The tension in the hall grows larger as the Silencers continue to prostrate themselves in front of the mages they’ve supposedly wronged.

The rest of the crowd grows uneasy as the silence from the awkward situation grows.

“Captain, please!” Another voice echoes from beyond the door. “What in gears above are you doing?” The voice is eerily strange, Selica notices that the way the voice reverberates doesn’t sound natural at all. She looks back at the prostrated Silencer and sees a figure cladded in...metal? The person is humanoid, or rather orc-ish in stature but instead of flesh, his entire body is coated with a lacquered black metallic alloy shining brightly akin to how a blade shines against the light. His face resembles that of a human with distinct features. His hair is braided carefully as combed wires styled together like normal hair and its ears and eyes are similarly made to look like a human’s. His eyes on the other hand looked foreign; with a somber glowing yellow beads his piercing stare resembles a higher being looking down on its disciples rather than looking at equal footing.

At first Selica thought it was just a man wearing metal armor, but the longer she looks the more she realizes that the metal the man is coated with is in fact his flesh. This metallic creature is clothed with a bright emerald sash, and his legs are covered with silky long pants. ”Is it a golem?” Selica asks herself. It has to be, right? It’s a moving piece of metal with sentience.

“What we did to these people is an utter disgrace, a breach to the code I and my predecessors have been slowly building up with mages within the city. All of it crumbling down because of a misguided command from Threshold.” The captain weeps as he explains his virtue to his metallic companion, the rest of the Silencers did not answer but simply continued their prostration in silence.

“Oh dearest.” The golem shakes his head. Selica notices that in the joints of this man are pocket windows showcasing its interior anatomy. Myriads of gears and electricity freely flowing similarly acting like a person’s muscle and veins beneath their skin. “We came here to welcome these mages to the city. And prostrating oneself from the get go will only make it awkward for everyone.” The metallic man looks at the crowd. “Right?”

The crowd is a bit stunned right now. Mostly because of the Silencer captains’ display and partially because of the golem. But after acknowledging the situation some of the mages were able to shake off the building tension.

“Y-yes.” One of the mages answered. His clothes looks akin to a standard mage complete with a pointed hat, but unlike Hog’s attire, he has a more flowy form of dress instead of a tightly fit one Selica’s friend used to wear. “Sir Misignor is it? Despite the...tragedy that’s befallen us during the test. It was pretty evident that your people were reluctantly following orders.” He speaks in a comforting tone.

Misignor slowly looks up, his eyes a bit reddish from what Selica expects to be from tears. He scans the hall and sees that though the mages in the hall feel uneasy, none really shows genuine hatred towards him.

What the mage said holds truth. Selica recalls the Silencers they’ve met during the test and they were in fact quite...professional about the entire ordeal. Even in the stories she’s heard while resting in the hearth along side the other mages she’s concluded that yes they were ferocious, deadly, and even cold-blooded, but she has never seen or heard from the other survivors that they were bloodthirsty or relishing the chaos of the battlefield. At times it even felt like they were as confused as they were during the test, and then there are those like Enyi who helped them due to how openly she hated the task they were given. Even the final group of Silencers they faced were all business, even giving mercy and favored the mages who had technically finished the test when they entered the objective zone.

If anything, these Silencers showed that even the newest of recruits can be professional with any dire task they are given. And those that did reveal their true emotions showcase a great disgust towards the mission given and even help the likes of Selica to pass it.

“I-I see.” Misignor stammers as he slowly stands up. Confused, his protégé looks around as well when they notice their commander standing. They too slowly stand up and slowly step back from the embarrassing situation they’ve put themselves in.

“Ah quite observant I see. Even in the face of mortal peril.” The golem compliments the mages, “Indeed, the Silencers, despite the grim assignment, have shown nothing but the best discipline even under such a chaotic environment. You should be proud of them Misignor.”

He slowly raises his friend up then pivots back to the crowd. “Apologies. Where are my manners? I’ve yet to introduce myself. I’m Machilic, of the Omega Tribe.” There’s a brief pause. “...Or rather was of the Omega Tribe. I will be Hameza’s premiere supervisor and representative of the district to the city’s council. I will handle all administrative businesses concerning anything with the city’s council so you could focus on your own studies and tasks involving the district capital.”

”An exile? HAHAHA” A brutish man walks up in front of Machilic, laughing maniacally. He wears what Selica assumes to be battle-worn armor similar to what Shellon and his friends wear. On his side he holsters a seemingly mundane axe, tightly kept by straps and locks. “Even the city’s representative is an oddball compared to Magecraft City standards.” He looks around the hall and Selica follows.

