Chapter 277: Unexpected Risks.

Fortunately, the previous experience with the Grimoire served as a safety net, so George remained relatively calm when facing the rare sight before him: “Well! Although asking this question might be a bit rude, I just can’t hold back my curiosity. What exactly is your tradition? Is it a school of thought, an academy, a magical guild, or a secret society? The ability to grant magical minds to items at the Gray Rock stage is truly amazing.”

Magic was full of uncertainty, but this did not stop pioneers from proposing different theories and systems. The most successful concept was the school of magic proposed by Mages.

The so-called schools of magic could not explain how magic actually worked, nor did they provide any laws for spells. They were simply labels and categories created by scholars after long-term observation of magic.

Mages proposed eight schools of magic: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation. Each school described similar effects achieved by spells constructed in similar ways. Those who understood the schools of magic gained a way to perceive magic, allowing them to structure their minds to correctly guide Arcane energy.

The classification of schools of magic and related techniques was so effective that all kinds of Spellcasters accepted this system to deepen their understanding of magic and to study new spells in depth.

Besides the original eight schools, other types of schools gradually emerged. Besides the Elemental schools researched by Sorcerers who joined the Mages, the Western Continent had the most derivative schools of the original eight.

For example, the Banishment school and the Crafting school under Abjuration; the Creation school and the Teleportation school under Conjuration; the Seeker school and the Far-sight school under Divination; the Controller school and the Manipulator school under Enchantment; the Fusion school and the Continuation school under Evocation; the Phantom school and the Shadow school under Illusion; the Undead school and the Life school under Necromancy; the Transformation school and the Enhancement school under Transmutation.

It can be said that the schools of magic had a huge influence on all Spellcasters on the entire Continent. They were like a large net covering the Western Continent. Although they were hard to notice in daily life, they were everywhere. Although it was not difficult to join them, obtaining the true secret teachings was not that easy.

The Magic Academy was a unique feature of the Mage Kingdom, the Silver Federation. In the big cities there, academies taught magic publicly instead of keeping it as a secret. However, like all general conventions, they were not open to outsiders.

These academies were formal institutions, just like Oxford and Cambridge in the world before crossing over. Which school you joined would greatly affect what you learned, how you learned it, and what your future life would be like.

Mages would follow this or that great pioneer, forming different factions. Competition between factions was very fierce.

In one place, a Senate called the “Circle of Mages” ruled the nation. Its members were the most powerful and ambitious Mages. Each member ruled a city.

Theoretically, the Circle of Mages managed all aspects from military and politics to the economy. In reality, each city retained a certain degree of independence, so internal conflicts and political struggles between them were quite frequent. Only when truly facing a crisis would the Circle of Mages play its true role.

All these Circle members were also the heads of various academies, so this parliament was also called the Academy Federation. It was said that there was a time when it evolved into an academic discussion conference because things were too smooth and peaceful.

Of course, the power of almost every academy was extraordinary. Even the cities under their rule were at least on the level of independent cities. Of course, there were definitely many exclusive techniques within them.

As for the Mage Guilds, they were far inferior to the former two. This kind of group had neither the heritage of schools nor the political advantages of academies. Moreover, regional restrictions made their influence range quite limited. But this did not stop them from having some good things.

The final secret society was a strange organization. Its members hid their activities from the general public. Members might be required to keep their identities secret, refuse requests from members of other organizations, and swear to keep the society’s secrets.

In fact, most secret societies were mutual aid groups for losers gathering together to lick each other’s wounds, because successful people usually established Mage Guilds or other legal organizations on the surface. However, even failures sometimes had their own inherent value.

Of course, where the other party’s technology came from was his personal privacy before officially signing a loyalty Contract. So George asking now was a bit too early. Moreover, even after signing the contract, although one could learn the source, one still could not easily ask about the principles of the knowledge inside.

Knowledge was the greatest wealth of Mages. Although people in this world had not reached the conclusion that private property was inviolable, Spellcasters were still respected—or rather, the practice of equivalent exchange was more popular.

“In fact, I don’t know the source of this technology myself, because my master died in a suspicious experimental accident before telling me about this knowledge.” Jinluoke’s expression on his face was still quite relaxed. It was unknown whether he was pretending or if he was indeed emotionally detached from his previous master.

