Under Hudson's skillful mediation, a military alliance was swiftly formed. His drinking and feasting companions suddenly became "one of their own," and the atmosphere at the banquet was once again pushed to its peak.
Watching everyone celebrate wildly, Hudson, though all smiles, secretly shook his head.
This was probably the most haphazard military alliance in the world. No one had agreed upon any rights or obligations; they had simply declared themselves allied.
How much use it would be depended entirely on everyone's integrity. Whether they could be relied upon on the battlefield, Hudson had no confidence at all.
Perhaps when their interests aligned, they could barely be considered an alliance. But once a conflict of interests arose, they would fall apart in an instant.
Even so, Hudson still felt that this alliance was valuable. At the very least, it solved the problem of people slacking off and padding the numbers.
As long as Count Pierce was not a fool, he would not investigate too deeply. After all, rules had always been meant to restrain the weak.
More than thirty knights and several thousand soldiers were no minor force in the entire Southeast Province. If they continued the noble tradition of sticking together, they could recruit more people along the way.
Although such a loose alliance had little combat power, it was good at intimidating people! Especially for the upper rulers, who had to consider not only the alliance's apparent strength, but also the influence of the families behind all those nobles.
Just as Hudson was considering what to do next, Knight Chels suddenly walked over.
"Little Hudson, you seem to have something on your mind?"
It was clear that he was in quite a good mood. He even had the leisure to care about such minor details.
"Uncle Chels, I also enjoy researching magic, but I lack the materials. So I wanted to trade with you for some Magic Cores or Magic Crystal Stones."
Hudson took the opportunity to say so.
On the Aslant Continent, Magic Cores and Magic Crystal Stones were both hard currency, more useful than any gold or Silver Coins.
After all, the gold and silver coins issued by different nations came in different standards. Some powerful great nobles even minted their own coins, and their value often depended on the conscience of whoever minted them.
When settling international trade, currency conversion was exceedingly difficult. For many large transactions, people preferred to use Magic Crystal Stones or Magic Cores, whose values were more stable.
Coupled with the role of Magic Crystal Stones and Magic Cores in warfare, as well as their special uses for mages, alchemists, and other professions, the two rarely circulated on the market.
At first, Hudson had thought he could buy them as long as he had money. Once he learned the truth, he decisively gave up.
Influenced by many factors, even when they occasionally appeared on the market, they were usually sold at astronomical prices, with pitifully low value for money. To obtain them on a large scale, one could only rely on private dealings through connections.
As far as Hudson knew, the price at which the Mage Association obtained these two strategic resources from the kingdom was only one-third of the retail market price.
Nobles also had quotas that allowed them to exchange for them, but only after becoming mages. Under such circumstances, even if ordinary minor nobles had some in their collections, the quantities certainly would not be large, and they would not trade them unless necessary.
This Knight Chels before him conducted magical research every day and had even developed so much useless magical technology. He certainly could not be lacking in these two things.
Most importantly, Knight Chels was currently short of money. Since he had even put his magical technology up for sale, the Magic Cores and crystal stones that powered it could naturally be traded as well.
"Hudson, you're still young. Listen to your uncle's advice: don't follow me in tinkering with all this messy stuff.
"Magical research is a bottomless pit. No amount of family wealth is enough to pour into it. Unless you possess exceptional magical talent, don't waste your time and money on it."
Chels spoke earnestly.
It was clear that he meant every word. Having personally stepped into the trap that was magical research, Chels truly did not want to see Hudson follow in his footsteps.
At the mention of "magical talent," Hudson had a sudden idea and silently calculated: perhaps he should work to become a mage.
Both required burning money. When a knight conducted magical research, it was neglecting his proper duties. But when a mage did it, it was perfectly reasonable.
Unfortunately, Hudson had never come into contact with magic, much less used it. He glanced at Chels, and an idea immediately came to him.
Just because he did not possess a mage's cultivation method did not mean the man before him lacked one. The pile of Magic Items in the hall alone showed that Knight Chels certainly did not lack theoretical knowledge in this area.
"Uncle Chels, you should know how to test magical talent. Could you test mine?"
Hudson asked tentatively.
To figure out how to use his golden finger, he was going all out. He had just done Knight Chels a great favor, so this was the best opportunity to make his request.
Perhaps because he saw Hudson's determination, or perhaps because testing talent alone did not take much effort, Knight Chels nodded.
"Testing magical talent is very simple. You only need to place a Magic Crystal Stone with no obvious attribute in your hand, then use your mental power to absorb the magic power within it.
"As long as you possess magical talent, the magic power in the crystal will slowly flow into your body. The speed at which it flows in determines the quality of your talent.
"Of course, this testing method is not completely accurate. There may be some margin of error, and it cannot determine your specific talent attribute.
"If you want to accurately test someone's magical talent, you still need to go to the Mage Association. The procedure is simple as well: just pay a testing fee of one hundred gold coins.
"If your talent is decent and you are accepted by the Mage Association, the testing fee can be waived. Of course, that only applies to children.
"Mages must be trained from childhood. Once someone is over fifteen, the Mage Association no longer accepts them. Unless you can teach yourself to become a mage, you cannot obtain certification."
After speaking, Chels saw that Hudson still remained unmoved and let out a deep sigh. In Hudson, he saw the image of his younger self—the same persistence and confidence.
But magical cultivation ultimately depended on talent. Ninety-five percent of people simply did not possess the talent to practice magic.
In the entire Alpha Kingdom, there were fewer than five hundred registered mages, and half of them were Magic Apprentices.
Of course, this was also related to the way talent was screened. The exorbitant testing fee directly shut out the numerous commoners.
If universal talent testing were conducted, then in less than ten years, the number of mages in the kingdom would likely gain another zero.
Of course, that was impossible. Neither the king nor the noble class would allow extraordinary power to spread freely among the lower classes.
Besides, given the number of mages in the kingdom, even if they wanted to conduct universal talent testing, they would not be able to keep up.
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