CHAPTER 751: REVIEW COMMITTEE: HOW MUCH DO WE STILL OWE GARRETT?

"So, Garrett solved another problem for us?"

The issue with the mithril mine was completely resolved and only reached the review committee’s table through layers of reports three days later.

The evaluation committee member in charge of the Alchemy Guild in the Transmutation School was surprised when he saw Garrett’s name on the report.

"He’s already at the seventh level!" On the other end of the meeting table, Old Sam from the Evocation School impatiently knocked on the table:

"Seventh level, a mid-level mage! He’s no longer a child, so stop calling him ’little Garrett’!"

Although he himself occasionally referred to Garrett as ’little Garrett’ privately or when talking to Garrett alone.

However, a mid-level mage and a disciple of a legendary mage should have their own dignity and shouldn’t always be treated as a child!

Calling him that could easily lead to bullying!

The Lord of Thunder and his senior disciples weren’t present. If Garrett were bullied or his interests were harmed by the review committee, there would be consequences when the higher-ups returned.

"Ah, he’s already a seventh-level mage."

Grand Mage Grom from Black Crow Swamp sighed nostalgically.

"The first time I saw him, he was just a second-level little mage, shouting for help outside the maze in the middle of the night..."

And now he was already at the seventh level. The term of the review committee members wasn’t even over yet!

That little guy, who used to obediently write essays in the meeting room under intimidation, had now become a pillar of the council, a seventh-level mage, a five-ring arcanist!

"But this also brings us some trouble."

The Enchantment School’s evaluation committee member, who had been busy calculating, didn’t participate in the discussion. Only after reading the report quickly did he sigh:

"How much should we pay him for the fertilizer project? I just finished verifying it. Now with the dwarves’ issue added, we have to recalculate the contribution points!"

Help!

The fertilizer needed to resist the year without summer was a big project. It could even be said to be a rare large-scale project mobilizing all factions in the council in recent years.

From legendary mages at the top to high-level mages to apprentices running errands at the bottom, and even the Nature Church next door, countless people were busy filling the nation’s stomachs.

Everyone had different tasks and contributions that needed to be fairly and justly evaluated, making the workload enormous.

And Garrett was involved in more than one sub-project!

From providing methods for measuring land and identifying nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; to verifying the effects of ammonia; to outlining the general route for synthesizing ammonia. He was involved in every aspect, making crucial contributions!

In each direction, he saved the council a lot of manpower, material resources, and time. According to the council’s evaluation standards, the person providing the ideas got the lion’s share of the contribution, and his proportion was very high!

The problem was, every time Garrett came up with something, the council had to urgently adjust the project’s contribution package...

Each sub-project had a dedicated team calculating contribution values. Each adjustment meant several hours, a day, or two days of work going down the drain, and they had to start over.

The mages dedicated to the review committee, who professionally calculated contribution points, now felt dizzy, nauseous, and wanted to vomit at the mention of "Garrett Nordmark".

"No choice, let them recalculate," said the Enchantment School’s head, shaking his head:

"After all, it helped solve a problem for the council, and it was a problem that, though not major, would have been very troublesome if left unresolved. This project should be included in the fertilizer production, right?"

"Yes." The head of the Transmutation School nodded affirmatively:

"It’s for producing ammonia, oh no, nitrogen fertilizer. The dwarves were contracted because they have the best craftsmanship and the highest precision in processing. Keeping them from causing trouble and making them work honestly should indeed count as part of fertilizer production."

The Enchantment School’s evaluation committee member signed off on the report and casually tossed it aside. Immediately, a round-headed puppet slid over, opened its top like a cylinder, and caught the report.

The puppet made a series of "didi dudu" sounds, slid out of the door, and disappeared.

The meeting room fell silent again, with each evaluation committee member burying themselves in their work until a row of alchemical puppets entered, distributing reports one by one.

Then, a new report fell in front of Old Sam. It was thick, looking more like a book than a report. Old Sam glanced at the cover and rubbed his forehead:

"Garrett got us into trouble again..."

"Hey, who said earlier that we shouldn’t call him ’little Garrett’?"

Four of the eight evaluation committee members teased in unison.

Old Sam read the summary, the table of contents, and then skimmed the contents. He closed the cover and tossed it aside. The report spun and landed on the Enchantment School’s mage’s desk.

"Hey, medical-related stuff is your business."

"Why is it always my business..."

