Chapter 126 : Chapter 126

Chapter 126. Researcher

"I didn't expect you to be promoted to an official mage before the assessment," Habos said frankly.

"But now I want to ask you, you didn't use any temporary mental enhancement potions, did you?"

"No," Fulan answered.

Habos continued to look at Fulan and said, "So if you didn't use a potion to temporarily enhance your mental strength, that means you reached the required standard on your own mental strength and were promoted to an official mage, right?"

"That's right," Fulan nodded, a little confused as to why Habos was repeating this.

"Well, now there's an opportunity. If you truly achieved this promotion on your own mental strength, then you meet the conditions for this opportunity."

"Of course, the place I mentioned earlier is still something you can choose to go to. You can decide after I finish explaining."

Habos led Fulan to a small room. After they both sat down, Habos continued speaking:

"First, you should know that after becoming an official mage, you'll need more resources to assist in your further promotion. It's very difficult to improve your rank by relying solely on yourself."

"Resources are limited, and even precious. Not every mage can get them."

"One of the primary reasons for the establishment of the Alliance is the distribution of promotion resources, giving these resources to truly talented mages who have made contributions."

"After becoming an official mage, you’ll find that there are almost only three ways to acquire these resources in the Alliance."

"The first is through management. By passing assessments in the academy or the Alliance, you can manage the Alliance’s vast territories. You can earn promotion resources by contributing to the management of these lands."

"Though I can recommend you for it, I believe you wouldn't want to choose this path. It's simply too slow."

Habos paused for a moment before continuing:

"The second way is through the Alliance's armed forces. You might not have heard of this, but the truth is, the Alliance is not the only powerful force on the continent. There are many factions that still have friction with the Alliance."

"Unifying the various academies to fend off powerful enemies was also one of the key reasons for the Alliance's establishment."

"Of course, in our Graysoil Province, we don’t have this problem. We don't have other factions attacking us, but that's not the case in other provinces."

"You might not have heard of the Alliance's Mage Corps. They haven’t recruited personnel from inland provinces in over thirty years."

"This path is much faster at obtaining resources than the first one, though the risks are significantly higher."

"As someone who became an official mage in Graysoil Province, you can only participate in the Alliance's Investigator assessment."

Habos added: "The Investigator assessment is not just about testing your spellcasting skills. There are other aspects involved, and you might not have passed the assessment due to bad luck."

Fulan nodded on her chair, not saying anything, but continuing to listen carefully.

After drinking a cup of water to clear his throat, Habos resumed:

"And then there's the unique profession for mages — the Researcher. This is a profession that doesn't exist outside of the Alliance."

"The spells cast by mages are not innate; they have been gradually improved by many mages starting from the first spell. That’s how we have so many types of spells today."

"Adjusting and modifying spells is the job of the Researchers. While they might not excel in spell combat, they certainly understand the principles behind the spells."

"Understanding the principles of spellcasting is necessary when advancing to higher ranks."

"Therefore, almost half of the mages in the Alliance also work as Researchers. Only those who have given up on their advancement will abandon this role."

Habos then pointed to the large machines outside the room and said:

"What I’m working on right now is a spell inspired by your mechanical work that is still in development."

He sighed before continuing:

"However, due to the many academies in the Alliance, and their mutual suspicion, they don't want their proprietary knowledge to leak out."

"As a result, a new form of organization was born: the societies. Almost every academy has its own society, and some have societies formed by several academies working together, or societies dedicated to researching specific published spells."

"As long as you join one of these societies, you can call yourself a Researcher."

"Of course, not every society within an academy is capable of exchanging for promotion resources. Only those societies that have strict entry requirements and assessments are considered genuine societies, where mages publish their spell insights."

"Each society’s reward system is different, but generally speaking, if you publish something that’s recognized by the society members, you'll gain the right to exchange for crucial resources."

Habos then took out a piece of paper from his drawer and handed it to Fulan, asking her to look over it carefully.

"The place I mentioned earlier where you can learn a lot is a society. This society is quite different. It allows mages from all academies to join."

"Through the efforts of the society president, some spells from various academies can be shared within the society, but this has angered many academies, who have forbidden their mages from joining."

"This was the path I originally planned for you. I know the president of that society, and you could join it as soon as you get there."

Habos then shifted his tone and said:

"Another thing is that your mental strength has directly reached the promotion standard, which is quite rare. Only a very small number of people in the history of magic have achieved this."

"I can recommend you to join the Joberna Society under the Elemental Academy. There, only mages whose mental strength directly leads to promotion can join."

"That’s also the core of the Elemental Academy. Once you join, you will definitely get a core position in the Elemental Academy."

Fulan understood. Habos was suggesting she consider joining the Elemental Academy. If she joined now, she would directly gain access to the Elemental Academy's core spells.

At higher levels, these academies tend to restrict access to higher-tier spells, only allowing those who are part of the inner circle or have made significant contributions.

If Fulan joined now, she wouldn't have to worry about the high-level path later. She could just focus on studying. But…

"I’d rather join the society you mentioned, the one that welcomes mages from all academies."

Fulan had already experienced the attribute boosts from combining multiple mage academies, and she didn't want to give that up now.

Habos looked at her with a puzzled expression, seemingly questioning her choice, but he didn’t say anything further and just continued introducing the society.

"This society is called the Northern Society. It’s not part of the Alliance’s official territory..."