Chapter 39: The Genius Astrologer (1)

Some say that diligence can make up for stupidity—someone born dull may, by putting in several times or even a dozen times more effort than others, catch up with those who are naturally talented but unwilling to work hard. This is true.
But this doesn’t really work in the world of magic.
A so-called genius consists of 99% diligence and 1% inspiration, yet in reality, that 1% of inspiration is what matters most, even more so than those 99% of effort…
Some people are born with an eidetic memory, some have exceptional comprehension skills, and some are far smarter than others from a young age. We must admit that the world is never short of geniuses.
Looking back at thousands of years of human history, how many great magicians have been recorded in history? They are undoubtedly outstanding figures who have contributed to human magic—great magicians, even sacred magicians.
One thing is undeniable: magic truly requires inspired individuals to master it. It’s not something that can be achieved by simply reciting a few spells or performing a few gestures.
Some people, after studying magic their entire lives, can sense that something is off or that improvements are possible, but they can’t figure out exactly what it is.
And this is even more true for astrology!
Astrology is a type of predictive magic that uses changes in the positions of the stars and a series of complex, hard-to-understand theories to predict future events.
Astrologers believe that everything in the world follows certain patterns of change—just like the rising and setting of the sun, which are the most fundamental laws of the world. Everything in this world must obey these laws.
When alchemy reached a certain stage, most magicians—well, they should have been called alchemists at that time—fiercely pursued immortality out of fear of death.
But what is immortality?
Lakes will eventually dry up, rocks will erode, and humans will inevitably die…
Does eternity truly exist in the world?
This question was passed down from alchemists to magicians. Then, some magicians drew power from demons, some gradually came into contact with the Land of Death, some began to worship the legendary gods, and so on. Among them, some magicians turned to studying the stars—these were the predecessors of astrologers.
The earliest astrologers believed that, according to the fundamental laws of the world, there is no eternal life. Even the gods have legends of their downfall, right?

So what is eternal?
The stars!
Those stars that exist above all living things, having been around for tens of thousands or even hundreds of millions of years, are the closest things to eternity.
Eternity means omniscience, and astrologers firmly believe this!
If the magical histories of dark and white magicians can be traced, then astrologers truly started from scratch—they spent hundreds of years compiling a relatively complete chart of celestial movements.
It must be said that without sufficient patience, it’s impossible to become an astrologer.
While dark magicians repeatedly improved highly destructive spells and even forbidden curses, astrologers were devotedly observing whether there were any changes in the celestial bodies. When white magicians successfully combined light elements with the power of faith to create astonishing spells, astrologers were concentrating on drawing charts of celestial movements.
It can be said that those without perseverance and determination can never become astrologers!
But then again, even if you have enough perseverance and determination, it’s only a prerequisite to become an astrologer. Those who merely observe the stars and draw their paths of movement cannot be considered qualified astrologers.
Remember, astrology is a form of predictive magic!
If space magic is a type of magic that ordinary magicians never get the chance to encounter in their lives, then predictive magic probably eliminates over 90% of people even on that basis.
To put it simply, astrology, this form of predictive magic, is extremely difficult—very hard to understand, as it requires not only memorizing all the paths of celestial movements but also mastering some highly esoteric knowledge. And the most important thing is inspiration.
Perhaps “inspiration” isn’t the right term, but it’s something like that. True astrologers can see visions of the future through crystal balls, while ordinary magicians, even given ten crystal balls, wouldn’t understand how it works.
Astrology is a very esoteric magical discipline that ordinary people cannot comprehend.
Someone once said that if you reach the level of a grand magician in the field of dark magic, it means you’re a true genius. But to reach that level in astrology… well, is it really something humans can accomplish?

Throughout the several hundred-year history of astrologers, only two have ever reached the level of omniscience, and both of them have been honored as “Prophets.” The last Prophet appeared over 130 years ago…

In fact, the Imperial Royal Magic Association has always struggled with assessing the magical skill levels of astrologers, as these astrologers don’t possess particularly strong powers. Some of them might barely be able to cast a fireball spell—how can such people be evaluated? Should they be asked to predict events a year in advance? If their predictions come true, then they pass the assessment?

