The Golem Mage

743: History Lesson.

743: History Lesson.

Deep inside the Royal Palace of the Northern Kingdom, the King walked slowly through a dimly lit chamber, where only a faint glow illuminated the center of the room.

At the very heart of the chamber, two men sat in a meditative posture, their backs pressed against each other, eyes closed.

The elemental particles in the air were so dense that they were visibly swirling around them, drawn into their bodies like streams of light.

As the King stepped into the illuminated center, the first man facing him slowly opened his eyes, he was draped in luxurious robes, his long white hair tied neatly behind him in the style of eastern martial artists.

Behind him sat another figure, the Lord Protector of the Northern Kingdom, a revered warrior whose duty had long been to safeguard the realm.

But this was no ordinary cultivation session, what was being performed was a secret ritual, known only to the royal Bloodline, a method that would allow the Protector’s power to be siphoned into the man still in his prime.

And the one absorbing this power?

Is none other than the former King of the Northern Kingdom, the very ruler who had abdicated his throne to retreat into closed-door seclusion.

The world believed that the Lord Protector was dying of old age, but the truth was far darker.

Instead of allowing him to live out his final days in peace, the royal family had conspired against him, placing him in a forced state of deep sleep.

With his dwindling strength, he had been unable to resist the spell, making it easier for the former King to extract his power using an ancient, forbidden cultivation technique passed down through their lineage.

Yet, this process was not simple, the Protector’s energy was foreign, requiring meticulous refinement before it could truly integrate with the former King’s own power.

Any recklessness could destabilize his foundation, potentially leading to its collapse.

But the former King was not impatient, he had been doing this for years, carefully absorbing the Protector’s life force, inch by inch.

And with each passing day, the Protector’s vitality drained away at an alarmingly unnatural rate, his fate all but sealed.

For someone who had dedicated his life to protecting the Royal Clan from the Second dimensional races, creatures and the greed of the ancient clans, the betrayal against the Lord Protector was nothing short of disgraceful.

It was becoming evident that the Second Dimension races had already sensed his curse energy weakening, perhaps that was why they hadn’t even attempted to stop Azgoth’s attack.

They might not have wanted him to cross over in the first place, but now that he had returned safely, it was clear he had gathered valuable intelligence for the Second Dimension.

From his parting words, there was no doubt that they would be back soon, it was almost as if Azgoth knew the Protector was on the verge of death, and the moment he perished, the curse binding the Space Gate above the Royal Palace would be undone.

A voice suddenly broke through the silence.

“Father, you asked to see me.”

The current King stood before his father, his gaze lowered, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Fool.

Idiot.

A complete and utter moron, who gave you the authority to make such major decisions concerning the kingdom without consulting me first?

Do you even comprehend the gravity of what you’ve done?” the previous King’s voice thundered, his piercing gaze locked onto his son.

“But, Father, they questioned the authority of the Royal Family—”

“Silence!” The former King’s fury was palpable.

“You have tested my patience, but I will still grant you a lesson.

A short story, if you will.”

He took a deep breath before continuing.

“When the five ancient clans and the Lord Protector fought alongside the Mage Armies to stabilize the five Space Gates around the capital, the War God Mage Academy did not yet exist, only its Dean and his disciples did.”

“Back then, the Dean of War God Academy, along with the Deans of the Seven other great academies, banded together and launched a surprise invasion into the Second Dimension, they raided smaller villages and cities in the Abyss, destroying whatever they could, and stole power mine veins, bringing them back to the surface before the Second Dimension races even realized what had happened.”

“This crippled the outer regions of the Second Dimension for a time, buying humanity precious years to grow stronger, and from that moment on, those eight mages created their own academy which laid the foundations for the name Great Eight Academies, the very first of their kind.”

“When we established the Royal Mage Academy, other powerhouses who had fought in the war saw an opportunity to create their own academies, as they all wanted a share of the power mine veins they had fought for, that was the promise we made to them.

We, the Royal Family and the strongest clan at the time, would protect the mines and distribute the resources once per year.”

“The true reason behind creating the Royal Clan was to gain indirect access to the resources that technically belonged to the academies.

However, the ancient clans saw through our intentions, and to prevent themselves from being left out, they attempted to establish their own academies.

But we crushed that ambition before it could take root.”

“Realizing that we would never allow them to grow beyond their declining strength, especially after the toll of the War, the ancient clans took a different approach, they allied themselves with the Great Eight Academies, promising to send their best geniuses in exchange for proper mentorship.”

“This we couldn’t prevent that, as they were simply sending their children to study, but with each passing generation, their strength grew.

Their descendants gained access to academy resources just as we did.

And as if that wasn’t enough, they started sending their children to our own Royal Academy as well.

At first, we tolerated it, using it as an opportunity to bring those descendants under our influence.”

“But what we failed to foresee was how they would begin forming factions within the academy itself, gathering talent, recruiting enforcers, and orchestrating marriages to absorb promising individuals into their clans, slowly, they gained slight control over the way these academies operated, only one academy resisted this movement, the War God Mage Academy.”

“Because of this lone resistance, many ordinary academies also refused to fall into the ancient clans’ grasp.

In retaliation, the clans did everything in their power within the royal court to pass laws and restrictions that would weaken the War God Mage Academy.

Yet, despite their efforts, the academy never complained when they lost their position to the Royal Mage Academy, they continued to send high-ranking mages to defend Northern Kingdom cities and outposts against Zerg Abominations and threats from rival kingdoms.”

“Eventually, the ancient clans realized they stood to lose too much if they kept trying to control the ordinary academies.

So they focused their influence on the seven Great Eight academies that were already under their thumb, meanwhile, we—the Royal Family—were left with only one academy truly under our control.”

“If all the ancient clans unite, they are stronger than our clan and could wipe us out, claiming the throne for themselves, just as our family once united with the Tudors.”

“Now do you realize how foolish you’ve been?

You tore down the one barrier preventing the ancient clans from gaining control over the ordinary academies and banding together to overthrow us,” the former king concluded.

The current king stood frozen, mouth slightly open, struggling to process the weight of his mistake, he had unknowingly set events in motion that could bring ruin to their bloodline.

“We are not as powerful as we once were, and we’ve done well to hide that fact, but now, with this misstep, the ancient clans will start probing for weaknesses.

And when they discover how vulnerable we truly are, you will go down in history as the greatest traitor to our lineage,” the old king warned.

“I know what we must do!

We’ll call back the War God Mage Academy, repair our relationship, and set things right,” the present king blurted, as if simply summoning them would undo the damage.

The former king let out a bitter chuckle.

“That’s no longer an option.

The Dean of the academy has already sent me a message, the academies have always been independent; they were never bound to us, only willing to fight for the kingdom because of our long-standing ties, with that connection severed, the War God Mage Academy has completely withdrawn from the kingdom.”

He held up a letter, the War God Mage Academy’s insignia stamped onto the seal.