Terrible Talent

In the courtyard enclosed by a fence, an elf maiden in a light green dress was patiently teaching four children. The maiden had a sweet and lovely smile, with a near-perfect figure. Especially her long, slender, and straight legs beneath her skirt were a gift from the creator, firm and shapely, stirring an inexplicable impulse in Roland's heart.

"Calm, calm, calm!" Roland chanted a mantra inwardly, suppressing the unbidden fire, before pushing open the courtyard gate and entering.

Upon seeing Roland, Alice smiled brightly and slowly closed the Meditation Method she was holding, obediently waiting for Roland's instructions.

"How have things been recently?" Roland, for his own well-being, decided to avoid Alice's gaze and turned to ask the four children in the courtyard.

"Master, we've disappointed you. We still haven't succeeded in practicing the Meditation Method," said a girl of about fourteen or fifteen, looking very guilty and uneasy upon hearing Roland's question.

"As a Mage, patience and confidence are paramount."

"I have the patience to wait for you to succeed in practicing the Meditation Method, and I have the confidence to see the moment you become Mages."

"Do you?"

Roland's rhetorical question echoed in the wooden house's courtyard, bringing a deep sense of emotion to the faces of the four children.

The four of them solemnly stood up and knelt before Roland, saying loudly, "Master, we do. We will absolutely become Mages."

"Good, keep up the effort," Roland said, raising his hand to signal the four to rise.

He had spent over a hundred gold coins on these four children. Naturally, he had plenty of patience. Moreover, he didn't lack ordinary slaves at the moment; what he lacked were Mages, who represented power.

Upon hearing the commotion in the courtyard, the eight children inside, including Ryan, also came out.

When they saw Roland, their eyes lit up, and they quickly approached him, bowing respectfully.

"Greetings, Young Master."

The moment they became Mages, Roland had directly torn up their slave transaction certificates. Therefore, they were now free citizens, the first batch of free citizens on Rising Light Island.

"Rise."

At Roland's command, the eight rose, but their eyes still held a fervent gaze towards Roland.

Roland had not only given them freedom and dignity but also the power to control their own destinies.

So, the moment they became Mages, their reverence and loyalty towards Roland reached their peak.

"Ryan, what spells have you learned recently?" Roland asked with a smile, feeling satisfied with their gazes.

"Reporting, Young Master, I've mastered Water Manipulation these past few days," Ryan replied excitedly and proudly.

Ryan's answer brought a hint of envy to the faces of the other children.

As the first among them to successfully practice the Meditation Method, Ryan, with Roland's support, was not only about to become a Level 2 Mage but had also mastered two spells, making him the strongest among the twelve.

"Very good. It seems you have a high talent for elemental arrangement and combination," Roland praised, clearly very pleased with Ryan's performance.

Elemental arrangement and combination are the foundation of spells and the basic qualities of a Mage.

Because any spell is composed of countless elements, understanding how to combine elements into a spell is knowledge that all Mages must master.

In just over a month, Ryan had mastered two spells, demonstrating his high talent in elemental arrangement and combination. Although this talent was far less important than Mage talent, it meant that Ryan would learn spells more efficiently in the future. This advantage would not only save him a lot of time but also allow him to cast more powerful spells.

Facing Roland's praise, Ryan was overjoyed, his face beaming. However, he did not become complacent and still said respectfully, "Young Master, today's Ryan is all thanks to your grace. Ryan will never forget it."

"I hope you won't forget what you've said today in the future," Roland said meaningfully, patting Ryan's shoulder.

Roland's reply caused Ryan's smile to vanish, and he quickly knelt on the ground.

"I swear by the great Lord of Dawn that I will forever be loyal to you. If I go against this, my soul will sink into the boundless abyss, and I will be burned by the fires of hell for eternity."

Seeing this, Roland nodded gently. On the Saint Nor Continent, deities were sacred and inviolable to any human, especially the common folk. Once they swore in the name of a deity, they rarely broke their oaths.

However, Ryan had now become a Mage. As he continued to explore the path of truth, his faith in deities would weaken. Roland was unsure how effective this oath would be for him in the future.

Therefore, Roland couldn't fully trust it. He still needed various means to deepen Ryan and the others' loyalty to him, ensuring that betrayal would not occur.

"Rise, I believe in your loyalty," Roland said with feigned emotion, seemingly touched by Ryan's oath.

This scene made the rising Ryan even more excited, his lips trembling as if he wanted to express his loyalty further.

In the following time, Roland, increasingly appreciative of Ryan, seemed to overlook the others and continued to impart spell knowledge and insights to Ryan, greatly benefiting him.

However, this scene, when observed by the other eleven children, brought a hint of jealousy to their faces, their gazes casting dark shadows on Ryan.

