City of Desire [Kingdom Building] - Chapter 711: High Mage of Bloom

Proofread by Thomas F

Resilient Warrior Lv. 28

Ardant Captain Lv. 25

Ardant Captain Lv. 25

[Skill Gained: Razor Cut]

Guide of Shining Adepts Lv. 19

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[Conditions Met: Mage of Ember Heart – High Mage of Bloom]

High Mage of Bloom Lv. 30

High Mage of Bloom Lv. 31

[Skill Change: Quick Cast-Fast Cast]

[Skill Change: Plant Reading- Botanical Reading]

[Skill Change: Focus – Deep Root Focus]

[Skill Gained: Reclaim Mana]

[Spell Gained: Thorned Lance]

There was a text waiting in front of me when I opened my eyes, shocking me.

Yes, I am shocked. I had waited for this moment countless times after battles. The battles that nearly killed me ten times over.

Yesterday, the battle was hard, but far from the most dangerous one I had fought since I reached Lv. 29, over four years ago.

Since then, I would wait for this level-up every day after the battle, but it never came. I had never expected that it would come today or ever.

I thought I had lost the chance to level up after leaving Adran.

That is where people level-up. The kinds of missions, where one has to fight with all one has or lose one’s life. I have seen countless people die, but just as many advance.

I had fully accepted the fate. It is very hard to reach this level; most mages don’t, but I did.

It made me glad. Ecstatic would be the right word.

I am feeling so happy that I want to jump, but I controlled my impulse and soon calmed down, before looking at my new class and skills.

My class had advanced from Mage Ember Heart to High Mage of Bloom.

It feels as powerful as a class of Vanalys, Adran’s number one lackey. He feels so proud of himself, he has the most powerful class of all mages in the company.

Seeing the name of the class, I know it will help me with my job.

I love my job, and I do not want to leave for anything else. I had forsaken fighting. I want to focus on raising the plants, rather than killing people.

I had fought yesterday, because I needed to. If there had been enough people, I wouldn’t have.

Many of the skills had changed. Quick Cast had become Fast Cast; it is a skill that saved my life a lot of time. It is one of the skills that mages want, especially battle mages.

Though right now, I would have preferred if my other skills had advanced in their place.

I pushed those thoughts and turned to other skills. Plant Reading advanced to Botanical Reading.

It is a very useful skill, both in the mission and in my work. With this skill, I could track people and monsters, reading the signs on the plants, but I could also know the condition of the plants.

It is going to help me a lot with my job.

The third skill is Deep Root Focus, which is a focus style skill for Green Mages. It’s a very rare skill and useful in battle as well as at work.

I have not just advanced my skills, but also acquired a new skill.

Reclaim Mana.

It is a skill that lets me reclaim my mana from cast spells or spells I cast but didn’t use. Mages could do that; it is one of the most important things mages need to learn.

Our mana is limited. Reclaiming, even a little bit, of what we spent helps us a lot in the long term.

Once more, I wish I could have a different skill. This is very useful in battle, but not much in my current job.

The legacy is filled with plants that help recover mana quickly, as well as the legacy itself. I rarely spent all my mana on a job.

The last thing is the spell. Its good, I would have been happy with this powerful spell like Thorn Lance at instant cast, but now, I wish it had been different.

A moment later, I shook my head.

Yes, the spells and some of these skills might not be as useful as they had been a year ago, but yesterday proved that despite not wanting to fight anymore, I might need to.

Given the state of Greltheaven. I might need to fight more than I think.

So, I am glad to get those skills and spell.

…

“You guys seemed to have already begun working on it,” I said, looking at people working on the windows.

They have been damaged in yesterday’s battle. Those birds were vicious.

“We have started working on the damage since last night,” Banil replied—the old man beside me Oras Banil, majordomo of the fort.

This old man had also fought yesterday. He was quite high in Amberhold’s forces in his younger days, before taking on a more managerial role.

Now, it is the morning of the next day, and the man is leading me toward Blackwell’s.

I am surprised by their invitation before breakfast. I thought they wouldn’t have minute, after yesterday’s shitshow.

