423: Chapter 423 The Unregistered Magician

"What magic dragon? It's just a big lizard. The royal family is already preparing to suppress it, and I heard they'll be dispatching the Sun God Guards this time."

"Sun God Guards? What are those?"

"I don't know, just heard they're very powerful. They're divine guards cultivated using the seeds of the Sacred Flower from before the Era of Radiance. Of course, you know how the royal family loves to exaggerate and brag."

"Shh, don't speak so loudly. You'll end up in jail if you get reported."

"Ha, like I'm afraid of them. At worst, I'll just leave; the world is vast, where can't I go?"

"The Second Prince is holding another consort selection. Who knows how many beautiful women will participate this time."

"Tsk tsk, it's truly enviable. He selects every few days, dozens or hundreds at a time. It's truly a case of some starving to death while others are flooded to death."

"Those women are crazy too. The Second Prince has chosen at least eight hundred to a thousand consorts over the years, and we've only seen them go in, never come out."

"The Seventh Prince has returned from searching for a mage."

"Didn't he just leave a month ago? I heard he went to Mount Adam, where rumors said a white-bearded mage was refining magic potions."

"Fake. The real news leaked halfway through; it was just an old man picking herbs on the mountain who broke his leg and was brewing medicine for himself. One of the herbs happened to be a rare treasure, and it emitted a magical glow while boiling, which was seen by a passing hunter."

"That's what I said. All this talk about mages is fake."

"Shh, you shouldn't say that. Have you forgotten five years ago when the clear sky suddenly became overcast with thunder and lightning? It was raining lightning and hail. They say it was two mages fighting in the sky; some people even saw silhouettes. Under normal circumstances, how could there suddenly be lightning and hail?"

"What's impossible about it? In my opinion, all these mages are just imagined by others. I'm a knight with thirteen medals, I've traveled North and South, visited over a dozen countries, and I've never seen a mage."

The people around them immediately lost interest in talking to him and continued their own conversations.

"Do you guys know? There are rumors of a mage again. A mage emerged from the west riding a Mountain Boar magic beast. I heard that Mountain Boar is two stories tall, like a small hill! Someone who can ride such a terrifying magic beast can't be an ordinary person!"

"Two stories tall? I heard that Mountain Boar is the size of a mountain; the earth shakes when it walks. It's said to possess an ancient Titan bloodline!"

"What you're saying is fake. What I'm saying is the truth. That Mountain Boar doesn't have a Titan bloodline, but it controls terrifying flames and is a genuine transcendent magic beast! And that mage is riding on the back of this transcendent magic beast!"

"Oh my god, a transcendent magic beast as a mount! I remember before, when some nobles hunted a giant deer that controlled vegetation, they dispatched three Great Knights. This flame-controlling Mountain Boar must be even more powerful."

"Exactly. In the wild jungles, even tigers and black bears have to retreat when they see an adult boar. If it becomes a magic beast, that's even more incredible. Even if it isn't as tall as a small hill, it must be bigger than an elephant!"

"Heh, maybe it's just someone's pet piglet that ate some treasure. 'Mage,' indeed," that man spoke up again.

"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."

"Exactly. Ignorance is truly terrifying. Just a knight with thirteen medals, acting like he knows everything and can do everything. If you're so capable, why don't you go hunt that black dragon magic beast!"

The tavern was noisy and bustling with people—traveling merchants, hunting trappers, wandering knights, all sorts of people were there.

Nie Yu was also here, listening to the various news, and as he listened, he heard about himself.

Although he had never revealed his magic in front of others, those rumors were not false; he was indeed a mage.

It was just that he was an unregistered mage without certification from a Magic Academy.