Roland seemed completely unaware of this situation and instead treated Ryan with growing favor.

After the teaching session concluded, Roland left directly amidst their somewhat disappointed gazes, without saying much to the other eleven children.

As Roland departed, the atmosphere in the courtyard gradually became somewhat strange. Roland's excessive favoritism towards Ryan had significantly fueled the jealousy in the hearts of the other eleven children, creating a subtle rift between the once-harmonious children.

This outcome was clearly intentional on Roland's part. Under Roland's tutelage, these twelve children would inevitably become the most powerful force in the territory. If they were harmonious and united, how could Roland feel at ease? Therefore, dividing them was something Roland had to do.

Returning to his wooden house, Roland immediately began his potion-crafting work for the day.

However, he stopped after crafting only one Tier 4 Spirit Agility Potion.

Since eight of the twelve children, including Ryan, had now succeeded in practicing the Meditation Method and become Mages, Roland had to craft three Tier 1 Spirit Agility Potions and three Tier 1 Element Resonance Potions daily.

Without the aid of potions, their cultivation speed would be incredibly slow, given their Mage talents.

After Ryan successfully practiced the Meditation Method, Roland had personally tested Ryan's meditation effect without potions. It was simply dismal.

Without potions, Roland's meditation could increase his Mental Power and Mana by 0.003 points per session. However, Ryan's meditation effect was ten times worse than Roland's, increasing his Mental Power and Mana by only 0.0003 points per session.

To reach the standard of a Level 2 Mage with 2 points of Mental Power, Ryan would need ten years without potion support.

After getting this result, Roland finally understood why in ancient times on the Saint Nor Continent, inferior mage talents weren't classified as mage talents.

There was basically no difference between having this talent or not. Even if one became a mage, without the help of potions, they would never break through to become an Intermediate Mage in their lifetime.

Spending thirty years to cultivate a Level 3 Mage?

As long as they weren't completely brain-dead, no Noble would choose such a method to increase their strength.

Not to mention the need to hire a mage for talent testing, such an expensive cost was also the reason why commoners with inferior mage talents had almost no chance of success.

However, this was not a difficult task for Roland. With his current near-perfect success rate in refining low-level potions.

The cost of cultivating a mage with inferior talent to break through to Intermediate Mage was far less than for others.

Based on the effects of the potions Ryan had taken during this period, with a sufficient supply of potions, Ryan would break through to Level 2 Mage within three months, Level 3 Mage within six months, and become an Intermediate Mage within two years.

Roland, on the other hand, would need to provide sixty bottles of Tier 1 Spirit Agility and Resonance Potions, one hundred and twenty bottles of Tier 2 Potions, and three hundred bottles of Tier 3 Potions.

This number seemed quite eye-catching. Such a large quantity of potions would be worth nearly five to six thousand gold coins.

But for Roland, these potions would only cost a little over a thousand gold coins, which was the cost of the materials.

Cultivating an Intermediate Mage for five to six thousand gold coins would be an incredibly unprofitable business for any Noble. However, if an Intermediate Mage could be cultivated for a little over a thousand gold coins, then many Nobles would likely be willing to try this deal.

An Intermediate Mage, even if only Level 4, was fundamentally different from a low-level mage. Not only was their spell power several times stronger, but many magical jobs also required the strength of an Intermediate Mage to be held.

The difference could also be seen in the income of mages. The monthly salary of a low-level mage was roughly between eight to fifteen gold coins, but an Intermediate Mage's income was at least three times higher.

Spending a little over a thousand gold coins to cultivate an Intermediate Mage who could earn over three hundred gold coins annually was a calculation any Noble could make.

Moreover, for Roland, it was an extremely worthwhile deal. It not only allowed him to use up the potions he was hesitant to sell but also allowed him to cultivate a powerful mage corps.

In the laboratory, after refining a bottle of Tier 4 Spirit Agility Potion, Roland had eight points of Mental Power remaining, enough to refine six bottles of Tier 1 Potions.

During these two months, although Roland had not purchased materials for refining Level 5 potions on a large scale, he had still purchased twenty sets from Leslie under the pretense of practicing during their two transactions.

He had refined seven bottles of Tier 5 Spirit Agility Potions and six bottles of Tier 5 Fire Element Resonance Potions.

After consuming them, Roland's Mental Power and Mana both reached 9.8, just one step away from the ten points of Mental Power required for a Level 6 Mage.

Although Roland also wanted to quickly break through to Level 6 Mage, only four months had passed since he broke through to Level 5 Mage.

This speed was too fast, so Roland had currently stopped taking potions and was relying solely on meditation to increase his Mental Power and Mana.