"Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't be expected to learn this information at the start of the year, but the way I teach my students is, again, different."
To Nathan's relief, Clara Marshall did not begin her notoriously nightmarish teaching on the first day of class. Instead, it was more of a fundamental knowledge review of aspects that they were supposed to know beforehand. Even though everyone except for Nathan had absorbed such knowledge before, whenever anyone dared to slack off, Clara would send a flying projectile in their direction. Sometimes it would just be a harmless pebble, but if you were unfortunate enough to have her draw her fire wand, then you would have to wave farewell to your hair.
William Schwarz was one of the victims—there was a hollow marshland at the centre of his hair. He took it very lightly, though, offering only a few sighs of complaint.
"The Four Major Pathtowers that modern Rune Artists choose as their approach to Rune Arts could not be unfamiliar to you all. But I suppose none of you truly possess in-depth knowledge to understand what Rune Artists of these towers strive to achieve."
Drawing her light-element wand, she waved delicately in midair, visibly slower than at any other time. Letters and sentences were projected onto the blackboard radiantly, each character falling into an orderly place.
"Tower of Dominance."
"Tower of Discovery."
"Tower of Development."
"Tower of Delight."
Clara continued to gesture across the air with her wand, and multiple pictures displaying the constructions of Rune Artists appeared below the words of each column. This was the first time Nathan had seen light-element Rune Art being put into real use. Though not significant, with the assistance of the darkness element, it was at least guaranteed that he could write down information anywhere he desired.
"Alright, look here," Clara instructed, her voice commanding as she gestured toward the first tower. The image, though devoid of colour, radiated an aura of authority. Its jagged structure, along with the stern-faced Rune Artist on top of it, created a sense of undeniable power and pride.
"Tower of Dominance. They are a bunch of arrogant idiots. All they ever care about is how powerful they are at utilizing Rune Arts, treating it solely as a tool to demonstrate their superiority. Their brains are smooth and only pursue one goal: becoming the strongest Rune Artist in history."
She shifted her focus to the second tower, its simplistic, conical form standing in stark contrast to the first. The Rune Artists on top maintained a calm expression, gazing afar toward the horizon, lost in distant daydreams.
"Tower of Discovery. They are a bunch of illusionary lunatics. Unlike any other Pathtower, they seek an imaginary concept of discovering the origin of Rune Arts itself. Though history has proven that their efforts would never truly pay off, they persist in brainwashing themselves into believing that they are "unlocking the door to ultimate truth.'"
The next tower she pointed to was modernized and covered in mechanical arms and intricate gadgets. What fascinated the students more was the Rune Arts illustrated, their bodies seemed to have been modified by machines, either wearing a peculiar helmet or possessing cybernetic arms.
"Tower of Development. They are a bunch of heartless extremists. Their whole purpose is to develop and improve Rune Arts Powered Instruments—RAPI, or normally just known as Rune Arts Gadgets. Attempting to elevate the kingdom's technology to another plane, they are willing to sacrifice anything, literally anything, to achieve this goal, including their very own lives and humanities."
As for the last tower, its shape looked irregular and horribly put together. It was also the only tower Clara had included motion in—it crumbled intensely, the cheap materials barely holding it in place. However, despite all this, the Rune Artist on top seemed to be happier than any others. The collapsing tower and his tattered clothing couldn't diminish the joy in their heart.
"Tower of Delight. They are a bunch of futile clowns. I don't mind if you decide to join the previous Pathtowers, but this one, unless you are completely out of your mind, don't even begin to consider it. It is by far the worst tower of the four horrible paths. At least the other three have plans in mind, even though they are either meaningless or extreme. Rune Artists belonging to this tower seek solely pleasure and do freedom to do whatever they want. They don't care about anything else in this world beyond happiness."
Nathan felt suspicious of Clara's descriptions. Even though she explained the goal of each tower well enough, it seemed oddly exaggerated and stereotypically generalized. Which Pathtower did she belong to? Was it possible that she followed a completely different system, not believing in any of the four? Or had she never joined a Pathtower to begin with, purely dedicating herself to teaching?
