A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 78 In the pursuit of truth, we never slack off.

The title of the monk's promotional video was so outrageous, so different from most other serious titles, which attracted the curiosity of a lot of viewers.

What kind of promotional video could have such a name?

With these questions in mind, many people clicked on "The Mage: In Pursuit of Truth, We Never Slack Off," embarking on a fantastical journey.

First, there is an introduction.

"From the establishment of the Mage Alliance to the present day, generations of mages have embarked on the path of seeking truth. Now, another young man is following in the footsteps of his predecessors and has become a low-level mage."

The scene shifts to a young man named Jade, a first-tier mage, who is twenty-one years old and quite promising.

Having just been promoted, he was penniless and somewhat embarrassed.

Seemingly sensing his predicament, a staff member from the Dharma Association handed him a letter of introduction, informing him that he could take a position at the Arbitration Bureau.

Thus, the monk took his first step into officialdom, and soon a tune of progress began to play.

"With a few strokes of ink on the inkstone, the partridge cries."

"Who understands the meaning in the melody, the broken string waiting for you to tie it?"

"..."

As the song began, Judd entered the arbitration hall. Everyone he encountered along the way treated him with utmost politeness, with a hint of obsequiousness in their attitude.

Finally, as the song ended, Judd put on his assigned uniform and truly became an arbitrator.

"No, is job placement really guaranteed for monks?"

"I've met Dingzhen, it's just a pity I didn't succeed in advancing, otherwise I could have easily gotten a minor official position."

"I'm not going to say anything more. I'm from Shandong. Taking the civil service exam offline is too tough. I'm going to take it at Cyberspace. Brothers, wait for me."

"666, Shandong never disappoints."

"I'm going from Yan and Zhao too. Didn't you see that it's 100 gold coins a day? That's hundreds of thousands of RMB a day. Only a fool wouldn't go."

Looking at the barrage of comments on the screen, Jiang Shuzhou smiled slightly. He wasn't afraid of you coming; he was just afraid you wouldn't come.

In the Mage Alliance, it's considered good if one out of a hundred mages is willing to take the time to be a manager. Only some older mages are willing to do relatively simple administrative work. No one is willing to do positions like arbitrators, which require force and require being on duty.

After all, those in charge are mortals. Even though the director of the arbitration bureau is a mid-level mage, he can't interfere with Jiang Shuzhou's work.

The so-called power is for ordinary people; for monks, there is only benefit. However, the benefits offered by these administrative positions are not that great, so naturally not many monks are willing to take them.

Don't let these mundane matters disturb the sorcerer's pursuit of truth!

This is the unified attitude of the monks.

No matter what merits you make, the alliance will at most give you some cultivation resources to improve your strength.

If your skills don't meet the standard, then that's how your life will be; you'll always be at the bottom.

On the contrary, even if you haven't achieved anything, as long as your strength is there, you're already a superior person.

Isn't Hayes a prime example?

Doesn't he usually run around doing a lot of work? Have you seen him get promoted?

That is, he met a mage named Jiang Shuzhou who had a little bit of humanity. Although he did a lot of work, he was also paid well, so at least he didn't work for nothing.

Of course, you can also use Jiang Shuzhou as an example. Have you ever seen him lead a team?

Jiang Shuzhou had only met the bureau chief once, which was when he joined the company; the rest of the time, they communicated using mage marks.

As Jiang Shuzhou's direct supervisor, the fact that he almost never managed his subordinates speaks volumes.

In the Mage Alliance, it doesn't matter if you do a good job; as long as you have the ability, you can ask for any position you want.

Getting back to the main topic, let's return to the promotional video.

The promotional video had now progressed to the part about him being a judge.

Similar to Jiang Shuzhou's experience, the monk next to him said that he did not understand the Dharma. After this shocking revelation, the barrage of comments immediately exploded.

"Does the monk not understand the Dharma?"

"It's normal for a monk to not understand the law, but it's a bit abnormal for a judge not to understand the law either."

"unbelievable."

"Don't worry, there's something even more incredible to come."

Then came the court trial. To prevent his true identity from being discovered, Jiang Shuzhou changed every detail.

However, the woman's outrageous remarks still amused the audience, and of course, the man's remarks were not quite normal either.

What does it mean to still love someone?

"Haha, I see that the mage in the middle looks like his face is already red."

"You haven't seen enough."

"Why did they have to use magic if I'm the only one paying attention? Doesn't that seem a bit against the rules of the trial?"

"Don't take it too seriously, it's not a real courtroom."

They then witnessed firsthand the speed of the mages.

The monks completely ignored the lawyers, each speaking their own point of view. After some discussion, the three monks adjourned the court.

With a wave of his hand, signaling the guards beside him to control everyone, the three mages walked out.

The scene then cuts to ten minutes later, when the three mages return and immediately inform everyone of the verdict.

