Chapter 101 Investment
The next morning, Viscount Leslie walked into the hall of the office and when he saw the situation in front of him, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Other than Xu Yi, there were three people who Viscount Leslie never would have thought would be here. It was Victor, Cell, and Urgot.
What surprised Viscount Leslie more was that these people were happily talking to Xu Yi, looking like they were old friends.
When Viscount Leslie came in, Victor was currently explaining something to Xu Yi with words and gestures.
“Thirty gold coins? Chairman Xu, you think that our Anvilmar City is a small place like your Banta City? Oh, it’s not that I’m looking down on you, please don’t mind it. My meaning is that if you only sell it for thirty gold coins each, aren’t you underestimating the rich people of our Anvilmar City? Let me tell you, as long as that Magic Air Conditioner you described is really that convenient, not to mention thirty gold coins, a bunch of people would still buy it if you doubled the price! Then again, for the people of our upper society group, what is most important? Money? Of course not! The most important thing is face! Think about it, even the small nobles of Banta City are using this new thing like the Magic Air Conditioner, so how could our Anvilmar City not have any? That is too shameful! So, chairman Xu, don’t you think I’m right? We should just double the price, going from thirty gold coins for one to fifty gold coins for one is definitely not a problem!” After saying this, Victor even slapped his chest, “I promise that even at this price, you’ll have no problem selling several hundreds of them in Anvilmar City!”
Xu Yi knit his brows, “Only several hundred? Young master Victor, excuse me for being impolite, but I think your eyes are set too small. My goal is to sell several thousand units in Anvilmar City or even up to ten thousand units.”
“Ah?” Victor’s mouth dropped wide open and he looked at Cell and Urgot in blank dismay, “Thousands of units? This…..Chairman Xu, although our Anvilmar City has many rich people, tens of gold coins is not a small number. Those that can casually take that out…..perhaps there aren’t that many.”
Xu Yi revealed a faint smile, “Perhaps there aren’t that many now, but once the kingdom’s economy develops, naturally there would be more.”
Victor scratched his head and had a confused look, “Chairman Xu, I don’t understand this economical development you mentioned, so let’s not talk about this now. With what we can see now, I feel that it’s already pretty good if we can sell one thousand units in Anvilmar City.”
“Alright, since young master Victor thinks we can sell one thousand units, then let’s set it at this number for now.” Xu Yi said with a nod, “Of course, providing you with a thousand units right away is not realistic, our company can’t produce that many right now. How about this, I’ll give you fifty units first. Before sending them over, I’ll have to ask young master Victor, young master Cell, and young master Urgot to advertise them with all your effort first. It’s best if you can sell the first batch of Magic Air Conditioners right away, which is another form of advertisement and it’ll allow you to see what the market is like. What do you all think?”
The three of them all revealed wide smiles, but then Victor’s smile became awkward as he said to Xu Yi, “This…..Chairman Xu, according to the price of twenty five gold coins per unit, fifty units would be one thousand two hundred and fifty gold coins. This…...This…..Although we brothers have some money and can seek a bit of support from our families, to take out this much all at once, I’m afraid……”
Xu Yi laughed and waved his hand as he generously said, “The three young master shouldn’t look down on me, it’s just a trivial one thousand two hundred and fifty gold coins. With the status of the three young masters, how could I need you to pay this amount in advance? I’ll make the decision to first put this amount in an account. After you sell the first batch of Magic Air Conditioners, the three young master can just repay me. I believe that with the skills of the three young masters, you will be able to sell them in Anvilmar City and quickly earn back these gold coins.”
The eyes of the three lit up and Victor excitedly shouted, “Chairman Xu, are you serious?”
Xu Yi revealed a dissatisfied look, “Young master Victor, if you don’t believe me, it’s better if we don’t do business together.”
Victor quickly grabbed Xu Yi’s arm and kept saying, “I do, I do, I do, of course I believe chairman Xu. Alright, it’s all set. Have your people send the fifty…..No, it’s best if you give us a week to prepare first. Once we are prepared, have your people send the fifty Magic Air Conditioners over.”
