Sensing Isha’s emotions, Li De turned his head, showing a doting smile as he reached out to pinch her smooth, fair little cheek.
“Isha is wonderful, too.”
Isha ???
Level: 7
Age: 16
Golden Bloodline: Awakening Degree (15%)
Description: A member of the Golden Race possessing the Golden Bloodline. The talents of the Golden Race are enough to astonish even the gods.
Level 7. Since the Months of Deep Winter, in just over half a year, she had advanced from Level 0 to Level 7. This level of talent could make so-called prodigies hang their heads in shame.
Every time Li De looked at Isha, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion, this little girl with the Golden Bloodline was truly astonishing.
The gifts of the Golden Race varied greatly. Li De didn’t know how far Isha could ultimately grow, but he guessed that, at the very least, she wouldn’t be any weaker than a young dragon.
“When you grow up, I’ll leave the Crimson Mage Tower for you to guard.”
Li De suddenly remembered something Spark had once told him, about the Storm Sea, and the mysterious red-eyed race that hunted transcendent dragons.
He gently patted the little girl’s head, his gaze filled with anticipation.
He truly hoped to see this little dragon grow up.
When that day came, he wondered how long the overwhelmingly powerful Kap Lionmane could withstand Isha’s magic?
“Teacher, Isha will work hard,” the little girl nodded seriously, her eyes brimming with a resolve Li De could scarcely imagine.
Li De gave a carefree smile. Suddenly, as if recalling something, he turned to ask Vina.
“Vina, didn’t our Mage Tower recruit an adventurer from the Lost Planes?
Where is he now?”
He hadn’t managed to meet this player last time, and at this moment he was quite interested in seeing him.
He wondered what sort of thrashing those fools had taken from Glory.
Thinking of the forum posts full of tearful complaints about Glory, Li De couldn’t help wanting to laugh.
Those players who’d initially thought themselves second only to heaven and first among men ended up experiencing all the bitterness of the mortal world when they faced the hardcore natives of Glory.
Some had been kidnapped by slavers, some had been robbed, some had been tricked into black-market missions and double-crossed, some had been forced into hard labor without pay, and some had even been sold to brothels…
All manner of misfortune, anything one could imagine, these players had tasted it all.
In the end, the players’ forum had even produced a compilation post cataloguing their tragic experiences, which for a time became the saddest place on the forum.
“He has already passed the assessment and officially become a member of our Crimson Mage Tower. He is currently working in the Magic Factory, processing magical raw materials.”
“Very well, have someone bring him to me. I want to meet him.”
“Yes, my lord.”
---
When Glory’s Light was summoned, he was in the magical materials processing workshop handling the hides of magical beasts.
To craft magic scrolls, one first needed to process the hides of magical beasts, cleaning away impurities such as dried blood, hard bits of flesh, excess fur, and so on.
Once all the obstacles to inscribing magical nodes were removed, the hides would be soaked and rinsed with alchemical solutions infused with mana, ultimately yielding a soft, parchment-like leather.
Only then could the hides be handed over to the apprentices in the magical node inscription department. After the inscription, a formal mage would channel mana into the scroll and seal it. Only upon completion of this step would the scroll be considered successfully produced.
Since Glory’s Light had joined later, he was not yet allowed to work on inscribing magical nodes and could only process hides in the raw materials workshop for the time being.
After working in the Mage Tower for half a year or becoming a formal mage, he would be able to enter the inscription workshop to draw the nodes.
As a player, he was supposed to be free, omnipotent, and triumphant in the game world. Yet here he was, miserably grinding away in a factory.
Every time he thought of this, Glory’s Light was filled with sorrow.
Back on Earth, he was a rich second-generation kid, never lacking food or drink, and he had hardly ever worked. In this life, he was finally experiencing the hardships of factory labor.
It was too difficult.
Magical beast hides were always hard to clean, and the current weather was hot, the smell was foul, and every day when he logged off after work, Glory’s Light would silently swear he would never play this game again.
But after seeing how much worse other players had it on the forums, the next day he would obediently log in again, proclaiming, “This is actually great.”
Because what he was doing now was paradise compared to being captured by slaver squads and sold as a slave, turned into undead by necromancers, or imprisoned and tortured by depraved noblewomen.
He only needed to process a set amount of hides every day, after which he could rest. In addition, the Mage Tower had dedicated mages teaching magic, he received a dozen or so Silver Pucks in monthly wages, and if he processed extra hides, he even got bonuses.
Besides, those apprentice girls in the Mage Tower were really too beautiful.
Glory’s Light was pained yet delighted at the same time. He absolutely loathed this miserable working life, but after finishing his tasks, teasing shy pretty apprentice girls, studying magic, and chatting and bragging with a few NPCs he got along with, he found this life impossible to give up.
It felt like he was back in school, so long as he completed his assignments each day, he could spend the rest of his time hanging out freely with his classmates.
“Glory’s Light, what are you daydreaming about? Did you remember what I just told you?? Lord Li De is the master of the Mage Tower. You must speak to him politely and respectfully.
Even though you are an adventurer from the Lost Planes, you still cannot be disrespectful to Lord Li De. Otherwise, if you’re expelled from the Crimson Mage Tower, no one will be able to plead for you.”
A voice beside him, carrying a trace of gentle earnestness, pulled Glory’s Light out of his thoughts.