“Anyway, this is a very valuable technology. If you don’t mind, there is a Bronze Rank Mage Retainer among the Val Knights in our Territory. Perhaps you could use this to exchange for knowledge useful for your future development from him.” George’s words were not just a proposal; they were also an temptation that most low and mid-level Mages could not refuse.

Among the vast sea of Magic Items, Magic Items with their own intelligence might be the most wonderful category. These true “Artifacts” had gone beyond the category of simple tools and were more like living allies to their holders.

Through cognitive abilities granted by magical power, these items could think and feel just like any ordinary intelligent life form. Usually, they possessed some very magical abilities or could unleash extraordinary power when executing special tasks.

Only permanent Magic Items, that is, non-consumable or rechargeable items, could possibly be intelligent items. So all potions, Scrolls, and Magic Wands in this list had to be excluded, as they would never be intelligent items. Generally speaking, about 1 out of 100 Magic Items might be an intelligent item.

Because they possessed mental attributes like Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, intelligent items should be viewed as creatures—usually constructs. In most cases, intelligent items could freely emit magical auras similar to magical weapons, though the magical aura of some might be invisible.

Unlike most Magic Items, intelligent items could freely activate their own special abilities, rather than needing to respond to the user’s commands to work. This allowed them to fill in gaps for their holders, acting as both spell items and an alternative helpful assistant.

All intelligent items had a base visual and auditory range of 30 feet. Their emotional influence ability also used the same communication range. Through the emotional influence ability, an intelligent item could express support or opposition to its holder’s actions. Moreover, by paying an extra cost, an intelligent item could gain unique sensory abilities.

An intelligent item could try to encourage or dissuade its user from taking specific actions. This ability could not be expressed in words, but it could speak aloud in any language it knew. It could also read text written in any language, without being limited by known languages, making it a great translator for its master.

Moreover, the telepathy ability allowed the intelligent item and its holder to communicate privately via telepathy without worrying about language issues. However, when communicating via telepathy, the holder must be touching the item.

However, the senses of an intelligent item were only enough to allow it to see and hear events within the allowed range. If the intelligent item possessed Darkvision or blind sense, its sensory range remained unchanged. It could always read magical writing and Scrolls as if reading a magical spell effect, though it could not use this ability to activate Scrolls and other Magic Items. Although they could suppress this ability as a free action, in most cases there was no need for this.

Jinluoke said helplessly: “It cannot be said to be a very good technology! Because, just like Familiars, everyone can only have one. Once it is away from me for too long or loses the magical connection, it will turn back into an ordinary item. It can be said that mass production is completely impossible, so it is only attractive to us low-level Magus Warriors who have no money to buy magical weapons! Just like the Moon-Eye Mages I saw in The South; their unique spellcasting without material technology was the greatest gospel for many low-level Mages! But true high-level Mages would never use spell slots for such things.”

“But true high-level Mages are indeed a minority, right? In the huge group of low-level casters, there is still a good prospect, isn’t it? This might be the opportunity for you to enter the Black Lead Rank! You know, you have already given up the spellcasting bonus you deserved as an Arcane researcher. If you don’t find some other paths for yourself, do you really not hope to climb a better ladder in the Arcane?” George was now like a cunning merchant, constantly tempting Jinluoke with words.

In George’s view, this was a good choice. Because once the Contract was signed, Jinluoke would be a combat power in the Territory. If he could improve, it would be a good thing for both him and the people.

“Although high-level Mages are a minority, the number of Magus Warriors is also not large! For academic Mages, this ability is basically useless. Even the Twilight Blade prefers to use Familiars. The only benefit is that the formed intelligence is basically highly consistent with the user, so there will be no conflict between the two. And there is no threat of the user being controlled by their own spell item.” Speaking of this, Jinluoke probably did not know how twisted his expression was. The pursuit of Arcane was deeply imprinted on the Soul of most Mages.

George was immediately startled: “What do you mean the user gets controlled by the item?”

Jinluoke slapped his head and said: “You are not a Mage, so it is understandable that you don’t know about this matter. Moreover, the number of intelligent Magic Items is too small, so the chance of accidents is not high. Besides us who deal with them often, even ordinary Mages do not understand this!”

