Above the mage!

Chapter 619 Initial Fame
Each of these twelve stone bridges corresponds to a door of the Fosse Museum.

Gaode chose the stone bridge closest to his drop-off point, stepped forward, and went straight to the open gate at the end of the bridge.

Two guards in light gold uniforms stood tall and straight at the entrance.

Seeing Gao De approach, the two exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing unusual emotions.

This unusual reaction stirred something within Gao De, but he remained silent.

Unlike the other gym guards Gaode had encountered before, they did not approach him to dissuade or warn him.

After confirming Gao De's identity, the guard on the right did not hesitate at all. He immediately turned around and walked quickly into the academy. His steps were hurried but orderly, obviously to report.

The guard on the left stepped forward, bowed slightly with both hands, and said in a tone that conveyed just the right amount of awe and solemnity: "Master Mage."

"I'm here to challenge the art museum," Gao De stated his purpose directly.

The guard was not surprised at all when he heard this, as if he had expected his arrival.

He respectfully but tactfully stepped aside to lead the way: "Master, this way please. Deacon Emundi has instructed that if you arrive, you will be taken directly to the Scales of Contract."

He stepped aside to lead the way, guiding God into the Foss Museum.

Gao De raised an eyebrow.

Previously, in the Soren and Etherland gyms, while they wouldn't say they disdained the villainous plots of this young challenger, their general feeling was one of surprise.

Only the Foss Gymnastics Academy took his challenge seriously, treating it as a formidable enemy, and was well-prepared.

This made Gaode Maps feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Despite his surprise and doubt, he remained outwardly calm and followed the guards into the martial arts hall.

The interior space of the Fossil Museum is even more spacious than what Gaode saw from the outside.

The dark gold mineral tiles stretch from your feet into the distance, matching the material of the exterior walls. They feel solid and silent underfoot, without any hollowness.

Tiny silver lines are inlaid between the grout lines of the floor tiles, vaguely forming complex runic patterns.

Gao De looked around.

The guard who was leading the way was very helpful. Seeing that he seemed quite curious about the Foss Museum, he took the initiative to introduce it to him and act as a temporary "guide" for Gao De.

"Master, you may have heard that among the thirteen counties of the dynasty, only our Fusi Magic Academy is located in the city center. This is a unique honor in the entire Golden Flower Dynasty."

He paused, then continued, "Most of the magic schools in other counties are located in desolate, uninhabited areas on the outskirts, because they believe that setting up a magic school in the city center is extremely risky, as it could affect innocent civilians if the magic goes out of control."

"But we at Fox have always believed that true security is never about distance or isolation, but rather stems from our own strength and confidence."

"Of course, we can understand the thoughts and concerns of other counties, because setting up an academy in the city center would cost as much as the annual maintenance of a small city, which is no small amount."

"But we can afford it, and we are willing to take it, believing it to be a necessary investment in building our reputation."

"As long as you are confident that you can guarantee safety, the advantages of setting up the art museum in the city center are obvious."

"Firstly, placing the academy in the most prosperous area is itself a free commercial exhibition, proclaiming the power of the Forth County mages to the dynasty and even the entire continent."

"Secondly, the Mage District has gathered the best, most numerous, and most complete mage resources in Jinliu County."

The spellcasting hall itself is a type of mage resource. Setting up the hall here allows mages to access its resources in the shortest possible distance, reducing time costs—time is money.

"Furthermore, due to its geographical location, our Foss Gym has pioneered a spectator system, publicly displaying some French Bulldogs and selling tickets, which has brought in a considerable income for the gym, supporting its maintenance."

As they spoke, the two had already crossed a wide corridor.

Suddenly, the view opened up, revealing a magnificent circular field.

It is the core fighting arena of the Fuss Magic Hall, the Scales of Contract.

As can be seen from the name, the fighting arena at the Fouss Arena is a heavily artificial one.

The same is true.

The first thing that catches the eye of Gaode Maps is its unnatural, extremely regular "geometric" aesthetic.

Of course, this geometry is an adjective in Gaode's own language system.

The Contract Balance is a standard circular venue. Unlike the vast and rugged Blackheart, it is equally expansive, but it embodies a luxurious space through meticulous planning.

At the very top of the fighting arena is the huge transparent crystal dome that Gaode saw from the outside.

