Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 484: The Spellcaster's Dilemma in a Medium Magic World

Next, Li Wei went to look at those captives. They were basically all Four-Star Class-holders, along with some Three-Star Class-holders, and not a single Five-Star Class-holder among them.

Hmm? That's not right.

As Li Wei swept his gaze over them, he actually spotted a few old acquaintances among these captives.

The first one was Benjamin, the son of Linus. He originally had Five-Star Power Level, looking something like 5+5+4+3+2, but now he had become 4+4+3+2. Did he die once?

That shouldn't be. Even if he died, wouldn't there be a half-year delay? No, he started with a Routed Soldier Start. After dying, he would become a Refugee. What kind of treatment do Refugees get? They might be selected for the Battlefield very soon after Resurrection.

But Kahndorf only had a Treacherous Minister Start. Where would he get the opportunity to recruit Refugees? Unless he recruited Benjamin during the process of wiping out the Routed Soldiers.

As Li Wei's gaze swept over, Benjamin shamefully lowered his head, not daring to look up at all. Actually, he had been cowering among the captives from the beginning, very inconspicuous. If Li Wei's gaze wasn't sharp, he would have fooled him.

Who knew what happened to Nelson, Santiago, Xavier, and the others, or if they had already died a second time, Fallen in Battle at Kahndorf Fortress.

Li Wei couldn't be bothered to think about it, and for the time being, he had no interest in pulling Benjamin out to question him.

Instead, a few other acquaintances piqued his interest.The first was Pete, that Ghost Pete from back then, the guy who got infected with the Blood Plague after scouting the Snow Mountain.

Who knows how he ended up in Kaidel Province. Was he conscripted?

The second was that Mad Dog Margaret, hired by Thomas during the Newcomer Mission back then. Of course, her real name wasn't actually Margaret. At this moment, she was looking at Thomas with fanatical joy. She recognized Thomas, but Thomas didn't give a damn about her.

Back then, she was already a Three-Star Profession. Now, nine years have passed, and she was still messing around at Three-Star. Oh, at least she managed to get all three Profession Cards to Three-Star, and obtained a Destiny Grid of 40+. It wasn't easy. For a Player who started from the mud, this was already quite inspiring.

The most important thing was that with her strength, she actually survived the battle just now. It could only be said that these Players were all old pros at saving their own lives.

The third one... Good Heavens, wasn't this the heartless backstabber Zhang Jinjun? This guy was injured and was currently looking over excitedly. He recognized Li Wei.

So Li Wei actually waved his hand and called Zhang Jinjun out.

"I say, Old Zhang, why are you here?"

Zhang Jinjun was so excited that the muscles on his cheeks were trembling. "I... I... I am Zhang Jinjun! Boss Li... Boss Li Wei, you actually still remember me! It hasn't been easy! Woohoo!"

"Hey, don't cry. Tell me about your bizarre experiences. How did you end up in Duke Kaidel's Faction? You're at least a four-star high-level Player now, you know!" Li Wei bared his teeth and smiled. He and Zhang Jinjun hadn't seen each other for about seven years. This guy seemed to be doing well. He used to be 3+3+2, and now he had become 4+3+3+3. Normally speaking, this speed was not bad.

"Boss Li sure knows how To Joke. I became a Mercenary five years ago. I didn't enjoy many good days as a Mercenary before I encountered this unprecedented great upheaval. This Empire Reconstruction Quest is such a scam; they don't show any Humanistic Care at all. As a four-star Mercenary, I was directly detained by Black Wolf from the Logistics Department and incorporated into his Private Army. Then we entered this Ascension Continent. It was Soul-Stirring! We killed a Seven-Star Greatbear during the day, and our nest was raided at night."

"Black Wolf was killed directly, and his core confidants were all slaughtered. Then we surrendered and were incorporated to work under Marquis Kahndorf. For the past month, we've been working day and night, non-stop. I'm so exhausted I'm about to vomit blood! Suddenly, who knows how, it snowed heavily. It's an injustice! A great injustice of the ages! Sure enough, heaven has eyes; as soon as it got light, you guys attacked!"

"Oh fuck, those Ballista Bolts and Stone Projectiles whizzing around—it was too scary! And I don't know what kind of magic Assassin it was, shooting Ice Spikes like they were free. Several of my newly acquainted friends were poked to death by the Ice Spikes. It was miserable! But my luck is truly good. With so many Ice Spikes flying in swaths, not a single one poked me. At that moment, I suddenly realized I might have a Dominating Aura."

"But now, Boss Li, I'd rather give you my Dominating Aura for free. Please, for the sake of me once working like a horse for you, take me in!"

Zhang Jinjun spoke vividly, gesturing wildly. Those who didn't know might really think he had some Dominating Aura.

Bullshit. It was purely because Adai recognized him, so he couldn't be bothered to kill him.

"Alright, you can start from the Logistics Camp for now. However, regarding Duke Kaidel and Kahndorf, do you think you have any important intelligence you can tell me?" Li Wei's heart stirred at this moment, and he suddenly asked.

These captives had worked in Kahndorf Fortress for a month after all; perhaps they could collect some good information.

