"Yeah. My father told me about this. Apparently, there is a lot of corruption and fraudulent activity happening within the Bluestone Sect, and that is the very thing that is holding them back from expanding much further."
"And the root of the issue, according to him, leads to the dispute between the current Sect Masters of the Bluestone Sect; Arch Mage Bluefire, but everyone calls him Archmage Blue, and Arch Mage Stone, who are coincidentally the founders of the Sect."
"Their names…" Kai asked as he sat down on the chair opposite the bed, where Fred has seated himself unreservedly.
"Do not question it. Once one reaches the Arch Mage Rank or Rank 4, they are given a nickname by everyone based on their elements and the way they fight. Arch-Mage Bluefire uses Blue flames in combat, while Arch-Mage Stone uses stone pellets in combat, thus their names."
"Anyways, the two have been sworn brothers for over two hundred years, since their time as disciples under the same master, until the two of them became Arch Magi. The only issue was that Arch Mage Bluefire reached Rank 4 just half a year before Arch Mage Stone did, and considering that Arch Mage Stone was the elder disciple, this did not sit too well with him"
"This only escalated once the two of them founded the Bluestone Sect, with Blue coming before the Stone since he had reached Rank 4 before. With time, Arch Mage Stone has grown increasingly dissatisfied with Arch Mage Blue and thus has been supporting such corruption within the sect, and unfortunately, no one can stop him, other than the one person who would never lay a finger on his own sworn brother."
"… So, everything is the result of a certain someone's over-inflated ego…" Kai summarised, leaving Fred choking on his next words.
"…I guess you could say that…"
"Alright then. I guess I will need to find a backer for myself as well. How do I do that?"
"I have already told you, get a mentor. They will have had their own mentor, and they would have their own, the hierarchy will most likely either lead to Arch Mage Blue or Arch Mage Stone. So, you should be safe that way."
"What about you?"
"I will also be trying to get a mentor. I just need to complete my calculations."
"I will need to return to the Spell Hall" Kai mumbled as he realised something. In order to get a mentor, not only did he need to be able to complete his calculations, he also needed to do it in his most powerful element, the Medium Grade Affinity he had with Blood.
However, he had not 'copied' its spell the last time he went in, so to everyone he only had the Spacial Blade Spell. Therefore, he would have to go to the Spell Hall and copy the spell, before making the calculations for this spell, despite the system already having done this.
'I should have just taken any one of the blood spells and copied it in the beginning…' Kai reflected.
"Why the Spell Hall. Don't you have the spell you copied?"
"Yeah, but it is of the space type. I need a spell of a different type since my affinity to it is higher."
"Oh… but you will not be able to enter. It takes almost 80 mana crystals to enter it for 2 hours, with that being the minimum you have to pay, plus you will have to give some to whichever 'gang' has occupied its entrance. Even if we pool our crystals together, you will not be able to enter."
"…Then is there a way for us to earn mana crystals?"
"Well, if we were part of any other hall, we should get crystals as a fixed salary, however, at the Battle Hall things are different. You have to complete missions in order to get rewards for the missions. These rewards can vary greatly, however, most of the missions for students who have not learnt any spells are just scouting missions. In fact, these missions cannot even be called that, since everywhere you might possibly be sent to is already under the complete control of the Sect."
"Essentially, such missions are just excuses to give us Mana Crystals"
"Well, why not just give it?"
"They want you to work for it."
"…"
"…"
"That's all?"
"Yeah. Of course, you could try getting a mentor, who should be able to supply you with a constant stream of Mana crystals."
"Again, with the mentor… Let me tell you this. I won't be able to get a mentor of enough calibre if I go with the Space spell I currently have. So, I guess I will be taking the mission."
"Are you sure about this? Although it should not be dangerous…"
"Stop! Do not raise any flags. I shall leave now. Oh yeah, where do I have to go to get missions?"
"Sigh… the main reception where we had all entered the Battle Hall from is where all the missions are. Go there, and make sure you inform them that you are a first-year student who does not have any spells. They will know what to do."
"Thanks, Fred," Kai said as he patted Fred and left the room.
"He left me alone in his room… Just how naive can you be?" Fred sighed as he got off the bed, which creaked in relief, and left the room, locking the door behind him.