He’s right. Aside from the very few percentage who wear typical mage garments, most of the attendants of the hall are a mish mash of different professions. Aside from the typical looking mages, the bigger percentage of the group consists of soldiers, or warriors. Another group looks more like civilians with their more mundane clothing preferences. And then there’s the last group that consists of oddities. People who wear and carry themselves in such a bizarre manner that they can’t be grouped with the rest organically.

“Indeed!” Machilic’s metal-clad lips tried to make a smile. Instead of being insulted, Machilic seems to indulge the notion. “And that should point out how special this district will be. Residents of the Hameza District must not only be a mage in practice and presence, but be beyond that.”

He places his hand over his chest. “For example, I, Machilic, am not only an exile, but was unfortunately a felon as well, giving me unique experiences no ordinary mage could eve find in their books or studies.” He looks around and sees the horrified look of the people around him when mentioned he was a former felon. “I must assure you everyone. I have done my time in prison obediently and my stellar record with the city’s council has proved my present credentials to be your humble supervisor.”

”Wait hold on!” One of the attendants speaks out. This one wears something akin to a merchant’s garb. “You’re telling us an ex-convict will be our representative? Is that not concerning to any of you?” He looks around and the uneasiness is apparent.

”I assure you sir.” This time Captain Misignor speaks up. He is standing by the door now just staring at his golem friend. “Machilic’s past transgression would benefit the district more than hinder it.” He looks at his metallic friend with piercing eyes. “Care to explain the reason for your imprisonment my friend?”

”Ah yes. I was a thief.” Machilic replies fondly, as if recalling beautiful memories. “My crew and I used to conduct heists in some of the more prolific vaults in the high class worlds before we were betrayed by a mole. The reason why Misignor says it’s a benefit to the district is simple.” He walks towards the closest table near him. He starts pushing some buttons and after a moment an image of a crystal begins to manifest.

Even as a projected image Selica can faintly see a stark redness filling up the crystal. It looked primal in a way, as if it’s been hidden away from any contact for as long as time began to tick. It was the very same crystal Dimas was willing to go to any lengths just to get into the city, even forcing a child to dig him through if necessary.

“This crystal is the latest artifact everyone is interested in in the civilized world right now. Even within Magecraft City, people in every position are trying to find ways to get in the good graces of not only the city’s representatives of the district, but also the new residents as well. That’s why we’ve kept all of you inside Cartazarin District to be able to keep a close eye on everyone while we sort things out.”

“And why does being our representative give us any kind of advantage?” The brutish soldier grows impatient as he awaits Machilic’s point.

”You see, truth be told, even as a council member of respectable renown no one in the higher echelons of the city’s council fully trust me. They may feign compliance from time to time, but because of my past they are always wary that I may swindle them at any moment. That alone is enough to deter any pompous mage who might think of getting into my good graces, and make those foolish to try to live a living hell in doing so.” Machilic stares at the image of the crystal displayed in the table. “And besides, having a former thief safeguard a treasure as precious as this gives more confidence than a naïve mage who knows nothing but books and magic, right?”

”And what’s keeping you from betraying the district yourself?” The merchant-looking mage asks. ”Nothing and the same can be said for everyone in this room. And I believe starting from that kind of bottom-level relationship and growing from there suits best for everyone, right? Other districts and mage societies in general heavily relies on names and titles to create a social persona. But I personally believe that in our district, a bond forged in hardship and love is stronger than any title anyone could give. That’s why I implore you to allow me to show why I am worthy of your trust instead of demanding it from you.”

Silence fills the dead silence with contemplation. As someone who has lived with heroes more than mages, Selica may not have lived through an actual mage societal structure herself but she has a comparable experience in regards to this specific mage ideology with her books. Every time she reads a book and finds a new one she would often find familiar names written as sources or even authors of said books. Before, she thought that since she keeps reading the same mages as references of the books she reads that the mage community is a tightly knit community that are made by close peers and colleges. But as years pass and the more books she reads, the more she notices that it’s not the case.

It started with some books her and her parents found being sold in by a traveling merchant through Heroes’ Hill. The thing that caught her eyes with those books are the unfamiliar names that have authored it. When she opened the book she was quickly blindsided on how vastly different its content was compared to the ones she used to read. So much so that some of the claims written in said books are contradictory to what the familiar mages say in their books. After her first experience, Selica continued to seek for books authored by mages she has not read before and try to use them in reference with her older, and more popular, books. Some of these lesser known books offer a refreshing take in practicing magic, while some goes out of their way to point out that the philosophies and practices of some of the familiar mages Selica is accustomed to are not only wrong but are teaching a bad precedent to its readers. It opened Selica's eyes and made her review all the previous books she once read and some of these tall claims were indeed false.

