The Runesmith

Chapter 711: Introduction Speech.

‘Quite the sight… I wonder if most of the kingdom’s mages are here.’

Even though this was supposed to be a joyous occasion, Roland could not help but feel uncomfortable. There were far too many powerful mages gathered here, people who could potentially snap him out of existence without much trouble. To make matters worse, the only person he could rely on to protect them was not here. Instead, she was cooped up in her tree tower.

‘Though she might be watching, just like last time.’

Still, there was some hope if a confrontation with an archmagus were to occur. Yavenna had helped him against that witch, and she had ways of transporting herself without the need for pre-established teleportation gates. For a tier four mage, invading this sanctum would be possible, and she was probably one of the few people who knew how the wards protecting this place had been constructed.

“I welcome all of you in the name of magic.”

As Roland looked around, trying to calculate potential escape routes in case something went wrong, the archmagus standing in the middle of the amphitheatre began to rise from the polished white stone platform.

The man looked a lot younger than the two other archmages. His ears were longer than those of humans, and his golden hair confirmed his ancestry as a sun elf.

At first glance, he looked like a man in his early thirties, but his true age was more than likely well over a hundred years. The elven races could live for several centuries, and once one of them became an archmagus, they could potentially live for more than a thousand years.

His face was strikingly beautiful, possessing the natural charm common among sun elves. His golden hair complemented his shimmering robes of white and amber, which were woven from threads that seemed to pulse with a faint celestial light.

The amphitheatre fell into absolute silence. The hushed chatter of a thousand people vanished as the sun elf raised a slender hand. His voice, amplified by the natural acoustics of the spatial domain and reinforced with magic, resonated throughout the amphitheatre as he began his speech.

“I am Archmagus Vaelen of the Solari Conclave.”

The elf declared it in a gentle tone. There was something alluring about the way he spoke, something that felt almost magical.

‘This voice… it has a soothing effect…’

Roland could feel the voice affecting his mind, causing his thoughts to drift away. The plans he had been trying to formulate vanished, replaced by a feeling he did not usually experience: Peace of mind.

Then, without warning, the feeling disappeared just as someone behind him snapped their fingers.

“Huh?”

Roland blinked and looked around. He was not the only one who had awakened from the trance. Many of the other professors were rubbing their eyes and ears as if they had nearly fallen asleep. The only two people who seemed unaffected were Balthazar and Thrain, the other two archmagi.

Balthazar, in particular, looked annoyed. He appeared to be the one who had snapped his fingers, dispelling the spell the sun elf had cast over the crowd.

“Do not try your parlor tricks on our young scholars, Vaelen.”

Balthazar’s voice echoed across the arena like a thunderclap. The shifting elements surrounding his body surged in intensity for a fraction of a second, shattering the last lingering remnants of the soothing enchantment.

“This is the Grand Convocation, not a gathering of your sun-worshipping devotees.”

Vaelen did not look offended in the slightest. He simply offered a serene, almost pitying smile before bowing his head slightly toward the court mage.

“My apologies, Archmagus Sunder.”

Vaelen replied smoothly, his tone remaining as soft as silk.

“It was merely a gentle harmonization spell meant to align the chaotic mana within this hall. Given the tension lingering among some of our guests today, I believed a calm mind would prove beneficial for what is to come.”

Sitting to Balthazar’s right, Thrain grunted loudly. The iron rings woven into his braided beard clinked together as he shifted his weight.

“Save the songs for the bard halls, elf.”

The half dwarf grumbled, his low voice vibrating through the stone seating like a tremor.

“If the brats cannot handle a little nervous energy before a tournament, they have no business calling themselves mages. Let us get on with it.”

A few quiet chuckles rippled through the spectators, though most of the younger mages and students remained frozen in awe.

Roland, seated on the other side, tried to assess the situation in his own way. He also noted that all three of these individuals seemed to know each other on a deeper level. It was clear they had met before, which was not particularly unusual given their positions and apparent ages.

When it came to Vaelen, Roland knew that the man hailed from the Kingdom of Alexandria, the same kingdom that bordered their own and housed the Church of Solaria and its pope. The floating city was located near the border, almost directly between the two kingdoms, making it an ideal location for the current event. It also explained why Vaelen had been chosen to host it.

Like most sun elves, Vaelen was a member of the Solarian Church, specifically the Solari Conclave. It was an organization of mages from Alexandria composed entirely of sun elven mages.

The Solari Conclave held immense religious and political power within Alexandria, and its presence served as a neutral deterrent. Elves were vastly outnumbered when it came to population, but they compensated for this through their longevity and the sheer number of elites they produced in various fields. It was far easier to reach the higher levels of mastery when one could live for hundreds of years.

“Very well, Archmagus Sunder, Archmagus Thrain. Let us proceed without further delay.”

