King

A military alliance swiftly materialised under Hudson's meticulous orchestration. His casual acquaintances suddenly became "one of us", pushing the atmosphere of the banquet to a new climax.

Gazing at the ecstatic celebration of everyone, Hudson, all smiles, couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

This was probably the world's most hasty military alliance, where all parties' rights and obligations were not determined, yet they already declared it a coalition.

How much it could accomplish depended entirely on everyone's integrity. Hudson had no confidence in whether they could be trusted on the battlefield.

Maybe under mutually beneficial circumstances, it could barely qualify as an alliance. But if conflicts of interest arose, its collapse would be imminent.

Nevertheless, Hudson still felt the alliance was valuable. If nothing else, it resolved the problems of work shirking and freeloading.

As long as Earl Piers is not foolish, he won't delve too deeply into it. After all, rules are always meant to restrain the weak.

More than thirty knights and a few thousand soldiers make no small force in the Southeastern Province. If they continue the tradition of the Noble coalition, they could continue to recruit along the way.

Although such a loose alliance doesn't have significant combat power, it's nevertheless effective in intimidating people! To the upper echelons of power, not only do they have to consider the strength of the alliance on paper, but also the influence of each noble's clan.

Just as Hudson was contemplating his next move, Knight Charles suddenly approached him.

"Young Hudson, you seem to have something on your mind?"

Charles's mood seemed very pleasant, for he had some leisure to attend to such trivialities.

"Uncle Charles, I also love studying magic, but I lack the materials. So, I want to exchange some Magic Cores or Magic Crystals with you."

Hudson deftly stated his intent.

In the Continent of Aslante, Magic Cores and Magic Crystals are hard currencies, more valuable than any gold or silver coins.

Gold and silver coins issued in various countries have different standards, and some powerful Major Nobles even mint their coins. Their value is often affected by the integrity of the minter.

During international trade settlements, the currency exchange is difficult. Thus, for large sums of money, Magic Crystals or Magic Cores which have a more stable value are the preferred choice.

Additionally, magic crystals and magic cores play a role in wars and have a certain impact on professions like magic and alchemy. This directly leads to rare circulation in the market.

Initially, Hudson thought he could buy them if he had sufficient money. But when he found out the truth, he chose to give up.

Due to various factors, even if they were occasionally available, they would be sold at a high price, making for a pitiful cost-to-performance ratio. The only way to secure them on a large scale was through under-the-table trades.

As far as Hudson knew, the Wizard's Association received these strategic resources from the Kingdom at only one-third of their retail price on the market.

Although nobles could also exchange quotas, the prerequisite was they first had to become a magician. Given this background, even if ordinary small nobles have collections of these, the quantity wouldn't be substantial enough to trade unless necessary.

Considering the fact that Knight Charles was constantly conducting magic research and had developed lots of useless magic technology, he definitely couldn't lack these materials.

The key was that Knight Charles was now short of money. He was even willing to sell his magic technology, so naturally, the Magic Cores and Crystal Stones that powered it should also be up for sale.

"Hudson, you're young. Listen to your uncle's advice, don't study these messy things.

Studying magic is a bottomless pit. No matter how much wealth you have, it's not enough to fill it. Unless you possess an excellent magical talent, don't waste time and money on it."

Charles lectured earnestly.

It was apparent that these words were sincere. Having experienced the pitfalls of magic research himself, he really didn't want to see Hudson follow in his footsteps.

Upon hearing the phrase "magical talent", Hudson had an idea and thought to himself: perhaps he should strive to become a magician.

Both are costly, but a knight conducting magic research is equivalent to side-tracking. However, if a magician does these researches, it's completely justified.

Regrettably, Hudson had never been exposed to magic, let alone use it. Looking at Charles, Hudson immediately had a plan.

While he lacked practical knowledge, it doesn't mean Charles lacked it too. Just by looking at the array of magical items in the grand hall, it was obvious that Knight Charles didn't lack theoretical knowledge in this field.

"Uncle Charles, you should know how to test for magical talent. Can you test me?"

Hudson tentatively asked.

He was going all out to figure out the Golden Finger's function. He had just done Charles a big favour, so now was the best time to ask.

Maybe he saw the determination in Hudson, or maybe a talent test wouldn't take much effort, either way, Knight Charles nodded.

"Testing for magical talent is quite simple. You just need to hold a Magic Crystal with no obvious attributes in your hand, then channel your spiritual energy to absorb the magic power inside.

If you have a magical talent, magic power from the crystal will slowly flow into your body, and the speed of infusion would determine the degree of your talent.

Of course, this method is not entirely accurate. It might have some errors, and it wouldn't detect the specifics of your talent.

For an accurate test of one's magical talent, you would need to visit the Wizard's Association. The process is rather simple; you just need to pay a testing fee of a hundred gold coins.

If your talent is passable and you are admitted to the Mage's Association, the testing fee can be waived. Of course, it's only applicable to children.

The training of Magicians must start from a young age. Once over the age of fifteen, the Wizard's Association will not accept them. Unless one can teach themselves to be a magician, they will not be certified."

After finishing, seeing Hudson still unmoved, Charles sighed deeply. In Hudson, he saw his younger self - the same determination and confidence.

However, magic practice ultimately depends on talent. Ninety-five percent of people do not possess the talent for magic practice.

In the entire Alpha Kingdom, there are fewer than five hundred registered Magicians, which includes half of the Magic Apprentices.

Of course, this number is related to the talent selection model. The high testing fee effectively blocks the populous poor from participating.

If a nationwide talent test was performed, within a decade, an extra zero could be added to the number of Magicians in the Kingdom.

Of course, this is impossible. Neither the King nor the Noble Consortium would want extraordinary powers to spread extensively to the lower classes.

Moreover, considering the number of magicians in the Kingdom, even if they wanted to conduct a nationwide talent test, they wouldn't be able to cope with the workload.