Chapter 115: The Ins and Outs

Both parties came to a consensus quickly. Since violence could not solve the issue, they could only use their knowledge to determine whom did the key belong to.

Frankly speaking, this was an absurd suggestion.

Forging and Inscription were two completely different fields.

Furthermore, the heads of both guilds and both of these two figures were at the peak of their own fields.

It was ridiculous for either of them to come out on top of each other.

After that, the negotiations revolved around a single point. Was there any method to prove which guild was more superior when both guilds were from different fields?

After another round of arduous negotiations, both sides finally came to an agreement.

In the new round of debating, the deciding factor would no longer be the two heads of the guilds, but the members of the guild. Regardless of rank and position, they could partake in this competition as long as they were members of the guild.

According to the agreement from both sides, the following was decided.

Should a member of the Adventurers Guild be able to produce a high level mageweath, it would be the Guild of Magic’s defeat.

Conversely, should a member of the Guild of Magic forge a magical weapon, it would be the Adventurers Guild’s loss.

Lin Li was astonished after hearing this.

As a master of both fields, how could he not know the difference?

Making magical weapons might sound mysterious, but in reality, it was not complicated. With a magical metal, most middle-tier blacksmiths had a chance of producing magical equipment. On the flipside, producing a high-tier mageweath would be much more difficult. Only a high-tier inscriber had a chance of doing so.

The difference between middle and high tier was not as simple as it sounded. It required countless amounts of money and time, as well as an unexplainable difference in innate talent.

Among a thousand blacksmiths, at least 500 of them could reach middle tier. On the contrary, only 100 out of 1000 inscribers could reach a high tier of mastery. This was decided by innate talent.

It was the same pyramid structure in any field. Only a few people could climb up the stairs of a pyramid.

On the surface, it was obvious that the Guild of Magic had an advantage in this agreement.

However, that was just on the surface.

After thinking about it, Lin Li finally understood.

Even though the Guild of Magic seemed to be at an advantage, they were hugely disadvantaged due to the members of both guilds.

Surely enough, at this point, Macklin cursed frustratedly. “Shit. Al’Akir is such a cunning bastard. We were baited while not paying attention!”

“Haha…” Lin Li laughed without saying anything.

The disadvantage was received unjustly by the Guild of Magic.

There was a mixture of good and bad in the Adventurers Guild. There were many low-level adventurers, but there were legendary-level adventurers as well. Among the great number of adventurers in Alanna, they made up for almost all of the different professions. Moreover… naturally there were some mages that had not been registered with the Guild of Magic. Inscribing had always been a core subject for the Guild of Magic. Even though a high-tier inscriber was rare, who could guarantee that there was none amongst the vast number of adventurers?

Conversely, the guild of magic was at a huge disadvantage.

Firstly, it was the composition of the members. The Guild of Magic was inherently the guild for mages. There would not be any warrior that would be foolish enough to give themselves up to the Guild of Magic. Even if they did, what sort of benefits would they receive? Giving up all of their might, learning magic from scratch? Who would have the time to do so…

Next, it would be the number of members. This was even more incomparable for the Guild of Magic.

With the example of Jarrosus’ guild of magic, Gerian’s subordinates, including those disciples below level-5, only had a full strength of a few hundred.

Being the center of the Felan Kingdom, Alanna’s Guild of Magic was stronger. However, there was only a maximum of three thousand members.

With these numbers, how could they compare with the Adventurers Guild?

After listening till this point, Lin Li already knew that Guild of Magic was going to be out of luck.

Indeed…

When Macklin spoke of this, he felt sad, expressing a look of heartache.

Within the past year or so, both old men were about to be driven mad. They searched everywhere within the guild for a mage that could forge so that they could win this gamble. Both men traveled all around the Felan Kingdom—including Jarrosus—asking almost every Guild of Magic in hopes of finding a mage that could forge.

However, a genius like Lin Li who was adept at every profession could not be easily found.

For more than half a year, they could not even find a mage that had dabbled in forging, much less a middle-tier blacksmith that could produce magical equipment.

This was indeed almost impossible…

A strong mind with a weak body was the characteristic of a mage. A mage with powerful magical elements had no intention of training their physical strength. A strong body was meaningless from their point of view. Would a strong body be able to withstand the blast of a fireball?

A blacksmith was not a well-respected profession, unless he could reach a high level and guarantee that every weapon he forged had magical attributes. Otherwise, which mage would be willing to undertake such an arduous but fruitless task?

On the other end, the Adventurers Guild was able to find a suitable candidate quickly.

Six months ago, the adventurers guild dispatched an adventurer with level of an archmage. He free-handedly produced a high-level mageweath under the full view of the public.

“The time initially agreed upon was two years. In other words, we only have half a year left. If we can’t find a middle-tier blacksmith after these six months, the Guild of Magic will likely lose this gamble…”

“So that’s how it is…” Lin Li finally understood after listening to the full description of the matter.

No wonder these two old men were forging in the house. It was because the guild could not find anyone suitable, hence they decided to do it themselves.

Unfortunately, these two old men had terrifyingly low talent for forging. They were still worse even when compared to Andoine, the pharmacist enthusiast. At the very least, Andoine could produce a few bottles of low-level medicine. These two old men were struggling to even hold the hammer.

“No problem.” Lin Li nodded and generously gave his promise. It was just a magical weapon; it would not amount to much.

“Really?” Macklin was surprised as he did not think this matter would be solved so easily.

“Of course.” Lin Li nodded, and then asked, “Mr. Macklin, when do you need this magical weapon?”

“After a half a year.” Seeing his steadfast attitude, Macklin felt thoroughly relieved. His old face was smiling.

“Alright then, Mr. Macklin. If there is nothing else, I would like to go back and have a rest…” Lin Li saw that it was getting late, so he decided to bid him farewell after discussing the details with Macklin.

“Alright, I’ll see you out.” Hearing his words, Macklin showed him the way out with a smile on his face, brimming with joy. On the way out, he repeatedly advised the young mage to have a good rest, and not overexert himself.

The old man could only settle down after idolizing him.

This fella was not only a mage participating in the trials, but someone that had relations to Osric’s mausoleum. It could even be said that he was the hope of Alanna’s Guild of Magic. If this trial was not arranged by the Supreme Council, Macklin wanted to directly assign him as first place.

Think about it… Once the relic, Highlord Osric’s mausoleum, was opened, no other faction in the Felan Kingdom could go against Alanna’s Guild of Magic.

After sending him off to the guild hall, Macklin hurriedly looked for Aldwin for a discussion.

As for Lin Li, he left the guild hall through the backdoor, and walked along Sylvan Street.

He was indeed slightly exhausted as he was really busy today.

In the morning, he killed a Fantama Panthera. After that, he fought with members of the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps, and even killed an adventurer with an icicle. In the afternoon, he was coerced into forging by these two old men at the Guild of Magic. After the whole day, he was thoroughly exhausted. No matter how energetic Lin Li was, he could not help but feel drained at this point.

Unfortunately, that was how the world worked.

The more you felt like resting, the less opportunities you had to rest.

Just when he walked along Sylvan Street, he could hear commotion coming from the front.

Lin Li could hear from afar a familiar voice that was cold and proud.

With such an obvious trait, Lin Li knew who it was after thinking for a brief moment.

“Why was it Orrin?”

Just when Lin Li was still confused and could not make out what was happening, an intense magical wave was suddenly released.