Chapter 655
Candleburg Lister
Chapter 655 Candleburg Lister
Gao De listened to these discussions, his expression remaining calm, while the information about the Glorious Art Museum flashed through his mind.
In other counties, the guardian mages of the magic schools are mostly elite combat mages selected from the county's military magic organization.
However, Glorious County is different. As the royal county of the Golden Flower Dynasty, the headquarters of the dynasty's three major military mage organizations, namely the Vanguard of Justice, the Sentinels of Light, and the Silver Dragon Cavalry, were all established here.
These three organizations are all among the dynasty's top military forces.
In this context, Glorious County does not need to form an additional lower-level military mages organization to carry out the mission.
However, because the selection criteria of the three organizations are extremely strict, few of their members are under the age of twenty-two.
Even if they did, they would never serve as the guardian mage of the academy.
Therefore, the guardian mages of the Glorious Magic Academy mainly come from two sources: one is young noble mages from the county, and the other is top students selected from the Royal Academy of Magic across the street.
Clearly, the upcoming guardian monk belongs to the latter category.
Meanwhile, the audience was growing larger and larger, with at least two-thirds of them being students from the Royal Academy of Magic, all there for Karen.
Although the academy has no shortage of practical training, this level of young mage combat is extremely entertaining, topical, and educational, naturally attracting many students and senior mages to come and observe.
Gao De didn't have to wait long; soon he heard steady footsteps coming from the end of the passage.
Gao De looked up and saw two people walking towards him, one in front of the other.
The man in front of me was around fifty years old, with a thin face, some gray hair at his temples, but deep and bright eyes.
"This is Lord Derian, the steward mage of the academy," Ian introduced in a low voice.
Derian walked up to Gao De, nodded slightly, and said in a calm tone: "I am Derian, the deacon of the Glorious Arts Academy, in charge of coordinating the academy's security."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a convincing power.
"Thank you for your trouble, Deacon Derian. And thank you for exempting me from the first two challenges," Gao De said gratefully.
"Don't mention it, with your record, you deserve it."
Derian smiled slightly and continued, "This is Karen, the guardian mage of the third level of this building."
The man behind Derian then stepped forward.
He looked very young, with his hair neatly combed and a strand of hair falling across his forehead, which accentuated his angular features and gave him an air of fortitude.
What is most striking is his right hand, which holds a simple-looking longsword.
The sword was forged from pale blue magic steel, gleaming with a faint cold light, and a small golden bird was carved on the hilt.
Karen walked up to Gao De, calmly sizing him up with a gaze that showed neither contempt nor awe, but rather a respectful attitude toward her opponent: "Master Gao De, I have long admired your name. I am Karen, the guardian of the academy."
His voice was deep and clear, “Your record is outstanding. Being able to defeat ten martial arts schools in a row is enough to prove your strength.”
"Mage Karen, you flatter me," Gao De nodded in response.
Karen shook her head slightly, her tone still calm and without any ripples: "It's not an overstatement, but the truth. The fact that you've come this far and are standing opposite me shows that you're a gem, with amazing talent and perseverance, as well as a fighting wisdom far beyond that of ordinary people."
"But," Karen paused, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes like a drawn sword, before continuing, "the glorious city is magnificent."
Gao De remained remarkably calm in the face of Karen's words and direct gaze.
He looked directly at Karen, his eyes showing no sign of backing down, and said in a calm and unhurried tone: "The brilliance of gold is never dimmed by the brilliance of its surroundings."
Upon hearing Gao De's words, Karen's eyes sharpened even more. There was no sarcasm in her eyes; instead, she nodded slightly, clearly approving of Gao De's response: "Then let me see if your brilliance can still shine within the magic-suppressing ring."
He gripped the longsword tightly, the golden sparrow pattern on the blade shining even brighter, and although his magical power was restrained, it began to circulate rapidly within him.
Seeing the two exchanging barbs, Derian interjected, "Now that you're both ready, let's go through the check-up process first. Once we confirm that you're compliant with age and have no prohibited equipment, let's begin the French fighting."
Two inspectors dressed in gray robes stepped forward and examined God and Karen respectively.
After confirming that the two were not carrying any prohibited items such as oversized equipment or scrolls of mass destruction spells, they were handed two specially made guard badges.
The two put on their guard badges, exchanged a glance, and then leaped into the air, flying like two streaks of light towards the Anti-Magic Ring Arena.
As soon as they entered the magic-suppressing ring, a suppressive force instantly came over them, causing their magical power to stagnate slightly.
This is the pressure brought by the anti-magic stone. Even without any specific targeting, a field built with it as the core material can instinctively restrain the caster due to its natural magical inertia.
