Chapter 200 |
Garrett Nordmark was completely unaware that his windfall was already on its way.
He held the hidden books Master Kairel had given him, nestled in his guest room, engrossed in their contents. Had Master Kairel not left instructions for his students to drag him out for meals three times a day, Garrett might have starved himself in that room.
Of course, if such a thing had actually occurred, the Magic Council wouldn’t have suffered much overall. It would have merely been a significant loss for Thunder Horn and a gain for Black Crow Swamp. So, even for its own interests, Thunder Horn had to take care of its people. At the very least, they couldn’t afford to have someone suddenly found dead in their room, necessitating a call to the Necromancy faction for help from beyond the grave...
While Garrett was immersed in his reading, the meeting of legendary mages continued in the Tower of Heaven. After a moment’s wait, the mages in white robes from the Evocation School, seeing no objections, summarized:
"So be it. Following convention, the new magic shall be named ’Nordmark’s Burning Hand’ and added to the Council’s magical library. Shall it be made available for exchange? Is there a need for special recommendations?"
"No need!"
"No need!"
Two voices simultaneously dissented. The two legendary mages exchanged a glance, and Master Decar, indicating the Transmutation School mage, gestured for him to speak first. The Transmutation Master chuckled wryly, his rough hand rubbing against his leather jacket before pinching his nose:
"It’s best not to release it immediately. Purple scale stones—those things aren’t easy to come by for a while, and we can’t produce too many of them."
"Garrett Nordmark is only a level 2 mage."
"Ah, understood." The white-robed mage nodded. He smoothly adjusted his wording:
"Considering the excessive power and impact of this magic and the low level of its creator, as per tradition, its information will be kept confidential for now to protect the creator. Therefore, this magic shall be named—’Improved Burning Hand’? ’Burning Hand: Dragon’s Breath’?"
"Your naming skills are still as poor as ever," Helena, beside the white-robed mage, commented coldly. "After going through all this trouble, can’t you just call it ’Dragon’s Breath Hand’?"
Despite being criticized by the lady, the white-robed mage didn’t seem to mind. He just chuckled, scratching his head. His long golden hair fell as he did so, coupled with his gentle smile, giving him the appearance of a friendly golden retriever wagging its tail while crouching down.
Others were quite accustomed to their interaction. The elderly mage from the Abjuration School lowered his head to jot down the name ’Dragon’s Breath Hand’ and the Council’s reward plan before passing it to his right. A group of legendary mages stamped their magical seals one by one. With this agenda item concluded, they moved on to the next:
"So... what about that thesis?"
"The thesis..."
Another moment of silence ensued. If the value of ’Dragon’s Breath Hand’ was 100 points and 500 contribution points, then the thesis overturning the ’Theory of Ignition’ should be worth at least double. All present, even those not specialized in the Transmutation School, could see:
Garrett Nordmark’s thesis, combined with the spell model of ’Dragon’s Breath Hand,’ had instructional significance for all fire magic.
In other words, as long as in any magic—from apprentice-level Spark to 3rd-tier Fireball, and up to 9th-tier Meteor Burst—a position for the purple scale stone was incorporated into the spell structure, the power of the spell could be pushed to incredible heights.
Cough, cough. Of course, it wasn’t advisable to do so for 8th or 9th-tier spells rashly. Otherwise, it might lead to tragedies where the range reached 100 meters and the explosion radius extended to 200 meters, potentially killing not only enemies but also the mage themselves before the enemies...
"This is a groundbreaking thesis," declared Decar, a prominent figure in the Transmutation School, clearing his throat to speak first. Lady Endor, her voice cold beneath her black veil, added, "Subversive."
Yes, indeed, calling it subversive means it’s subversive, but who told you to be a Divination mage? Decar nodded in acknowledgment. The white-robed mage from the Evocation School chimed in:
"The ideas proposed in this thesis may be applicable to all fire magic."
"But further verification is needed," interjected Helena, her tone icy, sounding both approving and explanatory. The white-robed mage smiled again at her:
"Yes, the subsequent verification and research are quite complex. I’ve already seen the next three months’ worth of journals filled with papers on this topic. It’s safe to say each paper will contribute a citation."
