Above the mage!

Chapter 340 [Disguise] and Water Beast Expulsion

After determining the three shops to focus on, Gaode directly asked the errand boys who helped him keep an eye on other shops to shift their attention to these three shops in the following period of time.

Afterwards, after settling the daily wages for the errand boys, he left first.

Gaode already had a preliminary idea of ​​the next steps in his mind.

He successfully passed the training assessment, which meant that he could now earn military merit by taking on missions.

Gode's idea was very simple. He would first accept a mission located outside Dorne and then take advantage of the mission to temporarily leave Dorne.

While on a mission, he could return to the North via astral teleportation and fetch some extraordinary materials from Phoenix in exchange for the funds needed to purchase a shop.

However, even if the extraordinary materials were sold in cities outside of Dorne, with the ability of the Sea Sentinels, if they wanted to investigate, there would definitely be traces to follow.

Therefore, necessary disguise is still necessary when trading.

According to Gaode's idea, it would be best to obtain the spell formula of [Disguise] and master the spell as soon as possible.

How can ordinary disguise be as direct and effective as magic?
And it's not just in transactions, there are many other aspects of life where [Disguise] can be used.

Therefore, after leaving the restaurant, Gode went straight to the official arcane secret library belonging to the city of Dorne.

The Dorne Arcane Secret Vault is located in the most prosperous downtown area of ​​Dorne, and on Regent Street, the most prosperous area in the city center.

Generally speaking, the spell formulas that the official sells are all ordinary spell formulas, and they are usually general spells and functional spells that do not have lethality.

This is also the reason why Gode has not been in a hurry to buy spell formulas after arriving in Dorne.

In a world of knowledge monopoly, any knowledge that can be sold will not be of much value.

Rare spells or damaging spells are definitely not for sale.

However, [Disguise] is just a functional spell of the Illusion system, so there is still a chance to buy it in the Arcane Vault.

But what disappointed God was that although there were more than ten first-level spell recipes provided in the Arcane Vault, [Disguise] was not included.

However, since he was already here, Gaode took advantage of the opportunity to acquire the [Quick Digging] and [Comfortable Sleep] which he had not yet mastered.

[Quick Digging] (Transmutation, 1st level):

You can dig and move dirt, dust, and sand in volumes up to 5-foot-long cubes.

If you are buried, you can clear a 5-foot square of space around your body.

In addition to this normal use, this spell can also dig a 5-foot-deep pit under a creature's feet. A Medium or smaller creature caught in the pit will fall to the ground unless it reacts in time.

When a large hole is dug by this spell, one can choose to have the excavated gravel and debris erupt violently upward, and this cloud of dust and smoke provides temporary obscurity to the excavated area and adjacent areas.

A quick dig spell has no effect on solid rock or earth elementals.

[Comfortable Sleep] (Necromancy, 1st level):

You can cast this spell just as you are about to rest. While under the spell's influence, the subject enjoys a restful night's sleep.

During a comfortable sleep, the recipient's natural recovery speed from injuries will be doubled.

Any interruption during the rest period (such as being awakened) ends the spell's effects on the awakened subject.

The healing effect of Comfortable Sleep is considered natural healing and has no effect on the healing effect of magical healing.

Two functional spells, the latter should be included in the collection of essential spells for home and travel.

Not to mention the effect of doubling the speed of natural recovery from injuries, the fact that it allows the recipient to enter a comfortable sleep state without pain or side effects is already quite commendable.

As a modern man, Gao De understands the importance of sleep quality very well.

Although the wizard possesses extraordinary powers, he is still a human being and can also suffer from insomnia.

A sleeping spell without any side effects, what's there to say? Learn it!
As for [Quick Mining], for me personally, I probably won’t use it very often.

But for the North and Phoenix, this is a magical skill that speeds up infrastructure and farming progress.

Must be taken.

One convenient thing about big cities is that when these common and universal spell recipes are sold, they are usually accompanied by corresponding ready-made spell potions, and buyers can choose to purchase them as needed.

Since there were ready-made magic potions, Godard naturally bought them all together.

It is worth mentioning that the spell recipe is sold at 25 Plantagenet Coins, and the corresponding spell potion is sold at 42 Plantagenet Coins.

But if you buy them together, it only costs 65 Plantagenet Coins, which is a discount of 2 gold.

Two spell recipes plus the potion cost another 130 gold.

It is already equivalent to the price of one-quarter of a shop.

