Chapter 15 - Level Up
Meirin was speechless, but Zhao did not realize how surprised she was.
Meirin was an eighth level water mage. On the Ark Continent, a mage was divided into ten levels. One to Three were just apprentices. Four and Five were Low-Leveled Mages, Six and Seven were Intermediate Mages, while Eight and Nine were called Advanced Mages. And Ten was a level that only existed in legends.
For most people who have a talent for magic, they would only end up in the first five levels. A lucky few might even become Intermediate Mages. However, only one percent of all the magicians in the Continent would end up as an Advanced Mage. That was a one in a million chance! With such a ratio, the rare advanced mages were treated with respect. In fact, that was one of the reasons why the Buda clan was only exiled and not treated so ruthlessly by the King of the Aksu Empire. Meirin, who was loyal to the Buda clan, was an advanced mage.
As an eighth level water mage, Meirin was very sensitive to the magical elements. If someone within one kilometer from her used magic, she would be able to feel it.
In the Ark Continent, there is a type of magic called Space Magic. It was extremely rare to find a mage who was able to learn it, and among those who do learn space magic, if their level was not high, there would be no way for them to open up their own secluded space.
The Continent did have some magical items of the space attribute. These items were used to store things in a magical space. To make these types of items, you would need to become an advanced spatial mage, have access to certain strange materials, and create a secluded space which you would seal into the item, thus forming a spatial item. However, even an advanced space mage would only be capable of making five magical spatial items in their entire lifetime. So a spatial storage item was very rare and precious in the Continent.
Meirin knew that ever since Zhao drank the Water of Nothingness, it was impossible for him to learn magic, so he naturally could not be a mage. And when she saw the water bubble disappear, she did not feel any magical fluctuations. So there were only two possibilities. One was that somehow Zhao had magical powers that were on a higher level than Meirin's, and so was able to hide any magical fluctuations from her notice. But that was impossible because Zhao drank the Water of Nothingness. The only other possibility was that Zhao simply did not use magic or a magic item, otherwise Meirin would have felt it.
Zhao turned around and saw the look on Meirin's face. "Grandma Meirin, don't worry. In a few days I'll tell you all about how the gods gave me this ability." After awhile, Meirin just nodded her head and did not ask. As long as there was no danger to Zhao, this ability could be a good thing. Zhao looked at the water one last time and then said, "It's about time to go back. We'll wait until Grandpa Green's return before we continue with our plans."
Meirin nodded. "Master should go back. You do not need to worry about these things. Meg and I will take care of it."
"Okay. But Grandma Meirin shouldn't work too hard. The slaves could handle their tasks by themselves. It shouldn't be too difficult to clean up these caves before grandfather gets back."
"Master really grew up, being concerned for other people." Meirin smiled. "Don't worry, my old bones are still holding. Master should go back to the castle, and I'll cook you something to eat."
"Okay, I'll head back," Zhao said. Blockhead and Rockhead followed him out of the mines.
Meirin looked at Zhao's departing back and murmured, "Ancestors, I did not expect such a strong ability to be bestowed on the young master. The Buda clan might rise again beyond all expectations."
Zhao led Blockhead and Rockhead back to the castle. He wanted to check out the black soil and that water bubble as soon as possible.
Once he was in his room, he turned to the two and said, "You two are not going with me. Stand out there and guard the door. If anyone comes, tell them I went to bed." Zhao was testing them to see if they would now listen to his orders. Ever since he had taken them to the spatial farm, their attitudes have changed, as if they were in awe of him. And so he wanted to see if the two would listen to him if he told them to stay.
They did not hesitate. "Yes, sir."
Zhao left Blockhead and Rockhead outside the door and closed it, leaving them to guard his room. Zhao didn't think those two would be so obedient, but this was a good thing, so he immediately entered his farm space.
While in the spatial farm, with a single thought, the pile of black soil appeared in front of him. The voice came immediately: [The discovery of new materials for soil variability has large amounts of harmful substances. It is possible to transform this soil with available spatial earth and water up to one mu per day. Due to the discovery of new materials, your level has risen to three. Spatial earth has also upgraded to level two. You are given two bags of corn seeds, with each bag able to fill one acre of farmland. With your higher level, the farm's growth rate has risen to elevenfold.]
Zhao felt a moment of joy. He did not expect to get a level up and two bags of corn seeds. Corn was very good with a very high yield. With corn they could almost solve all of their food problems. But the most important thing was that it was possible to transform the black soil with the spatial water and earth. This was great!
Even if he could only transform one mu of land per day, it was still amazing. However, even though he had risen up a level, the area of his spatial farm did not change. This was strange because in the past, when he played this game, the land would automatically become larger when his level rose.
While he thought about this, the voice echoed again. [Do you want to cultivate new land? Cultivating land has a requirement of being level three plus the cost of two hundred gold coins. You can expand your farm land by two acres.] [The next land cultivation will require you to be at level five and five hundred gold coins.]
Zhao was overjoyed, but then he realized the difficult decision he had to make. He only had two hundred gold coins left. If he cultivated new farm land, he would have no money to buy seeds. Of course, he could sell his radishes, but he was very reluctant to do that now. The result was he didn't immediately expand the land.
Instead, he took out a bag of corn seeds and gently poured them into his hand. They were large golden seeds, the finest he had ever seen. If they were to grow into ripe corn, they would taste amazing. Zhao suddenly froze for a moment as his brain flashed with an idea. He smacked his head. "Yes, ah, I forgot about how plants could make their own seeds, including radishes. If that's true, then I wouldn't need to buy anymore seeds." He laughed.
While holding the corn seeds, Zhao didn't cultivate any land just yet. Instead, he looked at the radishes. He honestly did not know if the crops he planted inside this space would be able to produce seeds. If this spatial farm was exactly like the game, then the plants wouldn't make any seeds, which would mean big trouble for him if he spent the last of his money to cultivate the land. He decided to wait for the radishes to mature first. If the radishes do produce seeds, he will immediately cultivate new farm land. If not, then his plans would be delayed.
Figuring this out, Zhao decided not to rush it. Instead, he took the water bubble out of the barn. The water bubble maintained its form in this space, which could be part of Zhao's ability. Outside of this space, he might not be able to do it, but it was possible within his spatial farm.
When the water bubble appeared, the voice appeared: [Discovery of new materials with good quality. Able to enhance spatial water. Because of the discovery of new materials, your level has risen to four. You will be rewarded with two wheat seed bags, with each bag able to fill one acre of land. Spatial water has also upgraded to level two. Can improve crop growth by doubling tenfold.]
Once he heard this prompt, Zhao could not help but laugh. I did not expect the two things I brought from outside would be able to let me expand my land if I wanted, gave me four bags of seeds, and also leveled up my spatial water and spatial earth. This was really great!