Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

Bobbobovic left the Blue Lake Estate.

When he had arrived, it was with great pomp, but he departed in secrecy.

Silently leaping past the academy gates, Bobbobovic drifted down to the ground inside, turned around, and tiptoed toward the attic, intending to change out of his battle-damaged clothes first.

At that moment, a head peered out from the stone building nearby.

The freckled female apprentice, Jessica, glanced at the returning Bobbobovic and expressed her surprise: "Teacher, you're back? You... What happened to you? Were you in a fight just now?"

Bobbobovic stiffened, and blurted out, "I won." After speaking, he felt a bit improper because he had responded too hastily, seeming somewhat guilty.

Indeed, Jessica looked skeptical.

Bobbobovic had no choice but to insist forcefully, "I really did win, really." His voice got softer as he spoke.

Fortunately, the female apprentice didn't probe further but simply said, "Alright. Actually, Teacher, I wanted to tell you that your meal is ready. You can eat whenever you're hungry."

"Uh, I'll go eat in a bit," Bobbobovic said. "First... I need to change my clothes, this one is a bit dirty."

It was more than just dirty!

At this moment, his clothes were tattered, with large burnt marks at the edges, as if he had just escaped from a fire pit, a truly miserable sight.

However, the apprentice just nodded her head and said nothing else.

Bobbobovic didn't say much else either and hurried into the attic.

"Tap tap tap..."

His footsteps echoed as Bobbobovic ascended directly to the top of the attic, and then he slammed his head against the wall of the top floor, maintaining that position for quite a while.

"Bang bang bang!"

Moments later, Bobbobovic continuously hit his head against the wall, creating noise, his expression anguished and his voice bitter, "It's all over, all over! Jessica saw my miserable state, my previous image is completely ruined! What to do, what to do!"

After headbutting the wall for a good while, suddenly Bobbobovic seemed to have an epiphany, his eyes brightened as he exclaimed, "No, it's not entirely ruined, there's still a chance to remedy it. Yes, there's still a chance. After all, Jessica doesn't know the details. She couldn't have followed me all the way to the Blue Lake Estate, so..."

"Swish!"

Bobbobovic straightened up, tore off his ragged clothes with great disdain, tossed them into a corner, and quickly changed into a clean robe. He walked out of the attic and towards the stone building.

Before even entering, Bobbobovic shouted, "Hey, Jessica, come here, let me tell you in detail how I conquered that gang. Yes, a whole gang of more than ten people, all wizards, and they ambushed me, utterly despicable. But I'm not so easily bullied. Although I was at a disadvantage at first, once I caught on..."

His voice carried loudly into the night air, reaching far and wide.

...

The night grew deeper.

Inside Jialan City, at the residence of Marquis Vian.

In a wooden building within the residence, on the balcony of the second floor.

Marquis Vian was sitting there, in front of him a small, exquisite round table with a bottle of wine and a crystal wine glass.

"Glug!"

Marquis Vian grabbed the wine bottle, tilted it slightly, and poured about one-third of the wine into the glass. He picked it up and sipped it slowly, savoring the taste while squinting at the distant night sky.

At that moment, the sky was empty, dim, but not too long ago, it had been marvelously radiant, with bursts of light one after another, astoundingly clear even from thousands of kilometers away.

"Gulp!"

Marquis Vian gulped down a mouthful of wine, his face excitedly flushed as he stared at the direction of the night sky and muttered to himself in awe, "Extraordinary power! Only by truly mastering such power can one transcend the confines of Jialan City and ascend to greater heights."

This was Marquis Vian's ambition, and also his worry.

His family was a significant force in Jialan City, but it was not counted among the top elite forces. Under these circumstances, he could easily maintain the status quo and continue the family legacy with little difficulty, as long as his descendants were not wasteful—the legacy could be carried on for centuries, perhaps even longer.

But if he wanted to go further and expand his family's power, it would be incredibly difficult.

Jialan City was not small, but compared to some of the super metropolises on the continent, it was still undeniably a small place.

Small places have their drawbacks, namely, the pie is small and already divided. If he dared to snatch others' pieces to augment his own, that would mean challenging the entire stable system, and who knew what kind of blow he might receive then.

Of course, he could also wage relentless wars, braving the system without fear. He could recruit and arm a massive force of Magic Knights, train enough private soldiers, and eventually carve a bloody path through.

The possibility of success was not nonexistent, but it was too difficult. Most importantly, rapidly expanding power in a short time could easily collapse from within due to betrayal or various conspiracies.

By then, he would be torn to pieces.

The only way to avoid this situation was to ensure his family line possessed extraordinary power. Then, a family member with such power could solve all problems as a formidable core. His family could break through its perennial limitations, claim a larger share of the pie, and even venture into the grander world beyond Jialan City.

But then again, how easy was it to have his family line control extraordinary power? Even though his two children were both endowed with a Wizard's Talent, he could not guarantee that even one of them could successfully become a true Wizard.

Thinking about these things, Marquis Vian grimly drank a large gulp of wine, staring into the distant night sky, lost in thought for a long time.

"Tap tap tap…"

Behind Marquis Vian, footsteps sounded. A servant appeared, walking toward the terrace, ready to report something to Marquis Vian. But seeing his gloomy look, the servant did not dare to disturb him and quietly stood waiting on the side.

Soon after, the sound of "tap tap tap" of footsteps rang again, and another servant appeared, glanced at the first one, and also stood by waiting.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes.

Before long, half an hour had passed, and the terrace remained quiet.

Finally, the spacey Marquis Vian made a move. As if he had sensed the presence of the servants, he tilted his neck and drank the last of the red wine in his crystal glass, then turned to face them.

Marquis Vian spoke sternly, asking them, "Well, what have you all heard, what have you seen? Tell me in detail, and don't omit any details."

"Yes," the two servants trembled slightly as they quickly began to speak.

…

In the blink of an eye, more than ten minutes had passed.

After hearing the servants, Marquis Vian said nothing but refilled his glass with half a cup of wine, sipped slowly. After he finished the wine in his glass, Marquis Vian's gaze sharpened, and he made a decision, instructing the two servants, "You two, tomorrow take 300 Gold Coins to Blue Lake Estate and 200 Gold Coins to Ash Academy. Tell them this is the tuition I respectfully increase in admiration of the Master Wizards' knowledge, the same amount will be given every month, please accept it."

"Yes," the servants nodded.

"Hmm," Marquis Vian grunted a response and stood up. Perhaps from drinking too much wine, his body swayed a bit. The servant quickly reached out to support him but was met with a fierce glare from Marquis Vian and hastily retracted his hand.

Eventually, Marquis Vian steadied himself on his own and walked off the terrace, heading back to his room on the second floor. He then stepped down the wooden stairs to the first floor.

As he passed two adjacent rooms on the first floor, Marquis Vian slowed his steps, pressed his body close to the wooden door, and listened quietly for a while. Finding no noise inside, he relaxed.

The two rooms housed his two children—Harry and Cathy.

He was forty-five years old, with more than a dozen children, but only treated Harry and Cathy specially, as they represented his hope of expanding the family.

With a "squeak," Marquis Vian quietly opened each door, peeked in to see both were sound asleep, and only then did he feel completely reassured.

Subconsciously, he tucked in their blankets and stepped out of the room, turning to leave.

…