Chapter 137 Everything Was a Wait

When Mage Roman was about to step forward to stop the conflict between the two opposing groups of mages, a sudden wave of oppressive pressure enveloped the area. "Who gave you the right to fight here? Have you forgotten the military regulations?" A loud voice came from above, causing the arguing mages below to freeze in place.

Looking up at the sky, Shaoke saw a mage in black robes floating above the clearing between the two parties, holding a staff inlaid with several gemstones. A cluster of silvery-white flames floated at the tip of the staff, occasionally bursting apart. However, the scattered flames did not fall to the ground but drifted upward, circling the mage a few times before returning to the flames at the staff's tip.

"Eighth Tier Mage," Mage Roman warned Shaoke in an alarmed whisper. "Only mages of the Eighth Tier or higher can float in the air." After saying this, she pulled Shaoke's arm and quietly retreated a few steps, distancing themselves from the mage group ahead. She didn’t want the Eighth Tier Mage to misinterpret their intentions.

"Leave this place and return to your quarters," the Eighth Tier Mage floating in the air admonished the mages below once more. "The military does not want today’s events to repeat in the future. I believe you understand the message I’m conveying." After speaking, the mage paid no further attention to Shaoke and the others gathered there, instead flying toward the military headquarters.

Staring blankly in the direction the Eighth Tier Mage had left, Shaoke’s joy at having just advanced to the Third Tier vanished instantly. Even the pride that had just surfaced disappeared completely the moment the mage looked down at them from above.

"Eighth Tier Mage," Mage Roman muttered softly, then tightly gripped Shaoke’s arm and whispered, "Let’s leave. I never expected this matter to attract the attention of an Eighth Tier Mage." With that, she and Shaoke returned to their original route. "I think we should head back to the barracks now."

After walking a short distance further, Mage Roman broke the silence between them and suggested returning. Shaoke nodded. He knew the female mage had been shaken by the appearance of the Eighth Tier Mage. After all, not every mage enjoyed being looked down upon from above, even if the one doing so was a powerful and noble Eighth Tier Mage.

After escorting the female mage back to the barracks, Shaoke took a carriage alone to the city wall. Finding a platform, he stood there silently gazing down at the lit houses below. For a moment, his mind was filled with the image of the black-robed Eighth Tier Mage floating in mid-air, wreathed in silvery-white flames. Jealousy, envy, fear, resentment... All sorts of negative emotions swirled in his mind, making him unable to resist shouting out loud.

His somewhat hoarse shouts quickly attracted the soldiers patrolling the battlements. After confirming his identity as a military mage of the Blue Feather Empire, they left with various doubts. As for the mage’s shouting, they neither wanted nor could stop it.

After all, his status was not something ordinary soldiers could casually command.

After apologizing to the soldiers who had come to investigate, Shaoke felt a bit better. He thought that if necessary and conditions allowed, this method of releasing negative emotions by shouting loudly was quite good.

The image of the Eighth Tier Mage floating in the air reappeared in his mind. Although Shaoke still felt jealous, he repeatedly reminded himself that the mage had become an Eighth Tier Mage only after long and arduous cultivation, while he himself had only been truly cultivating for a little over a decade. Moreover, no records mentioned anyone advancing to the Eighth Tier after just a century of cultivation, not even the legendary mages. By comforting himself in this way, Shaoke managed to somewhat diminish the impact the Eighth Tier Mage had left on him.

"If you can maintain this pace of cultivation, I believe you’ll have a chance to advance to the Eighth Tier Mage in a century," the female mage’s clear voice of comfort sounded from below the platform. "Do you feel it now? Looking down at the mages below from above?" Mage Roman chuckled softly as Shaoke looked down to find her.

"A chance?" Upon seeing the female mage, Shaoke didn’t ask why she was there. Instead, he walked down from the platform and helped her up. "After all, it’s not the same as truly floating in the air and looking down." His dejected reply elicited another light laugh from the female mage.

Leaning gently into Shaoke’s embrace, Mage Roman placed his hands on her waist. "Many Seventh Tier Mages fail to advance successfully even after exhausting their lifespans. It’s not as smooth as advancing from the Third Tier to the Seventh Tier." She snuggled closer to reduce the chill of the cold wind.

