"A flourishing magical empire, if not interfered with by external forces, has an exceedingly low chance of falling."
Garon pondered silently.
The ancient Imascar Empire perished due to the intervention of deities, and Naseriel, in its predetermined historical path, was no different.
"Among the floating cities of Naseriel, the Church of the Magic Goddess is the most prevalent, right?" Garon suddenly remarked.
Iolium nodded, "Yes, a small portion of the arcane mages worship this goddess, and even those who do not believe still hold great respect for her."
The contributions of the Magic Goddess were not lost on the arcane mages.
Despite their arrogance, they held considerable respect for this deity, including Iolium.
Garon nodded slightly, continuing, "From what I know, the most likely cause of Naseriel's destruction is an enemy of the Magic Goddess. The Felrin Mokui are merely tools; without them, there might still be Felrin Trees or Felrin Bears, so do not rush to hunt down the Felrin Mokui."
Iolium was slightly taken aback, "An enemy of the Magic Goddess?"
Garon nodded, "I'm not sure who it is exactly, but think about it, what kind of being could be an enemy of such a powerful deity?"
Naturally, only another powerful deity could oppose a powerful deity.
Iolium was silent, his expression profoundly solemn.
Deities could not exert their full strength in the material world, but underestimating them would be both arrogant and ignorant.
"This is the worst-case scenario," Iolium said with a bitter smile.
The ancient Imascar Empire had been destroyed by the wrath of a sanctified deity, and Iolium, having lived through that era, did not worship deities, but he was aware of their unimaginably incredible powers.
In the unnoticed corner of the small tavern, the king of arcane mages looked troubled and seemed at a loss for a moment.
However, after a few deep breaths, Iolium calmed himself.
"Even if it is a powerful deity, I will not sit idly by as it destroys my Naseriel."
"Since the worst outcome is already conceivable, anything I do now can't make things any worse."
Garon nodded, "Good, I appreciate your resolve."
Iolium looked at Garon and asked, "You have a clearer understanding of the future trajectory. What should we do next?"
Garon smiled, "We observe and wait for Naseriel's enemies to reveal themselves while preparing to confront them."
Knowing it was the Felrin Mokui, the arcane mages of Naseriel would at least not be caught off guard when faced with their attacks.
Iolium nodded, "I will gather information on the Felrin Mokui and find ways to counter them."
If the Felrin Mokui were eradicated prematurely, the unknown deity manipulating them might find new ways to target arcane mages. Therefore, it was better to wait for the known threat of the Felrin Mokui to emerge.
Garon continued, "Also, you need to discreetly search for a person named Kelsas."
"In the future, I saw this arcane mage who will become a grand arcane mage, a crucial figure."
Garon knew that Kelsas developed the Ascension Technique because the Naseriel Empire was faltering, and he took on the task of saving the nation, leading to the creation of this taboo spell.
Whether or not it could ultimately escape a fate of destruction, this magical empire would certainly have to undergo a significant trial.
If Naseriel did not fall, it would rise anew from the ashes.
"Kelsas. I understand," Iolium noted the name.
Meanwhile, several thousand miles away, something was happening.
A cynical and disillusioned arcane mage, sympathetic towards Naseriel's enemies like orcs and goblins, believed that the people of Naseriel should not continue the brutal killings from a thousand years ago.
Those were things of the past.
The current Naseriel should be more tolerant, embodying the spirit of an empire by forgiving past enemies.
His repeated criticisms of the Naseriel Empire had led to his identification as a hater of his own country, resulting in his expulsion from his floating city.
Now, this arcane mage wandered the barren wilderness, occasionally looking up with disdain and hatred at the floating cities.
"Good riddance to this decaying floating city," he huffed heavily as he resumed his journey.
Having just been expelled from the floating city, he had no destination in mind and aimlessly wandered the wilderness.
Time gradually passed.
As he crossed a slightly sunken patch of land, the ground suddenly shook violently.
Under the wary gaze of the arcane mage, a hideous creature emerged from the ground.
This being resembled a twisted mass of flesh in the shape of a cone, with four short, malformed limbs and a gaping mouth filled with spiral, sharp teeth—utterly terrifying.
This creature was clearly up to no good.
The mage readied his spells.
A cluster of lightning chains burst from his hands, striking the monster like a silver serpent.
What happened next shocked the mage.
The creature's body glowed with elemental light, and then it swallowed the entire chain of lightning.
It remained unharmed, its aura even seemed to strengthen somewhat.
"Great, why am I so unlucky?" the mage thought, feeling a chill as he realized he had encountered a powerful monster.
Accustomed to the safety of the floating city and not skilled in combat, he tried several more spells, all ineffective, and his heart filled with despair, longing for his days in the floating city.
However, as he awaited the creature's killing blow, the mage noticed that it seemed to have no intention of harming him.
A buzzing sound of invisible mental force entered the mage's mind.
Then, a voice in a common language he knew echoed in his head.
"Hello, spellcaster."
"I mean you no harm," the creature said.
The mage was momentarily stunned, looking at the hideous but calmly gazing creature.
"What are you? What do you want by stopping me?" he asked, stepping back but speaking boldly.
"People once called our kind the Felrin Mokui," the creature replied.
It paused, then continued, "Our race has lived deep underground for tens of thousands of years, peacefully."
"But recently," the voice of the Felrin Mokui grew angry, "the misuse of magic on the surface has led to the death of many of our young."
"I want to know, what force is misusing magical power!"
"If you know, please tell me the details."
The Felrin Mokui was a peculiar race.
They possessed a powerful spell in adulthood called Magic Absorption, particularly effective against spellcasters, but the Mokui juveniles could not withstand the erosion of magical energy and needed to live in a place with calm elemental energy.
