Chapter 121 The Mysterious Third Tier Mage

After the two of them finished recording the day's content, it was already late at night. Mage Roland left in a hurry soon after, while Shaoke spent some more time reviewing the day's material before performing a series of evening drills, finally falling asleep while maintaining the unique breathing method of mages.

The following days settled into a routine. Each day, Shaoke went to the large room in the military headquarters with the other mages to ask questions of the Seventh Tier Mage. In the evenings, he returned to copy down the day's answers with Mage Roland. The originally planned few days of instruction unexpectedly extended for over ten days. Finally, the mage allowed Shaoke and the other trainees to choose some rewards, concluding this session of guidance.

Faced with the abundant rewards, Shaoke, to the surprise of the officer on duty, selected the highest-level meditation methods and some books. He did not choose the precious magic items or superior low-tier staffs that the other mages opted for.

Returning to his small room in the evening, after copying the day's questions with Mage Roland, Shaoke began practicing the new spellcasting techniques he had learned over the past few days once Roland left. Fortunately, these techniques were related to hand seals and incantations, so he didn't need to actually cast spells to observe their effects. He merely attempted to gauge the speed of mana convergence.

Several days passed after the Seventh Tier Mage's instruction ended, much to Shaoke's puzzlement. He had thought they would be dispatched to the battlefield soon, but unexpectedly, the army command allowed them, this batch of mages, to rest for such a long time. Taking advantage of this free period, Shaoke spent a great deal of time each day practicing techniques on the spell training grounds and carefully observing the final effects of these spells.

One day, after finishing his spell practice, Shaoke had just returned to his room when Mage Roland visited him again to issue an invitation.

"Mage Xueye, that female mage you're acquainted with has been pestering me several times to get you to go to the tavern. But you know, it's not up to me; it's your choice. How could I interfere with a fellow mage's free choice?" Mage Roland said to Shaoke with a smile. "So I refused her."

"But she threatened me, saying she'd use her influence with that female mage, and that if you don't go to the tavern again, she'll tell her not to associate with me." Under Shaoke's gaze, Mage Roland revealed his ultimate purpose. "Mage Xueye, I finally managed to get that female mage to accept my invitation for tonight."

Seeing the hopeful look in Mage Roland's eyes, Shaoke smiled kindly. After a brief consideration, he agreed to Roland's invitation, deciding to go to the tavern with him in the evening for a short rest.

Days without his cloak left Shaoke feeling ill at ease no matter where he went. Under the gaze of other mages, he felt completely exposed. Fortunately, relying on the deep-seated pride, or perhaps even arrogance, within him, he managed to maintain all the etiquette a mage should have in public. This made him miss dearly the cloak that Mage Roman had taken and not returned.

"Mage Xueye, don't you ever have time to relax? I heard the Seventh Tier Mage's instruction ended a long time ago!" Mage Roman, seeing Shaoke sit opposite her, shot him a highly displeased glare. "Perhaps you should stay in your room alone, enjoying tasteless bread with meat slices and plain water. I think that must be your real life."

Shaoke smiled slightly and steered the conversation elsewhere. "Mage Roman, you look much more energetic now. Have you made progress in your spells recently?"

"Hehe!" Mage Roman chuckled softly. Her pale, small hand propped up her chin as she leaned slightly forward and whispered, "There has been some progress. Don't think only you received guidance from high-rank mages. Many of us Third Tier Mages also received guidance from those high-rank mages this time!"

Mage Roman added, "And the instruction we received lasted much longer than yours! Otherwise, you would have been sent to the battlefield long ago."

"You mean we'll still be in the same team as you?" After hearing Mage Roman's remarks that bordered on bragging, Shaoke suddenly understood why their batch of Second Tier Mages had been kept in the military camp for so long. "Is that so?" Shaoke asked Mage Roman again, uncertain.

"Don't you want to be in the same team as me anymore?" Mage Roman blinked, lightly kicking Shaoke's leg with her small foot, displeased. "Have you forgotten that for now and for a long time to come, you and I are companions in the same army?"

"No, Mage Roman, I have never forgotten." Shaoke noticed that the foot the female mage had kicked him with didn't retract. Instead, her firm calf remained pressed against his leg. Shaoke keenly felt the warmth coming from her body and said somewhat excitedly, "I was just a bit excited to hear that I'll still be in the same team as you."

Shaoke then explained further to Mage Roman. Finally, after ordering her another glass of premium snow wine, the female mage's soft complaints ceased.

"Mage Roman, will the team formation still be the same as before?" After accompanying the female mage in tasting some pastries, Shaoke quickly raised his question, hoping to prepare for future battles based on the team's composition.

"Do you remember the night before we fled back to the fortress?" Mage Roman took a small sip of wine and continued without waiting for Shaoke's answer. "Similar to the enemy squad we encountered—no warriors, archers, or other classes, because those types of fighters are deployed elsewhere. This time, our team consists entirely of mages."

"The only difference is that a Third Tier Mage will be added to the team." As she said this, a flash of fear quickly crossed Mage Roman's face, which Shaoke, who had been watching her closely, keenly caught.

"Nothing else has changed." Mage Roman paused briefly, then gently shook her head and continued, "Although we'll be fighting outside the city in teams this time, according to messages from mages who fought earlier, they easily got separated during the fighting."

"So you must be careful this time."

