inspire-indiana Chapter 208 The Proposal to Become the Dean
Chapter 208 The Proposal to Become the Dean
Chapter 208 The Proposal to Become the Dean
Susas Mage Academy, Academy Meeting.
The event was held in the auditorium, where a large number of formal monks were present.
The mages, representing the second-tier elites, sat in the front row, dressed in red robes.
At the very front of the auditorium, only five people were seated on the eight high-backed chairs that belonged to the deans of the various departments.
In order, they are Hammond, Skeleton, Spirit Pivot, and the two deans representing the Department of Transmutation and the Department of Spellcasting, respectively.
Behind each of the five stood one of the most outstanding disciples of the academy, Logan Susas being one of them.
Kane sat in the audience, his eyes flickering as he looked up at the platform from the spotlight.
The last time he came here, he was led by Bella and Arundel.
Now that both of them are imprisoned, he can't help but feel a pang of sadness at how things have changed.
It seems I need to find an opportunity to visit Arundel.
"Bang!"
A soft sound suddenly rang out.
Hammond, the Dean of the Energy Division, spoke through the power of magic, his voice echoing throughout every corner of the hall: "In the past period of time—"
We repelled the demon cult's attack, but the academy paid a heavy price.
In order to protect the academy—Headmaster Flint was seriously wounded, Headmaster Irwin died in battle, and Headmaster Bella went missing.
Now, let us all observe three minutes of silence.
As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up first, and the monks present followed suit, all bowing their heads in silence.
Kane lowered his head as well, sighing inwardly.
In this moment of silence, perhaps the only ones truly worthy of remembrance are Dean Irwin, who died in battle, and Dean Flint, who was seriously wounded.
After a moment of silence, the meeting resumed, and Hammond spoke again, his tone grave: "Right now, the Susas Mage Academy is beset by crises."
To protect the academy, we urgently need to replenish our forces.
After saying that, he turned his gaze to the seats in the Transformation Division on the other side.
She turned to the elegant man and asked, "Dean Nightow, have you made all the arrangements for recruiting a new dean?"
The elegant man nodded and said slowly, "I have extended invitations to the six kingdoms to invite two third-tier mages, one specializing in illusion and the other in defense."
Once they arrive at the academy, I will evaluate them together with you all.
"Two people?"
Logan Susas glanced meaningfully at Kane, but his expression remained unchanged.
Hammond then followed up with, "And what about the Sorting House?"
Dean Night Owl looked troubled: "Any third-tier mage of the prophetic school is a person relied upon by the governments of various countries."
They can predict the future to some extent.
Just like our Dean Flint, who is in charge of judging the future direction of the academy—accurate prophecies can guide the actions of mages and lead Susas on his path.
Therefore—I haven't been able to find a suitable candidate yet.
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Hammond frowned slightly, looking troubled.
Kane took in the whole "show" and understood what was going on.
Directly recommending him, a Nord, to be the head of the Prophecy Division will inevitably provoke dissatisfaction among some people.
However, if the reason given is that the college is short of staff and has to hire from outside, then the nature of the matter is completely different.
Dean Night Owl remained silent in thought, while Hammond frowned deeply.
Just then, the skeleton suddenly raised its withered hand and said, "In that case, why not appoint a second-tier mage as the acting dean?"
"Simply excel in divination and prophecy—like Lenora, a student of Headmaster Flint."
Upon hearing this suggestion, Lenora stood up shakily and raised her hand, saying, "I only possess some general second-tier divination spells, such as detecting good and evil, and detecting thoughts, which may allow me to preside over related rituals—"
I lack the necessary talent.
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room froze, and the monks present looked at each other in bewilderment.
Just then, the auditorium doors creaked open.
An aged voice came from outside the door: "In that case, why not listen to the opinion of this former dean?"
A frail, elderly figure slowly walked up the platform, and Kane's eyes narrowed.
The visitor was none other than Flint.
However, the aetheric fluctuations emanating from him were already difficult for even a first-tier mage to maintain.
It continues to fall, almost to the apprentice level.
Seeing their aura weaken to this extent, all the mages present were astonished.
The same applies to the five current deans on stage.
A sense of lament, regret, and pity was evident on everyone's faces.
Flint stood on the platform, his gaze sweeping across the entire area, and slowly said, "I apologize, it is truly impolite of me to stand here like this."