Fortunately, it seems that astrologers don’t care much about the association’s grading system. They’re content to live their lives under the title of magic apprentices. For them, spending time studying the stars is better than taking the trouble to go to Sassen for those assessments. As a result, to this day, over 130 years later, the empire has yet to see a third astrologer reach the rank of Archmage…

Of course, this situation might not last long. Within ten or twenty years, the world of astrology might see the third Archmage among astrologers in human history—a Prophet…

All the astrologers living in the city of astrology, Sgeldel, firmly believe this. They are convinced that their apprentices, trained over the past decade or so, will break the unfortunate streak of no one having reached the rank of Archmage in astrology!

This apprentice is named Eber Kaines—granddaughter of Archmage Greta Kaines, the head of the Riox Academy. She is also the woman standing in front of Jiang Zhe and the others, the one Professor Hode specially came to invite. She appears fierce yet extremely beautiful. Though she’s only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, she’s already highly regarded by all the mages in the tower. Perhaps, in the near future, the world will indeed see the birth of a third omniscient Prophet-level astrologer.

Of course, that’s just in the future. At least for now, this woman seems… Hmm? A bit childlike?

“Did you not understand what I said?” Seeing Professor Hode standing motionless with a stiff expression, Eber suddenly became angry. She glared at him and snapped, “If you understood, go back quickly. And tell my irresponsible grandfather that I’m doing fine here! Hmph! Why didn’t you come before? Now that you need me, you rush to bring me back? Hmph!”

It was obvious that Abell was extremely angry. Strangely, the little ones watching as onlookers had the vague impression that beneath those seemingly angry words, there was also a hint of resentment.
“It seems we’re in trouble…”seemingly in response to Allen’s words, Jiang Zhe shook his head helplessly. He found Professor Hod’s embarrassed expression amusing. In his memory, Professor Hod was a kind but extremely powerful dark mage who could silence him with just a few words. Who exactly was that female mage?
“Well…” Under the intense gazes of the little ones, Professor Hod fidgeted with his hands nervously and said awkwardly, “It wasn’t like you wanted to stay back in the first place… I also wanted to stay, but… I just didn’t pass the tests imposed by the elders in the mage tower…”
“Heh,” Abell couldn’t help but laugh as if recalling something interesting, before once again turning serious and glaring at Professor Hod. “Then do you still remember what you said back then?”
“Huh?” Professor Hod was stunned. Seeing Abell’s expression grow darker, he hurriedly said, “Of course I remember. I said I’d come when I had time…” He glanced at the little ones who were watching amusedly, then at Abell, who looked expectant, and stammered, “To… come and… play with you…”
“Pfft!” Lavia couldn’t help but laugh, while the three boys beside her were stunned.
Over a decade ago… Professor Hod must have been in his twenties, right? And that female mage was probably in her teens… Play?
“Ahem!” Noticing Professor Hod’s strange expression, Jiang Zhe coughed softly to remind Allen, who was gaping his mouth wide.
“It’s good that you remember…” Perhaps Abell also realized it might be too inappropriate to talk about this in front of the little ones. Her face turning red, she muttered softly before raising her head and asking, “Then tell me, why did you lie to me?!”
“I lied… Okay, okay, it was me who lied… No, no, it wasn’t me,” Professor Hod shook his head while gesturing to explain. “At first, that’s indeed what I thought, but later… Well, as you know, I was searching for Mentor Barrett. Before meeting you and the dean, I had no idea where the mentor had gone. After I found out…” His tone suddenly became somber. After a pause, he shook his head and said, “I didn’t want to interfere with you…”

