With a nod, Lana escorted his group to the two mercenaries guarding the stairs.
Equipped in two similar sets of fierce leather armor, the scars crisscrossing their stern faces softened. The long leather stripes coiled around their elbow-sized bracers that ended in pugilism’s gloves fluttered with their curt bow.
"Relax. Our new recruits would love to browse our little collection before they get their mercenary’s card tomorrow." She winked secretively as she gestured at Julius’ group. "Do me the favor of letting them in a little earlier."
Catching the clue, the two mercenaries exchanged a surprised glance. Were those youths from wealthy backgrounds? Probably.
One of them, a middle-aged man whose mane-like, half-gray half-dark hair commanded attention, curled his fingers to ask them to follow. "I’ll supervise them until they want to leave. Is it alright, Lana?"
Delighted by the professionalism, she smiled. "Thank you, Jack. I’ll get you a nice mug of brandy later."
"I can’t wait for it."
As Jack turned and took his first step on the stairs, Julius frowned slightly. "Mercenary card? Won’t we receive an identity badge?"
Lana tapped on her forehead. "Look at me! I forgot to mention it. The mercenary card is an official document approved by the crown. The details go over my head, but from what I understand, the king embedded each one with a unique sub-enchantment that establishes identity better than our outdated badges."
A pensive frown creased Julius’ brows, his earlier doubts melting. This kingdom’s technology indeed outmatched his province. The badges distributed to every citizen sounded surreal already. After all, even after he became a noble, the only thing the crown gave him was a certificate of birth stamped with a magic seal.
As for the cards... The ones used by the academies were so bad in comparison that he didn’t know if Shepard would laugh or cry. If they could replicate it... They wouldn’t need grumpy guards to check their every mole before passing through.
He gazed at Arun, noticing the same surprised expression before he refocused on Lana and Jack. "Thank you for your help. You can’t imagine how impatient I am to get my own card."
Lana chuckled. "You don’t need to be, really. It’s only logical that their use will spread to the regular population in a few years. I guess we’re just testing how better it is."
Jack nodded, his solemn voice drawing their attention. "It’ll become our best safety against assassins, thieves, and heretics. Once registered, the kingdom will know everything about you down to your mana signature, not to mention your entries and exits from towns. It’s a great tool I’m eager to see spread."
The other mercenary, who had remained silent until now, chimed in. "It’ll happen sooner than you think. I guess the king expects the province north to crumble under his army anytime. Before it happens, he’ll distribute cards to every civilian, then pause the production. Do you know why?"
Julius paled, the answer evident. And as expected, the mercenary confirmed it.
"With nowhere to go, their refugees will swarm our land. Too bad for them. We’re prepared to slam the door on their noses and send them back to that province they call home. But we digress." His lips curled into a soft smile. "Follow Jack and leave those boring subjects to the older generation."
Heart drumming in his ears and hiding the chaos swirling in his mind with a shaky smile, Julius stumbled behind Jack. What would have happened had they delayed their infiltration?
An icy shiver ran down his spine as the answer reverberated in his mind: death. He had to warn Shepard—to spread their people before every gate toward salvation, as the guard had so well said, slammed down on their noses. ’Gather more information first.’
A steely glint flashed in his eyes as the first floor’s tender wood creaked under his boots. Neat shelves and tables met his gaze, the scent of old paper and ink replacing the thick fumes of tobacco and alcohol.
’How is it so different?’ He tilted his head, the strange calm not fitting the guild’s boisterous atmosphere.
"Amazing, right?" Jack chuckled. "Our branch leader carved this silence enchantment himself. He almost scared us to death last year when he yelled: ’I can’t work with a bunch of unruly brats under me. He is right above us by the way.’"
He moved to the beige sofa and sat, his muscular back sinking into the soft mattress. "Ask me if you need help. Don’t make too much noise or try... stupid things like snuggling books out. I’ll know, and you won’t like the consequences."
Julius nodded, then turned toward Arun, Asha, and Louise. "I’ll focus on history and power systems. You check their geography and techniques."
They offered him determined nods before scrambling to the shelves with him.
The serene atmosphere and Jack’s silence helped them focus as they delved into this new... No, the real magical world’s knowledge.
Julius learned the rank divisions and how they became popular first. The familiar tier system had been abandoned thousands of years ago. Instead, they now grouped mages according to their capabilities, which made sense considering how much mana control mattered.
Novices and acolytes fell into the D rank because they lacked mana control. Those who reached C were all experienced apprentices who could fight head-on or at range with decent mastery.
His eyes sparkled when he read about the B-ranked fighters. Gathering mages and adepts, this was the dividing line between regular practitioners and elites. After decades of body refinement and mana gathering, they were each as versatile as a magical beast.
Arcanists, like Shepard, fell into the A-rank. Though not as prestigious as in the province, those high-rankers drew attention from the nobles, obtaining spots in the societal structure’s higher strata through their skills.
But the last rank caused his pupils to constrict. ’Why did they group archmages and magi in the S rank?’
It sounded surreal to him. After all, no archmage dared to look the magus in the eyes. The difference was just too colossal to make sense. But was it truly? This system’s design emphasised similar capabilities with different levels of mastery.
’Its simplicity lacks the original system’s nuances. A powerful S rank can kill a weak one in the blink of an eye. But this level of power is way out of most people’s reach, so I guess they focused on making the ranks easier to understand?’
Intrigued, he checked their promotion system, amazed by how spot-on Adam had been in his approach. Mana quantity didn’t matter at all—only control did. In fact, those promoting themselves with less mana were considered true talents.
As if to make things harder, they just condensed two circles around their hearts in a single breakthrough. But the difficulty also came with unfathomable advantages.
Their approach interconnected three pairs of circles on a fundamental level. They weren’t just increasing the quality of a mage’s mana anymore but sublimating it into something that would have taken centuries of relentless work.
"Amazing." A regretful sigh couldn’t help but escape his lips as he closed the book and picked another one.
The magus had devoured any sign of progress in the past ten thousand years, letting it stagnate, but here? They had much to learn!
AN: We return to check on Adam in the . Please give some love to Julius, too.