Chapter 89: Banquet I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
What followed was a bunch of c.u.mbersome procedures.
The Kingdom of Blackmoon was very different from the Kingdom of Light. The Kingdom of Blackmoon was made up of more than ten thousand city-states of several sizes. The supreme commander of a city-state had total control within the area including the conferment of n.o.ble t.i.tles.
In fact, within Prakash City, Count Selin’s authority was no different from a king in a small kingdom. Naturally, his wish to confer the t.i.tle of a baron to a newcomer, more so a mysterious Spell Caster, was a matter of great importance.
Therefore, the necessary procedures were inevitable.
Merlin did not resist but cooperated in the completion of these procedures. After the long process was over, and perhaps to win Merlin over or to show his generosity, Count Selin decided to throw a banquet three days later for Merlin and invite all aristocrats in Prakash City.
This kind of banquet, especially organized by Count Selin, was beneficial for enhancing Merlin’s status. Even if Merlin was not accustomed to these awkward social events, this banquet was essential for the Wilson family if they would like to flourish in Prakash City in the future.
Hence, Merlin accepted Count Selin’s offer with pleasure, then returned to his castle.
Perhaps to cherish the memory of the castle back in Blackwater City, Old Wilson named this new castle as Wilson Castle. The moment he stepped foot into the castle, Merlin noticed the butler shuttling back and forth while giving out orders to the servants to clean up the castle.
“Master Merlin, oh no, I mean, Lord Baron! Old Master Wilson and Old Master Parman are waiting for you in the great hall!”
The butler came forward to receive Merlin immediately. He could not hide the excitement in his tone.
Merlin still felt rather awkward at the strange way his butler had addressed him. However, after giving it some thought, he realized that he was currently a n.o.ble with a legitimate rank of a baron.
As for Old Wilson and Parman, their n.o.bility t.i.tles acquired in the Kingdom of Light lost their function in the Kingdom of Blackmoon. In other words, Merlin was the only n.o.ble in the entire Wilson family now.
Merlin frowned as he pointed at the great number of servants in the castle and asked in confusion, “Butler, what are they doing?”
The butler replied respectfully, “Lord Baron, this is an order from Old Master Wilson. He said that the whole castle needs a proper clean-up now that the Wilson family has another n.o.ble.”
After knowing it was Old Wilson’s order, Merlin did not comment further. In his opinion, being conferred the n.o.ble t.i.tle of a baron was nothing compared to his possession of a new Spell Model from the black-robed old man.
He went to the great hall and noticed almost all the important figures of the Wilson family and the Parman family, for instance, Old Wilson, Baron Parman, Big-breasted Madam, Macy, and Avril were present.
“Merlin, what did Count Selin said?”
Old Wilson blurted out as he could not wait any longer.
Baron Parman stood up and said to Merlin, “Baron Merlin, Commander Cook mentioned earlier that Count Selin has invited you over to select a territory. Have you made your decision?”
Merlin felt quite helpless that even Baron Parman had started addressing him as a baron. He was surprised that the n.o.ble t.i.tle of a baron could change Old Wilson and the others’ att.i.tude toward him completely, and felt that they were no longer as sincere to him as before.
Even when Merlin revealed his ident.i.ty as a Spell Caster in Blackwater City, Old Wilson and Baron Parman did not react like how they did now. It seemed like the concept of “n.o.bility” and “rank” had already been deeply rooted in their minds, and it was a mindset difficult to reset.
Merlin shook his head and replied weakly, “Uncle Parman, I prefer that you still call me Merlin. Count Selin made me choose a territory, and I’ve selected Conxion Town. I’m going to Conxion Town tomorrow to have a look.”
“Conxion Town?”
Old Wilson stood up immediately. His face was filled with excitement as he spoke, “Conxion Town was directly managed by Count Selin previously. Merlin, giving you Conxion Town really shows that Count Selin has faith in you.”
Old Wilson and the others had learned almost everything about the surrounding situation after spending many days in Prakash City. Naturally, they knew some history of Conxion Town.
Later in the night, the elated Old Wilson gathered Baron Parman and the others to discuss future family planning but Merlin was not interested in these matters. Even with the possession of a territory, he planned to pa.s.s the management authority to Old Wilson.
Merlin rose to his feet, ready to rest upstairs but his eyes swept past Avril who had been sitting in the corner in silence. A sudden idea came to his mind, and he smiled at Avril and said, “Count Selin is planning to throw a banquet for me in a few days. Avril, you’re coming with me.”
Avril was obviously surprised. This was the first time Merlin took the initiative to speak to her since Blackwater City, hence she was too startled to respond.
On the other hand, Baron Parman and Old Wilson exchanged glances at each other with a smile on their lips.
Merlin looked deeply at Avril, who was still stunned, and went straight upstairs. He had no energy to figure out what was going on in the girl’s mind.
…
When he got upstairs, Merlin held Earth Guard’s Spell Model in his arms. This was the Earth-type Defensive spell most suitable for Merlin.
At present, Merlin only had Fireball and Frost. The former was an Offensive spell while the latter was a Binding spell. He was lacking a Defensive spell.
This was extremely dangerous for a Spell Caster. If right now Merlin encountered a strong opponent like Merilung, then the heavy arrows would be a fatal threat to him.
Merilung was able to protect himself from that but it did not mean Merlin could too. Hence, now more than ever, he needed Defensive spells more urgently than Speed spells.
“Matrix, store Earth Guard’s Spell Model.”
“Task established. Beep. Spell Model is stored successfully!”
After Merlin stored the Spell Model using the Matrix, he placed the Spell Model’s sketches in front of the candle and quickly burned them into ashes.
Although Earth Guard’s Spell Model had been stored inside the Matrix, Merlin did not command for an a.n.a.lysis. This was mainly because his current Mind Power was still too weak from supporting three Spell Models.
Old man Etha’s beginner Mind Meditation Spell was slow to increase Mind Power. To enhance his strength quickly, he still needed to look for a more advanced Mind Meditation Spell.
The only way to obtain an advanced Mind Meditation Spell was to join a spell casters’ organization. However, Merlin had neither the authenticating object nor extraordinary qualifications. It did not seem that he could join the spell casters’ organization in the near future.
“Unfortunately, the Matrix can only a.n.a.lyze but not create. Otherwise, with the help of the Matrix, it’s possible to derive a more powerful Mind Meditation Spell according to old man Etha’s Mind Meditation Spell.”
Merlin shook his head slightly to dismiss the unrealistic thought in his head. After all, the Matrix was only a calculator. No matter how fast and intelligent it could be, it was only a program that operated based on a prior established program. It was not able to create something new out of thin air.
The Matrix was able to reconstruct based on the prototype of a certain Spell Model through calculations, which could greatly improve various effects of the Spell Model. However, it was not able to create a brand-new Spell Model without a foundation.
Hence, the Matrix was not able to create a new set of Mind Meditation Spell without a base. That was another whole new theory.
Perhaps, if Merlin was able to store thousands of various Spell Models in the Matrix, it could then construct some new Spell Models through data integration of those ma.s.sive data.
However, it had to be supported by ma.s.sive data. Merlin’s current collection only consisted of several Spell Models, which was simply not enough for ma.s.sive data integration process.
Besides, it was unlikely for Merlin to collect tens of thousands of Spell Models in the near future.
“It seems that I still have to find my way into a spell casters’ organization. That’s the only way to increase my strength tremendously!”
Numerous roaming wizards would love to join the spell casters’ organizations but most of them were never given the chance. Fortunately, Merlin was still very young. He had just become a Spell Caster for a few months, and there was still plenty of time for him to come up with a possible solution.