Chapter 272 – Thoughts of Truth

Gray Rain Country—named for the gray rain that inevitably falls during the budding season each year.

This is a thoroughly professional nation, where power is not held by traditional kings or popes, but by a “High Council” composed of Master-Level ministers from six legendary organizations’ branches.

Nominally, this Council must “consult” the Nobles before making decisions, but in reality, anyone with insight knows that in this country, the Nobles are mere decorations. The six Master-Level powerhouses hold absolute authority, and the legendary organizations behind them deter even deities from interfering in the nation’s affairs. Thus, this so-called “democratic” but effectively dictatorial “High Council” is also known as the “Council of Six”!

Six legendary organizations control Gray Rain Country and have established key branches here: the ubiquitous “Mage Guild” of Faerûn, the deity-aligned “Council of Sages,” the notorious “Zhentarim,” the berserker-producing “Beheading League,” the neutral caster organization “Thought of Truth,” and the most unwelcome “Thieves’ Guild.”

These six organizations have set up branches in the relatively small Gray Rain Country, overseeing the nation’s military and political affairs while controlling the harvesting and trade of the precious magical plant—”Graymarsh Orchid.”

A key branch of “Thought of Truth” is located in the Southern Marsh of this country. As a highly prioritized branch, the Gray Rain Country division of “Thought of Truth” far surpasses those insignificant outposts established in remote areas in every aspect.

This key branch is guarded by five Master-Level Casters, with the branch minister being a long-renowned Level 19 Divination Mage.

Under the branch’s command, there are over thirty Formal-Level powerhouses and hundreds of mage apprentices.

“Thought of Truth” strongly advocates mage education. Nearly all its key branches regularly recruit apprentices and train mages. Every member above the Formal-Level is obligated to spare some time teaching apprentices unless they are on missions or have applied for “continuous research,” and this branch is no exception.

It is now mid-harvest season. For countless commoners, Nobles, and even many professional families in Gray Rain Country, the first day of the next month is a significant occasion—three caster organizations will begin recruiting new batches of apprentices on that day.

These three caster organizations hold apprentice recruitment once every fifteen years, accepting only youths aged ten to twenty. For ordinary people, the opportunity to join a legendary organization and become a caster comes only once in a lifetime.Therefore, even though there was still a month until the apprentice recruitment date, countless impoverished and Noble families in Gray Rain Country had already begun enthusiastic preparations. In this world where social classes were extremely rigid and brutally unforgiving, the son of a pauper would almost inevitably remain a pauper, while the son of a Noble might not necessarily continue as one. Thus, becoming a professional was nearly the only opportunity for the impoverished to escape poverty, and an inevitable choice for Nobles to secure their family’s status.

How could anyone fail to prepare for this sole chance?

Recruiting apprentices was also an important—or rather, troublesome—matter for the three spellcasting organizations with complete educational systems (the Mage Guild did not recruit apprentices). After all, this task was quite tedious yet highly emphasized.

For the “Thought of Truth,” this period was even busier. As a semi-academic mage institution, the “Thought of Truth” selected apprentices based solely on talent, not background. Its method of recruiting apprentices involved dispatching Formal-Level Mages to lead groups of Apprentice-Level Mages to various cities and towns, testing young boys and girls of appropriate age for mage talent, and bringing them back to the academy.

The time-consuming aspect was only one part of it; the most critical issue was that the process of recruiting apprentices was never entirely peaceful.

It was well-known that while ordinary people with the potential to become spellcasters were one in a thousand and relatively numerous, those with superior talent were truly rare. Under such circumstances, the three spellcasting organizations would compete fiercely for those highly talented apprentices.

Do not imagine this competition involved allowing the apprentices to choose—such a favorable scenario was unheard of. All neutral spellcasting organizations generally followed the “first come, first served” principle. The side that found the apprentices first would take the qualified ones directly. Meanwhile, evil-aligned organizations like the “Zhentarim” typically ambushed and snatched apprentices along the way. If they couldn’t seize them, they would destroy them entirely—simply to prevent others from happily replenishing their ranks. (As for the apprentices’ willingness? To spellcasting organizations, what did the apprentices’ opinions matter? Were they edible?)

Precisely because of competition from “peers” and unreasonable bandits blocking the way, the apprentice recruitment operation was vividly called the “Blood War¹.” For Formal-Level Mages who accepted the “Recruit Apprentices” mission, this job was no comfortable, leisurely trip—it was a task that often required rushing at full speed and, at the slightest provocation, engaging in combat. Most importantly—failing to bring back enough apprentices resulted in fines!

On this day, as the once-every-fifteen-years “Recruit Apprentices” mission was posted on the mission board once again, the Mission Hall of the “Thought of Truth” unusually saw several Formal-Level spellcasters hesitating and lingering.

Because these typically reclusive Formal-Level experts were standing here, the usually bustling and noisy Mission Hall was now scattered and quiet enough to hear a pin drop. All mage apprentices tiptoed along the very edges of the hall, not daring to make a sound, afraid of disturbing the “Formal Mages'” contemplation.

“The reward this time is even more generous than last time—a full thirty exchange points! That’s enough to buy a dose of ‘Mist of Obscurity’ potion!”A short Formal-Level Mage stood in the hall, quietly pointing at the pinned “Recruit Apprentices” mission icon as he whispered to his companion beside him.

Next to him stood an ugly female mage with half her face burned and skinless. The equally Formal-Level female mage bluntly retorted to the short mage’s words:

“Don’t just focus on the mission reward. Those Red Robes have been restless again lately. In the last ‘Recruit Apprentices’ mission, Medi even lost her life, and she was a twelfth-level Formal-Level Mage!”

“That’s because she was too stubborn. When she encountered two Red Robe maniacs, she didn’t even know to run…”

“Running would have been a huge loss. Do you know how many exchange points we’d have to compensate for not bringing back a single apprentice? You know how money-grubbing the ‘Thought of Truth’ can be… Mmph… mmmph…”

The female mage’s last words were cut off as the short mage jumped up to cover her mouth.

Naturally displeased at being suddenly silenced, she had just shaken off the “dirty hand” from her mouth and was glaring furiously at the short mage when she saw him—usually fearless—looking ingratiatingly behind her.

A sense of foreboding rising in her heart, the female mage mechanically turned her head. Then… she saw a gray-robed old man with graying hair and an old cloth strip covering his eyes standing silently behind her.

“K… Kirk Weilen, Master… How… how did you get here…!”

(End of Chapter)