"As students of the Imperial Academy, you have to choose a path out of these four to pursue, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to join the exact Pathtower. This becomes extremely important from the second year onward. Right now? Just keep these paths in mind and decide in the future. Here is my personal advice: choose whichever life takes you. You are going to regret your choice in the end no matter what your decision is."
Clara Marshall's voice was oddly soft in this sentence. Even her gaze seemed to be less intimidating. As a professor, she had seen too many students choose paths they couldn't truly afford to take. The paths of Advanced Rune Artists were polarized extremities, only suited for maniacs and geniuses. At least for her, she had always rejected this system. Instead of focusing on only one goal, it was much more humanized and reasonable to take a broader, general approach.
Nathan thought the same. Placing yourself on a straight road where you had to walk until the end seemed too suffocating. As a Lostburg citizen who had received a new life, other than achieving his ultimate dream, he wanted to experience as many things as he possibly could.
"But the topic isn't finished," Clara continued after an intentional pause. Wiping the words and images from the blackboard, she replaced them with four… adjectives?
"Even though the Pathtowers themselves are misleading and extreme, the four Spireheads that lead them are all quite impressive legends. Becoming one isn't all about Rune Arts Mastery. It leans more toward leadership, dedication, and understanding of their paths. To put it simply, they are the ones who have walked the furthest on their roads."
"From the order I introduced the towers, the spireheads are codenamed The Undefeatable, The Indescribable, The Indecipherable, and The Undefinable."
From the sound of these names alone, the students could almost feel the suffocation, as if the four Spireheads were standing right before them. No matter how powerful their identities truly were, they all seemed to have lost their brilliance in comparison. In some ways, a Pathtower Spirehead was a position more difficult and impressive to reach than even the Supreme Seven Seats themselves. It made Nathan wonder—what were the relationships between the Pathtowers and the Rune Arts Federation? If they were too connected with each other, wouldn't it become a significant threat to the royalty's rule over the kingdom?
Before Nathan could dwell longer, Clara Marshall answered the question directly.
"And here is the most important information I need you to know. Though it is not taught and I'm not even supposed to tell you, I strongly feel that it's still my responsibility."
"The Pathtowers and the Rune Arts Federation should never be categorized as one. Though some of their goals intersect partly, the four Spireheads and the Supreme Seven Seats deeply despise each other down to the bone, it was a mutual hatred and disdain passed down from history. Both factions believe themselves to be the rightful governing body of Rune Arts."
"Do not underestimate how much these two factions hate each other. Both in recent cases and historical records, there have been full-scale, devastating wars between them. On an individual level, The Undefeatable has clashed with the Sixth Seat, Redhair; The Indescribable with the Second Seat, Mirror; The Indecipherable with the Fourth Seat, Aurora; and The Undefinable with the First Seat, V." Clara pointed to each pairing as she spoke.
"Excluding their organizations, their beliefs contradict each other immensely. Remember, every conflict in this world is resolvable—except for disputes over who is right."
Nathan's heart twinged. It wasn't exactly annoyance or unhappiness—more like grief for something that simply could not be changed.
There is only one kingdom in this world. So why do conflicts and polarized enmities still find their way to corrupt people's hearts?
As Clara Marshall continued to introduce the complexity between the two organizations, for the first time, Nathan's thoughts seemed to have wandered away from the content. An irresistible force twinged inside his heart. It wasn't exactly annoyance or unhappiness—more like grief for a question that simply could not be answered. He had once believed the world beyond Lostburg to be a realm of peace, acceptance, and wonder. Yet, it had only been a few days since he had been introduced to the world, and his beliefs had already begun to crumble. It was overwhelming, shattering, smothering as if the hope he held dear in his hand was quietly slipping away.
There is only one kingdom in this world, he thought. Why, then, do such divisions and enmities still seem to be the core of people's lives?
Clara noticed Nathan's distraction but, for some unexplained reason, chose to let ignorance have its way.