The Flight Spell was classified in ancient times under the Stellar school, but within the Magic Parliament it belongs to both the Force Field and Stellar schools, since its working principle relies on leveraging the gravitational pull of the stars to counteract the earth's bondage.
"Feels wonderful to fly." Lucian closed his eyes, letting the cold wind rush against his face, savoring that exhilarating sense of liberation from all restraints. "It's just a bit slow, though. You have to calculate the angle and direction of stellar gravity yourself — it's both mentally and spiritually taxing. I really need to equip myself with a supplementary calculation circle. And before reaching the sixth-circle high-level Flight Spell, there's no way to match the speed of a magic steam train, let alone airplanes or supersonic flight. Hmm, maybe I should try optimizing it with fluid dynamics and aerodynamics."
While Lucian was still immersed in the bliss of flight, a steady male voice suddenly reached his ears: "Respected Fourth-rank Archanist, you have violated Article Seven, Clause Eighteen of the Altor Management Regulations: 'No flying is permitted within Altor without authorization from the Magic Parliament.' Would you like to pay the fine, or spend some time in the Anti-Magic Prison?"
Huh? Lucian snapped his eyes open as if jolted from a beautiful dream, staring blankly at the young man before him dressed in a black Combat Mage robe. The man had dark hair and brown eyes, his expression stern. On his sleek, flowing robe were pinned the four-circle magician's badge, the crimson flame badge signifying a Combat Mage, the black scepter badge denoting internal disciplinary authority, and the white feather badge granting flight permission — but since he was on Altor patrol duty, he was not wearing an Archanist badge.
Oh no — I was too excited after learning the Flight Spell and forgot about Altor's flight prohibition... Lucian came to his senses and realized he had made a serious mistake, rubbing his forehead. "How much is the fine?"
Then, thinking of his mere sixty-one Arcane Points in assets, he asked with an air of a miser: "If I go to the Anti-Magic Prison, how long would I be locked up?"
Seeing that Lucian wasn't putting up any resistance, the man's stern expression softened slightly. "Archanist, we are in the southwestern suburbs of Altor, where the punishment is much lighter than for flying in the core district of Sky City. Moreover, this is your first offense, so the fine is thirty Arcane Points. If you choose the Anti-Magic Prison instead, you would be detained for one month."
"One month? Fine, I'll pay the fine." Lucian made the decision with a pang of reluctance, telling himself it was like setting off a grand firework to celebrate his promotion to the middle tier.
The man wrote out a fine slip on magically imbued paper and stamped it with his identity badge. "Archanist, just take this to the Disciplinary Department to pay the fine."
Then he smiled, glancing at the dreamlike ring on Lucian's right hand. "Mr. Evans, congratulations on your promotion to the middle tier — becoming yet another magician to advance to the Third Circle before the age of twenty-two. I imagine you'll encounter no difficulty before reaching the Sixth Circle." The unique design of that ring had long been known among magicians through the gossip pamphlets circulating between them.
Actually, I'm not even twenty yet. Well, if you count my previous life, I'm twenty-five... Lucian grumbled inwardly but smiled gently. "Thank you. You're the first magician to congratulate me on my promotion. By the way, I don't know your name yet — could you tell me?"
The Combat Mage laughed with good humor. "Of course. I'm not afraid of Mr. Evans taking revenge on me. My name is Yurisian, of the Silver Moon Song Alliance. I'm currently attached to both the Disciplinary Department and the Battle Mage Department. Just now, when one of my subordinates spotted through the Eye of Altor that the flight violation was committed by a Fourth-rank Archanist, he didn't dare handle it himself and reported to me." It was actually the sight of the Holm Crown Ring "Element" that had prompted Yurisian to teleport here via Altor's Magic Circle.
"Yurisian? The electromagnetic genius Archanist?" Because of his own reputation as a prodigy, Lucian had been bombarded by friends like Lazar and Roc with information about the Magic Parliament's current generation of geniuses. Yurisian, this Fourth-rank Archanist, had nearly received the Silver Moon Medal for his discovery of the photoelectric induction phenomenon — yet he was an oddball combat fanatic who had voluntarily applied to join the Battle Mage Department and the Disciplinary Department.
Yurisian smiled self-deprecatingly. "In front of you, Mr. Evans, how could I dare call myself a genius? In the minds of most young magicians, the true geniuses of this generation are only two: Mr. Felipe, who has won the Immortal Throne Award twice, the Holm Crown Award once, and advanced to the High Tier — and you, Mr. Evans. I have to say, the two of you have raised the standard for what counts as 'genius.' It's as if you haven't truly earned the title unless you've won the highest honor in your respective fields. So the rest of us — Rachel, Arthur, Samantha, Larry, and I — have sadly been relegated to the rank of ordinary magicians."
With his characteristic humor, Yurisian had subtly expressed his respect for Lucian. He was clearly a man who knew how to talk.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Yurisian used his black scepter badge to activate the Altor Magic Circle and vanished from the spot.
Lucian looked at the fine slip in his hand and shook his head with a rueful smile. "Now that I have a sixty-Arcane-Point monthly stipend, I can barely cover daily living expenses, experiments, and potions. But there's no way I can splurge the way I did between the Second and Third Circles, with unlimited potions and magic materials thrown around like they were free."
"Suddenly I'm regretting setting up that purification magic circle. Otherwise, starting in July I'd have my first monthly annuity payment. Given the current promotion and sales of Holm Minerals and Harvest Company, the first few years should bring in at least several hundred Gold Thalers per month. Once it's fully rolled out across these countries, five or six thousand — even ten thousand — Gold Thalers a month isn't out of the question. That would be equivalent to a High-tier Archanist's income."
Putting away the fine slip, Lucian slowly descended while gazing into the darkness to the west. "Natasha, John, Uncle Joel, Aunt Elisa, Teacher Victor, Elena, Phyllis... I really want to find a chance to go back and see them..."
As Lucian drifted down to the height of the villa's second floor, a window creaked open, and Reiliya and Hedy rubbed their eyes as they looked outside. They were so exhausted they couldn't quite fall asleep, and they wanted to gaze at the beautiful night sky and recall the stories their mother once told them.
Far from home, far from family, they had come to Altor to study magic. Amid the heavy coursework and spellcasting practice, feelings of homesickness were always impossible to dispel. Unlike Lucian, they couldn't exchange letters with Natasha back in Altor.
"Oh? Mr. Evans?" The moment the window opened, Hedy spotted Lucian floating nearby — he had been about to head back to his meditation room.
Lucian smiled. "Good evening, Hedy, Reiliya. Can't sleep? Would you like to do some Archanist exercises?"