“What does it affect me?” Abel was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, then seemed to remember something and said with a barely noticeable smile, “Even if you can’t pass the mage tower’s tests, it doesn’t mean you…” As she spoke, she seemed to realize something, hesitated for a moment, and sighed softly, “Never mind. Since you’re here, stay at Vandel for a couple of days…”
“Hm?” Abel’s sudden change in tone surprised Professor Hodde and Jiang Zhe.
“Don’t get it wrong!” Abel glared at Professor Hodde angrily and said coldly, “I just said since you came from Riox, you can stay at the mage tower for a couple of days. I didn’t say I’d go back with… you!”
“Hehe…” Professor Hodde smiled slightly and nodded, “I am indeed a bit tired…” His seemingly ordinary words hid an indetectable weariness.
Abel seemed to notice this as well. She gave Professor Hodde a deeply complex look before turning to the kids and smiling, “Go in, kids. Don’t be scared by the strange guys inside!”
“Strange guys?” Jiang Zhe looked at Allen in confusion, who shrugged in bewilderment.
So, guided by Abel, the group entered through the iron door and stepped inside the mage tower Vandel. Interestingly, when Allen passed by Gadian, he even gave him a cheeky grin, making Gadian’s face turn green with anger as his lips moved as if he were saying something, but no sound came out…
It seemed he really was afraid of Abel…
After passing through that huge iron door and walking along a corridor about thirty yards long, then through another wooden door, they finally entered the interior of the mage tower Vandel. It was then that Jiang Zhe and the others understood the true meaning of Abel’s words…
If the residences of those mages in Sgdel could be compared to the empire’s slums, then this place was simply a refugee camp. Seeing dozens of elderly people with silver hair and robes that dragged on the ground, Jiang Zhe thought for a moment that Elder Jives was using [Magic Mirror], especially when he saw those elders gathered together, seemingly arguing more than discussing anything…
“Your calculation is wrong. I tested this theory a week ago—yours is incorrect!”
“Who’s wrong? Your calculation is wrong. I tested it three days ago—yours is the mistake!”
“I did it yesterday!”
“I did it just now!”

Looking at the two elderly men with thick white beards staring at each other wide-eyed like children and punching at one another, while the other elders cheered them on, the intensity was so high it seemed they might start fighting. For a moment, Jiang Zhe felt as if he had come to the wrong place—the scene was far from what he had imagined.
The Mage Tower… this was the Mage Tower of Vandel! The sacred place of magic in the hearts of all dark mages…
Jiang Zhe glanced at Scott beside him and found that his companion seemed equally shocked, so stunned he was almost dumbfounded, his glasses even askew. Alan’s expression, a mix of crying and laughing, seemed rather funny.
“It seems not all mages prefer peace…” For some reason, Jiang Zhe said this either to his companions or to himself.
Just as the young ones were stunned, Abelle frowned, walked straight up to the group of elders, snatched the parchment from their hands, and snapped, “Why are you all making such a racket? I was only away for a short while!”
The floor suddenly fell silent. An old man with small glasses and hair like a bird’s nest stammered, “Don’t blame me this time. If anyone’s to be blamed, it’s that old fool Welman. I spent over a week calculating it carefully, and he dares to say it’s wrong…”
“Your calculation is wrong!” the old man named Welman roared, glaring. Then he glanced at Abelle, his tone softening instantly, and whispered, “Abelle, he really is wrong…”
“You’re the one who’s wrong…”
“You’re wrong!”
“You’re wrong…”
“You…”
“Enough!” Abelle stamped her foot fiercely, and the entire floor fell silent again.
“Don’t you people see what time it is…” murmuring softly, Abelle gave a glance toward Professor Hodde and Jiang Zhe, who were standing near the door.
It was only then that the elders noticed these guests. They coughed awkwardly and scattered.
Still somewhat astonished, Jiang Zhe finally paid attention to the interior of the Mage Tower. He found that the first floor consisted of just one huge room filled with various tables, cluttered with books, parchments, quills, half-inked diagrams of magic arrays, unfinished intricate puppets, messy piles of discarded paper, half-eaten bread, and so on…
Was this really the Mage Tower of Vandel? Jiang Zhe once again doubted where he was.