"How long will we be on the battlefield this time?" Shaoke suppressed the unease that had just surfaced in his heart and hurriedly asked her.

"There's no set time limit." The female mage's expression relaxed a bit as she said this. "As long as you feel you can no longer hold out on the battlefield, or if you're routed by the enemy, as long as you remember the way back to the fortress and aren't ambushed on the road, you can return to rest for a while at any time." She then gave Shaoke a strange look. "You're not thinking of just staying there for a short while and then coming back, are you?"

"No, Mage Roman, it's not what you think." Shaoke raised his voice anxiously, hoping to dispel the female mage's unfavorable speculation. But after being kicked again by her small foot, he gave up on refuting, because from the smile on her face, he knew it was just a small joke, so he relaxed.

"Mage Xueye, although there won't be melee fighters or archers and the like joining the battlefield this time, the danger level isn't the slightest bit lower than in battles where those classes are involved." After joking with Shaoke for a while, Mage Roman suddenly reminded him in a serious tone.

"Does the Desasi Empire send more mages to the battlefield than we do?" For a moment, Shaoke couldn't think of what danger could be greater than those posed by archers and infiltrators.

"A Third Tier Mage." As Mage Roman said this, a deep fear showed in her eyes. She gently rubbed her eyes with her small hand and said, "The danger this time comes from that additional Third Tier Mage joining the team."

Shaoke frowned, thinking about what the female mage had just said. He didn't understand—Mage Roman herself was a Third Tier Mage. Could she be afraid of a mage of the same rank? Even if that Third Tier Mage was about to advance to Fourth Tier Mage, it shouldn't instill such great fear in a weaker mage of the same rank!

Shaoke wanted to ask more about this matter, but was quickly and politely declined by Mage Roman. She only told Shaoke that if he encountered a Third Tier Mage on the battlefield, he should flee if he could, and never think of engaging in conflict with them. Because those Third Tier Mages rarely take the initiative to attack low-rank mages.

When Shaoke asked how to distinguish between those Third Tier Mages who would attack and those who wouldn't, Mage Roman only told him with a bitter smile, "After the Third Tier Mage in our team arrives, compare me with him, and you'll know how to tell."

After the female mage and Shaoke chatted a bit more, Shaoke noticed she had drunk too much again and quickly advised, "Mage Roman, let's go out for a walk! I've never really had a proper look around this fortress since I arrived." As he said this, Shaoke uncomfortably recalled the battlefield precautions the senior officer from the capital had given him when he first arrived. Thinking about it now, it felt like something that happened a long time ago.

Mage Roman squinted her eyes and sized up Shaoke for a while. Only after making him feel quite uncomfortable did she gently nod, agreeing to his suggestion.

However, before leaving, Mage Roman finished the snow wine on the table. To Shaoke's puzzlement, she explained, "After all, this wine is expensive, and we've only had a little. If we leave, the maids will pour it out."

Shaoke smiled inwardly. He had actually noticed that the female mage really enjoyed drinking, and her alcohol tolerance was only moderate.

Outside, the female mage somewhat awkwardly held onto Shaoke's arm, half-leaning against him. "Where shall we go?"

"Just a casual walk." Shaoke actually didn't know where to go at this time. Few shops in the fortress were open at night, and there weren't many pedestrians on the streets.

Finally, to Shaoke's great surprise, the female mage suggested going to see the city wall. "I wonder what it feels like to look at this fortress from the wall. Before, it was either during a war or I had missions, so I never had the chance. Now that the war has paused, let's go take a look first!"

Under Mage Roman's hopeful gaze, Shaoke considered briefly and then nodded in agreement.

After getting off the carriage and passing inspections by several mages, Shaoke and Mage Roman finally ascended the battlements where there was no fighting. The two found a high platform and, supporting each other, groped their way up in the darkness. "These are the spellcasting platforms for area-effect mages," the female mage whispered, telling Shaoke the name of their location.

The two mages stood on the spellcasting platform and turned to look toward the city. "If I can advance to Eighth Tier Mage, the first spell I'll learn is 'Flight.' Then every night, I'll float in the air, looking at the city's night view."

As she spoke, the female mage spread her arms, closed her eyes, and let the cold wind, carrying the lingering scent of blood, whip her robe loudly.

"They're fighting outside." Just as Shaoke was watching Mage Roman's seemingly enjoying expression under the starlight, he suddenly felt intense waves of spell fluctuations coming from outside the city. Even faint explosions were carried by the wind.

"What rank of spell is this? How can it be so powerful?" Shaoke watched as the snow-covered forest far away suddenly burst into flames, with thin beams or points of light tearing through the night.

"Third Rank spells." Mage Roman slowly turned around to look at the fireworks-like spectacle and softly stated their rank. "These are spells cast by those newly arrived Third Tier Mages. How do they feel? Much more powerful than the spells I know, right?"

Shaoke silently nodded. He hadn't expected the gap between mages of the same rank to be so vast. This completely overturned his previous views on mages of the same tier.

If the spell fluctuations from a Third Tier Mage's spell could be felt so strongly from such a distance, what about Fourth Rank spells? As Shaoke thought about it, he felt dizzy. He truly didn't understand how the warriors of the Blizzard Legion had dared to charge at that Seventh Tier Mage from the Mage Guild on the journey here. Thinking about it now filled him with lingering fear.