The Clock Tower was originally supposed to be one of the Mage's Association's three major organizations, but perhaps because this was a Punishment mission, Xu Yue had learned from the Middle Eastern Golden-Haired Dog that the Clock Tower was practically the entirety of the Mage's Association.
The other two locations were like urban legends—rumors existed, but no one had actually seen them. However, perhaps because it was monitoring the Fifth Holy Grail War, the Holy Church was present as well.
Under such circumstances, aside from the Holy Church keeping the nearly supreme Clock Tower in check, they should have seen all manner of strange situations involving Magi.
Yet when Xu Yue's status as an Adjuster, a new-generation Magus, and a bearer of a First Generation Magic Crest were combined, it truly had been a very, very long time since they had seen anyone like him.
Adjusters were a profession with extremely high requirements in theory, accumulation, and control. They had never had anything to do with First Generation Magi.
Furthermore, Magic Crests were usually created by fusing foreign objects such as Noble Phantasms and Holy Relics into one's body, then continuously influencing them with one's own magecraft over generations. The risks and cost-effectiveness were inferior to joining an established magecraft family as a branch family, so First Generation Magic Crests were now practically nonexistent.
Magus was clearly a profession that required research, exchange, exploration, and innovation, yet for some reason, the magecraft world seemed rather closed-off.
There was a teaching district like the Clock Tower that spread knowledge and provided opportunities for exchange, but its foundation still relied on numerous ancient families and factions.
Perhaps this was related to how mystery had been everywhere during the Age of Gods, and the magecraft world's most glorious era lay in history. Or