Chapter 77 - 76: Knowledge Monopoly

Chapter 77: Chapter 76: Knowledge Monopoly

The Bright Pearl was just a simple magic item enchanted with the [Light Technique].

[Light Technique] (Shaping Series, 0th Ring):

You touch an object that is no larger than 10 feet in any dimension. Until the magic ends, the object emits bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet.

The color of the light is determined by you. When the object is completely covered by something opaque, its light is blocked.

If you cast this magic again, or use an action to dismiss it, the magic terminates.

...

A 0th Ring trick with an effect similar to the [Flash Technique] had been slightly modified by an alchemist to create the Bright Pearl, a magic item resembling a rechargeable desk lamp.

The only damaged part was some worn-out runes.

The extent of the damage was extremely minor. Gaode cast a [Repair Skill+], and it was fixed in just a few seconds.

Just to conceal his methods, Gaode stayed in the workshop for a full fifteen minutes and deliberately wasted some materials to create the illusion of a normal repair process before leaving.

But even so, it still seemed a bit too fast...

After all, Gaode had never actually seen a real repair craftsman fix magic items.

A moment later, Bas, wearing a long robe, paced over with shining eyes. The previous suspicion on his face was nowhere to be seen.

"Did I pass the assessment?" Gaode asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course!" Bas stepped forward excitedly and shook Gaode’s hand. "Welcome to the Artisan Guild.

"How should I address you?"

"Google Ditu," Gaode routinely gave his resounding pseudonym.

"Anna, please register Mr. Google as a craftsman. Also, Mr. Google doesn’t need to pay the membership fee. Oh, and remember to reserve a spot for him at the very top of the notice board at the entrance..."

...

By the time he left the Artisan Guild feeling thoroughly satisfied, Gaode’s identity had become that of an officially recognized repair craftsman in Bremen.

He would enjoy the guild’s "legal and economic protection," stable and discounted sources of materials, a vast pool of client resources, and participation in the guild’s regular activities...

Most importantly, all of this was free!

As a high-ranking official in the guild, Mr. Bas had waived his first-year membership fee.

Furthermore, starting tomorrow, a notice would be displayed at the very top of the Artisan Guild’s notice board for a full week:

"Google Ditu, the guild’s newly registered repair craftsman, accepts the repair of 0th Ring and 1st Ring magic items. Reasonable rates, superb craftsmanship. Resides at 437 Camond Street. Working hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with a two-hour lunch break."

...

Gaode’s next destination was the Bremen Mage Association.

The three major magic associations in the city were all located in the Deep Flow District.

Once again, he took a public carriage, and once again, it was a full-trip ticket for 4 copper coins.

Nearly forty minutes later, Gaode got off the carriage and walked for another five or six minutes before arriving at his destination: Number 3, Deep Flow Street.

What came into view was an ancient and solemn standalone building.

Even in the Deep Flow District, where land was worth its weight in gold, the Bremen Mage Association still owned a large, independent three-story building. This was a clear testament to its strength and financial resources.

Among the three major magic associations in Bremen, the Bremen Mage Association was undoubtedly the leader, and the reason was very simple: it was an official organization.

The main body of the building was constructed from dark stone, with complex magic runes carved into the stone walls. The roof was covered with cyan glazed tiles that gleamed mesmerizingly under the sunlight.

Several mechanical birds circled above the roof ridge. They were a type of magic creation, acting much like a "Celestial Eye."

The main doors, made of bronze, were currently wide open. Above the doorframe hung a prominent symbol: a bird spreading its wings, ready to take flight.

Gaode casually stepped through the main doors of the Bremen Mage Association.

As soon as he entered, a faint scent of lavender wafted over him.

The first floor of the Bremen Mage Association was an extremely spacious hall. There weren’t many people inside; most were quietly going about their own business. Hearing his footsteps, a few people looked up briefly before burying their heads back in their work, while others remained completely immersed in what they were doing.

Gaode silently walked up to the counter.

The young lady in charge of reception looked up, appraised Gaode, and asked, "Sir, how may I help you? Do you need to rent a magic array, or would you like to hire a mage to answer some questions?"

"Do you have magic formulas for sale here?" Gaode asked casually.

Undoubtedly, as the official mage association, the Bremen Mage Association had the legal right to sell magic formulas.

This was the convenience of a big city, something entirely incomparable to those small cities where one couldn’t buy magic formulas through formal channels even if they had the money.

That’s right, he was talking exactly about Hogan City!

Upon hearing Gaode’s question, the young lady with brownish-yellow hair opened a drawer at the counter, took out a small booklet, placed it on the counter, and slid it toward him. "Of course, sir. The magic formulas sold by our association are all listed in here. Feel free to take a look."

Gaode opened the booklet with great interest. He noticed that the magic formulas listed in the booklet were only for the 0th Ring and 1st Ring.

"Is there no magic above the 1st Ring?" Gaode asked in surprise.

Logically speaking, there should definitely be many mages above the 1st Ring in Bremen. Reasonably, there ought to be magic formulas above the 1st Ring for sale as well.

The young lady wasn’t impatient; she explained very patiently, "According to regulations, our authorization to sell magic formulas to the public is limited to 0th Ring tricks and 1st Ring magic.

"Only the Saint Seine Mage Association has the authority to sell 2nd Ring magic formulas.

"Anything above that is not for sale."

So 2nd Ring mages could only buy magic formulas at the Saint Seine Mage Association... It didn’t seem that surprising, actually. In this world, the upper class’s monopoly on knowledge was already extremely severe, let alone on something as precious as magic formulas.

The fact that mage associations could sell magic formulas to the public at all was already the result of gamesmanship and compromise.

After all, if the official channels were completely sealed off, it would instead lead to rampant private trading of magic formulas. Besides, since someone was going to make this money anyway, why shouldn’t the official authorities keep it in their own hands?

Thinking this, Gaode smoothly transitioned into seriously browsing the booklet:

0th Ring Tricks: [Dancing Light Technique], [Detect Magic], [Mage’s Hand], [Repair Skill], [Magic Tricks], [Reading Magic], [Light Technique], [Spark Skill], [Detect Poison], [Switching Technique], [Communication Skill], [Blade Protection].

1st Ring Magic: [Endure Environment], [Oily Skill], [Identification Skill], [Master Language], [Hypnosis], [Water Flow Impact], [Magic Spirit Light], [Terror Skill], [Erase Skill].

"Is this it?" Gaode raised his head again in surprise.

After successfully constructing the three magic models gifted by Pierre—the [Water Creation Skill], [North Pointing Skill], and [Purifying Food]—his magic library had expanded to 15 types of magic.

The number of 0th Ring magic formulas sold by a magic association couldn’t even match his own magic library?

How could this be possible?

Moreover, it was quite obvious that these were mostly utility-type magic; there wasn’t a single offensive magic among them.

"Yes, this is all of them," the young lady said calmly. "The magic formulas sold by our Mage Association are already the most complete in Bremen.

"If you go to the Ancient Book Guardian Association or the Jade Alliance, you will find that the variety of magic formulas they sell is even fewer."