Chapter 57 - Legend
The casual self-introduction from the mage in gray robe seemed to hit the guests like thunder above their heads.
Everyone drew in a cold breath; the banquet hall was filled with surprised gasps. The name—Grimm Burnside—was a living legend to the people of Jarrosus City.
There were two of Jarrosus’ most famous mages in the last hundred years. One of them was Andoine from the Guild of Magic; the other was the old man wearing the gray mage robe standing in front of them—Grimm Burnside.
To some extent, the two mages had a lot in common. For example, both were from Jarrosus City, both had reached the legendary realm every mage had dreamed of, and both were immersed in pharmaceutics.
And in the field of pharmaceutics, both had taken completely different paths.
Andoine’s poor talent had reached such an astonishing level that even a pharmaceutics expert like Lin Li developed a deep sense of hopelessness when faced with him. Moreover, his obstinacy was simply a disaster. Just think, a stubborn old man who had lived for over a hundred years couldn’t even get the most basic of equations right, but in his hands he possessed the formulas for high-level potions, attempting highly difficult concoctions such as the Bull’s Strength Potion as and when he liked. It was an absolute miracle that all those lab accidents over the years hadn’t been able to kill him…
Grimm, who was also a legendary mage like Andoine, was a rare pharmaceutics genius in Felan Kingdom. He had already made remarkable achievements in his twenties. His geniosity had even alarmed the Pharmacists Guild; on the day he’d become a Magic Shooter at age 30, the Anril Pharmacists Guild officially announced that they had accepted Grimm Burnside as an official member of their guild.
Decades had passed since then and Grimm Burnside was already at the mastery level in pharmaceutics. Even within the Pharmacists Guild, he was definitely an important person who had a say in the guild.
Under the two glorious halos of a legendary mage and a master pharmacist, Grimm Burnside had become the most representative figure in Jarrosus City, his reputation even surpassing that of Andoine, who was also a legendary mage.
In Jarrosus City, one could not know the six underground forces or the 11 mage families, or even the Guild of Magic and the legendary mage Andoine, but they could never not have heard of the legend of Grimm Burnside…
When such a legend which could only be looked up to stood living in front of everyone else, there was only one word in their hearts—awe.
At that moment, whether it was the fat man who wanted to introduce his daughter to Kevin, the aunty with the full bosom, or even Anthony Rolin trying to get Bathrilor’s favor by flattery, the looks they gave Grimm Burnside were full of heartfelt admiration.
In Grimm Burnside’s long life, he had long gotten used to being the center of attention. Surrounded by the crowd of guests, his wrinkled face still wore a gentle smile, and he even nodded at several familiar family leaders in a greeting.
But he kept his gaze on Lin Li.
In fact, the reason why he came to Jarrosus City was to have a look at this young mage. At the capital Alanna, Andoine had lauded the latter to the skies like there was nothing impossible for him. At the age below 20, he had already had a profound gift in pharmaceutics and was a magic genius comparable to that of the God of Mages.
Despite his friendship with Andoine, Grimm was still skeptical about it.
It wasn’t because he felt that Andoine was lying; it was just that Old Grimm thought that, theoretically, such a person shouldn’t exist.
Both magic and pharmaceutics required a lot of time to study, especially pharmaceutics. Old Grimm himself was a master pharmacist, hence he was most aware of the hardships thereof. Formulas that could never be mastered, equations involving astronomical figures, all the experiments and failures—even a little progress would need a lot of time to accumulate.
The mage in front of him was barely 20 and there was even a look of childishness on his face. Even if he had begun studying pharmaceutics the moment he was born, it would have been impossible to achieve such a huge breakthrough at this age. Moreover, he would need the same huge amount of time to study magic concurrently.
Speaking of magic…
Old Grimm had to admit that the young man named Felic was indeed a rare talent in magic.
The previous Flaming Storm was nothing. It was not surprising that he had unleashed a level-nine magic with his proximity to the realm of Magic Shooter. But the wind blade and icicle had instead left a deep impression on Old Grimm.
Skillful and precise mana control, amazing elemental sequencing speed… although it was just a wind blade and icicle, from what Grimm Burnside saw, it was definitely more surprising than a level-ten magic. Mana control and elemental sequencing were the fundamental skills that every mage was required to learn.
But it was only in his state that he understood how important these two fundamental skills were to a mage. It was like laying a solid foundation before building a house. Without a solid foundation, however tall and gorgeous the house might be, it could still collapse overnight.
As the magic level advanced, a mage’s real strength was often judged by these fundamental things. A more precise control of mana and faster elemental sequencing could allow more variations and a quicker conjuration of magic.
It was like Old Grimm and Andoine at present: they were both legendary mages, but if they were to battle it out… Old Grimm had no confidence at all. After all, he had spent too much time on pharmaceutics. Though Andoine was equally immersed in it, he spent far more time on magic skills compared to Grimm.
In a battle of their level, the most fundamental thing had become the most decisive key to victory.
But Old Grimm still had some degree of doubt about the young mage’s level in pharmaceutics.
He needed some time to verify whether this young mage was really a genius in pharmaceutics as what Andoine had said.
If he was really as good as what Andoine had said, Old Grimm thought that he could give him a little guidance and even lead him into the Pharmacists Guild.
As an important member of the Pharmacists Guild, Old Grimm was well aware of its current situation—decaying and withering day by day without any enterprise or energy. What the Pharmacists Guild needed the most now was fresh blood to tide over the possible crisis, and the young mage in front might well be a good solution…