Chapter 208: Mage Assembly Part 3

“My presentation ends here. Um… are there any questions?”

When the visibly nervous presenter asked, a few mages seated in the audience raised their hands.

“I have a question.”

“Ah, yes. Please go ahead.”

“I’m Heger from the Conventional Mage Society. I’ll admit, the topic was somewhat interesting. But I couldn’t help but feel skeptical about the theory.”

At the middle-aged mage’s question, the presenter wiped off cold sweat and responded.

“Yes, could you clarify which part you found questionable?”

“The idea of using fire magic to put out fires… it was a rather novel concept. After all, magic tower experiments do occasionally lead to explosions.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“But your theory seems riddled with holes. For example, you mentioned controlling fire magic while rotating wind magic to absorb the flames caused by a fire, correct?”

“Yes…”

“Don’t you feel there’s a flaw in that logic?”

“….…”

“I don’t understand why you’re not responding.”

The middle-aged mage clicked his tongue and shook his head, as if time was being wasted, while the presenter desperately tried to figure out what he’d done wrong.

What’s his problem? Wait… is it because of that?

Worried that it might be a very basic question, the presenter hurriedly answered.

“Um… Is it because, when extinguishing a fire caused by magic, the elemental mana tends to become unstable?”

“Exactly. When a spell fails, the surrounding mana and its elemental properties become extremely unstable.”

But the presenter’s spell had no built-in method for addressing that issue.

“Not only that, you also said this during your presentation that if the spell were further developed, it could serve as a stronger defense against fire-elemental attacks on the battlefield.”

“Yes… but that was just meant as an example…”

“Tsk. Why is a young man like you so short-sighted? Dreaming of such a future with a spell that might not even be able to handle elemental imbalances caused by magic failure?”

He was calmly and methodically tearing the presenter down with seemingly polite words, all while clearly diminishing his confidence.

Of course, Jun also saw flaws in the presenter’s reasoning.

But it wasn’t so much the logic that was lacking. The way he introduced the spell was the real issue.

If the presenter had focused solely on putting out ordinary fires rather than suppressing others’ magic or fire-elemental attacks, things might’ve gone differently.

Was it pride in his own magic? Or simply a refusal to let it be seen as just a fire-suppression tool?

If he had called it a fire suppression spell from the start… it could’ve had so many practical uses in the commercial sector.

What if he’d enchanted scrolls with the spell and sold them on the market?

Since it was more reliable for putting out fires, many merchant guilds might have shown interest.

Fires, after all, are something you want to deal with as quickly as possible to minimize damage.

It would likely have become popular among civilians, too and even nobles might have been interested in purchasing it for their territories.

“Hah, to think someone would come all the way here to present a spell like that?”

“Utterly ridiculous.”

“Saying they’ll commercialize that? All they think about is money…how shallow.”

But the cold criticism didn’t stop there.

They weren’t just pointing out flaws. They were outright belittling the presenter who had developed the spell.

As that atmosphere quickly took hold, the visibly crushed presenter left the stage with his head hung low.

And again, presentations like that followed one after another.

Jun couldn’t help but frown.

“You call that a mage?”

“What Tower is he even from?”

“Tsk tsk… No wonder. He’s not from the Conventional Society.”

“A Tower’s still a Tower, huh? But clearly, they’re not all the same.”

Those kinds of remarks could be heard constantly, and beside him, Laness slightly parted her lips.

[It’s truly ridiculous. From what I can see, there’s not much of a difference in skill between mages from the Conventional Society and those outside of it.]

Hearing her voice resonate in his mind, Jun found himself nodding without realizing it.

In the first place, truly advanced spells rarely make it to events like this.

Who in their right mind would present a Tower’s secret spell in a public setting?

Most of the spells here were only so-so, and that was inevitable.

But that wasn’t what disgusted Jun, Laness, or Velles.

[Isn’t it so blatant? Look how they pick apart every little thing when it’s a mage outside the Conventional Society, yet quietly listen and nod when it’s someone from their own ranks.]

Just like Laness said, it was blatant to the point of absurdity.

[Then why do most mages just sit there and let it happen?]

At his question, Laness replied with a slightly bitter expression.

[Because, foolish as they are, those people once played the role of protecting mages’ interests. It’s mostly symbolic now, but in the past, they were active in meaningful ways.]

In the past, mages were often deceived or threatened over unfair accusations.

Since they wielded powers far beyond common understanding, incidents similar to the witch hunts Jun had seen on Earth happened more than once.

And to prevent such injustices, the Conventional Mage Society had been formed.

Perhaps because of their efforts—

Over time, the number of people daring to provoke mages dwindled, and their authority rose higher and higher.

But still water stagnates.

Eventually, their original mission became completely corrupted, and now any mage not affiliated with the Conventional Society was treated as a heretic.

[So what they’re doing now is a kind of protest, then.]

[Exactly. A warning…. “Look how united we are, so don’t mess with us.”]

And what happens if you don’t join them?

Just like at the banquet yesterday, they’ll either completely ignore you or ambush you on presentation day, like they’re doing now?

In other words, it was a threat of isolation.