Xu Yi nodded with a faint smile, “Alright, I will be in Anvilmar City for another week or so. If you have any ideas during this time, you can come look for me.”
Victor’s group of three looked at each other before they all revealed smiles.
After talking about a few more things, Victor’s group of three left with wide smiles.
When they left, Viscount Leslie came out from his hidden spot and entered the main hall. He looked over Xu Yi like it was his first time meeting him.
“Xu Yi, although I always felt that you had powerful interpersonal skills, but I never thought that in just a single time, you would be mixing with those three fellows. Moreover, based on what you were just discussing, are you preparing to do business with them?”
“When did the Lord Viscount arrive?” Xu Yi looked at him in surprise before looking in the direction the three walked off in. He said with a smile, “It was just a coincidence. What? Lord Viscount, you feel that it isn’t good to cooperate with them?”
Viscount Leslie shook his head, “Those three fellows have been good for nothing since they were young and aren’t good at business. With you choosing to cooperate with them, I’m worried you will suffer a loss.”
Xu Yi smiled and looked relaxed, “I can suffer the loss from fifty Magic Air Conditioners. Then again, this is also an investment and if it succeeds, it will bring me rich profits. As a merchant, if I wasn’t willing to take this bit of risk, I might as well focus on studying magic instead.”
“Investment?” Viscount Leslie looked at Xu Yi with a doubtful gaze, “You have only met them once the day before yesterday and don’t know anything about them, so why are you certain they are worth investing in?”
Xu Yi gave a smile to Viscount Leslie as he said, “Lord Viscount, for you to know them and be qualified to be taught a lesson by you, they wouldn’t be from normal families, right?”
Viscount Leslie instantly became happy, “Is this considered you flattering me? Fine, your guess is correct. Although those three kids are good for nothings, the families behind them have a bit of power in Anvilmar City, so you cooperating with the three of them was correct. Those three fellows are considered the local bullies, so they know many people and many paths. They can’t do anything big, but helping you sell some Magic Air Conditioners and opening the market is not a problem. Of course, that is on the premise they are willing to do this.”
Xu Yi laughed, “Each time a Magic Air Conditioner is sold, they can earn five gold coins. Do you think they are willing to work hard on this?”
Viscount Leslie couldn’t help laughing, “Those three fellows are strictly managed by their families and their finances are normally tight, so they are definitely willing to do anything that earns money quickly. But Xu Yi, I have to warn you that there have been other companies who have looked for them and was smashed by them in the end. Even if they work hard, that does not mean they will do well.”
Xu Yi shook his head, “I’ve already said this, this is an investment. Of course there are risks in investing, but it doesn’t matter if they completely fail or not. As long as they can let the people of Anvilmar City know about Magic Air Conditioners, it’s fine.”
Viscount Leslie gave a slight nod, “That is also right. In the end, the things you make are unique items on the Sines Continent. Just based on the novelty of it, there are many people who are willing to try it, so there is no need to worry about not being able to sell them.”
Xu Yi gave a proud smile. He changed the topic and asked, “That’s right, Lord Viscount, why are you here so early? Did you need me for something?”
“No, it’s nothing special. You’re going to the Magicians Guild for the qualification certification exam, so as a friend, I should send you there.”
Xu Yi looked at him with a bit of surprise. He thought that even though he and Viscount Leslie could be considered close, the status between the two were too different and they couldn’t be considered friends at all. Moreover, his relationship with Viscount Leslie back in Banta City was considered not too close, so why did he suddenly become this friendly?
“The Lord Viscount is too polite.” Xu Yi said with a smile, “Only this is just a qualification certification test, it isn’t anything especially important. How could it require you to send me there?”
“You seem confident.” Viscount Leslie shook his head, “Xu Yi, let me ask you something and I hope you’ll answer honestly.”
“Please ask Lord Viscount.”
“With the current level of your magic, what grade magician test can you pass?”
Xu Yi slightly knit his brows as he looked at Viscount Leslie with a bit of confusion.
Viscount Leslie really was a bit strange today. He actually came here to ask him his real magic level.
“If nothing unexpected happens, I can pass the Fourth Grade Magician exam. If I’m lucky, perhaps I can pass the Fifth Grade.” Xu Yi thought about it before responding.
