Chapter 77: The Mage Guild

The three slowly walked towards the city. Indeed, the guards at the city gate did not come to stop them but instead saluted them. This made Zhao Hai understand that in this world, as long as you have strength, you are the boss.

After entering the city gate, Zhao Hai was momentarily stunned by the scene before him. It was a wide road nearly ten meters across, bustling with people coming and going. There were also some small vendors setting up stalls on the side of the road, clearly without any urban management. Everyone was shouting to attract customers, and pedestrians would occasionally stop to buy things, making the scene very lively.

The shops on both sides of the street were numerous, and the small stalls were set up in front of the shops, leaving the shop doors open, making the street even more lively.

The pedestrians on the street were of many types. Most were ordinary people wearing simple linen clothes, a few were warriors wearing leather armor or samurai attire, and almost no one was seen wearing a mage robe.

At this moment, a voice came from behind them: "Respected Mage Sir, would you like to hire a carriage? My carriage is both comfortable and cheap, and I have grown up in Cassa City, knowing every street here. I can take you to any place you want to go."

Zhao Hai and the others turned to look. A man dressed as a coachman was standing five steps to their left, bowing. Behind him was a carriage.

This carriage was quite large, pulled by a tall red horse. The entire carriage was painted black, with very beautiful patterns on it.

Zhao Hai did not recognize it, but Green did. The horse pulling the carriage, although it looked good, was just an ordinary first-level magical beast, not matching Zhao Hai's status.

However, even if it did not match, there was no other choice. They had just arrived in Cassa City, unfamiliar with the place, and did not have much money. They could not afford to buy a carriage. Moreover, in the city, it was not possible to use magic or summon creatures at will, so they could not call out the alien. The only option was to hire a carriage.

Green walked up to the coachman and asked, "What is your name? How much does it cost to hire your carriage for a day?"

The coachman did not expect things to go so smoothly. He had called out to Zhao Hai and the others just to try, knowing that mages generally did not lack money and rarely hired ordinary carriages. Unexpectedly, the other party asked about the price.

The coachman quickly replied, "Respected Mage Sir, my carriage is very cheap, just one silver coin a day. My name is Rock."

Green took out a silver coin and threw it to Rock, saying, "I'll hire your carriage for a day." Then he turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Sir, please get in the carriage."

Zhao Hai nodded and got into the carriage with Meg. The carriage was quite spacious, able to accommodate about six people.

However, Green did not get in but sat next to the driver, saying to Rock, "Take us to the Mage Guild."

The Mage Guild was not a civilian organization but a national one. Each country had its own independent Mage Guild, which was a specialized institution for mages, with the aim of serving mages.

The Mage Guild served mages, not to manage them. Each mage was a treasure of the country, with a status equal to that of the nobility, so no one dared to manage them. They could only provide the necessary services.

Every mage registered with the Mage Guild received a monthly allowance of ten gold coins. However, few mages would care about such a small amount, so few would claim it.

However, there were many benefits for mages registered with the Mage Guild. For example, with a mage badge, you could be exempt from taxes and meet nobles without bowing.

This time, Green and the others came to Cassa City for two reasons: to make an appearance and attract attention, and to register Zhao Hai with the Mage Guild.

Each country had a very lenient policy for mage registration. Generally, they would only conduct a brief training session and ask you to demonstrate your magic. There were no tests or exams. As long as you demonstrated your magic and proved you were a mage, you could register.

Of course, registered mages were divided into levels. If you only demonstrated that you could use magic, you could only register as a low-level mage, receiving ten gold coins a month and tax exemption. If you showed higher strength, you would receive more services. For example, if Zhao Hai had a high-level mage badge, he would be immediately picked up by the Mage Guild upon entering the city, and they would arrange everything for him, covering most of his living expenses and giving him a monthly allowance of one hundred to one thousand gold coins. However, to get a high-level mage badge, you needed to be at least level six.

Zhao Hai's decision to register as a mage was Green's idea. Only by wearing a mage badge would it be more convenient for their future actions. This registration did not require revealing their identities, so why not do it?

After sitting in the carriage, Green turned to Rock and said, "To the Mage Guild." Rock responded and drove the carriage straight to the Mage Guild.

The Mage Guild of the empire was a very special existence. It was directly funded by the state to serve mages, but mages rarely came to the guild because each mage had their own work.

In the empire, being a mage was a highly sought-after profession. Even a first-level mage would have many people queuing to hire them. Therefore, most mages did not come to the guild. The only exception might be black mages.

Black mages had a very unique style of operation, so most nobles did not like to hire them. Only some merchants would hire black mages as their guests. Most black mages would become mercenaries or adventurers, and they were quite popular among mercenaries.

However, compared to other mages, black mages had the hardest and lowest-quality lives. If other mages were nobles, black mages were commoners.

Many black mages could only survive on the ten gold coins the Mage Guild provided each month. Learning magic was a very expensive endeavor. You had to buy magic materials, magic wands, magic crystals, and pay for food and drink, all of which required money.

The Mage Guild in Cassa City was quite grand, located just two blocks from the main street. It was a three-story palace-like building, covering nearly a thousand square meters, which was not small in Cassa City.

Above the main entrance of the guild hung a six-pointed star badge representing mages. This six-pointed star pattern represented the six basic natural elements of light, darkness, wind, water, fire, and earth, and was the symbol of all Mage Guilds.

Rock stopped the carriage, and Green jumped down to open the door. Zhao Hai and Meg got out and looked at the building before slowly walking inside.

Just as they took a few steps, a fat man quickly came out of the guild. He was wearing a servant's uniform, but the fabric was high-quality silk, which did not match the style of the uniform. Combined with his fat body, he looked more like a noble than a servant.

The fat man quickly walked up to Zhao Hai, bowed, and said, "Respected Mage Sir, your servant Karl is here to serve you."

This made Zhao Hai a bit surprised. He did not know that all Mage Guild members would call themselves servants when they met mages. This Karl was the head of the Cassa City Mage Guild.

However, Zhao Hai remembered Green's instructions and just lightly hummed, then walked into the guild.

The first floor of the guild was clearly a resting area, divided into two sections: one with sofas and coffee tables, and the other with several dining tables.

This was a rule of the Mage Guild. Every Mage Guild had such a setup, and any mage registered with the guild could rest and eat here for free.

Zhao Hai walked to the resting area and found a sofa to sit on. The fat Karl closely followed the three. Seeing Zhao Hai sit down, he immediately waved to the servants standing nearby, and one of them ran to the kitchen to bring out a pot of cocoa and some cups.

After placing the cups, Karl personally poured a cup of cocoa for Zhao Hai and bowed, saying, "Respected Mage Sir, is there anything I can do for you?"

Zhao Hai did not touch the cocoa, just sat there and waved his hand. Green immediately said, "Mr. Karl, our master is here to register today. Please help us."

Karl quickly replied, "It is my honor to serve the Mage Sir. Sir, please follow me to the back. The registration process requires some formalities, and I hope you will cooperate."

Zhao Hai lightly nodded, stood up, and followed Karl to the back of the hall. Karl walked in front of Zhao Hai, leading the way. Green and the others did not notice that Karl's eyes occasionally flashed with a sharp light, indicating that he was not a simple person.

What Green and the others did not know was that Karl was not only the head of the Mage Guild but also an intelligence chief of the Vanser Principality. In fact, he knew Zhao Hai's identity the moment Zhao Hai entered Cassa City. That was why he personally came out to greet Zhao Hai, wanting to gauge his strength. Normally, mages coming to register did not require his personal reception.