Only then did Jun begin to understand why they were so hostile toward him.

“Other mage towers might be able to pull stunts like that during presentations, but the Laness Magic Tower probably couldn’t.”

Of course. Laness was publicly known as an Archmage of the seventh circle.

Even though she wasn’t part of the Conventional Mage Society, it would’ve been hard to find fault with a nearly flawless mage like her….especially considering her background.

Did they think I was her weakness?

If so, then why does Laness allow an organization like this to continue unchecked?

If she were to publicly reveal that she’s an eighth-circle mage, no one would even dare to attempt something like this.

A necessary evil. Maybe that’s how she sees it.

Whatever the case, when external attacks occur, they move with absolute coordination to protect the interests of mages.

Even when unaffiliated mages are the ones under attack, it’s the same.

Sure, they make no effort to hide their disdain, and they shamelessly snatch up most of the benefits involved. But still, they offer a kind of support.

Support that might not even be welcome.

But that didn’t mean it was entirely useless.

At the very least, mages no longer feared for their lives and that was mostly thanks to the presence of the Conventional Mage Society.

[Not only that, but it’s not uncommon for magical ideas presented at these conferences to be outright stolen.]

Now that’s just crossing the line.

[And they just sit back and watch it happen?]

[Yes.]

To Jun, this behavior made absolutely no sense.

Why would a group claiming to protect the rights of mages go around stealing those same rights from others?

[It comes from ignorance. Most mages lack business sense, while the Conventional Society has members who handle that side of things. In fact, they often give a tiny portion of the profits earned from the stolen ideas to the original presenter, calling it a ‘grant.’]

[Giving the disease and the cure, huh.]

[Exactly.]

Naturally, this led to a decline in the quality of magical research presented at conferences.

You might think the solution is simple. Just don’t present at all.

“But then you’d really be ostracized.”

He’d heard that sometimes, they cut off all contact and just let you wither away.

Of course, it wasn’t something that happened often, but it wasn’t unheard of either.

That’s probably why Lady Laneds keeps showing up here.

Jun couldn’t take his eyes off Laness, who was trying and failing to hide her bitterness.

It’s a really hard problem to solve. They firmly believe that attitude is their right. That’s probably why things went the way they did in the future.

Even when the Empire was collapsing under the weight of the Heavenly Church in the game, the mages didn’t act recklessly.

The war within the Empire caused massive shifts in the mage society, and most of the rights they believed were theirs were at risk of being taken away.

So they became even more cautious, keeping to the rear lines and making potions to sell at outrageous prices.

Even then, they didn’t understand how serious the situation was. Only when they were driven to the brink did they give up everything and head to war.

And the one who made that possible was none other than Lady Laness.

An eighth-circle mage who fought at the very front lines, doing everything she could to change the perception of mages until the bitter end.

And even after the war ended, she remained known as the greatest mage of all…

It was only after the death of such a great Archmage that the mage association in the game finally came to its senses and entered the battlefield.

I don’t want to see that kind of future happen.

An Eighth Circle Archmage.

Her death had driven an already chaotic battlefield into utter disaster.

Even if things didn’t turn out exactly like in that future, Jun no longer wanted to lose someone like Laness so easily.

In other words, I have a valid reason now, don’t I?

Which meant he had to reform the rotten foundations of these damned mages before things spiraled out of control.

It won’t be easy, but there’s no helping it.

Back when he first met Laness, he had no intention of getting involved.

Honestly, hadn’t he already half given up on the mage community to begin with?

And it wasn’t like it made sense for him to approach Laness first. He never expected to be trusted by her this much either.

But the stage is set now. I can’t just ignore it.

That’s how his life had always been.

He’d always tried not to cross the line he’d drawn for himself…

Every time, the line drifted further away on its own. It was a sign that he needed to move and Jun had always responded accordingly.

So I’ll have to utterly crush them here.

It wasn’t that he intended to cause outright hostility.

He would simply overwhelm them.

With the very theory they claimed to love so much.

So when Jun’s turn to present came, he was able to respond confidently, even if faced with aggressive questions.

***

“The next presenter… is Mage Jun, currently a temporary member of the Laness Tower and leader of the White Whale Mercenary Corps.”

At the host’s announcement, a wave of murmurs rippled through the room.

“That’s the mage from the rumors?”

“Didn’t he just show his face yesterday and leave?”

“So the rumor about him giving a presentation was true?”

“Tch, unbelievable. The world’s going downhill. A mercenary mage from outside the Towers?”

“Why would Lady Laness accept someone like him?”

“Well… who knows. Maybe it’s because he’s young.”

Jealous and dismissive gazes shot at him from all directions. Some even went so far as to question Laness’s own reputation.

Anyone else would have trembled under such scrutiny, but Jun calmly stepped up onto the stage.

Your glares don’t faze me. Even without any special skills to dull them.

How many of the mages gathered here had even reached the Sixth Circle?

And how many of them had more experience than him?

Jun looked out confidently over the assembled mages and began to speak.

“First, I’ll start by stating the title of my thesis. It is none other than—”

<Why Is Modern Magic So Inherently Unstable?>

It was a title that poured fuel on an already burning fire.