A man with cloud-like white hair strides down an extravagant corridor, the corridor exudes a presence of wealth, a white colour with a clear and maintained purity, without even a hint of dirt or uncleanliness. Golden highlights were fashioned along the edges where the wall and ceiling met. A large spread of intricately placed paintings and other decorations followed.
The man's clothes matched the flashy environment. His clothing was suitable for someone of his status, but also lacking, perhaps even ill-suited for the boy. It seemed restricting, forced almost. But nethertheless, he wore it.
A golden crest in the shape of a leviathan, the water dragon was positioned at his chest. It appeared to stand out the most but was still equal in magnificence to the rest of his attire.
His expression however, was hardly fit for someone of such fashion.
Without even an attempt to hide his anger, the man follows the corridor until stopping in front of a man with the same crest set on his handkerchief, which was hanging from his blazer.
"Welcome back from your meeting, Lord Riverwood" The supposed servant greets the nobleman first. Seeming contrary to proper etiquette, yet it didn't bother Lord Riverwood.
"'Meeting' my ass, they don't bother to invite me to any of their meetings, this was just the king and the other nobles throwing around orders at me" Lord Riverwood scoffed, clearly dissatisfied with the meeting's result.
This man was Regal Riverwood, the man known throughout the kingdom as the strongest mage, the Archmage.
His presence can be underwhelming, he holds a noble aura and dresses appropriately, however he stands at 150cm tall, being stuck bending his neck at every interaction. Though no one would dare 'look down' on this man for this, since he held the strongest power within the kingdom.
His personality was just as much a problem as his power, he didn't care much about respecting authority and purposefully avoided royal council meetings.
That's right, the very man who complained about not being invited, was the same person responsible for it. He only attended this time since he was formally invited by the king. While he didn't respect authority, he would rather not deal with the complications of rejecting the king, even if it was within his power.
"Shall I prepare a carriage for your departure, Lord Riverwood?" The servant had already prepared a carriage, however he made sure to maintain formality.
"Ugh, please stop with the 'Lord'. I care nothing for such a title, especially when it's you who is speaking Pamel.
Regardless, this time I need to stay here. I need you to prepare approximately 100 mages, if you can't gather that much I can make up for the slack.
More importantly, make sure they're mages with good control, and at the 3rd circle or above at least." Regal spoke casually, as if breaking character, his noble image was nowhere to be seen, the only truly noble thing about this man was his clothes.
The servant on the other hand was surprised, he was used to the personality of his master, however Regal always made sure to leave as soon as possible.
Regal didn't enjoy the extravagance of the royal castle, he enjoyed nature far more.
However there was no way the king would hold a meeting with other nobility in the royal garden, the closest to nature in the capital, so Regal simply had to deal with it.
Pamel regained his composure and responded, "It will be done Lor-"
Regal quickly cut in. "Nope".
"…", Pamel paused shortly, he knew what his master wanted, but this was the royal castle.
"…Regal", He said his Lord's name with hesitation.
"That's more like it, I've told you previously not to worry about stuff like this, who cares if it's the royal castle or not, no one here would dare talk down to one under me.", Regal stated with all confidence, he knew this was the absolute truth.
Pamel knew it too, his master had so much power that even the king would need to think carefully about angering him. Making an enemy of the most powerful mage was a mistake, even as royalty.
Pamel couldn't help but sigh before continuing with what he was going to say, "It will be done… Regal. When do you need these mages and where shall I station them?" He gave into the demand and called his master by his name.
With a satisfied look on his face, Regal answers.
"I'm going to need to trouble you slightly with this task, I want these mages stationed in the underground ceremony chamber by tomorrow… let's say at noon.
Ah, and I don't care about mage formal attire, just make sure they're there and ready. I need their minds relaxed so you can lie a bit if you wish."
Pamels expression shifted to concern. '100 mages by tomorrow…' he thought that this was a rather ridiculous request, but his master was like this. His mind was already processing what he needed to do to complete this task.
Mages would readily attend the royal castle while leaving all their tasks at hand behind, especially when the lowest rank required was the 3rd circle.
The first three circles have vague boundaries in strength, so the focus during these stages is control over mana. The 3rd circle represents a mage who has enough mana and control to manipulate their magic circles with near ease. This initial training allows a steady increase in control for each circle beyond, which has an explosive increase in power for each circle respectively.
Pamel decided it would be possible for him, but he must begin immediately.
"Then I shall be on my way, there are currently 20 royal court mages in the royal castle that are at least 6th circle mages, if this task is from the king then can I assume these mages are available?" Pamel questioned before making his departure.
Regal chuckled.
"Even if it wasn't an order from the king you could use them. Make use of my name if it is required."
Accepting this confirmation, a magic circle with 6 layers appeared above Pamel's head and a bright light began surrounding him.
Regal wasn't shocked in the slightest, he simply watched as his subordinate disappeared almost as suddenly as the circle appeared.
A smile appeared on his face as he continued his walk. He enjoyed his subordinate's competence.