When a mage learns spells, besides the difficulty of constructing a spell model, the learning cost is also a major limitation for the mage to master spells.

This is also one of the reasons why it is difficult for civilian mages to succeed.

The profession of mage, besides requiring talent, is also too expensive. If you are not a noble, how can you afford it?
Unable to buy the [Disguise Technique], Gao De had to give up for the time being and return to the dormitory to continue his daily practice and learning new spells.

The next morning, just as the sunlight was shining through the mottled leaves onto the street, he was called down by the Naxi Master.

Yesterday, Captain Roll asked Gode to go with Naxi to see him when he was free, so Master Naxi chose today.

We took a carriage to Captain Rawl's mansion, a typical Dornish building, large in scale, with multiple floors and a protruding tower. Parts of the red brick walls were decorated with delicately patterned plaster carvings and colored glazed tiles.

In front of the cast iron gate, Gode and Master Nasi got off the carriage and, led by the butler in black uniform and white gloves who had been waiting at the door, walked along the cobblestone path to the spacious and bright reception room, where they met Captain Roll.

He was standing by the window, admiring the scenery of the small garden outside. When he heard footsteps, he slowly turned around.

"Master Roll." Master Nasi walked forward, bowed slightly, and there was a hint of respect in his tone.

"Captain Roll." Goder also saluted.

Captain Roll smiled, glanced at Godd, and then said, "Naxi is your guiding mage, and I was Naxi's guiding mage in the past. We have this connection, so I asked Naxi to bring you to me when he has time."

"Gao De, this is our first official meeting. As an elder, I should prepare a gift for you. However, I think you will like it better if I prepare a gift according to your needs, so."

He paused for a moment, "Is there anything you need? Super equipment, potions, or anything else?"

Upon hearing this, Gao De did not answer at first, but turned his head to look at Master Naxi.

Master Naxi smiled at Gao De and said, "Master Luo Er gave it to you as a gift to the younger generation. You are welcome. Just let me know if you need anything."

Gao De thought about it and asked hesitantly, "Is the spell formula okay?"

"Of course you can, but it's too rare, even for me to pass it on to outsiders." Captain Roll stated in advance.

Gao De perked up when he heard that, and quickly asked, "Is the spell formula of [Disguise] okay?" The spell formula of [Disguise] is not common, but it is definitely not rare, so it is likely that it will be okay.

that's the truth.

Captain Roll gave an order to the butler behind him. After a while, the butler came back with a parchment scroll. He came to Gode, bent down slightly, and handed the scroll to him.

Gao De nodded to the butler, took the scroll, and bowed to Captain Roll. "Thank you, Captain Roll."

Captain Roll smiled and said, "Disguise itself is not a rare spell, but for sea sentinel mages like us who often need to go out on missions, it is indeed used in many places."

"In many cases, it is even more practical than the damaging spells. However, it can also be easily used by evil-minded mages to do evil things or create chaos. For this reason, the authorities have included [Disguise] in the list of regulated spells. You are quite foresighted."

No wonder I didn't see the [Disguise] in the Dorne Arcane Vault. It suddenly dawned on me how powerful it is.

After delivering the greeting gift, Captain Roll reminisced about the past with Master Nasi, and occasionally reminded God of one or two things he needed to pay attention to or some secrets when serving as a sea sentinel.

The most useful point is: when accepting a task, you must do it within your ability.

According to Captain Rawl, one failed mission on a resume cannot offset the loss of ten successful missions.

At the same time, when he talked about this, he also mentioned very obscurely, "Some people use this to suppress their colleagues. When accepting tasks, you must be careful to distinguish them."

Although Captain Roll's words were very euphemistic, Goder immediately understood what he meant:
There will be nobles who specially customize some "trap" missions among the Sea Sentinels that seem ordinary but actually have other meanings. If you receive such a mission, there is a high probability that you will be tricked.

"But don't worry. The elimination missions issued by our sea sentinels will be rated and judged in advance, and there will basically be no missions that are completely impossible to complete." Captain Rawl added.

"If such a mission really occurs, even if it fails, after review and evaluation, it will be determined that the mission intelligence is incorrect, and it will not be recorded as a mission failure in your resume."

Gao De nodded slightly when he heard this.

The Sea Sentinel's meaning is very simple. If the eradication mission they issue is more difficult than the intelligence, that is normal. If you cannot complete it, it is a problem of your ability.

