Adrian's Arrival

Hill decided that tomorrow, he would sweep through the entire valley, drive out any threatening Magical Beasts, then seal the valley entrance with stone walls and close off the whole valley.

Liszt appeared at the tower entrance and said to him, "Master, the lifts are finished. The kitchen and warehouse on the first floor have also been completed. Please put in the materials and elemental stones. Also, please set up the alchemy room on the fifth floor. I need to use it to make some tools."

Hill walked inside. Bourne was organizing the warehouse. "My lord Baron, I've already arranged the kitchen. Mother has taken people to prepare the meal."

Hill hesitated before asking, "Should I just toss everything out?"

Bourne gave him an amused look. "I'll discuss how to arrange it with Liszt. The Tower Spirit will clean it up, so it won't take any effort from me."

Hill rubbed his nose, tossed everything out, and headed to the fifth floor. Liszt had made the lift into two elevators. Hill happily pressed the button for the fifth floor. Though he knew Liszt was actually controlling everything, he was still delighted.

When he stepped out of the elevator, Liszt was already waiting with several Alchemical Golems. The entire floor had been divided into two sections: several alchemy laboratories on one side and an alchemy workshop on the other. Hill took out all the alchemy tools and materials his mother had left behind and handed them over to Liszt.

In truth, science and theology became the same at the highest level. Saving effort and trouble was what those in high positions pursued. Assembly-line factories staffed by Alchemical Golems were extremely common in the world of high-ranking Mages.

Mage and Sorcerer were both lonely professions. Other than low-ranking Mages who wanted to save money and recruited large numbers of cheap Mage apprentices, true Archmages only accepted a few gifted apprentices. In the Mage world, anything that could be solved with money was always the simplest matter. After all, intelligent and capable people would never be destitute wherever they went. But before becoming an Archmage, it was perfectly normal to make money by taking on apprentices. Although Mage was a profitable profession, becoming stronger also required burning through money.

Hill had always felt that he was rather fortunate. For a transmigrator, having shallow family ties was not much of a pain. In this slave-owning, fantasy version of the Middle Ages, being able to live such a happy life was already enough to satisfy him.

Hill turned and went up to the top floor to admire the view. Following Hill's wishes, this floor had three evenly spaced floor-to-ceiling windows, each ten meters long. Liszt had already fitted them with transparent crystal panes, double sliding windows paired with wide window seats. Hill stood before the window, looking out at the scenery, and his heart gradually settled.

From now on, this would be his home.

Autumn passed and spring came. Hill's Mage Tower was finally complete.

Hill's territory had also begun to take shape. The Earth Elementals had shaped the outer sides of the three mountain ranges into smooth, sheer cliffs, while three gates had been built at the valley entrance. There were more than twenty Water Elementals in the river, surging back and forth along its course every day. Though most Wood Elementals only stayed in the Elf Forest, several that had often answered Hill's summons in the past remained behind. They awakened the few ancient giant trees in the valley into Treants.

A vast botanical garden spanning several thousand square meters had been built outside the Mage Tower, where the Treants and Wood Elementals lived. With the help of the Treants and Alchemical Golems, Locke led several male servants in establishing two farms outside the botanical garden. Hundreds of mu of wheat had already sprouted tender green shoots. Bourne had people catch wild chickens and ducks, then domesticate a herd of cattle and sheep. The six male servants lived separately across the two farms. Lina had specifically selected these servants: honest, hardworking, obedient, and not particularly bright. Having a Mage as their master was enough to intimidate them, and the tall stone houses Hill provided were more than generous. He even allowed them to marry female servants.

To them, this was a dreamlike life. They worked hard every day, terrified that their master might sell them off again. Two of the six maidservants were so clumsy that they had been sent to the farms to cook and clean. Of the remaining four, two became cooks while the other two cleaned and washed clothes.

Hill handed most of the matters around him over to Liszt. Bourne's talent was quite ordinary; if he wanted to become a Mage, he would need to work hard. Thus, he began spending every day copying spellbooks.

Unlike Bourne, his younger brother and sister had no talent for magic at all. Hill also possessed methods for training Knights, so he handed them over to Lina. They could only seize their own futures. If they could not become professionals, they would have no choice but to take over their parents' roles as head manservant and head maidservant.

During this period, Hill immersed himself in spell training every day and scarcely left the Mage Tower. Now that spring had arrived and flowers were blooming, it was another new year. Hill felt that Falan should already know where he had gone. He planned to fly directly to Border City to see whether anyone had come, and also check what had been happening in Salar lately.

He covered the five hundred kilometers in four hours with a flying spell. Hill felt that flying was indeed wonderful, and fast enough as well, but it was too exhausting and could only be used personally. Space in this world was extremely stable. Things like Teleportation Gates and teleportation arrays did not exist at all. Alchemy arrays could at most transmit some messages, and only from one fixed point to another. If people wanted to communicate, they still basically had to rely on messengers.

