Leaving Gerald's Magic Tower, Griffith did not go home, but instead headed for the slums west of the city.

Qianfan City is located at the southernmost tip of the Ilia Peninsula, the city is surrounded by the sea on three sides, but there are only two deep-water docks suitable for large merchant ships to berth in the east and south of the city. To the west of the city is a large tidal wasteland, which was not within the walls of Qianfan City, but with the development of the city, more and more poor people who rely on Qianfan City for their livelihood have begun to build simple houses here, from shacks to wooden houses, like tumors parasitic on the edge of the city.

Since the founding of Brittana, the entire Ilia Peninsula has been the domain of the Griffins, with the exception of Thousand Sails, the most important port in the southwest of the kingdom, which is under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family. With the development of the city, the land within the original city walls became more and more insufficient, and the Council of Thousand Sails City has been seeking to expand the boundaries of the city for its own benefit.

About 20 years ago, while the Griffin family was in a deep battle with the Cato family to the north, the Council of Thousand Sails City built a new section of the outer city wall with the royal consent to include the tidal flats west of the city under the pretext of preventing the fish-men from raiding.

However, there are gains and losses, and this land in the west of the city has been difficult to manage from the beginning, and it is a place where Qianfan City hides dirt and dirt.

Walking down the sewage-ridden streets, surrounded by rags-clothed paupers and rough-looking mercenaries, Griffith's neat apprentice mage robes looked a little out of place.

After walking through the labyrinthine neighborhood, Griffith came to the end of a guillotine road and knocked rhythmically three times on a dark gray wooden door.

Hearing a soft cough coming from inside the house, Griffith pushed the door open and walked in.

With a warm fire and a very warm and comfortable living room, it is easy to mistake this for a nobleman's private reception room. If he hadn't been here several times, Griffith would never have thought that this was the stronghold of the Raven Guild, the largest thief organization in Thousand Sails City.

"It's Sir Griffith, you're here. "A woman in her early 30s, still charming, dressed in a tight black leather suit, walked out quickly, as if trying to get Griffith's hand, but was cleverly avoided.

"Do you dislike my sister, I'm too old? What a ruthless person!" The veteran thief nicknamed Black Lotus showed an aggrieved expression, which was really pitiful to me.

"Ahem, it's better to keep a little distance between people. Griffith said a little helplessly.

This woman, perhaps, is the most skilled in theft in the entire Raven Guild.

Griffiths visited as a guest, and although he would not be stripped naked, every time he dealt with Black Lotus in the past, he always had to lose some worthless bits and pieces. This kind of little joke, even if it is harmless, is quite unpleasant. Therefore, Griffith has always stayed away from this woman whose body is like a ripe peach, and it is better not to have any physical contact.

"Bailey had something to do, and I just happened to be free, so I came over. Griffith smiled as calmly as he could, then took out a scroll box from his bosom, placed it on the small round table between the two, and gently pushed it over: "Inside are 100 scrolls of first-level magic." ”

Baron Carolingian gave Griffith 500 gold dragons a year for tuition, but it was far from enough for a motivated mage apprentice. All kinds of spell casting materials are more expensive than gold, just the high-grade tea that helps restore spiritual power, and the price per pound is as high as 10 gold dragons - this is still the internal price that Gerald gave to his apprentices, and the price has to rise by at least one or two percent through outside merchants, and the quality is not guaranteed.

Today, Griffith's main source of income is copying magic scrolls, and after deducting the cost, he earns about 3,000 golden dragons a year.

For beginner-level magicians, this is an extremely lucrative income, and even many level 4 magicians can't earn so many golden dragons in a year. This is the soul trait of the traverser, which causes Griffith to have a far better success rate than other beginner mages when copying scrolls, but it is also the sequelae of the traversal, and the difficulty of advancing the magic level makes Griffith prefer not to have this talent.

Magic scrolls have always been important strategic materials, but the demand is not as great as imagined - especially low-level magic scrolls.

First, the role of low-level scrolls is not indispensable, without magic missiles, you can kill people by directly lifting a knife to slash;

Of course, this is not a problem for the average low-level mage. For example, Gerald's apprentices, the copied magic scrolls are generally sold directly to the town hall, 10 gold coins a piece, and the town hall collects as much as it wants. But while others tend to copy only three or four copies a month, Griffith produces two or three copies a day. Even the rich town hall is unlikely to be able to buy large quantities for a long time.

In desperation, Griffith had to find another client, so the Ravens' Guild became his biggest customer.

Learning to use magic scrolls is a skill that a qualified thief must master before leaving the school, and low-level magic scrolls can also be used in daily battles for turf. Even if it really can't be used up, the Raven Guild, which has a well-established channel for selling the stolen goods, is sure that it will be able to sell the scrolls and make another profit by the way.

A trainee mage who can provide a large number of magic scrolls for a long time is also an important network for the Raven Guild. It was for this reason that Griffith dared to walk around the slums alone without fear of being slaughtered as a fat sheep.

