Chapter 148: The Elves’ Amazement

Augusta’s arrival brought no changes to Donald’s party. Only three of Donald’s companions showed up—Messel, though kind-hearted, didn’t engage in casual chatter, and Kelsas was a quiet man. The elves certainly wouldn’t approach a stranger who appeared out of nowhere.

Augusta, too, had her own pride and judgment. After introducing herself and exchanging a few words with Donald, she stopped interfering further. She knew she would have to wait until she reached Dalaran to truly integrate into their group.

The young swordsman, Fred, was simple and honest, winning the favor of Donald and the others. Especially when Messel learned his surname, he was pleasantly surprised.

“A child of the Kotta family?” asked the old mage. The young swordsman nodded shyly.

“Hehe! Young man, don’t be shy. I’ve known Raphael for a long time. I wonder how old friend is doing!” Encountering an acquaintance from his own family, Fred also said happily, “Thank you for your concern. Grandfather is in good health!”

“So you’re Raphael’s grandson? Hehe! It’s been decades. That fool has grown up—he’s even gotten married and had children. Who is your grandmother?”

Fred replied awkwardly, “My grandmother is Fingagold…”

“Fingagold the tough woman? No wonder she could keep Raphael in check. She must have pursued your grandfather!” Hearing this, Fred’s face turned even redder. Donald found it amusing as well. It was the first time he’d heard his teacher talk about the gossip of the older generation. It seemed his teacher had also been quite remarkable in his youth—likely surrounded by extraordinary people.

At that moment, Messel turned around and introduced, “De, Merlinna, Dalaran, where you’re going, is his territory!” The young swordsman bowed gracefully in a proper noble manner, excited yet shy.

“Baron! It’s an honor to meet you!” Having aspired to become a great hero since childhood, he admired heroic figures the most. Donald was one of the most outstanding among Selt’s younger generation. He had heard many people talk about Donald’s deeds along the way. To meet him in person and discover such a deep connection between their ancestors made Fred even more excited.

Donald waved his hand and said kindly, “No need for formalities! Just call me Donald. Actually, I’m even two years younger than you!” Seeing Donald’s amiable demeanor, completely different from the domineering attitude he had shown earlier when scolding those road robbers, Fred also relaxed and began to talk about his own affairs.

It turned out that Fred’s grandfather was the same friend from Gardrel mentioned by Messel before—the Grand Mage Raphael.

Donald was somewhat surprised that Fred, the grandson of a Grand Mage, had chosen to become a swordsman instead of pursuing further studies in magic, but he wasn’t too surprised. After all, even if both parents are mages, their offspring don’t necessarily inherit magical talent—it’s not something ordinary people can control. However, Fred’s case was different. He wasn’t completely devoid of magical talent; although it wasn’t exceptionally outstanding, it was still at an average level. It was just that he had read many novels and poems about ancient heroes since childhood and had a great interest in becoming one.

As for why he chose a swordsman over a mage, it was because the number of spellcasters was extremely small compared to other professions. Take the North County as an example—there were no more than three hundred mages there, including apprentices. Without apprentices, there were just over a hundred, most of whom were Iron Mage level. Meanwhile, while no one had counted the total number of other professions such as swordsmen and knights in the North County, it was estimated to exceed several thousand, not to mention adventurers who often traveled outside. Even though Giantstone City was known as the largest and only city in the North County, its population was just over ten thousand, which shows how large the proportion of melee professionals was. Due to limited technological development, the population and scale of cities in this world were far smaller than those on Earth.

Of course, most of these people were only at Iron Mage level. After all, even an ordinary person could become an Iron Mage beginner after training at home for two years. This shows that it’s easy to get started in the warrior profession, but it becomes very difficult to advance further. Donald’s words from his past life were quite true: “Literacy brings poverty, while martial arts bring wealth.” Once a swordsman reaches Iron Mage intermediate level or above, it’s beyond the reach of ordinary people to continue training.

Reaching the advanced Iron Mage level through intense training to push ordinary people to their limits, and then achieving breakthroughs by comprehending the essence of sword energy to become a Bronze Swordsman—all of these require certain financial resources. Not to mention the meat needed to replenish energy from daily training, which is beyond the affordability of ordinary people.