“Oh?” Viscount Leslie was a bit surprised, “This means that your strength is already approaching that of a Fifth Grade Magician?”
“Yes.” Xu Yi gave a slight nod.
“That’s good. Xu Yi, I have a small request and I hope you can agree to it.” Viscount Leslie paused for a bit before saying, “After passing the Primary Grade Test, I want you to directly take the Fifth Grade Magician exam.”
“Directly take the Fifth Grade?” Xu Yi looked at Viscount Leslie in shock, “Lord Viscount, I said just now that if my luck was good, I can pass the Fifth Grade Magician exam. That does not mean that I’ll definitely pass. The Magicians Guild only holds the exam once per year and if I don’t pass the Fifth Grade exam, that means I’ll at most be considered a Primary Grade Magician this time.”
“Didn’t you not care about this anyway?” Viscount Leslie said.
Xu Yi couldn’t help knitting his brows, “Lord Viscount, why do you want me to do this? Although what grade magician I am doesn’t matter to me, I am being specially recommended by Great Magician Camilla this time, so I don’t wish to let down his expectations.”
Viscount Leslie was silent for a bit before giving a sigh and waving his hand, “Alright, treat it like I didn’t mention this matter and you can forget about it.”
Xu Yi looked at Viscount Leslie’s expression and felt this was even more strange.
This Lord Viscount, what was with him today?
Chapter 102 - Primary Grade exam
Although the Magicians Guild was in Anvilmar City, because there were too many people who had registered, the location of the exam was arranged outside the city.
Xu Yi smoothly entered the site of with his registration badge and ran into quite a few people who took the initiative to talk to him.
The day of the registration, in order to recruit more workers for the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, Xu Yi had taken the chance to talk to every magician he saw.
Although there were few people who agreed, Xu Yi’s conversation skills were quite good and he had left a good impression on these people. So when these people saw him, naturally they came to greet him.
“Hey, Xu Yi, I never thought that you had this many personal connections.” Seeing Xu Yi come over, Erwin punched his shoulder as he spoke with a smile.
Xu Yi gave a shrug, “There’s no other choice, I’m just too handsome.”
Erwin laughed, “So cocky. An old bachelor like you and you’re still saying your face is handsome? If Roy and the others heard this, they would laugh themselves to death.”
Xu Yi helplessly rolled his eyes.
Back in the Senkaiser School, because Xu Yi was already twenty four, being much older than most of his classmates and adding in the fact that he didn’t have time to interact with girls since he was still integrating into this world, he was called an old bachelor by them.
Xu Yi was helpless in refuting, so he could just let them be.
“Where’s Rooney and Bob?” Xu Yi looked around before asking.
“They aren’t participating in the Preliminary Grade exam like us, of course they’re not here.” Erwin said with a smile.
“Oh…..” Xu Yi then remembered, the Magicians Guild exams were separated by grades. The first day was the Primary Grade test and there weren’t any limits. The second day was a test for Primary Grade Magicians and if they passed, they would become Second Grade Magicians.
The third day was a test for Second Grade Magicians. And so it went like this, with the last day being the exam for Fourth Grade Magicians which is the Fifth Grade exam.
“Alright, let’s hurry up and take care of this Primary Grade exam. Don’t you feel it’s embarrassing having the two of us stand here like this?” Erwin said.
“Embarrassing?” Xu Yi was surprised before he reacted.
If one was a magician with outstanding talent, they would have been taught magic since they were young. Normally one would take the Primary Grade exam when they were ten to become an official magician.
For someone like Erwin who was nineteen and still hadn’t passed the Primary Grade exam, it meant that he didn’t have an outstanding talent.
And as for Xu Yi who was already twenty seven and hadn’t passed the Primary Grade exam, his talent must be even lower. In his entire life, it was impossible for him to become a Great Magician.
Standing among a group of kids who were ten and participating in this exam, no wonder Erwin felt this was embarrassing.
But it was a good thing it wasn’t just embarrassing for them. Other than them, there were also quite a few magicians in their twenties with average talent. There was even a white haired old man who seemed to be over sixty years old.
