Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 594: Brotherhoodʼs Factions

”Fascinating, eh?” Krummor looked at the raven-haired youth with an amused expression. ”Let me tell you, boy, many Magi in the Brotherhood have tried to decipher the texts in our founderʼs journal, but none have succeeded.”

His lips curled up into a taunting smirk. ”What makes you think you can?”

Adam shrugged. ”If I never try, Iʼll never know.”

However, inwardly he was thinking in ridicule, Heh, old dwarf, even if you put those journals upside down in front of me, Iʼd still be able to ʼdecipherʼ them.

”Hmm.” Krummor took another long puff from his pipe.

Exhaling the smoke to the side, he glanced at Adam and stated, ”The things you seek require a lot of merit. It would take you years, decades even, to accumulate such contribution points before you can get your hands on those journals again.

”Either that or you do something as ridiculous as taking down another Rank 3 Magus and saving a town—which I believe is very unlikely if Iʼm being honest.”

Adam knew this was the truth, but what could he do? He was actually very self-aware of his battle prowess. The only reason he was able to beat the werewolf, Stratford, was because he had the extremely toxic wolfsbane.

That and the fact that he could instantaneously teleport anywhere on the battlefield, taking his enemy by surprise and dealing critical blows. However, now his ability to blink—as he liked to call it—was rendered useless.

To be more precise, he was refraining from using the white lotus as the magical focus to cast teleportation spells or any other spells from the spiritual aspect of magic for that matter. Now that his edge had vanished, he didnʼt think he could beat another Rank 3 Magus.

At best, with his current battle prowess and his vast arsenal of spells, he was confident in fighting toe-to-toe with a Mana Vortex Magus for a very short period of time before he chose to flee.

But it didnʼt matter how long it took for him to accumulate enough merits to read all the journals left behind by the founder. He knew that if he wanted to leave this planet and pursue the higher arcane path, he had to get his hands on those journals no matter what.

”It doesnʼt matter, my lord,” he said. ”Iʼll complete as many missions as I have to and get enough merits to acquire the things left behind by the founder. Who knows? If Iʼm lucky enough I might just be able to glean a thing or two from his journals.”

Daneli, who was sitting beside him, couldnʼt help but shake his head ever so slightly. He felt as if all the work that Adam was putting would ultimately go in vain. According to him, it would be better to use all those merits to invest in other magical resources. But little did he know…

”Quite the stubborn little fellow, arenʼt you?” Krummor chuckled. The next moment, his tone turned persuasive as he added, ”But what if I told you I can make it easier for you to get your hands on those journals?”

”You can?!” Adam leaned forward in his chair, his eyes flashing in amazement. ”How, my lord?”

”Itʼs simple,” Krummor smirked. ”All you have to do is join the faction I belong to.”

This again… Adam thought bitterly, his body deflating like a balloon as he languidly leaned back.

Over the years, several Mana Liquefaction Magi of the Brotherhood had approached him in hopes of recruiting him to thier faction.

They all viewed him as a generational talent and offered him many rewards to join their ranks that would have swayed any other Magus in his place. However, he had refused them all.

However, Krummor was the first Mana Vortex Magus to make this offer so Adam couldnʼt be rude to him as he was to the others before him.

”Forgive me, my lord, but I cannot accept your offer,” he stated politely. ”I would first need to get permission from my teacher.”

The last part was a lie. He would never ask Berger for permission to join one of the other factions in the Brotherhood. Why would he? He could just join the faction the gnome was a part of.

The smile on Krummorʼs face widened as he said something that shocked Adam.

”What if I told you Berger and I belong to the same faction?”

Adamʼs eyes narrowed as he wondered whether the dwarf was lying to him. He didnʼt have any way to know the truth, and it would also be very rude of him to ask his superior if he was telling the truth.

Krummor could figure out what the youth was thinking from his scrutinizing look. Instead of being offended, however, he found this very amusing. ”Do you know about the major factions in the Brotherhood?” He asked.

Adam deeply looked into the dwarfʼs eyes for a moment before nodding. ”I have a general idea, my lord. Technically, there are several factions inside the organization but there are only eight major ones that truly matter.”

”Yes,” said the dwarf. ”Do you know why there are factions in the Brotherhood?”

”Limited resources,” Adam stated matter-of-factly.

”Hmm.” Krummor took yet another deep puff from his pipe before continuing, ”There is one other key factor for the rise of factions in our organization - differing philosophies.”

Adam patiently waited for the dwarf to continue, and so did Daneli. Although the elf had a more comprehensive understanding of the factions than Adam did, it didnʼt stop him from appreciating a different personʼs point of view, especially when that person was a Rank 3 Magus.

”There are the Preservationists who focus on safeguarding ancient lore, artifacts, and magical ruins,” Krummor began. ”This faction believes that the preservation of history, knowledge, and artifacts is critical to maintaining balance.

”Then there are the Interventionists who directly clash with the previous faction. They focus on direct action against oppressive regimes, tyrants, and organizations such as the Cult of Bones. They believe in taking decisive militant actions to dismantle threats.

”The Shadowblades focus on espionage, infiltration, and assassinations. Some of the more idealistic members of our organization view this factionʼs willingness to traverse through the morally gray area as extremely unethical to the organizationʼs values.”

Krummor paused for a moment to take another puff from his pipe before continuing, ”The Diplomats focus on building alliances with nobles, merchants, and other influential groups. They believe in leveraging soft power to achieve the organizationʼs goals.

”The Wild Watchers protect the natural world and combat threats to balance in the wilderness regions. Most elves are part of this faction. The Reformers believe in rebuilding and reforming corrupt governments or guilds from within.

”Then there are the Free Agents who prioritize thier own moral compass and the needs of their immediate region over centralized directives. Theyʼre loners really. Finally, there is the group of hermits known as the Seekers of Balance. No one really understands what those bunch of philosophers are up to.”

Krummor looked at Adam and asked with a raised eyebrow, ”So which one do you think Berger and I belong to?”

Adam vaguely knew about the eight major factions of the Twilight Brotherhood. He involuntarily glanced at Daneli and thought, Hmm, Lord Elrod is a part of the Wild Watchers, so this bastard would most likely join that faction. Who knows, he probably already has.

Of the eight major factions, the Preservationists and the Interventionists were the two most powerful ones. They were always at odds with each other. Moreover, they were both led by Rank 4 - Mana Core Magi.

There were rumors, however, that the leader of the Preservationist was a very old man with one foot already in the grave. As for the leader of the Interventionists, Adam didnʼt know much except for the fact that the Magus was a battle maniac.

The youth thought for a few moments, rubbing his chin. He then answered with a dubious look on his face, ”I feel like youʼre part of the Diplomats, whereas the old man is a Free Agent. But considering that you said you both belong to the same faction…”

He thought about it for a brief second before shrugging. ”I donʼt know, my lord. My guess is as good as throwing darts in the dark.”

Krummor chuckled lightly, ”Just because Iʼve been sent here to negotiate on behalf of the Brotherhood doesnʼt mean Iʼm part of the Diplomats.”

He paused for a moment before speaking with a faint smile, ”I volunteered to be sent for this negotiation. The only reason I came to Ulier was because of you.”

”Me?” Adam asked in slight shock.

”Yes.” Krummor nodded. ”I wanted to take a good look at Bergerʼs only pupil.”

From the way the dwarf spoke about Berger, Adam couldnʼt help but ask, ”My Lord, are you and the old man perhaps friends?”

Krummor flashed a reminiscent smile. ”Yes, we are. To be more precise, he is my senior.”

”And what faction do the two of you belong to?” Adam asked with great interest.

”The Preservationists.”