At this moment, sunlight shines through, and through the refraction of the crystal and the diffuse reflection of the thousands of cubes suspended inside, it forms a uniform, bright but not dazzling "skylight", illuminating the entire venue in perfect detail without any shadows or blind spots.

The ground of the Contract Balance Arena is not natural soil or rock, but is made up of countless regular hexagonal dark gold alloy plates of equal side length, perfectly joined together.

Each plate is etched with intricate magical runes and inlaid with tiny gemstones or metal particles as nodes.

According to Gaode Maps, these panels are not fixed.

When needed, they can be controlled by some mechanism to perform limited lifting, rotation, or translation, thereby slowly changing the terrain during combat, such as forming low walls, pits, or slopes.

Four straight water channels, each about five meters wide and two meters deep, run through the site in a cross shape, dividing the circular site into four equal sectors.

The canal water was unusually calm, just like the silent canal outside the entrance to the art gallery.

The difference is that they are almost viscous and their color is a clear, deep blue.

This is not a natural body of water, but a highly enriched and controlled carrier of water elements.

Crucially, the water surface is completely flush with the ground, and the edges are smooth metal edging.

At the edge of the site, there is a transparent trench about three meters wide and about half a meter lower than the main ground level.

Soft white light flowed inside the trench.

This marks the absolute boundary of the arena and is also an external manifestation of a high-level isolation rune array.

It can confine the magical fluctuations and power generated during the magical duel to the duel arena, preventing them from spilling out and affecting the audience or damaging the facilities.

"As expected, this is the number one economic county on the South Coast," Gao De thought to himself.

He knew something about Forth County and Forth Academy before he came, but he was still quite impressed after seeing the Forth Academy in person.

This contrasts sharply with the style of the Solon Gymnasium, which is built into the mountainside and full of rugged power.

One is like a meticulously crafted work of art, the other like a naturally formed boulder; placed together, they seem like products from completely different worlds.

But it is precisely this vast difference that proves the power of the Plantagenet dynasty. A sufficiently powerful nation can inevitably accommodate the different development models and cultural styles of its various regions, allowing each force to find its own space to survive.

While Gao De was still observing the fighting arena, he heard a series of steady footsteps behind him.

He turned around and saw an old man in a white robe arriving with several monks.

Although the old man's hair and beard were all white, his eyes were not cloudy at all; in fact, they could be described as clear and bright as a young man's.

He walked up to Gao De, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and then spoke in a gentle yet penetrating voice: "Master Gao De, I have long admired your name. I am Emondi, the custodian of the Fusi Magic Academy."

Gao De returned the greeting with a bow, his surprise growing. "Deacon Emundy, you're too kind. I've come today to challenge your esteemed dojo. But how do you know my name?"

After all, since he entered the Foss Gym, he had not revealed any personal information except to the guards about his intention to challenge them.

Upon hearing this, Emondi chuckled, "Master Gaode may not know that you even managed to obtain the badges of both the Sauron and Etheran Spellhouses by defeating your superiors."

Such a rare achievement has already spread throughout the four counties of the southern coast, and even other martial arts schools in the dynasty are paying close attention to you.

"With such an outstanding record, your name, image, and even your performance in the previous two gymnastics challenges have already spread among other gymnastics and are highly regarded."

"Judging from your challenge route, you clearly intend to challenge your way up the south coast."

"Judging by the order, the next one should be our Fusi Academy. So I specifically instructed the guards to keep a close eye on us these next few days. I didn't expect you to come today."

Gao De's heart skipped a beat, and he realized what was going on.

In such a powerful dynasty, it would be absurd if his feat of defeating two martial arts schools in a row hadn't become widely known.

With such a record, it's no surprise that all the magic schools no longer treat him as an ordinary challenging mage. Their serious attitude towards him is perfectly normal.

"I see." Gao De suddenly realized, his gaze falling on the miniature cube under the dome, and he smiled, "It seems your esteemed institution has already figured out my background. This badge will probably be difficult to obtain."

Deacon Emundi nodded slightly, a confident smile on his face: "Master Gaode, there's no need to use such words to lull us into a false sense of security."

"However, to be honest, I believe that obtaining the badge of our Forth Academy is indeed more difficult than that of Solon County and Etherland County."

Gaode did not refute this statement.

Because the Goldflow Guard, the military magistrates of Forthshire, was ranked first among the four counties on the south coast.

