Chapter 259 – Organization

“Legendary, legendary—the path of legend is so arduous. Even with the legacy of Netheril, progress ultimately depends on oneself!”

Gazing at the hazy sunlight, Punk silently lamented in his heart.

He lacked the strength to establish his own organization, so joining a caster organization had become imperative.

Gently releasing the bamboo rat in his hand, he incinerated the rodent to ashes with a burst of flames. Watching the fire slowly burn out in his palm, Punk fell into deep contemplation.

Joining an organization was no trivial matter—unlike the jest-like minor group such as the “Nightwalker Alliance,” this meant aligning with a massive legendary organization. Every aspect demanded serious consideration.

The first to come to mind, and the first to be dismissed, was the Mage Guild. This organization’s public stance was the “Lawful Good” alignment. Regardless of its true nature, merely for the sake of its reputation, it would never accept a “Neutral Chaotic” mage.

Thus… Punk shook his head and mentally crossed out the “Mage Guild” with a bold mark.

“Although this organization is the best choice for mages—fair and rarely embroiled in conflicts—they simply don’t want me!”

What could he do? He felt utterly helpless—such was Punk’s inner voice.

With the good-aligned organizations ruled out, Punk next turned his thoughts to the evil-aligned ones.

When it came to evil-aligned caster organizations, the first thing any mage would likely recall was a group of sinister casters clad in red robes, their bodies adorned with magical tattoos—yes, the Zhentarim, also known as the “Red Robe Mages Guild”!

This was an utterly evil-aligned mage organization, dedicated to recruiting and nurturing malevolent casters. Any mage of evil or chaotic alignment would be welcomed by them. As a top-tier legendary organization backed by over a dozen Legendary Experts, its influence and power rivaled that of the “Mage Guild.” While their resources might be exorbitantly priced, they were undoubtedly abundant and diverse.

Yet Punk still excluded the “Zhentarim.” The reason was simple: the frequency of conflicts was overwhelming.

Punk did not fear conflict. As a Neutral Chaotic caster with a penchant for adventure, he even looked forward to struggles with lower risks and higher rewards.

However, as the saying goes, “too much is as bad as too little.” The Zhentarim’s conflicts were excessively frequent. From the few Luminary Moon Casters who presided over the Zhentarim from their lofty positions, down to the newly recruited “apprentices” who had yet to become professionals, everyone was either engaged in conflict or preparing for it.

Schemes, overt and covert struggles, alliances, and betrayals unfolded incessantly within this organization. Yet, everyone firmly believed that such extreme internal strife could cultivate “true mages.”

Therefore, Punk could not accept the Zhentarim. Perhaps a life of perpetual conflict indeed forged powerful casters, but in Punk’s view, the corresponding risks far outweighed the benefits.”Sigh, both the good and evil alignments are a bit too extreme. While they’re quite expansionist—one operating in the sunlight, the other in the shadows, occupying vast resources—ultimately… they still don’t suit me!”

Punk tossed away a handful of ashes and continued heading toward the nearest city revealed by the divination spell.

“It seems only neutral-aligned organizations are suitable for me.”

In the end, Punk fixed his gaze on those legendary neutral organizations. Though these groups struck Punk as somewhat “too complacent and lacking ambition,” as a non-legendary caster, he clearly didn’t have much room for choice.

Since he was going to join a neutral organization, he couldn’t pick those fraudulent groups that flew the banner of neutrality while acting completely un-neutral. For instance, the “Masked Mage Guild”—which loved meddling in national conflicts under the guise of justice—was unacceptable.

Similarly, he had to steer clear of traps like the “Council of Sages,” which maintained dubious relationships with various deities.

After pondering all morning, Punk finally settled on an organization whose influence wasn’t massive among legendary groups and whose reputation wasn’t particularly prominent—Thought of Truth!

Based on the evaluation preserved in the memories left by his cheap parents, this organization was a “very orthodox mage organization.” While this assessment inevitably carried some subjective bias, judging solely from the organization’s introduction, Punk found it quite reliable.

Thought of Truth was an organization that only recruited mages. It adhered to the creed of “single-mindedly pursuing truth,” preserved the ancient “apprenticeship system” in its traditions, incorporated extensive cutting-edge classroom instruction, and added a degree of peer exchange to enhance knowledge circulation.

Thought of Truth was jointly established by two Legendary Morningstar Tier casters and three ordinary Legendary casters. Though its history couldn’t compare to organizations like the “Mage Guild,” it had weathered over ten thousand years of trials. During this time, Thought of Truth had maintained a relatively low profile, recruiting apprentices voluntarily without resorting to kidnapping people like the Zhentarim.

What concerned Punk most was that Thought of Truth offered considerable freedom to its formal members—almost to the point of being lax. While one couldn’t come and go as they pleased, there were no contracts binding members to decades of service like indentured servitude, nor would anyone obstruct their departure.

Moreover, tasks in Thought of Truth were accepted voluntarily. Unless in a state of war, formal members faced virtually no mandatory assignments. Even Master-Level casters—pillars in any organization—were treated with respect and offered generous benefits. Apart from the somewhat troublesome “obligation” that “formal members must mentor apprentices,” every other aspect aligned perfectly with Punk’s criteria.

“Mentoring apprentices is such a waste of time, but without joining an organization, exchanging resources would be impossible. Whatever—Thought of Truth probably won’t force mentors to expend too much energy on apprentices anyway. I’ll choose this one!”

Punk finally nodded silently, confirming his decision.Joining an organization inevitably requires taking on certain obligations—this is a rule common to any organization. Moreover, almost no organization would sell precious resources to “outsiders” who are not collaborators, so Punk had no other choice!

He still lacked the qualifications to become an “ally” of a legendary organization. Thus, if he wanted to exchange for the resources of the “Thought of Truth,” joining the “Thought of Truth” was his only option.

He had to admit it was already a fairly good choice—he truly couldn’t ask for more.

(End of Chapter)