The Soldier Mage 21 Chapter 21

The sun was just starting to set when Wilfred reached the n.o.ble district. Reminiscent of a gated community on earth, high walls separated the district from the rest of the city and it was the closest to the castle. Guards stood at attention in front of a small portcullis and would watch the people walking by. Making sure to be on time, he had set out earlier than he had to. As the saying back on earth went, if you're early you are on time and if you're on time you are late.

Looking at the two towering hunks of metal, Wilfred wondered how he would get through. Would he just need to introduce himself, were they aware he was coming or would he be admitted at all. Surely they didn't just let commoners walk on through the n.o.ble district. As he advanced towards them the guard put his hand in front of Wilfred and motionned for him to stop.

"What's your business here boy?"

"Baron Lanart has invited me over for dinner and is expecting me."

Wilfred had the baron's letter with him if worse came to. But then he realized that perhaps these guards didn't know how to read, it was a possibility.

"Uh huh. Please wait here, we'll send a runner to confirm."

From behind the portcullis, a teenage girl was summoned to the front where the guard whispered orders in her ear. After the guard was done talking to her, she sprinted at an amazing speed down into the n.o.ble's district.

"Wow, she's fast."

The guard nodded in agreement.

"She's going to be a strong cultivator one day that one. Her speed is one of the fastest I've seen. "

What felt like a few minutes later the girl returned and brought a small envelope with a green stamp on it.

"Alright, you're good to go. Don't cause any trouble or you'll regret it. The baron's estate is the 14th on the right, you'll see his crest displayed outside of his house. It's a Griffin with two axes."

Wilfred thanked the guards and proceeded inside. While he wished he didn't have to wait since he was expected, they were only doing their job and he understood that.

Every house here was a ma.s.sive mansion with the owners trying to display their wealth and power. Large fountains and small gardens spread throughout the lots of the estates made for a beautiful scenery. A few plaques here and there would proudly commerotate a donation that allowed the city to build a statue or a fountain and help spread the fame of the family that made it possible.

Before long Wilfred arrived in front of the lanart estate, a tall black building with three stories and a fancy family emblem flowing in the wind. The house had an old money feel to it, the Lanarts were obviously not a new n.o.ble family and had been around for some time. The construction was old but of quality and the estate stood the test of time. Behind the house was a beautiful garden with a wooden gazebo and a small pond, likely man made, resided in the middle of it all.

Wilfred walked up the stone stairs leading up to the main door and using the metal loop, knocked on the door twice. He didn't wait long until the door was answered by a well dressed man who seemed to be in his early forties. He wore a simple dark blue suit with white cuffs and answered politely.

"Ah, you must be Mr.Lamarche. You are a little early but no worry, we have been ready for some time now. Please do come in."

The interior was very nice as well, rivaling the rooms that Wilfred stayed in at the academy. As a commoner he hadn't seen much of the opulence or the lifestyle of the rich yet. While everything was nice it did not compare to the utility of things back on earth like running water, electricity and the quality of beds.

The butler, at least that was what Wilfred a.s.sumed him to be, directed him into another room. A few chairs lay scattered around a beautiful oak table and a tea set was present on said table.

"Please sit down, Baron Lanart will soon join you."

The man left the room and closed the door behind him. Wilfred stood awkwardly around not sure where he should sit when he spotted a large section of the wall sporting a library, curious he headed over to look at the collection.

Perusing the t.i.tles, he noticed that most of these were related to magic or cultivation in some way. Very few of them related to history or philosophy. Having recently paid a small fortune for a simple book with a few alchemy recipes really put in perspective the value of this collection and the wealth of its owner. Even though Wilfred had recently acquired funds that would make commoners live well for a generation, for a n.o.ble family it was simply a small part of their yearly budget.

Taking a book on the n.o.ble lineages of the kingdom, Wilfred began browsing it casually. A small section at the start of the book describes the laws of the kingdom for inheritance. Leganon uses an agnotic-cognatic ultimogeniture system for heirs. In layman's terms, this means the youngest male child of the ruler inherits all t.i.tles and in the case of no male child, a daughter can also inherit but with preference for one with a son already. When the ruler lived for a long time this type of succession means the heir who inherits tends to be in the prime of his life. There are disadvantages of course, such as having a regency if the heir should be really young when the King dies.

Skipping a few pages and going into the section talking about the royal families of the kingdom, Wilfred found out some interesting information. The ruling dynasty is currently the Avarte but just a few generations ago it was the Lanart.

Wilfred was disturbed from his reading when a voice called out to him.

"Beautiful collection isn't it? My grandfather started it many years ago. It's a shame that Thomen does not share your pa.s.sion for reading. There is much knowledge to gain from reading."

"I agree. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Or something along those lines."

