Alliance City is located on the world-renowned Harvest Plains, an area with mild weather and abundant rainfall, making it the continent's largest grain-producing region. The Harvest Plains span a vast area, covering much of the Rishi Duchy, as well as the majority of the Luria Duchy, Lia Duchy, Dam Duchy, Jinyuan Duchy, Daxi Duchy, and Zexi Duchy. This area alone occupies more than half of the Alliance Empire's territory. In Rishi Duchy, where Ryan and his companions had previously caused some small towns to sound alarm bells, the situation was much calmer. However, in the Alliance's direct-controlled province—although just a province, it is more than twice the size of Rishi Duchy—it was different. While there was only one province in the Alliance Empire, this province was vast. As Ryan's group flew high above, he could clearly see people along the way tipping their hats in respect as Alliance City approached.
From a distance, Ryan noticed a dark shape, initially mistaken for a mountain. But as they flew closer, he realized it was a massive city. From above, the entire city wall was lined with blades and swords, resembling a large military camp. The moat was wide, and to enter the city, one had to cross two drawbridges. The city walls stood about 50 meters tall, with enormous towers placed at regular intervals, taller than the walls themselves. From the top of the walls, Ryan saw carriages moving along the roads. Inside the city, there was an even larger inner city, with taller, more imposing walls. Within the city were wide streets and numerous high-rise buildings. Ryan even saw some buildings as tall as seven or eight stories. The Mage Guild was situated on the edge of the inner city, in a nine-story building that seemed to stretch across multiple football fields. Behind it stood several famous mage towers, where level-7 and above mages resided—master magicians capable of founding their own schools. Windlark landed on the rooftop of the nine-story building, which was as large as half a football field, surrounded by metal columns. Ryan could clearly feel the terrifying magical fluctuations emanating from inside, indicating it housed some kind of magical weapon. To his surprise, the building itself was constructed from a special alchemical material—obsidian, a hard and magically receptive stone found in the Beast Forest.
"You two, take Darlis and Alice to rest. Ryan, come with me," Toris instructed, leading the group through a magical teleportation array. In an instant, Ryan felt a blur, and they arrived in a new room. Inside were four knights dressed in armor, who made no move upon seeing the group. Toris quickly instructed the others to escort Darlis and Alice. As Darlis left, she gave Ryan a reassuring look, and he nodded in return.
Toris led Ryan to an ancient door, decorated with silver patterns that clearly formed a magical array. Toris easily pushed the door open, and they entered. Inside was a circular hall, surrounded by tables and chairs, with several people sitting and many more seats empty. They all turned to look at Ryan, some with curiosity, some with indifference, and others murmuring amongst themselves.
"Askarra, where is he?" Toris asked loudly as he scanned the room. Ryan noticed that Toris had removed his magical badge before entering, and everyone here was dressed in robes with no visible badges. Clearly, only ninth-level golden mages were allowed in this room. Ryan was taken aback—there were so many ninth-level mages here that it made him realize why the Mage Guild was the continent's top force. He also began to doubt Niu Niu's claim that there were only 1,500 mages on the continent. Could it be that 1,500 mages were born every year?
"Toris, did you win?" a middle-aged man asked in surprise upon hearing Toris's question.
Toris lifted his head and answered proudly, "Not only did I win, but I won thoroughly. Those who didn't show up today will regret it for the rest of their lives."
"Toris, enough talk. Let's get on with the test. We're all busy," an elderly man said, standing up, his patience clearly running thin.
"Alright, Ryan, show everyone your magic, just like you showed me. Cast it on them and hold it for three seconds—that's all," Toris instructed, his voice full of resolve, clearly eager to prove himself.
"Understood, sir," Ryan said, and with that, he raised his hand. Instead of casting his magic directly at the mages, Ryan aimed at one of the stone walls. In an instant, fireballs began to rapidly fly towards the wall, one after the other. After casting about 15 fireballs, Ryan followed up with a series of wind blades. He controlled the total number of magic spells to about 30, carefully withholding some of his trump cards.
The mages, who had previously ignored Ryan, were now stunned. It wasn't just the number of spells, but the seamless, flawless transition between each. Ryan, a first-level mage, had instantly cast two types of magic in quick succession, with no pauses between them. The spacing between each fireball and wind blade was so precise it seemed as if they were part of a perfect sequence.
"Now, Ryan, direct your mental energy into this crystal ball," Toris said, producing a transparent crystal ball with a magical array etched onto its surface.
Ryan closed his eyes and focused his mental energy into the crystal ball. He could feel the magical arrays inside the crystal, and he effortlessly filled half of them with his energy, stopping there.
"Five times the mental strength of your peers, still quite impressive," Toris remarked as he glanced at the other mages, his tone casual. Ryan initially thought Toris was genuinely complimenting him. After all, before his reincarnation, Ryan could easily stay up for two or three days straight on Earth, so his mental strength was naturally quite strong. Plus, after six months of practicing Qi, it was even more enhanced. Ryan felt pleased with how modestly he had been handling things. However, he soon found himself grimacing when he realized what was coming next.
"Toris, you old rascal. Five times, and you still call it 'impressive'? Some of us only had 1.6 times the mental strength at your age. How dare you criticize others?" someone retorted, exposing Toris's own past.
"Hmph! Talris, you have no right to lecture this boy. His talent is beyond that. Look at this leather armor—he killed an Earth Ape Demon on his own, self-taught alchemy, and even forged this himself. I watched him do it. You old geezers, none of you could have made something better than this at his age. You should be ashamed. Just this alchemical work alone means this boy is going to be the richest man on the continent. He has improved the alchemical process. These three alchemical patents are enough to make him a fortune. Ryan, later on, show them how you made this armor and explain the improvements. These will be your patents, and anyone who uses them will have to pay you gold. Of course, the Mage Guild, as the overseeing body, will take a cut," Toris said, mocking the others. He then tossed the leather armor to Ryan, clearly having some kind of space equipment.