He tapped his fingers on the paper before him, drawing a round of envy towards Garrett.
Each citation for a paper meant one research point. If 100 papers approved by the council, even appearing in journals, were to include it in their references, Garrett would accrue 100 research points without lifting a finger—
So many points would be enough to elevate his arcane level from Level 1 to Level 3. More allowances, higher exchange permissions, and even greater project application rights would beckon to Garrett.
Moreover, the instructive significance of this thesis applied to all fire magic.
All of it.
Mages had previously done statistical analyses, revealing that the average citation rate for papers published in various magical journals was 0.5 times per paper per year. For journals like "Ordinary Arcanist Monthly," the citation count hovered around 5 to 7 times. Only "Arcanum" and "Magic," with an average citation rate of over 20 times, stood above the rest.
And Garrett’s paper—
The question wasn’t whether it would reach 100 citations, but how long it would take to accumulate them.
Three months? Five months? Or half a year?
And evidently, the reward the Magic Council would offer for this paper wouldn’t be less than half a year’s worth of citation points.
"For the sake of protecting the creator, we won’t disclose the author’s name for now—unless any legendary mage wants to take credit for it? Decar, would you like to communicate with the author?" The elderly mage from the Abjuration faction pondered slowly:
"As for the specific reward amount, how about this: everyone writes down a number, we remove the highest and lowest, then take the average?"
This proposal met with no objections. After a flurry of papers exchanged hands, the reward for the Nature of Combustion thesis was displayed before them:
300 research points, 1000 contribution points.
The legendary mages fell momentarily silent upon seeing the figures. For a thesis of such groundbreaking, subversive, and instructive nature, this reward wasn’t particularly high, perhaps even a bit low. However—
"Oh, by the way, what level of arcane practitioner is he now?"
Everyone began rifling through documents. After a moment, the answer came: "He had 45 research points before... With the ones he just received today, a total of 445 points, he’s at Level 4."
A Level 4 arcane practitioner, a Tier 2 mage. Wearing such a badge was akin to saying, "I might be inexperienced, but I’m incredibly important and full of potential." And most likely quite wealthy... After all, the distribution of research points typically came with a generous amount of contribution points...
If a spy from the Radiant Church were to infiltrate and see a mage like Garrett, they would definitely try to eliminate him by any means necessary. Even if they didn’t encounter a spy, allies seeing someone like Garrett might be tempted to take action.
However, not giving a reward? Giving a small one? Temporarily withholding it? Impossible. The credibility of the Magic Council lay in its fairness...
"Decar, keep this kid up at the peak. Don’t let him wander around for the time being," the elderly mage massaged his temples with a headache. He turned to all the legendary mages, his gaze darting around quickly:
"This year’s Rising Mage Award goes to Garrett Nordmark? Any objections?—None? Alright then, Weston, I’ll leave it to you to arrange the magical equipment as the prize!"
"Leave it to me!" The Transmutation School leader rubbed his hands together, his face filled with excitement. He could customize something again! He could use the precious materials from the Magic Council’s secret vault to make what he wanted! And he could make friends with a future star! The things he would offer would greatly benefit Transmutation mages!
He must establish good relations!
Absolutely!
That night, Garrett received the news of his award and the inquiry about his equipment preferences.
"What kind of magical equipment do you want?" Garrett pondered for a moment.
"Um... no rings... no bracelets, no wristwatches either... basically, nothing worn on the hands or wrists, and preferably no necklaces either... Why? Because it’s inconvenient in the operating room!"
"What do you want then?" Grand Mage Kairel felt his temples throbbing. Suppressing the urge to burst into laughter, he put on a serious face and quipped, "How about an earring for you?!"
"...No, thanks?" Garrett shuddered at the mental image of himself wearing a pair or even just one earring, swinging beneath his earlobes. "Um... if possible, could you help me fix Bernard’s bone staff?"
"Get out!!!"
For the Rising Mage Award, he was presented with a bone staff taller than him—well, considering his height, it was about one and a half times his height. Can you even see the scene?!
