Chapter 296: Seekers of Truth
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Pranav
Although it had been two days since I and the wood spirits’ envoy group had arrived in the city of Arlo, the highest-level authority in the Mage Country, the “Truth Symposium,” still hadn’t contacted us for an official discussion. This wasn’t because they were acting high or mighty or because they were avoiding us on purpose. We simply had bad timing, as the Truth Symposium was currently but an empty shell.
“Where are all the Truth Overseers? Um, normally speaking, it’s already considered quite an accomplishnt if more than half of the Truth Overseers can be located. Currently, there are only six Truth Overseers on-duty at Cloud Tower. It’s impossible to begin a conference with only that many. At the very least, there needs to be ten of them. How about just waiting for the Truth Symposium’s regular scheduled eting for next month?”
Aloso, a mber of the Mystical Blade School, was one of the most famous ice mages of the current generation. Halfway through the SemiGod Rank, he was a forr mber of the Truth Symposium. When we arrived, he was the one who ca to greet us and had answered my question.
Judging by his unrestrained passion and how hard he hugged as a greeting, the Ice Aeon spell I had given to him as a gift must have been sothing he really liked. It likely brought him great benefits.
“Roland, I never expected that we would et each other again. You, the king of all truants, would actually mature to such a degree? As the dean, I’m quite proud of you.”
This old archmage had a rather plump physique which was quite rare for mages. Aloso also had an excellent reputation for being one of the nicest mages in Cloud Tower. He was currently smiling like a Maitreya [1] 1 and even slapped his own plump stomach as he laughed, causing his fat to tremble.
We sort-of counted as teacher and student as well. Back when Kaid and I were studying beginner-level magic, we were all technically under Aloso in the Mystical Blade as he was the head teacher at the ti. Now, he had beco the dean of the Mystical Blade School, which was why the graduation certificate he did for even had his personal seal and signature.
Although we were technically teacher and student, it wasn’t like what I had with Harloys or Alia.
In order to explain things clearly, I first need to explain the Mage Country’s special and unique political structure.
This country, rather than calling it an independent country (which would typically be considered to have a group of people ruling over others) would be much more accurately described as a ga-large research association.
The capital Arlo’s na ant “seekers of truth” in the ancient language, and it represented the intention of this city when it was founded. Similarly, Arlodant ant “The place where seekers of truth gather” in the ancient language, which was quite self-explanatory.
The ruling class in this country wasn’t composed of a noble system. So-called nobles were simply local administrators to begin with. And, even though this was the Mage Country, true authority didn’t lay in the hands of any single mage.
The entire Mage Country consisted of countless small, dium, and large mage organizations. Every mage would typically choose to join the most appropriate mage organization for them as the most effective way to get one’s voice heard in the Mage Country was through an organization.
The larger organizations would tend to have various smaller factions or internal organizations and branch organizations. This was due to the fact that mages would have different understandings and paths on how to seek the truth.
“I want to prove star cluster magic’s revelations on Fate.”
An example of one organization ca about because of Archmage Rodriguez’s ideas about star magic. Thus, the famous “Star Revelation” mage organization ca into existence. This organization’s divination, prophecy, and horoscope magic was at the world’s peak; however, the Star Revelation’s mbers were typically utter hermits who lacked practical combat experience. It would be considered quite sothing if their mbers could perform at even half their actual power ranks.
“I want to reach the pinnacle of combat magic.”
Another example of how an organization ca about was because of Archmage Levist’s passion in combat magic. Thus, the famous Mystical Blade ca into existence. Their mbers were typically far more experienced in actual combat, which was rare for mages. They were far more skilled at combat magic and combat strategies, and half of the classes they taught were about practical combat. They typically grew through actual battles. However, it would be difficult to ask any of them for so top-level theories.
Alright then. Although both of these organizations were among the most powerful organizations in the Mage Country, they were almost exact opposites and had a terrible relationship with each other. One could view them as a practical faction and a theoretical faction. Or one could even think of it as the hard sciences versus the literary arts.