"Plaintiff, death penalty, to be carried out immediately."

"Plaintiff's lawyer, a fine of three hundred."

"Defendant, fine of one hundred and fifty."

The extraordinary trial has come to an end, and the comments section is now completely exploding.

"What kind of court can even punish the plaintiff?"

Plaintiff: No, you're punishing this for everything? Defendant: No, you're punishing this for everything?

"Is this court legitimate? It seems like a makeshift operation to me?"

"unbelievable."

This outrageous ruling sparked a heated debate, with some supporting the verdict while others argued that it was not in accordance with regulations.

The last comment completely killed the game.

"No, don't you know what world this is in? This is all legal and compliant; do you really need to question it?"

It's actually not compliant, but nobody cares.

Then came the grand occasion of Judd's inauguration.

Dozens of people, one horse-drawn carriage.

The song started again.

"Having mistakenly entered the heavenly realm, I urge you to lay down the sand in your hand."

"..."

Judd sat upright in his carriage, surrounded by observing nobles.

Once outside the central area, everything was quite different. Compared to the nobles who still dared to watch from the sidelines, the commoners all bowed their heads, no one daring to look or speak.

"This is terrifying! Is this the oppressive aura of a mage?"

"The oppression of the Middle Ages was truly terrifying!"

"That's enough. At least they don't have to kneel. Unlike some propaganda videos, I remember those images of groups of believers kneeling below very clearly."

"That's true, and it seems these ordinary people are doing much better than those believers; at least their eyes truly have light in them."

The following scenes flash by, showing Judd sitting in his office reading books and learning magic, with very few scenes of him handling affairs.

"So that's how it is after all?"

"No wonder he has this name; he really is a seeker of truth and never slacks off."

"I said that pursuing the truth means not slacking off, but I didn't say that I don't slack off while doing my regular work, did I?"

"Don't talk nonsense. They have subordinates, and of course, the work that needs to be done is handed over to their subordinates. Otherwise, what are they there to do?"

"After seeing this, I want to become a mage. This job seems too easy."

Then comes Hayes' story. Jiang Shuzhou made some changes to this part, blurring out the names, time and place, but the rest basically didn't need to be changed.

After all, there are far too many freaks in the Alliance of Saints, so Hayes's situation is nothing unusual.

The more something is concealed, the more truthful it becomes, and the numerous details in the promotional videos for priests and paladins confirm this.

Ultimately, the scene ends with Hayes surviving and joining the Arbitration Bureau, where he finally encounters Judd.

"Speechless. The last part is divine."

"Can they escape?"

"Pastor, speak! Is this the earthly kingdom you speak of?"

"Don't be so harsh. Isn't that true for a pastor?"

"That's true. Of all the promotional videos I've seen, this is the only one that mentions the lives of ordinary people."

"I've been to the Alliance of Saints in the game, and it's pretty much like what's described in this trailer. Although I didn't experience being slandered, people were frequently murdered there, which scared me so much that I ran away to the Empire. At the time, I thought it was just a matter of poor security, but I never imagined it was people causing the trouble."

"Me too, that's why you should never go to this awful place, it's too eerie."

"I have a friend who has become more and more devout since he became a pastor, even though he used to believe in nothing at all."

"I suspect there's something wrong with this game, especially with the priests."

Looking at the comments and bullet screen, Jiang Shuzhou had achieved his goal: firstly, to create some abstract content, and secondly, to make people pay more attention to the priest and paladin community.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Professor Wang, please watch this promotional video."

General Liu was very pleased; Professor Wang returned in just one day.

Although it seemed that many promises had been made and a considerable price had been paid, he didn't care. A soldier's mission was to obey orders, and these matters were not his concern.

"We should be careful; this is a warning."

After watching the promotional video, "The Master: In Pursuit of Truth, We Never Slack Off," Professor Wang made his judgment.

"The first half of this promotional video promotes the privileges of monks, but it is mixed with a strong personal touch, clearly intended to satisfy personal needs. The latter part becomes more and more serious, and it is obvious that it wants to convey something to us."

"Old Liu, go check if there are any problems with the pastor project."

"it is good."

General Liu responded and then dialed the number to the person in charge of the pastor project.

"What? How long has this been going on? Why didn't you say so sooner?"

After exchanging only a few words, General Liu's expression changed drastically, and his tone became harsh.

"Take control of all the priests immediately!"

After saying that, General Liu hung up the phone.

"Something's happened!"

"Have those pastors converted?"

"How come you...?"

"Nonsense! Isn't it obvious? They've already implied that the Alliance of Saints' faith is like brainwashing! So how can those priests be any better?"

Professor Wang's expression wasn't good either; he had returned to find himself in a mess.

"Old Liu, report to your superiors immediately. Tell them these priests and paladins are at risk of betraying you!"