Published: March 11, 2025
CHAPTER 15: Level Up
What Zhao Hai didn’t know was that Grandma Merlin was currently so shocked that she couldn’t say a word. Merlin was a mage, and an eighth-level water mage at that.
On the Ark Continent, mages are divided into ten levels. Levels one to three are called magic apprentices, levels four and five are low-level mages, levels six and seven are intermediate mages, levels eight and nine are high-level mages, and level ten is a legendary existence, akin to a god.
Becoming a mage is not easy. First, one must have magical talent and a certain understanding. Out of ten mages, five will spend their entire lives as magic apprentices, three will remain low-level mages, and the remaining two may only reach the intermediate level. There is only a one percent chance that a high-level mage will emerge. This is just the ratio among mages, while those with magical talent on the continent are rare, like one in tens of thousands, making the ratio even more daunting.
Thus, mages are quite scarce on the continent, and high-level mages are even rarer. Someone like Merlin, an eighth-level mage, would be treated as a distinguished guest in any country. However, both Merlin and Grandpa Galen come from the Budah family, devoted to assisting it. This is precisely why the king of the Aksu Empire did not wipe out the Budah family but instead exiled them here.
A high-level mage like Merlin is very sensitive to changes in magical elements. If someone uses magic within a kilometer of her, she can detect it immediately.
On the Ark Continent, there is only one type of magic capable of instantly storing things—spatial magic. The number of people who can learn magic is already extremely low, and those who can learn spatial magic are even rarer. Currently, there are not many spatial sorcerers on the continent, and their levels are generally low, without the ability to create their own spaces.
Indeed, there are some magical tools created by previous spatial sorcerers, which are used for storage. A spatial sorcerer uses their magical energy to open a storage space and then seals it into an object with various special materials and the help of magic circles, creating a storage tool. To achieve this, one must be at least an advanced mage, and in their lifetime, they can create at most five storage tools. Thus, such tools are extremely rare and valuable on the continent.
The Garnet family does not possess such storage tools; Merlin is very clear about this. This means that this ability must be inherent in Zhao Hai. However, Zhao Hai has consumed Void Water, making it impossible for him to learn magic or fighting spirit, so he cannot be a spatial mage. Moreover, Merlin did not sense any magical fluctuations; it seemed as if the water ball had disappeared in an instant.
There are only two possibilities for this situation. One is that Zhao Hai's magical energy is even higher than Merlin's, allowing him to completely conceal his magical fluctuations from her detection. However, this is impossible since Zhao Hai has drunk Void Water and cannot learn magic.
The other possibility is that what Zhao Hai used was neither magic nor a magical tool. If he did not use magic or magical tools, Merlin would naturally not be able to sense any magical fluctuations.
Zhao Hai turned to glance at Merlin, smiled slightly, and said, “Grandma Merlin, don’t worry. I will tell you what’s going on in a few days. This might be a gift from heaven for me.”
Merlin nodded, not asking further questions. As long as Zhao Hai was safe, that was all that mattered. Besides, having such abilities would only benefit him.
Zhao Hai glanced at the surface of the water, finding there was nothing more to see, and then turned to Grandma Merlin and said, “Grandma Merlin, let’s go back. As soon as Grandpa Galen returns, we can start these plans.”
Merlin nodded and replied, “Young master, you should return early. You don’t need to worry about things here; Meg and I are here.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “Alright, but Grandma Merlin, don’t tire yourselves too much. Let those slaves handle these things; you and Meg just need to supervise. There’s no rush; we just need to tidy up this cave before Grandpa Galen returns.”