But if it exceeds too much, it is none of your business.

After chatting for almost half an hour, Naxi said goodbye and left.

"Are you ready to go back?" Master Nasi asked after the two of them left Captain Roll's mansion and called for a carriage.

Gode ​​thought about it and unfolded the spell formula he had just obtained from Captain Rawl.

Disguise (Illusion, 1st level):

You change yourself and any clothing, armor, weapons, and other possessions you carry. This effect ends when the spell ends (one hour) or you actively dismiss it.

To the naked eye, your height can increase or decrease by 1 foot, and your body can be fat, thin, or well-proportioned, but you cannot change the shape of your body, so your deformed appearance must have limbs or a similar physiological structure.

The changes produced by this spell do not survive physical examinations. For example, if you use this spell to add a hat, real objects will pass through the hat, and anyone who touches the hat will either touch nothing or your head and hair; if you use this spell to make yourself thinner, and someone touches you, their hand will appear to be touching air.

His eyes quickly scanned the spell effects and landed on the spell potion formula below.

Then I found that although the art of disguise was regulated and difficult to obtain, the raw materials needed for its spells and potions were relatively common and easy to buy.

"I'm going to go to the magic material shop first to buy the raw materials needed for the disguise spell potion."

"Then I'll take you there. Get in the car," said Master Naxi.

Since there was a car available, Gao De didn't bother to be polite with the Naxi master and readily agreed.

After getting in the car, Naxi thought for a moment and said to Gao De, "The reason why Master Luo Er wanted to give you a gift is that he was my mentor. This is only a small part of the reason. The more important reason is that during your training assessment, he knew that your assessment subject had been temporarily replaced, but he called me away, the only one who could speak for you."

“This is actually an apology.”

"Of course, given his status, he can't use the word compensation for what he said to you, so it's called a meeting gift, but the meaning is the same."

"So that's how it is." Gode finally understood why Captain Rawl was so generous to him.

After all, an ordinary first-level spell formula costs as much as 25 gold, not to mention the spell formula such as [Disguise] which is listed as regulated.

There was no need to visit several shops. Gaode bought all the raw materials needed for the [Disguise] spell potion in the first magic material shop, spending another 43 broom coins.

After saying goodbye to Master Naxi, he thought about it and decided not to go back, but went to the Haiyuan White Tower.

Entering the hall on the first floor of the Mage Tower, Gaode came to the crystal plate.

Now that I'm out, I might as well see if there are any suitable tasks.

Because military merit can be exchanged for many good things and is also related to the all-important year-end evaluation, the competition among the Sea Sentinel mages is actually very fierce, and everyone is scrambling to take on and complete missions.

Generally speaking, once an eradication mission is issued, it will only last for one to three days at most before being taken away.

Some easy tasks may even be completed in seconds.

This also caused the tasks listed on the crystal plate to appear a bit sparse, with not many of them at all.

The first-ring mage level also limits the scope of tasks that Gaode can accept.

So, he scanned the entire journey, but he had not found even one task that he could accept until he was almost to the bottom.

Competition should exist when accepting the task.

If it is as he thought, those noble mages must have arrangements in the Mage Tower, and they will be able to find suitable extermination missions and accept them at the first opportunity.

And civilian mages like him who refused to be recruited can only pick up the "leftovers" to eat.

Gao De thought while browsing the task list.

Finally, at the very end of the crystal plate, he saw a task that he could accept.

[Water beast expulsion in Lagos City]:
Location: Makoko, Lagos

Specific situation: Residents of the Makoko District have reported many times that they have found schools of magic octopuses and swarms of foul-smelling water salamanders in the waters, which have seriously affected their daily lives and require mages to clear them out and expel them.

Note: The Demonic Octopus and the Putrid Water Salamander are low-level water beasts, and even their leaders are usually no stronger than the first ring.

Mission difficulty: Low, a first-level mage can take on this mission
The mission of expelling water beasts, or the mission of expelling and clearing out the first-ring water beasts, should be the simplest and most common mission.

However, Gaode did not accept the task immediately.

Because the tasks on the crystal board are arranged in order of release time, this means that this task is the earliest released among all the tasks listed on the crystal board.

He looked at the release date again, and it was seven days ago.

Why has no one accepted this seemingly simple task even after it has been posted for seven days?
There is most likely some hidden secret behind this mission.

With Captain Roll's advice in mind, Gao De dared not act rashly.

(End of this chapter)