Chapter 468 – The Rogue Mage’s Twisted Logic

Chapter 468 – The Rogue Mage’s Twisted Logic

“Congratulations, ma’am! To have become an Advanced mage at such a young age!”

Mo Lan — who had taken an aging potion, making her actual age eighteen but her apparent physical age thirty — gave a restrained, modest nod and summoned the confidence befitting a rogue mage who had taken the unorthodox path:

“If you find the right path, you too could have a day like this!”

“Oh? What do you mean by that?” Goebel listened intently. There seemed to be something worth learning here. Could there really be some secret technique? They had only just met by chance, and she was already going to share it with him? He was wrong — this esteemed mage lady wasn’t stingy at all. She was simply too generous!

Mo Lan smiled without speaking, merely extending a single finger.

Goebel saw that familiar finger and his heart skipped a beat: “T-ten… ten Magic Gold Coins?”

He was wrong again. This was still the same stingy, money-obsessed rogue mage.

The journey to the Duchy of Lance had been long, and he’d had to hire guards along the way. He had already spent most of his money, and now the total sum on his person was no more and no less than exactly ten Magic Gold Coins.

The other mages were even worse off — not a single one of them had any Magic Gold Coins left. They had all borrowed from him to chip in their share.

This money was supposed to be used to hire her to escort them through the Colorado Mountain Range. There was no second fund to draw from.

Unless he sold his magic carriage — but that was his prized vehicle, custom-built by an alchemist at great expense. The interior was fully bespoke, understated yet luxurious, and it was the sole reason the journey had been so comfortable.

But an Advanced mage’s magical experience was also incredibly valuable. Normally, such knowledge was only passed down to one’s own students — it couldn’t be bought at any price.

His own Instructor was merely an Intermediate mage and couldn’t teach him much beyond what he already knew. His own talent was mediocre, so finding a better Instructor was out of the question.

Ten Magic Gold Coins was actually quite reasonable.

Mo Lan shook her head: “Rock-bottom price — one Magic Gold Coin, and I’ll share all my magic learning experience with you!”

She hadn’t been using mind-reading magic for nothing. She knew exactly how much money this mage had in his purse.

Sharing experience was secondary. The main objective was to use this opportunity to emphasize that she had taken a wrong path. He shouldn’t overestimate her just because the magic she had just demonstrated seemed a bit impressive!

She didn’t need excessive attention! It would be too easy to blow her cover! Besides, all this “magical experience” was stuff she was making up on the spot. She didn’t even know if any of it was true.

“One Magic Gold Coin?” Goebel’s breathing grew ragged.

Heavens! That was absurdly cheap! He was wrong yet again — what a generous mage lady!

“Um, may I listen in as well? I’ll also pay a Magic Gold Coin!” Even the testing officer was tempted.

“Of course! This path needs more practitioners. Everyone has potential!” Mo Lan said with a perfectly straight face.

Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph — who actually knew what Mo Lan’s “magical experience” really amounted to — silently stared down at the tips of their shoes, terrified that if they looked up, someone might notice something amiss.

Goebel, moved by her generosity, produced a large coin purse:

“There are seven Magic Gold Coins and 480 standard ordinary gold coins in here. Please count them. In addition to the fee for hearing your magical experience, my companions and I also wish to travel with you through the Colorado Mountain Range to Lance City. We’ll be in your care.”

Lilith took the coin purse and began counting. She finished quickly: “Instructor, it’s all here.”

He was so straightforward that Mo Lan actually felt a little guilty about deceiving him: “Rest assured, I guarantee I’ll get every one of you through the Colorado Mountain Range alive!”

The testing officer also handed over his payment: “Please follow me, ma’am. Let’s talk in the lounge next door.”

In the lounge, Mo Lan sat on a sofa while the testing officer and Goebel stood respectfully before her, wearing expressions of earnest attention.

Mo Lan cleared her throat and launched into her grand lecture.

How the ancient mages had it right all along. How the universal meditation technique was the most suitable for mages and the one best able to unlock a mage’s full potential!

How the elemental meditation technique’s elemental force characteristics were too heavy, causing a mage’s psychic power to become contaminated by elemental force, thereby limiting the development potential of their psychic power!

How only by persisting with the universal meditation technique and maintaining the purity of one’s psychic power could one travel further along the path of magic!

How every school of magic had its own unique merits that could produce synergistic effects with the universal meditation technique!

…

Mo Lan had thoroughly studied the entire collection of 《Unsolved Mysteries of Witches》, and she was well-versed in how to make conjecture sound like established fact.

For a while, Goebel and the testing officer were genuinely taken in.

But upon careful reflection — wait, something was off!

Why were elemental meditation techniques more popular nowadays? Precisely because many people didn’t have sufficient elemental affinity, and their psychic power potential was mediocre at best.

Without surpassing the Peak level, one’s lifespan was a mere century. Everyone was racing against time, trying to advance their rank as quickly as possible.

It wasn’t that nobody practiced universal meditation techniques — rather, those who did were either rogue mages who couldn’t find any other meditation technique, or those whose elemental affinity was so extraordinarily high that they didn’t need the boost from an elemental meditation technique.

Given the display of power Mo Lan had shown earlier, the two of them still hadn’t suspected that she was spouting complete nonsense. They merely voiced their doubts cautiously.

“That comes down to personal choice. Those who choose shortcuts will always pay the price eventually.

I would rather walk the correct path from the very beginning, even if it means going slower.

And I believe that as long as you maintain the purity of your psychic power, once you can control a sufficient quantity of it, a quantitative change will produce a qualitative transformation, compensating for any lack of elemental affinity.”

Mo Lan finished with an expression of unwavering conviction, then stood up: “That’s all I have to say! Meet me at the town center square after noon. We depart then — I won’t wait for stragglers!”

With that, she strode out of the room.

Goebel and the testing officer: “…”

Damn it! They’d been swindled!

She had gone down the wrong path and was actually proud of it! No wonder she seemed to have decent talent yet was still a rogue mage — turns out there was something wrong with her head. What a waste of such good natural ability!

But twisted as her path was, it had still allowed her to master powerful Advanced magic.

The gap between Advanced magic and Intermediate magic was as vast as a chasm.

Thinking back to that venomous thorn vine that had punched right through the ceiling of the magic testing hall, the two of them could only swallow their losses. They didn’t even have the courage to call Mo Lan back and argue with her.

Goebel ranted furiously in his mind: “I was wrong again and again — she’s not just stingy and greedy, she’s a fraud!”

Mo Lan walked straight to the magic carriage parked outside the Administrative Center and gave instructions to her “Apprentices”:

“Go to the market and buy some grain and spices. We’ll cook our own meals on the road.”

Lilith and the others recalled the nightmare that had been yesterday’s dining experience and readily agreed with her decision.

They drove the carriage to the market to make their purchases.

All manner of shelf-stable provisions and spices were loaded onto the carriage.

For lunch, they ate in the carriage, using prepared Food Cards.

After finishing, they headed for the town center square.

Given their established personas, there was absolutely no way they would stay an extra day in Green Forest Town and pay for another night at the inn.