Chapter 4: An Unknown World (II)

This is an unknown world, yet many aspects of it resemble his original world. For example, a day consists of twenty-four hours, an hour has sixty minutes, and a minute has sixty seconds. The differences lie only in minor details—such as the absence of leap years and months always having exactly thirty days. From these observations, Jiang Zhe felt that there wasn’t much difference between this place and his original world. Overall, the structure of this world resembled that of medieval Europe: no electricity, no telephones, no televisions. In short, any device that relied on electricity did not exist… at least, Jiang Zhe had not seen any such things in this town. Even the street lights essential at night were replaced by bonfires and torches. According to that unknown scholar from his past life, this place seemed to be evolving toward a magical civilization.

The townspeople, like Nina, communicated in a language similar to English but not exactly English. Jiang Zhe still hadn’t figured out exactly what it was… Well, as long as he could understand it, it was fine. He wasn’t interested in figuring it out—he wasn’t the kind of person who liked to get to the bottom of things. His only interest was magic. But looking at his current situation, Jiang Zhe felt that wonderful magic was far away from him…

Sighing, as usual, Jiang Zhe sat at the entrance of the church, resting his chin and staring blankly into the distance, feeling somewhat depressed. It wasn’t surprising—anyone transported into the body of a child under ten would feel frustrated. This feeling was very awkward. For instance, he had planned to work as a helper in the town’s tavern to ease Nina’s burden and gather information about this world. But the fat old man in the tavern laughed loudly and drove Jiang Zhe away. “This isn’t a place for a brat like you!” Hearing the men’s mocking laughter at that time, Jiang Zhe felt extremely frustrated.

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In this world, magicians are divided into only three ranks: Mage, Archmage, and the legendary Holy Mage—nothing more. To become a mage is simple—once you can cast magic, you’re a respected mage. But it’s not the same for an Archmage. First, you must already be a well-known mage. Second, you need the recommendation of at least two Archmages and pass assessments by the Magic Association. It involves numerous procedures; it’s not something you can simply become.

Those great magi are all renowned figures; most serve as royal magi in the imperial capital, holding noble status and directly answering to the emperor. How could you just meet them whenever you want? Even if you managed to meet them, without a certain level of relationship, how would they vouch for or recommend you? As for sacred magi, it’s even more difficult—this isn’t simply adding the word “sacred” before a name; it represents supreme honor. Only those who have made tremendous contributions to humanity can bear this esteemed title, and even the imperial emperor has no right to order a sacred mage. Moreover, there’s a prerequisite: such a mage must master at least one forbidden spell! Forbidden spells, as the name implies, are spells banned due to their extreme destructive power. The origin of magic lies in alchemy. Back then, magi called themselves alchemists, and they first created substances harmful to the body—formulas that are now considered the precursors of magic. In the history of magic, several generations of human rulers feared that alchemists’ formulas might threaten their authority, so they brutally killed some famous alchemists and strictly prohibited the spread of alchemy. At that time, countless books on alchemy were burned in public, and many alchemists were forced to flee their homes. It wasn’t until the rise of the Saxon King that alchemy continued and was improved, marking a significant leap forward in the development of magic. During that time, human nations were at war, and the Saxon King, while fighting against enemy countries, invited domestic magi to refine alchemy into a means of killing—thus giving rise to black magic. However, some magi believed that magic should not be used as a tool for killing, so they left Saxon and settled in Salonia, establishing a new system of magic—this marked the beginning of white magic. Over the course of more than a decade of warfare, black magic continued to be improved, evolving into ultimate killing spells, while white magic merged with faith to create sacred magic, leading to the establishment of the Church. The Saxon King, relying on black magi, conquered enemy countries but intended to attack Salonia. He was held back for a year by Salonia’s white magi, forcing him to withdraw his troops. After that, having witnessed the terrifying power of magic, especially black magic, the Saxon King issued strict orders prohibiting black magi from recording forbidden spells in books. All forbidden spells could only have their titles recorded, along with descriptions of their origins and uses, without any details about components, incantations, or casting procedures.

