Chapter 326 - Round Table Conference
To the west of the mighty Rodu imperial palace, there stood a nine-storied Magus Tower.
The entire building seemed to have been constructed from a single structure, and sat upon the earth like a gigantic beast. Only at night would silver light emanate from the tower, highlighting its status as the tallest tower in Rodu, as well as accentuating its status of the holy land for all magic casters on the Norland Continent.
At this moment, at the top level of the Magus Tower, there were 10 elderly magic casters sitting around a redwood table within a circular conference chamber. They were gathered for the Magus Tower’s monthly round table conference.
Only the elders of the Magus Tower could participate in that conference. There was an empty chair in the corner, presenting a slightly disconcerting sight.
An elderly man with white hair and a black beard sat at the head of the table. “So that’s about it for what happened this month. The battle on the southwestern front has eased slightly, and they do not require our Magus Tower’s assistance for now. There has also been less activity from the wicked dragons recently, so the civilians have been quite safe, and there’s no immediate need to cull these wicked dragons,” he said in a slightly jaded voice.
As the great elder of the Magus Tower, Richard had been presiding over the round table conferences for over four decades.
All of the elders nodded with relieved expressions. This meant that they wouldn’t have to rush about dealing with wicked dragons in the immediate future. At their age, no one wanted to travel—even if they did so on griffins.
There was a magic caster with a portly figure, and his magician robes seemed to be on the verge of bursting at the seams. His name was Brent, and he put on a mocking smile as he said, “I heard that Krassu took in a disciple recently in Chaos City, and she’s supposed to be a half-elf girl? That old fart has been selecting a disciple for himself for several decades; has he finally given up and just settled for whomever?”
“That’s not necessarily the case. Hasn’t Urien appeared as well? On top of that, I heard the two of them fought in Chaos City over this disciple, and in the end, both of them took her under their wings together.”
“Oh? Did that really happen? Those two old farts have been fighting for close to 100 years. Neither of them is willing to concede, but they’re willing to accept the same disciple at such an old age? And it’s a half-elf girl?”
“Don’t all half-breeds have very mediocre aptitude? Besides, their magic spells lay on either extreme of melee and long-range combat. If someone were to learn from both of them at the same time, they would be driven insane!”
Everyone began to discuss spiritedly among themselves upon hearing that. The fact that they were able to sit at the round table indicated that all of them stood at the pinnacle of the magic world in the Roth Empire. Even if they weren’t 10th-tier magic casters, they were at least the most exceptional 9th-tier magic casters out there.
It was exactly because of this that all of them had extensive knowledge of Krassu and Urien as well as the renowned rivalry between fire and ice. As such, they knew that it was almost impossible for both of them to accept the same disciple.
If there were someone that could possibly apprentice themselves to both mages, it would have to be the elven princess that had stunned the entire Norland Continent about a decade ago. Exceptionally talented was an understatement when it came to her. Only someone like her would be able to master extreme fire and ice magic as well as both melee and long-range spells.
It was just a pity that she refused both Krassu’s and Urien’s invitation to take her under their wing. She chose to focus on life magic instead, and became the youngest 10th-tier magic caster on the continent at an astonishing rate, completely crushing all of the other prodigies on the continent.
If it weren’t for the fact that Mag Alex was too dazzling of an existence, that era was one that should have belonged to her. She had set so many records in the magic world that would most likely never be broken, thereby immortalizing her name in history.
“It’s true. Krassu has already sent Arthur back, and is going to move all of his possessions to Chaos City, including his rooms full of gold coins. Looks like he’s preparing to live the rest of his life there.” The thin and gangly Elliot smiled, and said, “Deputy President Krassu has always been quite free-spirited. Even if he were to accept a half-orc as his disciple, it wouldn’t really be all that strange, would it?”
Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing that, but their laughter was tinged with a hint of mockery.
“He’s never held our Magus Tower in any serious regard.” In contrast, Richard’s expression was quite dark, and his voice was also rather gloomy.
Countless prodigies had been sent to Krassu so he could choose a disciple from them. However, none of them caught his eye, and he ended up moving to Chaos City to find a half-elf girl. Now, he couldn’t even be bothered coming back to the Magus Tower, and had sent a servant to pack up all his stuff.
Everyone’s smiles faded, and different expressions appeared on their faces, but none of them said anything.
All of the older generation magic casters in the Magus Tower were aware of the conflict between Richard and Krassu.
It could be said that both of them were imperative to the Magus Tower’s current status.
50 years ago, Krassu had made sure that the Roth Empire’s royal family gave the Magus Tower the attention it deserved, thereby laying down the foundation for this nine-storied Magus Tower. After that, Krassu resigned from his role as president, and Richard spent several decades to make the Magus Tower an indispensable pillar to the empire.
As such, the positions of the two of them in the Magus Tower had always been quite a contentious topic. Even though Richard was the one who had selected the current panel of elders, Krassu’s position in everyone’s hearts was not inferior to that of Richard. All of the elderly magic casters sitting at the round table were well aware of that.
“As old friends of his, we should send Krassu a present to congratulate him on finally finding a disciple.” Richard smiled as he glanced at everyone around him. His wrinkled fingers tapped gently on the table, and he continued, “Most of our disciples are middle-aged already, and most of their disciples have also become adults. I’ll get George to deliver a present to express congratulations on behalf of our Magus Tower.”
“That’s a good idea. He can take all of our presents as well.” Everyone smiled in response, but there was a peculiar look in their eyes.
George Dobson was the prized disciple of Richard’s eldest disciple. He was a 3rd-tier magic caster at just 12 years of age, and it was said that he was already close to the 4th-tier. Even though there was still a substantial disparity between himself and Princess Irina from back in the day, he was still one of the top prodigies among the younger generation.
Richard was also quite fond of him, and would often give him some instruction, which was one of the reasons for his rapid progress.
For Richard to send a child like George as the present-bearer was a little bit insulting. Furthermore, he was clearly intentionally trying to provoke Krassu. He was implying that the disciple of his disciple was superior to Krassu’s disciple. That was quite a scathing point to make.
“Alright, then get Krassu’s servant to accompany George to Chaos City.” A cold smile appeared on Richard’s face as he got up to leave…