The new year passed and Borkal returned to Whitestag in the middle of the first month.
Even though his friends had gathered together, they didn't have anywhere to go.
The weather was freezing and snow was everywhere. The roads were also covered in thick layers of ice and pedestrians could often be seen tripping.
In such weather, even Borkal, who loved to go out and have fun, had to stay home and sleep in.
The thaw began in February and there was ice everywhere. Classes started again on the 15th of February.
Claude was seventeen and a third-year middle school student. It was also his last year in middle school.
He would be eighteen when the semester ended and he graduated.
According to the kingdom's laws, he would no longer be under his parents' guardianship and would no longer enjoy the privileges of his father's citizenship. He would be registered as a commoner and would officially have to pay taxes and serve the kingdom.
On the 18th of the third month, Altroni's father, Captain Altroni, accepted the commission of a group of schemers led by the town's chief executive, Morssen, to sail Shark of the Red Sea out to explore and open up a route from Whitestag to Nubissia.
By the end of the fifth month, Claude finally became a first-rank rune magus. After careful consideration, he decided to follow the instructions in Landes' diary and become a one-ring rune magus first.
After all, not all of the seven basic spells Landes had engraved inside the hexagram were alchemy spells. There was also a combat spell and a mental spell.
That was rather suitable for Claude.
The 27th of the fifth month of the Sacred Light Calendar was Easter Day in Aueras. Since it was a Wednesday, there was only one day off.
Claude and his three companions took Eriksson's fishing boat and spent the entire day fishing on Lake Balinga, but they didn't have much to show for it.
On the 3rd of the sixth month, Captain Altroni finally returned after three months at sea.
However, his Shark of the Red Sea seemed to have gone through a storm and was badly damaged. It had to be repaired at the shipyard and would probably take two months to be repaired.
Many of the townsfolk were guessing where Captain Altroni had gone to, leaving his beloved fishing boat in such a state.
Morssen held a banquet at his house that night. The guests were so excited that most of them got drunk.
However, a heated argument broke out in Morssen's study that night and the guests only left after they came to an agreement.
Claude knew what was going on. Captain Altroni had found a safe route to Nubissia.
Logically speaking, Morssen and the other plotters should have immediately sent the news to the King's City and waited for the reward from the King's City.
But at the same time, Captain Altroni brought back another piece of news that caused the argument in the study.
Aueras's route to Nubissia's seven colonies was controlled by the Nasrian Alliance's fleet, so the transports couldn't arrive safely without the escort of warships.
Under such circumstances, the specialties of the seven colonies of Nubissia were piled up like mountains. The prices were so low that it was almost as if they were giving them away for free.
If a fleet could get there and transport them back, they would be able to make several times the profit.
The quarrel in the study was due to that piece of news. If news of the successful opening of the route was sent to the royal capital, even if the planners in Whitestag would get a share of the rewards, they would only be able to enjoy the leftovers.
But if they could hide the fact that the route was a success and organize a fleet to head to Nubissia to resell the specialties of the colonies, everyone involved would gain an unimaginable amount of wealth.
In the end, the compromise reached in the study was to keep the news of the successful route a secret until June of next year. While there was still a year left, they would pool their money and organize a fleet to make two or three trips to Nubissia so that everyone involved would get a taste of the benefits.
After all, once the news of the route got out, the nobles and merchants from the royal capital would be able to snatch the cake clean. Locals like them wouldn't be able to compete with those powerful dragons.
Even though Claude was well aware of that, he didn't really care about it. It didn't matter to him how much money his father earned.
Even if his father sent news of the route to the royal capital, it wouldn't be that easy for him to get his hands on the rewards. The kingdom would have to send a fleet to scout the route and that would take at least two to three years.
Even if his father became a noble and Claude became a citizen, it would still take more than three years. By then, he would already be a foot soldier under his godfather.
The only thing he cared about now was when he could become a one-ring rune magus.
It wasn't an easy task to engrave a magic formation within the hexagram. Even though Landes had detailed the steps and key points of engraving the formation in his diary, Claude still failed quite a few times.
Each time, he nearly used up all of his mental power, causing him to look pale and listless. His mother even thought that he was sick and insisted on taking him to the apothecary. Fortunately, the old herbalist checked him and said that he wasn't sick. He just didn't rest well.
However, the old herbalist seemed like someone who had been through the same thing before. He sneakily told Claude not to masturbate a few times at night as it wasn't good for his body at his age.
Also, once he got used to masturbating, he would easily suffer from premature ejaculation and other problems, so it was best to quit.
If he really couldn't control himself, he could just masturbate once or twice a week. It wouldn't affect his body much.
Claude's face alternated between shades of green and white. He really wanted to give the old herbalist a slap and tell him that he didn't become like that because he masturbated too much.