Hill had no idea how vast this world was, or even whether the heavens were round and the earth flat. The Starry Sky was beautiful, but the brightest stars were reflections of the Divine Realms of the Gods. With all the major elements present in the air, it was impossible for things like telegraphs or televisions to appear in this world. Everything could only be solved through magic and divine power. Ordinary people might never know about the world outside in their entire lives, leaving all their fates in the hands of lords and Gods.

So Hill only wanted to live in seclusion. No normal modern person could live peacefully in a medieval society. In a fantasy society, ordinary people without power were truly lambs. And if one did not want to cross one's moral bottom line or join a temple, the only choice was to avoid dealing with people as much as possible.

As expected, Falan had sent someone to wait for him. The moment Hill landed, Falan's disciple Adrian called out to him. Hill was very happy to see him. "Uncle Adrian, long time no see!"

This was Falan's fifth disciple, who had once been responsible for delivering things between Melanie and Falan. When Melanie died, Falan had also brought him along to handle the aftermath. Falan's other disciples had all completed their studies. Keeping Adrian by his side meant that Falan would not accept any more disciples, and Adrian would become his heir.

Adrian was deeply grateful to his teacher and had always treated Melanie and Hill well. He was decisive and steady by nature, and Hill got along well with him. Adrian was also the second son of a noble family. Every time he visited Hill, he would teach him and bring him the latest scholarly books from the capital.

When he saw Melanie obsessing over alchemy, he had also tried to persuade her to pay more attention to her child. Unfortunately, it had been useless. If Melanie had been someone who listened, Falan would not have lost his heir back then and let Adrian benefit instead.

Melanie's attitude toward Adrian had not been very good. Only after she had been seduced by the Count and given up following in her father's footsteps did Falan accept Adrian as his last disciple.

She knew that her soft-heartedness had caused it all. Falan abruptly drove away all his other disciples before taking Adrian in, which practically represented her own foolishness. But she still could not stand Adrian.

Even so, Adrian had responsibly taught Hill. He had never brought Hill any things that would distract him from his ambitions. No matter what, he counted as a good person.

"Long time no see, little Hill!" Adrian said with a smiling face. "Take me to see your Mage Tower!"

Hill froze for a moment. Was there something that could only be discussed inside the Mage Tower? "Of course, Uncle Adrian. It isn't far."

"Let's hurry on our way! It's getting late!" Adrian grabbed Hill and flew straight into the air.

Hill was utterly astonished! He could only suppress his burning curiosity and point out the way.

Adrian was already an Archmage, far faster than Hill. They reached Hill's territory in just two hours. Flying high above the triangular valley, he found it quite satisfactory. If magic arrays were carved into those sheer cliffs, it might be even more reliable than the Great Wall at the border.

When they landed in the woodland garden beside the Mage Tower and Adrian saw Wood Elementals flying around several wandering Treants, he was even more delighted. "Even Teacher's Mage Tower doesn't have Wood Elemental Spirits! Now we don't have to worry about a Beast Tide targeting your territory!"

Hill looked at Adrian with a headache and quickly dragged him into the tower, returning to the top floor. Bourne had already prepared dinner and was waiting there.

Adrian looked at Hill and said, "It seems I'm not the only one with a great many things to say."

Hill spoke slowly. "Let's have a proper meal first. There are many things to discuss, but none of them are urgent."

"All right, little Hill. You can take your time finding the words."

After dinner, the two went to Hill's small study. Bourne poured tea for them both. Seeing that they were clearly preparing for a long talk, Adrian sat down on the sofa with a composed smile.

"Uncle Adrian, I'm a Sorcerer!"

"Huh?" Adrian nearly jumped to his feet.

"Yes. I have Earth Bear blood, aligned with earth, wood, and water, and it leans toward support and summoning!"

Adrian was nearly speechless. After a moment of silence, he said, "There has always been a rumor that Earth Bears are fond of Druids. House Fran has always had human blood and has never produced a Sorcerer. But your grandmother's family seems to have Elven blood."

Falan had been born a minor noble, yet his talent was exceptionally outstanding. He became an Archmage at a very young age. To avoid trouble, he traveled everywhere for a time. The result of a romantic encounter with a certain lady was Melanie. That lady dumped the child on him and left without a backward glance.

With no other choice, Falan returned to Salar and became a court Mage. Many believed that he would certainly become a Magus, perhaps even a Legendary. A court Archmage had to train some noble Mages for the royal family, so Falan accepted several disciples who had been arranged for him.

Although those disciples occasionally fought among themselves, Falan had not cared much. After all, an Archmage could live for three hundred years, while a Magus could live for eight hundred. These disciples were merely temporary arrangements; he could wait for a disciple who truly satisfied him. But Melanie grew up. She was gifted, intelligent, and beautiful, becoming the center of the disciples' struggles.

Many court nobles became entangled in that conflict. In the end, Count Perast was the one who benefited after inserting himself into the matter. When Falan realized that his neglect had turned Melanie into a foolish woman who yearned only for love, he drove all those disciples away. After accepting Adrian, he never took another disciple.

Hill quickly folded away the little wings of his imagination. "Forget it. Let's leave it at that! We'll talk about the future when it comes!"

Adrian did not want to speak either. Bourne swiftly left the room.

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