What Adam Saw at Karachi Port

Indeed, it was an astounding sight.

Adam's eyes could not take in the full extent of the port city, but the docks alone were already astonishing enough.

In terms of practical application, magitech had utterly surpassed Earth. The existence of aether, magic power, and "mysterious-side" energy made it remarkably simple to turn a technology from theory into a physical object.

All the "machinery" working on the docks had completely transcended the category of traditional power sources Adam understood. In other words, with his current knowledge, Adam had no way of comprehending their principles.

Mechanical arms suspended in midair accurately seized the hulls and firmly secured the ships into the docks' "slots." A passageway made of some unknown material appeared beneath everyone's feet. The mages signaled for the apprentices to step onto it, and then the passage began to move, carrying everyone onto the dock.

What followed was a silver torrent. The naked eye could not distinguish whether they were individuals or a collective. Only after Adam spread out his Mental Power did he vaguely observe that they were Alchemy Products akin to countless Nanobots. They instantly enveloped the Mordo Academy, then vanished with the same speed. Adam discovered that the grime and wear from the ship's long voyage had been completely repaired, leaving the entire vessel looking brand-new.

Then, by some unknown method, the ship "merged" into the dock and disappeared.

The same thing was happening throughout the rest of the harbor. The apprentices even saw ships that were larger and more wondrous arrive. It was not only the sea—flying objects also docked in the sky from time to time.

No runway was needed. There was no noise, no jolting. The aircraft simply took off and landed smoothly.

The mages paid no attention to the apprentices' astonishment. Such scenes were commonplace to them. This was the first step for all the "natives" from overseas islands to understand the advancement of Mage World.

"So this is the world of mages? A world like this is simply... simply..." William muttered. On the island where he had been born, Southern Seaport City was already the most developed city, yet it still could not escape the shackles of primitive productivity. He could not imagine that just across the sea, humans here lived like this.

"Simply unimaginable. No wonder I had never seen a mage before, not even a mage apprentice. If it were me, after seeing all this, I probably couldn't return to my old life either." Ophelia sighed to herself. Having grown up in Northland, she had seen even less than William, so the shock she received was even greater.

Adam felt boundless relief in his heart. Coming to such a world, encountering such an advanced civilization, gaining the chance to explore the unknown, and no longer having to spend the rest of his life in loneliness—it was simply wonderful.

After waiting quietly at the harbor for a while, a "car" approached. It did not resemble the cars Adam knew. It had no wheels, no exhaust pipes. The vehicle came floating at low altitude and stopped steadily before the mages.

The door opened, and a driver in a black uniform respectfully bowed to the mages. "Respected Mage Masters, welcome back to Mage Continent. Permission to use the Teleportation Array has been obtained. It will activate on schedule in two hours."

Black Mage nodded at him, then said to the apprentices, "Unfortunately, there is no time for you to tour Karachi Port this time. The apprentices who arrived at the academy during the same period as you have already reached Mordo Academy. We need to hurry."

Naturally, the apprentices did not dare object. They replied in unison, "As you will, Respected Black Mage."

Everyone filed inside. The interior was far larger than it had appeared from the outside, and Adam could not help but marvel. Even knowledge concerning space could be expanded into civilian use?

Yet such a developed world actually had barbaric forms of conflict like academy wars? Adam kept that question to himself. They would soon set out, and he would quickly come to understand the basic information of Mage World.

Inside the vehicle, the intensely curious Krystal asked the driver, "Sir, may I ask what the thing we're riding is called..." Her concept of transportation consisted only of animal-drawn carts and ships, so she did not know what to call it.

The driver was quite agreeable. Hearing her question, he gently explained, "An Intra-Realm General-Purpose Hovercar. That is its name. It originated from the creation of a great mage."

"How amazing!" Krystal expressed her amazement in the simplest terms. She truly could not think of any other words.

The driver said nothing further. Facing these apprentices from a "Barren Island," he felt a faint sense of superiority, something along the lines of, Though I lack the aptitude to become a mage, I can still enjoy the fruits of mages' achievements.

The Intra-Realm General-Purpose Hovercar appeared sealed from the outside, but those inside could clearly see the scenes beyond it.

Adam carefully observed everything along the way. The buildings were High-Level structures, each one seamlessly integrated and towering into the clouds, with flowing radiance circulating over their surfaces. Yet they were not densely distributed, and vast open spaces lay between them. Facilities resembling traffic lanes were arranged in orderly fashion. Countless hovercars traveled through the lower and middle levels, while the higher levels were entirely empty. Adam guessed those were routes reserved for extraordinary individuals flying through the air.

