This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 137

On the 15th floor of the Crucible Tower, in a classroom the size of a basketball court, Matthew met his personal instructor, Ms. Margaret.

According to David's introduction, this woman was known for her fierce and ruthless combat magic.

In the internal battles of the Alliance's mages, she had won championships in various ranks.

Margaret was also the only senior mage with an A1 rank who still held a long-term position as an instructor.

Her level was as high as LV20, just one step away from being a legend.

When Matthew saw her, she was dressed in ordinary casual clothing, with slippers on her feet. Her ten white and delicate toes were adorned with translucent rosy nail polish.

She had a pair of half-frame glasses perched on her nose, making her fair skin even more radiant.

Compared to her renowned reputation, Margaret's stature was quite petite. Even when standing on a raised platform, she only reached Matthew's chin.

But this did not diminish her imposing presence.

As soon as Matthew entered the classroom, Margaret gave him a single glance, and he felt as if he were being stalked by a top predator from the depths of his soul.

The feeling was a shiver that originated from the depths of his soul.

"Hello, Ms. Margaret. My name is Matthew," he began introducing himself, but before he could finish, she abruptly interrupted him.

"I know your name is Matthew, and you know I'm Margaret. That's enough. Don't waste time with unnecessary words. My time is precious, and the time in this magical classroom is even more so. If it were someone else, to book a full class of 'Suerel's Magic Classroom,' it would cost at least twenty thousand gold coins or one knowledge point. In my case, the cost is halved, but time is of the essence."

"Let's cut to the chase. I know you have some background, but here, none of your other identities matter. You can only be my student, and you must unconditionally obey all my instructions, even if I ask you to kneel down and lick my toes. Do you understand?"

Matthew was taken aback for a moment. He didn't appreciate Margaret's domineering style, but senior mages all had their quirks, and Margaret's reputation spoke for itself. To learn magic, Matthew decided to endure the humiliation.

"I understand," he replied.

Margaret pushed her glasses' frame on the right side and continued, "If you make very foolish mistakes, I'll make you kneel and lick. But if I catch you intentionally making such mistakes, you'll have a more unforgettable experience. I hope I don't catch any slip-ups, my dear student."

With that, she gestured for Matthew to sit down and produced a wand from her ear, tapping it lightly.

The next moment, something astonishing happened. A dazzling magical light surrounded Margaret, and her casual clothing disappeared. In their place, she wore a white blouse, a tight black uniform, and a familiar form-fitting skirt.

This attire, combined with her glasses, left Matthew both awestruck and infatuated.

"I heard you like this style, so I transformed into this look. Don't misunderstand; a cheerful mood enhances the learning experience. To help students focus, I'll take all measures."

Margaret said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Matthew blushed and asked, "Where did you hear that?"

Margaret replied, "From Eckmonde."

"I heard that you're new to the Alliance. You may not know this, but our Archmage is a super gossiper. He loves to dig up gossip and willingly shares what he discovers with others. What's even scarier is that he has a powerful telepathic ability. Thanks to Archmage Eckmonde, there's hardly any gossip sealed within the Alliance. Fortunately, Archmage Eckmonde often finds many spies from other planes or factions infiltrating the Alliance. In any case, if you have secrets, it's best to keep them away from that seemingly friendly old weirdo."

"Of course, not everyone knows your preferences. Eckmonde only shares it with a select few friends. He passed this information to my teacher, Suerel, and Suerel told me."

Margaret's speech was rapid, and Matthew managed to catch every word, thanks to his focused attention.

Suerel. He noticed an important name.

"No wonder Margaret said from the beginning that she doesn't care about my identity. She's Suerel's student."

Matthew suddenly realized.

Suerel was one of the three Archmages of the Alliance, rumored to be on par with Isabelle. Her current rank could be either high-level legendary or even Archmage; no one could confirm for sure. In any case, she was on the same level as Isabelle.

"I understand. But don't you think you should change back to your previous appearance? I found that one more comfortable."

Matthew reluctantly said. He had to focus on learning today, and he could reward himself later.

