The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 499: Volume 11: Misty Cage and Smoke Lock, - 11: Mage Guild

Chapter 499: Volume 11: Misty Cage and Smoke Lock, Chapter 11: Mage Guild

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Embarking from Kishnioff and traveling southwest by carriage, one soon crosses the southwest corner of the Buzak Plains and enters the Morava River-Oder River corridor. Continuing southward along this corridor leads straight into the heart of the Bohemia Kingdom—the Labe Plain—with the ’Pearl of Bohemia,’ Prague, situated right at its center.

When Komer and Mr. Rebry’s party travelled along the Morava-Oder corridor, they already noticed something amiss. Luxurious carriages sped past theirs, and Komer could even sense the thick magic power emanating from those carriages. Moreover, some of the riders, magic practitioners, seemed elated, as if they were off to attend a grand gathering.

The beautiful Prague is located in the middle section of the Labe River, with the Labe Plain serving as the foundation of the city, making it the most dazzling jewel of the Bohemia Kingdom.

By the time Komer and his party reached the outskirts of Prague, it was evening. A succession of grandiose castles of various styles lined the gently undulating riverbank, and the beautiful garden courtyards were ubiquitous. All of this was nearly breathtaking for Komer.

Although during his three years of exile Komer had traveled to countless places, he had never seen such an exquisitely luxurious group of buildings. He had originally thought Versailles was the unmatched diamond of the whole Blue Continent, but to his astonishment, he found that the ’Pearl of Bohemia’ was every bit as magnificent and extravagant as Versailles.

If one must distinguish between Versailles and this place, it could only be said that Versailles is a brilliant gem set upon the land of the Kingdom of Nicosia, while Prague is a string of dazzling pearls on the territory of the Bohemia Kingdom.

"Look, Your Baron, that is the renowned Magic Academy of the Continent. You can embark on a journey exploring the Magic Heaven’s path to become a Magic Apprentice after a brief period of study. Every year, hundreds of Magic Apprentices graduate from there and set forth on their magical journeys all over the Continent," Mr. Rebry pointed out, attracting everyone’s gaze to a large cluster of buildings not far from the King’s palace—unexpectedly the Continent’s only Magic Academy. The grandeur of the buildings alone suggested the Bohemia Kingdom’s esteem for the institution.

Between the gray-white spires and half-domes, there lay a mix of architectural styles—Gothic, Baroque, Rococo spire structures alongside half-circular buildings with rich primal worship elements. They seemed to coexist without clashing, merging together in a way that felt harmonious to those among them.

The Church of Light’s St. Vitus Cathedral appeared quite ordinary among the many buildings, seemingly unrelated, yet the Statue of the Holy Angel of Light hanging from the center of the cathedral’s bell tower reminded everyone passing by that this was still the domain of the Church of Light.

"Mr. Rebry, it seems the Church of Light’s situation in Bohemia isn’t very optimistic. St. Vitus Cathedral is the residence of the Bishop of the Bohemia Diocese, and it doesn’t seem much better than the other buildings nearby. Is this due to the Bohemia Kingdom or is the Church of Light not paying much attention to the South?" Komer mused, looking out from the carriage window as the scenery flashed by.

"Your Baron, the Bohemia Kingdom is not a member of the Northern Alliance; this place is close to the South. Nevertheless, the Church of Light still holds the mainstream position here. You can tell from the distribution of buildings around the Magic Academy—aside from the palace and the Mage Guild, there’s St. Vitus Cathedral. Isn’t that enough to show the Church’s status here? However, being mainstream isn’t the same as being unrivaled. In Bohemia, the importance placed on magic far exceeds religious beliefs. The kingdom values a mage’s abilities more than their religious sect. Although the Dark Sect is still unpopular here, it isn’t banned, which is fundamentally different from the laws of the Northern Alliance countries that explicitly forbid it," explained Rebry, who was evidently well acquainted with the area. Here, magicians from any sect were not discriminated against, at least during the time of the Mage Guild’s Round Table Conference and the Magic Competition.

With a casual smile, Komer shook his head, "Excessive secularization of faith isn’t a good thing. Faith should be a sanctuary in the depths of one’s heart, yet the Church of Light seems too engrossed in chasing worldly gains. They have forgotten their once untiring noble pursuits, the ideals of sacrificing all for the people’s benefit. Forsaking their essence for trivial ends is not a positive trend; it will only gradually weaken their mainstream position. Once their status is so diminished in the eyes of the populace that it’s indistinguishable from other sects, that could very well be the Church of Light’s downfall. It also gives rise to opportunities for other sects to emerge, like those in the South who seized such an opportunity, right?"

