Chapter 143 - The True Beginning (6)

Mage; a term made to call a bunch of people who can use Magic. This term had been used so much in the Age of Chaos even a child who could utilize even an insignificant Magic had been called a Mage—a full fledged Mage.

Of course, it would be a matter of time for the child to be an actual full fledged Mage; the situation in the Age of Chaos had been so dire everyone had no choice but to either become a Mage or a Knight.

Despite so, at that time, the term Mage had a simple meaning; it wasn't as complicated as the current era of people had made it. Furthermore, at that time, Mage was one: they stood under the same banner, and no classification made amongst them.

In the past, Mage had diverse occupation. There had been a Craftmaster who made Grimoire, Artefacts, and Magic weapons. These Craftmasters were the predecessors of the current Rune Master and Alchemist.

Grimoire Craftmasters were so well-versed in Rune Carving, their Grimoire became their strongest weapon, instead of their Spell.

They were a bunch of a talented Spellcaster in Rune Carving, who without their Grimoire were nothing. Although this occupation still existed even in the current era, there weren't many of them.

The reason was simple: Grimoire was a private thing, and should remain private.

People had lost fate in others, and their ego got bigger the more the time passed. Due to these reasons, people stopped entrusting their Grimoire to Grimoire Craftmaster.

Artefact Craftmasters were Mage who were well-versed in Rune Carving and Forging, one of the things that Knight good at. These people implemented the two things they had learnt from both Principles to create their invention.

The current existing Artefacts such as Jade of Soul Memoir, Magic Amulet, Spatial Bracelet, and many others were their legacy. While some were still produced even up to the current era, the rest were not anymore.

None of the current Mage could figure out the method Artefact Craftmasters had used in the past to create the more complex Artefacts.

The reason was simple, the current Mage only mastered Rune Carving; they didn't master Forging, Knight's speciality.

Their ego had bloated so much through time, they didn't even consider anything related to Knight was worth hearing, let alone learning. It dealt the final nail in the coffin, thus permanently stopping the development of Artefact creation.

The last occupation, Magic Weapon Craftmaster was the only occupation that still existed untill now. There were still many people aiming to become a Magic Weapon Craftmaster simply because the amount of money it made.

Despite being one of the official job in current era however, the quality of the current Magic Weapon was not as good as in the past. The reason was simple: it was a matter of ego, again.

Magic Weapon Craftmasters had to be well-versed in Rune Carving and Metallurgy, which was another one of Knight's specialty. The inflated ego of Mage couldn't allow this.

Therefore, they stopped learning Metallurgy, and replaced it with their newly found field, Alchemy, instead. They changed the Ore processing method: no longer using the Knight's way, but the Mage's way.

This, of courses, resulted in a different outcome: the metal in every Magic Weapon was not as durable and resilient as in the past.

It was to the point where Kusanagi, the sword shaped tail of Yamata no Orochi became a High Grade Weapon in front of the eyes of the current Mage.

Kusanagi hadn't been even been created: there was no special Ore processing method was implemented, nor was there any Rune carved on it. Still, the current Mage never attributed this problem to their bloated ego.

The only saving grace was the improved quality of the Rune carved on every Magic Weapon.

"Mages of the past were generally superior than us. They had a country full of Ninth Circle Mages, while we have a Ninth Circle Mage as an Emperor who governs the entire humanity," was the argument they used everytime.

Although there is no fault can be found in their reasoning, it still sounds no more than an excuse.

...

"A Grimoire Craftmaster without a Grimoire seems a little bit ironic to me." Basil quirked his eyebrow at Caesar. "Furthermore, you are well-versed in Spell as much as any Spellcaster."

"Ku-ku-ku. Are you referring to that stereotype: Grimoire Craftmaster is nothing without their Grimoire?" Caesar chuckled, then gestured with his hand. "In everything, there is always exception." Pointing to himself, he continued, "I am an exception."

"I can see that," Basil said mildly before seeping his tea.

Clack.

Once the tea was put, Basil asked Caesar, "What happened to your Grimoire?"

"Oh, about that..." Caesar made a pondering look. "I think it was snatched. No," he shook his head, "it was destroyed. Or... was it both? I think it's both." He nodded his head.

"I believe you already know I already know about that."

Caesar scratched his head awkwardly. "Oh, yeah. Of course, Young Master. I know." He had just realized Basil was asking him why his Grimoire had been snatched and destroyed.

"Kuhum!" He cleared his throat. "To answer it simply, it was because the very stereotype surrounding us, Grimoire Craftmaster. They thought by taking my Grimoire, I would be nothing."

"Was it wrong though?" Basil smiled faintly.

"No, it wasn't wrong." Caesar shook his head faintly. "They really hampered me in repairing my Magic Circles. If they hadn't taken it, I would have been out by now!"

