"Huh?"
"Huh what? Causing trouble in the library, acting like the Mage Guild doesn't exist—he's lucky I didn't break both his legs. Oh, and if Monty comes looking for me tomorrow, just tell him I've gone to Oranna. I’ll probably be gone for ten days... no, make that a month."
"Huh?"
This time, Solon was completely caught off guard. Wh-what... What just happened? Is teacher really this quick to turn on people?
Weren't they just having a pleasant conversation? How did things flip so fast—Mason gets kicked out, and even Monty himself isn’t welcome anymore. Isn’t this a bit... unscientific?
"That’s why it took you so long to become a High Mage. Honestly, you never use your brain. Why do you think I waste so much time talking to those two, father and son? It’s because I don’t want to hear any more of their talk about ‘cooperation.’ If it weren’t for those old guys from the Black Tower, I’d have kicked them out together ages ago."
"But why? Teacher, didn’t you say before that this time Monty really put in the effort, and that this partnership would only benefit Sage’s Spire?" Solon was even more confused after Salomon’s explanation.
"That was before!" Salomon snapped, glaring at his apprentice. The old man’s face twisted into a cold sneer. "Those two really think I’m senile and clueless. Last month’s shipwreck at Roger Merlin’s was all tied to Twinmoon Trading Company."
...This time Solon kept quiet, just giving the old man a skeptical look. Roger Merlin’s been dead for over a month—do you really have time to stand up for him? When did you get so righteous, old man?
"What’s with that look?" Salomon snapped, glaring at his apprentice. "Are you thinking your teacher doesn’t seem all that righteous? That’s exactly why it took you so long to become a High Mage—respect your elders, will you!"
"No, no, no, teacher, you've misunderstood..." With a label like that hung on him, the young High Mage was nearly in tears.
"Forget it, that’s not important…" Salomon waved it off, sparing his only apprentice for now. "The important thing is, since the person with that Master's Pass is Roger Merlin’s son, I have to show some righteousness."
"And why’s that?"
"Because that Master's Pass was traded for a bottle of Grandmaster's Elixir."
"You mean the Grandmaster's Elixir that was sent over a few days ago?" As Salomon’s only apprentice, Solon knew someone had exchanged a bottle of Grandmaster's Elixir for a top-tier pass at Sage’s Spire recently. But he wasn’t sure what kind of elixir it was, and hearing Salomon say this now, he could hardly believe it: "Is that elixir really so important?"
"If you dare ask that in front of Sophron, he’d be more than happy to dry you out and turn you into a specimen."
...The young High Mage immediately shrank his neck. Sophron, one of the Triumvirate of Sage’s Spire, really might turn him into a specimen if he wanted—and even Salomon’s reputation might not save him. Sophron was the only one in the whole Spire who’d dare slam the table and curse in front of Salomon.
But after shrinking back, Solon couldn’t help but be curious—just what kind of Grandmaster’s Elixir could make the Triumvirate value it so much...?
Originally, Solon had some guesses—maybe the elixir used rare ingredients, or maybe it was something one of the Triumvirate needed.
But he never imagined it would be so serious—serious enough that one wrong word could get you dried out and turned into a specimen by Sophron...
"I’m not exaggerating. You didn’t see Sophron’s reaction—he was practically ecstatic clutching that Grandmaster’s Elixir, babbling about ‘masterpiece’ and ‘grandmaster,’ saying it was destined for the history books. He was, frankly, acting pretty crazy…"
The young mage’s expression changed. Sophron’s reputation in potion alchemy was unmatched in all of Seaview City, and he was notoriously hard to impress—even the master alchemist from Twinmoon Trading Company couldn’t get his attention; Sophron always spoke of him with disdain.
Over all these years, Solon had hardly ever heard him praise anyone. Even a nod and a ‘not bad’ from Sophron was a huge honor for most.
But this time he’d lost all composure—even saying it would go down in history…
Was that Grandmaster’s Elixir really so miraculous?
"Why are you looking at me? I’m no expert in alchemy…" Salomon glared at his apprentice, giving a completely irresponsible answer. "Anyway, Sophron said every bottle of Grandmaster’s Elixir could bring Sage’s Spire a new High Mage!"
