Leveling up the World

Chapter 787: Adzorg's Story - Advancement

MEMORY FRAGMENT

Mage Academy Learning Hall, 72 years ago

Being head of the Learning Hall wasnt at all as fun as it was supposed to be. It was claimed to be a power position within the Academy with countless benefits. Nobles tended to send gifts to make sure their children did well, mages tended to offer favors for having their pick of skilled apprentices, not to mention that the students and tutors were eager to impress Adzorg to be noticed. In truth, the job took a lot of time from his research, swamping him with needless bureaucracy and boredom.

Five years had been enough to have him witness pretty much everything that there was to see. The bribes, the brown-nosing attempts, even the intrigues had turned to just more of the same. As for his researchhis true researchit had to continue to be done in secret.

There was a knock on the door.

Yes, Adzorg said in a bored tone.

It was normal for mages from the administration to pop up several times per day requesting permission or clarification. Even after providing them with echo items, the sniveling little bureaucrats continued to want to hear his orders in person. The really sad part was that many of them were twice his age.

What is it this he looked up, then instantly froze.

The visitor wasnt some low-level mage, but the emperor himself. This was the second time Adzorg had seen him, and it was just as shocking as the first.

Emperor. He stood up. I wasnt informed that

Informed? The emperor asked, making it clear he was the ruler of the largest country in the known world.

Expecting, Adzorg quickly corrected himself. Your visits are usually accompanied by a rush to improve the spot youd be visiting.

Yes, arent they? The man might have smiled, but the incandescent glow of purple made it impossible to tell. How do you like your new position? he asked.

Im thankful that youve entrusted me with the Learning Hall, Emperor. Adzorg gave the only possible correct answer.

Good, because I have another task for you.

On cue, another person entered the room. He was young, not even reached his teenage years, yet the magic within him was impressive. His clothes and posture made it clear he didnt belong to a noble family, let alone the imperial house, posing questions about where the emperor had found him.

After some thought, I believe the advice I was given a decade ago to have been false, the emperor continued. Of course, since the old archmage was chosen by my father, I trusted his judgment on the matter completely. Since his passing, however, its become clear that otherworlders do not present the threat he claimed.

Passing? Adzorg hadnt heard anything of the sort. It was true that the imperial house guarded its secrets, but something as significant as the death of a former archmage should have become known, at least at the Academy.

For that reason, Ill be changing the policy regarding otherworlders at the Academy.

Adzorgs glance shifted from the emperor to the boy.

I see youve guessed it. The emperor put his hand on the boys shoulder. Based on the old rules, hed have been cast out to the borders of the empire of beyond, most likely to become part of a monastery of the Order.

That much was true. The Order of the Seven Moons was extremely good at that. They gladly opened their doors to everyone, but especially mages that had fallen out of favor one way or another.

I want you to train him.

Emperor? Adzorg didnt know what to say. Its an honor, but I dont think Im capable of teaching. Even the Learning Halls administration said that I should never

Short sighted opinions. The emperor waved his hand, putting an end to the discussion. No one believed that you would do well as the head of the Learning Hall, and look at it now.Geett the latest novels at wuxiahere.com

As praiseworthy as that sounded, Adzorg knew perfectly well he had done close to nothing to change the practices of the learning hall. The place virtually ran itself. True, he had put an emphasis on skill rather than providence, but he wasnt the first to do so. Of course, that had changed just now. Anything the emperor said became the truth and could not be disputed.

Thank you, Emperor. Anything you would require?

Yes, but it doesnt change how things stand. Besides, the emperor wanted you to reach your limit. If I just hand him a toy Ive constructed, I wont only lose the promised position, but there might be other consequences.

If I become archmage, I wont bother with such nonsense.

If you become archmage, you can do whatever you wish. Before that, you must become a mage, and the way you are now, I cant risk you using training vortexes.

The boy winced. You want me to keep roaming the sewers?

That wont help either. Youve already cleaned all the magic there. Itll take years before new vortexes form.

So, what do you want me to do? Learn more spells? Ive already reached my level cap.

That, dear boy, is precisely the core of the problem. Without increasing your cap, theres nothing you can do. However, if you were to increase the cap, youd decrease what youve gained, making you just as incapable of fighting in vortexes.

My traits arent bad. I can

Theres more to leveling up than traits. At your level, you cant even create an echo, let alone any of the important things.

How come everyone else manages? Alien crossed his arms. Ive seen children younger than me obtain magic easily. Why cant I?

Adzorg clenched his fist. Because I wont allow it! Theres a lot at stake here and I wont allow you to recklessly boost your traits without thinking of the consequences!

In the end, he had no choice but to do so. Unable to find an alternative, the boy resorted to low level magic absorption to get his magic to ten, after which he lost half of it so he could level up to the first gate at the Academys awakening altar.

It was approximately at that time that the second otherworlder mage was introduced to the Academya girl who had the rare fortune of starting with a magic trait of six at her first level. Doubling his efforts, Adzorg dedicated more of his time to helping both of them grow.

Thanks to his dedication, Alien got to a point at which he could fight training vortexes, quickly acquiring the magic required to become an apprentice. Sadly, that was also the point at which he decided to rebel against Adzorg by secretly going to the awakening shrine and boosting his level to twenty. The result wasnt beneficial to anyone, and the irony of it all was that Adzorg would have explained that if only his apprentice would have asked.

The girl, in contrast, followed a much different approach. Ignoring the awakening leveling completely, she focused solely on magic. Unlike Alien, though, she never fought or engaged in collecting herself, instead creating entities of clouds to do it for her. Her affinity was rather remarkable, though given that she had become a favored of Galatea, quite normal.

Three and a half years later, the moment of truth finally came. Recognized as a prodigy, the girl was quickly made an apprentice, continuing her research in a completely different field. Alien followed nine months later, despite having a head start. Adzorgs disappointment, the second as far as his apprentice was concerned, was that the boy had chosen the easiest, though least prospective field, guaranteeing himself an easy title.

You could have done a lot better, dear boy, he said as Alien was packing his things. The ceremony wasnt held yet, but everyone knew that it was a foregone conclusion.

Why? This suits both of us.

Dont hold that tone with me.

It suits both of us, mage, the boy said. Ill be out of here and youve done what the emperor required. I bet that youll be getting that promotion in a few weeks.

Indeed, most likely, Adzorg would.

You could have achieved a lot more, he continued. Unlike me and most others, you have no limitations. I tried to tell you this before, but you ignored it and

What good has it done me? I lost thirty magic levels, leveling up. Then I hear there are artifacts that could have avoided that.

You can still get them, Adzorg said dismissively. Once youre a mage, you can have more than enough duels to make up for your investment. With just a bit more patience and focus, you could have taken over this place.

Is that what you wanted? there was a genuine surprise in the boys voice. To take over your position?

The Learning Hall needs an otherworlder. You have a lot more experience, no limit, and an open mind. Things come natural to you, things that take others decades to figure out.

This was the first open conversation the two had had. Each had completely misjudged the other, leading to events turning out as they were. Alien left, wanting to have nothing to do with the mage, and Adzorg finally went back to his research. There was one thing on which both of them were mistaken, however. The promotion didnt come anytime soon. It was decades later that the current archmage retired, leaving it open for Adzorg to take. By then, several more otherworlders had also joined the Academy, though they were no longer exclusively trained by him. After everything was said and done, Adzorg had done what the emperor had requested and it was now time to concentrate on his passionunravel the properties of the otherworldly items and, if possible, find a way to establish a portal between their worlds and this.