It was a tall, thin, scholarly old man with reddish-brown hair and beard. He was completely different from the other presidents that Lin Li had seen. Although Lin Li had not seen many of them, those presidents were ambitious and ruthless, like overlords. If they stared at them, those who were timid would probably pee their pants. But the one in front of Lin Li was like an old pedant who had been immersed in books all his life.
Mark Kovacs was able to become the president of a special place like the City of Knowledge because he relied more on his skills and interpersonal relationships, not on his strength, killing some legendary creatures, or establishing some great achievements. He acted as a bridge between Mages and ordinary humans, connecting the two sides so that he could manage this special city well.
After all, in the beginning of this city, the ordinary people who came here were not only the servants or family of the Mages, but also scholars who were qualified to be respected. It was these smart people without magic talent who laid the foundation of this city's prosperity.
However, Lin Li had never had the self-awareness that he was a big shot. Although he seemed to have met many presidents, in fact, these people were all local tyrants. Not everyone could meet them. Now that such a big shot had come to the door of his residence, how could Lin Li not feel flattered?
He received the president, whom he met for the first time, in the small dining room that was used as a reception room. Halloumi and the others did not have time to go out, so they acted as waiters to help Lin Li.
Actually, Lin Li believed that it was better to do things himself and not trouble others. Unfortunately, he was now affected by that low-level spell. If he sneezed while serving water to the guests, it would feel worse. Then he would have to invite the former Demon King to receive him … Whether or not he made her wear a maid's outfit, the scene was too beautiful for Lin Li to imagine. Anyway, that girl had not gone out to have fun, and she was already on a business trip.
The president was served with coffee made by Kaya. After Lin Li showed off his skills in front of Lady Audrey that day, a batch of related equipment and coffee beans were sent over. In addition to the favor from this noble lady who was very skilled, of course, it was also because the batch of viper materials given to her was too valuable. After sweeping through three lists, there were still some extra materials.
Lin Li did not directly ask for kiels (gold coins) for the extra materials. Instead, he left them with Lady Audrey to buy daily necessities and some small things. Of course, there was also an important item that had not been mentioned before — various spices.
The reason for the extra value was that the value of those materials was beyond Lin's imagination. It wasn't just because the wyrm was a king-level magical beast. Mages weren't the only ones who could use those materials. Warriors could also use bones, skin, scales, and other materials to make weapons or armor. Or, they could ask mages to make potions to strengthen their physique.
Now that the target group was bigger, the price of the rare items could be announced even more beautifully. This was simple business logic.
On the other hand, it was aimed at the group of mages. The various essences refined by Fen were breathtaking. Dragon Blood Essence, Bone Marrow Essence, and Dragon Flesh Essence. These essences were personally refined by a Lich. Even if one or two drops were eaten raw without any processing, it would still bring great benefits to the human body.
Even if he didn't eat it, he could still feel the exuberant vitality just by holding the bottle full of essence in his hand.
It was precisely because of the quality of the goods that many mages wanted to take the goods directly from the owner of the goods instead of competing with others at the trade fairs of the chamber of commerce. During this time, there were quite a few people who came to visit.
Therefore, during his first meeting with President Mark Kovac, Lin was also guessing the other party's intentions. It could only be said that he was indeed a mage who was good at dealing with ordinary people and nobles. There was no awkward silence when chatting. Also, he didn't talk about embarrassing topics. Instead, he flattered the person just right. Most importantly, he used the title of "Great Mage" to address the Lich next to him.
Don't underestimate the difference between having the word "Great" in the title. Since leaving the Sijia district, the most frequent conflict that the group encountered was whether Fen was qualified to hold the title of Great Mage. Especially with her beauty, she would always attract some reckless people to try and see just how ferocious the Lich was.
If she walked in the world of mages and didn't show those two golden tassels, honestly speaking, with her beauty, it would attract more problems. Don't think that mages are vegetarians.
Of course, he didn't have to worry about the safety of this former Great Demon King. What really worried Lin was that, like a lot of jokes used in comics and novels, her enemies were the ones who needed to be worried about. But that was more or less a joke in the comics, but here, someone was really worried, especially about the way the Lich handled things and the possible future developments.
Speaking of which, it really wasn't his style to kill and carve out a path for the world.
And with the president personally making the decisions and the words coming from his mouth, it would save Lin and the others a lot of trouble. If someone continued to hold on to this point, then they were purely looking for trouble. This was the right time to start a fight. Don't try to use reason to persuade the other party.
