Chapter 75: The Idar School
Before long, Arnel led his newly contracted old friends on a tour of his laboratory, located in the Armis Mountains.
It was a relatively small, standalone building, situated right next to Arnel's residence and the temporary garrison of Idar's personal guards.
The table inside the room was cluttered with messy blueprints discarded drafts Arnel had used when designing magic formations.
"Is this… paper?"
Lett stared in shock at the rough sheets scattered across the desk. These were the latest products from Idar's paper making workshop.
Since the contracts they had just signed were written on parchment, a material commonly used among nobles, none of the mage apprentices had taken much notice.
However, seeing stacks of thin, lightweight sheets before them left the group utterly stunned.
Yet another innovation that even Saint Lawrence did not possess!
But Arnel did not offer much explanation to Lett and the others, as their attention was quickly drawn to other objects in the room.
Scattered across the floor were magic crystals, along with numerous sheets of paper covered in peculiar diagrams…
Scattered across the floor were magic crystals, along with numerous sheets of paper covered in peculiar diagrams…
And when Lett saw with his own eyes a rock levitating in the air through the effect of a floating magic formation, his heart could not settle for a long time.
Although this was merely a basic floating spell, what truly shook him was that…
While the rock hovered in mid-air, Arnel neither waved a staff nor chanted any incantations yet it remained perfectly suspended.
As a mage apprentice from Saint Lawrence, Lett knew exactly what this meant it was a complete disruption of the existing mage system!
"This… is the magic formation you mentioned?" Lett asked in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock.
Arnel nodded, his voice filled with excitement. "Within the entire Norman Empire, Idar is the only place researching magic formations. Do you realize what this means? It means everything we're doing has never been attempted before. If we succeed, we won't just surpass those so-called great mages we will become the pioneers of a new era!"
His words ignited a fierce passion within the hearts of these young apprentices who dreamed of becoming mages!
Why had they left Saint Lawrence?
Why had they endured hardships to come to the remote Idar Territory?
It wasn't merely because Arnel claimed there was a great mage here but because they had lost all hope of becoming full-fledged mages in Saint Lawrence!
In a city overflowing with mage towers and an overabundance of official mages, these apprentices, whose talents were far from exceptional, had little to no chance of receiving proper guidance from a mentor, let alone crossing the barrier between apprentice and mage…
With limited magical education resources, countless mage apprentices were buried in the sands of history, never able to shine.
Thus, when they saw even a faint glimmer of hope from Idar, these young apprentices clung to it with all their passion…
"Creating a new era…" Lett murmured, his hands trembling slightly.
He was not alone. The other apprentices were also completely shaken by what they had just witnessed…
Idar… Magic Formations… A Great Mage…
As these keywords connected in their minds, a new hope for the future began to form.
Yes!
Since the old path was no longer viable, they would forge a new one together, carving their way through the unknown!
Perhaps they could even establish an entirely new school of magic!
...
The Norman Empire's magical community was divided into multiple schools, each with its own understanding and approach to magic. They were often at odds with one another, constantly competing and challenging each other's views.
For instance, Arnel's mentor, Glenn Galvin, belonged to the renowned Illun School. This school focused on refining incantation structures and adjusting wand movements to reduce the mental strain of spellcasting.
Because of their notable improvements to several key spells, the Illun School had become one of the dominant magic factions in the western part of the empire, attracting a large number of mages and apprentices.
Meanwhile, in the northern Duchy of Erik, another faction the Erik School had taken a different approach. Rather than optimizing incantations, they focused on enhancing the raw power of spells. Their belief was that a mage's mental energy is inherently limited, so instead of worrying about efficiency, one should strive to maximize the spell's destructive force. This philosophy led to the development of an advanced version of the Fireball Spell Great Fireball.
Beyond these two dominant factions, the Norman Empire was home to numerous smaller schools of magic.
Of course, not all schools of magic were normal. Some were infamous for their love of slaughter. These rogue mages, known as "Fallen Ones", practiced magic for murder and destruction rather than knowledge.
Due to the empire's strict prohibition and relentless crackdown, most of these dark factions had faded into obscurity over the years. However, from time to time, a few still surfaced to wreak havoc, much like terrorists in a previous life.
...
Arnel's words echoed in the apprentices' ears, loud and clear.
"Establishing a new school of magic!"
To these young mage apprentices, who had not even reached the level of full-fledged mages, this idea felt far beyond their reach.
But now… they had truly seen the possibility of creating something new!
Arnel had briefly explained the principles of magic formation design. If they could successfully develop this system, founding an entirely new magical school was not impossible.
A new Idar School, one that focused on magic formations and the practical application of magic!
The thought alone filled them with unstoppable excitement.
There were only ten of them now, but the concept of magic formations had undoubtedly opened a new gateway to the magical world.
In this world, fewer than one in five mage apprentices ever became full-fledged mages.
That meant if magic formations could be developed into a structured system, they could revolutionize magic bringing it within reach of countless apprentices who would otherwise never reach their potential!
This was only the beginning…