Its overall strength far surpasses that of the other three county military mages, including the sea sentinels to which it belongs.

The difficulty of the trials at the magic hall was naturally matched to the level of the local mages.

But the fact that the Sea Sentinels are inferior to the Golden Stream Guards is the Sea Sentinels' problem, and has nothing to do with Gao De.

"Then let's settle this in the fighting arena." Gao De's tone was calm, yet it exuded an undeniable confidence.
Master Emundi nodded. "That's what I think too."

Then, he turned around and called out in a deep voice to the mages behind him, "Loran."

As soon as he finished speaking, a young mage dressed in a golden robe stepped out from the crowd, holding a staff made entirely of pure gold, with a golden crystal the size of a pigeon egg embedded at the top of the staff.

He was in his early twenties, tall and handsome, with a hint of arrogance between his brows.

Loran walked to Emondi's side, bowed slightly to him, and then turned his gaze to God, his eyes filled with a thirst for battle rather than any contempt.

“Your record speaks for itself. The first two challenges in the gym are just a waste of your time and meaningless. I don’t think it’s necessary to just go through the motions. After all, time is money,” Emondi said to God.

“Loran is the guardian mage of our Fors Magic Academy’s third level. If you defeat him, you can take our Fors Magic Academy’s badge. How about it?”

Gao De looked at Luo Lan and nodded, saying, "That would be best, to save time."

Loran's fighting spirit intensified. He lightly tapped the ground with his staff and said in a deep voice, "High Mage, I have long admired you. I hope you can give me a good fight."

“Okay.” Edmondi clapped his hands.

Staff members delivered the guard badges and conducted the testing.

At the same time, the hexagonal alloy plate of the Contract Balance Arena suddenly emitted a slight hum, and the etched runes began to glow with a faint golden light.

Ripples appeared on the azure water in the cross-shaped canal as the high-level isolation rune array responsible for safety was quietly activated.

"Master Gaode, please!" With all the preliminary work completed, the two put on their guard badges at the same time, and Loran made a "please" gesture to Gaode.

His eyes were filled with a focused, eager anticipation, devoid of any other emotion.

The two maintained a distance of about fifty meters as they stepped into the Contract Balance Arena together.

The moment the soles of their feet touched the dark gold alloy plate, without any warning, the French Bulldog fight had already begun!
Instead of creating distance and casting powerful spells like a traditional mage, Loran slammed his golden staff down onto a hexagonal metal plate beneath his feet.

The golden crystal at the tip of the staff collided with the metal plate, producing a crisp golden sound, and a visible golden wave of magic instantly spread out.

Second-circle spell [Animate Object] - Instant cast!
The target was not Gaode Maps, but the twelve interconnected alloy floor tiles surrounding him.

Keng! Keng! Keng!
Amidst the teeth-grinding scraping sound of gold dust, the twelve thick metal plates seemed to be pried open by an invisible giant hand, instantly twisting, lifting, and reassembling.

Amidst the piercing sound of metal creaking, a low, curved metal wall, about eight feet high and two feet thick, rose up in front of Loran, with two short wings extending from its edges, forming a perfect cover.

The entire process took less than three seconds, and a simple yet extremely sturdy metal fortress was already in place.

"They really were prepared," Gao De thought to himself upon seeing this.

Under normal circumstances, when a third-ring mage faces a second-ring mage, the first move will definitely be to cast [Flight].

After seizing air superiority, they then use large-scale spells to suppress the enemy; this is the overwhelming force of the mechanism brought about by the level advantage.

Lorraine, however, did not do so.

Given this unusual situation, there was only one reason that Gao De could think of: Loran knew that he was extremely good at suppressing flying targets.

In previous challenges at the Soren and Etheran Gyms, he repeatedly used the Earthbind spell, enhanced by Sleeping Web, to restrict his opponents' aerial movement and gain a significant advantage.

This is the benefit of information asymmetry.

But now, this information gap is gradually disappearing.

In fact, theoretically, he is the one at a disadvantage in terms of information asymmetry:
As he challenges more and more gyms, his fighting style, commonly used spells, and tactical preferences will be collected and compiled by the various gyms, forming detailed information.

On the contrary, he knew nothing about the monk who guarded the temple.

However, Gaode Maps didn't seem to care much about this:

Because when you have enough resources and resources, and when you progress quickly enough, the so-called information gap will always exist!

(End of this chapter)