Garrett was thus deprived of his right to make requests. Moreover, when he emerged from the pile of books and asked to attend classes at the training center or visit the infirmary, he was ruthlessly refused:
"Stay put! Study! Learn magic! You’ll be let out when you’ve finished reading all these books and mastered 0-level and 1-level magic spells!—Oh, and what meditation method are you using now?"
"The basic version..."
Garrett’s voice grew quieter as he spoke. To be honest, he had almost forgotten about changing his meditation method...
From the beginning to now, Garrett had always used the basic meditation method that could be self-taught by audit students on the first floor of the mage tower. There were indeed better versions in the mage tower, but those were modifications to the meditation core, and Garrett felt that he was better off constructing his own based on medical reference books.
After arriving at the headquarters of the Magic Council, Garrett did manage to find some time to explore the academy and the exchange center in the White Tower. There were three meditation methods available for free exchange in the academy, all requiring enrollment and student achievements, which Garrett lacked; the other four were for academy teachers, which Garrett wasn’t; so he had to regretfully give up. As for the council’s office, which was in the White Tower...
Regardless of arcane level, specialization school, or affiliation with any magic organization, the cheapest one that was directly open for exchange cost 1000 contribution points.
Yes, contribution points, not gold coins. Using contribution points to exchange for gold coins, the Magic Council offered a 1:1 exchange; using gold coins to exchange for contribution points, sorry, the Magic Council didn’t allow it, and even on the black market, Garrett secretly inquired, a 2:1 exchange was impossible...
Feeling his pouch, Garrett had less than 200 gold coins in total. Goodbye.
"So, can I learn a new meditation method now? Will it be given to me for free? I’m broke!"
Seeing Garrett’s eager eyes, Grand Mage Kairel felt like facepalming—or giving him a brain slap. This is the benefit of joining a large organization! Do you understand now?
Meditation methods, which could accelerate spiritual growth and improve efficiency in spiritual utilization, the very things that directly equated to core competitiveness, were held by various major schools and mage organizations. They didn’t give them to anyone, not even the Magic Council—
Papers could be published for free, spell models could be open for exchange, but the most crucial meditation methods, the most critical and advanced magical rituals, NEVER!
For low-level mages who worked their brains off to get in, they inevitably had to suck up to their mentors, strive to contribute to the organization, hope their mentors would favor them, and give them a decent meditation method. But for someone like Garrett, who was brought in by the big shots—
Who dares to withhold?
Who dares?!
From the mentors to Garrett himself, to the big shots of the Thunder Horn and even the other branches of the Transmutation School, what they were racking their brains over was how to quickly level him up and give him the power to protect himself...
Grand Mage Kairel swept his palm. Scroll after scroll, two magic crystals, and a golden fur parchment covered in writing dropped down. He casually gestured towards the pile of items:
"It’s free! Since you’ve joined the Thunder Horn, you’ll definitely get a meditation method! Take your time to look through them and choose the one that suits you. If you don’t understand, ask me!"
"If you pick one, there are matching magic rituals and magic potions. Using several methods together will speed up your level advancement!"
Garrett: "..."
Unrolling the scrolls is easy, but the writing on the fur... I don’t quite recognize it. Do I need to look up the dictionary later? And how do I read this magic crystal? Is it like the legendary jade slips, where you stick it to your forehead and the information is automatically infused...
Oh, and there are potions too!
"Um... which meditation method doesn’t require potions?"
"Don’t you want to take medicine? Permanent potions to enhance mental strength, do you think they’re easy to find?"
Garrett eyed him warily, refusing to yield. Potions! Something to drink! This isn’t the mass-produced energy potions or healing elixirs, already tried and tested with quality certification! Rare potions, who knows what ingredients they contain, where they come from!
What’s the pharmacology? What’s the target? Is there any toxicity to the human body? What are the adverse reactions, any contraindications? What’s the pharmacokinetics, how long does it take for the blood drug concentration to peak, how is it metabolized?
Have there been animal experiments, have they passed clinical trials? Is there certification from the drug regulatory agency... no, is there certification from a specialized institution of the Magic Council?
Has it expired?
Is the quality reliable or not, will the person mixing the potions accidentally add 50% more of some ingredient?
Without origin, without quality assurance, potions that aren’t a last resort, I firmly refuse to drink!
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