Chapter 0088

The headquarters of the Eternal Spirits Guild sit in the middle of a picturesque lush valley, flourishing with different flora and fauna.

Vibrant plant life soaks up the sun’s ray and the moisture in the air from the heavier than usual mana concentration in the air to grow at a rapid pace.

Animals run to and fro, rambunctious with the arrival of spring.

Scattered here and there are the abode of the Elders of the guild as well as the homes of the higher but not that high people in the guild that runs the day to day operation of the guild. Tempest refers to them as middle management, but Cardis never understood the connotation so he ignored her weird quip.

All in all, it is a dream paradise 99% of the people back on Earth strives for but never could obtain.

Towards the north of the valley lies an imposing mountain range comprise of dormant and semi dormant volcanoes, spewing ominous ashes to the east where a dark gloomy wasteland filled with disturbing energy flourished. Towards the south of the valley is a large lake, or sea or ocean. Tempest isn't sure what kind of body of water creates the southern border of this magnificent valley but she can tell it is large. She can’t see the end of the sea, as if she was sitting on the beach watching the sunset over the horizon, the body of water is so vast. The western border feels like a graveyard, similar to the tar pits Tempest heard of.

Tempest looked at the scenery then looked at Cardis, her expression saying, “What idiot would build their guild headquarters here?”

Tempest didn’t have to say anything. Ventus conveyed her feelings to Cardis’ wind spirits who pass on the question to Cardis.

Cardis rapped Tempest’s head. “This is a matter of man shaping the environment to reflect them. A thousand, no five thousand years ago it wasn’t like this. Back then, the north was a normal range of mountains, the south was a small lake, the east was an ominous forest and the west was a large plain. An accident happened and the volcanoes came into being.”

“What part of the accident did you play a part in?” Tempest asked sarcastically. Cardis’ expression generally ranges from carefree flirt to hot intense passion. When there is a deviation from any form of his sensual persona, Tempest knows he’s guilty, though of what, she doesn’t know.

A guilty expression stole across Cardis face.

He definitely did something wrong.

“A spell… wrong…volcanoes emerge…”

“So you created the volcanoes when one of your spells gone wrong huh. That’s interesting. And powerful. Will you teach me the spell?” Tempest acted like the typical teenager in front of the parent, ridiculing them for being stupid while asking for money at the same time.

“Despite how it looks, this is the best to place to cultivate as a mage,” Cardis said, trying to divert the topic. “Can’t you feel the higher mana concentration in the air?”

Tempest closed her eyes and extended her senses, feeling the touch of the wind, the moisture in the air and then gentle sizzle of electricity. It was indeed as Cardis had said, the mana concentration here was higher than anywhere she’d ever been.

Tempest could sense the wind elements anywhere, but she has to concentration or Ventus has to exert her influence before she can feel it. She can feel the water elements if she was in the water. As for lightning, she’d never sense any lightning elements ever since she came to the Cardinal Realm.

“I can feel the dense concentration of mana here.”

Cardis began to boast about his guild's headquarter. “The reason the mana concentration is so thick here is due to the unnatural landmass. The volcanoes sit on a leyline, which causes them to generate mana at a higher concentration while there is a chaos rift over the middle of the ocean that also produces an abundance of mana. The Unnatural Guild’s headquarters is in the land that looks like a wasteland and the Blood Tyrant Guild’s headquarters is towards the west.

The land already has a higher concentration of mana in the air and as the only mage guild in the area, our members don’t have to compete with other guilds for the ambient mana.”

Here, Cardis’ smile was smug as it can get. This was the first time Tempest sees a Cheshire cat smile on a man. She didn’t think a grin can get that wide on a human being, but Cardis smile was just as sneak as the cat.

“Our guild has always taken a favorable stance to heretic practitioner outside the immortal potential. The Unnatural guild practices a method using an unusual type of energy the heaven rejects. I’m not too sure of the particulars as I never asked, but I do know it isn’t mana they use to cultivate with. The Blood Tyrant Guild cultivates the unacknowledged fifth immortal potential, the blood as their means to immortality. Both guilds occupying our eastern and western borders means there are no other mage guilds in the area to compete for the mana.”

“Hence your more accepting attitude towards the other two guilds because eliminating them would create a vacuum another mage guild would fill and thereby use the available mana and leaving less for your guild.” Tempest completed the thought dryly.

It was an ingenious idea, good in theory, hard to implement. Tempest understood a bit about the herd mentality humans had. People of similar backgrounds or ideologies form social groups and rejects all outsiders different from themselves.

The clique groups in high school are the perfect example. There are the popular group, the jocks, the nerds, the goths, and a slew of other stereotypical groups enclosed in a densely populated place call the school. Each group tends to keep to themselves. As with all groups seeking benefits for their members, they belittle the other groups while elevating the status of its members. Once the tension becomes too strong, a fight breaks out among the groups.

In this geographical location reside three different groups feeding off three different resources. The Eternal Spirits Guild allowed the other guild to settle close by because the other guild will handle any other mage guild seeking to settle in the area. If either the Blood Tyrant Guild or the Unnatural Guild was to move their headquarters elsewhere, it would leave an opening for other mage guilds to settle in the area, taking a portion of the resources that belong solely to the Eternal Spirit Guild.

The Eternal Spirits Guild could try to monopolize the land, but if they grow too large then the other mage guild would ban together to stop their growth, fearing it would be the next who would be annexed.

A symbiotic relationship could also develop where the smaller guild would send their mages to be trained with the Eternal Spirits Guild. This practice would create cliques in the Eternal Spirits Guild, something the higher up would like to avoid.

Therefore the best solution is to encourage non-mage guilds to settle in their area.

The result is the land Tempest is currently surveying.

“Exactly.”

“Whoever thought of this was a genius.”

“The idea, planning and implementation were done by yours truly.” Cardis puffed up his chest in pride. He shot glances towards Tempest, waiting for her to heap praises on her head.

Tempest shot down her narcissist teacher, “Why do we have to land and enter the guild’s headquarters on foot? My feet will definitely feel the thought and implementation of the guild headquarter.”

Again, Cardis felt sorry for the physical endeavor he had to put her through. Regardless of how she acts, she still is a 13-year-old girl. Trekking from the foot of the volcano to their headquarters without the use of mana is going to be hard on her.

“During the planning, I didn’t account for a portal opening to the primordial chaos to form. It disrupts all forms of energy except chaotic energy. No one can fly into the headquarters, not even us.” Cardis’ voice got softer and softer towards the end. Cardis is a prideful man. Anyone living as long as he does while having the title as the most powerful mage in the Magus Alliance will have a strong sense of pride in their abilities. For his student to catch his mistake is an embarrassment, he had to bear.

Flight is possible, Ventus whispered.

“How?”

The nature of your elements has a touch of chaos in it. Combine your elements and tune it to the power lingering in the air and you can control your mana like usual.

Tempest closed her eyes and extend her senses. She can feel each mana in the air moving in an erratic fashion, colliding with each other like a cue ball breaking the other balls, sending them in all directions. Each collision generates a force, chaotic and unruly.

Tempest mind went back to Earth, more specifically to the time she touches the edge of the storm. The same type of energy present in the storm lingers over the valley.

“The Calm Before the Storm, A Touch of Storm, The Eye of the Storm, The Lingering Storm and The Aftermath of the Storm.” Tempest unwittingly murmured the aspect of a storm as she immersed herself in the chaotic energy.

She slowly began to fly towards the guild headquarter, traversing airspace even Cardis with his power was unable to accomplish.

“Wait for me,” Cardis yelled as he ran after his flying disciple.