Every large government-approved organization was required to have at least one or two opulent, monumental architectural wonders as their headquarters. For example, the Warriors’ Association had the Hall of Fame and Valiance; the Alchemist’s Association had the Titan’s Core; the Doors of Conundrum had its prized Illimitable Library, and the Church’s headquarter was the Temple of Auguries. However, the Sorcerer’s Association’s Babel Tower and Cloud City were, without question, the most beautiful and majestic of them all.
It takes approximately three thousand years to build architecture as spectacular as the Babel Tower and Cloud City. In both structures, construction and upgrading works were still being carried out consistently, till this very day; both structures were the products of the pride and brilliance of many over the years. Both the Babel Tower in front of them and the Cloud City located at the peak were perfect examples of ‘exceeding the constraint of physics by using magic’. Not only were both structures the pride and joy of wizards, but they are also seen by some as a divine embodiment of architecture.
To Baiyi, a self-proclaimed sorcerer, pride never filled his heart whenever he set his eyes on the Babel Tower. This was probably the reason why he was summoned to the Sorcerer’s Association. Anyone else would have been overwhelmed with awe and respect when they stood in front of this divine architecture; even a catfight would be instantly resolved in a reserved manner.
Speaking of which, the only glaring flaw that this monumental marvel had was the quote on the Sorcerer Association’s emblem, which had been written through runes and formations. Baiyi felt awkward whenever the sentence was uttered; it made him feel unbearably embarrassed.
“How does it feel to have something you said years ago framed and hung up nicely on the wall?” Baiyi could not help but interview the Voidwalker responsible.
“Why thank you!” the Archmage replied sourly. “At least they’re more respectful than a brat like you; hmph.”
As the first-ever Demigod-ranked sorcerer in history, the Archmage made a profound impact in history, even though the usage of ancient Rohserlian magic was now almost never seen. Of course, these present-day sorcerers would still revere the very quote uttered by the Sage-Emperor of the Magi — who was the most esteemed sorcerer of all time — in their emblem.
Unfortunately, there were not many present-day sorcerers left who were willing to invest their time in studying the profoundly difficult ancient Rohserlian magic.
Finding the plight of his Master slightly relatable, Baiyi and his students followed Fat Joe into the Babel Tower. They boarded a hover-disc, whose fan was powered by magic, and flew up to the higher levels of the Tower. Along the way, they encountered many other hover-discs traveling up and down through the structure, and they caught sight of busy sorcerers in different levels of the tower. These levels were illuminated by light emanating from the many security enchantments that had been placed in them. The scenery could make anyone feel as though they were in a sci-fi movie.
“The lower levels here are primarily in charge of the daily domestic affairs of the zone and the trade market, so they almost always look lively and vibrant. The middle levels are assigned to magical workshops and practice academies, so it is slightly quieter. The higher levels are for important individuals,” Fat Joe explained as the hover-disc gained more altitude. He was the dedicated tour guide of the day, proudly introducing everything in sight to his guests.
When the hover-disk arrived at its destination, the group could see white clouds outside the windows on the wall.
“We’re already so high up?” Mia asked with slight disbelief.
“The interior of this tower has been engraved with a unique spatial rune, constructing a simple spatial shaft through it. The hover-disc underneath our feet just went through this shaft. It is the same as going through a special portal. All these, however, are very finely detailed; you wouldn’t have felt much of it if you didn’t pay close attention. You would even think that we’re gaining attitude in a normal manner,” Baiyi caressed her little head while he gave a simple description of the Tower’s internal structure.
The entire Babel tower was designed elaborately. If one looked at the tower from a broader perspective, it was like a huge, elaborately-designed enchantment; every single detail and line of the tower had its own unique function.
Fat Joe, who had been interrupted by Baiyi earlier, gave a hearty laugh. “I was about to give this adorable girl here a little explanation; I didn’t think that you, Sir Hope, would have such a deep understanding of this place. Alright, let’s get moving; the Vice President awaits.”
He led them into an elaborately-decorated study. A man who seemed to be in his thirties was already seated in there, welcoming them in with a gentle smile. The energy vibrations emanating from his body made Baiyi quiver slightly. Holy Level!
“Welcome to the Babel Tower,” the man greeted in a jolly manner. “My name is Grant. What a serendipitous meeting this is, Sir Hope.”
“Ah, a serendipitous meeting indeed, Master Grant,” Baiyi replied politely. This young vice president was the first person Baiyi had met, since he descended, who emitted this amount of power; he could not even tell the Vice President’s real age.
“Please be seated, everybody,” Grant hailed for everybody’s attention. With a snap of his fingers, a tea-set and a variety of pastry flew out from the closet in the corner — as if they had wings of their own — and immediately, the teapot started to fill up the cups with hot tea. These were all plain magic.