As he walked through the door at the end of the corridor, a butler appeared. "Lord Riverwood, a room has been prepared for you".
Regal's mood quickly soured after being reminded he had to stay here. Pamel was fun to talk to, especially since the two had a history together. Regal considers him as no less than a friend, even if he is formally his subordinate.
"That's alright, I'll be spending my time here in the garden…
I'll find my room when daylight leaves us." Regal decided to change his location, it would help him focus on the book he was currently holding under his arm that he had received earlier from the king.
"If that is what you wish". The servant bowed before making way for Regal.
Regal knew there was no point being annoyed at a butler, but he still walked off sharply without any further interaction.
Even Regal himself knew that he was a pain in the ass, but he had no intention of fixing his attitude. No one could make him fix his attitude either, unless perhaps his mother.
***
Hours passed while Regal remained seated in the royal garden, reading his book with utmost concentration.
If anything interested this man, it was magic. And if it wasn't obvious enough, the task for the Archmage from the king, was strongly linked to magic.
"How old is this book..? It's obviously ancient with how big this spell is. They love this shit." Regal spoke aloud without a care for where he was.
Eventually, he was approached by a woman wearing a robe. She was a mage, and one who was acquainted with the Archmage no less.
"Well if it isn't Regal Riverwood, I never imagined you'd stay here long enough for me to find you." The woman had short black hair and grey eyes, she stood tall above Regal who was sitting on the edge of the fountain. The fountain itself was more than 30 metres tall and was the signature ornament of the garden, Regal enjoyed its shade on a sunny day such as this.
"I had no intention of staying either… Rosel Tempest." He said her name spitefully.
"When you have a stupid king you end up needing to do stupid stuff for him. This book he gave me is ridiculous.
The ancients loved their massive spells, but this spell is nothing but a disgrace. It's like the kingdom is admitting weakness by using this."
"Only the Archmage himself would insult the king.
Are you sure you should go and insult the entire kingdom though?" Rosel inquires.
"It's the same thing anyway. Besides, I'm not wrong" Regal retorted.
"Maybe so… but the kingdom is in a desperate state because of the demon king" Rosel narrowed her eyes and spoke in a more serious tone.
Regal cared nothing for her tone and just replied with a confident statement of his power.
"Desperate? The kingdom has me, they have no reason to be desperate. I can handle a demon king or two".
Rosel's face twitched showing clear annoyance.
"This is why we never got along in the academy… I can tell you were serious with that statement.
Defeating the demon king might be something you could do, but our armies, even when allied with other kingdoms, are still no match for all the demons. Honestly… Are you sure your arrogance isn't leaking out too much?
Is it because of your height? Guess it's just impossible to contain anything in something the size of a rabbit." Rosel threw a jab into her sentence hoping to annoy Regal.
"…what?". Clearly she had succeeded as she fully broke his focus on the book.
Regal's height was a sensitive topic. His body resembled a teenage boy in more than just his height, his short white hair and vibrant green eyes shined alongside his clear skin, and his features radiated youth… despite being 54 years old.
Rosel was not the same age, Regal simply attended the academy 10 years ago to experience academy life and broaden his knowledge through other pupils. Rosel happened to be one of those pupils, a genius of her generation.
Regal may be 54, but his mental maturity perfectly matched his stature. He was essentially stuck as a teenager, and this may be more accurate than it seems.
Regal stared at Rosel with a glare that could kill, though if he wanted to, something like that could really happen.
Rosel wasn't exactly that tall herself, but she was still taller compared to Regal. It made him even angrier knowing that someone who wasn't considered tall, was still taller than him.
Realising as he stood up that he would need to tolerate looking up at this woman, he quickly picked up his book and stormed off.
Recalling the point of the conversation, Regal spoke without looking back at Rosel. "This spell won't change our situation in the slightest".
Rosel simply watched the noble Archmage storm off rather underwhelmingly.
"Of course not… they're not meant to defeat the demon king anyway". She mumbled before returning to her original path.
***
The next day in the underground ceremony chamber of the royal castle, a total of 80 mages stood in a line.
Footsteps could be heard, echoes followed until the one responsible finally reached the bottom.
Regal Riverwood looked at the line of mages in front of him.
"…aren't we slightly short?" He said while looking at Pamel who stood beside the entrance he had just walked through.
Pamel wanted to say 'No, that's just you'. The kind of joke he would slide when in a more appropriate place, however since it wasn't that kind of place, he refrained.
"I apologize my Lord… I mean Regal.
These were all the mages within the capital who were considered above their peers. Fifteen of them are 6th circle court mages, the nobility within the castle insisted that at least 5 should remain stationed around the castle.
I am willing to make up for anything we lack if possible." Pamel said with his head lowered.
Regal's expression didn't change. "This should be enough, as court mages I'm sure they will make up for the missing numbers.
I will include you in those numbers as well since I need to be extra sure"
Pamel nodded before fully raising his head.
Regal took a deep breath, he was about to start a relatively difficult magic that required many mages. With his breath, he announces "Prepare for the hero summoning ceremony!".