...As soon as he heard that, Solon couldn’t help but suck in a breath. ‘Grandmaster,’ ‘masterpiece,’ ‘history books’—none of those compared to the title ‘High Mage.’
Currently, Sage’s Spire had thirteen High Mages, but only seven were usually present. For the past decade or so, as the Triumvirate kept to themselves, the Spire’s expansion, conflicts, and resource grabs were basically handled by these seven High Mages. In other words, at least half of Sage's Spire’s current status was thanks to them.
And that’s just the seven High Mages…
If what Sophron said was true—that every bottle of Grandmaster’s Elixir could bring Sage’s Spire a new High Mage—Solon really couldn’t imagine what that would look like.
To put it bluntly, anyone or any faction that gains the support of that master alchemist could easily stand toe-to-toe with Sage’s Spire in Seaview City—and that’s even considering the Triumvirate are around. If they could also restrain the Triumvirate, destroying Sage’s Spire would be as simple as flipping a hand...
Thinking about this, cold sweat broke out on Solon’s forehead.
The only saving grace was that the master alchemist seemed to keep a low profile—at least for now, he had no plans to appear publicly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent a young mage to deliver the elixir and another to pick up the Master’s Pass.
Those two young mages must be the key...
Especially that Matthew Merlin—he must have a special relationship with the creator. Otherwise, there’s no way that Master’s Pass would end up in his hands.
No wonder teacher’s attitude is like this...
If it’s really as teacher said—if Twinmoon Trading Company played a shady role in Roger Merlin’s shipwreck, maybe even orchestrated the whole thing—then once the truth comes out, Twinmoon Trading Company will have to face the wrath of a master alchemist...
As Solon thought about all this, Salomon wrapped up the conversation: "Right now, only an idiot would try to work with Twinmoon Trading Company..."
...The young mage suddenly felt a bit sorry for Monty and his son. They’d spent half a year hustling for this deal with Sage’s Spire, offering all sorts of generous terms, but in the end, it couldn’t compare to someone casually delivering a bottle of Grandmaster’s Elixir.
"Alright, I’ve told you everything you need to know. How you handle it is up to you. Stop coming to me with every little thing—you’ll be taking over my position sooner or later. Learning to handle these matters early will do you good."
"Yes, I’ll get right on it…"
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. After that conversation in the lounge, Solon just couldn’t help but keep an eye on that young mage.
And then Solon discovered this young mage was truly fascinating. His reading was all over the place—from leisure books like Northend General History to deep magical theory like the Kidd Formula. He’d grab any book and read it for a whole day. Sometimes Solon wondered if he had any standards at all, or if he just read whatever landed in his hands.
More than once, Solon wanted to remind him: getting into the Sage’s Spire Library is a rare privilege—many mages would bankrupt themselves for the chance. Yet here you are, squandering it, browsing randomly every day, no plan or order, sometimes even getting lost in leisure books. Maybe it doesn’t seem like much now, but you’ll regret it someday...
And today was no different...
After breakfast, Solon walked into the library and, out of habit, glanced at the corner. He knew that every day at this time, the young mage would be in his usual spot, picking up any book and reading all day long.
Sure enough, when Solon looked over, the young mage was already in his seat, engrossed in a book with a red-striped cover.
"Here we go again..." Solon sighed. Today’s book wasn’t a leisure read, but to Solon, it wasn’t much different.
Red stripes meant the magic in that book was at least High Mage level. For a mage who’d just advanced a few days ago, how was that any different from a leisure book?
And this wasn’t the first time Matthew Merlin had done this. Solon had even seen him happily reading a magic book with silver stripes once—utterly ridiculous, since that was Magus-level knowledge.
Solon really couldn’t stand it anymore—a mage who didn’t respect knowledge itself, how could he ever achieve anything in magic?
Look at that—a magic book only High Mages should read, and in his hands it’s just a leisure read. No thinking, no notes, just flipping page after page, looking perfectly relaxed. Solon almost felt like he was watching someone take a nap, not study.
Little did Solon know, this time he was actually right…
………………
Such timely updates—doesn’t this deserve a round of recommendation votes?