Margaret didn't say anything and swiftly changed back.

The next moment, Margaret tapped her wand lightly again. A super-clear light wall appeared behind her. It had text and images, giving it the appearance of a slideshow.

"My crash course is divided into theory and practical sections. We'll start with theory for the first two lessons."

"Before we engage in actual combat, we must learn to assess which enemies are best left alone. In other words, we need to learn to evaluate the strength of our foes."

"As a mage, which attribute do you think is the most important?"

With Margaret's strong presentation, the slides behind her also displayed several semantically similar or repeated phrases: "Money!" "Gold coins!" "All resources or power that can be converted into gold coins!"

Matthew listened attentively.

Margaret stated emphatically, "Anyone who tells you that money isn't important, or that it's not the most important thing for a mage, can be classified as a combat loser. I can assure you that, below the legendary level, gold coins can almost be directly converted into combat power. Above the legendary level, I'll still encourage you to earn more money. The most important attribute for a mage is wealth, without a doubt. If you still have doubts, let me give you an example."

With that, Margaret conjured a glittering object in her hand, and thousands of gold coins appeared in the air. These gold coins seemed to sprout wings and flew rapidly around her.

In an instant, the scene in the magical classroom was replaced by a vast expanse of rocks and magma.

Matthew couldn't help but stand up. He found himself standing on the edge of a volcano. Magma within the mountain was brewing for another eruption, and thick smoke billowed all around.

What was even more terrifying, on the other side of the mountain's mouth, a red dragon was glaring at him!

"What a realistic illusion!" Matthew marveled at the lifelike scene.

"All the illusion scenes you see are based on real data simulation. This is the most valuable aspect of Suerel's Magic Classroom. If you're willing to invest, you can even write the enemy's information into the storage scrolls of this classroom, allowing you to simulate training here."

"Pay close attention!" Margaret's introduction was resolute, and several phrases similar to the one above appeared in her slides.

"Capital Shield of Wealth!"

"This spell can withstand attacks from all angles, 360 degrees, and is immune to all spells below the fifth rank, as well as physical attacks equivalent to fifth-rank magic. Even if the enemy shatters the shield with a legendary spell, as long as the platinum shield is not completely destroyed, it will slowly repair itself."

"It comes with a powerful force-field space inside. Anyone trying to get close to you will be pushed away, including matter and fluids."

"With this spell, you can even lie in the magma and duel with other mages!"

After saying this, Margaret, without hesitation, advanced toward the red dragon that was getting ready to unleash its fiery breath.

The dragon, noticing that this tiny creature dared to approach, raised its head in anger, and its chest emitted a bright yellow light, indicating the gathering of its dragon breath.

Margaret showed no fear. She threw dragon scales into the air, and thousands of gold coins joined the scales, clinking together.

In the end, all of these objects vanished into thin air.

Accompanied by Margaret's loud incantation, a bicolored golden and platinum magical shield appeared by her side.

Matthew noticed that the floating shield appeared to only defend in one direction, but it emanated fringe-like rays in all directions - up, down, left, right. These rays interweaved to form a large, translucent, egg-shaped structure, tightly encasing Margaret.

The scorching dragon breath came forth, but the shield held firm. It was as if a column of water had hit a rock, forcing the flames to scatter in all directions.

Margaret herself remained unaffected.

She continued to stride confidently toward the volcano's mouth.

"Capital Shield of Wealth!"

"This spell can withstand attacks from all angles, 360 degrees, and is immune to all spells below the fifth rank, as well as physical attacks equivalent to fifth-rank magic. Even if the enemy shatters the shield with a legendary spell, as long as the platinum shield is not completely destroyed, it will slowly repair itself."

"It comes with a powerful force-field space inside. Anyone trying to get close to you will be pushed away, including matter and fluids."

"With this spell, you can even lie in the magma and duel with other mages!"

Having finished her explanation, Margaret pressed forward.

...

Peggy stood tall and jumped into the volcano's mouth. Matthew fixed his gaze on her.