Holding Mage Roman quietly and feeling the coolness emanating from her, Shaoke couldn’t suppress his impulse. He tightened his embrace and said, "Tonight, let’s be together." He held the female mage in his arms even tighter, hoping she would accept his invitation.

"You need to stabilize and familiarize yourself with your Third Tier abilities as soon as possible. This is important for every mage. I don’t want these matters to affect you." The female mage blushed and softly declined Shaoke’s invitation. "Once you can freely control the magic array within your meditation space, I’ll be very happy to accept such an invitation."

Shaoke nodded, knowing Mage Roman was right. He felt ashamed of his earlier impulsiveness. "Thank you," he said, gently kissing the female mage’s cool, beautiful cheek. He wrapped her completely in his cloak to keep her warmer.

After embracing and talking for a while, the two parted and returned to their quarters. The incident of being looked down upon by the Eighth Tier Mage had left a significant impact on the mages, compelling them to accelerate their cultivation. After all, few mages enjoyed such a feeling.

After verifying his identity and returning to his room, Shaoke began familiarizing himself with all the changes after his advancement. The two Three-pointed Star Magic Arrays had grown slightly larger, further increasing the speed of refining spiritual power and mana. He realized that the incomplete Third Tier advanced meditation array now worked faster than his fully grown Second Tier array with silver light assistance. This made him feel ignorant about his earlier conclusions. Fortunately, he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone.

Focusing his attention, he felt the operation of the two arrays and continuously familiarized himself with their various changes to facilitate future operations. The female mage had once told him that after advancing to the Third Tier, there would be some special auxiliary support spells that could be embedded into the advancement array. The condition for embedding was to become as familiar as possible with the crystal-like structure of the array.

After familiarizing himself with the structures of the two arrays and recovering his various expenditures, he once again gathered spiritual power from his spiritual space into threads. Using a special meditation method, he transmitted these spiritual threads to the array in his mana space. Then, he transmitted mana threads from his mana space to his spiritual space to strengthen the connection between the two, preparing to reduce future spellcasting consumption. After repeating this several times and reaching the capacity limits of the two spaces, he wisely stopped to avoid causing spatial vibrations. After all, without the assistance of the silver light, he could no longer bear the dangerous consequences of spatial vibrations.

In the following days, Shaoke spent his time stabilizing and familiarizing himself with the changes after his advancement. After several days of observation, he was relieved to find that his physical constitution hadn’t declined.

During this time, a letter from Francis Walton was delivered by a soldier. After reading it with mixed emotions, Shaoke was momentarily unsure how to reply.

It turned out that in this letter, Mage Woton informed him of her advancement to Third Tier Mage and hoped for his blessings. She also mentioned her mother, who wished for Shaoke to join the Mage Guild and receive guidance from a Seventh Tier Mage alongside her. Finally, she talked about her life in the capital, mentioning friends she had made in the Mage Guild and Mage Corps, as well as her work in the Mage Guild. She once again expressed her hope that Shaoke would join the Mage Guild.

Looking at the female mage’s elegant handwriting, Shaoke slowly folded the letter and stored it in a small box. Lying on the bed, he thought quietly for a while before getting up and sitting at the writing desk. He took out paper and began to write.

First, he expressed his congratulations on the female mage Wodun’s successful advancement. After a brief pause, he once again declined the suggestion to join the Mage Guild. He reminded her that he had already accepted the agreement with the Blizzard Legion, hoping she would understand.

Finally, when he wrote about his own advancement to Third Tier Mage, he stopped. Images of the bustling capital and the lively Mage Guild floated in his mind. After hesitating, he decided not to share this news. Instead, he wrote in detail about his life here. Looking at his own handwriting, he suddenly realized how monotonous and dull his life was. He hadn’t made many friends here; if not for Mage Roland initiating conversations with him, he wouldn’t even remember the mages who had come to the fortress with him.

"You should learn to wait, because you are a mage." Seeing this, Shaoke suddenly recalled the words spoken by the Third Tier Mage before he signed the agreement with the Blizzard Legion. Now he understood the true meaning behind those words. He then thought of the Seventh Tier Mage’s advice to them and the Eighth Tier Mage floating in the air.

After a brief sigh, he changed the paper and started writing again. When describing his situation here, he simply wrote: "Meditation, practicing spells, and preparing to increase reading." After a moment’s thought, he added, "and waiting quietly." As for what he was waiting for, he didn’t specify clearly. He believed the female mage Wodun would understand.