Chapter 132: Thunderhead
"It’s the barrier!" Flaris said, excited, and everyone on the flying boat looked ahead with shining eyes.
In front of everyone, a colossal celestial-blue region could be seen. They advanced straight ahead, without looking back.
Inside... nothing seemed very different at first.
...
The entire Divine Plane was roughly divided into four regions: North, South, East, and West.
The Thunderhead divine sect was located in the western region of the Divine Plane, along with several hundred other sects of different levels.
Among all those in the western region, it could be said that the Thunderhead divine sect was near the bottom of the top 30. But all the sects in the top 50 were very ancient and possessed terrifying knowledge and resources.
The northern region of the Divine Plane was where the greatest powers in the entire universe truly lived. As for the southern region... it was the worst and most dangerous place of all.
That was because it was the official home of the Sorcerers.
Even with all the Mages in the universe hunting them down and killing them without hesitation, the Sorcerers were too powerful and too numerous to be completely exterminated. So, the sects from the other regions decided to establish a region where they could gather and remain.
With that, most Sorcerers prioritized living only in that place, because there they would have stability. Everyone benefited from that, except, of course, those who lived in the southern region.
All the resources, all the planets, everything there was absurdly contested and immersed in wars and conflicts.
Countless sects had been destroyed throughout the history of the southern region. But a single sect managed to preserve itself like an impenetrable fortress, fighting the Sorcerers of the region and serving as a safe harbor in that place.
...
A little over 23 hours after the trip began, the flying boat of the Ylisse clan finally arrived at a terrifying solar system.
It had two colossal and radiant suns, with a dozen habitable and populated planets.
Priam took a deep breath. Not only this entire solar system, but half of the whole galaxy they were in was territory of the Thunderhead divine sect.
This specific place where they were was known as the outer sect. A dozen nearby solar systems also had that status. All recruits had to register there to take the test.
The flying boat entered a large blue planet, which had a single gigantic continent in the center. It resembled Pangaea from Earth’s history books, but on a scale ten times larger in every sense.
When the flying boat entered the atmosphere, fresh air invaded the space, allowing everyone to relax.
"What dense Ether!" Shione exclaimed, stunned.
The natural energy in the environment was many, many times denser than anything she had ever seen in her life.
In the Mortal Plane, Ether existed, but it was very subtle. Only in special places created with inscriptions could Ether become a little denser.
The difference was as vast as heaven and earth compared to the Mortal Plane. Just by breathing in day-to-day life, without putting in any effort, a Mage could become a Disciple Mage.
If he put in even the slightest effort, becoming a Master Mage wouldn’t be difficult at all.
The flying boat continued forward, and everyone spotted some enormous buildings.
They flew over a few small cities. In them, they could see countless buildings, people, and everything they knew from the great cities of the Mortal Plane. But of course, everything seemed a thousand times more powerful and incredible.
They continued like that for a while, until finally, the flying boat began to land in a marked location.
An empty land appeared before them.
"We’re here."
Even with the calm he showed, Priam took a deep breath, feeling an intense chill in his stomach.
A little ahead, there were crowds of people gathered before the colossal gates of a city.
Hundreds of thousands of Mages were gathered in a vast area, packed together. Some were sitting on the grass, some in small groups, others in groups of hundreds.
When the Ylisse clan got out of the flying boat, hundreds of thousands of pairs of eyes turned toward them. Those eyes were filled with astonishment, because the flying boat they were in was covered in huge cracks. It looked like it could disintegrate at any moment.
"Let’s go," Priam turned to those three, who were still frozen in place, stunned.
They snapped out of their stupor and nodded. Like that, the group moved forward side by side.
Just before entering the great mass of Mages, they stopped in their tracks.
"Sages!" Flaris said, shocked.
In the skies, she pointed at dozens of figures moving around, as if they were floating softly and naturally in the air. They were observing the youths on the ground. They were humanoid men and women, but their appearances were far too young.
Just by looking at them, an infinite oppressive feeling took over.
It was complete suppression. Added to the fact that they were floating in the skies, in a way that seemed to use no power at all... they could only be Sages!
Suddenly, one of them turned toward them, then approached.
He slowly landed in front of those four youths. He was a tall man, with beautiful golden eyes.
"What clan are you from?" that figure asked calmly, without any sign of arrogance.
"We’re from the Ylisse clan, all four of us," Priam answered immediately.
That figure took out a circular silver object and seemed to read something in its center. In a few seconds, he turned back to them and nodded.
Four small silver runes appeared, floating toward the four of them.
"You’ve entered the line. When this mark resonates, you must advance to the central entrance and register. You’ll have five minutes to appear, or you’ll have to return to the end of the line. So, stay close and pay attention."
That figure spoke lightly and, without waiting for any response, leaped into the skies.
The four took a deep breath. All of them were internally shocked.
That Sage... was only a worker responsible for something so small as this?
Their world was opening up immensely. Sages in the Divine Plane, apparently, weren’t that big of a deal.
Priam reflected. Possibly, just like Mages, there should be Ranks of Sages. As for those at a low Rank, they probably shouldn’t be so absurdly distant from a Mage at the final rank.
The four quickly advanced side by side, entering the crowd of Mages.
Just like everyone else, they stayed at a distance where they would be able to reach the registration in time.
Registration for the entrance test would happen in seven days. In the end, the collective exam would begin.
Priam knew that this was the same date for all sects, in all universes.
The reason was that the Sovereigns were behind it. They gave something called a "Blessing" to the newly recruited disciples, and that seemed to be important. They did it together, at a specific moment for everyone.
Because of that, all sects in all universes, at this moment, were registering the young Mages.
...
The hours passed slowly.
The line was endless, even just to register.
While the Mages waited for their turn, several Sages flew nonstop over the place. Everything indicated that their work wasn’t only to ask the clan and then place the newcomers in line.
Priam noticed that they were carefully observing everyone below, secretly searching for something.
...
After almost twelve hours.
Suddenly, Priam’s eyes narrowed, and a chill ran down his spine.
He turned toward the skies.
"?"
There, he saw a Sage staring fixedly at him.
His instincts started screaming almost in despair. He saw something in that figure’s eyes that made all his blood begin to heat up.
As for the other side... he had clearly sensed something far from good in Priam.