The Magic Empire for 20,000 years

Chapter 3.3. The Beginning of Reform
Sun rise.

The brilliant golden sunlight shone on the magnificent floating city.

A strong wind swept by, and dazzling white clouds flew past on both sides of the floating city.

Men and women dressed in magnificent robes walked down the street with haughty airs. They wore badges adorned with stars, signifying their respective magical ranks and status.

They were the rulers of Eldoron, the noble mages.

Beside some of the noble mages were several obsequious servants.

Even in the floating city, the residents are not all mages; there are also the mages' families and servants.

But even just living in the floating city, these servants held a status far superior to the lowly people on the surface world who grew and died like weeds.

However, today is different from the past.

Most of the passing mages and nobles had solemn expressions and were discussing amongst themselves.

"What? You're making hunting the recreational activities of surface-dwelling outcasts illegal?"

"And they want to build schools on the surface of the earth, allowing the lowly people of the lower realms to learn magic?"

"This is too absurd! Those stupid, lowly people on the surface are not even a species like us. They can't even read, they can't even get enough to eat, and they know nothing about arithmetic, geometry, or astronomy. You want them to learn magic?"

"Is this truly His Majesty's will?"

"It is absolutely true; these are indeed the laws and decrees that His Majesty just issued."

What is His Majesty thinking?

"..."

A large group of mages gathered together, discussing the big event of the day.

Their gathering was observed by Erian, who was high up in the palace and behind the glass.

"The response has indeed been very strong..."

In this ancient era, the first human mages who mastered magic gained a transcendent status and became the initial ruling class and nobility precisely because they monopolized magic.

A hundred years ago, they gathered the strength of a thousand people and worked together to build this floating royal city, thus separating themselves from the lowly people on the ground.

To spread magic to ordinary people on the surface is tantamount to giving up one's own privileges.

El-Erian knew that if it were the original Emperor El-Erian, he would never have dared to make such reforms.

This could even shake the foundations of its rule.

But he is different; he has lived three lives, a soul from another time and a distant future.

He needs to look further ahead.

Moreover, compared to the original owner, he possessed the most crucial asset that reformers relied on...

force.

Ignoring the noisy crowd on the street below, Elian turned around, his fingertips lightly tracing patterns in the air, revealing one shining rune after another.

A terrifying magical energy converged.

And then it vanished in an instant.

"My current level of magic is nothing compared to my previous life; it's not even worth mentioning an ant."

"But at least, it easily broke through the bottleneck that had troubled the original owner for many years and became a [Primary Legend].

"Taking care of a few current-era ninth- or eighth-ring chief mages is more than enough!"

The original Elian was too weak.

This strongest mage in Eldoron is only a relatively strong ninth-ring archmage.

Among the other chiefs of the Imperial Council, Helen and Gutt are also ninth-ring archmages, while the other five are all eighth-ring high-ranking mages.

The original El-Erian was only slightly stronger than them, without any qualitative change.

This strongest mage in Eldoron is always stuck at the final bottleneck before becoming a "Legendary Mage," unable to construct a legendary-level spell model in his mind and take it a step further.

Now that Elian has transmigrated, he easily accomplishes what the original owner could not achieve despite his best efforts, thanks to his far superior arcane knowledge.

Just last night, Elion achieved a breakthrough. He advanced from a ninth-ring mage to the legendary realm, becoming a [Primary Legendary], completely widening the qualitative gap between himself and the other chiefs!
Reborn, Elion must start leveling up from scratch—

Spend decades or even centuries honing your magic to gradually advance to the level of [Intermediate Legendary] or even [High Legendary].

And, ascend to the throne of God!
However, for Eldoron, which has no other legendary mages and only two ninth-ring archmages, the current strength of the [Elementary Legendary] rank is enough to support a great reform.

"It's not entirely the original owner's fault. After all, in this ancient era, humans had only just learned magic from the elves, a mere few hundred years ago..."

Elian shook his head, walked out of the room, and strolled down the magnificent corridors of the palace.

"Your Majesty, is the decree that was just issued your will?"

"Your Majesty, do you really intend to establish schools in the mortal realm and allow the lowly people of the surface to access magic?"

Approaching us was a beautiful blonde woman. Nine gleaming stars on her breast badge signified her high status.

Helen, the chief of the School of Change, the Nine-Ring Grand Mage.

“Yes,” Elian said calmly.

"Why?" Helen asked urgently. "Your Majesty, you've never been this kind of person. How could you possibly think of protecting those lowly people from the lower realms?"

Helen knew Elrian's character from the past.

This master, who specializes in necromancy, is definitely not a benevolent monarch!

"Do you think I enacted these new laws out of concern for the lowly people of the lower realms?"

El-Erian suddenly laughed:
Do you think I'm concerned about whether the common people in the lower realms have enough to eat and wear?

“The ordinary villages on the ground have a population base far exceeding that of this floating city, and outstanding talents could clearly emerge from among them.”

"We have such a huge resource pool, yet we don't know how to use it. It's like having a gold mine without realizing it. It's incredibly foolish!"

"We should look further ahead..."

“However, there are quite a few dissenting voices,” Helen said softly.

“Ignore them.” Elian’s tone was flat.

Helen left dejectedly.

……

After leaving the palace, Helen returned to her private residence.

Someone is waiting for her here.

Helen closed the door and looked into the air at the foot of the bed:

"As expected, Gutt, just as you said, Elion seems determined to change the traditions of Eldoron!"

A figure slowly materialized in the air.

It was Guter, the chief of the plasticity school.

He won't succeed.

Gutt shrugged, completely lacking the respect he had shown in front of Elion; instead, his eyes were filled with anger.

"Erian seems to be a bit too arrogant."

"In Eldoron, the best mage becomes the chief, and the best chief becomes the monarch."

“Elian is able to become our leader because we all recognize that he is the best among us and is qualified to lead us.”

“Indeed, Elion also has General Thor, a loyal subordinate, who controls the battle mage corps and military power in Eldoron.”

"But in reality, when it comes to individuals, Elion is just one of the three ninth-ring archmages. He's not that much stronger than me, you, or the other chief eighth-ring mages, is he?"

Guter didn't continue.

"Gutt, are you plotting a rebellion?" Helen raised an eyebrow, understanding the implication in Gutt's words.

“You were the one who said that word first,” Gutt laughed.

(End of this chapter)