But there were no absolutes as there were always exceptions to everything. The Great Saint Margaret was a mber of a smaller faction within Star Revelation. However, she was definitely highly skilled in real combat, having traveled all over the world.
And, from a certain standpoint, I counted as a mber of the Mystical Blade. But let’s not ntion elental magic which frustrated so much. At the very least, I was quite well versed in undead magic.
From another standpoint, the organization’s goal would typically change over ti, different from what the creator intended. An example would be the “Sword of Order” organization. This organization’s creator was a fervent believer in the Holy Light, and the organization’s original focus was on Order Divine Arts, the power of faith and belief, Holy Light magic, and other similar topics. But, in the current generation, the changes in the Sword of Order organization were so massive that the original founder would likely be angered to death if he was still alive.
Perhaps they had gone off the wrong track sowhere, sohow, or maybe it was that things would always eventually balance in the opposite direction... This organization had long since stopped studying Holy Light magic and instead specialized in the rarest and strangest forms of magic. For example, their mber mages liked to study undead magic, demon summoning magic, eastern talismans, and so on. It was definitely a gathering of researchers who loved to study the unpopular, and the Sword of Order organization ranked at the top of the world in studying the various sorts of taboo magic.
The relationships between the various organizations were quite ssy. So of the smaller organizations counted themselves as part of several larger organizations since their core leaders were mbers of those large organizations. However, the large organizations all had bad relationships with one another, so during every academic conference, the mages wouldn’t know who to support... Don’t look down on academic conferences, as they were the most serious conferences in the Mage Country. The mont various organizations started disagreeing about sothing, the conference room would imdiately turn into a dueling arena.
Yep, the most important etings in the Mage Country were academic conferences, rather than supposedly serious political etings.
Since all the mage organizations sought the truth as their goal, their internal conflicts stemd from various types of academic disagreents. And, in the Mage Country, the highest-level academic conference was the “Truth Symposium.” Yep, the sa Truth Symposium was also the highest-level authority of this country.
The mbers of this Truth Symposium weren’t fixed. Archmages with great research accomplishnts or excellent reputations would be invited to beco mbers, thus receiving the non-governntal status of “Truth Overseer.” However, many undying archmages were uninterested in the Truth Symposium which was hardly ever able to co to a unified agreent on any topic. After forcing themselves to participate in a few etings, they would feel like it wasn’t worth the trouble of having the title of Truth Overseer. They would often resign from their posts, and new archmages would take their place.
The reason? The Truth Symposium had two types of etings: scheduled etings and ergency etings. Any mage that reached a sufficient level could apply to listen in to a Truth Symposium eting and support their own faction. When I was still an acolyte, I had listened in to two Truth Symposium etings. I discovered that at these etings, the mages would use thirty percent of the ti to brag about their own academic results, fifty percent of the ti to attack others’ newest research accomplishnts or to plagiarize them, and the remaining twenty percent of eting ti would be used to fight over funding and resources. For instance, they would always fight over the new mages with the greatest potential...
As for political tasks that needed to be done? When all the mages’ mouths were dry and they finally beca tired of arguing, the final five minutes of the eting would be used to pass new political policies at a high speed. The efficiency was incredible. Before a policy was even fully read out loud, all the mages would raise their hands in approval, and before the docunts were finished being signed, all the mages would teleport away. With such “politicians” in charge, it must have been hard on the actual governntal administrators.
“It’s all just a joke. They’re all so old and stubborn. They’re all top-level experts in their own fields so who’d be able to convince anyone by simply debating? There’s also an ironclad rule that disallows actual fighting at the Truth Symposium. By the end of the debates, it’s not even about who’s being logical and reasonable—it’s about who can be the loudest and maintain their concentration for the longest! It’s about who can tolerate such a farcical debate the longest!”
This was also why the Mage Country had never invaded another country in the past thousands of years. In the past, there were obviously mages with plenty of ambitions. But to convince enough archmages in the Truth Symposium to pass a majority decision to declare war would be as difficult as reaching the stars. That mage might as well rely on their personal strength to try and conquering that country to realize their ambitions.