Archmagus Vaelen offered a smooth bow toward Balthazar and Thrain, acknowledging their bluntness with practiced elegance. He then gestured toward the vast central stage of the spatial arena before continuing.

“Young scholars, esteemed professors, and distinguished guests. You have gathered here at the Grand Sanctum of Archmagus Eldoria to test your mastery over the arcane arts. Over the coming days, the prospects of your respective academies will prove their worth, not through mere noble lineage or empty titles, but through skill, strategy, and power.”

Roland listened intently, his internal systems recording every detail of Vaelen’s speech while simultaneously analyzing the ambient mana fluctuations within the spatial domain.

Some of the students appeared moved by the speech, while others seemed somewhat annoyed by Vaelen’s dismissal of lineage and titles.

“The first phase of the trials will begin tomorrow morning at dawn. The competitors will enter the Spatial Wilderness, an unstable subrealm created by the ancient Archmagus who built this sanctum. Within this domain, you will face not only manufactured illusions and ancient constructs, but also environmental hazards designed to test your adaptability.”

Vaelen announced and confirmed the location where the bulk of the competitions would take place: a subrealm, a pocket dimension created through magic.

‘So the rumors were true. Eldoria was said to have conducted research into dimensional travel and creation. This pocket dimension was probably created during her research.’

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Many rumors circulated about the old Archmagus Eldoria. She had specialized in various fields, with dimensional magic being one of them. Within these subrealms, there was enough space to create small worlds of their own.

Some people confused them with spatial spaces that already existed within the world, but they were fundamentally different. The former enlarged existing space, while the latter created entirely new spaces from mana or opened rifts into them.

The difficult part was stabilizing such spaces and keeping them connected to the main world, allowing for safe travel between them. Once that was achieved, the subrealm effectively became a new area in which people could live.

Physics could function differently within such places than in regular space, but the most stable subrealms were nearly identical to those found in the material world.

“Your professors have already been given the proper schedule. You must listen to them carefully and follow their instructions to the letter if you wish to traverse the subrealm safely. Do not attempt to venture into the deepest zones without their direction.”

The elven archmagus paused for a brief moment, letting the warning sink into the minds of the young mages. Many of them glanced nervously at one another, suddenly realizing that this event was far more than a simple exhibition of magical talents.

Roland turned toward the stands where his sister was sitting with her friends. All of them were staring at the blond mage in the middle with awe in their eyes. This was perhaps the first time they had actually seen a Tier Four mage, and the amount of mana he was outputting was staggering.

While they might not have taken his words to heart, Roland certainly would. The giant subrealm had a stable entrance, but that did not mean it was completely safe. Accidents could still happen.

There were rumors of spatial anomalies near the edges that could transport anyone into random locations in the outside world, or even bring someone into a new subrealm that had yet to be discovered. It was quite dangerous, but there were several layers of protection blocking access to these locations. Roland intended to inspect them once he entered.

“Now then, my young magical comrades!”

As he was thinking, the archmagus finally began to conclude his speech.

“Go forth and bring honor to your institutions!”

Archmagus Vaelen raised both hands toward the sky. A dazzling display of golden light erupted from his palms, shooting straight toward the ceiling of the amphitheater. The light shattered into thousands of tiny, glowing sparks that drifted down over the audience like rain, vanishing before they could come into contact with anyone.

With the ceremony concluded, the ambient noise in the arena surged back to life. Students cheered, noble spectators began gathering their cloaks, and the assembly slowly started to disperse.

Roland remained standing in the elevated professors' booth for a few moments longer. His eyes swept across the arena, watching as Balthazar Sunder turned away with an unreadable expression, surrounded by a heavy escort of Starbloom elites.

Thrain the Earthshaker merely let out another grunt before rising from his massive marble seat. The heavy iron plates of his armor clanked loudly with every step.

‘Three archmagi, a subrealm filled with ancient spatial anomalies, and a crowd of arrogant mages looking for a fight…’

Roland thought as he turned toward the exit stairs.

‘This trip is going to be as troublesome as I anticipated.’

He made his way down the wide stone steps, navigating through the throng of departing mages until he reached the lower hallway leading outside. It did not take long for him to spot his sister’s group. Lucienne, Selphie, Elian, Oxian, and Leron were standing near one of the central pillars, and they were not alone. The glares on their faces made that apparent.

‘Is this going to become a problem?’

They were facing a pair of smug nobles who were surrounded by several other mages acting as their protection. Roland could hear them exchanging a few words as he passed, and it was clear that they had not forgotten about the incident that had happened around an hour ago.

“It smells like commoners here, brother. We should go back to our private residence.”

Bianca, the blonde girl, mocked his sister and the rest of the group while surrounded by Tier Two upperclassmen.

“We should. Only a select few like us can even afford such a luxury.”