The Enchantment School’s head grumbled as he opened the report. This report detailed what Garrett did in the mithril mine:

The first part detailed the development process of streptomycin and the bacteria it could kill;

The second part was the clinical trial report of streptomycin;

The third part detailed the treatment effects of streptomycin on dwarves (including bacteria culture experiment results, auscultation, X-ray chest films, and CT results);

The fourth part estimated the incidence of diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis among dwarves during Garrett’s visit to the Dwarven Royal Court;

The fifth part speculated on the mass export of streptomycin to the Dwarven Kingdom...

"Speculation, just speculation." The white-robed mage tossed the report onto the table, looking up to complain:

"Does this kid take us for fools? There’s no information on production capacity, pricing, or how much it can be sold for in the Dwarven Kingdom."

And that wasn’t even the main point. The main point of his complaint was:

"As for selling medicine to the Dwarven Kingdom to influence their policies and make their prohibition orders more smoothly implemented..."

He refrained from rolling his eyes out of respect for his high-level mage demeanor:

"This kind of diplomatic suggestion, he would rather beat around the bush for a thousand words than directly mention it! Is he using us as tools? He gives a rough idea, and we have to do the rest!"

"Can’t blame him for that." Grand Mage Grom quickly read through the report and defended Garrett with a laugh:

"Production capacity needs to be discussed with the Nature Church; pricing also needs to be discussed with them. As for diplomatic suggestions, although the kid visited the Dwarven Kingdom and received a delegation, he’s not a professional..."

"Come on!" The other committee members collectively complained:

"Even if you defend him, he won’t become a part of Black Crow Swamp!"

Skulls, leg bones, rib bones, ink bottles, and scrolls once again flew through the air.

Despite the complaints, the work had to be done. Garrett’s suggestions were indeed good, so everyone had to break down the tasks and assign them piece by piece.

The matter wasn’t significant, but it involved many departments and high levels. Each part needed discussion, deliberation, and cooperation from different departments and factions, leading to some bureaucratic friction.

Just discussing this report took the committee members half a day. Finally, after the discussion ended, the committee member from the Abjuration School looked at the form and suddenly asked:

"By the way, how many contribution points does the council owe the kid this time?"

"..."

"..."

There was an instant silence. The Enchantment School committee member flipped through a record book, did some quick mental calculations on the contribution from the recent report, and gave a rough number:

"…1000?"

"How can it be so little!"

Old Sam and Grand Mage Grom exclaimed simultaneously. As soon as they spoke, they turned to glare at each other like angry roosters. The other committee members, who weren’t involved, silently turned away.

The tug-of-war between Black Crow Swamp and the Thunder Horn over Garrett’s allegiance had become a routine drama. Stay calm, stay calm...

But the Enchantment School’s committee member couldn’t stay calm. Those two could fight all they wanted, but in the end, they would join forces to pressure him. He quickly organized his thoughts and tapped the table:

"The current evaluated contribution points are for the soil measurement and solving the mithril area problem. As for the ammonia production and selling new medicine to the Dwarven Kingdom..."

He pulled out two documents and pushed them forward:

"The Nature Church estimates that without using divine magic to boost production, just using fertilizer could increase yield by over 50%. If we can reduce the cost of fertilizer, it’s a very profitable business just by itself."

However, nitrogen fertilizer required large-scale equipment for production, guarded by mages; phosphorus fertilizer had to be transported from small islands in the Storm Islands; and potassium fertilizer needed mining.

While food was of paramount importance, reducing costs required the efforts of mages.

"Our current plan is to turn it into a project. If it’s profitable, the relevant personnel will share the profits. As one of the key technology providers, Mage Nordmark will definitely get a fair share."

Of course, the specific share...

That could be discussed after the project was completed. Moreover, it might be better to negotiate shares after the return of the legendary mages.

"The same goes for the new medicine. For now, Mage Nordmark can’t expand production, and the Nature Church can’t spare the resources. Expansion, pricing, and negotiations all take time."

Grand Mage Grom pulled up his hood, hiding himself in the shadows, seemingly accepting the explanation

. Old Sam, however, suddenly asked:

"Once these projects are up and running, won’t he be rich forever?" Knowing this kid’s personality, if he never lacks money, who knows what he’ll come up with next!

"No worries, he wants many things." The Transmutation School’s head said calmly:

"I remember he still hasn’t paid off the debt for the Tower Spirit? Even if he does, with a Tower Spirit, he’ll want a mage tower, and he can slowly save up for that..."

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