One week had passed.

  This morning, after Seraph concluded his daily training routine, he hurried toward the great hall within the main basilica situated at the heart of Sanctus.

  Before the clash with the Kambion Group, the young man had constantly sought to evade other magis within Sanctus. He had encountered almost no one save for Marina, dedicating himself solely to training with the knight golems. At that time, the young man remained uncertain whether his mageia affinity had undergone any true evolution.

  After the young man fought the Kambion Group—though the entire process resulted from prior planning and lacked the intensity of a life-or-death struggle—it nevertheless granted Seraph a surge of confidence in his own mageia power.

  Today, he prepared to ascend to his next threshold and venture out into the vast world beyond.

  With a new plan in motion, Seraph walked directly into the main hall of the central district, where the Sanctus citadel stood surrounded by six outer temples, with the great basilica established at the center as the heart of the ancient ruins.

  The central basilica served as the residence for the high members of Sanctus and the vital locations within the Stormcloud Citadel, such as the Mission Hall adjacent to the Main Hall of the central basilica.

  Sanctus functioned as a mageia institution governed similarly to the external magis associations; that is, the primary magis class of the association possessed a straightforward hierarchy. These included Novice, Acomage, Magis, Magister, Warlock, and High Warlock.

  Parallel to this was a specialized path for the Rune architect, consisting of Novice, Acomage, Rune architect, Battle Architect, War Architect, High Architect of War, and Grand Architect.

  Specific roles and duties were further subdivided, such as healers, scholars, and demonologists; notably, a high-ranking echelon did not always equate to possessing superior mageia power.

  The position of high master is merely an official role for administration and governance; they do not necessarily possess prominent combat power. Much like Marina, who does not excel in offensive mageia, she is nonetheless potent in healing mageia and defensive mageia.

  Some magis might even be stronger than a high master who sits on the Sanctus Council. The Sanctus Council is regarded as the high council tasked with governance and wielding authority over nearly all internal operations of Sanctus. They are the supreme ruling body of the Sanctus Sanctum, elected from the entirety of the magis.

  The Sanctus Council consists of High Warlocks, High Masters, Grand Architects, and Grand Scholars, totaling seven members. One member of the Sanctus Council serves as the Head of the Council, holding supreme authority. This individual holds the highest office and is considered the leader of Sanctus: the Grandmaster.

  The reason some magis may be stronger than a high master is that many specializing classes, such as rune architects and scholars, can ascend to the rank of high master even if their mageia power is low.

  The criteria for ascending to the high council of Sanctus are judged based on both academic knowledge of mageia arts and combat capabilities, which differ greatly, and some may not be able to directly participate in the demon war. Yet, even the position of Grand Scholar, which is entirely devoid of offensive power, is no less critical than that of a High Warlock.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  As mageia remains an esoteric and unexplored art, the rune architects and scholars are just as vital as the Warlocks. They always have ample opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and capabilities within Arkflame. The proof lies in the myriad knight golems that stand guard around the Stormcloud Citadel group, which are the works and creations of the rune architects themselves.

  Rune architects vastly outnumber magis. The war golems, the mageia puppets they construct, are indispensable weapons of war for Arkflame. It was through this ever-open door of opportunity that Seraph initially held aspirations of becoming a rune architect, the creator of the mageia golems.

  Today, however, he had come to the Mission Hall because he desired to ascend to the rank of Magis, which was the first gate toward Warlock and everything beyond. Moreover, undertaking missions was the sole condition for promotion, and his affinity had reached the threshold where he was fully prepared!

  Seraph pushed open the tall, ancient wooden door into the Mission Hall. The bell artefact chimed with a clear, resonant sound.

  [Ding!]

  The Mission Hall was a large, spacious chamber. The atmosphere within resembled a bounty hunter’s bar or an inn. All four walls were plastered entirely with demon-hunting mission boards. The scent of old paper and charcoal from the fireplace mingled in the air.

  The area around the hall was open ”nd u’cluttered by furniture, allowing the magis of Sanctus to walk around the room with ease, selecting missions that were both desired and appropriate.

  However, tables and chairs were arranged in the center of the room, providing a space for magis to converse and recruit other mageia users to form demon-hunting mission groups.

  When a specific mission was desired, one simply pulled the mission paper from the board and reported it to the counter. However, it was also possible to have the counter assistant directly search for a suitable mission.

  These missions were commissioned by outsiders, who hired the magis to resolve their problems. The missions were varied: combat, sweeping operations, escort duties, patrols, pursuits, investigation and inspection, treasure hunting, warfare, healing, mageia arts academics, and agriculture.

  Mission targets were diverse as well, including beasts, demons, bandits, and human armies. This meant that even with Laurasia facing invasions from swarms of demons and the Demon Legion, conflicts among humankind never ceased for a second.

  When Seraph entered the Mission Hall, he found no one. The room was empty and silent. Even behind the counter, no one was present. The young man, however, felt no anxiety. He strolled toward the mission announcements, examining each one as if it were a perfectly normal day.

  Missions within Sanctus were divided into various ranks. The majority were entry-level assignments, as high-rank requests were typically submitted directly to elite magis or renowned demon-hunting groups. Even if a high-rank mission were posted within the hall for an entire year, it might remain unclaimed.

  As the young man scanned the boards, he realized that more than half of the missions involving demons or beasts were certainly beyond his current threshold. Most combat-oriented missions required a full party of demon hunters to infiltrate a den.

  Demons were numerous and ever-present in massive swarms. To slay but a single demon or beast was meaningless; a demon hunter had to possess the capability to escape the den alive. Thus, any magis seeking combat missions required survival skills far beyond the ordinary.

  However, Seraph lacked any affiliation. Having once been frail, he possessed no comrades or hunting party. Naturally, he would have to undertake his missions alone. Therefore, the young man had to seek a low-rank mission that still yielded substantial mission points.

  Before long, the young man discovered an intriguing prospect: a mission to sweep and destroy an undead nest outside the Capital of Arkpolis. Though the mission area was distant and required travel through several cities, he could utilize ventus mageia to augment his travel speed. Despite the distance, it posed no issue for a magis of the ventus element.

  Yet, a flicker of concern rose within Seraph as he studied the details of the undead mission. Whenever Laurasia suffered an invasion from the Demon Legion, the demons brought with them demonic miasma and plagues.