Close Combat Mage
chapter-39

Chapter 39 – Mental Training

While chatting along the way, the two people finally arrived at the storehouse’s main area. Eldest Sister indicated for Suo Jia to wait for a bit, then used the keys to enter the main entrance of the storehouse.

When the two thick and heavy doors opened, an enormous underground world appeared before Suo Jia. The first scene that he saw was a huge hall that could easily fit a thousand people inside. The hall was filled with pillars of gold and jade. This area was already 20+ meters below the ground, and because the lake was right above, the place would have collapsed ages ago without sufficient underlying support.

Within the hall were some wooden shelves. Although the wooden shelves were currently empty, Suo Jia could imagine that these shelves were originally packed with wine jugs. After the wines had all been consumed, only emptiness was left on the shelves.

Seeing the chaotic surroundings, Suo Jia wrinkled his brows, “This place is both messy and dirty. When you’re free, find people to come clean it up; otherwise it cannot be used.”

Smiling, Eldest Sister nodded, “This is no problem. If Young Master desires it, I can immediately find people to clean it up. At the latest, I will be able to get the place cleaned in three days.”

After saying this, Eldest Sister knit her brows and continued, “However, with just us six sisters, I’m afraid we will not be able to clean such a large area. Therefore, tomorrow I will hire some workers to come clean it. If Young Master wants to use it for a long period of time, I recommend Young Master to personally go purchase or hire some maids to maintain this place in the future.”

Suo Jia nodded, however as he had not yet decided whether or not he would use this place, he did not reply, and simply continued to stroll around the large space. Honestly, being in such a large space alone would actually be slightly frightening. Although all of this was in accordance to what Suo Jia had requested, he was still a bit reluctant to come here regularly.

After touring the area for a bit, Suo Jia had finally finished examining the space. This large area was about 1000 square feet. The surrounding walls split into hundreds of storage rooms. The rooms were not large, and could fit about two large wooden shelves, which were probably used to store wine jugs.

While Suo Jia was observing this, Eldest Sister laughed, “If Young Master had not reminded me of this, I would have completely forgotten about it. Even though the majority of the wines have already been brought out and consumed, there should still be some left over right now. I’m not completely sure of the exact amounts; Young Master should come check them out with me!”

Hearing about the remaining wines, Suo Jia could not help but get excited. Since he was so young, he had not yet drank wine before. He wanted to try and experience what wine tasted like. Now that he not only had wine, but extremely expensive wine at his disposal, Suo Jia definitely had to taste it.

Quickly walking to one of the rooms in the corner, he opened the room’s door. Suddenly, a space of approximately 100 meters appeared before Suo Jia’s eyes. Within the room there were rows and rows of shelves, and on top of those shelves were wine barrels the size of a human head. Roughly estimating, there were perhaps a thousand barrels!

The wine jugs there were not the same as those sold outside. The ones sold outside could fit ten of these wine jugs inside them. If all of the wine in this room was added together, it would be equivalent to only 10 barrels of wine bought from the outside.

“I was right after all, there really is some left over. Although there isn’t much here, these are all top quality wines costing in the thousands!” Seeing the room full of wine, Eldest Sister excitedly shouted.

Glancing at Eldest Sister with hesitation, Suo Jia asked, “What? Are these wines that expensive? That can’t be, these were brewed from grain right?”

Rolling her eyes at Suo Jia, Eldest sister rebuked, “Young Master, rare things will always be more expensive. This wine originates from the west, making it terribly expensive; after all, we are in the east. Young Master, think about it: If these jugs of wine were not precious, would the owner build such a large cellar underneath a lake for them?”

Completely indulged in the wooden barrels, Eldest sister delightedly said, “You shouldn’t look down on the small size of these barrels; the price of one barrel is not something that a normal person can afford! In actuality, just one small bottle of this can sell for at least ten thousand gold!”

Arriving at this point, Eldest Sister’s eyes suddenly lit up. She clapped her hands loudly together and said, “I know what to do! I was worried that we wouldn’t have any luxury products to enhance the style and taste of our beautification center. Now it’s no longer a problem; with wine like this, even if we wanted to deny that we were a luxury center, we wouldn’t be able to. The only problem is that our stock is limited, so we have to be cautious with our usage.”