There were not many pedestrians on the ground, but their methods of travel were highly unusual—after all, living in such an incredible and enormous city, if they relied on ordinary walking, it would likely take a very long time to reach their destinations. Thus, most of them moved by erupting with blood qi. Occasionally, some used abilities Adam could not understand. Those were probably mage apprentices.

As expected, all Ordinary People native to Mage Continent possessed power at the knight rank.

Along the way, Adam saw at least three fights. There were clashes between knights, even magical duels, but no one stepped forward to stop them. People such as Enforcers never appeared either. Everyone seemed accustomed to combat.

Pointing at the battle site they had just passed, Adam asked the driver in confusion, "No one stops them?"

The driver replied blandly, "It is a very common occurrence. At least a dozen people die in duels at Karachi Port every day. As long as they apply beforehand and promise to compensate for public facilities damaged during the duel, the Mage Council permits them to settle disputes this way."

Adam seemed to understand. The "Mage Council" was probably the governing body of the Mage Plane. In a world where individual strength was clearly extraordinary, laws like those on Earth, designed for Ordinary People, were evidently not easy to enforce. The mages also seemed unwilling to spend time maintaining balance and dispensing justice. It was only natural that something resembling the "judicial duels" invented by the Germanic people of ancient Earth would emerge.

What was this supposed to be? Barbarism within civilization? Or civilization sustained through barbarism?

The driver asked strangely, "Does Barren Island not permit duels? Then how do you resolve disputes?"

Quentin gave a derisive laugh. "Duels? Only nobles can initiate duels..." He stopped there. Adam was a commoner, but so were Randy and Krystal. It would not be appropriate to continue.

Yet that was enough for the driver to understand. He did not comment on their commoner status, merely saying, "There are no nobles on Mage Continent, only mortals and mages. The only restriction on duels is that mages may not initiate them against mortals." He paused, then added, "Offending a mage is a capital crime. Of course, no mortal would be so foolish."

No one spoke for the rest of the journey, and they soon arrived at their destination.

The Teleportation Array was inside a peculiar building that possessed both scientific and mysterious-side qualities. Adam could not describe its appearance in words, because it seemed to be constantly changing.

"Visual deception caused by spacetime interference?" That was the only analysis Adam could make. Everything he had seen and heard since arriving here had exceeded his established understanding. The incomplete knowledge he had brought from Earth seemed to have little use.

The hovercar departed on its own. Under the mages' guidance, Adam and the others entered the building. It seemed lively inside, with many people constantly coming and going. Their unique Energy Fields intertwined with one another, making every apprentice feel extreme discomfort.

It was the helplessness one felt when facing a higher form of life.

When alone, mages could mostly restrain their own fields perfectly. This was a means of preventing useless energy expenditure, and perhaps also a form of protection for mortals. But when multiple mages occupied the same space, or when Low-Level Mages faced more powerful mages, their fields would naturally spread. It was probably a unique form of Identity Verification and proof of status.

After entering the building, the four mages from Mordo Academy also appeared somewhat humble. From time to time, they stopped and lowered their heads in salute to passing High-Level Mages. The apprentices were even more trembling and cautious, terrified that some action might anger a Mage Master and bring calamity crashing down upon them.

As they proceeded deeper inside, Black Mage lowered his voice and said, "All Teleportation Arrays belong to the Second Element Holy Tower. They are the property of the great True Spirit Grand Mage Randolph. You must remain sufficiently humble. We will soon meet a Holy Tower Mage. Remember: do not speak."

This was the first time Black Mage had issued such a solemn instruction. No one dared raise an objection. The consequence of disrespect would certainly be death, and no one wanted to die.

After rounding a corner and passing through a Light Screen, they finally saw the Teleportation Array—it was a regular pattern formed entirely from runes. Every rune contained intense magic power. They seemed to float before their eyes, yet appeared illusory and impossible to touch. Aether from the void flowed endlessly into the runes. Facing this Magic Array, everyone's souls trembled. Adam was certain that the eruption of any single rune within it would be enough to destroy the apprentices present hundreds of times over.

The one presiding over the Magic Array was a mage whose features could not be seen. Like the Magic Array, he seemed to stand between reality and illusion. "Mordo Element High Tower, correct?"

After the four mages bowed, Black Mage respectfully said, "Yes, Respected Holy Tower Mage." Then he took a complete Aether Crystal from an unknown place and handed it to the Holy Tower Mage.