The misuse of magic. The mage looked up at the small black dot between the flowing clouds—a floating city.
He immediately understood that the force misusing magic mentioned by the Felrin Mokui was the Naseriel Empire that had expelled him.
Holding a grudge against the Naseriel Empire, the mage told the Felrin Mokui, "I happen to know."
He shared gleefully all he knew about Naseriel, giving the creature in front of
him every detail.
Listening to the mage's words, the Felrin Mokui was taken aback.
It hadn't expected that the first human it encountered after leaving the underground would know so much about its enemies and be so eager to help.
"I, on behalf of the Felrin Mokui, thank you," the creature told the mage.
It opened its mouth and produced a staff glowing with dazzling elemental light and a brown crystal, saying, "This staff is a token of my appreciation."
"Moreover, there is an abandoned fortress hidden underground to the northwest. You can rebuild it to shelter from the evil Naseriel arcane mages."
After giving the coordinates to the mage, it pointed to the crystal, "If you have more information about the Naseriel Empire in the future, you can contact us through this crystal."
"In exchange, our race will provide you with adequate compensation."
"Magical equipment, spells, or assistance from us."
The mage joyfully accepted the staff and crystal, "I'm glad to have met you, and I believe we will be in touch in the future."
Following this, the Felrin Mokui, armed with information about the Naseriel Empire, returned to the depths of the earth, plotting revenge against the arcane empire.
Time quietly passed.
Years quickly flew by.
The mage left the lands of Ferun and found the fortress stronghold.
He gathered some beings who also resented the Naseriel Empire, including but not limited to humans, elves, goblins, and orcs, to join his fortress. With the help provided by the Felrin Mokui, he slowly grew stronger.
During this period, Garon and Iolium did not appear.
The Felrin Mokui also did not reemerge.
The Naseriel Empire remained calm, but it was like the calm before a storm.
To the other arcane mages, the king of arcane mages seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, leaving the City of Beginnings and not appearing in any other arcane cities.
Many arcane mages speculated that Iolium had left Ferun for another plane.
In reality, he had altered his appearance and, along with Garon, traveled the lands of Ferun, discussing future strategies and continuing their exploration of spells and temporal magic.
With Iolium's help, Garon rapidly absorbed a millennium's worth of spell knowledge.
One by one, he mastered spells of the tenth ring and above, which became part of his capabilities.
This uneventful time continued for several more years.
Until, suddenly, the ground of a region within Naseriel's territory violently shook.
Deep fissures appeared, and countless hideous creatures crawled out, swarming toward the lands beneath various floating cities.
For the arcane mages, this event was not particularly alarming.
Compared to the spells and experiments of some grand arcane mages, the disturbances caused by the Felrin Mokui breaking through the earth were minor and naturally did not provoke the arcane mages' vigilance.
Subsequently, groups of Felrin Mokui began to use their Magic Absorption en masse.
These ancient and powerful creatures' spell-like ability not only absorbed magical energy but also the life force of all things. The elemental energy around the floating cities significantly decreased, and the land below slowly became barren. Flowers, trees, and rivers dried up, wildlife perished, and the land turned to desert.
This had a certain impact on the arcane mages living high above.
City lords noticed a weakening in the energy supply from the magic net cores. Initially, they didn't take it seriously, simply controlling their floating cities to drift to other locations.
However, it quickly became apparent that the desertified land seemed to follow the movement of the floating cities.
As time passed, the effects on the magic net cores worsened significantly.
The arcane mages finally realized the severity of the situation.
Many left the floating cities to investigate on the ground.
Then they were ambushed by the Felrin Mokui.
Possessing Magic Absorption, the Felrin Mokui could be considered the bane of spellcasters. Fortunately, because Iolium had introduced the Felrin Mokui at a conference, the arcane mages knew how to face them when attacked.
The Felrin Mokui's first direct assault did not cause significant casualties.
However, it served as a wake-up call for the Naseriel Empire.
A species with Magic Absorption posed a massive threat to floating cities and could not be allowed to exist.
Thus, the war between the arcane mages and the Felrin Mokui erupted.
At this time, an elegantly shaped white cat stepped through a window into a clean, orderly room filled with magical artifacts.
"Kitty!"
In the room was a child just over two years old.
The toddler looked at the white cat with curious large eyes and toddled over, intending to pick it up.
However, the agile white cat jumped onto a wardrobe, watching the young child from above with an odd look.
"Young Kelsas."
This white cat was none other than Garon, who had transformed to avoid drawing attention.
It had been over a decade since Iolium had received news about Kelsas.
By then, Iolium was already working behind the scenes, quietly observing the developments between Naseriel and the Felrin Mokui, waiting for a crucial moment to act. Thus, upon learning of Kelsas's location, Garon went to the floating city where the future grand arcane mage resided to observe him and place a temporal mark on him.
"Kitty, let me pet you."
Young Kelsas looked up at the white cat.
He then raised his chubby little hands, making a gentle pulling gesture toward Garon.
The cat remained unmoved.
"Eh?"
Young Kelsas blinked his large eyes in confusion, looking down at his hand.
Then he continued to wave at Garon, but Garon just quietly watched him, unmoved.
Internally, Garon was filled with astonishment.
Each time young Kelsas waved, the surrounding elemental energy automatically gathered, forming a transparent Mage Hand that gently reached for Garon, only to be dispersed before it could touch him.
"Cantrip."
Garon watched young Kelsas, swishing his tail lightly, exhaling softly.
At just over two years old, Kelsas had already learned to cast spells!
Such talent was indeed astonishing, even terrifying.
Considering humans as a species, without sufficient accumulation of knowledge, it is difficult to cast spells. The proficiency of this two-year-old human child mage's hand could make many established arcane mages blush with shame.
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