146: Level 2 Mage

Edmund Klester, the Leader of Robbers who once wreaked havoc upon the Sword Coast, a magical archer with a legend of immortality, having escaped death countless times, and the founder of the Black Claw Mercenary Group, fell before dawn on the Midwinter Festival in DR 1335, in the Wizard District of Gorebest's South City, the very place where Lion I rose to power.

It was none other than Lion Black, then only a first-level wizard lord, who captured the bandit leader and cut off his head with a single sword during the Battle of Gorebest.

It would be a long time before this legendary event was officially recorded in historical annals.

At this moment, Lion had no time to deal with Edmund's corpse; he led his people to the Old East City to eliminate the bandit menace.

After the Battle of Gorebest, apart from the New South City remaining completely intact, over three-quarters of the slums in the Old East City were burned down, and over half of the other residential areas were incinerated.

Within the noble district, aside from the former Duke's Mansion which was destroyed by explosives, the main buildings of other families were largely intact.

Only a small number of auxiliary buildings were burned, and a few noble guards sacrificed; other losses were minimal.

In this defense battle, apart from Lion's South City and the civilians he later led to rescue from the North City, the nobles, while defending their own territories (excluding the farmlands outside the city), largely abandoned the common people and the slums.

Excluding the 5,000+ people Lion took in, and the 1,000+ people protected by the City Lord and Flame Fist, only about 50 people were protected by all the nobles combined; among the citizens who ran around the city or stayed at home that night, over 2,000 died, and another 2,000 cried in the ruins.

“Did we win this battle?” At daybreak, Lion stood atop the city wall, gazing at the ruins to the northeast, repeatedly asking himself this question.

Last night, he led his people to kill hundreds of robbers and captured over 500 more.

Just now, Holy Knight Randel, in the name of law, declared them guilty, and based on whether they committed murder, sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment, life imprisonment, life imprisonment plus a suspended death sentence, or immediate execution.

During their sentences, they would undergo labor reform; those who performed well could have their sentences reduced, and upon completion, would swear allegiance to the lord; those with high loyalty would gain the same rights as other liegemen, while those with low loyalty would be supervised and given limited work to earn a living.

Among these surviving criminals were 126 humans, 208 Goblins, and 196 Kobolds.

Such a large number of criminals could not be held in either Lion's dungeon or Flame Fist's dungeon; the Priest City Lord suggested that the young lord kill these evil creatures, keeping only the human criminals at most.

But Lion didn't think that way; he had gone to great lengths to capture them, and they were all powerful archers, so he couldn't bear to kill them.

As for whether these reformed robbers would truly submit to him in the future, with the system in hand, he could clearly discern who was sincere and who was not.

He decided to create an open-air prison using a force wall in the southeastern corner of the South City, in the shadowy area at the foot of the mountain; at least it would be protected from wind and rain.

He instructed the blacksmiths among the refugees to start forging shackles and handcuffs today; as each set was made, it would be put on a criminal, and then they, along with the refugees, would transport corpses, cremate bodies, and clear the ruins.

The post-war city reconstruction plan and the Allied Forces' plan to attack Quagmire Fortress were discussed for a day in a room at Flame Fist's station.

The reason for not holding the meeting in the wizard tower was that the power Lion displayed last night made everyone wary.

No one present believed that if they had been confined in that kind of cage, they would have been able to escape.

The scouts sent by the Kedas City Lord to the southwest had returned; they reported that a large number of Gnolls were slowly spreading outwards from that direction.

Now, Kedas's opinion was that once the town recovered somewhat, the Allied Forces would set out, and there would be no need to gather 1,000 soldiers; Lion's mist could ensure a smooth journey of slaughter.

Tyrantier stated that although he was not a thirteenth-level wizard, his spellbook contained a sealing ritual, and at that time, as long as four more wizards of level five or above cooperated with him, they could perform the sealing ritual to seal that planar rift.

The Priest City Lord said he could immediately send a letter to Candlekeep to request wizard assistance.

Lion nodded; according to what he had learned in recent days, none of those around him knew of any wizards above the thirteenth level, and no such figures had ever been heard of in this region. Even among the rumored figures, few were above the thirteenth level.

The plan spearheaded by the Priest City Lord was very practical.

After the post-war work was mostly arranged, Lion finally returned to his normal daily work and study routine.

Work: The young lord now had to spend one to two hours each day handling government affairs.

Study: Tyrantier, according to the agreement, taught Lion and Sha Ruiwen wizardry lessons daily.

Half a month later, when Lion advanced to a second-level wizard, Tyrantier handed him a spell notebook.

He then told the young lord that after attending his City Lord inauguration ceremony tomorrow, he would be leaving for a while to prepare the magical materials for the sealing ritual.

The system's statistics for Lion's wizard profession changes are as follows—

【Name】: Lion Black

【Age】: 10

【Profession】: Ranger (Hunter) / Wizard (Transmuter)

【Profession Level】: 4 / 2

【Knowledge】:

Wilderness Knowledge: 7

Town Common Sense: 3

Magic Knowledge: 4

【Talents】:

- Anchor Teleportation Network: Opens a teleportation gate between any two wizard strongholds (uses system energy, use sparingly in early stages)

- Sub-dimensional Space: Once every ten days (Usable)

- Item Identification: Three times daily 3 / 3

【Hunter Abilities】: No change

【Wizard Abilities】:

• Proficient in learning spells from all schools.

• Proficient in learning and using lightning spells and transmutation spells.

• Special Skill: Dual Concentration (Has a high chance to cast two concentration-type spells simultaneously)

• Has 3 + 2 = 5 first-level wizard spell slots (unlimited casting of zero-level cantrips. Starting from 1st-level spells, an additional lightning spell slot and a transmutation spell slot are added per level).

【Proficiencies】:

Armor: None

Weapons: Daggers, Darts, Slings, Quarterstaffs, Light Crossbows

Saves: Intelligence, Wisdom

Skills: Arcana, Insight

【Wizard Skills】: Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery, Minor Alchemy

【Spell Slots】: Unlimited cantrips, 5 first-level spell slots,

【Known Spells】:

Zero-level Cantrips: Create Bonfire, Ray of Frost, Mage Hand, Thunderclap, Read Magic, Thunder Sword, Message

First-level Spells: Thunderwave, Witch Bolt, Feather Fall, Magic Missile

...

System Tip: Host can cast spells without a spellbook: A spellbook usually serves as a magical implement for casting wizard spells. Any spell recorded by the system as learned by the host can be cast without an implement.

(Note: For those interested in detailed information on the three new spells, please refer to the author's notes in this chapter.)