Seeing this old man covered in a black magic robe, Xu Yi couldn’t help feeling respect for him.
To still persist in participating in the Primary Grade exam at his age, this grandfather must really love magic.
Very soon, the Magicians Guild staff member in charge announced that the exam would be starting.
Because this was a Primary Grade exam, other than checking a magician’s magic power, they also needed to test a magician’s fundamental understanding and interpretation of magic. So other than the combat exam, there was a written exam that came first.
Xu Yi took the exam scroll and couldn’t help smiling.
He had already studied the contents back in the Senkaiser School, but the scope of the questions was a bit deeper.
Erwin could graduate from the Senkaiser School, so there was definitely no problem passing this written test.
The reason why he didn’t pass the Primary Grade exam before was obviously because of the combat test.
No wonder he chose to become an adventurer after graduation. This was because a dangerous job like being an adventurer could let him increase his combat experience, allowing him to be much more relaxed in the combat test.
No wonder he was filled with confidence this time. It had to be known that this fellow had one of the lowest magical talents among all their roommates.
The problems on the scroll weren’t any problems for Erwin, so naturally Xu Yi who was considered a genius in the Senkaiser School would find it to be a cinch.
After less than half an hour, Xu Yi had completely answered all the questions on the test paper.
With his discretion as an engineer, Xu Yi checked over his answers twice. After confirming that there were no problems, he handed in the test paper.
After leaving the test area, he found that there was already a person waiting there.
Seeing Xu Yi come out, a taunting smile appeared on that person’s face.
“You actually took this long for a Primary Grade written test, do you still dare say that you don’t have a special relation to Great Magician Camilla?”
Xu Yi knit his brows to look at this youth who seemed to be underaged still and revealed a thoughtful look. After thinking for a while, he finally clapped his hands and pointed at him while shouting, “I finally remember! You’re that person I met when I was registering called what…...Anke Galen?”
“Eren!” Anke Eren thought that no one would forget him once they saw him, but he never thought that Xu Yi would only remember him after thinking for a while and even got his name wrong. He instantly flew into a rage, “Xu Yi, I’m telling you, you are dead today!”
Xu Yi shook his head, thinking that this kid must definitely be pampered by his family.
He was disinclined to arguing with a kid and directly found a place to sit, patiently waiting for the next test.
But this manner enraged Anke even more. He came in front of Xu Yi and pointed at Xu Yi’s nose as he said in a loud voice, “Xu Yi, do you hear me? You are dead today!”
Xu Yi helplessly looked up and asked a bit weakly, “Alright, why am I dead?”
“Why?” Seeing that Xu Yi was finally talking to him, Eren laughed into the sky before answering with a proud look, “Because you offended me! Let me tell you, you actually dare to look down on this genius, this genius will definitely ruin your life. Do you know that a person with a special recommendation doesn’t need to take a written exam at all? So why did you take the written exam?”
“Oh?” Xu Yi was actually a bit surprised, “Based on your appearance, this was your doing?”
“Of course! Humph, with only a single word from me, not to mention taking away your special recommendation, it’s even easy to directly take away your right to participate in the exam. What? Are you afraid?”
“Aiya, I really am afraid.” Xu Yi revealed a fearful look, “Then I’ll ask young master Eren, why did you leave me mercy? Why are you still letting me take the exam?”
“You don’t even understand this? This is because this genius will destroy you in the combat test and let everyone know the fate of daring to shame this genius!” Eren said in a fierce voice.
Xu Yi couldn’t help smiling.
Although he had heard of a child like this before, one who thought that he could do whatever he wanted since he was pampered since he was young, this was his first time seeing one in real life.
As facts shown, this kind of child really made people hate him.
“Eren, I remember that last time you said that you were a Fourth Grade Magician, right?” Xu Yi suddenly asked.
Eren laughed as he proudly said, “What? Are you afraid? You can be assured, to take care of trash who hasn’t even passed the Primary Grade exam, I don’t need to use Fourth Grade Magic to take care of you. I can easily take care of you with Second Grade Magic.”
“You really will only use Second Grade Magic?” Xu Yi then asked.
