Chapter 18: Gaining Recognition (1)

Since his victory in the duel against the Black Iron Mage, the name Donald Merlina has become widely known among the elite of the North County. Though Donald himself remained low-key, Baron Red Maple wanted to boost the reputation of his “future son-in-law,” so he secretly spread word about the wager. Although it hadn’t become known to everyone in the North County yet, most merchants of standing, nobles, and mages had already heard of it.

As Donald’s reputation as a talented summoner grew, the antagonists in this story—Mage Snow and Sodo, along with LordGuli (Guli)’s family—became objects of scorn, almost becoming a laughingstock in the North County. It was said that LordGuli (Guli)’s son, Sodo, was severely reprimanded by his furious father after learning of the incident from outside sources, and he was bedridden for several days.

The various factions in the North County began to take notice of Donald, the once-unknown young mage apprentice who had now gained fame. Meanwhile, our talented apprentice, upon returning home, immediately devoted himself to the construction of his estate, unaware of everything happening outside.

At the Castle of Giant Stones, Viscount Macbeth looked at the latest intelligence brought to him and recalled the past. Over forty years ago, as a young man just coming of age, he had set a trap to seize the knightly domain of the Merlina family, earning his father’s praise. After inheriting his title, he granted that domain toGuli (Guli)’s son, his personal steward.

He then forgot about that knightly family entirely. What threat could a child and a servant pose to his vast family power? Even if those remnants grew up and tried to inherit the knightly title, he could easily manipulate the knightly trials to strip them of their pride and reduce them to commoners.

Yet the little insect he once thought posed no threat had now grown into something worthy of attention.

“Interesting! He’s become a mage apprentice. Is it Old Merlina’s scheme? How well hidden!”

Macbeth believed that Old Merlina had hidden his son’s magical talent, fearing harm at a young age, and only revealed it as his son neared adulthood. If Donald knew his thoughts, he would surely find them amusing. If the father of this body had had such thoughts, he wouldn’t have been tricked into losing his last bit of wealth back then.

Yet though this mage apprentice posed a threat, Macbeth, now nearly sixty, no longer had the temper of his youth and always sought ways to eliminate all hostile elements. He now understood the importance of thinking in terms of the long term and the overall situation.

Although ordinary mages were protected by various mage guilds and the Royal Mage Association, it was still very easy for these powerful figures to secretly eliminate low-ranking mages who had offended the nobility. Let alone mage apprentices.

But the rare profession of summoner, one seen only a few times in a hundred years, was different. Though summoners had lower individual combat skills than ordinary mages, the exotic creatures they summoned through their spells were extremely powerful. For human kingdoms, summoners had always been highly sought-after special talents in the military. On the battlefield, a single junior summoner could be equivalent to hundreds of elite soldiers, and with proper use, eliminating an enemy force of a thousand was not difficult. Such power surpassed that of most mid-level mages.

If this summoner with immense potential were to be threatened, not to mention the angry mages from various places and the capital, even Mersel and King Celt of theirs would not allow such actions to go unchecked!

“Thinking this will allow you to turn things around? The Merlinna family has declined—let him go on! As a threat to my Macbeth family, he must not be allowed to grow stronger!”

With that thought, Macbeth bent over the table, wrote a short message, and handed it to a servant below, saying, “Take this to the guild. They will know what to do! Tell Blake to be careful not to leave any clues!”

The servant took the letter and left the study with a bow. Soon, the letter was passed around the city and arrived at a secret building beneath a residential area in the commoners’ district.

This underground hall was built with great secrecy, capable of accommodating hundreds of people for gatherings. Everyone inside wore black clothes and had expressionless faces. The letter was finally delivered to a young man in black seated at the head. Unlike the others, he was tall and agile, sipping the finest wine from Celt, looking less like the leader of a hidden organization and more like a noble knight.

“An old man’s task—a mage apprentice?”

The man then tore up the letter and said mockingly, “They really think highly of us. Even Mersel’s apprentice dares to target us. It seems they intend to use us as pawns. Do they really think I don’t know my place in his eyes?”

“Leader, what should we do?”

The tall, burly man in black below asked.
The young man’s handsome face smiled as he replied, “Of course I will continue. After being his lackey for so long as an old man, a few more days won’t matter. Once I reach the Silver rank, I’ll have the power to lead my brothers away from his control. Then, with the world at our disposal, where can we not live freely?”
……
According to Donald’s own plans for building the estate, it would take at least three months to construct the infrastructure for the first small estate solely through manual labor. But he couldn’t wait that long, as spring was about to pass, and three months seemed far too long. If they missed the last planting season before summer ended, they would have to wait until the next spring to sow again.
This was because the Kingdom of Celt was located in the northern part of the continent, with a harsh climate similar to the frigid regions of his past life. Most of the land there could only support one harvest per year, unlike the warmer regions in the south, where some short-lived crops could even yield four or five harvests a year.
However, the land in the Kingdom of Celt was fertile, with many undeveloped areas. Its average annual yield was not much lower than that of the more productive southern regions, and the quality of its crops was far superior to those from the south.
This situation was somewhat similar to Donald’s former northeastern region, giving him great confidence that his estate could achieve bountiful harvests—though he first needed to build the estate.
His original plan was to prepare the building materials himself and then use the power of the Book of Truth, sacrificing some energy in exchange for instant completion of the estate’s construction. This would save a large amount of energy, reducing costs by about 80%.
Therefore, it was imperative to purchase large quantities of timber, stone, and other materials, tasks he had entrusted to his most loyal butler, Kord. Once the materials arrived, the facilities that would normally take months to build could be completed immediately.
With thousands of Gold Solars at his disposal, Kord, who had long acted as a butler without truly fulfilling that role, was now extremely enthusiastic and motivated.
To relieve his master’s worries and build and protect his master’s estate—that was what a true noble butler was supposed to do.
As for Donald himself, after finishing his meditation for the day, he was now preparing to head to the tavern in town.