I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 136 Negotiation
In the dim candlelight, Veronica appeared nonchalant, but in reality, she was completely absorbed.

Although there is a vast difference between high-level mages and archmages, a mage's combat power is more than doubled in their home field, so even she needs to be extra careful.

“I must say, Master, you have a wonderful daughter.” Ollie, the high-ranking mage and military commander of Beer Town, sighed as he looked at the scene playing repeatedly on the wall. “Seeing them so energetic makes me feel truly old.”

“Everyone grows old, and everyone dies. Even the gods don’t dare say they can exist forever.” Veronica shook her head, a hint of regret in her eyes. “As a mage of Harua, you should trust the Council. When you considered making a deal with these demons, you made a grave mistake. You should know that the Council has ways to become a lich.”

“Yes, this mistake was too foolish. For a mage, foolishness is tantamount to death, even if it all stemmed from an accident.” Ollie gave a bitter smile and lay back in the chair behind him. “But what should I do? The Church doesn’t allow liches other than benevolent liches, but don’t I know myself whether I can become a benevolent lich?”

He sighed, “I’m 54 years old this year. I can’t afford those expensive longevity drugs. And I still haven’t been able to assemble any seventh-ring spell models. Just looking at those star-like characters makes my mind go blank, and I even feel like my mental energy is in danger of collapsing, even though I’ve changed several instructors.”

“Everyone has their limits, even the Speaker.” Veronica sighed inwardly, as she had faced the same thing when facing the ninth-circle spell. “We must learn to accept the arrangements of fate, otherwise, such a terrible scandal in your later years would be a huge loss for both you personally and Harua.”

"A huge loss? I remember there are four figures of registered high-level mages in Harua, a loss of one in a thousand. Or rather, I'm just one in a thousand." The man chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"I was once a prodigy, ranking at the top of my class, winning scholarships and disdaining those mediocre students who followed the rules. I became an adventurer and was quite famous in many countries. But when I discovered the terrifying threshold of the sixth ring, I realized that I was already 30 years old."

"In order to master the sixth-circle spells, I returned to Harua and followed the Council's arrangement to come to this desolate northwest from the metropolis. It took me five years to finally break through to the seventh circle. But here, I have been in this place for ten years and have not seen any trace of it taking shape. At the banquet on my 50th birthday, although there were too many people who flattered and congratulated me, I realized one thing: I am just an ordinary person."

With a sigh, he looked at the female monk: "Master, if I remember correctly, you should only be in your early thirties, right?"

Veronica nodded silently, but her tone was somewhat detached: "However, there are also legends who didn't even turn 30."

"Yes, the gap between people is greater than the gap between people and goblins. I don't understand the legends. I only see that I am 20 years older than you, but I have to humbly call you Master and spend a huge sum of money to take a spell class. And I made a deal to become a lich but was captured by accident. I have to say I am a failure."

His voice sounded somewhat dejected as he said this: "I know this may be embarrassing, but I want to ask, if you were in my situation, wouldn't you go crazy?"

“I’m not sure what to say. In fact, men and women think very differently on this point.” Veronica’s eyes darted around as she stalled for time to find the hidden magical traps. “Actually, you should find a woman and have a child. If you have a child, there will be some hope, and your magic and techniques will not be lost. Why be so extreme?”

"Child? I remember you weren't married, Master? Could it be that the girl named Deva is really your child? Forget it, there's no use talking about this now. I no longer have the chance to say these things, and I haven't even found many talented apprentices."

Ollie stood up, a strange black staff appearing in his hand: "If only time could stand still before I turned thirty, but time flows on, and no one can stop it."

Seeing Ollie get up, Veronica suddenly frowned, as she keenly sensed a strange and powerful magical energy emanating from the city.

Is it
The next instant, a delicate staff appeared in Veronica's hand. A huge, exquisite mana crystal shimmered with a pale blue light, and six radiant runes surrounded it. The magnificent light illuminated the entire room: "Want me to test my skills against you using only spells below the sixth ring?"

The female mage's expression remained unchanged, as if this were merely a normal sparring match: "Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be convinced." "Oh?" Hearing her words, Ollie smiled, knowing his actions hadn't escaped her notice: "Master, what are you afraid I'll do?"

“Some things are inherently ambiguous, but I don’t want any big news to happen tomorrow that would embarrass the council, because things are actually quite tense in places you can’t see right now,” Veronica said, looking into the other person’s eyes.

"If you are not defeated after 10 moves, I will give you the chance to use a teleportation spell to leave here. There are many places outside of Haru Afelon where you can perform the lich transformation ritual, but what I want to say is that the success rate of this ritual is not high for you now. Perhaps the hope you want to grasp is just a bunch of bubbles. All your preparations will be known the answer the moment the ritual is generated, and by then it will be too late for you to regret it."

“Yes, but do I have any other choice? And what if I lose this contest? The anti-magic prison? Or become an equipment enchanter in some dark basement to atone for my actions?” As Ollie spoke, a strange light suddenly emanated from his staff, and a black beam shot towards Veronica: “Digitus Mortis!”

Despite being ambushed, the female mage smiled slightly. She calmly snapped her fingers, and the black ray vanished without a trace: "Death Finger? Does this mean the sparring has begun?"

"This, how could this be!" Seeing the female mage so calmly deflect his long-planned attack, Ollie's expression changed drastically: "Even if you are an eighth-circle mage, you shouldn't be able to break this seventh-circle spell so easily. Could it be your staff?"

The female mage remained silent, but a rune on her staff suddenly vanished, and the magical aura around Ollie disappeared instantly. His once charming middle-aged face aged drastically, even his hair turned white, and disbelief gleamed in his eyes: "Just now? This is impossible..."

"You've gone down the wrong path, and you have no chance left." The female mage said, and several golden chains flashed in her hand. Oligo tried to cast a spell to retaliate, but found that he could only bleat and had no ability to cast spells. The next second, he lost consciousness.

The spell hit, and seeing the unconscious Oliveronica, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then added several more magical restrictions to her before finally feeling at ease.

The other party had been stationed in this small town for too long, clearly having considered the possibility of being arrested. If she hadn't arrived in time to prevent him from taking desperate measures, many people in this town would probably have died.

This guy's mind is a bit abnormal; he's probably been corrupted. Otherwise, she couldn't have won so easily.

It seems it's time to propose that the parliament send patrol teams to monitor the mental state of local sorcerers.

Picking up the jet-black staff, a look of amazement flashed in the female mage's eyes. It was a powerful staff that could cast Death Finger twice a day; it must have been a gift from that vampire.

Looking at it this way, Deva and DuPont are really lucky, as she has earned another achievement.

However, the matter was finally resolved satisfactorily, and all that remained were some finishing touches.

Thinking of this, she picked up the communication talisman: "Are you asleep, my dear? I have something to ask you..."

(End of this chapter)