She descended gracefully into the lava pool, moving effortlessly on its surface. The red dragon, infuriated, dove down, biting the platinum shield that protected her.

He tried to swallow it, but the shield's peculiar egg-shaped structure stopped him.

With a leisurely demeanor, Peggy sat inside the red dragon's mouth and continued to explain to Matthew, "This spell isn't difficult to learn. Normally, mages of the fourth rank can master it. If you have some knowledge of the protective or construct domains, you can learn it even at the third rank.

"When you activate the Platinum Shield of Wealth, it will provide continuous protection for twenty-four hours. The cooldown time is one hour, meaning theoretically, you can maintain the Platinum Shield indefinitely.

"The issue that most people face with this spell is that the casting materials are expensive. Each use requires consuming ten thousand gold coins or an equivalent amount of gold, plus a dragon scale. Additionally, this spell is not affected by free casting abilities, so don't expect any discounts.

"Furthermore, as long as you have enough money, you can even learn a spell that rivals legendary power at the fifth rank. It's called the 'Capital's Dragon Slayer.'"

"As the name suggests, this spell's purpose is to eliminate a dragon."

Peggy casually summoned more than a hundred times the number of gold coins in the red dragon's mouth. The sight left the dragon in bewilderment.

Guided by the magic incantation, the floating gold coins instantly turned into dust.

Then, a robust golden lance descended from the heavens, pierced through the sky, and thrust straight into the volcano's mouth.

A resounding boom! The golden lance pinned the red dragon deep within the volcano.

The illusory surroundings began to fade.

Matthew was once again back in the familiar magical classroom. Peggy continued her explanation.

"The Capital's Dragon Slayer doesn't require dragon scales, but it does require consuming five hundred thousand gold coins or an equivalent amount of gold resources."

"In the Alliance's history, the famous Mr. Capital used this spell to defeat a dragon that was believed to be immune to all magic. He not only proved that the dragon's magic immunity was a joke, but he also demonstrated that in his magical system, gold coins were genuinely invincible."

"If you're skilled in this spell and very wealthy, you might even take down a legendary entity. However, this spell is known for its inefficiency."

"In that historical case, Mr. Capital sacrificed a small gold mine he found in another plane, and his ultimate earnings from defeating the dragon amounted to roughly sixty thousand gold coins, which didn't correspond to his investment."

"Moreover, the dragons' wealth usually ranged from two thousand to twenty thousand gold coins, even for an ancient dragon with considerable wealth. Due to their lack of compounding interest capabilities, it's challenging for them to accumulate true riches."

"In comparison, the demonic lords from Hell or certain creatures from the Astral Realm tend to be wealthier than dragons."

"If you're interested in this aspect, you can buy Mr. Capital's magic textbooks. But just like him, his books are not frugal either."

"Let me make one point clear. If you ever encounter a wealthy mage who belongs to the Alliance, avoid confronting them unless you're wealthier than they are."

"Additionally, if you want to rapidly increase your combat power, making money is the best way. Open Mr. Capital's spellbook, and you'll discover a whole new world."

Peggy concluded her lecture and casually sipped her tea.

Matthew had a thoughtful expression on his face. He'd always known the importance of money to mages, but Peggy's lesson had opened up new possibilities.

After class, Matthew hurried to Isabelle's laboratory and exchanged a considerable amount of points for several spellbooks personally authored by Mr. Capital. They included a list of Mr. Capital's spells.

It was worth noting that Matthew noticed these spellbooks were not frequently exchanged, indicating that Mr. Capital's spells were also not widely sought after within the Alliance.

He glanced at the list, and the individual spell's learning cost was not higher than other spells. However, the feature of requiring the consumption of gold coins made most people hesitant.

Matthew neither planned nor had the ability to follow Mr. Capital's path. Still, he understood the importance of knowing your enemy and had decided to study these spells so that, in case he ever faced a "pay-to-win" opponent, he'd have a fighting chance.

Walking through the streets of the mage district, with the early summer breeze on his face, he suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Oh no!" Matthew remembered what he had forgotten.

Table of content

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