Augustus burst out laughing as he moved forward, as if the students from Xandar’s Institute were not worth his time.

Roland, on the other hand, scanned the people guarding them. The same professor he had disabled with his mana pressure was there, along with another professor who appeared to be around the same level. Both of them were clearly alerted to his presence, but that did not stop him from moving forward.

“Greetings, friends from Starbloom Elemental Academy. Is there some kind of problem?”

This time, he did not wait for an answer. Instead, he made his presence known by addressing the two professors directly. It was clear to him that neither man was pleased to see him, but they also did not seem to be acting entirely of their own volition. There was probably some kind of connection to the youths beside them that forced them to cater to such spoiled youths.

“Deputy Professor Wayland, there is no issue here. We were merely escorting our students back to their quarters.”

Professor Remington spoke as he tried to move things along. Roland also noticed that his name and position were now known to the professor. The two noble-born mages looked at him with disgust before immediately turning away and storming off.

‘This might become a problem…’

“Professor, we didn’t start this.”

Selphie spoke up instantly after noticing his arrival.

“I know.”

He then looked at Lucienne, who seemed to want to say something but ultimately remained quiet.

“Just return to your accommodations and get ready for tomorrow’s events. You will have a short window to speak with your family or acquaintances before the convocation begins.”

Roland spoke before urging the group of five to move along. They were blocking some of the other people trying to leave through the hallway.

Lucienne glanced back at Roland once before disappearing into the crowd, her expression a mixture of irritation toward the nobles and relief at his timely intervention.

He followed after them, making sure they reached their hotel safely. He also took the opportunity to act as a chaperone for their group and several other students.

For many of them, this was their first time visiting the Sanctum, so as a bonus, he allowed them to visit a few places while under his protection. For Roland, who wanted to explore the Sanctum himself, this was also the perfect excuse.

His mapping device continuously recorded as much data as possible while the young mages wandered around with nothing but awe on their faces. His sister was no exception.

It was a rather heartwarming sight. His sister rarely had much time to simply act like a normal teenager. Then there had been the Viola incident, which had nearly caused her to become a recluse. Now, however, she was out and about, laughing as she visited various magical shops and admired the wonders found throughout the sanctum.

Roland wasn’t sure who had prepared all of this, but the place was both welcoming and bizarre. There were traveling merchants and even entertainers swallowing swords, spitting fire, and performing magic card tricks that involved actual magic.

These street performers made ordinary tricks seem entirely otherworldly, turning simple sleight of hand into displays of illusory magic that even he had difficulty distinguishing from the real thing. If he wasn’t wearing a specialized helmet equipped with various identification magic augmentations, he would have been unable to tell where the items they were trying to hide had ended up. To the young students, however, it was absolutely flabbergasting.

“Wait, how did you know this would be my card? And how did it end up in my pocket?”

Elian said while holding up a card that definitely should not have been there. Lucienne and Selphie clapped at the trick, but Oxian didn’t seem particularly impressed. Leron, on the other hand, was the most amazed of them all. He quickly approached the harlequin-like mage who had performed the trick.

“Can you teach me your secrets? I have never seen such deceptive illusion magic before!”

“Hehe, I could, young man, but it’s going to cost ya...”

The moment the harlequin started speaking, Roland instantly knew there was something wrong. Whatever price he intended to demand was probably going to be far too steep.

“How much?”

“Not much, just a part of your...”

Before the words could leave the strange man’s mouth, Roland stepped forward.

“That won’t be necessary. We were leaving.”

Roland could tell that whatever this person wanted, Leron would probably regret agreeing to it later in life. The harlequin was already attempting to pull out some kind of magical contract, which Roland, as a professor, absolutely could not allow.

The performer blinked, his painted grin stiffening for a fraction of a second before he smoothed his expression back into an exaggerated pout. He slowly slid the shimmering parchment back into his wide sleeve, his eyes lingering on the armored mage who had interrupted him. Yet the moment he felt a massive, oppressive surge of mana, he quickly turned away.

“Ahaha, it was but a jest, oh powerful guardian.”

The harlequin danced around while slowly retreating, then soon disappeared into a darkened alleyway.

“You need to be wary of suspicious individuals like that. Otherwise, you won’t survive in this world for long.”

Roland’s words caused the students to nod solemnly. Leron swallowed hard, looking down at the empty space where the strange performer had stood only moments before. The sheer speed with which the harlequin had melted into the shadows proved that the trickster was far more than a mere entertainer.

“I need those secrets...”

He mumbled.

“No, you really don’t.”

Roland could feel that the magic being used crossed into the territory of the shadowy and unsavory arts. Even so, the man himself was quite weak, merely a tier two mage with little else going for him. His hiding place had also been easy enough to locate.

‘He doesn’t seem to be a threat, just a scam artist.’

With that, their day continued, and soon the first event was about to begin.