The Mage Country could technically even be considered to not be a country. For the true, purest of mages, the only places in the world they cared about were their research laboratories and libraries. They lacked territorial ambition and they did not pursue glory and honor, the exact opposite of the nobles and royalty in this world.
With such a political system, it was impossible for the Truth Symposium to ever “find the truth” about anything. Instead, it was quite easy for one to make enemies. It was quite common for those who beca truly angry after arguing with those that disagreed with them to call for a duel with the other side in Midmountain Park after the conference. After all, fighting was strictly prohibited during the conference itself.
Every ti one passed by that flowery park, one could always witness various duels of all sorts, sotis even those involving forbidden spells. It was quite common to see an elderly white-haired professor dueling against so slightly cultured hooligan mage. There were even plenty of mages that knew martial arts and would use such techniques in the duels.
It was difficult for any sane person to tolerate such long and aningless etings for more than one or two tis. And, for the smaller organizations and independent non-affiliated mages, their research results would be questioned endlessly, which made things all the more unpleasant. That was why, due to a lack of enough Truth Overseers to hold the etings, the conferences were postponed endlessly... However, since the etings were considered pointless by everyone in the first place as nothing ever ca of them, everyone was actually quite happy to postpone them.
Yet there was an ironclad rule that the leaders of the eighteen largest and strongest mage organizations were absolutely required to attend all the scheduled Truth Symposium etings. Their organizations were too influential, so they were forced to attend. And, in a way, this actually caused the leadership of these large and powerful organizations to change quite rapidly as if it was an unpleasant job that nobody wanted.
Of course, there were exceptions to everything. For example, a certain witch intentionally beca a Truth Overseer of her own volition. Although her main goals were to scam research funds and cover her own cris, her excellent physical appearance and ability to conceal what she was really like, along with that natural talent of hers to detect others’ emotions, helped her greatly in taking lead on discussing several major topics. She even won most of her debates, accumulating very high popularity and authority within both the Cloud Tower and the Mystical Blade.
Yep, the witch Alia had once been a mber of the Mystical Blade as well. She even gave classes to and Kaid back in the day.
Right now, my biggest headache was that I was going to have to attend this headache-inducing Truth Symposium eting.
Not long ago, I t with the Truth Overseer nad Oslowen, and my System directly gave the next step in my Epic Quest.
[Congratulations for activating the next part of your Epic Quest: “Will you have a glorious hocoming, or will you beco a fallen phoenix?” You are required to participate in the next Truth Symposium eting. The next portion of your Quest will depend on how you do at the Truth Symposium eting and the status and identity with which you decide to attend. System Reminder: You know how things are done between mages. If you want mages to listen to you, you have to bring out sothing worthy of their attention.]
From this long Quest, which was, in actuality, a series of Quests in succession, it was quite obvious what the final goal of this Epic Quest was now. Of course, I would need to directly or indirectly get involved in this three-way war. That was how all these Quests in this Epic Quest chain were connected. First, I had to choose a side in this war and improve my Reputation level in the chosen side. After making my choice, what ca next would naturally be to increase my influence. Only if people listened to would I have the power to influence the entire war’s situation.
For and my newly-born Mist Alliance, allies were absolutely required. I needed to try and get a ga-empire level country on my side, as they were the most influential voices in human society.
The Mage Country was an anomaly to begin with amongst all the ga-empire countries. Since there were problems with all the other ga-empire countries, the Mage Country was probably the most trustworthy ally I could choose from the rest. Their support would be imnsely important.
Based on my System’s typical habit of making suffer, I knew that unless I had a sufficient enough status to speak at the Truth Symposium and made myself influential enough at the eting, the future developnts would only make suffer more and more. Perhaps I would even beco nothing more than a cannon fodder-level vanguard without realizing it.
If the next scheduled conference was postponed, that would be both good and bad for . The bad would be that I wouldn’t be able to continue the Quest for quite a while, while the good would be that I would have more ti to prepare.