Since joining forces with the Raven Guild, Griffith has given the job of liaison between the middles and the street boy Bailey, whom he has adopted. In order to train this favored subordinate, Griffith even paid the Ravens Guild to train Bailey.

Half a year ago, Bailey officially became a teacher, and according to Black Lotus, Bailey is now a barely qualified thief.

Bailey was delighted to receive such an evaluation.

The low-key thief profession naturally does not have an open hierarchy like warriors and mages. For those who walk in the dark, only success and failure can be used as a yardstick. In the mouth of Black Lotus, there are less than 10 qualified thieves in the entire Crow Guild, and the others can only be regarded as gangsters.

"A thousand gold coins, which will be delivered to the house later. Black Lotus put away the scroll box with satisfaction, didn't even check it, and then said as if unintentionally, "I heard that the battle at Iron Hill last month injured Baron Zuncaroling. If you need help, you can always come to my sister. ”

Is this a co-optation? or a threat?

Griffith, who had difficulty distinguishing his purpose, could only appear calm, but in fact he left with a heavy heart.

Griffith's father, Stone is a level 8 warrior.

As a mercenary from a civilian background, it can be said that he can be promoted to a high rank, which can be said to be one in ten thousand. The name "Rock" Stone spread even throughout the kingdom of Brittanya - otherwise it would not have been solicited by the Marquis of Griffin to grant a fief.

Although there was only one baronial title that was not very high, and in the entire Ilia Peninsula, the Griffin family could only be ranked in the middle of the vassals, but for nearly a decade, Stone had held the position of chief warrior under the Marquis of Griffin.

The so-called chief warrior is the arrow in battle, always rushing to the front.

The chief warrior of the Griffin family, at the same time, means an additional allowance of 5,000 gold dragons per year, which is almost equivalent to the total income of the entire Carolingian barony. Even, Gerald's willingness to accept Griffith's apprentice is mostly for the sake of the face of the "chief warrior".

But just last month, during a battle at Iron Hill, Count Cato, the Griffin family's nemesis, used the family heirloom "Summoning the Six-Armed Serpent Demon" scroll. The summoned high-ranking demons slaughtered the army of the Marquis of Griffin, and the Carolingian Baron was seriously injured, and if it weren't for the six-armed snake demon's summoning time, Griffith's father would not even be able to escape.

After this battle, although Stone did not have to worry about his life, for a soldier who was over fifty years old, it was almost a luxury to want to regain his original strength after being seriously injured.

A few days ago, Griffith, who received the news, although he hadn't even really seen the face of this cheap father, still sent Bailey back with him the intermediate healing potion he had bought at a high price from his mentor Gerald.

Griffith knew very well that he was able to learn magic from Gerald, not because of his talent, but because of his family. In the past decade, the Carolingian family has been superficially glamorous, but in the eyes of other old aristocrats, they are nothing more than lucky nouveau riche. Now that the tree was about to fall, Griffith's heart suddenly cast a shadow.

"If I could move up the magic level, I wouldn't be so passive!" Griffith secretly hated his own incompetence.

As night fell, the dusty Bailey went into the courtyard with his eyes and ears covered.

"Father, how is his injury?" said Griffith, who was having dinner, and stood up eagerly when he saw Bailey returning.

"It's fine. Bailey gasped while taking the water handed by Anna: "Lord Baron's right arm has been cut off, although he has asked the high priest of the Lion God to use the regeneration technique in time, but it is still unknown whether he can fully recover, and now he can only recuperate at home." ”

Speaking of this, Bailey took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Griffiths with both hands: "This is a letter from Master Andrew. ”

Andrew is Griffith's elder brother and heir to Baron Caroling, who has undergone rigorous training since he was a child and was just promoted to a level 5 warrior last year. According to Griffith's memories inherited from the previous owner of the body, the relationship between the brothers was very good, and they were not intrigued all day long like other aristocratic families.

Griffith took the letter and carefully examined the wax seal before opening it and unfolding the rough, yellowed stationery.

The letter was not long, and only one thing was said in addition to the daily greetings. Baron Stone felt that his health was difficult to recover, and not only resigned from the position of chief warrior of the Griffin family, but also decided to let Andrew inherit his title early. Griffith, as the second son, was given a village as a domain after swearing allegiance to his brother Andrew.

The official succession ceremony will take place on the first day of April.

"Anna, get ready. We're going home next month. Griffith didn't hesitate and commanded directly.

"Yes, Master Griffith. Anna agreed, half worried, half joyful.

Griffith's income from copying magic scrolls was actually enough for him to stand on his own, and even without the support of his family's 500 gold coins a year, he could still earn enough gold dragons to continue his studies. But as soon as such a thought arose, it was immediately dispelled.

Without the Carolingian family as a backer, a level 1 magician with an annual income of 3,000 gold dragons is just a lamb to the slaughter. Griffith didn't want to be locked up in a dark room by the Raven Guild as a high-ranking slave who was forced to copy scrolls every day.