This restraint, treating everyone equally regardless of faction or strength, has become the home-field advantage for the Glorious Arts Academy mages.
Karen was already used to this.
He grew up in the City of Glory, where the training grounds of the Royal Academy of Magic were paved with a thin layer of anti-magic stones.
Years of honing his skills have made his spell system perfectly suited to the anti-magic environment, making him definitely more adaptable to this place than Gaode.
In the heart of the Royal Academy of Magic, a building of a distinct style stands quietly.
It is called Candle Castle.
This is the most renowned temple of knowledge on the entire continent of Nora. It is the largest library of the Golden Flower Dynasty, and even the largest library in the entire Mage Plane.
Candleburg is not a castle in the traditional sense, but a nine-story cylindrical stone tower.
The outer walls are made of milky white cloud-patterned stone, and the top is golden, like the flame on a candle, hence the name Candle Castle.
Candle Castle belongs to the Lister family, the royal family of the Plantagenet dynasty, but it does not stand in the royal palace. Instead, it is located in the Plantagenet Royal Academy of Magic.
This is a wonderful thing.
This seemingly insignificant incident reveals a glimpse into the Liszt family's philosophy of inheritance and fine traditions.
"Knowledge should not be monopolized by royalty, but should coexist with its inheritors."
The royal family of this ancient dynasty were not power-hungry dictators, but rather held an almost obsessive reverence for the inheritance of magic.
As the largest repository of knowledge on the continent of Nolan, Candlehold's collection of books far surpasses that of any other academy or institution, covering countless fields such as history, magic, prophecy, supernatural tales, and dimensional knowledge.
The lower level of the collection mainly contains popular classics, while the value of the classics increases exponentially as you move up the level.
The upper three levels contain lost ancient spell recipes, a dragon language dictionary, and a map of dimensional rifts.
The fourth floor contains manuscripts from past great mages and tactical notes on fighting against leyline creatures;
As for the top floor, it was a forbidden place for the entire dynasty.
The books in Candlecastle have been subjected to multiple anti-corrosion spells to resist the erosion of time, isolate them from moisture, and protect them from bookworms and magical creatures.
Furthermore, Candlehold's defensive system is virtually impregnable, possessing multiple powerful magical barriers, including fireproof and teleportation-proof ones. Since it's located within the Royal Academy of Sorcerers, it's naturally open to the academy's students and instructors.
Of course, in the mage realm where knowledge is extremely precious, access is also tiered, and entering each level requires corresponding permissions.
Most students can only access the first-floor public library area of Candlecastle to consult basic spell theory and the general history of the dynasty.
Senior students and mentors can use their access badges to enter the second and third tiers to access spellbooks and rare spell summaries.
The top floor of Candlecastle is off-limits to anyone except direct descendants of the Lister family.
Even the Wang Mian family, whom Liszt trusted most, could not enter.
This is not because the Lister family distrusts its allies, but because a special guardian resides on the top floor of Candlecastle: the Shadow of Elminster, the soul of the ancient silver dragon.
Silver dragons are the kindest and most knowledge-loving race among the dragon races.
They are naturally obsessed with collecting ancient books and legends, and often live in seclusion in civilized places in human form, guarding important knowledge inheritance.
This ancient silver dragon was once the guardian of knowledge in the northern part of the Nora continent, and was known for his erudition and eloquence.
After it died of old age, its soul should have returned to the Dragon Plane, but due to its obsession with knowledge, it remained on the Nolan Continent.
King List I led his people on a migration, discovered the Forbidden Stone Forest, and established the Plantagenet Dynasty.
He planned to build a temple of knowledge that could last for ten thousand years. When choosing a site, he unexpectedly discovered the remnants of the Silver Dragon ghost and ultimately decided to build Candle Castle there.
The ghost was extremely weak at that time, only able to maintain a vague form, and could dissipate at any moment.
Just as Candlecastle was nearing completion, a vicious dragon launched a surprise attack on Glorious City.
As the dragon's flames were about to engulf the dome of Candlecastle, the remaining silver dragon ghosts were awakened by the shared mission of "protecting knowledge."
With its remaining spiritual power, it temporarily blocked the dragon's attack, buying time for Lister I to mobilize his troops.
To repay this kindness and to find an eternal guardian for Candleburg, King Lister I consulted countless documents and finally found the ritual method for binding souls in a contract.
He sacrificed an extremely precious artifact: the Tears of the Astral Plane, using his own bloodline as a catalyst to forge an equal pact with the Shadow of Elminster.
The Silver Dragon Ghost must permanently guard the top floor of Candlecastle, preventing any unauthorized individuals from entering and protecting the library from destruction.
