Battle Mage

"You're going to become Battle Mage too?"

At the top of the Mage Tower, Iris looked at Fran with a strange expression, seemingly quite surprised by the request she had made.

"Yes, I've always believed I have Talent for combat and want to give it a try."

This is a lie. In reality, Fran overheard Dylan talking about Battle Mage during a chance encounter, which greatly changed Fran's impression of Battle Mage.

"Didn't you just achieve something on that project? You can continue as a researcher!"

Iris didn't quite understand Fran's actions. Her own disciple felt she wasn't cut out to be a researcher and wanted to try her hand at Battle Mage, but that was that.

Why would someone who has just achieved a major breakthrough want to give it a try?

Iris knew that Fran had made the project progress in ways that hadn't been anticipated on her very first day, which made Iris trust Harbos's explanation even more.

She had originally planned to call Fran over after a while and have her participate in some larger projects and receive more training.

But to her utter surprise, Fran came to her first instead of Fran, asking for a recommendation letter for Battle Mage —something she had never even considered.

Normally, the results of this alchemy alone would be enough to live on for ten years. She couldn't understand why Fran suddenly told her that she wanted to become Battle Mage at this time.

Even the mage Philip, who was in charge of this project, could use this achievement to obtain at least five years of the highest level of experimentation, and might even be able to try to break through to the Third Order Mage.

Even so, she couldn't understand why Fran would become Battle Mage.

Fran looked at Iris with unwavering determination; she was determined to have the Battle Mage.

She used to have some preconceived notions about Battle Mage, thinking they were just an enhanced version of the Knights of the Ages.

However, after learning from Dylan, she clearly realized that the two were absolutely different, and that the Battle Mage was superior to the knight in every aspect.

Of course, the Battle Mage Corps will prioritize recruiting mages from the Sword Chant School, as those mages have high physical attributes and their spells are well-suited for combat.

However, this does not mean that mages from other School are unsuitable to be Battle Mage; rather, each has its own advantages.

After countless years of iteration, the Alliance's Battle Mage have developed into an incredibly sophisticated form.

Cluster casting to increase the power of individual spells is fundamental. The Alliance's Battle Mage Corps not only has a wide variety of group-based spells, but also has greatly optimized single-target spell casting.

To give an example, Dylan from the Alchemy School wanted to become a Battle Mage. After being admitted through a letter of recommendation, he would need to undergo a series of training sessions before he could be considered a true Battle Mage.

His first lesson will be learning the instant-cast or enhanced versions of the spells he has learned, spells that are unique to the Battle Mage Corps and cannot be learned elsewhere.

For example, Fran once thought while practicing the Harmonization Method that if her Mental Power was strong enough, she could merge two people together.

Dylan would then be able to learn the spell [Forced Fusion] specifically created for this idea. When facing a knight, as long as your Mental Power is strong enough, you can directly merge the knight with his armor...

There are many other spells like this, but the [Forced Fusion] spell is most powerful when one has an alchemical spell feat, so only mages from the Alchemy School learn it.

Although these enhanced spells increase mental energy consumption and can have adverse effects on the body in the long run, some of them also require Spell Ring to cast.

However, the strength of the Alliance Battle Mage is not only reflected in the power of their spells.

The Alliance has a well-established supply system for Battle Mage Corps.

When you pass the assessment and join the Battle Mage Corps, you will receive various equipment specially provided by the Alliance, including Spell Ring, armor with strong resistances, and staves to aid in combat.

Furthermore, after you obtain the items mentioned above, there will be dedicated personnel to teach you the correct combat methods, allowing you to quickly get started.

It is the powerful spells and the Alliance's supply system that make Battle Mage so powerful.

That's how powerful Battle Mage. Normally, they need to be assessed, which is what Harbos mentioned to Fran about the Battle Mage Corps.

Without an assessment, it's impossible to get in.

However, the Battle Mage Corps of the Northlands is an exception; due to the exclusion by various School, no renowned Battle Mage Corps is willing to be stationed there.

With no other option, Iris had to start her own.

After Iris obtained first and second-tier Battle Mage spells from the Alliance under the pretext of the Battle Mage Corps, she never contacted the Alliance again.

She knew those School would definitely try to hinder her, so she didn't expect the Alliance to provide equipment or anything like that.

Even obtaining these spells took her a great deal of effort; forget about the equipment and supplies that would require a long delivery.

Therefore, apart from her own Battle Mage Corps being nominally affiliated with the Alliance, Iris did not rely on the Alliance for anything else.

Even those who were just starting out as Battle Mage, it took Iris a long time to persuade them to work part-time as Battle Mage.

The equipment was even something he Northern Lands Society.

This resulted in the Northern Lands Society's Battle Mage Corps being inferior to other Battle Mage Corps in terms of equipment and training due to objective conditions, but it also had many advantages.

For example, whether it's a specialized spell or a complete one, its structure is different from other Battle Mage Corps.

Other Battle Mage Corps are dedicated combat personnel. Once you join, you have a fixed service period, and you cannot do anything else until that time is up.

However, the Battle Mage Corps of the Northern Lands Society is different; most of them are part-time, and there are very few full-time members.

Most of the responsibilities involved only required working a few shifts each month, with more people recruited for larger events.

Moreover, the entry requirements have been significantly lowered, and the assessment criteria have been relaxed considerably.

However, Fran didn't need to participate in the assessment at all, since this Battle Mage Corps was formed by Iris herself.

Iris naturally wields considerable influence within the Battle Mage Corps; anyone Iris nods in approval can join.

Iris felt a chill run down her spine under Fran's gaze, and after several attempts to persuade her failed, Fran remained unmoved. She could only say helplessly:

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll write a letter of recommendation right away."