Chapter Seventy: The Devil's Tears

The announcement of the founding of the Mage Academy sent shockwaves across the continent of Aidras. Although the Mage Guild had relaxed many of its admission requirements, it remained exceedingly difficult for commoners to become mage apprentices—that is, students of the new academy. In Blackrock City’s Mage Guild, there had originally been sixty-three unclaimed mage apprentices, relegated to menial tasks and forced to teach themselves. These apprentices were now given priority, becoming official students. Beyond that, only two hundred and thirty-seven spots were open for outside candidates.

Many of these places had already been reserved by nobles and the powerful, but even so, commoners with true talent still had a chance to be chosen. Anna, for example, had been fortunate; it was precisely her remarkable talent that led her mentor to select her as an apprentice, and through her own efforts, she became a second-rank mage. Of course, before the founding of the Mage Academy, such occurrences were exceedingly rare.

For the kingdom of Aelno, the establishment of the Mage Academy was of immense significance. As mage associations across the continent began founding their own academies, Aelno could not afford to fall behind. Under the dying king’s command, Count Mond, lord of Blackrock City, cooperated with the Mage Guild, providing land, funding, and all manner of support. The academy’s construction and recruitment proceeded with great fervor.

Meanwhile, the Church of Life, though revived by the goddess’s reincarnation as saintess, found itself in dire straits. The goddess’s divinity was but a collection of fractured shards, and with her divine fire extinguished, she could no longer convert faith into divine power—each use of her remaining power diminished her reserves. Without divine power, she could not grant her followers miracles, and the priesthood of the Church of the Life Goddess across the land remained inactive. Perhaps this would change as the shards of divinity were gathered, but for now, the goddess dared not waste her dwindling strength granting the faithful their prayers. To give without replenishment would only hasten her depletion.

The actions of the Mage Guild were, in truth, aimed at supplanting the church. Arcane magic could replicate many of the healing miracles performed by the priesthood. A significant portion of the academy’s recruitment sought to cultivate mages specialized in healing.

In the past, the church had outmatched the guild for one simple reason: the requirements to become a priest were minimal. With enough devotion and spiritual strength, anyone could serve, and there was little need to study the miracles themselves. Priests were the shepherds of the gods, merely required to help harvest faith. In return, they received divine power and blessings. In comparison, the study and inheritance of magic was far more demanding and time-consuming.

Now, with collective education in the academy, efficiency would surely improve. Chu Yun, one of the few guild members who had mastered the True Word of Healing, was invited by the guildmaster to serve as an examiner for the first round of selection. The compensation was generous, as all part-time positions related to the guild’s affairs were well-paid.

The first round of selection would take place the following day, and the list of candidates and their basic information had already been distributed to the examiners. Over a thousand applicants had registered; had it not been for age restrictions and the application fee weeding out the merely curious, the number would have been even greater.

As Chu Yun rode in his carriage toward the slums, he reviewed a copy of the candidate list. Today was the day he had arranged to meet Lysa; he was eager to see the improvements she had made to the flight wings. Chu Yun had many ideas for magical equipment, but his energy was limited and his interests lay elsewhere; he was not one for research. Judging by the inventions within Lysa’s workshop, Chu Yun believed she had tremendous potential—she was, in a sense, this world’s Heimerdinger. With Viscount Karl’s wealth and connections, a partnership was well within reach.

The Mage Guild, as one of the world’s most powerful organizations, had established solid protections for magical equipment patents. However, Chu Yun had not forgotten Meda’s warning: he needed to uncover Lysa’s secrets before he could proceed with confidence.

He knocked on the workshop door, and Ella hurriedly opened it. “Master Chu Yun, you’ve finally arrived,” she said with a sigh of relief.

Lysa, now dressed in light attire, greeted him with excitement. “Come quickly and see my new invention! This time, I’m sure there’s no problem!”

On the workbench lay a set of flight wings, almost identical to Chu Yun’s blueprints—save for the fact that Lysa had painted them. This not only decorated the wings but allowed them to blend seamlessly into the sky for camouflage.

“It seems you finished faster than I expected,” Chu Yun couldn’t help but praise her.

“Miss worked non-stop, even skipping the Goddess Festival, just to complete these wings,” Ella added, a hint of regret in her voice for missing out as well.

Lysa, however, was unconcerned. “I’ve seen it so many times since I was a child—it’s nothing special. Let’s go outside the city and test them! Let’s see how far they can fly!”

“For the test, shouldn’t we find a volunteer?” Chu Yun had no interest in risking a fall from a great height. He could, in theory, escape into the Mirror World before hitting the ground, but he preferred not to take that chance.

“No need for that. I’ll do it myself!” Lysa insisted, brimming with confidence in her creation.

Yet Chu Yun was unwilling to let her try. This device existed because of him; if anything happened to Lysa, Viscount Karl would surely have his hide.

Chu Yun’s gaze drifted toward Ella, his intentions clear.

Ella shook her head vehemently. “I trust Miss’s skills, but I’m afraid of heights—I can’t do it, I’m sorry, please!”

Chu Yun rolled his eyes. Clearly, she was simply terrified—likely the result of previous hardships.

“No need to worry. I’ll test it myself. There are magical controls that only a mage can activate anyway,” Lysa insisted.

“It’s not safe outside right now. If we encounter flying monsters, it could be dangerous. Let’s test it in the city instead,” Chu Yun suggested.

“That’s fine. The flight wings can now take off vertically from the ground; there’s no need to leap from a cliff or mountain.” Lysa was visibly excited, eager to prove herself and let everyone witness her success.

Just as they were about to leave the workshop for the test, they found the alchemy workshop’s entrance blocked.

A tiefling with a grave expression appeared before Lysa and Chu Yun. Chu Yun recognized him as Karl’s steward, a third-rank warlock.

Lysa frowned; the steward only ever sought her out in the gravest circumstances.

“Hardy, what brings you here?” she asked.

To their surprise, Hardy broke down in tears. “Miss, Master Karl… he’s dying.”

A tiefling with demon blood, weeping bitterly—Chu Yun found the scene peculiar.

But Lysa and Ella were too stunned by the news to notice Hardy’s exaggerated display.

“What… what did you say? How did this happen?!”