Chapter 37: Inlay

Shaoke returned to his residence and realized he had forgotten to write to the Imperial Military Department in the capital to report his current situation. He quickly called out to the two laborers who had delivered the goods for him, saying, "Please wait inside for a moment. I need your help with something."

"Y-yes, Lord Mage... We... we'd better wait outside!" one of the laborers nervously lowered his head, standing uneasily outside the door. "It's not too cold out here. We'll just wait here."

Knowing they felt uncomfortable, Shaoke didn't insist further. He went back inside his room, found a special letterhead issued by the military department when he arrived, and wrote about his successful promotion a few days ago.

The two laborers sent by the merchant chatted softly outside. When Shaoke came out, they immediately stopped talking, carefully took the small sealed wooden box containing the letter from him, bid farewell, and promised to deliver it to the military personnel in the town as quickly as possible.

Although Shaoke wasn't worried about their promise, to prevent them from opening the box, he told them, "Don't open the box. There's spell protection inside." In truth, even if he hadn't said anything, the two laborers wouldn't have dared to casually inspect a mage's belongings. Everyone knew that mages' items weren't meant to be touched by ordinary people.

After seeing off the two laborers, Shaoke began preparing the materials for the inlay formation. Bottles of magical beast blood, packets of gemstone powder... dozens of types of magical materials were mixed in an earthenware vessel. Shaoke carefully observed the reactions of these materials to promptly notice any shortages and replenish them. After all, it was his first time preparing these materials, and he wasn't sure if he had enough or too little of any particular one. This batch of mixture ended up wasted, but fortunately, since the materials didn't have overly intense conflicts, the impact wasn't too severe.

Wasting so many materials at once made Shaoke feel genuinely pained. Luckily, on the merchant's recommendation, he had ample supplies, enough for him to squander two more attempts. Shaoke carefully recalled the process from earlier and began preparing the materials again.

This time, Shaoke meticulously weighed out sufficient amounts of each material, arranged them in order, and then began the preparation. Fortunately, this attempt didn't fail. After a reaction reminiscent of chemistry from his previous life, half a basin of mixture slowly solidified, eventually forming a fist-sized lump of black ointment. Success! Since it was a low-level inlay formula, Shaoke managed to grasp it relatively easily.

After adding a few drops of diluent at the end, Shaoke began carving the inlay formation on a pre-prepared obsidian slab. Although obsidian was extremely hard, under the sharp specialized carving tool, it took only half a Magic Hour to complete. This was largely because Shaoke had practiced many times on ordinary stone slabs beforehand.

The ointment was carefully applied to the formation on the slab. Finally, the spell diagram and the new cloak were placed in the center of the formation. Shaoke softly chanted the incantation, and faintly visible hand seals drifted from his Gestures onto the formation, gradually setting it in motion.

Under the power of magic, the spell diagram and cloak slowly floated above the formation. From time to time, hand seals drifted onto them. The diagram gradually changed under the influence of the hand seals. The beast-hide carrier slowly disappeared, leaving only the crystallized formation floating. Guided by the hand seals, the now-crystalline formation slowly merged into the cloak. Shaoke unconsciously increased the output of his mana and mental energy, maintaining it at the maximum level the hand seals could withstand.

Only after the specialized hand seals and incantation for the inlay formation were completed did the entire cloak fall onto the now-energy-depleted and useless slab. Shaoke quickly stepped forward and picked up the cloak.

Upon touching it, he first felt a slight chill, which then vanished. Wisps of faint white mist began to slowly drift out from the cloak. However, Shaoke noticed that they didn't venture too far from the cloak, retreating back after only about a foot. Seeing this, Shaoke confirmed that the inlay was successful. Otherwise, he would have had to spend a great deal of time crafting a new spell diagram.

The next day, after finishing breakfast, while reciting and memorizing the newly learned first-level spell, Mage Yija came to visit alone.

"Lord Mage Xueye, I apologize for interrupting your studies." Mage Yija, with a somewhat unnatural expression, respectfully performed a formal mage's salute and then stood still, watching Shaoke, who was entirely enveloped in a faint white mist. His heart was filled with mixed feelings. He hadn't expected Shaoke to advance to a formal mage so quickly. Even his two senior brothers, who had left not long ago, were nearly a year slower than Shaoke! And this was without the aid of any drugs. Could hard work really change one's innate talent so much?