As a result, Zhang Jinjun froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly. "Boss Li, you don't know. Under Kahndorf, there is a Fourth-Rank Wizard. That old man's Mind Reading is incredibly powerful. When he has nothing to do, he just wanders around the Fortress. If anyone dares to complain in their hearts, he directly sends a Mental Shock, making your eyes roll back and your limbs twitch. After a few times, who dares to act rashly? Anyway, I didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. I'm clearly an Auxiliary, but it made me feel like I'm a fucking Slave Soldier."

"As for other intelligence, I did hear a few times about you being hunted down. Additionally, over the past month, Duke Kaidel's Faction seems to have been aggressively searching for and pursuing Routed Soldiers. Leaving aside everything else, just Kahndorf's Cavalry Unit caught five to six hundred Routed Soldiers this month. Counting us step-child Auxiliaries, the total must be around one thousand five hundred."

"So Kahndorf's true elites only number one thousand five hundred?"

Li Wei suddenly asked in a deep voice. This intelligence was very important.

"I'm not too sure. I don't know."

Zhang Jinjun honestly shook his head. When working oneself to death every day, who cares about these things?

But if he had known earlier that this scene would happen, he would have risked investigating no matter what. But who could have imagined that the Marquis Kahndorf, with his strong army and sturdy horses, and a Fourth-Tier Mage under his command, would be defeated?

Li Wei glanced at Zhang Jinjun again, reached out and called Ghost Pete over, asked a few random questions, which were just pleasantries. What was interesting was that out of these two hundred and thirty captives, nearly two-thirds were minor Players from Will Province and Kaidel Province—the kind who had joined the Alliance of Heavenly Lords for less than two thousand years.

You couldn't say they were strong, but you couldn't say they weren't experienced either.

These Players had no other skills, but their ability in Trimming One's Sails, Greasing One's Soles, being strong against the weak, and weak against the strong was not small. So it was no wonder they surrendered so readily before.

Li Wei's eyes burned as he looked at each of them again to ensure there were no Samsara Travelers, Contractors, or the like hidden among them. Only then did he wave his hand and stuff them all into the Logistics Camp.

With their abilities, they were only suitable for working in the Logistics Camp. Don't expect any talents to emerge from among them; it doesn't exist. There's a reason why they couldn't develop from the novice period to the subsequent more than ten years.

Therefore, Li Wei didn't even include them in the Pioneering Card. In other words, he didn't acknowledge them as his own people, but merely hired laborers. The kind of status where they get paid at the end of the month, with food and accommodation included, but temporarily cannot leave.

Next, Li Wei called over Chekhov and Liu Huan, the two Second-Tier Casters.

The potential of these two was mediocre. If they developed in the future, they would probably be around Second Aunt's level—oh, regarding being a Spellcaster; preparing Magic Potions and such couldn't be compared.

In short, they were very suitable to be Spellcaster assistants for Hathaway, the 9 Workhorses mages in the Mage Tower.

At this stage, it wasn't that they couldn't be used.

"You two, what do you think of the Mana in this area?"

Li Wei asked. He could also perceive Mana, and could even sense the subtle changes in Mana, but he couldn't utilize Mana.

How should he put it, this is called Specialization of Skills.

What he perceived were the trajectories, oscillations, and changes of Mana. That is to say, just as you are about to instant-cast a certain magic, I can quickly perceive it and make the correct response.

It was like this.

But for a Spellcaster to perceive and communicate with Mana, that's a different state. They can analyze and judge what the composition of this Mana is, whether it's stable, whether it's pure, and what kind of Magic Formulas should be used to express, communicate, and utilize it.

"Reporting to My Lord, the Mana in this area is overall quite abundant. In principle, this world does not lack Mana. What is truly difficult is how to rationalize, distinguish, screen, purify, and then create a Mana Barrier."

"So if you give us six months, we do have a certain degree of confidence in building a one-star Magic Power Mine here. Uh, it might be a Magic Power Mine with many flaws. But considering that Lady Hathaway will return in five months, we can do some preparatory work for her first."

Chekhov answered cautiously. He and Liu Huan were also very helpless. Bearing the title of a Second-Tier Caster, they hadn't made a single contribution in such a Medium Magic World. They couldn't even instant-cast magic. At most, they could cast a First-Tier Blessing magic on their own Soldiers before a battle——

Because since it was a Medium Magic World, the sources of Mana were complex and variable. Many were mixed Manas with an unknown number of superimposed changes. Not all Mana could be taken and applied. Without accurate Magic Formulas to express it, accidents would happen.

That is to say, without a stable workplace, without several years of accumulation, without sufficiently high Spiritual Power, without sufficiently high Inspiration, they simply couldn't do it.

In fact, at this moment, even bringing Second Aunt here would be the same.

In a Low Magic World, there isn't much Mana, and the sources of Mana are single, so on the contrary, one can mess around vigorously.

Especially after having a Mage Tower, who couldn't control it?

But try coming to a Medium Magic World.

Chekhov and Liu Huan, these two brothers, had been At One's Wits' End with no progress over the past month. All day long they were like two invisible men, unable to do anything. Even Li Wei felt tired watching them.