21st Century Archmage

“It has been a while.”

“Indeed, nice to see you all again.”

“Nice to see you again.”

The Central Mountain Range in the middle of the continent was not home only to the Temple of the Great God. The Ildorian Magic Tower, one of the three strongest among the continents Seven Great Magic Towers, was also situated right in the Central Mountain Range, near the direction of the Pakinch Kingdom. And today, the Ildorian Magic Tower was the site of a truly rare assembly of six mages. All seven tower masters had gathered, besides the Shining Magic Tower that was populated by black mages, for the first time in 100 years.

“To think that we gathered here today for the first time in 100 years because of a single person.”

“I fear that rumors might spread. How ridiculous it is that the tower masters must gather because of a mere rookie who isnt even the Golden-Eyed Reaper Aidal…”

The Tower Master of the Gauss Magic Tower, Orbiton, scowled at the lament of the Ildorian Tower Master, Avaion.

“Holding back when that impudent rookie dared to rob magic tower assets would invite greater humiliation, would it not.”

“Indeed so. Sitting back and forgiving a wretch who declared war on not just one or two magic towers, but all of them, would be an insult to our prestige.”

On the continent, they were called the Seven Great Magic Towers and had a ranking, but everyone here was equal. Tower Master Kandaulin hadnt yet reached the 7th Circle, but the majority of his skills were at a comparable level—there was no need to snub him.

“I also heard the temples are dispatching Inquisitioners. We should also jump on the bandwagon to work with the temples and strike Nerman.”

Gauss Tower Master Orbiton, the one here harboring the greatest grudge against Nerman, asserted a strong opinion. Up until now, there had never once been a case where the magic towers attacked a territory. No mere lord had ever dared to be impudent to the magic towers, so this was a first. Even kingdoms would scramble to bend over when a magic tower frowned, so what kind of crazy lord would oppose them?

However, such a crazy person actually appeared. The Lord of Nerman, Kyre, bent the magic towers pride into origami, and now, hed gone so far as to declare war on them.

“That is not possible. Even two armies of the Laviter Empire were defeated, so cooperating with paladins who lack elite troops would be dangerous. Also, an Inquisition has not yet been declared,” stated Ildorian Tower Master Avaion, stroking his white beard.

It wasnt merely that magic towers had never attacked a territory before, but also that mages could not be invested into a risky venture where victory could not be guaranteed. They did have battle mages among them, but most of their members disdained matters requiring physical effort. Using such mages to wage a war was something that defied common sense.

“Then are you saying we should stand idle like this?” countered Tower Master Orbiton, sounding frustrated.

“Im sure everyone here has received official requests for cooperation from the Laviter and Bajran Empires anyway. The reason why I asked everyone to meet here today was not to propose that we personally attack Nerman, but to speak frankly about the man who is the Lord of Nerman, Kyre. Also, I also wanted to propose that if Nerman collapses, we should share information about the magic items they possess.”

“……”

Everyone went silent at Tower Master Avaions words. Each magic tower had indeed received official cooperation requests from the two empires. The mages were not idiots. Moreover, the cutting-edge magic technology appearing one after another in Nerman could inject new knowledge into the continents stagnating magic academia. However, no one could be shameless enough to monopolize such a tantalizing prize with everyone watching.

“I concur with Tower Master Avaions opinion. Let us not act like our instructors, who suffered at the hands of Aidal 100 years ago, and organize a proper alliance this time.”

The aquiline-nosed Orsek Tower Master, Berkayan, expressed his acquiescence, as if he had been waiting for his chance to do so. He had already had a discussion with the Ildorian Tower Master before coming here.

“Let us do that. Monopolizing everything when everyone knows what is at stake would not be prudent, after all,” agreed the Tower Master of Forseus.

“Then there is no reason for us to oppose.”

“Of course, we are not opposed either.”

Every Tower Master besides the Gauss Tower Master, who was receiving the strong backing of the Laviter Empire, showed their agreement to Tower Master Avaions words. Gauss was closely linked to the Laviter Empire, the force with the highest likelihood of taking Nerman down, but there was no way the rest of the magic towers would let the Gauss Tower Master monopolize Nerman.

“I received a secret missive from the Emperor of the Bajran Empire yesterday. I cannot reveal everything, but the Bajran Empire is also determined to invade Nerman. Also, there was also a suggestion to formally place our magic tower in the center of that endeavour.”

Tower Master Avaion of Ildorian could not read out the missive, but he said enough that everyone could read in between the lines. He was the oldest person here, and his skill and craftiness when dealing with people had only increased with age.

“I-I understand. I also have no complaints regarding that issue.”

Tower Master Orbiton had no choice but to consent. Around half of the mages that were captured as prisoners in Nerman and still hadnt been returned were mages from Gauss. He feared the resentment of the other mages too much to fold his hands behind his back without rescuing the imprisoned mages. The mages under a magic tower gathered information and produced goods for the tower, and protecting them was one of the important jobs of a magic tower.

“Thank you, Tower Master Orbiton.”

The Tower Masters had been gathered here by the mention of Kyre, but the true purpose of today was to secure the sharing of Nermans magic knowledge. Mages were greedier than anyone when it came to magic, so if they were not forced in such a manner, they would never agree to share.

“As you all know, when Tower Masters decide on something, it cannot be changed. If another magic tower tries to secretly monopolize the magic information, the others will not stand by.”

Avaion reiterated their agreement—that was just how important this matter was. According to what they had deduced, magic knowledge of the Ancient Magic Era was used in some of the magic weapons made by the Lord of Nerman. In order for the mages here to crack the wall of the 7th Circle and ascend to the 8th, a stage that no one other than the Golden-Eyed Aidal had achieved, Ancient Magic Era knowledge was a necessity.

“Then let us continue the meeting in greater detail. Id like to gather your opinions on whether we should dispatch mages to whichever empire requests aid first, or whether we should divide mages equally between the two.”

After settling the most important matter, the mages put their heads together.

None of them doubted their eventual victory in the least. With forces that could nearly be called the entirety of the continents power after Nermans throat, unless the Lord of Nerman was a dragon, he would undoubtedly be crushed.

* * *

“Dammit, I should just hurry up and ascend to the 9th Circle and become a dragon or something.”

I didnt remember how we managed to fly out of there. That damned storm was so strong that it was impossible to evade, no matter how high up we flew. All I could do was to trust Bebeto and hold on for dear life to the reins. Until I became a 9th Circle mage, an existence said to be able to freely control the very mana of nature itself, I was merely a powerless human subject to the forces of nature.