Teleportation Technique

When Donald made his breakthrough in the training grounds, every mage within the clubhouse felt the surge of mental energy.

The mages, led by Messer, were both shocked and overjoyed that Donald could promote to a Black Iron Mage in such a short period.

After all, the clubhouse producing a powerful mage meant that the mage faction in North Shire had taken another step forward, which was a good thing for every mage in the region.

"In the name of the Arcane, we pursue truth, and we fear nothing!"

Under Messer's guidance, all the mages present collectively witnessed Donald's official mage rank certification.

"Apprentice Donald Melina, from this day forth, you are officially a member of the great mages. You shall uphold the ancient rules, hold the pursuit of world truth as your highest will, and pass on the glory of the Arcane for eternity!"

"I do. I shall strictly uphold my oath and never betray the convictions of a mage!"

Once he finished speaking, Messer personally pinned the Black Iron Mage badge onto Donald.

The original apprentice badge had been blank in the center, but now, Donald's badge featured an arcane pattern representing the elements and wisdom. Unlike other mages, the background of a summoner's badge was a starry sky, containing a six-pointed star array that represented the connection to other realms.

If Donald could defeat a peak Black Iron Mage while still an apprentice, then now that his abilities have reached the Black Iron level, his strength must be enough to face a Bronze-tier mage head-on.

Every mage present couldn't help but think this to themselves.

The clubhouse producing such talent was the pride of all mages in North Shire, and it made the mage forces of the region even stronger.

One had to realize that rare spellcasting professions like summoners were few and far between even within the entire Kingdom of Selt, and most were below the Bronze rank. Given the talent of a young mage like Donald, it was certain he would at least become a Bronze Mage.

A summoner who reached the Bronze rank would likely be able to trade blows with Silver-tier professionals without falling behind. This meant that North Shire might soon have a spellcaster with Silver-level strength, a magnificent feat not seen in decades.

That evening, the mages held a small but sumptuous celebratory banquet for Donald, the newly promoted mage.

Many mages presented gifts; some were spell incantations, others were alchemy recipes or mage equipment. While none were high-level items, they were exactly what Donald, who lacked a foundation, needed at the moment.

Knowing that Donald already possessed an excellent staff, Messer personally took it upon himself to enchant his apprentice's weapon.

The completed Scepter of Negation was no longer just a piece of gaming equipment capable of casting a single skill; it was now a high-level staff that could truly amplify spell effects and came with two additional spells.

The price Master Messer paid, however, was that he would need to rest for half a month to recover his lost mental energy, and he would be unable to cast those two specific spells for at least half a year.

This was a profound gesture of kindness. While Donald felt grateful to his teacher, he also felt a deep sense of admiration. He had only met this teacher a few times, yet the man had given him such sincere care. Furthermore, for the development of the mage profession and the strength of North Shire and the Kingdom, his teacher spared no effort in helping the mages around him—what a spirit of dedication!

This old mage was far greater than the celebrities and wealthy tycoons of his past life, who had money to burn but only performed superficial acts of charity!

Though Donald himself would not make such selfless sacrifices, it did not stop him from holding such people in high regard.

After the excitement died down, the mages settled their emotions and returned to their respective research and cultivation.

Filled with endless reflection, Donald concluded his trip to Giant Stone City. After bidding farewell to Master Messer, he walked into a secluded, empty alleyway. Imagining the appearance of his home in his mind, a teleportation array made of white light flashed into existence and vanished just as quickly, leaving the alley empty. The only witnesses to this event were a few rats in the dark passage.

The grounds of House Merlinar were piled high with construction materials; it was difficult to even walk outside the house.

His first attempt at the Teleportation spell was a perfect success. The process ended in an instant, and Donald appeared in his backyard without alerting a soul.

"The distance between Red Maple Town and Giant Stone City is less than a hundred kilometers. It seems traveling between the two will be incredibly convenient from now on."

Donald said this in high spirits. Using the mental detection ability he had mastered after promoting to a Black Iron Mage, he discovered his butler was in the kitchen, instructing the woman who served as both servant and cook on how to handle the aristocratic tableware. Beyond that, there were no outsiders within a hundred meters of the estate. Since it was early morning, the nearby residents were just waking up, so he didn't have to worry about being seen.

He thought of his manor in his mind and tried to initiate the Teleportation spell again, but he felt a wave of dizziness, and the spell failed to activate. Seeing this, Donald couldn't help but sigh:

"It seems the data provided by the Book of Truth is indeed very accurate, leaving no loopholes to exploit. The cooldown for the basic Teleportation spell is half an hour to prevent the body from being burdened by continuous use!"

"I'll just wait a while before heading to the manor. These materials should be sent over too! Otherwise, they'll be piled up in the yard, and I might not be able to get through the front door next time I return!"

With that, Donald spent the elemental crystals he had in reserve to increase his spatial storage capacity to thirty cubic meters. He then collected a portion of the construction materials from the yard into his storage and walked through his front door, feeling much lighter.

Having risen early, the butler Code immediately hurried over as soon as he left the kitchen.