"Mage Yija, welcome. Come inside with me! Don't call me 'lord' or anything like that. We are companions now, and there are no outsiders here anyway." Shaoke felt quite comfortable shrouded in the cloak. At least this way, others could no longer see his expression, which made him feel more at ease. Moreover, it added a sense of mystery and provided some assistance during spellcasting.

After they were seated as host and guest, Shaoke inquired about the purpose of Mage Yija's visit. Mage Yija replied, "Lord Mage Xueye, first, congratulations on advancing to a formal mage so quickly and stepping into the hall of spells. This is nearly a year faster than many mages! Even some scions of noble families cannot advance at this age."

"Mage Yija, you are too kind. As far as I know, there are many who advance to formal mages in their teens. Even in the academy I attended, several achieved it! Besides, my advancement formation was quite ordinary and simple." As Shaoke spoke, his tone grew somewhat subdued. He couldn't understand why those transmigration predecessors could create their own cultivation methods from the start, become dual cultivators of magic and martial arts before the age of ten, and slay saints and gods just after reaching adulthood. Yet, in his case, things had turned out like this. If it weren't for the Blue Feather Empire's great emphasis on magic, offering free aptitude tests for every child after the age of five, he probably would have accomplished nothing in this otherworldly life.

"Lord Mage Xueye, you are too modest. Have you sent a letter to the Imperial Military Department reporting this? When do you expect a reply?" Mage Yija asked softly.

"I just sent it yesterday. By the way, how did you know about my advancement? I intended to tell you, but I was busy stabilizing my realm." In truth, Shaoke hadn't planned to inform them, feeling it unnecessary. However, he couldn't say that outright, so he casually responded.

"Lord Mage Xueye, you walked through the town yesterday. The townspeople are still talking about your eyes! The soldiers told me about it." Mage Yija somewhat awkwardly revealed how he obtained the information. After all, he didn't live in the town, and even if he wanted to lie, it would be hard to find a good excuse.

"Oh!" Shaoke wasn't particularly concerned; he mainly asked because he wasn't sure what else to talk about with the other.

After a moment of silence, Mage Yija glanced at Shaoke, shrouded in white mist, and hesitantly said, "Lord Mage Xueye, I... I was wondering if you could help me with the next patrol mission and... come with me? I'm a bit worried I won't be able to handle it alone." After making this request, Mage Yija lowered his head in great embarrassment. His golden, flowing hair covered his face, but Shaoke could still see that even his neck had turned bright red.

"Mage Yija, I still need to familiarize myself with this new realm as quickly as possible. I don't have much spare time. You can manage on your own, just like your senior brothers did back then. I believe we'll soon hear news of your advancement as well. Actually, those magical beasts aren't too dangerous as long as you don't venture too deep." After a moment of silence, Shaoke decisively refused the request. He didn't want to waste any more time on magic practice, as he had already lost too much time during his initial studies. Now he needed to make up for it.

Hearing Shaoke's refusal, although Mage Yija felt somewhat unwilling, it wasn't entirely unexpected. After all, he had prepared himself for rejection before coming.

After chatting a bit more with Shaoke, Mage Yija took his leave. Shaoke didn't try to keep him, as he still had many studies to attend to, the most important being familiarizing himself with his newly formed magic space and mental space.

After Mage Yija left, Shaoke carefully recorded the process and his observations of yesterday's formation inlay in his spell journal. He had been too late after completing the inlay yesterday, and in his eagerness to recover his mana, he had become immersed in the newly formed space and forgotten his work. Thus, the recording had to be done today.

After writing down the inlay formation record, Shaoke immersed himself in his mental space to observe the newly formed rhombus-shaped formation. The mental space, expanded threefold, felt incredibly comfortable to Shaoke. Numerous points of mental light filled it, and the formation at the center slowly rotated. With each rotation, it purified the mental energy drawn into the formation. Although the effect was only about half that of normal meditation, the long-term accumulation was still significant. After all, he had never heard of any mage who could meditate while working, casting spells, or sleeping—not even advanced or high-level mages could achieve that.

The expansion of his mental space meant Shaoke still hadn't replenished enough mental energy, as its growth wasn't easy. In later stages, it could even become several times more difficult than purifying mental energy. The mana space was in a similar state. Although the mana space was smaller, Shaoke's focus was primarily on mental energy for now, merely allowing the mana to purify slowly.

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