Chapter 205: Advice
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Do you think I have a lot of free time like you?” Quick, don’t dilly-dally. I still have things to do after smacking you…”
“Sure, let’s go. Do you think I’m afraid of you…” Lin Li muttered, and walked through the long corridor. While they walked, Lin Li reminded Macklin about finding a place for Kevin.
“Accommodation? That’s easy. I’ll have them settle it later,” Macklin promised Lin Li without further thought. Since the Guild of Magic was so huge, finding accommodation was nothing to him. Even if 10 Kevins needed a place, he would be able to fit them in the guild, not to say one Kevin.
“Then let me thank you in Kevin’s stead.”
“Cut the crap!” The old man was not convinced by him. “Don’t think that I will forgive you if you thank me like that. You are going too overboard these days; worse than that foolish Mason. If you are continuing with that, we shall wait and see if you have what it takes to win the finals.”
“But I didn’t say I would definitely win…” Lin Li had never seen Macklin utterly concerned with anything before. Even for the trial at the Shadow Glen, he’d only told him to be careful…
Lin Li could not understand why Macklin would be that fixated on winning the finals. To Lin Li, the finals were just the finals. It would be nice to emerge victorious, but he would not mind if he didn’t.
Since Gryffindor had become an archmage as well, there were bound to be a lot of variables in the battle between the two. Although there were similar chances of winning, Lin Li was not certain that he would win even if he had the confidence.
However, that was not the case for Macklin…
“Damn it, don’t you have any goals?” The old man paused in his tracks to look at Lin Li in disdain.
Although he felt guilty, Lin Li was nevertheless stubborn with his words. “Why are you looking at me? You also knew that Gryffindor was an archmage, and I’m not sure if I’m able to defeat him…”
“What uncertainty are you talking about?” Macklin pursed his lips scornfully. “I’d bet my life that for your current skills, you could just surrender to Gryffindor. You don’t even need to fight him. He’s too powerful…”
After all the scolding, the old man suddenly realized his words might be too discouraging. Hence, after thinking for a while, he awkwardly added, “But you still have that little bit of advantage by being younger than him by a few years…”
“…” Lin Li rolled his eyes, knowing that he was not competing for who the h*ll had lived longer.
“All in all, put in more hard work this month. With your potential and my guidance, you’ll still have quite a chance.” Macklin concluded the discussion on a resolute tone before showing his envy. “Damn, you batch of bastards, you are really lucky. Why didn’t we have the same treatment when we were younger? To give you people the power to build a new guild… Their brains must be fried…”
“What’s there to be jealous about…?” Lin Li could not understand what was so attractive about having a new guild that made not only the mages on trial, but also old people like Macklin so fixated on it. They were like wolves seeing meat…
To Lin Li, the leader of the new guild would be like a coolie.
Look at what Jarrosus and Alanna were like.
Building a new guild did not finish overnight. Although Gerian had the strongest magical power and the respect of the whole Jarrosus, he had been oppressed by the three big families so much that he could not even raise his head. On the surface, he seemed to have the seat of the ruler, but when was he the most powerful man throughout these 10 years?
That being said, even bastard Cromwell dared to visit them, demanding Gerian to do that to Lin Li…
If not for Lin Li, no one knew how deep the Jarrosus Guild of Magic would continue to be…
The rise from nothingness and building up strength were an arduous process.
Not to mention other needs, it was a necessity for them to have somewhere to live. Although Jarrosus Guild of Magic was poor, it had an Emerald Tower. What would become of the new guild? They couldn’t let a group of mage sleep on the streets, could they?
A library, mediation room, different types of halls, laboratories… how could one be able to list all of them in one or two lines? Even if the Supreme Council gave their full support, it would never have the power to send a group of archmages as free construction labor, right?
Furthermore…
Who knew where to build the new guild at…
Lin Li had the confidence to maintain it if it was to be built in Jarrosus, where their archmages were all considered to have the highest ranking.
However, if it were to be built in a prosperous city like Alanna, where legendary figures roamed, Lin Li would have sleepless nights, fearing that he might unknowingly violate their rights. Wouldn’t he die an unjustified death if someone were to kill him silently in the middle of the night?
In conclusion, that would be a hard but thankless job.
Lin Li always tried to distance himself from such fruitless matters.
“To be honest, I’m utterly uninterested in the position as the leader of the new guild.” Since he had already begun on this topic, he had no plans to hide his reasons. “That is not only an arduous commitment, but also something that would endanger my life. I’m not that silly to fight for such a thankless position…”
“What are you saying!?” Macklin’s eyes widened immediately, and he glared at Lin Li as though he was a moron. “Who told you that you’d waste a lot of energy and put yourself in danger? Do you know what it means to be a guild leader?”
Lin Li pursed his lips and sulked. “Why would I not know what it entails? I’m going to be the cream inside a sandwich biscuit. Above me would be the Supreme Council, and under me the mages in the guild. Not only that, there’s also the lurking forces outside. You know Gerian from Jarrosus? He’s already 60 years old, but still needs to stay at the Demon Fall Valley every day to protect it. He was even injured last month when the Shadow’s Nest attacked and took over the Demon Fall Valley. Now tell me, what’s worthwhile about that damn position?”