This jump started Selica’s desire of self-studying and the passion of writing her own discoveries as well. She realized that the reason why these mages are always quoted or referenced is because their title makes them infallible within their society, making their word law even if they are obviously wrong. And the muffled voices of the other authors are silenced because they held no such title and thus are ridiculed by their founding despite being correct.

Selica felt reminiscent with what Machilic just said, and with how things are shaping within the district of Hameza and the dangers it will bring she agrees that having genuine trust with each other feels like a better alternative compared to relying on titles instead. She looks at Deringer and the rest of his group. Though the old man may carry the title as their group’s captain, she’s pretty confident that the reason why Shellon and the rest follow him is not because of his rank, but because of the foundational trust their group is based on.

“Alright we get it.” Deringer finally stands up from his sleeping chair. He scratches his eyes as he walks towards Machilic. “You’re good with words. Let me guess you’re the conman of your little group before, aren’t ya?”

Machilic smiles in reverence as he slightly bows in front of Deringer. “Was it that obvious? And yes I was the conman of our little gang before. But now I use my underhanded skills for the benefit of the people.” Machilic speaks in extravagance.

“Yeah, yeah.” But Deringer doesn’t seem to be affected by it much. “I do have a question though.” Deringer looks back at the crowd and back to Machilic. “Why do my “neighbors” look like a group of adventurers in an adventuring guild rather than mages entering a mage society?”

“Ahh finally the topic at hand.” Machilic places his metallic arm over Deringer’s shoulder and guides him towards the other side of the hall. His elegant gait demands audience as everyone in the hall follows them with their eyes, whether from awe or from caution highly depends on the person. “As I’ve said a while ago, Hameza’s unorthodox residents are intentional due to the...uniqueness of the district’s capital. You see, aside from the crystals, the dungeon on the other side of the portal seems to have evolved with magic as its centerpiece. Not only are they more resistant to magic compared to other wildlife, some would even specifically hunt things that emanate mana from within. Having your typical Magecraft City resident partake in this journey is akin to throwing their lives away fruitlessly.”

“Yes, we’ve seen the records on the table.” Deringer seems to have not shown much surprise from Machilic’s explanation. “What I’m wondering is, why are you not hiring actual adventuring parties and are trying to have this makeshift group with us instead?”

”Honestly it’s all political.” Machilic’s tone starts to droll, “Hiring an adventuring party to deal with this dungeon and simply financially backing them up was one of the first ideas that surfaced when the dungeon was discovered. However, not only does the council not want to deal with multiple adventuring guilds bidding for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they also do not want to deal with the headache of making sure these said adventurers wouldn’t sell the information, or worse the crystals, they’ve gathered to other mage societies like the Tamageres without them knowing it. Also, the idea of having non-mages, even temporarily, living in Magecraft City goes against the very ethos of it being a mage haven. As ridiculous as it may sound a lot of the mages here cling to that exclusivity a lot and there would be a civil uproar the moment the council decides to let non-practicing mages enter the city just for some crystals, no matter how powerful they are.”

Machilic drones off as if he’s recalling a list of excuses he’s been prepared to answer beforehand. “That’s why, as dreadful as the test you’ve all been through, the set parameters during it were in fact in close proximity to the ideal setting of the approved examination. Originally, the exam would have been a tournament style combat, but in the last minute there would be surprise settings that would weaken or nullify magic in order to see how one participant would react without it. The top 500 of these participants would be chosen to become the new residents of Hameza district. The idea of a town-wide race with the Psy rain and Silencers chasing you was obviously an extreme measure of said presets, but objectively looking back the test provided the best results.” The way Machilic says the last sentence left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. Selica understood that it was just his way of conducting a mage’s perspective on what happened to them.

The old man and the golem stopped at the edge of the hall. There's a small pedestal modestly elevated with a small aisle for a lector to talk through. While Machilic guides Deringer, the old man is lost in thought for once as he ponders the golem’s statements.

“Still sounds a load of bullshit to me.” Deringer concluded. Though his tone carried ridicule, his face didn’t. Selica watches the old man internally struggle with the facts laid out to him, as if he himself doesn’t truly believe that the conclusion the city made was that ridiculous.

“Indeed it is. Just like your fancy soldier’s tradition to travel to Magecraft City to meet up with fellow veterans?” Machilic snickers an answer.

“Fine, fine.” Deringer waves his comment away as he trudged back to his table with rest.

Machilic smiles as Deringer leaves him, and after a few moments he looks back at the crowd, intently scanning the area with his glowing eyes. “It seems like the very first Hameza congratulatory celebration is about to begin.”