Chapter 51: 51 - Society of Mystical Arts
Ever since he boarded the Celestial Warship, Lynn had been pondering in what capacity they should enter the land of the wizards.
As Kora's apprentice? A wizard's apprentice who had practised magic for less than half a year?
If he were to assume this identity, it was evident that he would run into numerous troubles.
After all, everyone on the Celestial Warship had witnessed his spellcasting, not to mention the explosion in Harbor Town. This was not something a mere apprentice could accomplish.
As the saying goes, the innocent will bear the sins of the guilty and someone who was weak and harboured significant secrets was often the target of those with ill intentions.
Their current situation was indeed quite awkward. Being pursued by the Church all the way, they had escaped to the land of the wizards like fugitives, and on top of that, they had destroyed a crucial trade route. It was only natural that they would be detained and interrogated upon their arrival.
So, if they wanted to change the game, they needed to make some alterations.
With these thoughts in mind, Lynn turned to Jenny and asked, "Do you know why our teacher was trying to capture the daughter of the Duke of Nordland?"
Jenny hesitated for a moment and then replied with certainty, "Teacher said that the Duke of Nordland's second daughter has considerable talent in magic... and we're running out of money too."
Lynn couldn't help but twitch his lips. He knew that Kora had a hidden agenda for taking in noble students, and it seemed like he was after research funds.
Of course, there was another reason besides that. Nobles were usually literate, and well-educated, and didn't need everything to be taught from scratch.
Learning magic itself was an expensive affair. For example, the material required for casting the Fireball spell, "Crimson Embers," cost one silver and thirty-seven copper, enough to sustain a commoner's family frugally for a month.
Magic wasn't something the poor could afford to learn.
Perhaps Kora had a thought of cultivating one or two noble wizards as well. While these apprentices were not first heirs, they still had the potential to create something on their own.
Lynn didn't delve deeper into these thoughts and shook his head. He retorted, "Those are just excuses. Have you ever heard of the 'Society of Mystical Arts'?"
"What's that?" Jenny asked, looking puzzled.
"It's a highly secretive wizard organization within the Sekas Empire. It's composed of many influential figures. When our teacher taught me magic, he had the chance to interact with members of the 'Society of Mystical Arts,'" Lynn made up on the spot.
Kora's process of teaching apprentices was quite casual. He would spend some time with each apprentice and then leave them in a relatively safe place to practice magic on their own. In other words, everything that happened during the time Kora personally instructed him was known only to the two of them, and Jenny had no way to refute his words.
"After interacting with the 'Society of Mystical Arts,' our teacher told me that many of the magical research theories in the outside world are already outdated and cannot keep up with the times," Lynn continued.
"Therefore, our teacher secretly compiled a precious research manuscript and planned to go to the capital of Nordland to meet with a colleague from the 'Society of Mystical Arts.' If this mission fails, he instructed me to bring back this valuable research manuscript to the land of the wizards at all costs."
In just a few sentences, Lynn transformed their identity from being fugitives on the run from the Church, accidentally destroying an important trade route, into dedicated individuals who, under their teacher Kora's orders, had endured all hardships to escape the Church's clutches and deliver a research manuscript containing vital information to the land of the wizards.
If this research manuscript held enough weight and brought explosive news, they might not only avoid blame but even receive commendation.
Is it really like that? Jenny looked bewildered. Kora had never mentioned anything about the 'Society of Mystical Arts' to her, and Lynn's expression didn't seem like he was joking.
"So, you mean, the way you advanced to become an official wizard was through the 'Society of Mystical Arts'?" Jenny said thoughtfully.
"Or you could say it like this: my situation is even more unique, and this method doesn't apply to others." Lynn nodded, not bothering to correct the misunderstanding.
In the land of the wizards, only official wizards held a certain status and the ability to protect themselves. This also aligned with the lowest evaluation of his abilities from everyone on the ship.
If he didn't want to attract trouble, willingly or not, he had to become an official wizard.
As he spoke, Lynn also pondered the content of the "research manuscript."
Based on Jenny's descriptions over these days, the wizards in the land had about the same level of understanding about the world as Western Europe during the Renaissance.
As magic existed, wizards specialized heavily. While they had made significant strides in micro-level research, discovering the existence of gravity early and even creating alchemical ships powered by steam, the majority of wizards still adhered to the belief that the earth was flat and that this continent beneath their feet was the centre of the entire universe.
They even used this continent as a reference point to chart the orbits of every celestial body in the star system, forming a highly complex geometric pattern. This also aligned with the descriptions in the Church's Bible about the creation.
However, over the past few days, he had talked with Lame Laut and others, and this world also had solar eclipses. The sailing over the seas involved seeing towering mountains and spires.
Apart from this, if he slightly adjusted the positions of the celestial bodies in the star chart, placing the stars at the centre, everything would become familiar again.
It was evident that the Church's theory of divine creation was complete nonsense. There was no way the goddess, Aila, who had supposedly created this world, couldn't even determine whether she made a continent or a sphere, right?
Of course, this kind of incorrect understanding was a pitfall that almost every civilization had to go through. To put it plainly, their thinking was bound by common knowledge.
When people are born, they tend to think of themselves as the centre of the world. They believe that everything in existence revolves around them, and the continent beneath their feet must be a particularly special existence, the centre of the entire universe.
However, after delving into further research, one would discover a cruel truth. Not to mention planets, even an entire star system was negligible in the grand scheme of the universe.
Using the attack on the belief in flat earth as a starting point was undoubtedly a good choice. It was not only shocking but also had a plethora of evidence to prove the fallacy of this argument. There was no need for him to say much; the wizards would naturally realize what was correct.
Lynn was also preparing to test the "scientific research" atmosphere in the land of the wizards. Faced with scepticism, whether they would carefully seek the truth and accept it, or vehemently suppress voices that didn't conform to the mainstream, would determine his future course of action.
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