Not to mention those expensive herbs and alchemical potions used to assist in cultivation.
Mages, on the other hand, are somewhat different. Although it’s difficult to get started and make progress, once one breaks through from apprentice to a full-fledged Black Iron Mage, they become superior to others. Even a beginner Black Iron Mage who only knows first-level spells can handle three or five warriors below the Middle Black Iron level with ease if they are skilled in using those spells.
This is one of the reasons why spellcasters have always held a higher status than ordinary warriors in history.
Donald admired Fred quite a bit for giving up a promising career as a mage to train to become a swordsman. What was even more impressive was that, without the inheritance of those noble swordman families, he managed to become a Bronze Swordman before the age of eighteen. In the past two years, he had made rapid progress, reaching the peak of Bronze level. It was likely that in another two years, he would be recognized as the continent’s greatest genius swordsman. With such talent, becoming a Gold-level warrior was only a matter of time.
Thus, the elders of the Kotta family trusted him enough to let him go out and seek opportunities to break through to Silver level. However, since Fred focused solely on swordsmanship and had a simple and honest character, he lacked some skills in dealing with people. Fortunately, his strength was great, so he didn’t suffer much along the way. Until he arrived at the eastern coastal port of Gardrel, where he met Augusta, who was planning to set sail north. The two met because of a small incident and immediately became good friends, deciding to travel together to the northern lands.
Under Fred’s strong protection, Augusta encountered no obstacles on the road. With Augusta’s strategic advice, Fred also gained much experience in traveling. Their complementary personalities led to an increasingly deep friendship.
Faced with a true genius like Fred, even Donald, a genius born from a divine artifact, couldn’t help but feel envious!
But Donald wasn’t jealous of Fred’s talent. After all, no amount of talent could compare to the help provided by a high-tier divine artifact. Donald was confident that he would reach the Gold level before a genius like Fred, and with the gains from this ancient archmage ruin, he had even more confidence to climb to higher levels.
Meeting Augusta on the road could be considered fate. So Donald shared two of the plans he intended to implement in his territory with her, as a way to assess her potential as the future business manager of the territory.
After all, Jesse’s strength lay in diplomacy, and he had been entrusted with finance only because the territory was short of staff.

And as Queen Sophia had said, Augusta was indeed skilled in business. She quickly grasped the key points of Donald’s plans—both their advantages and disadvantages—and intended to draft two plans once they arrived in Dalaran. Truly worthy of her lineage as a merchant family from the third generation of the Thorlon Alliance.

Although Donald had some ideas from his past life, putting them into practice was rather complicated. It was better to leave such tasks to professionals.

Augusta, who always considered herself a business genius, grew even more in admiration when she heard Donald, the mage lord, casually come up with two highly promising business ideas. Her resentment over not being able to stay in the capital and instead being sent by the queen and her sister to a remote and barren area in the North Counties vanished as well.

This lord of Dalaran not only had extraordinary strength and remarkable potential but also possessed wisdom beyond that of ordinary people. Even if Dalaran was currently a barren desert, there was hope that he could turn it into a prosperous oasis.

She had no worries about her future at all; she was simply eager to show what she could do once they arrived.

After some conversation, the caravan entered Shining Gold Town. Donald’s first task for Augusta was to negotiate the purchase of supplies from various merchant shops in town. Despite being unfamiliar with the place, Augusta performed excellently, even more efficiently than when Donald had visited Shining Gold Town on his own. Within just a few hours, all the goods she needed had been acquired.

So Donald didn’t stay in Shining Gold Town any longer. Taking advantage of the early hour, they set off immediately toward Stonehold City.

Two days later, the caravan left Stonehold City and finally approached Dalaran.

Having been away for nearly a month, Donald couldn’t wait to return and see what changes had taken place in his domain.

When the lord’s caravan entered Windchime Village, news had already reached Twilight Town, and many townspeople came out to welcome them warmly.

“Welcome to Dalaran, the land of hope, where our dreams set sail. I hope everyone will work together to bring glory to this land!”

Seeing that Dalaran was far from the barren place he had imagined or heard about—it was actually fertile with a pleasant climate—and that ordinary people wore smiles of prosperity, clearly having enough to eat and wear with some surplus, Augusta was greatly amazed. She felt once again that she had come to the right place.

Compared to Augusta’s amazement, the elves who stepped out of the carriage were too stunned to speak. As soon as the carriage entered the outskirts of Dusk Town, they felt as though they had crossed a barrier and entered a world filled with natural vitality. The first thought in most adult elves’ minds was a barrier. Recalling that the half-elf lord had mentioned having a barrier in his territory to protect it from the cold winds, the elves understood immediately. But as the carriage moved forward, they sensed an increasingly familiar presence, giving them the feeling of seeing their mother, which truly shocked them. Could it be that this mage lord also possessed a natural sacred object in his territory?