“Alright, come over here.” Abell waved at Jiang Zhe and the others, pointing to the old man who had returned to his seat and resumed his usual mage demeanor as she introduced them one by one. “That one in the white nightgown… no, the white magic robe—that’s Professor Bamber. He’s one of my mentors in astrology.” As she spoke, Abell glared sharply at the elder, who was smiling kindly at the kids, as if nothing had happened just moments ago. “That one sitting with his back to you… that’s Professor Jelbart. He’s an outstanding alchemist…” While Abell was introducing them, the elder instinctively turned his head, chewing on something. Seeing the half loaf of bread in his hand, Abell narrowed her eyes and quickly changed her subject. “That one drawing plans is Professor Welman. He’s also a great astrologer and one of my mentors…” As she spoke, Abell glanced worriedly at Professor Welman, who continued focused on his work. After that, Abell introduced all the mages, but it was clear that the older mages weren’t very interested in Professor Hodde or the kids like Jiang Zhe. It was already quite good if they managed to smile during her introductions. “So, what about you, sister?” Ravia asked softly after Abell finished introducing everyone. This caught Abell off guard. She patted Ravia’s head and smiled, saying, “I’m Abell. You can just call me Sister Abell. And you?” “I’m Ravia, Ravia Fahuaria…” “Fahuaria?” Abell was momentarily stunned, then seemed to understand something. She smiled slightly, stroked Ravia’s flame-like hair, and looked at the boys including Jiang Zhe, saying, “As boys, you’re too passive. How can you let a lady speak first?” “My apologies,” Abell finished speaking, and Scott immediately performed a very proper noble gesture, saying respectfully, “Scott, Scott O’Gill. It’s an honor to meet you!” Following Scott, Allen also bowed as a knight and said with a smile, “Allen, Allen Skander. It’s an honor to meet you, beautiful lady…” “You should call me Miss Abell,” Abell corrected Allen’s mistake with a smile. Then, as Allen looked embarrassed and chuckled awkwardly, she turned her attention to Jiang Zhe.

“Thors!” Jiang Zhe didn’t quite understand those complicated etiquettes. Following suit out of fear of making mistakes, he simply bowed his head slightly as a gesture of respect, though to be honest, he really didn’t like such formalities.
“Oh…” Xiao Yu glanced at Jiang Zhe in surprise. Abell nodded, completely ignoring Professor Hodde, and smiled at the children, “Do you want to take a look around Vandel?”
“Sure!” Allen seemed excited. He glanced around and asked softly, “May I ask a question, Miss Abell?”
“Of course!”
“Are all the people living here… are they all…” Allen quietly pointed at the professors sitting in their seats, busy with their research.
“Of course not. There are young ones…” Abell said with a smile, then suddenly changed tone, adding with a hint of amusement, “But even the youngest ones are old enough to be your grandfather… Oh, these aren’t all the professors at Vandel. Unfortunately, some are resting, some are busy with their research, and others are checking Vandel’s power reactors. Vandel can float in the air thanks to those magic arrays, the power reactors that supply energy, and the circuits… Well, we’ll talk about that later. How about I take you around Vandel first?”
“Okay…”
“Let’s go later!” Professor Hodde seemed to have made up his mind. Ignoring Abell’s displeased look, he said seriously, “Abell, there’s no rush to visit Vandel. We’re here to ask you to…”
“Find someone, right?” Abell interrupted him, looking at his awkward expression angrily. “If it weren’t for finding this person, you probably wouldn’t have come here at all, right? Hodde Kendy?!”
Seeing Abell’s frosty expression, Allen squeezed Scott and Jiang Zhe and whispered, “Oh no, she called his full name…”
“Shut up!” Scott whispered.
In the eyes of the children, Professor Hodde’s face turned red. After taking a deep breath, he said in a very serious tone, “I don’t expect you to understand, but… this is very important. The dean said that man is extremely dangerous…”
“The dean?” Abell snorted. “I know. It’s my grandfather who asked you to come and get my help, right?”
“…Please!”

Looking into Professor Hodde’s serious and persistent gaze, Abell finally gave in after a brief exchange of looks. She turned around and said, “Follow me!”
Following Abell’s steps, they climbed up the endless spiral staircase to the upper levels of Vandel. Starting from the second floor, these rooms were generally used as places for magicians to rest and conduct research. Thus, the houses in City of Sgdel were nothing but decorations.
After climbing countless such floors, the group finally arrived at Abell’s room.
To Jiang Zhe’s surprise, it was a very feminine room—well, at least when it came to certain items inside, such as mirrors, curtains, and dolls…
While Abell, with a slight blush, silently carried those dolls into the inner room, Jiang Zhe explored the room around him.
The room was dominated by dark blue hues, adorned with white star patterns that resembled a vast starry sky. The most prominent items in the room were probably the copper model of a star trajectory placed on the long table and a crystal ball the size of two fists.
Before long, Abell came out of the inner room, sat down at the long table, and sighed slightly in disappointment at Professor Hodde. She said irritably, “What’s the name of the person you’re looking for?”
“Argus, Argus BartClarkfield!”