Eren knit his brows, “This genius has always kept his words! You just wait, when I meet you in the combat test, I definitely will only use Second Grade Magic!”
Xu Yi nodded with a faint smile before closing his eyes to ignore Eren.
Eren wanted to throw a few more threats at him, but seeing Xu Yi close his eyes and clearly looking like he was going to ignore him, he could only angrily leave for now.
After the written test was over, there were looks of joy and worry on the people leaving the exam site. It seemed like even with this simple magic theory test, there were many people who didn’t pass.
But Erwin had a large smile and a relaxed look, so it could be seen that there was no problem with him passing the written test.
After the written test, there were a series of other tests. That included the magic test, the magic elemental energy control test, the meditation test, and many other tests. Finally was the most important test, which was the combat test that everyone looked forward to.
Everyone magician on the Sines Continent knew that a magician’s strength would be measured with actual combat in the end. So, the combat test naturally became the most important test.
Of course, the combat test wasn’t a fighting tournament, they wouldn’t let participating magicians slaughter each other. Rather they had higher grade magicians from the Magicians Guild spar with them, letting these higher grade magicians judge them based on actual combat.
Normally speaking, the Magicians Guild would sent some rather old magicians with rich experience, but this time everyone noticed something was different.
In the crowd of magicians where the youngest one was in his forties, there were several young magicians. Among them was a magician who wasn’t even of age yet!
Seeing Anke Eren looking at him with a complacent gaze, Xu Yi couldn’t help laughing.
This fellow really put in some effort to deal with him, actually using his connections to become an examiner here.
And to cover for himself, he even thought to arrange some other young magicians to become examiners with him to avoid making it too obvious.
There was no need to mention it, when it was time for Xu Yi’s exam, the examiner would definitely be him.
In the beginning, the participant magicians doubted the young magicians because of their age, but after a few rounds, no one had any more doubts.
These examiners were young, but their magic power was enough. No matter what kind of methods the examinees used, they couldn’t budge them at all.
The one who looked underage was even more astonishing. Even with how young he was, whenever he made a move, he either used a Grade Three or Grade Four Spell!
These magic spells were not considered much in the eyes of powerful magicians, but when they appeared on an underaged magician, it was very shocking.
With the age and magic level of this youth, he could be considered a rare genius magician of the Lampuri Kingdom!
While everyone was praising him, it quickly became Xu Yi’s turn to take the test.
And as expected, the one in charge of his test was Anke Eren.
Seeing Xu Yi walk onto the stage, Anke Eren’s smile became even more complacent. He lowered his voice to say, “Xu Yi, you just wait, no matter what you display, I will give you the lowest evaluation and won’t let you pass this test. Offending me, I won’t let you even become a Primary Grade Magician!”
Xu Yi wasn’t surprised at all, rather he said with a smile, “Dear young master Eren, do you remember your promise?”
Eren was stunned, but he suddenly remembered and said with a cold snort, “Che, Grade Two Magic is Grade Two Magic. Just with a piece of trash like you, I only need Grade Two Magic to mess you up. I definitely won’t let you display anything and will let you lose face in front of everyone!”
Xu Yi ignored the rest of his words and nodded with a faint smile, “It’s good that you remember your promise.”
After a while, Eren hinted to Xu Yi to begin the exam. He raised a hand and a light blue glowing water shield appeared in front of him.
Xu Yi recognized this water shield as the Second Grade Water Attributed Water Mark Spell. This Eren actually did what he said, but he couldn’t help revealing a smile as he raised his hand and sent out a fireball.
“Just a trivial First Grade Fireball Spell, you actually dare take it out to embarrass yourself…..” Eren had a cold smile on his face, but he saw the fireball Xu Yi throw out become faster as the red fireball filled with a purple colour. There were even traces of lightning flashing in it. He instantly revealed a look of great shock, “It’s actually the Thunder Crack Fireball Spell, how is this possible……”
“Peng——”
The fireball suddenly hit Eren’s shield and the water shield swayed before it was cracked by the fireball.
A powerful force came out of the fireball and Eren only had time to give a grunt before he was sent flying from the stage.