Wilfred put the book back in its place and went over to Baron Lanart.

"Thank you for receiving me."

"You're most welcome, please sit. "

Baron Lanart poured tea for two and handed Wilfred a cup. While tea wasn't his favorite, iced tea being one of his favorites however, he could stomach it for the sake of appearances.

"I must say Mr.Lamarche, you are not quite what you seem. For someone your age you seem very thoughtful and your magical ability is also quite extraordinary."

"You flatter me. But enough with the banter, surely you must have had a specific reason you wanted to speak to me, especially in a place as private as this?"

Tybias' face betrayed his thoughts for but a quick moment. How did this child already know his intentions? After composing himself, he sighed and explained.

"Very well, in the interest of transparency I shall be completely honest. You are quite the prodigy, that much is clear. The people aware of you are only a small number right now but that will grow very fast once word gets out to the neighboring kingdoms. They will try to recruit you for their purposes and I'm sure even some of the other factions within Leganon have already approached you."

Wilfred nodded, allowing Tybias to continue.

"For a lack of better word, the Mage Corps are in a dire strait. Leganon is much smaller than Nansen and Moburi both in population and land size. As such, we have had to use measures like mandatory time served in the army to help bolster our military. Naturally, most of our resources are spent trying to attract strong cultivators and helping develop our own. Do you know how rankings work for the army?"

Wilfred had a small idea given how power seemed to be the number one indicator of worth in this world. A good soldier however would not always mean a good commander. With n.o.bility in play as well, there would likely be favoritism in choosing generals based on their lineage.

"Well...not exactly, but I a.s.sume that n.o.bles likely get some extra ranks due to being close to the royal family?"

"That's one part of the problem. For fear of commoners rising up and upsetting the status quo, the n.o.bles have managed to influence the King to limit the ranks a commoner may rise up to, no matter their talent. However this exception was waived for cultivators and not even the n.o.bles would dare speak out against them. Due to many mages opting to pursue other paths than being in the army, we have a bad reputation in general. It doesn't help that some mages are more involved in research and not quite good at combat."

Tybias took a deep breath and continued.

"But you are an exception. A talent like no one has seen in centuries. I think the best chance that the King would lift this restriction was if we had an exceptional mage come along and shake everything to it's foundation, make them all see that mages are a force to be reckoned with. Please don't think badly on the King, he's still quite young and has received bad advice but he's got a good heart. "

Wilfred reflected on everything that was said. It didn't quite surprise him that things were this way but he was a bit curious about why mages had such a bad reputation. They seemed like they would be really useful to a Kingdom even if just to support the cultivators not even taking in consideration all the useful things they can do for the economy. It was possible someone planted seeds of distrusts towards mages to weaken the Kingdom.

"So you've mentioned, 'we' mages. I take it you're also one? Also I'm curious as to your position within the mage Corps."

"Naturally. I wouldn't be able to be part of the mage Corps if I wasn't. I hold the t.i.tle of Warlord which ranks second in the Mage Corps. There are 8 who hold this t.i.tle and we oversee Brigadiers. I would like to ask a favor of you. You will likely get many requests from Captains to join their squads but I'd like if you could join my younger brother's squad."

"Oh, and why is that? Someone actually came to ask me some time ago. Captain Alfonse If I recall correctly."

Not able to hold it in, Tybias burst out laughing. Perplexed, Wilfred sat awkwardly wondering why this was the case, he drank a bit of tea waiting for the baron to finish his laughing fit.

"Haaaa..I'm sorry. Alfonse is my brother, it just seemed such a coincidence hahaha."

Wilfred smiled, indeed what a coincidence.

"Alright, so let me get this right. You want me to join your brother's squad, rise through the ranks and make the King change the way the mage Corps is ran. Why?"

Tybias stood up and faced the window overlooking his garden with his arms behind his back.

"Most of the n.o.ble believe we are superior to the commoners. We do indeed have more wealth, are more educated and cultured but...is it truly the case? Can the commoners not help to make this Kingdom greater? Take for example Ansellus, very strong mage but a commoner. If he was a n.o.ble, he would undoubtedly be a Warlord like myself but he is being held back at the rank of Justicar. Meanwhile, much inferior mages but n.o.ble have risen through the ranks and sit higher than him, giving him orders. Is it not surprising that we lose many mages to the adventurer's guild or foreign nations then? I'll admit that i stand to gain by you joining my brother's squad. It will look good on the family name if he should benefit from your success as well. I will however, support you as best I can. It must not be easy for you having no support from your family."

The last phrase was particularly insulting for Wilfred. In this world as well as on earth, his parents had not been able to support him in his endeavors because of what little they had. They had shown him plenty of love and care though and that what was really mattered. The baron was right however that it was harder for him than for example Lucy or the other rich mages at school. While the academy restricted the use of bought items, there was nothing stopping them when they became adults to get that much stronger.

