Chapter 259: Supplies and Some Living

Upon the arrival of the mage, the townspeople still kept their distance as usual. They were not surprised that the mage was not wearing his cloak, mainly because whenever the Blizzard Trade Guild arrived, he always went without his cloak. Even the gray-black mist that usually clung to him would disappear at such times.

The Blizzard Trade Guild had not brought a large caravan to this town, but among the small group was a young Spellcaster. The young spellcaster's robe bore the insignia of a Third-Tier Mage, and he held a standard-issue military staff in his hand.

When the young spellcaster saw the mage approaching, he quickly stood up and took a few steps forward. "Respected Mage Xueye, there is a letter for you this time," he said, pulling a thick envelope from a small magic bag and handing it respectfully to the man he called Mage Xueye.

Yes, the mysterious mage mentioned above is Shaoke, also known as the Night Mage. After leaving the imperial capital, he returned here, to his hometown. In this small town near the border, the mage's life was quite comfortable. He had set up a simple laboratory here, and even a humble practice ground for spellcasting. Of course, over the past decade or so, Shaoke had accomplished many things, which we will mention one by one later.

During this time, Mage Roman would follow the Blizzard Trade Guild, which had just taken over the trade routes in the Misty Forest, to visit him every other year. She would stay in Shaoke's log cabin for seven or eight days each time, until she returned to the imperial capital with the Blizzard Trade Guild after they finished their purchases. Over these ten-plus years, Mage Yisier also often came with Mage Roman to see Shaoke, though less frequently, as she had to go on missions elsewhere and had little time in the capital. Although Mage Yisier wanted to have a child with her husband, just like Mage Roman, they had tried hard for a long time but failed. This made Yisier pin her hopes on Shaoke, hoping that he could help her. After all, she, as his wife, knew her husband's issues well.

Shaoke put away the letter without reading it, tucking it into his robe. "Is there anything else? Did you bring what I requested?" he asked, staring intently at the third-tier mage. The young mage's nervous and fearful expression made Shaoke sigh inwardly. The current group of low-rank military mages in the Blizzard Legion was really not up to par. Mages who had never experienced war would never have the courage to face a High-rank Mage. The mage gave a quiet sigh.

"Respected Mage Xueye, everything is here," the third-tier mage said, quickly motioning to the soldiers behind him, who served as guards, to bring over two large wooden crates. With Shaoke's permission, they opened them. Large sheets of various types of paper were stacked neatly inside, which Shaoke could cut to size with a paper knife as needed. Two crates of paper would suffice for his annual consumption. Of course, if he didn't attempt to write or draw special magic scripts, magical arrays, or spell structures, the supply would last even longer.

Shaoke did not examine the paper in detail. Instead, with the help of the guards, he took out the stacks, one by one, and stored them in a storage bag. The third-tier mage watched with envy; although he also carried a storage bag, it was issued by the trade guild and wasn't his personal property.

After purchasing some other items from the Blizzard Trade Guild, Shaoke paid enough money and left the town. Once he was gone, the young mage breathed a sigh of relief. The immense pressure from the mage had been overwhelming. If not for knowing of his connection to the Blizzard Legion, he would hardly have dared to speak to him.

Shaoke quickly returned to his cabin. This time, he took out the paper and began gluing them together with special magic glue according to his needs. Sheets two cubits long and wide were soon assembled into large sheets of paper, the basic material he needed for drawing large patterns.

After making several large sheets of paper, Shaoke took out a quill pen with a translucent crystal tip and began to draw patterns on them. As time passed, a tower shape gradually appeared on the paper, with extensive annotations and explanations in the blank spaces. This work had been going on for nearly ten years, in preparation for the mage tower he envisioned. To complete the design of the mage tower, Shaoke had to learn a great deal about constructing a laboratory and even built a simple underground lab by himself. All this was in preparation for his future mage tower, requiring the study of many magic scripts and complex magic array structures. This work took up almost half of his time here.

Although he had spent a lot of time conceiving and researching the mage tower, Shaoke knew that successfully building one would take centuries. Of course, with abundant magic materials and the help of many High-rank Mages who specialized in this field, the time could be shortened to some extent.

Shaoke had just finished drawing a small part of his envisioned mage tower structure onto the paper when he remembered the letter he had just received. But it was already dinnertime, so he ate some magical beast meat slices and simple food before taking out the letter to read.

It was a joint letter from Mage Roman and Mage Yisier, though written by Roman. She mentioned some current situations in the imperial capital and the trivial matters of the Blizzard 33rd Corps slowly recruiting new members. Finally, she mentioned that Mage Yija had once again inquired about Shaoke's whereabouts. However, following Shaoke's instructions, they did not tell him. At the end of the letter, she mentioned a physician named Ino, who had visited the small castle where the Blizzard Legion was stationed to ask about Shaoke, but no one there answered him.

After thinking for a moment, the mage took out paper to reply to the female mages. First, he expressed how much he missed them, then briefly mentioned his situation here. Finally, he hoped that Mage Roman could find Physician Ino, for the physician was an old acquaintance Shaoke had met in the Misty Forest. If the physician needed help, he hoped Roman would do her best to assist him.

He placed the letter in a small box, along with a small vial of Snow Bee Queen blood. As mentioned earlier, this blood was an extremely precious magic material. As his knowledge grew, Shaoke realized more and more its value. Not only could it enhance the power of a spellbook in the hands of a High-rank Mage, but it was also an indispensable ingredient for making many valuable potions and magic items.

In the more than ten years since he returned to his hometown, Shaoke had been collecting Snow Bee Queen blood and monopolized the trade, preventing any other trade guilds, including the Blizzard Trade Guild, from buying it. The powerful Blizzard Trade Guild complied, and smaller guilds and merchant associations dared not touch this precious magic material. Fortunately, the mage's influence extended only a few hundred miles, leaving plenty of other areas along the border of the Misty Forest for such transactions.

Some trade guilds had once objected to Shaoke's high-handedness, but under the combined pressure of the border garrison soldiers and the Blizzard Trade Guild, they were forced to leave the area and were unable to return for a long time. In such circumstances, even major trade guilds would not risk conflict with a Sixth Tier Mage and the military, as an unexpected attack from a high-tier mage could cause significant losses to any caravan.

In three years, Shaoke could only collect a small vial of Snow Bee Queen blood. This made him reflect on the two vials he had fortuitously obtained years ago while serving in the Misty Forest.

This time, he sent the precious magic material accumulated over several years to Mage Roman in the imperial capital via the letter. Roman had been promoted to a Sixth Tier Alchemist three years ago, and a higher-tier alchemist required even rarer materials. She now had the ability to use this Snow Bee Queen blood for research.

After a short wait of a few days, Shaoke delivered the box containing the letter and the magic material to the third-tier mage just before the Blizzard Trade Guild departed, asking him to pass it to Mage Roman. In return, Shaoke paid at least ten standard gold coins.

Once the trade guild left the town, Shaoke ignored the other caravans lingering there and returned to his log cabin at the foot of the mountain. After resting for two days, he packed enough supplies and set off into the mountains. There, he had an underground laboratory where he would conduct long-term magical research and handle other important tasks. Each such research session lasted nearly a year. When the blizzard arrived, he would leave his lab and return to the town, for that was when Mage Roman would follow the trade guild to see him.