Chapter 205: Medicine and Legion Mission

After they opened the room, Shaoke found the three knights still standing in their usual manner, waiting for the others to appear. The mage had someone bring in a few chairs and began resting in the snow.

After a while, the sleazy officer finally came out. Seeing the lecherous grin on his face, the maid's flushed face, and the bruises on her neck, Shaoke felt sorry for the maids. Of course, he was not the master here, so he had no right to make any changes.

The female mage Tina walked out calmly, though the maid was slightly out of breath. Sensing her mental state, Shaoke found no intense activity, which made him feel ashamed of his earlier self-control. Of course, this was better left unsaid.

This time, Mage Tina led them to another smaller parlor and invited the guests to sit on some peculiar wicker chairs. They gathered around the fireplace and hearth, beginning the formal conversation.

The sleazy officer was the first to break the silence, but his topic was frustrating. "Mage Tina, will this kind of service be available again? I really liked your arrangements." He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and flicked it into the fireplace.

The female mage didn't mind; she just smiled slightly and shook her head, giving her answer. This really pissed off the sleazy officer, but seeing the female mage staring intently into his eyes, he held back further questions. After decades of dealing with each other, he had long known the temperaments of every sixth-tier mage, including Tina. These mages cared little for anyone unless there was sufficient benefit; otherwise, they'd kill anyone who disobeyed or pissed them off without a second thought. After all, mages who spent years in the military rarely had good tempers.

Then a knight spoke up again. "Mage Tina, are you planning to stick around here long-term?" He added, "You haven't given the Blizzard Legion any response in almost two years."

The female mage stopped smiling, glanced at the guests, and noticed Shaoke staring blankly at the hearth before speaking. "I think this place is a good fit for me, but the conditions proposed by the Legion Commander are something I cannot agree to." She gathered her long black hair and wrapped it around her staff a few times, then continued, "There are over a dozen sixth-tier mages here doing the same thing, and there's also an eighth-tier mage present."

"Are those mages left behind by other legions?" the knight asked uncertainly, completing her unfinished thought. "According to the rules, shouldn't the military have withdrawn them from here? And..." But before he could finish, Mage Tina interrupted him bluntly.

"How can you still believe what the military says about this?" She glanced briefly at Shaoke, and after receiving a slight nod from a knight, continued, "Anyone who's been stationed here for over a hundred years is eligible to live here permanently and enjoy special privileges." She frowned and added, "The Blizzard Legion's only got a few mages here, and no eighth-tier mage is stationed here. The Legion Commander wants me to supply large quantities of potions to the legion under these circumstances? There's no way I can do that."

"What about the Blue Feather Legion and the Roaring Legion? How many mages do they have stationed here?" A knight pulled out a scroll with plain writing on it, frowning as he examined its contents. "Hmm, why haven't those bastards in the Roaring Legion kicked the bucket yet?"

"The Blue Feather Legion hasn't changed, but this time, the mage from the Roaring Legion stayed behind," the female mage said, glaring at the knight. "Including their two eighth-tier mages, there are exactly ten mages here now." She added, "They have the most mages of any legion. We can't help that, since their main forces are here, and we rarely get the chance to serve in this area."

Listening to the conversation, Shaoke found it quite interesting. He shifted his gaze from the fire to the troubled female mage, studying her carefully. Her black hair lay gently on her shoulders, her slender eyebrows moved with her tone, her watery eyes sat beneath a delicate nose, and her small lips parted occasionally, revealing neat white teeth. All of this made her pleasant to look at. If she changed her clothes, no one would guess she was a sixth-tier mage, a woman over a hundred years old.

The sleazy officer was doing the same, but with some unpleasant gestures. The female mage, however, didn't care about their stares and even subtly straightened her posture, making the officer unable to look away.

The discussion continued until midnight, when Shaoke replaced the candles again, signaling an end to the conversation. This relieved Shaoke, who found spending so much time here a waste of life.

"Mage Tina, the Legion Commander and the general hope you will do your best to secure high-level resources for the Blizzard Legion. You understand the situation—over the past millennium, the Blizzard Legion's strength has diminished. If we don't act soon, we might be the first legion to be disbanded." A knight took a small box from his pocket and handed it to the female mage, indicating she should open it.

When the box, engraved with a few complex magic scripts, was opened, a peculiar magical fluctuation emanated from it. This fluctuation stirred Shaoke's meditation space, speeding up the diamond-shaped planar array suspended in the air. Shaoke estimated that under the silver light's enhancement, the speed had more than doubled, making him eager to know what was inside. But after examining the item, the female mage smiled with delight, closed the box, and agreed to the knight's suggestion—or command. She could no longer hide her joy.

"This is only the second part of the reward. The legion will not forget your agreement," a knight said calmly. "If the situation improves, you should know how the legion distributes its rewards."

This time, the female mage agreed without hesitation. With unrestricted access to high-level potions and the newly acquired magic item, she was confident she could advance to a seventh-tier mage within thirty years or less. By then, she believed the Blizzard Legion would give her even more rewards.

After more chatting, Shaoke took the opportunity to ask his question: whether the fruits they had consumed were the ingredients for the potions issued by the military. In a good mood, Mage Tina gladly answered Shaoke's question and provided a detailed explanation.

It turned out that these fruits were the main material for making potions for seventh-tier mages and above. Often, a single fruit could produce a day's worth of high-level potion for a seventh-tier mage. Without processing, the fruit could be consumed by anyone, but the effect was minimal, making it a waste. However, eighth-tier mages could fully absorb the fruit's potency, and their daily potions were made from these fruits, or even rarer, more precious materials.

Seeing Shaoke get his answer, the knights proposed resting, knowing the female mage wanted to study the magic item. So the guests had to leave.

Mage Tina made no attempt to keep them and sent the maids who had served them earlier to find rooms for them. The maids were instructed to stay in the guests' rooms for extended, gentle service. This excited the sleazy officer, who even asked Shaoke to borrow his maid, but the mage sternly refused. After being rejected by all his companions, the sleazy officer grumbled and returned to his room with his maid.

That night, Shaoke did not engage with the maid. Instead, he let her sleep and began meditating, carefully observing the changes in his meditation space. He wanted to study how long the effects of the fruit-based potion would last and calculate its efficiency, to prepare for his future plans.

Seven or eight vortexes spun rapidly in his meditation space, with silver light lingering within them, constantly exploding and exchanging positions with silver light from other vortexes and the diamond-shaped planar array. The two spaces seemed empty, with large amounts of mental energy and magic power being sucked into the vortexes, only to be expelled after intervals. Some light bands appeared brighter, some larger, while others were shattered into original light points, absorbed by other vortexes, and reformed into light bands, strengthening the resilience of the mental energy.

Under the influence of the silver light and the fruits, the potency increased by more than three times. The mage could even clearly feel the rapid growth of his mental energy and magic power, as well as the slow reinforcement of his meditation space. All of this gave Shaoke confidence that he could advance to a fifth-tier mage in the shortest possible time. Now, his concern was how long the effects of these precious potions would last.

He was worried the effects might only last five or six magic hours, like other potions, before wearing off.