The baron was a patriot which Wilfred could relate to. He wanted the best for his Kingdom and was even in favor of supporting commoners unlike most of the other n.o.bles. What really made Wilfred like him was how honest and matter of fact he was, it was refres.h.i.+ng. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense for him to join the mage corps. His mind made up, he addressed the baron.

"Very well, it seems like a good idea and I will join your brother's squad but on one condition."

Tybias looked at him with a very serious look, bracing for the potentially unreasonable demand WIlfred would make.

"Name it."

"I want my academy friends to also be joining the squad, Lucius and Lucy. We work well together."

The baron visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping.

"That's all? Easily done."

"Thank you. I do have some more questions however, in regards to the mage corps. The general structure of the army, are we currently in conflict with any other nation, how many mages are part of the army, how advancing ranks works. The more you can tell me, the better."

Information was the most crucial thing one can have and one can never have enough of it. Wars were won or lost depending based on information being available and on time.

The baron sat back down and drank more tea, his mind thinking on the questions Wilfred asked of him.

"There are a total of 6 ranks in the mage corps. The Lord General is the one giving the orders, he reports directly to the King and in times of war works together with the Lord General of the army as well. Then there are the Warlords such as I who receive the orders from the Lord General and pa.s.s them onwards to the Brigadiers. We also take part in the battles, fighting with the strongest cultivators. The Brigadiers are about 20 and quite strong on their own, they supervise the Justicars. The Justicars are the highest a commoner can rise up to, their numbers are around 35 to 40, it varies somewhat. "

Tybias resumed his explanation after taking a small breath.

"Most promotions are based on power, one must be a strong mage in order to advance. It is hard to compare cultivators and mages, since their fighting styles vastly differ but in order to rise to Justicar, a mage must be able to defeat single handedly a level 20 cultivator. No one has been able to defeat one without being able to use Journeyman level spells however. If I had to guess, there are probably close to 700 soldiers that are at that level in the regular army. Now, under the Justicars are the Captains who lead the squad mages. There are 47 Captains as last I heard and under their direct control are 4 mages and 6 soldiers. These soldiers are selected from the regular army to come learn how to fight with mages. These aren't the best te army has to offer however, they keep those for themselves but they are capable and would be equivalent to a level 10 cultivator. Under the Captains are the squad mages which is where we all start. The number of mages vary, especially when it comes to the academy graduates advancing into the 4 years of mandatory service but there are roughly 300 to 400 mages at that rank at all times."

"We are not currently involved in any conflict but relations with the Elves are somewhat strained as of late. We've had a bad harvest and had to renege on our contracts with them to supply food to them."

Taking all of it in, Wilfred crossed his arms and thought a bit.

I don't think they're employing the mages efficiently. It seems all the 'honor' is reserved for the cultivators who fight on the front lines and we're delegated to defensive duties. Not that it's a bad thing but there's a lot mages could do support wise to help our own cultivators overcome the enemy's.

"Thanks, it gives me a good idea of what to expect. It's getting late, I should be going. Thanks again for taking the time to receive me and give me this information. I'll be seeing you in 3 years then?"

"Indeed. Thank you again for agreeing to help. Let me get the driver to accompany you home, I've heard a terrible rumor about a strong person roaming the streets late at night and attacking young boys."

The baron then winked at him.

Chills ran down Wilfred's spine. s.h.i.+t, he knows? How...No matter I suppose, he seems like he needs my help but I'll have to watch out, he's likely got eyes on me and I don't want to get blackmailed.

Wilfred was escorted outside where it had started to rain and boarded the carriage. Tybias waved him goodbye and Wilfred replied the gesture but was now wary of the seemingly nice baron.

When the carriage was out of sight, Tybias entered the estate and closed the doors, collapsing into his chair shortly after.

"Was a terrifying young man. That look he gave me when I made that comment...I was sure he'd try to strike me down. I would think he would have been more pleased that I had taken care of his little problem and made sure it wouldn't come out that it was him who was the culprit."

A figure clad in black entered the room and knelt before the baron.

"What did you find out Cavlil?"

"I went into the store after he exited it and found a new item for sale at Galerion's shop. Like nothing ever seen before. I can confirm it was indeed an artifact level item."

"Hmmm, it seems rumors about his unique skill are indeed true. Keep an eye on him but make sure nothing happens to him. Also try to prevent the d.u.c.h.ess from making contact and finding out about him, we don't want to be dealing with that right now."

Cavlil saluted and left the room, leaving Tybias alone who inclined his head back and rubbed his temple with his left hand. He had a premonition that he would be getting many headaches soon.