But after giving it some thought, Claude endured it. It was better to let others think that he masturbated too much than to tell them that he was using his mental power to engrave a magic formation. If he masturbated too much, they would only laugh about it. But if they found out that he was engraving a magic formation, they would definitely try to kill him.
So, Claude could only watch helplessly as the old herbalist and his mother spouted nonsense. They said that Claude's body was still developing and that he didn't get enough nutrients and didn't rest well enough to become like that.
So, he needed to nourish his body and eat more things that could nourish his kidneys and boost his Yang energy.
He could also get a few bottles of nutrient fluid for Claude to consume, but that would cost a little more money.
On the way home, he swore to himself that when he became a one-ring rune magus and inscribed seven basic spells, he would take some time out to study herbalism on his own until he learned all the formulas and could concoct the basic healing potions.
When that time came, he would sell the potions cheaply and steal all of the old herbalist's business.
But thanks to that incident, Claude spent the next three months smoothly. He managed to engrave all seven basic spells in one go and finally became a one-ring rune magus.
It could be said that Claude had finally become a true magus.
On the 25th day of the 8th month, Captain Altroni set out on the newly repaired Shark of the Red Sea with seven other three-masted ships of different sizes, heading for Nubissia once more.
On the day of the departure, the docks were packed with people who came to see them off. Apart from a few in the know, most of the townsfolk only knew that the ships were headed for a country in the south.
There were also some busybodies who swore that this voyage would definitely be a loss. This was because the seven ocean-going transport ships were mostly loaded with goods that were commonly found in the three southwestern counties. These goods could not be sold at a high price in the southern countries of the continent …
Claude, on the other hand, knew that the common goods from the three southwestern prefectures would become rare goods in Nubissia and could be sold for a high price. Using the proceeds to buy the specialties of the seven colonies, the profits from the trip would multiply severalfold. Those who participated in the venture would be rewarded handsomely.
His father, Morssen, had invested a huge sum of money into the venture.
Currently, Claude was familiarizing himself with the seven basic spells he engraved.
In fact, he found that the Magic Hand was not only limited to alchemy experiments, it could also be used without the alchemy array. The only two drawbacks were that the range was too short. If the distance exceeded five meters, the Magic Hand would not be able to reach him.
The second drawback was that he couldn't multitask.
For example, when using Magus' Hands, he wouldn't be able to use both of his hands. In other words, he wouldn't be able to control the formless Magus' Hands with that one hand.
But if he could become a two-ring rune magus in the future, he would be able to do that.
Landes recorded in his diary that when he became a second-rank rune magus, the spell he engraved in his second hexagram was Spirit Division. That was what Claude meant by multitasking. He would be able to use both his hands to control Magus' Hands at the same time. It was as if he had four hands at the same time.
Claude's favorite thing to do now was to lie on his bed lazily without moving and use Magus' Hands to carry out his chores.
His attic wasn't that big anyway. It was within the range of Magus' Hands and he didn't have to do anything himself. All he had to do was think about it and Magus' Hands would do it for him.
For example, he didn't have to bend over to tie his shoelaces, sweep the floor, wash his face, tidy the table, lift a book or drink from a cup. Even taking off his socks could be done with Magus' Hands.
However, he still couldn't use Magus' Hands to take off his clothes and pants. Doing that required him to move his body and Magus' Hands would dissipate the moment he moved.
Sometimes, Claude would feel rather pleased when he thought about it. Landes didn't mention that Magus' Hands had such a function.
But that was understandable. Landes studied magic in the magic tower to become a rune magus, so his attitude towards magic was completely different from Claude's. He only used Magus' Hands in alchemical formations.
As a transmigrator, Claude was much more knowledgeable. Without the aid of alchemical formations, he naturally had to develop more uses for Magus's Hands.
Claude also tried out the basic spell, Appraisal Eye, and found that it could be used even without alchemical formations.
He once laid on his bed and used Appraisal Eye to magnify a crack in the floorboards. He saw an ant crawling for a long time before he lost his patience and used Magus' Hands to squash it to death.
However, the Appraisal Eye could only be used within a range of five meters. Apart from the ability to zoom in and out, Claude didn't find any other use. He didn't find any other functions like the ones mentioned in the novels where the name of the item would appear next to it. So, those novels were all lies.
The basic spell, Fine Control, was rather useful. When he was experimenting with it, he turned a Magus's Hand into a strip and used it to stab the barrel of a musket. He found that it was much more convenient and effective than using a real strip. He didn't have to worry about damaging the inside of the barrel either.
With Fine Control, Claude believed that he wouldn't have to carry any tools with him anymore. He could just use Magus' Hands to make them faster.
As for Decomposition and Fusion, Claude could only skip those two basic spells for now.
Without alchemical formations, it wouldn't be good for him to experiment with those two spells.
Naturally, given Claude's personality, he still tried using those two basic spells without alchemical formations, but it was to no avail.
The cup didn't disintegrate and the two pencils on the table didn't fuse together.