Chapter 524

Just as Adam and Naeem left the World of Mages to search for the most mystical Void Dragons that were born and bred in the Underworld, the Academy Continent of the World of Mages changed.

Three hundred years was nothing to mages, but in the world of ordinary people, it was several generations of historical changes.

The Parliament decided to establish the Continent of Mages and promote universal education. Adam's decision to implement the Academy system of the Foundation Academy, the Intermediate Academy, and the High Academy was a good one, and he had indeed achieved great results.

In the past three hundred years, the production and promotion rate of apprentices had reached the highest point since the World of Mages' revolution, and this data was constantly being refreshed. Due to the systematic teaching method and the increasingly perfect basic teaching materials, the quality of the apprentices had also improved from the uneven teaching methods of the Tower. The standard of elites had been raised again and again, and the apprentices who were originally qualified to participate in the War Trials would at most be called excellent now.

Due to the improvement of the quality of the apprentices, the number of apprentices had greatly increased. Therefore, even if the Academy system increased the cost of the Tower of Freedom's recruitment, it did not cause much of a backlash after several adjustments.

After all, everyone had their own ambitions. Even if the education process was based on the ideology of the Holy Tower, with such a large base, it was inevitable that there would be many who did not buy into the Holy Tower's teachings.

In this regard, both sides decided to let nature take its course, especially after Naeem joined the Holy Tower faction after his promotion. After the cataclysm had obtained a large amount of information from the Third Era, the Freedom faction had kept a low profile.

These were related to the grand strategy, issues that the mages were all concerned about. However, outside of the mages' vision, the lower levels that they did not pay attention to were surging undercurrents.

The ordinary graduates of the Foundation Academy had received the education of advanced ideas and knowledge, which was very different from their original ignorance. They had the ability and knowledge, but no power. In the Intermediate Academy, the apprentices who did not have the talent to become mages could only graduate in disappointment. They did not have the qualifications to enter the higher levels, and apart from working in the industries established by some advanced mages to earn resources, they could only look for their own interests. As for the old nobles, after experiencing the initial harsh blows, they found that the mages no longer paid attention to them. After silently licking their wounds for a hundred years, they relied on their deep foundation to develop their own forces rapidly.

These three types of people represented the increasingly prosperous and vast Academy Continent, as well as the three voices at the bottom of the Mage World.

The normal graduates weren't willing to let the nobles' descendants and apprentice representatives sit in the upper echelons as greedy blood-suckers. They believed that they had the ability and the means, and that they were the best representatives of the Academy and the continent. The benefits of the commoners should be higher on the continent, even to the point of having the absolute right to speak. The mage apprentices who were unable to advance felt that the commoners were ignorant and that they should replace the mages in managing the commoners. No matter if it was commoners or nobles, they should completely obey their rule. The old nobles wanted to regain their past glory and restore the system of kingdoms and duchies, so that they could occupy the highest ruling position below the mages.

After the representatives of the three parties had requested the Academy City many times without receiving a clear answer, their relationship became increasingly tense and stiff. Bloody conflicts would occasionally occur, but regardless of whether it was the true ruler of the Academy Continent, the Academy City, or the various academies that were equivalent to political, educational, and cultural centers, none of them had any opinion on this.

Even if the status of the commoners was increasing, there was still an insurmountable gap between them and the mages. The long-lived species would never become friends with the short-lived species. This was a very realistic problem. Everything that the short-lived species cared about was nothing more than a flash in the eyes of the long-lived species. It was nothing more than ants fighting for food.

Everything that the commoners fought for was worthless in their eyes. Not to mention, the fight might have already ended by the time they lowered their heads to look at the ants.

Furthermore, the mages had always avoided directly ruling the commoners. If they did, with the mages' concept of time and long-term vision, if they decided to start another reform among the commoners, this reform might be beneficial in the long run, but it would harm the interests of the majority at the moment. Furthermore, the mages couldn't directly increase the lifespan of the commoners, so the commoners wouldn't be able to understand.

Therefore, as long as it didn't affect their teaching, the mages would let the commoners do whatever they wanted.

Because this attitude that seemed ambiguous to the commoners was actually indifferent, under the guidance of some people with ulterior motives, the first full-scale war between the commoners was about to break out.

— — —

Nicholas the Fifth was an undergraduate student of the Academy of Golden Palms. He had the physique of a peak grand knight and the magic power of an ordinary mage apprentice. The reason why he didn't graduate was because even with the help of his personal chip and the full support of the former Kingdom of Nicholas, there was no possibility for him to become a mage.

After several futile attempts to break through, he decisively left the academy and returned to his family to inherit the family property.

To the outside world, he claimed to be the head of the Nicholas family. However, all the old nobles and the lower class of the mage world already knew that he was the new king, the king of the Kingdom of Nicholas. He had even secretly contacted many of the ancient royal families and nobles who had survived the 'Calamity of the Mages' three hundred years ago, preparing to unite and establish an empire. He himself was a strong contender for the throne.

The identity of such a person was very important among the commoners.

On the 85th of October, Year 874 of the Academy's New Calendar, Nicholas the Fifth left the City of Golden Palms with his wife and the family's knights, heading to Pigeon City fifty thousand kilometers away to meet another great noble, Spencer VII, who had secretly ascended to the throne.

The journey wasn't very long, and with the current technology of the Academy, they could reach it in a day. However, Nicholas the Fifth and the kingdom's think tank felt that this was a good opportunity to show off their might and test the true attitude of the mages. Thus, they gave up on the fastest method of transportation and switched to the most primitive method of riding, heading towards Pigeon City with great fanfare.

However, what they didn't know was that they had long since been targeted.

Colin, an ordinary graduate from the City of Golden Palms, had decided to assassinate Nicholas the Fifth.

It didn't matter if there was any enmity between them. Colin had accumulated a considerable amount of wealth during his studies in the Foundation Academy and traded for some powerful magic tools. At the most crucial moment, a mysterious person had found him and gifted him with some terrifyingly powerful and extremely vicious magic tools. The person had also formulated a detailed plan for him, clearing away all obstacles.

Although Colin instinctively felt that something was wrong, the arrow had already been nocked and had to be fired. The mysterious person had threatened and bribed him, cutting off all his escape routes and promising to elect him as the leader of the group if he succeeded.

Thus, Colin decided to take the risk.