"Young Master, you've returned! I shall instruct the kitchen to prepare breakfast immediately."

"Mm," Donald nodded.

"I have already moved the materials that were cluttering the outside. After I finish eating, I will head to the manor. You continue handling the orders for the remaining materials!"

Since the initial phase involved basic construction, Donald hadn't hired outsiders to help. He intended to build the manor on his own.

Code asked with some confusion:

"What about the workers for the manor construction? We cannot gather enough laborers on such short notice, and the design of the manor requires an experienced architect as well!"

The old butler didn't understand, but Donald knew how lucky he was to possess a divine artifact like the Book of Truth. Donald didn't explain, simply revealing his newly changed badge:

"You don't need to worry about that, Uncle Code! The power of a mage can solve everything! I am now an official Black Iron Mage!"

Upon seeing this, Code's confusion vanished, replaced by great joy and a heart full of pride.

"Good! Good! This is wonderful! The Young Master is now an official mage; the rise of House Merlinar is just around the corner!"

Watching the butler's excited and gratified expression, Donald felt happy in his heart as well. Acting this way made it worth living in this world as a replacement for the late Donald!

After enjoying a sumptuous aristocratic breakfast, Donald left home, feeling satisfied. By now, the cooldown for the Teleportation spell had ended. After reaching a secluded spot outside the town, he cast the spell and arrived in front of the wooden hut at the manor awaiting construction.

Releasing the materials he had stored in his spatial mark onto the empty land of the manor, Donald looked at this plot of land that belonged to him, his heart filled with joy.

"Although this manor is close to both Giant Stone City and the Barony of Red Maple, it is currently territory directly under the Royal Family. Therefore, I don't need to pay taxes to those two lords; I only need to pay a symbolic three percent of net profit to the Royal Family annually, according to the Manor Law!"

"However, there are tricks to this. Most manor owners try their best to inflate costs on the books to reduce net profit and save on tax expenses! As long as one doesn't get caught by that tax official, Sir Jesse, it should be fine!"

Donald had learned a thing or two about this through osmosis from the memories of his childhood.

A noble's manor is not a fief, but a fief can replace multiple manors! This sentence perfectly explained the relationship between a noble manor and a fief.

The appearance of manors originally stemmed from a money-making scheme where the state or great lords, lacking funds for various reasons, would fence off a plot of land and sell it to subjects who held high status but lacked their own fiefs. Under the witness of the True Gods of this world, as long as the manor owner did not lose their heir, the royal family or nobility acting as the lord could not reclaim the land.

After many years of development, the existence of manors became more refined, evolving into the exclusive private property of the nobility. However, a manor is not the same as a true fief; a manor lord can only engage in economic development projects such as planting crops or opening workshops, and lacks the authority to conscript subjects or maintain private armies.

The meaning of the previous statement is that a noble with a manor is not necessarily a landed noble, while a landed noble with a fief can carve out as many manors as they wish from their own territory. Of course, except for a very small number of nobles, few would ever choose to divide their land in such a way. Generally, manors are created as rewards bestowed by high-ranking nobles upon knights and retainers loyal to them.

Those in the know, including his butler, found Donald's choice of these two legendary cursed manors to be completely incomprehensible.

However, Donald's soul originated from an era of information explosion, so his perspective was naturally different from that of the merchants and nobles of this world. With great foresight, Donald did not choose to purchase the several fertile manors for sale near Giant Stone City; instead, amidst the looks of fools cast by those in the know, he chose this stretch of wasteland located at the foot of the Green Cloak Forest and Cloud-Rising Mountain.

The reason for this choice was that although the manors near Giant Stone City were fertile and had been well-managed by generations of owners, those places were not only generally expensive but also lacked significant room for development. Although he had thousands of Gold Sol in his possession, to a wealthy local noble like the Baron of Red Maple, that was merely equivalent to one or two years of production from his fief. If he had purchased those high-priced manors, he would have lacked the remaining funds needed for development.

As for this remote wasteland he purchased, it was not only low in cost and vast in area, but its isolated location made it perfectly suited for his own development. As for things like magical beast incursions, if they didn't come, so be it; if they did come, they would only serve to increase the output of his manor.

Although I haven't specifically studied farm and manor management, I have played plenty of simulation and construction games featuring them. With the Book of Truth as an overpowered cheat code, building and managing a manor should be a piece of cake, right?

Looking up at this vast expanse of land, which would be the starting point of his development, Donald walked in high spirits to the location he had previously planned out.

A portion of timber and stone was piled there. Opening the Book of Truth at this spot, Donald selected the summon for the Human Basic Building Unit: Farm.

"Book of Truth, summon a Human Farm for me!"

Because the basic materials had been prepared, the energy required to summon the farm could be reduced by eighty percent compared to summoning it entirely through energy.

As soon as Donald finished speaking, a large expanse of golden light engulfed the materials. After the light flashed, a phantom image of a farm covering twenty acres instantly appeared on the large plot of land to the left of the manor.

A few breaths later, the phantom transformed into a real existence before Donald's excited gaze, and a farm—small by the standards of this world but neatly and reasonably planned—was thus established.