The Mighty Mage
Chapter 200: Explorer’s License

Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Explorer’s License

However before she could even take a few steps, Luo Meng’s voice,

"Can you all give me a side, please?"

Hearing his charming voice, all the girls surrounding Gu Jin parted subconsciously.

Luo Meng smiled at them and walked up to Gu Jin.

He wore a black tuxedo suit and his black bangs covered a portion of his forehead, making him look like a prince charming.

"Thank you all for your attention. I, Luo Meng, have admired Goddess Gu Jin for a long time now.

Her grace, intelligence, and strength have always captivated me. Today, on this special day, I want to make my feelings known."

Luo Meng continued, "Goddess Gu, I know that you’re on the cusp of a new journey. I would be honored if you would allow me to be a part of it. Will you consider being with me?"

The declaration was met with a mix of cheers and murmurs.

"Luo Meng." Gu Jin called out softly but Luo Meng’s body had goosebumps.

Lu Siyao and Liang Bao chuckled in their heart.

Luo Meng was done for.

After all, other than being an admirer of Gu Jin, Luo Meng had another identity...

Hehe!

"You will copy the Basic of Magic Seeking Art by Gao Tang 100 times."

"No! Master you are being too harsh!" Luo Meng shouted instantly.

Yup.

3 years ago, Gu Jin decided to pursue Magic Seeker as her minor.

Maybe because she had three elements or maybe she was too sensitive, Gu Jin’s magic-seeking ability was very good.

Soon, Gu Jin became famous for her magic-seeking ability.

Even Gu Jin was happy when she found such ability.

She fantasized about finding a magic stone mine and getting rich. Gu Jin even thought of what she would do once she found a magic stone mine.

Buying a shop, buying cultivation resources for Si Kai and Ying Yue, there were also some resources that she would need for her own cultivation.

Due to her special elements like dark fire and plants, she needs to make preparations in advance.

However, this dream didn’t last long when Gu Jin was forced to face reality.

The government’s rules state that as long as an individual finds any magic stone mine, they would have to give 80% of the mine to the government, while individuals could only have 20% of the mine.

Not infuriating enough?

Well, in the remaining 20%, the individual will have to pay 2% to each top family in the area in which the Magic Stone mine was found.

Why the citizens may ask?

Well, its because the top families donate 10% of their yearly income to charity and they should at least some benefits right?

So the common man’s pockets were cut, to fill the quota of benefits.

Each area at least has 5 top families.

This means that the individuals could only be left with 10%.

Then comes the taxes.

Depending on the size of the magic stone mine, the tax varies. For a small magic stone mine, the tax can be as low as 0.5% while for a large magic stone mine, the tax can be as high as 2%

Considering that the mine was a medium-level magic stone mine, the individual will be left with only 7%

7% is a lot. And you might end up with thousands of magic stones if you had found a large magic stone mine.

A common citizen should be happy.

But here comes the twist.

If for some reason the mine is found in a slum area, then the individual is expected to pay 4% to the slum area, as part of a "community improvement tax."

This means that the individual would only be left with 3%.

Not to mention, the individual has to protect this 3% from evil people too.

When Gu Jin knew these rules, the first idea that came to her mind was to find a mine in a forest.

But when she knew the rules of finding a magic stone mine in a completely isolated area, she almost fainted.

If by chance, an individual finds a magic stone mine in a completely isolated area, then they have to pay 99% of their findings to the government, leaving them with a mere 1%.

This rule was established to deter people from venturing into dangerous, unregulated areas, but it effectively killed any hope of striking it rich through such discoveries.

Overkill.

That was what Gu Jin thought of.

Hence she completely gave up on finding a magic stone mine for the time being.

Who would struggle hard to find a magic stone mine and end up with as low as 1% and 3% of the magic stone mine they tried to find so hard?

However, it wasn’t like there was no way at all.

There are always loopholes and exceptions in the system.

The loopholes in this situation were that the government often overlooked certain small, hidden mines that were not officially registered or detected.

These so-called "wildcat mines" were risky to exploit, but they offered the potential for an unregulated source of income.

However, the true exception to the oppressive regulations was a special government permit known as the "Explorer’s License."

This permit was incredibly difficult to obtain and required a demonstration of exceptional skill and contribution to the field of magic-seeking.

With this license, an individual could retain 30% of their findings from any mine, bypassing some of the more egregious taxes and family payments.

One more exception that Gu Jin liked particularly is becoming a Special Officer or being a nation’s representative in an international competition.

As long as you are a high-rank Special Officer, you can retain up to 80% of the magic stone mine, and if you are a nation’s representative then you retain up to 90% of the magic tone mine.

So Gu Jin was planning on pursuing the path of being a Special Officer.

She could have power, and wealth at the same time.

However, Gu Jin couldn’t help but feel ironic at the same time.

In her past life, her grandpa always pitied her.

"Jin’er my biggest regret in life is opening a mafia organization. If only I was some military general or something, then you wouldn’t have to suffer so much.

You wouldn’t have to walk on such a perilous path," her grandpa would often say.

Then he would look at her with kind eyes and say,

"If only...if only you could become some police officer or be admitted to the army. With your talent, you could have reached a high rank very soon. It’s a pity..."

So in this life, even though Gu Jin had heard of the mafia organization of the magic world, Gu Jin didn’t join one and instead chose the lawful path.

She saw it as a way to honor her grandfather’s wishes in a way that aligned with her own goals.

Even though, it was mainly because of the benefits she was about to receive, the choice still carried a deeper significance.

However, before becoming a special officer, she would have to obtain an Explorer’s license, and before obtaining an explorer’s license, she has to hit the mark of training two excellent magic seeker disciples.

And why that?

Well long story short, an excellent explorer has to be someone who can not only discover valuable resources but also train the next generation to do the same.

It’s a way to ensure the continuity of the profession and maintain high standards.

This requirement brought her to Luo Meng. Although his feelings for her were genuine, his primary identity was that of her magic-seeking disciple.

Gu Jin looked at Luo Meng, who was still pouting about copying the Basic of Magic Seeking 100 times.

"Remember, to copy it before dawn. I will check it."

"Master, you are too cruel! Why can’t you just directly reject me? Is it necessary to give out such a hard punishment to your disciple?"

"Life is too short to argue, a master should just say ’copy the basics of magic seeking art by Guo Tang’ and move on." Lu Siyao said with a chuckle.

The other girls couldn’t help but chuckle too.

Luo Meng lowered his head with a wrong look on his face.

"Master, I truly want to die. You rejected me, everyone is laughing at me, and I have to copy the magic-seeking art book 100 times.

My life is so hard! Master at least fix two things for me?"

Gu Jin chuckled,

"Now you know, that I am your master. You didn’t think of me as a master when you proposed to me in front of everyone, did you? If you can endure this, then you will be stronger for it."

Luo Meng sighed deeply, resigned to his fate.

"Yes, Master. I will do as you say."

It wasn’t Gu Jin’s motivation that made him agree.

It was Gu Jin’s last line that made him agree.

As long as he can become stronger, goddess Gu would definitely look at him differently!