Caesar had written some of his strongest Spells inside his Grimoire, including the one that could help him fix his Magic Circles; he didn't remember any of them, due to their complexity.

Due to that reason, once his Grimoire was destroyed, he journey to repair his Magic Circles was hampered greatly.

Basil fiddled with his teacup that was on the earthen table he had made. Now he understood why there had been so many Kinslayers getting out of the Dungeons in the past: they had finished repair all of their Magic Circles.

"How many of your Circles were crippled?"

"Seven out of nine. I basically turned to mortal when we lost our ninth Magic Circle." Caesar sighed.

Basil quirked his eyebrow. "Does being a Ninth Circle Mage make you immortal?"

"Yes, it does, Young Master. It is already proven." Caesar was Slightly surprised at Basil's question.

"Then, where are the Ninth Circle Mages of the past?"

At that question, Caesar kept his mouth shut. He had promised to Vagus he would never talk anything about the past too much to Basil; he wouldn't break his promise to Vagus.

In the end, he merely bowed his head apologetically.

"I see..."

Basil was an understanding person. He accepted Caesar's choice without a fuss; he also didn't want to alter the timeline even further anyway.

Basil took a sip of his tea, then looked at Caesar once again. "What will you do once you got out of this Dungeon?"

Caesar hummed, and looked down on the table. "Hmmm... I think I will overthrow the Empire—I mean, killing the Emperor. Revenge is a dish best served cold; it's been two thousand years, and it is cold enough already." He gulped his liquor.

Basil pondered about the thing the Kinslayers he had encountered in the past had done: once they had gotten out of the Dungeon, all of them, without exception had been causing chaos here and there.

Many innocents had been killed: civilians, especially children and women. They had massacred everyone indiscriminately, as if their goal had been solely to create chaos.

Caesar had said he didn't hate the people of the Empire; it could be concluded the majority of the currently entrapped people in the Dungeon also had the same mindset.

However, the Kinslayers he had met in the past had acted the exact opposite way; they had hated every "dogs" of the empire to their core.

If their purpose had been indeed overthrowing the Empire, they should have massacred every Empire officials instead of causing chaos here and there and gave the opportunity to the Empire to finish them separately.

"Caesar, is there any possibility the people entrapped in the Dungeon are not your Lord's followers?"

Caesar's answer was immediate and sure. "No, Young Master. All of them stand in our side. Those imbeciles would never put their 'kin' inside a Dungeon." Caesar was spiteful in the end of his word.

—We will never die. We are forever exist!

Basil was recalling the last word of the very first Kinslayer he had killed in the past. Now that he thought about it, the word had been a little bit puzzling as it sounded like the word of someone belonging to a cult.

"Caesar, how many times the Church sends you Priests to 'talk' to you in a year?"

"It is three times a year for the past twenty years. Why is it, Young Master?"

Uncaring to Caesar's question, Basil asked, "What do they always offer you?"

"I will be freed from this place in change of becoming their stupid God's servant, and purge every heretics."

Immediately looking at Caesar intently, Basil used his newly attained ability, [Eyes of Mana Perception] to the fullest. Soon enough, he could see a foreign and strange Mana inside Caesar's body.

Basil's eyes soon hardened slightly. "You have been Bewitched, Caesar," he said bluntly.

Caesar looked at Basil's humorously at first. However, upon realizing Basil's serious look, he recoiled in surprise.

"R—Really? I can't feel something wrong though," he said in puzzlement.

"They cast [Reality Altercation] on you. No," Basil faintly shook his head, "they are in the process of casting it."

[Reality Altercation]; the highest level of Bewitchment with the highest potency and the longest activation time.

As its name suggested, it will alter the reality of the person who got Bewitched with it; not in the way the eyes see the world, but the way the mind perceives the world.

Once got bewitched with it, one will never get free from it.

The reason is simple: the long time one needs to activate it is used to lay a firm foundation of the Bewitchment in the target's mind. Therefore, once it is activated, there is no way out.

"Each of the Priests the Church has sent weren't giving you an offer; they were laying the foundation of the Bewitchment."

At this point, Caesar already widened his eyes. He quickly scanned himself, but he still couldn't get the sign of Bewitchment.

"Of course, you will never be able to detect it. It is very subtle for the person being casted to be able to detect it."

A conclusion was made in Basil's mind.

The church's resilience in sending their Priests to deliver the Kinslayers their offer was nothing but to brainstorm the Kinslayers.

They knew some of the Kinslayers would eventually experience the moment where they were desperate and gave them the answer they wanted.

However, that very answer was the trigger for the Bewitchment to work. Once it happened, the Chaos that had happened in his past life would be repeated once again.

Again, the Church had been proven to be the main actor of another great chaos.

[Rough calculation of the remaining time untill the Obelisk of Goap's outbreak: 1 month, 20 days, 1 hours, and 24 seconds.]

Even the Guide confirmed his conclusion by shortening the time until the outbreak.