Under the deliberate suppression of the Saxon kings, the forbidden spells of dark magic were ultimately sealed away by history. The transmission of those spells only occurred between masters and apprentices or in the manuscripts of certain great magicians…
Yet even so, dark magic itself was not suppressed. After hundreds of years of evolution, it gradually became one of the favored spells among modern magicians.
Compared to the highly destructive spells used by ancient magicians, modern magic is significantly less powerful. But on the other hand, both dark magic and white magic have gradually developed various branches. We’ll discuss that later.
Learning these much less powerful spells isn’t that difficult. Either go to the imperial capital of Saxon to study at the so-called magic academy, or go to the Church’s magic city of Salonia. Compared to the high costs of Saxon’s magic academy, Salonia is clearly much cheaper. But the prerequisite is that you must believe in their revered and great gods—meaning you’ll be tied to the Church for the rest of your life. If you do anything that goes against the Church’s interests or blasphemes the gods, needless to say, the Church’s inquisitors are not just for show.
Apart from these two paths, learning magic depends on luck. For example, if you encounter a magician, you might be lucky enough to learn a spell—though the chances are extremely slim. And just being taught a few incantations probably won’t make anyone talented enough to master the spell right away.
So, going to a magic academy is the simplest and clearest way to learn magic systematically!
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Sigh! Magic!
At least let me learn a little fireball spell or something…
As Jiang Zhe sighed inwardly, footsteps came from behind him.
“Child, it’s not good to sit here!”
Jiang Zhe snapped out of his thoughts and saw it was the old priest of the church. He quickly stood up.
Jiang Zhe was still grateful to this old priest for not blaming him and Nina for sneaking into the church.
Actually, Jiang Zhe guessed that the priest might have known about it from the start but pretended not to know and didn’t interfere. But after Nina cried and prayed for forgiveness in front of the church statue more and more often at night, the old priest stepped in and took Jiang Zhe and Nina in to stay in the church.
All Jiang Zhe and Nina had to do was clean the church from time to time to keep it tidy and bright.
Nodding and patting Jiang Zhe’s head, the old priest looked around and asked suspiciously, “Where’s your sister?”

“Uh…” Jiang Zhe hesitated.
Seemingly thinking of something, the old priest frowned, but then, upon seeing the tattered clothes beside Jiang Zhe, he let out a long sigh.
In fact, the income from this small chapel wasn’t very good, as it was dedicated to the God of Light, and the chapel itself originated from the Holy See. In an empire with many diverse beliefs, it didn’t receive much attention.
The chapel’s existence also stemmed from the empire gradually shedding its prejudices and opening its borders to the Holy See, allowing in certain clergy members, such as the Holy Knights—this was a political cooperation between the two nations. Of course, Holy Knights and Holy Mages were entirely different concepts.
“Father, do… do you know magic?” After hesitating for a while, Jiang Zhe finally asked the question he had kept hidden in his heart for so long.
“Ah,” the old priest shook his head and smiled, looking into the distance. “I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you, my child. I don’t know magic…”
“Oh.” Indeed, Jiang Zhe was somewhat disappointed.
“Then… are there really magic and mages?”
The old priest looked down at Jiang Zhe, nodded, and said with a smile, “Magic does exist! Child, why do you ask?”
“Because I’m curious,” Jiang Zhe shrugged, facing the old priest’s gaze that seemed to see through everything, and said frankly, “I want to learn magic!”
“Learn magic…” The old priest sighed slightly as he looked at Jiang Zhe and asked, “Why do you want to learn magic?”
Why? Jiang Zhe was stunned and hesitated, saying, “Well, just to learn magic…”
Unreasonably, the old priest laughed, patted Jiang Zhe’s head, and said, “There must be a purpose for learning magic, right?”
“Is there really a need for a purpose?”
“What do you think?” the old priest smiled. “Magic isn’t that simple. If you lack determination, how can you persevere? You’ll face many difficulties along the way…”
“I believe I can persevere!”
The old priest shook his head and smiled earnestly, saying, “Child, magic isn’t that mysterious. Do you… believe in gods?”
Gods? Jiang Zhe had intended to nod hesitantly, but after looking at the old priest, he told the truth, “I’ve never seen a god. How could I have faith?”
The old priest laughed, his white beard trembling as he said, “That’s an interesting point… Not only you, but many mages probably haven’t seen gods either…”
Recalling some magic novels he had read in his past life, Jiang Zhe said awkwardly, “Father, does not believing in gods mean one can’t learn magic?”

“Who told you that?” the old priest asked doubtfully. Then, seeing Jiang Zhe’s expression, he smiled and said, “In magic, only divine spells are like this; as for other spells…” He shook his head and added knowingly, “I remember that most black magicians have no faith at all.”
“Then how do they cast magic?”
“With their own magical power! After years of practice, they accumulate magical power…”
“Oh,” Jiang Zhe nodded. Suddenly feeling a bit puzzled, he asked, “Father, are you really a clergyman?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Aren’t gods worshipped in churches? So…”
“I thought you meant something else,” the old priest said with a smile, shaking his head. “Faith comes from the heart. How can one force others?”
Jiang Zhe scratched his head. Clearly, this priest was very different from the missionaries who spread their teachings at crossroads in his past life. At the same time, he became increasingly curious about the old priest.
He always felt that this old man wasn’t as simple as he claimed to be.
Besides that, Jiang Zhe also firmly remembered one thing: black magicians are beings who can cast magic without relying on gods.