“He’s lost the Demon Fall Valley?” Macklin laughed suddenly. “I was wondering why you are so heated up today. So it’s because of that valley… Don’t worry, we will not let it happen like that. You could stay in Alanna while I send people to Jarrosus tomorrow to stabilize the situation there, then see if we can snatch the Demon Fall Valley back.”
“Then I shall replace Gerian to thank you…” Actually, it was just a casual grumble from Lin Li. To him, the Jarrosus Guide of Magic was like a second home. He had spent half of his time since he’d entered the World of Anril there. Now, his house was robbed, yet nothing could be heard from the head of the Alanna Guild of Magic and the mayor of the Supreme Council. Lin Li could not help but feel anxious despite him being a good-natured person.
What he did not expect was Macklin’s agreeableness when he promised to provide aid to Jarrosus.
Honestly speaking, it was not important if they could not reclaim the Demon Fall Valley. It was more vital to stabilize the situation in Jarrosus. Now that they lost the Demon Fall Valley, even fools would know that the heads of the 17 forces were more or less itching for action…
If Alanna Guild of Magic was willing to provide aid, it would be good news for the Jarrosus Guild of Magic.
It would not require much strength as well. One to two archmages would be enough to hold back the many forces in Jarrosus. As for the Demon Fall Valley, Lin Li totally could think of a solution after he returned.
“Cut the crap. My reason for sending aid there is not to help that old Gerian, but to assure you to stay in Alanna in peace. If not, I wouldn’t have cared about this at all…”
“Alright, alright. I will do my best in the finals that are coming in a month!” No matter what he said, he was already going to owe Macklin a favor. He could only promise him temporarily as it would not be nice to persist any further. As for things that were going to happen next month, let us talk about it after that month…
“Seems like you still don’t understand… Forget it, there’s not going to be a difference if you understand. You should just know that the seat of the president of magic guild is not for anyone…” Macklin shook his head.
He finally understood that it was meaningless to talk sense into that fella. The most direct and surest way to deal with him was to tell him the benefits of such a position.
Temptation of one thing would still be better than one hundred principles.
Macklin did not nag at Lin Li further. “I wonder if this thing came across your mind before. Have you wondered why the president is always the most powerful person in any Guild of Magic?” Macklin asked while shooting Lin Li a mysterious glance.
“How could one become the guild president if he does not have a strong ability?” Lin Li pursed his lips, thinking that Macklin was talking nonsense…
“Wrong!” Macklin exclaimed mysteriously while he stopped in his tracks, and pointed to the president’s room far away. “Aldwin surpassed the archmage realm at the age of 46. However, the position he gained was not based on meritocracy. At that time, there were at least five mages who were more powerful than him. F*ck the Supreme Council. You know how they chose the guild president? With a boxing challenge! How absurd is that…”
“46 years old?” Lin Li was stupefied. He clearly remembered that Mason told him Aldwin had surpassed the Legendary Realm at the age of 55.
If Macklin was saying the truth, does that mean that Aldwin spent only nine years to progress from an archmage to a legendary-mage?
Holy… That is a horrifying speed…
Lin Li could not accept the fact that Aldwin had merely spent nine years to rise to a legendary-mage. Lin Li was an archmage too. How could he not understand how shocking it was to be able to do so?
To exaggerate a little, it was as if with the speed of light.
Lin Li swallowed his saliva anxiously. “Y-You… You mean… President Aldwin only spent nine years because of… his position?”
“You’re not a moron, after all,” Macklin commented while he nodded his head. “Do you not remember that Herza announced that the new guild president would receive full support from the Supreme Council? What do you think the support is? Really physical resources and manpower? Stop being so childish. I dare to bet my life that the winner of the trial would receive the most mysterious spell, the most profound magical knowledge, and the most powerful magical powers. Even in the Supreme Council, only their core members would be able to enjoy such treatment.”
Macklin gulped another big mouth of saliva before he continued, “In fact, Aldwin’s nine years was nothing at all. I remember that he once told me that in his batch, there was a most freaky mage from the Ledin Kingdom. Wow, that kid was a true beast. He’s only used 10 years to become the guild president when he only had the ability of a level-10 magic shooter. Then, he got to the Legendary-level immediately…
“Is that true…?” Lin Li’s eyes widened.
“Crap, why would I lie to you?” Macklin snapped. Then, he continued, “But, to be frank, your concern on safety is valid too…”
“Why is that so?” Lin Li asked curiously. He was a little shocked. Why did that old man change his stance out of a sudden?
“If I didn’t guess wrongly, the new region Herza was referring to should be near the Breezy Plains…”
“So it’s there…” Lin Li suddenly was clear on how things stood after listening to Macklin. If it were the Breezy Plains, his concerns were indeed justified. The Breezy Plains was a renowned place that even a transmigrator like Lin Li knew of. The most complicated region of the north of Anril would be the Breezy Plains.
The two strongest human kingdoms located in the north of Anril—Felan and Ledin—were situated on the Breezy Plains. On top of that, together with the Dwarf Kingdom not far away, as well as the Trahem Forest, where elves roamed freely, they were going to make up four formidable giants in total. They were like four pieces of puzzle that would form the most impenetrable force on the Breezy Plains.
And apart from these four greatest influences, there were many other smaller forces. However, if one were to randomly compare one of such forces with those in Jarrosus City, it would be much mightier than Jarrosus’ 11 mage families and their six underground forces.
Unless they had people from the Supreme Council following them around every day, their lives would really be in danger…