"The difficulty in transitioning into a Shadow Priest lies in withstanding the erosion of shadow energy. As long as one can convert the energy within their body into shadow energy, the transition will inevitably succeed."
"So, if you can provide me with enough priests, I can create an army of casters for you."
Li De couldn't help but shake his head. Where would he find priests? Dawn City didn't even have a temple, and he couldn't easily establish one within the city.
"Does the Shadow Priest have any other special abilities?"
"Of course, Lord Progenitor. Shadow Priests are different from ordinary priests; we are powerful manipulators of shadows, possessing immense destructive power."
Through Emi's detailed explanation, Li De gained a deep understanding of the Shadow Priest class.
Undoubtedly, Shadow Priest was a hidden class, and the prerequisite for transitioning into a Shadow Priest was being a priest—no other class could make the transition.
Li De's main class was Mage. No matter how high his aptitude, he couldn't become a Shadow Priest due to this transition restriction.
However, several innate talents of the Shadow Priest class particularly caught Li De's eye.
Shadow Priest: Upon transitioning into a Shadow Priest, all skills transform into shadow-based skills, accompanied by shadow energy corrosion, increasing damage by 30%.
Shadow Affinity: After transitioning into a Shadow Priest, all recovery abilities increase by 100% while in the shadows.
Shadow Manipulation: Using shadow-based skills reduces mana consumption by 20% and increases casting speed by 30%.
Powerful. After listening to Emi's introduction, Li De's sole impression of this hidden class was its sheer power.
These three skills greatly enhanced the spellcasting ability of this class, far surpassing that of a normal mage.
However, there were drawbacks. One could only use shadow-based spells and couldn't learn or use regular spells.
But compared to the advantages this class offered, this drawback seemed less significant.
Even Li De would be tempted if he were a priest; these innate talents were incredibly strong.
Moreover, the Shadow Priest class paired well with vampire traits. Both preferred darkness, though the difference was that Shadow Priests gained strength in shadows regardless of day or night, while vampires became stronger after sunset anywhere.
He even had a premonition that if a vampire were to transition into a Shadow Priest, there would undoubtedly be a significant boost.
The only pity was that one had to be a priest to transition.
This left Li De somewhat at a loss. There was no denying the strength of Shadow Priests, but Dawn City had no priests. To become a priest, one had to worship a deity.
After worshipping a deity, would anyone still be willing to transition into a Shadow Priest?
Transitioning meant abandoning one's faith. If the person was an important figure within the temple, they might even attract divine attention.
Thus, a simple issue completely stumped Li De.
He had no priests, and even if he did, he wouldn't dare bring them to Dawn City lightly.
Li De rubbed his nose, momentarily at a loss and decided to put it aside for now.
In the future, he could only hope for an opportunity to establish a temple in Dawn City fully under his jurisdiction.
The Shadow Priest was undoubtedly an excellent hidden class, completely discarding the gentle healing abilities of priests and instead becoming venomous figures. Perhaps there would be great potential for development in the future.
"Emi, compile all the spells you've learned. And if you find anyone suitable to transition into a Shadow Priest in Dawn City, feel free to choose."
"As you wish, Lord Progenitor."
Though somewhat regretful, Li De wisely refrained from dwelling too much on the Shadow Priest.
After the meeting dispersed, Emi, along with a few second-generation bloodline descendants, excitedly went outside the city to experiment with the Small Fireball spell.
Li De found their excited expressions amusing but didn't pay much attention. Exchanging magic was a good thing.
He continued pondering the future development plans for Dawn City.
---
Green City, it had been four days since Li De left.
At this moment, the small square in front of the Crimson Mage Tower was exceptionally lively.
For the lower-class commoners, becoming a noble mage lord was undoubtedly everyone's dream.
It was one of the few safe and quick paths to rise above others.
No one envied the high-ranking mage lords more.
Now, such an opportunity was presented before them.
The Crimson Mage Tower was recruiting mage apprentices.
For commoners, this was truly a tremendous blessing. In the Southern District, there were only two mage towers, and the other hadn't recruited apprentices in twenty years.
Now, the recruitment opportunity at the Crimson Mage Tower was their only hope.
As for going to other districts, those despicable commoners wouldn't allow outsiders to snatch slots meant for their children, just as they would collectively resist people from outside the Southern District coming to the Crimson Mage Tower.
However, what troubled Vina the most was that although more and more apprentices were entering the mage tower, none possessed outstanding talent.
This made Vina very unhappy.
In the girl's heart, the Crimson Mage Tower held the top position; she had long considered it her home.
Of course, the owner of this home was naturally the person she relied on the most.
For the Crimson Mage Tower, for Lord Li De, she was willing to give everything.
She understood that the future of the mage tower depended on mage apprentices, and their aptitude represented their future.
Among all professions, mages relied most heavily on aptitude. Without it, the road ahead would be tough.
The inability to recruit talented apprentices was undoubtedly something that upset her.
She wanted to contribute more to Lord Li De's mage tower, and a gifted apprentice would undoubtedly be the best gift.
"I'm sorry, insufficient aptitude. Next."
A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, seeing no reaction from the crystal ball before him, revealed a look of deep disappointment.
Especially under the gaze of Vina's exquisite face, he felt a sense of shame, lowering his head and leaving the testing area in a daze.
The long queue of people paid no attention to someone who failed the test. Such failures were too common these days, whereas success was rare.
Out of over thirty thousand eligible candidates tested so far, only thirty had passed.
Vina watched this scene expressionlessly, completely unmoved by the boy's hopeful gaze.
In her heart, Li De was her world. Only by becoming stronger could the Crimson Mage Tower support that man. Thus, during this test, she quietly raised the requirements by two levels.
Soft-heartedness? Nonexistent. In the eyes of outsiders, Vina's cold demeanor was colder than the harshest winter. Her smiles and warmth were reserved only for the figure who had saved her from the abyss.
At this moment, a middle-aged woman, under the watchful eyes of the surrounding crowd, proudly pushed her ten-year-old son forward to the round table where the mana affinity crystal was placed.
"Good day, esteemed mage. My name is Mary, and this is my son—Kili. He has already learned to write, and even the priests of the Goddess of Life praised him for his intelligence~"
The somewhat sharp-featured woman's face lit up with pride, seemingly full of confidence in her son.
Vina's expression remained unchanged. She had seen such scenes countless times. Every parent came with confidence, but those with talent were few and far between. Just as she was about to let the boy test, a scene before her made her frown.