Looking at Eldest Sister with a baffled expression, Suo Jia replied in confusion, “Since this wine is so precious, can’t we simply bring over a batch during the winter from the west? Either way, we have this cellar to store it, so it shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Bitterly smiling, Eldest Sister shook her head and said, “It would be great if it was really that simple. You have to understand that aside the fact that this wine originated from a precious and rare source, if you actually did manage to purchase this wine, you would still need to travel across many greater trade routes before finally arriving at our Holy Light Empire. Now you should have a better understanding of the prices of these wines right?”

“Greater trade routes!” Hearing Eldest Sister’s words, Suo Jia’s eyes momentarily flashed. It was precisely on these greater trade routes, that Suo Jia’s father and his companions traveled on, never again returning.

The greater trade routes were the world’s most flourishing business routes, and they were the only channels between the east and west. The thousands of miles the routes extended for were filled with thieves, mercenaries, and knights. It could be said that this route was where all of the world’s strongest people gathered!

The most powerful mages from Holy Light City were only shrimps compared to those on the greater trade routes. The greater trade routes were where billions of elites gathered from around the world. This was the paradise within every warrior’s dreams; if they did not encounter the greater trade routes even once within their lifetimes, then they could not rest in peace even if they died. Being recognized as a warrior that had traveled along these trade routes was something recognized worldwide.

Going on the greater trade routes was one of the objectives that Suo Jia strived to reach. Once Suo Jia believed that he was powerful enough, then he would move on to travel along the greater trade routes. This was firstly because of his own military dream as a warrior, and secondly, because he wanted to find his father to bring him back home.

Suo Jia had first begun to understand the greater trade routes from the stories his mother had told him since he was young. By now, he was already extremely familiar with them. Delivering products along the greater trade routes was extremely difficult. Even if a person managed to successfully go through alone without any merchandise, it was already a feat to be extremely proud of. This was exactly why the fine wines, which had traveled along the greater trade routes, were so precious and expensive. These wines were no longer just ordinary wines!

While thinking, Suo Jia’s blood constantly boiled as he was overwhelmed with emotions. Looking at Eldest Sister with fiery eyes, Suo Jia said heavily, “There will definitely come a day where I will be able to transport a large amount of this type of wine home. Just wait patiently!” After saying these words, Suo Jia immediately turned around, and walked out of the main entrance.

Originally, Suo Jia had been very apprehensive about training here alone. However once Eldest Sister had mentioned the greater trade routes, Suo Jia immediately set down his resolve. How could this place even compare to the greater trade routes? Compared to the greater trade routes where a life could be lost in an instant, this underground storehouse was like a child’s playground. If he couldn’t overcome such a minor fear, then how could he possibly even consider traveling the greater trade routes!

After dinner, Suo Jia grabbed a cushion and opened the tower’s large doors to enter the underground basement alone. He sat cross-legged in the center of the spacious and empty storehouse area.

The large underground space was pitch-black and quiet; Suo Jia was even able to hear his own heartbeat. Even though he had already gathered his courage, he was still only an eight years old child. Having determination was one thing, however being scared or not was another.

Suo Jia sat there on the ground, timid and trembling in fear. He had difficulty gathering his wits, let alone start training. Frequently looking around at his dark surroundings, Suo Jia kept feeling like there was something watching him, something that could pounce on him at any moment with a gaping mouth that would rip him into tiny pieces.

For the whole night, Suo Jia couldn’t train, or even sleep, and tossed about restlessly for the entire evening. Once Eldest Sister and Second Sister together called him to go eat breakfast the next morning, Suo Jia ran for his life out of that dark underground space.

The instant he had raced out of the tower, Suo Jia let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just survived a calamity and started a new life. Suddenly starting, Suo Jia angrily slapped himself twice. He had been immature, definitely too immature. In reality, nothing had happened at all that whole evening, and yet he had been scared out of his wits. At this rate, how could he possibly even think of the greater trade routes!