic Academy is mainly guarded by Lightforged Mages.

From this perspective, he and the Lightforged, including Colonel Cole, a Lightforged mage, and Ayra, are naturally "hostile."

If this were said aloud, it would make the situation somewhat awkward.

But there's no way to hide it anymore, because he's definitely going to challenge them.

If he hides it now, and then suddenly challenges them, and they find out the truth, it will only make him seem secretive and indecisive.
"I'm not here on vacation."

Thinking of this, Gao De took a deep breath, put down the spell recipe, and said calmly, "I'm here to challenge them."

(End of this chapter)