Just when someone thought that the president was going to talk until the end of time, Mark Kovac suddenly put down the coffee cup in his hand and asked, "I wonder if you plan to settle down in Pilsen City?"
The highlight of the show was here! Someone was still thinking, how long could this president hold out? Anyway, the other party was the one who was leading the conversation, and he was just humming along. Since they were going to enter the main topic, of course, he would deal with every move and see what the other party wanted. As for the first question, Lin Xiang said, "I will stay for a while.
Because there are some things that I want to create, I have to gather the necessary materials. But I don't plan to stay here for long. " It was no secret that he had asked Madam Audrey to purchase large amounts of magic materials, so he didn't have to hide his purpose. As for staying for a long time, although Pilsen City was good, he still felt that something was missing.
"Is that so? Don't you realize your predicament? "
Oh, this question was a bit sudden. Although it didn't make him feel at a loss, Lin still pretended not to know and wanted to hear the president's opinion. In fact, he really didn't know who he had offended.
During this period of time, all kinds of assassination attempts aimed at him, although other than the disease curse a few days ago, did not cause any real harm. But being chased and having his life threatened, it would be strange if he was happy.
As if he had kept Lin Xiang in suspense for long enough, Mark Kovac didn't continue to pretend to be deep and said directly, "Don't you know that there is a bounty on your head?"
"I do know that. But to put a bounty on my head, there must be a reason. And for such a large bounty, I really don't know what it is for. "
Hiring someone to kill someone and paying such a price meant that he could bring about such a benefit. Then on him … there seemed to be a lot of benefits that fit this amount. This made him even more confused.
In fact, if this teacher had spent some time to pay attention to the task given to Kaya in the past, which was to monitor and record the discussions on the forum, he should have been able to deduce something.
But for the girl's regular reports, a certain someone looked at them perfunctorily, even though he pretended to be very serious. This was not because the teacher looked down on the results of his student, but because he was not the kind of person who paid attention to those things.
This scholarly president said helplessly with a bitter smile, "I'll keep the part of the name. In fact, the person who put a bounty on you is the president of a branch of the Society of Sorcerers. The reason is that you have a few pieces of magical knowledge. If they want to spread that magical knowledge on your behalf, they must get your consent and let you get the agreed benefits. But if you die, that knowledge will become the property of the Society and will be at the disposal of the people of the Society. And this is the reason why you have a bounty on you. "
This was the first time Lin had heard such a reason. He immediately thought of what he had that was most in line with the interests of the presidents of the various branches of the Society of Sorcerers. That was to let him earn a bucket of gold, which could be said to be the first phenomenal magical product in the land of magic — the browser magic stone. To be more precise, it was the most basic tool to connect to the forum.
Looking at the young Magician's expression, Mark Kovac guessed that the young Magician must have understood something. He continued, "If you're willing to stay, Birson District will certainly provide you with protection and ensure your safety. But the Society also needs you to make a contribution. I think this should be a very reasonable win-win situation. For you, it should also be the safest choice. Of course, the benefits that should belong to you will not be less. These are all what you deserve. "
If one were to use a conspiracy theory to speculate the thoughts of this scholar-type president, it would be a betrayal of one's own people and the idea of doing someone a favor, with the intention of getting both the person and the money. But from Mark Kovac's voice and attitude, it felt that he was not that black-bellied. He really just did not like the way others used the method of hiring people to forcefully obtain the right to magical knowledge.
If this person was not an award-winning expert, then he was really just a good person, which was why he said those words to Lin.
As for the browser magic stone, as early as the era of Wulian City, Lin had discussed with the president of the Society of Orange Eaton whether to completely transfer the right to the Society of Sorcerers. The answer they received was the same as in the Analects of Confucius. Zi Gong asked Confucius if he should release the slaves he bought and return them their freedom. But the conclusion was the same, that was, "You should not."
From the standpoint of the higher-ups of the Society of Sorcerers, it was a good thing that the mages were willing to give their knowledge and magic without any reward. But no one dared to make the first move.
Because once they made the first move, if they met other talented mages in the future who proposed another magic that was enough to affect the world, they would have to ask the other party to follow Lin's example. And if the mage who was asked to do so was one of their own nephews or descendants, what would they think? Would they regret what they had done today?
Therefore, from their point of view, the good old President Mark Kovac's suggestion could be said to be the safest way in their eyes. On the other hand, Lin would lose his freedom and would have to obediently live in Birson City without leaving his house. This kind of situation was nothing to a shut-in. But if there was a better solution, why should he let himself suffer?
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