"Ha, Your Baron, your point has some merit, but it’s a tightrope walk in this regard. If the Church were to completely disregard tangible benefits and blindly chase so-called noble ideals, the Church of Light itself would likely struggle to survive. Many noble causes are, in essence, built on quite mundane realities," Rebry pointed out sharply. "To have the courage to abandon everything, I’m afraid no one can truly do that; neither you nor I are exempt from worldliness. The Church of Light, heh, may even be worse off than we are."

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Seeing the six-pointed star and the pointed hat that symbolizes the Old Mage above the doorframe of these three connected buildings, it was clear to everyone that this was probably the renowned Mage Guild of the Bohemia Kingdom.

The exact time when the Mage Guild was established is no longer traceable, but one thing is certain—it appeared during the Heroic Era, in an age when Magical Beasts roamed, where countless mages voluntarily organized themselves, fighting to the death with nothing but their passion and vast magical knowledge to defend humanity’s right to survive against the Magical Beasts.

They either joined the Army or formed their own teams or acted alone, fully committing themselves to an ideal—to eliminate the threat posed by Magical Beasts to the people living on this land.

As the shadow of the raging Magical Beasts gradually receded from the continent, mages became the most respected profession across the whole continent. In the war against the Magical Beasts, a total of five hundred and seventy-three mages gave their lives, and with their sacrifice, they earned the unanimous support of the continent’s citizens.

When the Mage Guild, as a spontaneous group organization, began to be established, the people of Prague welcomed the settling of the Mage Guild in their city, and later the Bohemia Kingdom also expressed great enthusiasm for having the headquarters of the Mage Guild in Prague. Since then, the Mage Guild took root in Prague officially, and countless mages coming and going became a beautiful sight of the Bohemia Kingdom.

Two hundred years later, Prague, having become the city truly deserving of the title ’City of Magic’, built the first and only Magic Academy on the continent, further cementing Prague’s status as the City of Magic.

Komer and Lome entered the grand hall of the Mage Guild, which seemed very dim, with nothing particularly special visible. To the left was a green corridor made of vines; Komer only glanced briefly to recognize it as the Wicked Vine, notoriously known as the Hellflower.

This plant of pure dark nature grows in yin valleys where sunlight never reaches. It thrives off the cold and gloomy air and only blooms every ten years, each bloom lasting a year. It is said to be the world’s most beautiful flower, a striking black flower of enchanting beauty. Its petals possess a strong demonic nature that can disrupt any mage’s magical perception and are not only valuable magical resources but also a highly prized anti-magic material.

For the Mage Guild to transplant such a plant into their main hall was an incredible achievement, and even Komer couldn’t figure out how they maintained its life. It required the natural Yin aura, and it was not something that could be sustained by magic alone.

However, the crystal chandelier in the center caught Lome’s attention even more. It was a world-famous magic art treasure; the mechanical chandelier swung monotonously, with a small window at the top of the crystal mirror. On the left were the Reaper and the God of Time, and on the right was a miser clutching a bag of money.

Every hour, the Reaper would open the two small windows, and from each a comical image of an Old Mage wearing a pointed hat would appear, gaze at the world below for a moment, and then the windows would automatically close. The God of Time would then strike a harp, playing the universally popular song, "Time doesn’t linger, youth never returns."

Below the crystal chandelier was a circle of ivory-white countertops, where several earnest but very polite staff members were assisting tourists and magicians from all over the continent, answering general questions for them.

Of course, if genuine magicians needed to consult or handle matters, they would be directed to the right into a passage illuminated by the Magic Palace Lamp, which led to the true office of the Mage Guild.

Komer and Lome stood in a corner, observing the people coming and going. The hall was too large and full of visitors, but it was evident that the vast majority were tourists from all over the continent, with only a few who were there for actual guild business.

The walls were decorated very simply, with wooden strips that seemed quite ancient, adding a historical charm while also being somewhat plain. However, Komer felt that this simplicity should be the true nature of the Mage Guild—a focus on lavish appearances would only indicate that the organization had deteriorated and lost its color. Yet, the portraits hanging on the walls did pique Komer’s interest.