After being attacked and injured by the demon cult, I forced myself to perform a divination and saw two images.
In the first image, dark clouds shroud King Susas, and two dark figures emerge behind him.
These words caused an uproar in the room.
Many mages immediately recalled the rumors that had been circulating: King Susas had been cursed by the demon cult.
Hammond looked at him and said, "We have already conveyed the prophecy about King Sussas being cursed by the demon to the royal court."
"And what about the second one?"
"Cough cough————"
Flint coughed twice and continued, "The second image shows a human spellcaster with black hair and black eyes standing atop the mage tower of the Prophecy Division, dressed in a greyish-white robe."
Upon hearing the divination result, all the monks were taken aback.
The greyish-white robe is the exclusive attire of the Dean of the Prophecy Division.
This undoubtedly indicates that the future head of the Prophecy Division will be a male, and a human one at that—
In an instant, everyone instinctively shone their lights at Kane in the center of the crowd.
Black-haired, black-eyed Nords —
Kane, sitting in the audience, perfectly fits this description.
Kane ignored the gazes directed at him, focusing instead on the former dean whose aura had weakened.
Their eyes met, and he clearly saw Flint smile slightly at him.
In an instant, Kane understood.
Both of these prophecies are lies.
A spellcaster whose aura has deteriorated to the point where they can barely maintain even the first rank could not possibly perform such accurate divination.
The purpose of this action is crystal clear.
The pressure continued as rumors that King Susas was cursed reaffirmed.
Secondly, it paved the way for his rise to power.
Kane was grateful, but he didn't say a word; he simply rose slightly.
Flint spoke up: "Come up here, Lord Kane from Nord, the human mage I foretold in my divination."
Kane calmly rose to his feet, and countless eyes converged on him—a variety of expressions, including doubt, surprise, admiration, and unfamiliarity—yet few openly opposed him.
After all, only the Dean's Council has the authority to make decisions regarding internal affairs of the academy.
Even if a few people are dissatisfied, they can only give up at this point.
The five deans on the stage remained silent, and no one raised any objections.
Kane walked from the stands onto the platform and stood beside Flint.
Flint gave him a knowing look, and Kane nodded slightly.
Then, Flint turned to the five deans seated in high-backed chairs and solemnly said, "This is the last time I will ever take this seat in my life."
Therefore, I humbly request that you appoint Mage Kane as the Acting Dean of the Prophecy Division.
Once his strength breaks through to the third tier, he will be officially appointed as the dean.
Although it was a last-minute suggestion, the official announcement still caused an uproar in the audience.
The monks whispered amongst themselves, their expressions revealing doubt and astonishment.
Flint bowed slightly and looked at his former colleague.
Hammond's eyes flickered, he tapped the table lightly, and said in a deep voice, "Silence."
The commotion abruptly stopped.
Hammond announced loudly, "The vote on whether to adopt former Headmaster Flint's proposal to appoint Mage Kane as Acting Headmaster of the Prophecy Division shall now begin."
"Plastic Energy Branch - Agreed."
"Necromancer's Division - Agreed."
"The Department of Bewilderment and Control—Agreed."
"Change Sector - Abstain".
"The Spellcasting Division—I agree."
As soon as the voting results were announced, whispers broke out again from the audience.
It is hard to believe that someone from a foreign country or ethnic group would serve as the dean of a branch, even if it is only an acting position.
But at that moment, Kane's eyes flickered slightly.
The variables he had identified have almost arrived as expected.
"The Council of Nobles—Rejected!"
Before the words were even finished, the auditorium doors swung open with a bang.
A portly man walked in side by side with a hooded monk.
It was Luke Parker, the messenger of the noble council, and Malcolm, the middle-aged mage from the city-state.
The two men exchanged hostile glances. Luke Parker's face was filled with resentment at being fooled, while Malcolm stared at Kane with a cold, venomous gaze.
Luke Parker retorted sharply: "Your institution has convened a meeting without authorization, attempting to decide on the headmaster before the orders from Parliament and the Royal Family are issued."
This action is against the rules and shows utter contempt for the will of the royal court!
The skeleton sneered, but Hammond still smiled and said, "Count Luke, our court has no intention of belittling the Royal Court."
Once the final decision is made, we will submit the results to the Royal Family and the Council of Nobles.
Luke Parker gritted his teeth: "No need! Dean Hammond, the council has already decided to appoint Master Malcolm as Dean of the Prophecy Division."
