Golden Mage Chapter 41

Volume 2, Episode 11

El explained, tracing the eastern part of the Serdia continent.

“As you know, the eastern part of the continent is occupied by five empires. Each empire has numerous towers and a considerable number of swordsmen.”

Cilfir nodded. She was familiar with the empires ruling the eastern part of the continent.

This time, El pointed to the western part of the continent.

“The western part of the continent is divided into hundreds of countries. Except for some powerful nations, there are many places without towers in the western part, making it an ideal location for me to build a tower.”

Towers!

Only 7th-class or higher magicians can construct towers, and when registered, the country provides substantial financial support.

Towers have such a significant impact on a country that they usually play a defensive role during wars. With the power of a tower, tens of thousands of troops can be wiped out with one powerful spell.

Of course, if the opposing side also has magicians, the situation may change, but magicians are valuable assets to any nation.

That’s not all. The status of a tower can affect the country’s relations. An empire possessing an 8th-class magician’s tower receives substantial tributes from dozens of neighboring kingdoms each year.

The Hellfire unleashed by gathering the mana from dozens of mana stones, even though not as powerful as an 8th-class magician’s, can still obliterate more than half of a kingdom’s capital.

Similarly, a tower built by a 7th-class magician also has a significant impact. A country without a 7th-class magician must always fear invasion from a country with one.

Due to this, even though sword masters are highly respected, a 7th-class magician, a rare existence with only about a hundred people on the entire continent, is treated with extreme importance.

El’s words made the three women nod. Clearly, countries without 7th-class magicians would value them more than those that have them.

Serena looked at El and asked. El mentioned building a tower, so Serena had many questions.

“Where do you think it’s best to build the tower?”

“What’s your opinion, Serena?”

El had already considered candidate locations. Curious about Serena’s thoughts, she asked for her opinion.

“Well…”

Serena hesitated, deeply immersed in her thoughts.

The moment Serena seemed lost in thought, she finally pointed to a country located in the middle of the western continent.

It was the Dumos Kingdom, situated in the broad basin of the Trankelly Mountains.

It was a country surrounded by mountains, and its transportation was inconvenient, leading it to be mostly self-sufficient. However, it was incredibly wealthy due to the minerals that could be considered its special products.

El looked at the country Serena pointed to with shining eyes.

“Why did you choose that place?”

El asked, and Serena replied, explaining her reasons.

“Well, according to what I read in books, the Dumos Kingdom is quite wealthy due to its mineral exports. I think they would provide substantial financial support for building the tower. Also, being a mountainous country, the people there are accustomed to mana from the mountains, so there’s a higher chance of finding individuals with the affinity for mana.”

Serena went on, listing her reasons for choosing the Dumos Kingdom. And El, as well as Cilfir and Kaina, listened attentively.

Indeed, Serena’s reasons made sense. The Dumos Kingdom may not have everyone living in luxury, but its finances were abundant.

And living in the mountains, they were likely to have many individuals with mana affinity.

However, El’s response was negative.

“Of course, there’s some validity to your points, Serena. But that’s just the surrounding conditions. The King of Dumos is ambitious and cunning. If we build a tower there, there’s a high chance of being exploited. And who knows what he might do if we don’t follow his will.”

El’s disagreement was related to the issue of the temperament of the King of Dumos, which was the reason she opposed Serena’s opinion. Although she didn’t mention it, it was known that the King of Dumos had a weakness for beautiful women.

El reached out her hand, pointing to the Tollian Kingdom, located in the far west of the continent.

It was a vast territory with fertile plains. It had a large population, making its military strength formidable. However, the northern part of Tollian had the Dragon Valley, and the western part had the Monster Land. As a result, despite its strong military, Tollian was busy dealing with the monsters that constantly invaded its territory.

Fortunately, the three neighboring kingdoms surrounding Tollian were relatively weaker. If they combined their forces, they might be able to compete with Tollian.

El’s eyes sparkled as she pointed to the Monster Land, which was one of the problems Tollian Kingdom faced.

She started to explain, “First of all, I chose Tollian because it has the most powerful force in the vicinity, but there are no towers there. Also, this place!”

She pointed to the location closest to Tollian Kingdom within Monster Land.

It was labeled “Troll Valley.”

“As I gathered information, I found that many people live here, evading the rule of corrupt nobles within Tollian Kingdom. And this terrain itself is quite treacherous, making it difficult for the kingdom to launch an expedition. As Tollian Kingdom, they will undoubtedly accept my proposal to subdue this place.”

“What about the temperament of the Tollian King?”

Since the reason El opposed Serena’s choice was related to the temperament of the King of Dumos, Cilfir asked about the temperament of the King of Tollian. El replied without hesitation, as she had considered this matter deeply. However, it was not yet a fact to reveal.

“It’s okay. The towers on the continent traditionally don’t get involved in royal power struggles. While some magicians may be interested in power, the Tower Owners are mostly focused on improving themselves. They don’t consider royal power to be important; it’s just a convention.”

Cilfir nodded in agreement. She recalled that the towers on the continent were not involved in royal power struggles.

Magic itself was about breaking the laws of nature. As a result, magicians were very reluctant to disturb the natural order and did not like wars or major conflicts.

However, if a country wanted it, they had no choice but to comply with it because most of the funds they used came from the country itself.

That didn’t mean they weren’t interested in power. Of course, that wasn’t an absolute fact, and some magicians were power-hungry. But most magicians were not interested in power.

El also took advantage of this point.

Currently, the most problematic areas for Tollian Kingdom were Troll Valley and Orc Forest. They couldn’t subdue Troll Valley due to its geographical conditions, but Orc Forest was entirely possible to subdue. However, it would require a considerable amount of effort, and if they did that, they wouldn’t be able to handle the trolls pouring out from Troll Valley.

If El could handle one of them, Troll Valley in this case, Tollian Kingdom would be able to subdue Orc Forest, and that would be an act of great gratitude towards Tollian Kingdom. Removing the monsters that had been troubling the kingdom would lead to an increase in their national strength.

“…”

The three women fell into deep thought upon hearing El’s words. This matter was related to their own future, so they had to think carefully.

Then, Kaina cautiously opened her mouth, asking a question unrelated to the tower.

“Could you train me, Serena-ne? I mean…”

“Ahh, I see.”

El understood what she was trying to say.

Kaina had reached the intermediate level of Sword Expert. It was a remarkable achievement for her age, but she lacked a proper mentor. While her single-breath technique was impressive, it couldn’t contribute much to her advancement. Not to mention that her progress would significantly differ depending on whether she had a mentor.

However, El already had a solution for that.

But she couldn’t reveal the facts yet, so El made an excuse for Kaina.

“Let’s go to Tollian Kingdom first and think about it there. There are many excellent swordsmen there who can become Kaina’s mentor.”

“Thank you.”

Kaina bowed her head and expressed her gratitude to El.

At that moment, Serena stood up from her seat and said, “I’ll also ask for your guidance from now on.”

She saw the burning desire for knowledge in herself during this recent disturbance. At least she had reached a level where she could protect herself, but the continent was vast, and there were many skilled individuals.

So, she made up her mind. To become strong on her own without hindering El, and she indirectly showed it to El.

This was also true for Cilfir.