"Congratulations, Lord Lynn! Back when you were promoted to Second-Tier Member, I already knew you were no ordinary man that one day you would surely soar to great heights!"
"Thank you for the kind words," Lynn replied with a polite smile, fending off the flattery of the Second-Tier member before him.
The clouds of war were already looming, but at least for these members still unaware of the truth, it was nothing more than a distant, hazy shadow.
Compared to war, what concerned them more was the ongoing conflict between the Bloodmark Society and the Golden Shadow Society, and, of course, Lynn himself, newly accepted as the Golden Shadow Wizard's student and now a blazing hot figure in the Society.
From the moment he was taken on as Golden Shadow's pupil, Lynn had naturally risen to the rank of First-Tier Member.
"Congratulations, my lord…" Another First-Rank apprentice pushed through the crowd to offer his respects. "Who would have thought you'd be chosen as Lord Golden Shadow's student? Truly enviable."
Lynn recognized this apprentice; it was Daniels, the one who had delivered his letter.
Daniels' tone carried genuine awe, and the envy in his eyes was not feigned.
So, Golden Shadow hasn't told him about the wizard tower…
"I didn't expect it either," Lynn replied with a smile. "Thank you for coming, Lord Daniels."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Daniels excused himself and went to find a seat elsewhere.
Even if Lynn was only studying spell arrays under Golden Shadow, his identity still far outstripped that of ordinary First-Tier members.
That was why Daniels looked at him with such envy.
And for the same reason, it wasn't just Daniels; many First-Tier members had come to this ceremony.
Thus, Lynn was able to meet and mingle with quite a few of them.
Naturally, when gathered together, their conversations turned to the dispute with the Bloodmark Society.
"Today is the day the land contracts are renewed. I wonder how the Society plans to handle it…"
"If they still follow the old principle of distributing by the number of prey, then we'll be forced to give up a huge portion of our territory.
"But if they refuse to follow the old agreement, then an entirely new set of rules will have to be drawn up…"
Most faces in the group were dark with unease.
"Lord Lynn, long time no see."
A familiar voice reached him, and Lynn turned.
It was Adeline's uncle, Landry.
At that moment, he was wearing a broad, ingratiating smile.
"Welcome, Lord Landry," Lynn said smoothly, taking the gift from his hands and passing it to Adeline, who stood nearby keeping record of the offerings.
Carter was still unwell, so Adeline had volunteered to take the old woman's place, carefully noting down each gift given.
Landry's gaze flicked toward her, a trace of regret flickering in his eyes, though he still forced a smile as he greeted:
"Good evening, Adeline."
"Good evening, Lord Landry," Adeline answered politely, her smile courteous but her tone utterly flat.
This heterochromatic-eyed maid had always been one to keep score.
Her mother had died two years ago in an accident, leaving most of her wealth to her younger sister, and Landry's wife had entrusted her to take care of Adeline.
But in truth, Adeline had only seen her aunt once since then, on the day of her mother's funeral.
For the next two years, her aunt never bothered with her, and the one shred of familial affection left had been completely burned away when she coldly turned Adeline away at the door.
Rebuffed so bluntly now, Landry gave a weak, awkward smile and retreated toward the corner, heart heavy with regret.
If he had only known Somlei would die… If he had only known Lynn had the power to be taken in as the Golden Shadow Wizard's student… he would never have driven Adeline out!
What a waste…!
...
The celebration ended swiftly, and Lynn walked away with a trove of valuable gifts.
More than twenty First-Tier members had attended, each bringing presents worth no less than five primary-grade magic stones apiece.
Together, these alone amounted to over a hundred stones, instantly doubling Lynn's assets.
And that wasn't even counting the many gifts from Second- and Third-Tier members, which added up to several dozen more stones.
...
"Has Lady Elena not returned yet?"
At the Hossens School garrison in Emeraldwood City, Lynn stepped down from the carriage and asked the guard at the gate.
"Not yet, my lord," the guard answered with a shake of his head.
Lynn frowned slightly, then climbed back into the carriage and ordered:
"Take me to the Golden Shadow Society headquarters."
It was already the third day since the Autumn Hunt had ended. By agreement, today he needed to report to the Society's headquarters to assist the Golden Shadow Wizard in modifying the wizard tower.
During these past few days, Lynn had visited both the School garrison and the northeastern air harbor morning, noon, and night. Yet no matter which place, there had been no news.
Should I try to build a Lambiel skiff myself?
But the cost of a single skiff is at least a thousand primary-grade magic stones… and I'd still have to learn how to make one.
Inside the carriage, Lynn thought gloomily to himself and let out a deep sigh.
The feeling of being unable to control his fate was truly unpleasant.
"Why?! Why would the Society willingly give up so much territory?"
"I heard they followed the old rules again this year, dividing the land based on the prey captured during the Autumn Hunt."
"Rules?! The Bloodmark Society ambushed us right inside the Emerald Forest and stole prey that should've been ours. How can we possibly still use last year's rules?!"
"…"
As Lynn stepped into the Golden Shadow Society headquarters, he was met with the sound of heated arguments.
It seemed the Golden Shadow Wizard had struck some sort of deal with the Bloodmark Wizard. Although the Golden Shadow Society's territory had shrunk, the Bloodmark Society had compensated with a large payment of magic stones for the incident during the Hunt.
Outwardly, the official statement was that the feud between the two societies had been written off, and relations were once again restored.
But to the lower-ranking members, the injuries and losses they had suffered in the Emerald Forest were all too real.
And those compensations of magic stones certainly hadn't trickled down fully to them.
As a result, a heavy, stifling atmosphere weighed over the entire Society.
Lynn said nothing, slipping quietly into a concealed passage and descending into the underground chamber.
Lyman was already busy beside the wizard tower, working on something. He noticed Lynn's arrival but didn't turn around, only calling out:
"Punctuality is a good habit… Did you grasp the material I gave you?"
"There are still some parts I don't understand," Lynn admitted honestly.
The knowledge Lyman had passed on was mostly about the power-supply system of the flight module. In theory, this section was relatively simple.
After all, Lyman's design wasn't some advanced, complex system. It was just a matter of stacking and linking together a large number of basic magical power units.
Even so, combining so many basic units into a stable supply capable of powering a First-Circle spell module was not something one could master in just two days.
So Lyman wasn't surprised. He only said:
"Time is short. You'll learn as you work. I'll teach you while we build."
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