He was proficient in several divination spells.
Hammond remained noncommittal, replying calmly, "I'm sorry, what we need is true domination ability, not general spells like mind detection or object location. Please understand, Earl."
Furthermore, according to Dean Flint's divination, the choice for Headmaster of our Prophecy Sector has been determined: it is none other than Mage Kane.
Luke Parker wanted to argue, but Malcolm suddenly snorted and said, "A second-tier Nord, and Susas's nemesis."
If he were to become one of the branch deans of the Susas Mage Academy, who could guarantee he wouldn't leak the academy's secrets to Nord?
He made no attempt to hide his accusations and directly laid them out.
Kane looked at his repulsive appearance, smiled slightly, bowed slightly, and asked in return, "Then, would someone who claims to be a city-state war mage, under sufficient temptation, betray the academy's information?"
Upon hearing this, many monks raised their eyebrows in surprise.
A second-tier mage dared to directly challenge a third-tier war mage.
Malcolm's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he stared intently at Kane, his right hand quietly pressing against his ring as he whispered the spell: "Painful Fooling".
Hammond and his men were furious.
"Insolence! Stop!"
In everyone's eyes, Kane had already fallen victim to the attack, his eyes instantly becoming glazed over.
The five deans stood up in unison, their gazes sharp.
Hammond raised his staff and shouted, "Malcolm, do you know the consequences of attacking the new Dean within the Academy?!"
Malcolm snorted coldly.
However, facing the five third-tier deans and the hundreds of formal spellcasters with unfriendly expressions below the stage, he couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Although he is a war mage, his spell slots are ultimately limited.
Moreover, Hammond alone would be difficult for him to handle.
Luke Parker was so frightened that he was at a loss for words and stammered.
If a conflict were to break out, he, as the envoy of the noble council, would undoubtedly become the scapegoat.
Tensions were high between the two sides.
The mages, who had just been dissatisfied with Kane's appointment as acting dean, now turned their hostility toward the noble council.
After all, even if they didn't approve of Kane, they would never allow outsiders to forcibly interfere in the academy's internal affairs.
Some more insightful monks have already realized this:
The appointment of Kane, a second-tier scholar, as acting dean was originally a buffer plan devised by the academy to resist interference from the royal court.
Just as the atmosphere became tense and on the verge of exploding, an old and calm voice rang out. It was Flint: "Please be quiet, everyone."
"Master Kane—no, I should call him Dean Kane—is alright."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and subconsciously looked at Kane on the table.
At this moment, Kane's eyes had regained their clarity, and there was no trace of the confusion he had just shown.
Hammond, the skeletons, and others already knew that Kane could rival Bella, so they were not surprised.
But the monks below the stage were amazed.
A second-tier mage can actually withstand a third-tier spell?
Could it be that this renowned, murderous third-tier war mage is actually unworthy of his reputation?
Many people looked at Malcolm with skepticism.
Malcolm looked surprised and uncertain.
"Painful Deception" is his most proficient third-tier illusion spell, which is always effective against second-tier mages, and can even temporarily imprison the minds of some spellcasters of the same tier.
But now, this spell has failed on a second-tier spellcaster, and the opponent regained his senses in a very short time.
Kane smiled slightly.
His numerous near-death experiences at the demon cult's stronghold had long since rendered him immune to the pain of such illusions.
How could the pain inflicted by the other's magic compare to the torment he endured by personally facing death several times?
He spoke slowly, his gaze fixed on Malcolm: "Malcolm's magic, by sheer coincidence, caused me to trigger a divination."
"Fortune telling?" The entire room was taken aback.
Kane continued, his gaze sharp as a knife: "My divination foretells this."
The mage Malcolm will be defeated in a spell duel by a second-tier spellcaster from Nords.
This statement is less a prophecy and more a blatant provocation.
The audience erupted in uproar once again.
Hammond was filled with doubt and a hint of worry.
He exchanged a glance with Flint and couldn't help but wonder if Kane had become arrogant and complacent after defeating Bella.
It's important to understand that there's a world of difference in strength between a third-tier academy mage specializing in illusion and a third-tier war mage hired specifically for combat.
Faced with such provocation, Malcolm stared into Kane's dark eyes, a malicious grin spreading across his face. He said with a ferocious glint in his eyes, "Since you're looking for death, then let's have a magical duel, Nord!"