“Interesting,” commented Baiyi with an impressed nod. It was the first time he had witnessed magic like this. It was not too complicated, but it was certainly designed with the intention to impress; its success clearly evident from the girls’ cheer of excitement.
“Just a little something I invented for fun; it’s called ‘Magic Maid’,” Grant mused in a jovial manner.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to snatch that copyright from you,” Baiyi replied half-seriously.
“You are quite amusing, Sir Hope,” the Vice President mused ambiguously, being vague on whether he had spoken in jest or with sarcasm. Grant lowered his gaze and grabbed a document on his desk. “Well, now, on to business. The organization has sent me here to deal with this matter because I voted for this ban to be passed; you wouldn’t blame me, would you?”
“I am only hoping for a happy ending for both sides,” Baiyi replied diplomatically.
“We have already started investigating this matter. The copyright for this guiding spell was actually made by a manager and some of the Association’s R&D staffs. According to them, they were invited by an earl named Harold – but after a failed negotiation on the price, their partnership came to an end, and this magic was patented by the sorcerers, instead.” The Vice President flipped through the pages of the document, examining its contents. “However, they did not say that there was a similar formation already existing on the market. From the looks of it, this seemed like a blunder in the system, resulting in this misunderstanding.”
“To you, it might be just a simple misunderstanding, but it didn’t seem that way to me, at all. According to Harold’s statement, your people only started the imitation process after discerning the effects of my formation,” said Baiyi. He slid a piece of parchment, which had been folded into a paper airplane, across the table.
The Vice President scrutinized the parchment before him, his eyebrows crinkling slightly. “The ban mentioned in here… really… I do have quite the knowledge in formations, but I admit that I can’t get anything out of this. It seems like if the guard is forcefully destroyed, the formation on the parchment would be destroyed as well… hmm. From the traces of magic left over, it does seem that it has been present on this parchment for quite some time already,” Grant said as he finally raised his head, putting down the piece of parchment. “We could accept your application, and in the meantime, we should call for a public hearing session to publicly discuss this matter. However, the hearing would require the approval of the higher-ups, which can only be sought during the next joint conference; you’ll need to be patient.”
“Please be assured that this will not take long. You, Sir Hope, are an idol adored by the masses, thanks to the Church; you are a hero who has been rewarded handsomely by the king himself. This matter, we will settle it in the quickest time possible. I will bring this up at the next meeting.”
“Well, regarding the patent ban that was issued, then…” Baiyi started.
“Due to the ongoing legal battle between opposing parties, this ban would be put on hold until further notice,” the Vice President explained courteously.
Baiyi was temporarily satisfied with this method of management. In his eyes, it was a satisfactory conclusion that could be considered a smooth success. Aside from the time when Baiyi had caused a little ruckus, the process had gone smoother than he expected. Both the resolution and the efficiency in reaching said resolution was top-notch enough to showcase the Association’s sincerity in being cooperative. Baiyi had been prepared to raise hell if he did not get his way, but that was no longer required.
Since there was nothing left to discuss, Baiyi no longer had any reason to disturb the Vice President any further. As he prepared to leave — while nursing the thought of taking his students for a short tour around the city before returning home — the Vice President interrupted his thoughts with another question.
“I heard that you applied for a Power Level Examination in Aspen City, Sir Hope?”
“That’s true. Branch Leader Joe did help me quite a bit, that is why the application was approved so soon; or else, my application would not be delivered here to you, as according to the rules,” replied Baiyi.
“You must be Joking, Sir Hope… your powers exceed those of a Master’s; even I cannot gauge the level of your true power, so how in the world could we not approve your application? However, since you’re already here, do you want to undergo the next phase of the Power Level Examination? Perhaps I could help make arrangements for a session for you and your students,” the Vice President offered kindly.
According to the rules of the Sorcerer’s Association, any Power Level Examination for Master ranks and above could only be conducted in the Babel Tower itself. This examination would be longer and more troublesome. There was also quite a number of sorcerers waiting to be tested, and amongst them, there was no shortage of low-leveled amateurs who applied for the examination just for the heck of it.
This did not mean that no one was interested in the hierarchical acknowledgment earned from the examinations; after all, an official certificate from the sorcerer’s association was quite useful, seeing as they worked just like the professional certificates on Earth. Hence, the Vice President’s offer was not completely unappealing.
Coincidentally, Baiyi never paid much attention to such power rankings. If it was not for business purposes, he would not even bother getting acknowledged and certified. Hence, Baiyi thanked the Vice President for his kind intentions and declined, informing the Vice President that he would take his students to tour around the city, instead.
“Ah, well, this is quite a pity…” the Vice President’s voice revealed the slightest hint of disappointment.
It was clear that he was extremely interested in witnessing Baiyi’s true potential given the opportunity…