Fire Mage

Chapter 154: A Powerful Teacher

Upon hearing those words, Rhea went silent for a whole minute. After that, she took a deep breath and spoke with a solemn look on her face.

"Mages from the Iron Tower definitely won't agree to this request, Teacher. They will make trouble using various means and might try to kill you."

"It seems you still don't understand why I want to build a separate Magic Tower, lass." Charles let out a deep sigh and then continued.

"Let me ask you some questions, so answer properly. First, who are all eligible to join as a member of the Iron Tower?"

Although Rhea got confused by his question, she didn't put much thought into it and answered truthfully.

"Merchants, Nobles, members of noble Mystic families, Royalties, Mages and merited commoner."

"Then, what would a Subordinate Caste member have to do to become a merited commoner?"

"To become a merited commoner, a subordinate caste member need to get a sealed letter from a noble and also had to pay an amount of 50 gold coins as an advance payment." Rhea thought for a moment before she gave a reply.

"Let me ask you another question. How many gold coins do you guys possess when you walk into Chester City?" Charles asked.

This time, Rhea glanced at Jessie and soon spoke.

"At that time, we had a total of 15 gold coins, Teacher. Jessie and Titus had long started to save money by doing odd jobs in the Sweet village."

"15 gold coins... Then, do you know how many gold coins a commoner family had to pay for land and house taxes to the nobles?" Charles suddenly curled his lips upward and asked.

An awkward silence appeared in the main hall.

Upon noticing the silence, Charles let out a deep sigh, glanced at Ashley, and ordered.

"Tell us the correct answer."

"Yes, My Lord." Ashley instantly bowed her head and spoke.

"Land tax is based on how many acres a farmer possesses, My Lord. An average commoner possesses 3 to 5 acres of land and the tax for the land may range from 15 gold coins to 20 gold coins." She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath and then added.

"As for house tax, it varies from territory to territory. For example, a rural Baron mostly put a tax of 5 to 10 gold coins while a Duke might place a high amount of taxes on commoners."

"Why is a high-rank noble putting a high amount of taxes?" Charles suddenly interjected.

"Most of the Dukes and high-rank nobles' territories have good lands for agriculture and also good water supplies. The roads in their territories will always be cleaner, and security will be even tighter than normal nobles' territories." Ashley gave a proper answer.

"Hmm, that means an average commoner had to pay an amount of 20 to 25 gold coins per year to a noble household. Let's take a farmer's family as an example. If my guess is not wrong, they barely earn 30 to 40 gold coins per year in farming. No, if a strong wind appears during the production periods, they would end up losing everything. Moreover, natural disasters like cyclones, heavy rains, strange pests, other plant diseases also would affect their life..."

"More or less, they will barely earn to pay for taxes. Even if they had some extra money, they would spend it on their daily necessaries like buying clothing, utensils, etc., This goes for other job members too. Now, tell me, where will these subordinate caste members get 50 plus gold coins to pay to become a merited commoner?" Charles stared at Rhea for a moment and sighed once again.

"Who is the Tower Master of Iron Tower?" He asked.

"He is a Rank-5 Arch-Mage Marcus, Teacher. He is also the ancestor of Griffin Noble Household and always stays in the magic tower. No one, including my father, had seen him upfront during the past two centuries. But he participated during the last planar war and protected the Iron Kingdom along with the Fourth King of Iron Kingdom." Rhea responded in a nervous tone.

"A Rank-5 Arch-Mage, huh. Do you know anything about his class?" Charles wore a troubled expression on his face and asked.

A bitter smile appeared on Rhea's face as she shook her head and spoke.

"No, Teacher. There is no record about his battles or his class details in the royal library."

On the other hand, Charles touched his chin and then started to speak with a serious look on his face.

"You don't have to worry about him. As long as I refrain from killing a Rank-4 Mage of the Iron Tower, he won't come out and look for trouble."

'Damn it, you really think so highly of yourself, lad. I'm warning you, Rank-4 Mystics are not chickens. They can kill you in ten seconds.' An old man's shouting voice suddenly echoed in Charles's head as he said those words.

Meanwhile, a drastic change appeared on the kids' and Ashley's faces!

Before they could wake up from the shock, Charles stood up from his seat and spoke.

"I will give you one main reason for building this separate Magic Tower. As long as one possesses a good affinity, anyone can join my magic tower. Be it a commoner, a slave, a noble, or a merchant, anyone can become a member and would get many opportunities to become a high-rank Mystic or a mage. After my death, you guys will inherit this tower and become the Tower Masters of this magic tower." Charles paused for a moment and then added.

"I will also add another person to get equal access like you guys."

"Are you talking about your grandson, Teacher?" Jessie took a deep breath to calm down and asked.

"Yes, I might die before I see him. But one day if he comes to this magic tower, the tower spirit will recognize him as a Tower Master and give the equal authority as you guys. Don't worry. He won't cause any trouble."

Saying so, Charles turned around and continued to speak while walking towards the corridor.

"There is a small change in our plan, kids. We will start our journey to the Royal Capital on July 20th, so train harder and be prepared for any unexpected accidents. Unless if it is an urgent matter, don't disturb me."

His old voice trailed off as he walked into the shadow, and soon he disappeared from their visions.

Meanwhile, the kids still stood with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

Finally, Noel couldn't keep his face calm and muttered with a smile.

"Our teacher is very powerful."

At this moment, Jessie let out a deep sigh and damped the mood.

"My guess is spot on. Our Teacher is dying."

"Dying!?" Both Rhea and Noel got stupefied by her words and stared at her in puzzlement.

Meanwhile, Jessie glanced at Titus for a moment and then started to speak about her own thoughts. She first told them about his short lifespan and then about his final inheritance. Then, she changed the topic and began to talk about the magic tower.

"Our Teacher is not like those nobles and greedy mages, Rhea. He wants to build a magic tower so that it can protect us when we are in danger. Take your parents as an example, if they had some control over the Iron Tower, they wouldn't have got themselves assassinated by a bunch of assassins."

"Although Iron Tower is in the Iron Kingdom, even the Monarch had no authority over it. Mages are the real owners. To their eyes, the Monarch of the Iron Kingdom is nothing but a mere puppet. But that will change once you built a new magic tower for our Teacher. He is powerful and smart and must have many backup plans to make us stronger. He definitely won't allow you to become a puppet ruler."

The more Rhea listened, her faces turned into a shock and then into disbelief. The same goes for Noel too.

He was beyond shocked by Jessie's words.

Finally, Rhea took a deep breath and nodded her head in understanding.

"He is doing so much for us..." She muttered in a low voice, went near the sofa, and slumped on it.

No one knew what she was currently thinking.