Chapter 1411: Inaugurated

Michael furrowed his brows as he sat down on the bench right next to Seberus. The old man had a gaze that was looking far beyond his own vision.

"I know that you have been collecting the medallions of the Mystic Masters," Seberus said. "And if you have mine, you’ll have four signatures..."

"But..." Michael said, already anticipating the bad news coming.

"But," Seberus said with a somber voice. "It seems that the Guild of Arcana had just crowned a new Mystic Master just a few days ago."

Michael’s eyebrows raised, surprised at this turn of events. "A new Mystic Master?"

As far as he knew, the last Mystic Master to be crowned with that title was about twenty years ago. One would think that that was a long time gap, but in truth, that was a pretty short amount of time.

According to Seberus, the crowning of a new Mystic Master would happen every fifty to one hundred years. After all, usually, the Guild of Arcana would wait until a Mystic Master had retired from the physical world before crowning another one. So, it would usually take a lot of time.

But now, just twenty years later, they were going to crown another Mystic Master.

"You know what this means, correct?" Seberus asked.

Michael pursed his lips and nodded. "I won’t be able to get permission to enter their secret library yet."

After all, the only reason why he needed four signature medallions from the Mystic Masters was because there used to be eight Mystic Masters in total. And for him to get permission, he needed to get the signatures of at least half of the reigning magic rulers of this world.

But now, there were nine Mystic Masters. Meaning, Michael would need five medallions. He was one short of getting permission to enter the secret library of the Guild of Arcana.

Of course, this may all be just a coincidence. Perhaps there was truly a talented individual who had reached the rank of Mystic Master all on his own accord.

However, there was also the possibility of someone tampering with the natural order.

They could have heard about Michael’s plans of entering the secret library, and chose to disrupt that by inaugurating a new Mystic Master.

At least, that’s what Michael was guessing. Seberus was not looking happy, meaning that he probably thought this as well. He was warned of Mystic Masters who wouldn’t necessarily be a friend to him or to Reborn.

"Who is this new Mystic Master?" Michael asked.

Seberus chuckled. "I don’t even know myself. All I know that he was one of the students studying in the Guild of Arcana."

"You don’t know him personally?" Michael asked. "I thought that crowning a new Mystic Master would require the attention of all Mystic Masters."

At this point, Seberus shook his head. "That’s what I complained about. After all, when I went to the Guild of Arcana, I was just visiting my friends. But then, I arrived there and was given notice that a new Mystic Master has been crowned.

There was no warning, no invitation to the inauguration. The new Mystic Master has already been crowned as a ruler of magic."

This seemed all too purposeful. Michael was sensing a conspiracy afoot.

"How could that be?"

"They’ve found a loophole," Seberus said. "Usually, all Mystic Masters need to be present whenever someone achieves our rank. It’s only natural. However, there is one exception. And this exception is so old and so rare that most of us even forgot it existed in the first place.

If a wizard completes ’the enigma’, then they are immediately promoted to the rank of Mystic Master."

Michael frowned. "The Enigma? What is that?"

Seberus tossed a crumb towards a pigeon. It pecked on it and flew away as the other pigeons rushed to the ground.

"It’s an old problem. Left behind by the Ancient Era as a way to test people. It’s a puzzle that is extremely hard to complete. And in fact, if you are not a Mystic Master, then you will not be able to complete it at all. That’s why this rule has been forgotten for so long."

Michael couldn’t understand this ’Enigma.’

"So, it’s a puzzle that is impossible to be solved by someone that is not a Mystic Master? And if you solve it, you’ll become a Mystic Master?"

Seberus nodded. "Yes. Confounding, is it not?"

"Could it be that this new Mystic Master is just that talented?" Michael asked.

But Seberus scoffed at the notion. "No. Didn’t you hear what I said? I said, impossible."

"Then... how?"

Seberus looked up at the skies, not answering Michael’s question.

A few seconds later, a thought began to form in Michael’s mind. "Could... could it be possible for this... new guy... to receive some kind of teaching from a Mystic Master and complete the ’Enigma’ that way?"

It was at this point that Seberus looked back at Michael. His blue eyes glimmered with an imperceptible glint.

"I don’t know," Seberus said with a smile.

Michael inwardly nodded. He immediately understood what his old friend was trying to tell him.

Seberus was trying to tell Michael that he, himself, couldn’t accuse such words to the new Mystic Master. It would be unbecoming of someone in his stature.

But that look was all what Michael needed. Seberus was also of the opinion that some cheating had happened in order to expedite the inauguration of a new Mystic Master.

For what reason? Michael couldn’t help but think that it was because of him.

Someone was trying to prevent him from entering that secret library.

"We Mystic Masters are curious creatures," Seberus said. "We all have the dream and the drive to preserve magic and mystical knowledge in the world. However, we are all so different in our paths to achieve that.

Some believe that the way to restore magic is to spread it even more, while others think it’s best to keep it to themselves.

Michael, it seems you’ll have to find some other way of getting inside that library."