However, that conference would be about the critically important issue of the war against the Bardi Empire. The invitations had already been sent out to the Truth Overseers, and absenteeism was strictly forbidden. It was highly unlikely that it would be postponed as usual, so my current goal was to make myself as influential and reputed as possible within the ti limit of one month. I wanted to influence things at the conference as much as possible.
“With so many things having happened recently, the Truth Symposium eting will definitely be held. At the very most, it’ll only be postponed by one or two months. Roland, wait around for a while and familiarize yourself with the environnt here. The situation seems to be easing up on the frontlines, and two Truth Overseers should be returning soon. At that ti, they can begin the procedures for the eting. Right, how about coming to my school to teach a few classes as a way of passing ti? With a veteran student returning to the school to teach, the students should be quite pleased.”
Only now did I recall that Aloso had helped obtain a special teaching certificate. At the ti, I was just thinking that he was helping to have an identity as a mber of the Mage Country. I didn’t realize that he was actually serious about having teach.
After all, from a certain standpoint, we were all students from his school. Of course, students from a magic school were completely different from a mage’s disciples.
Most large and dium-sized mage organizations had their own magic schools. That was where novices would be trained and talent and hard work could show their ttle.
Of course, the mage organizations wouldn’t do such things like run magic schools for novices out of kindness and charity. Due to the magic schools always being affiliated with so mage organization, the newbies at the magic school would typically beco the fresh blood for joining these organizations. Of course, if the newbies wanted to beco official mbers, they would either need to perform incredibly well or beco a candidate for an archmage’s disciple.
The general knowledge taught at magic school may be shallow and limited, but it was also the most efficient required knowledge. So many years of teaching magic pared the classes down to the essentials, and it would build a solid foundation that would help a novice reach the next step. Seeds with true potential would be able to sprout with just this little amount of nutrition. Most archmages would find students appropriate for them while teaching classes, such as Harloys and Alia back in the day.
By the way, since Harloys and Alia were both teachers at the Mystical Blade magic school, they were naturally both mbers of the Mystical Blade mage organization as well. And, to my knowledge, Harloys was also one of the top-level mbers of the Sword of Order. While she was still a teacher, she discovered quite a few vicious individuals that she recruited into the Sword of Order, and several of her disciples even ended up on the Calamity Rankings. There were even more that beca antisocial maniacs. Harloys’ nickna of being the “Demon Professor” was definitely well-deserved.
In all honesty, it was just far too difficult to beco a mage, so mage society didn’t have the typical human society’s system of children taking over their parents’ work. Not only that, a mage’s typical inheritance that they left behind would mostly be research about a particular topic and records about seeking the truth. The most important part of mage society naturally beca the relationship between teacher and student.
“I definitely can’t have my teacher’s knowledge be lost to the world with my generation.” This way of thinking was common to every mage. When a mage reached a certain level, they would desire to find a student who could inherit all their knowledge and research. Of course, the most important inheritance of all would always be the mage’s desire to learn more about a particular topic.
And unlike other jobs where sotis the relationship between teacher and student would be icy, the relationship between mage teachers and mage students would typically go on for several tens of years or even several centuries—it would typically beco one akin to that between a parent and child. In fact, the Mage Country’s laws even stated that a mage teacher had the right to make arrangents for a disciple’s life, while the disciples would be responsible for taking care of an elderly teacher in old age. There were also inheritance laws for teachers and students that mirrored other countries’ inheritance laws between parents and children.
What? and Harloys? A mage teacher-student relationship like ours, as if we were mortal enemies cursed forever to be stuck with each other... there would never be anyone else like us in existence!
Although I was currently worried about how to increase my fa, I soon started worrying about if I was becoming far too famous.
“It was a huge mistake to take those bastards with !”
Note:
[1] ED/N: Maitreya is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. The Budai, or Laughing Buddha, is often identified with or seen as an incarnation of Maitreya, so much so that the Budai image is one of the main forms in which Maitreya is depicted in China. In this case, the author was relating Aloso to the chubby, smiling image of Budai. (Source: PDG Chapter 345 TL Note... yes, I know, I know. I was recently reading PDG, and it seriously was a coincidence. I’m definitely not stalking other novels’ notes. Definitely not.)
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