Mage? Magic Engineer!

Feuerbach, in the form of an owl, flew through the Black Forest at a preternatural speed. He skimmed over the lush vegetation below, fast approaching the meeting point.

The meeting place was conspicuous—a clearing with the stump of a giant tree at its center. It was impossible to imagine how tall it must have been when whole; now, only a remnant bearing scorch marks and moss remained.

On the splintered surface of the stump, birds of various colors were already waiting. Most were owls, defying their natural schedules. Upon seeing Feuerbach land, they nodded knowingly.

Sunlight spilled onto the wood. A form gradually materialized in the glare, and a snow-white swan descended from within it. Its arrival was accompanied by a shadow, which soon came to life as well, a black swan stepping out from it. The relationship between the Tower of Light and the Tower of Darkness was quite entangled, but the other Mages couldn’t explain the details.

The last to arrive were a raven and a seagull from Istani.

The raven held a bloody eyeball in its beak, gurgling as it surveyed the scene. A large, fluffy-feathered owl spoke with Master Kano’s disdainful voice, "Thomson, your style is as disgusting as ever."

Among the Great Mages in attendance, most had sent bird-shaped Splits. Some sent Summoned Demons, while others, like the representative from the Tower of Storms, had their pets carry a [Magic Eye]. This eyeball not only allowed the Caster to see through its vision but could also use spells below the Seventh Ring.

Then there were those like Feuerbach, who had come in person. However, he couldn’t tell who else was attending as their true self.

"Since everyone is here, let’s begin." Kou Bo was the host, so he took it upon himself to start the meeting.

"This is too much trouble. When are we going to find a new space?"

"Why don’t we just use that Sub-plane... By the way, what’s the situation over there now?"

The head of the Tower of Thunderstorm replied, "I am constantly monitoring the ’refugees’ who have migrated to that plane. The situation inside has initially stabilized, so it’s best we don’t disturb them further. Master Kano and I have already decided not to publicize the Sub-plane’s teleportation coordinates anymore."

Kano agreed. "That’s not the main point right now... Seeing as both the Republic and the Empire have had enough time to rest and recuperate, I believe the Empire will make a move against the Republic before the major grain harvest."

"Yes, many things have happened in the Empire recently. The new Emperor is eager to prove himself with a military victory, and it’s also related to the Xia Night Turmoil..." The Mage Tower located in the Empire was monitoring the Empire Army’s movements.

To prevent the Empire Army from reacting negatively to the electoral district reforms again, the Imperial Capital had put the entire military on high alert to distract them. In addition to preparations on the main defensive line, they were also planning to sabotage the main grain-producing regions of Northern Valois.

Kano, on the other hand, knew that Valois was also preparing a large-scale operation. An artillery general had even proposed pushing their main forces beyond their own borders to live off the land, thereby alleviating their extremely strained logistics. ’That artillery general seems to be someone I know...’

"So what attitude should the Guild adopt? Since the Guild in Valois is already de facto cooperating with the National Salvation Committee, our Empire branch should also be allowed to appropriately engage and coordinate with the Imperial authorities."

The representative of the Mage Tower in the Empire saw that the opportunity to restore the Guild’s normal operations within the Empire had arrived, thanks to the split among the Military Mages and their break from the Imperial Family’s control.

William II no longer trusted most of the Military Mages. The Imperial Family’s attitude toward the Guild had softened, and they were even trying to get the Aurora Elder Council to manage those "lawless Casters." After all, the Guild had always been gloriously isolated and had certainly never thought of gathering a group of Mages to kidnap the Crown Prince.

Kano began to peddle his ideals again. "This is why monitoring the ’Tree of Truth’ is absolutely necessary! It will be the foundation for controlling Casters and the bond that restores the Guild’s transcontinental nature. We can have each Tower focus on monitoring a portion of its branches and report our records to each other..."

"Perhaps that idea is already outdated. Monitoring the ’Tree of Truth’ is no longer enough to control all instances of Casting." Feuerbach’s owl form had a band on its right leg, which was actually a Storage Ring. He retrieved two Spell Cloud manuals from it and tossed them to Kano.

The head of the Tower of Secret Techniques reported the existence of the "Spell Cloud" to the other Great Mages for the first time, briefly explaining its operating principles and the existence of the "Tree of Law."

"So, even if we monitor the main cluster of the Spell Chain, a lot of Magic will still be mediated through the ’Tree of Law.’ I’m not yet sure how effective monitoring the Tree of Truth will be, but I can say that with the existence of the Tree of Law, the situation will be much more complicated."

"How could you wait until now to mention something so important!" one of the heads exclaimed, stunned. When did a completely new Casting System appear? And isn’t the Tree of Truth supposed to be the only one of its kind in myth and legend? How can a second one just pop up after the first was discovered?

"Because I’ve been observing its effectiveness this whole time. It’s proven to work well, greatly lowering the barrier to learning Magic, and even the barrier to Casting. But the most noteworthy thing is... today, I successfully used it to cast a Ninth Ring Spell."

Kano was slightly annoyed that a flaw had appeared in his blueprint. "From this, we can see that the owner of the Tree of Law is at least at the Grandmaster Level.

"We have a precedent. We can’t let another Great Mage do as they please. We should make the necessary contact with them, conduct a thorough assessment, and... if they don’t cooperate, take compulsory measures."

Feuerbach said in a low voice, "Isn’t that a bit too harsh?"

"Harsh? We need to be harsh! Are we just going to remain lax until the situation is irreversible?" Kano seemed to have been influenced by the atmosphere in Valuva; his mannerisms had the air of a National Salvation Committee member as he raised a wing to make a speech.

"Gen... Mages, it was precisely our indifference toward the Necromancer Master that allowed him to nearly murder at least one hundred thousand people and cause irreversible consequences. Now, a new danger is budding. A monopolist of a Casting System has appeared. Are we going to wait until the last minute to deal with it again?

"We are the Aurora Elder Council, responsible for the future of all Mages! We can’t be weak anymore! We can’t compromise anymore!"

The other birds nodded one after another in agreement with Kano’s speech. From Feuerbach’s description, if the new spell system were to spread, it would indeed have a major impact on the entire Mage community. Whether for good or ill, the person and their system had to be brought under the Elder Council’s control.

Finally, Chairman Kano asked solemnly, "So, Committee Mem... Master Feuerbach, do you have any information on the creator of that... what was it... Spell Cloud?"

"The information I have is very conclusive and very detailed." The one being questioned felt a great sense of delight at that moment; his efforts to omit the protagonist’s name from the report had paid off handsomely. "He is from the Empire, a graduate of the Empire Royal Magic Academy, and is currently twenty years old..."

The other Mages were astonished that the Empire’s Three-legged Cat Academy could produce such a prodigy. The bird controlled by Kou Bo broke into a human-like grin, while Kano felt that something was increasingly off as he listened, especially the part about studying abroad for a year at the Tower of Stars and currently residing in Bayern...

As if declaring victory, Feuerbach announced to the previously garrulous Kano, "The founder of the Spell Cloud is Rorschach!"

Kano immediately cut in, "Previously, I made an arbitrary decision without having all the information. I now feel that when dealing with such a talented young man, we should be the ones to proactively show goodwill. I know that boy Rorschach very well. He will cooperate with us..."