The Lister family must provide the Silver Dragon ghost with soul nourishment for generations to delay its dissipation;
Once the contract takes effect, the bloodline of the Lister family becomes the key to the contract. Only when a direct descendant approaches the top-level entrance will the ghost reveal a friendly form and allow entry.
This is why the top floor of Candlecastle is only open to Lister's direct descendants: those who are not of the bloodline will only trigger the Silver Dragon Ghost's defensive instincts and be attacked by it.
However, the Liszt family had a very strange tradition: as the royal family of an ancient and powerful dynasty, they always adhered to the tradition of monogamy.
This means that the number of direct descendants of the Lister family has never exceeded ten, and in this generation there are only two.
That is, the reigning King List XII and his only son.
The scarcity of bloodlines, coupled with the absolute seclusion of the top floor, makes the ninth floor of Candle Castle the most mysterious place on the Nolan Continent.
Countless rumors circulate about the books stored there.
Some say it contains ancient dragon magic, others say it holds the secret to breaking the magic-suppressing stone.
The most widely circulated claim is that it preserves a prophecy left by Leomon, the mage who came closest to the ninth ring in the history of the mage plane.
These rumors are difficult to verify.
The entrance to the ninth floor of Candle Castle.
The two wooden doors have remained quietly closed for years, and the dragon runes on the door panels shimmer with an almost solidified silver light.
There were no guards here, yet it was more solemn than any forbidden area of the dynasty.
The soul aura of the Shadow of Elminster permeated every inch of the air like a fine spider web.
It is both an unbreakable guardian and an invisible barrier that isolates it from external disturbances.
Suddenly, the dragon language runes lit up abruptly, moving swiftly along the ancient path, emitting a deep and solemn hum.
The wooden door slowly opened inwards, and then a tall, slender figure slowly walked out.
“Your Highness Du Wei.” A steady voice rang out.
A middle-aged monk slowly emerged from the shadows to the left of the entrance.
His name is Thranduil, and he is the other party's personal guardian mage. His strength is unfathomable, and he is an elder who watched Duve grow up.
Wearing a dark gray robe with magical patterns, Thranduil looked at the slightly pale-faced boy who came out and said softly, "You've been inside for a full three months this time. Although this is not your limit, studying dragon language magic is extremely taxing on your soul activity, which is not good for your body."
The young man, who possessed the most prestigious surname in the dynasty, remained silent for a moment, his long eyelashes drooping slightly, concealing the weariness in his eyes.
Thranduil was one of the few people he could trust, but he had become accustomed to keeping all his thoughts to himself and not confiding in anyone.
In front of outsiders, he always maintains a calm and composed demeanor, like an iceberg, making it impossible for people to discern his likes, dislikes, emotions, or thoughts.
This was not intentional, but rather a form of self-protection as a royal heir, and also a responsibility.
So, in the end, Du Wei simply uttered three words, his voice calm yet carrying a convincing composure: "Understood."
Thranduil sighed softly. He knew Duvie all too well; the subtext of those three words was, "I know, but I won't change."
He didn't say anything more, only saying, "Your favorite beef soup is ready for you."
"Thank you." Du Wei nodded slightly, his tone polite and calm, without the airs of a royal heir, only showing respect for his elders.
Thranduil watched the composed young man pick up the beef soup from the table, and felt a surge of joy.
As the heir to the Plantagenet dynasty, Du Wei possesses a terrifying background, talent, and power that surpasses all his peers, yet he seems to have no desires whatsoever.
He never revealed what he wanted until he returned from the last Glorious Eight Projects and suddenly developed a liking for beef soup made with beef jerky.
Although he didn't know why His Highness liked this kind of food, which wasn't particularly luxurious, this was the first time Thranduil had seen Duvi show such "youthful" preferences, and he was naturally quite happy.
As the guardian mage of the boy, he watched Du Wei grow up from childhood to adulthood, and instinctively felt a sense of closeness and heartache for this virtuous and self-disciplined boy.
He simply kept this feeling deep in his heart.
He knew that being "too close" to the heir to the throne was not only disrespectful, but could also bring unnecessary trouble to Du Wei.
The bowl of not-so-delicious beef soup was quickly emptied. Du Wei put down his spoon, wiped his mouth with a clean silk handkerchief, and got up to walk to the window.
From here, you can overlook the entire Royal Academy of Wizardry and even see the magnificent plaza in the distance.
Du Wei stood by the railing, his gaze sweeping across the academy square below. He suddenly frowned slightly: "The academy seems unusually lively today. Many students and instructors are heading out. Is there some special event?"
(End of this chapter)