They would be busy controlling the damage. It is a lot of damage. They will need to work really hard, if they want to negate its effects, much less turn it into their advantage.

Soon, we reached the red wooden doors, adorned with beautiful carvings.

Click!

I wanted to admire them, but the old man opened the door. “Lord Silver, please,” he said. I nodded and stepped inside the room.

It’s a parlor, and there, all three Blackwells are sitting.

“Lord Blackwell, Lady Blackwell,” I greeted husband and wife and nodded at Ignatius. He looked like he didn’t sleep; he likely hadn’t.

“Lord Silver, please take a seat,” said Lord Blackwell. “Thank you, Lord Blackwell,” I replied and sat down in front of them.

“We have called you here to thank you for the great help you provided yesterday. If not for your help, a lot more lives would have been lost and much greater damage would have been done,” said Ignatius.

“I did what I could, Lord Ignatius,” I replied with a smile.

“For it we are thankful and hope you will accept this gesture of our thanks,” said Lady Blackwell, and she removed the cloth covering the box on the table.

“We got this for you from a few of our friends. We were going to give it today, I wish it had been under better circumstances,” added Lord Blackwell with a sigh.

I didn’t say anything, and my eyes were thick with a blue metal box.

I know what’s inside it.

“I will not decline it. I need it,” I said with a smile and moved my hands to pick it up.

If I didn’t need it desperately. I might have declined the gift as they did mine in the city, but I couldn’t. I need to accept it for the sake of my city’s survival.

Click!

I took a thick, heavy metal box in my hand and opened it. Inside are the five alchfire orbs, containing powerful alchemical substance inside them.

“We wanted to get the better ones, but these are all we could get,” said Ignatius, shaking his head. 

These are usually destroyed because they are very close to their expiration date. That makes them very dangerous as they could explode due to the slightest mishandling.

“It’s fine,” I replied.

It didn’t really matter. Soon, I am going to stick Caena’s charm on them. They will be much safer then.

I needed these. I had gathered the alchfire orbs from the Empire to the Merchant State, including from Blackwell’s, and even got a few from other sources.

I had already crossed the number we had wanted, but more will help, seeing the surprise battle brings.

We need to be ready to deal with any surprises.

I didn’t stay for long and returned to my suite. There, I waited for forty minutes before walking out to attend the grand breakfast.

“…the tide came, but as you all saw, we have dealt with them in less than an hour,”

“This trade route is safe, because we will protect you from any danger you might come across. You will not be harmed or your precious goods, that is the promise of House Blackwell to you!” said Lord Blackwell.

He used the skill with an aura. It’s not perfect, but it did the job, looking at people’s faces.

She had listened to my advice. Spinning the crisis into an opportunity.

The breakfast is finished, and I turned to the people, they are also leaving in a few minutes, like me, but our destinations are in opposite directions.

“Please do visit Greltheaven, Lord Kadyz, Lady Iralyen,” I said to them, and polite smiles appeared on their faces.

“Not this month, obviously. The next one, after I dealt with the little undead problem I have,” I added, bringing genuine smiles to their faces.

“We will, and I hope, you will tell us how you defeated the undead then,” he replied.

“Of course,” I said.

The man nodded, and the teenage girl bowed faintly before walking away. I walked toward my people as well; they are waiting for me, ready.

“Lord Silver,” greeted General Hiren as I reached him. “No, luck, Hun?” I asked, and the man smiled before shaking his head.

Like me, he didn’t level up. Both of us are at Lv. 39. Reaching Lv. 40 doesn’t just require experience.

If the experience is all that is required, then I would have already levelled up to both of my classes. It requires a purpose; without it, even a hundred times of experience would not help me level up.

I didn’t say anything further and walked toward the wheeled cage.

In it is the horse monster.

It is shackled from head to toe. Its injuries seemed to have healed, at least on the outside, as only a few marks have remained.

“I had fed it enough sedative. That it won’t be waking up any time before tomorrow,” informed Jon as he became visible.

The shackles are powerful enough, but a sedative is required as well. We can’t take the risks with the monsters; the more prepared we are, the fewer surprises there will be.

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