Mage Seda's Legacy

"Gao De, Gao De, Gao De..." In his daze, Gao De heard urgent, concerned calls.

But he had no strength to open his eyes and respond.

After an unknown amount of time, warmth welled up from deep within his body, swiftly flowing through every part of him and jolting him awake from his coma.

Gao De abruptly opened his eyes and warily scanned his surroundings.

A dim, cramped room.

A faint ray of light filtered in through a tiny vent high on the room's south wall.

It was a familiar sight.

A month ago, when he had first arrived in this world, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes had been much the same.

Gao De instantly realized where he was.

He was in his own narrow, cramped little bedroom.

"Gao De, you're finally awake!" Emil, who was sitting by the bed, noticed at once that Gao De had awakened and hurried over in delighted surprise.

Having just woken up, Gao De felt weak and utterly drained.

Looking closely, he discovered that strips of cloth had been wrapped around various parts of his body. A cool sensation emanated from within the wrappings; they must have contained some medicinal herbs.

Gao De steadied himself and recalled everything that had happened before he lost consciousness.

"Mage Seda is dead?" he asked, seeking confirmation once more.

"Yes, he's dead!" Emil was almost crying with joy as he exclaimed excitedly, "Gao De, you were incredible! How did you do it?"

Gao De did not answer Emil's question. Instead, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

The great enemy in his heart, that Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, had finally vanished.

The tension Gao De had carried for an entire month finally melted away.

"How long was I unconscious this time?" He opened his eyes and looked at Emil.

"One day." Emil held up one finger. "After the explosion in Mage Seda's room yesterday, I worked up the courage to go investigate. I found you and Mage Seda lying together, both covered in injuries. You were gripping a bloodstained weapon, while Mage Seda was already dead."

As he spoke, Emil nodded toward the wooden table nearby.

Resting atop it was the Veilmist Fang, the "murder weapon," now washed clean of blood.

"So I hurriedly carried you back to the room and gave you some simple bandaging with herbs from the medicinal garden."

At that, Emil said gratefully, "Mage Seda was already dead, so no one would cause trouble for me over using his herbs."

"Thank you," Gao De said earnestly to Emil.

If Emil had not found him in time and treated his wounds, he would not have awakened so quickly.

"I should be thanking you! You killed Mage Seda—you're the lifesaving benefactor of all of us!" Emil could not help saying.

"I did it to save myself. Saving you all was only incidental."

Gao De did not claim this credit, not out of nobility or false modesty, but because he did not particularly need Emil's gratitude.

He smiled at Emil. "Mage Seda is dead. You're free now."

Yet upon hearing this, Emil did not become ecstatically overjoyed as Gao De had expected. Instead, he looked awkward, as though he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to do so.

"If you have something to say, just say it." Gao De saw through Emil's hesitation.

Emil bit his lip and shouted toward the door, "Gao De is awake!"

At Emil's words, the room's door was immediately pushed open.

The six remaining apprentices from the medicinal garden had all been waiting outside. They now crowded in, packing the already cramped room so tightly that not even water could seep through.

Everyone, Emil included, suddenly dropped to one knee before Gao De's bed with a rustle.

"What does this mean?"

Gao De stared wide-eyed at them, bewildered and unable to understand what was happening.

They looked at one another, and in the end, Emil—Gao De's "roommate" of many years—came forward as their representative.

After all, in theory, his relationship with Gao De was the closest.

"Mage Seda is dead, but the medicinal garden remains, and we have grown accustomed to working there."

Emil said earnestly and sincerely, "We understand that although we have been Mage Seda's apprentices for a long time, we never actually learned much. With what little ability we have, once we leave the medicinal garden, even filling our bellies would be difficult."

"We want the medicinal garden to continue operating."

"Without Mage Seda, it certainly will not be easy to keep it running, but it isn't impossible either."

"You killed Mage Seda, and you can independently brew Novice Spider Venom. Since that is the case, why not replace Mage Seda and inherit his medicinal garden? We will do our utmost to work for you."

"Other than changing masters, everything in our medicinal garden will remain the same." Emil finished his thoughts in one breath, then fell silent, waiting nervously for Gao De's answer.

A new master of the medicinal garden needed, first, the ability to command respect, and second, a certain level of attainment in Herbology, so that the garden could continue operating.

Among the fewer than ten apprentices in the entire medicinal garden, Gao De—the only one who had successfully "slain his master"—alone met both conditions.

Caught completely off guard by Emil's proposal, Gao De could not help sinking into thought.

To be honest, before this, he had never considered what would happen after killing Mage Seda.

To the Gao De of that time, such thoughts had been aiming too high and were utterly impractical.

But now that it was done, he truly needed to carefully consider his next arrangements.

And it had to be said that although Emil and the apprentices' proposal had taken him by surprise, it genuinely tempted him.

To grow into a powerful mage, resources unquestionably came first.

Learning spells cost money, cultivation cost money, and food, clothing, shelter, and travel all cost money as well.

In short, nothing could be done without money.

For him at present, the medicinal garden was the greatest means of making money that he could control.

After Mage Seda's many years of management, the medicinal garden's entire business model had already been perfected.

As long as it continued running according to its previous model, it could generate income without end.

Gao De needed this medicinal garden to earn the resources required for a mage's cultivation.

The other apprentices in the medicinal garden also needed Gao De to ensure that it could continue operating according to its previous model.

Therefore, if Gao De accepted Emil's proposal, it would be a win-win situation for both sides.

Thinking it through, there was no reason to reject the proposal.

"Fine." Gao De gave a slight nod and decisively made his choice.

"Greetings, Garden Master." Upon hearing his affirmative answer, the apprentices kneeling on the ground all looked overjoyed. After exchanging glances, they spoke in unison the next moment.

Emil seized the opportunity to take a box from his robe and present it to Gao De with both hands.

It was a box meticulously carved from some unknown wood.

Its lid was engraved with intricate runes and patterns symbolizing magical elements.

These patterns were clearly more than mere decoration; they represented magical power.

"What is this?"

"Mage Seda's room was reduced to ruins by the explosion. We searched through the rubble for a long time. Most of the things in the room were destroyed, but this box was the only thing left completely intact."

"Both the rune patterns carved on its lid and the fact that it remained undamaged through such a terrifying explosion prove that this box should be a Mystic Item."

"And whatever Mage Seda considered important enough to place inside this box must have been what he treasured most."

"However, no matter what I tried, I couldn't open it."

"You are the Garden Master now. Aside from the medicinal garden, Mage Seda's other belongings should rightfully become your property as well," Emil said respectfully as he looked at Gao De.