‘Damn it, I never saw such a statement in the books of the Bokabu Church before!’ George’s heart rate instantly increased. He hurriedly asked: “What is going on exactly?”

For this future employer, in matters that did not involve his own interests, Jinluoke was certainly willing to tell everything he knew.

When an intelligent item gains self-awareness, it soon develops a strong will of its own. Intelligent items usually have a strong alignment tendency. If the holder’s behavior violates its alignment or directly goes against the item’s purpose, the item’s self-awareness will cause a personality conflict with the user—manifesting as the intelligent item resisting its holder.

When a personality conflict occurs, the user of the intelligent item must make a Willpower check. If the user wins, they temporarily gain control of the intelligent item. If they fail, the item will turn around and control them.

However, usually, as long as the intelligent item and its master do not have conflicting alignments and the relationship remains basically harmonious, it will not generally resist the holder. If an intelligent item cannot control its holder, it might try to find a new owner with a weaker will and attempt to control them. If this new owner has a higher level, that would be even better.

Generally speaking, an intelligent item whose self-worth reaches a certain critical value will always consider itself superior to others. As long as the holder’s opinion differs slightly from its own, it will show a personality conflict.

Moreover, if the user’s alignment conflicts with the item’s alignment, their power will be weakened by magical energy while holding the item. Although this will not cause permanent loss to their level, as long as they continue to hold the item, this weakening will persist.

And it cannot be restored by any means, including Restoration spells. This weakening effect will stack with the resistance penalty caused by the intelligent item being held by an unsuitable person.

‘I never thought intelligent Magic Items would be so dangerous! Speaking of which, what will happen to the Grimoire I am about to complete? Will it also have such defects? If so, I might have to reconsider its usage now. Whether to give it a mind or not is a matter worth considering! Somehow, I keep thinking of Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man!’ With such questions, George continued to ask: “So, if it is an intelligent spell item made by oneself, will the risk of such a situation be lower?”

Jinluoke frowned and thought for a very long time until the lunch bell rang outside before explaining to George: “The risk of self-made spell items is indeed lower, but it will not disappear completely. I have never seen a Secret Art like this. Don’t look at my Enlightened Blade; it has no such danger. But as for the principle behind it, the original records neither recorded nor explained it. So it can only work on specific items and has no value for promotion. My Lord, do you have friends carrying such items? If so, you must pay close attention. If you are not careful, something really bad might happen.”

“You just said ‘if not careful’? That means if you are careful, there is a way to avoid it?” George immediately understood the meaning in his words.

The other party nodded and said: “That’s right! If you pay more attention to the item’s own words in daily life, many tragedies can be avoided…”

Generally speaking, items granted intelligence and personality by magic usually have an extreme desire for expression, especially during combat. In battle, an intelligent item will often actively seek out its kind for one-on-one duels, even if their alignments are the same. An intelligent item usually will not tolerate its holder using another intelligent item at the same time. Intelligent items can freely sense another intelligent item within 60 feet. If possible, they will try their best to induce their master to destroy the other one. Of course, this habit might be limited by the item’s own alignment.

Moreover, as long as an item has its own will and personality, it will not always willingly be held or remain silent, even if its power is not enough to fight against the holder. These intelligent items might not ask too much of their masters, but as soon as they get a chance, they will loudly propagate their creeds and wishes.

“So, as long as you pay attention to listen to the wishes of the item in your hand, rather than just treating it as a tool that cannot think. Communicate and talk with them more, and occasionally satisfy their small requests. In most cases, nothing bad will happen.” After a long speech, Jinluoke finally explained a more feasible part.

Noticing that George’s face was somewhat gloomy and bright, Jinluoke spoke up to remind him: “If you really feel that the proposal of that intelligent item is too excessive, it means the gap in your Righteous Camp is too large. In such a situation, it is better to give up on such intelligent Magic Items early! Because under such circumstances, the more powerful it is, the more dangerous it is for the user.”

“Thank you very much for your information! Then I will not disturb your rest today. I hope you can persuade the remaining team members as soon as possible and achieve what you desire in your heart.” After expressing his gratitude, George left the ward amidst the aroma of the oatmeal porridge.