Chapter 127: Intangible Organization

Besides Dien and Dewan, Sami also spoke of his plans; after becoming an Official Mage, he intends to bring his younger brother back to the Mage Tower to study Magic.

As for Aideliqi, he hopes to perform well in front of his father, ideally outshining his older brother.

Patiently listening to their plans—or rather, their dreams—one by one, Xia Duo felt his entire body and mind grow a bit younger; although he was only 25, compared to these youngsters under 20, he felt somewhat old.

"Xia Duo, what are your plans for the future?" The one asking was Dien, who held great reverence for Xia Duo, the person who had pulled him out of the mire and given him hope.

He was eager to know what plans Xia Duo had and intended to support him as much as possible.

Xia Duo scanned the circle unobtrusively, taking in everyone's expressions; except for Dewan, who had become somewhat inscrutable due to his Faith, Xia Duo had a grasp on the minds of the other three.

"Next, I plan to find a mentor and study Magic in peace."

"What about the Study Group? Are you just going to abandon it?" Aideliqi asked suddenly. Previously, everyone had tacitly avoided mentioning this issue, as Xia Duo had already become an Official Mage while they were still just Apprentices.

Except for Aideliqi, who might obtain and learn a set of 1st Circle Spell data in a short time, the others could not even obtain Spell data.

Taking the Mage Tower's path, they all lacked a year of Territory Tasks; taking the path of self-study, they lacked time.

The longer it took, the greater the gap between them and Xia Duo would become. As for asking Xia Duo to teach them the 1st Circle Spell he had newly created, not to mention whether Xia Duo would be willing, they themselves could not bring themselves to ask.

Now that Aideliqi had brought this issue into the open, he really did not want the Study Group to dissipate just like that; having tasted the benefits of communication within an organization and having felt the mutual care between organization members, he was full of resistance toward the cold world outside the organization.

"Xia Duo, say something!"

"This issue—" Xia Duo had actually considered it long ago.

Once an organization takes shape, it possesses a natural will; it wants to exist and it wants to grow. Before this, Aideliqi had actually always wanted to pull the chubby Donald and Jibusen, another Apprentice in the Arcane Garden who was about to become official, into the Study Group, but Xia Duo had always dragged his feet.

It was precisely because such an organization with a strong desire for survival and growth was, in reality, extremely fragile, built only on the condition that the Mage Tower did not interfere.

Xia Duo did not yet know enough about the Mage Tower, and mainly its rulers, so he did not want to expand the Study Group easily; maintaining the current scale of five people was just about enough for their exchanges.

Any more, and Xia Duo might not be confident in controlling the expansion trend of the Study Group; one slip-up and the ship would sink and everyone would perish. Aideliqi might be able to cover for small squabbles between Apprentices, but once it became an organization of Official Mages, Aideliqi would not be able to cover for it.

Even Aidelian might not be able to cover for it; after all, he was only a 3rd Level Mage, and even as a student of the Lord, his say within the Mage Tower might not be that high.

To summarize in three words: lacking backing.

Xia Duo explained his analysis to Aideliqi, "Now is not a good time for the Study Group to expand; on the contrary, the Study Group needs to lie low. I think the Study Group can be dissolved here."

"Dissolved? No! That won't do!" Aideliqi's eyes turned red instantly, like a lone wolf abandoned by its pack, desperately trying to save something, "Xia Duo, I know you are very smart, you must have a way!"

"Aideliqi! Calm down! And Dien, Sami, Dewan, listen to me—"

Xia Duo took a deep breath and said the words he had been brewing for a long time, "Do you think the relationship between us is built solely on the Study Group? If the Study Group were gone, would we no longer be friends, and would we become cold again?"

"No! In fact, it is precisely because we are friends that the Study Group exists. What do you think?"

Without waiting for Aideliqi and the others to answer, Xia Duo continued to strike while the iron was hot, "Aideliqi, would you say we are friends?"

After months of the organization's influence, Aideliqi answered without hesitation: "We are friends!"

"Dien, what about you?"

A trace of fanaticism appeared in Dien's eyes, "We are friends!"

Then it was Sami's turn, and he also agreed with this point of view. Finally, Dewan, although he looked a bit different from before, ultimately agreed as well.

Thus, Xia Duo began to summarize, "The dissolution of the Study Group is for the safety of its members, but the philosophy of sharing and open exchange of the Study Group will not dissolve. If someone can follow the philosophy of the Study Group, then they are our friend! They are a natural member of the organization."

"Organization? Yes, organization!"

Aideliqi's eyes suddenly became bright, "Without the Study Group, we are our own organization, bound together by philosophy, and it will never disappear!"

"I am the organization, you are the organization, and together we are still the organization!"

The remaining three, Dien included, also understood Xia Duo's solution—transforming the foundation of their exchange from a tangible organization like the "Study Group" into an intangible organization bound by philosophy.

A tangible organization is easy to eradicate, but intangible ideas are extremely tenacious.

An organization of the mind was thus established. Xia Duo did not know if doing this was good or bad; he just made this choice subconsciously.

He knew that this way of playing was very likely playing with fire; the organization could very likely develop to a point where he could not control it, eventually backfiring on him.

But this thrill and realization of creating history made him somewhat fascinated.

Since it had been decided to dissolve the Study Group, the Q&A sessions would no longer continue. However, before Aideliqi and the others became Official Mages, they would seek out people with consistent philosophies to pass on the spark.

Perhaps there would be no collective Q&A sessions in the future, but there would be mutual help between friends.

After lunch, Xia Duo declined the exchange invitations from Aideliqi and the others. He had already racked his brains for this organization; now it was time to let it grow naturally for a while.

And during this period, Xia Duo also had to work hard to grow, to avoid being backfired upon later.

Tower of Time, Public Level, Examination Room.

The Examination Room is different from the Material Requisition Office; usually, very few people apply for examinations, so there is only one Examination Room on the entire Public Level, and the Mage on duty inside is not there every day.

Fortunately, Xia Duo was not that unlucky that day; besides not meeting anyone when he came in the morning, when he came at noon, there happened to be a Mage on duty inside.

Being assigned to the Examination Room is at least equivalent to being a human resources Supervisor in a company. Xia Duo was now like an ordinary employee wanting a promotion and asking for equity, and he was quite intimidated when facing HR.

Plus, in the world of Reality Magic, although the other party was only an HR Supervisor, and perhaps a temporary one at that, they wielded powerful strength. It is not shameful to revere power, so Xia Duo said respectfully:

"My lord, I would like to apply for Official Mage Permission Level."