A military alliance was hastily formed under Hudson’s orchestration. His drinking buddies suddenly became "allies," and the banquet atmosphere reached a new peak.

  Watching everyone celebrate wildly, Hudson, with a smile on his face, secretly shook his head.

  This was probably the most careless military alliance in the world. No rights or obligations were agreed upon, and they just decred an alliance.

  How effective it would be depended entirely on everyone’s sense of honor. Whether they could be relied upon on the battlefield was something Hudson had no confidence in.

  Perhaps, if their interests aligned, they could barely function as an alliance. But if conflicts of interest arose, it would colpse in an instant.

  Even so, Hudson still believed this alliance had value. At the very least, it solved the problems of scking off and freeloading.

  As long as Count Piers wasn’t a fool, he wouldn’t dig too deeply. After all, rules were always meant to constrain the weak.

  Thirty knights and several thousand soldiers were no small force in the southeastern province. If they continued the tradition of noble alliances, they could recruit more members along the way.

  Although such a loose alliance wouldn’t have much combat power, it was intimidating! Especially for the upper rulers, who would have to consider not only the alliance’s nominal strength but also the influence of the noble families involved.

  Just as Hudson was pondering his next move, Knight Chelse suddenly approached.

  “Young Hudson, you seem preoccupied?”

  It was clear that Chelse was in a good mood now. He even had the leisure to care about such small details.

  “Uncle Chelse, I’m also interested in magic research, but I’m short on materials. I was hoping to trade some magic cores or crystals with you.”

  Hudson seized the opportunity to bring up his request.

  On the Asnt continent, magic cores and crystals were universal hard currency, more reliable than any gold or silver coins.

  After all, the specifications of gold and silver coins varied from country to country, and some powerful nobles even minted their own coins, with values often influenced by the mint’s integrity.

  In international trade settlements, currency conversion was extremely difficult, so many rge transactions were conducted using the more stable magic crystals or cores.

  Additionally, the role of magic crystals and cores in warfare, as well as their special uses for mages and alchemists, meant they rarely circuted in the market.

  At first, Hudson thought he could buy them with money, but after learning the reality, he quickly gave up.

  Due to various factors, even if they occasionally appeared on the market, they were often sold at exorbitant prices, making them a poor value. To obtain them in rge quantities, one had to rely on connections and under-the-table deals.

  As far as Hudson knew, the price the Mage Association paid the kingdom for these strategic resources was only one-third of the retail market price.

  Although nobles also had quotas to exchange for these resources, the prerequisite was becoming a mage. Under these circumstances, even if minor nobles had some in their collections, the quantities would be small, and they wouldn’t trade them unless absolutely necessary.

  Knight Chelse, who dabbled in magic research daily and had developed so many impractical magical technologies, surely couldn’t be short of these items.

  Most importantly, Chelse was currently short on money. Since he was selling his magical inventions, the magic cores and crystals that powered them could also be traded.

  “Hudson, you’re still young. Listen to your uncle’s advice: don’t follow my path and get involved in these messy things.

  Magic research is a bottomless pit. No matter how much wealth you have, it’s never enough to fill it. Unless you have exceptional magical talent, don’t waste your time and money on this.”

  Chelse spoke earnestly.

  It was clear that these words came from the heart. Having personally fallen into the pit of magic research, Chelse didn’t want to see Hudson follow in his footsteps.

  Hearing the words “magic talent,” Hudson had a sudden idea. Perhaps he should strive to become a mage.

  While spending money on magic research as a knight was seen as irresponsible, it was perfectly reasonable for a mage to do so.

  The problem was that Hudson had never been exposed to magic, let alone used it. Gncing at Chelse, Hudson quickly formed a pn.

  He might not have access to mage training methods, but that didn’t mean Chelse didn’t. Just looking at the magical items in the hall, it was clear that Chelse had no shortage of theoretical knowledge in this area.

  “Uncle Chelse, you must know how to test for magical talent. Could you test me?”

  Hudson tentatively asked.

  To figure out how to use his golden finger, he was willing to go all out. Having just done Chelse a big favor, this was the perfect opportunity to make his request.

  Perhaps seeing Hudson’s determination, or perhaps because testing talent wouldn’t take much effort, Chelse nodded.

  “Testing for magical talent is very simple. You just need to hold a neutral magic crystal in your hand and use your mental energy to absorb the magic within.

  If you have magical talent, the magic in the crystal will slowly flow into your body, and the speed of absorption will determine the quality of your talent.

  Of course, this method isn’t entirely accurate. There may be some margin of error, and it can’t detect specific talent attributes.

  To accurately test someone’s magical talent, you need to go to the Mage Association. The process is simple: just pay a hundred gold coins for the test.

  If your talent is decent and you’re accepted into the Mage Association, the test fee can be waived. However, that only applies to children.

  Mage training must start young. Once you’re over fifteen, the Mage Association won’t take you. Unless you can teach yourself to become a mage, you won’t get certified.”

  After finishing, seeing that Hudson remained unmoved, Chelse sighed deeply. In Hudson, he saw his younger self—equally stubborn and confident.

  But magic cultivation ultimately depended on talent. Ninety-five percent of people cked the talent for it.

  In the entire Kingdom of Alpha, there were fewer than five hundred registered mages, half of whom were apprentices.

  Of course, this was also reted to the talent screening system. The high testing fee effectively barred the vast majority of commoners.

  If universal talent testing were implemented, within a decade, the number of mages in the kingdom could easily increase tenfold.

  But that was impossible. Neither the king nor the noble css would allow the widespread dissemination of supernatural power to the lower csses.

  Moreover, given the number of mages in the kingdom, even if they wanted to conduct universal talent testing, they wouldn’t have the manpower to do so.