"How did this happen? All our leave has been canceled..."
"And the special allowances we were promised are gone too!"
"They even cut our travel quotas for the teleportation arrays?"
"We must have offended someone. His Excellency Pennis... is he really going to oppose His Excellency Roland?"
Inside the Mage Tower, at the Forbidden Spell Administration Office.
The staff of the departments Roland had precisely targeted whispered among themselves, all feeling the bitter pressure closing in around them.
The mages who became government officials in Atrelin might have possessed the idealistic fervor of scholars fresh out of the Ivory Tower, or they might have been introverted, taciturn people with no interest in politics who wanted only to bury themselves in experiments.
But none of them were fools.
They could all see that the struggle between the schools had begun.
In the administration office, a middle-aged man in his fifties sat with his brow tightly furrowed, his face full of worry and helplessness.
This man was Pennis, a member of the Elements School whom the school had supported into his current position.
"Why did I have to get saddled with this mess?"
For Pennis, already in his fifties, the recent series of changes had been nothing short of a nightmare.
How had he gone from happily humming over a hot pot to having someone suddenly climb over his head and overturn the whole table?
Roland had a formidable reputation and immense strength. Anyone would be intimidated by him.
Moreover, as a Grand Mage and a leader with real authority, he might not necessarily be able to accomplish anything, but ruining things was absolutely effortless for him.
Worse still, Roland seemed perfectly aware of this.
His first move upon taking office had been aimed specifically at wreaking havoc.
Just as Pennis was