Taking the Mafia to the Magic World

In Light Cay, there were two major forces vying with Stonewall, both of which demanded the attention of someone in Vicente's position.

The first, the Templars of the Valiant, was a force considered just as strong as Stonewall, with a slight difference in history and alliances. The second was the Goldenguards, an up-and-coming guild that had been gaining ground on the 'island' for the past 300 years.

Besides these two forces, other important names were present and should be noted. The most important were the Mislead Vanguardians, the Disciples of the Obscure, and the Hellcloaks.

These forces were powerful, with the Grand Magus known to the 'island' in their strongest positions, and Vicente had to watch out for each of them, even those with little chance of taking Stonewall's position.

From what he had learned in his readings, each of the over 10,000 'islands' of Anicane had a dominant force that received new ascenders from lower planes. However, the position of these forces was not stable and could be changed.

There was no one except the members of these forces themselves who could maintain their positions!

Basically, about 850,000 years ago, a group of super powerful beings had created the Nine Paths Platforms and revealed them to the world. But each 'island' could only have one such platform. Therefore, the first power to create it was the one that could maintain a monopoly over newcomers from lower planes on their 'island'.

Since then, conflicts and wars to take over or even destroy these platforms have taken place on all the 'islands' of Anicane—the current reality of Light Cay.

Stonewall had been in charge of this place for over 800,000 years, but had almost fallen to its competitors several times. Although it had never lost its position, the sect was aware of its position and worked constantly to keep it that way for years to come.

The problem for Vicente? Basically, men ascended from lower planes like him had a lot of potential to grow and help maintain Stonewall's power. For the sect's enemies, killing people like him was one of the best ways to change the situation on their 'island'!

Learning about these forces brought up an old, deep-rooted thought in Vicente's mind.

'I need allies. My mafia methods can help me again, this time at the beginning of my journey in Anicane. I need to find a group of power-hungry individuals who are marginalized.'

He thought about the type of target that would normally be more receptive to approaches like his for the type of activity he had in mind.

In Polaris Realm, Vicente's mob activity at the beginning of his journey had helped him a lot. For weak magicians, there was much to be gained from strategic burglary.

For a young Apprentice, there were countless opportunities, as there were many Acolytes and Mages with resources 'waiting' to be stolen. But for a Sovereign or even a Paragon, there weren't many individuals with conspicuous wealth, even considering the entire continent. Also, the risks and rewards of going after specialists were not promising at all.

Given this reality, Vicente had put aside his mafia methods a bit during his journey in Polaris Realm. But now, in Anicane, he couldn't help but feel his old impulses filling his mind and heart.

'I'll see about that later. There are corrupt, arrogant, and dangerous people everywhere, and I can go after them without getting burned by the nicer, more law-abiding ones.' He thought to himself, leaving it in the realm of ideas and plans for now.

"Prisiche, what kind of activity will I have to get involved in at Stonewall once I find the Registration Center?" He asked, thinking about his future duties that might limit his movements and bring him into contact with potential faction members.

Vicente was no fool. No sect was uniform and homogeneous. There were certainly internal disputes within Stonewall, with factions, families, and other kinds of divisions vying for power, status, and resources.

"It depends a lot on you. The process of joining the sect is very individual. But someone will probably nominate you to develop your forging skills and learn our methods at the Forge Center.

In addition, there are common activities that the sect must engage in. Our machines and artificial intelligences do most of the basic work, but they are not as efficient in combat, solving complex problems such as disputes, and mediating conflicts.

Because we know so much information, our processing capacity is limited. We are largely programmed to assist our masters by reminding them of important information and performing simple activities on their behalf.

For example, you may have to fight for the sect, hunt down enemies, find resources, do business, and so on. Of course, in order to take part in any of these activities, you have to prove yourself capable and be properly registered in one of the sect's Centers."

He frowned and asked, "How is that?"

"The sect has several activity Centers. Each of them handles something. For example, the Combat Center is responsible for developing and ranking the sect's warriors. According to your rank in the Combat Center, you can be assigned to different types of activities that involve your powers on the battlefield.

The Diplomatic Center ranks the sect's negotiators. Without a good ranking in the Diplomatic Center, you won't be able to represent the sect in important deals.

Finally, there are Centers that focus on the sect's internal activities, such as training disciples, as well as those that deal with external activities, such as business, disputes, etc.

Some of these Centers are mandatory in order to carry out your activities as a member of the sect, but others are completely optional."

Vicente more or less understood the division of this place, which was nothing new to him. Having created a force as large as a sect on his journey in Polaris Realm, Vicente was well aware of the divisions needed for such a force to function, as well as its implications.

'There is almost certainly competition between Stonewall members in each of these Centers. This will certainly cause me some headaches within the sect, but there's nothing I can do about it. I have to get through this in order to grow in this place and change the situation for my family as soon as possible.

I'd better deal with these things now. I won't be able to leave this place for a year, so I'd better focus on preparing myself to have the best chance in a year.'

Vicente got up from his seat and walked towards the exit of this extensive library.

"Prisiche, in the state I'm in, can I consume local resources? What will happen if I try to cultivate and process magical resources?"

"Nothing good, master. I don't recommend that you try to cultivate or even consume any resources this coming year. I know it might seem absurd for you to stop cultivating after doing so all the way here, but your current situation is delicate.

Even without trying, you're absorbing mana from your surroundings. So what will happen if you cultivate or absorb resources? Nothing good!

Besides, you'll get stronger in the next few months without even trying. So it's more worthwhile for you to focus your time on other things, like learning more about your profession, training your powers, and adapting to our reality.

Even if you are an Archmage, don't compare the Archmages from where you come from with the Archmages from Anicane. I recommend you fight in one of the city's arenas to experience your current powers and the level of your opponents.

The fights in the arena are guaranteed to be fair, and the referees will stop any opponent who risks your life, so it's a perfect place to train at a high level."

"I see. That sounds good." He muttered as he made his way to the exit of the Library.

He agreed with Prisiche. Fighting was always the best way to adapt, to look for points to improve and to understand their own situation. But not only that, every activity he would do in this place would be a chance to reach people he could bring over to his side.

'For now, I won't tell Prisiche about my interest in forming a faction. I'm sure I'm being spied on. And even if these people don't mind me forming a group, I'd better hide my plans as much as possible.'

He followed the slender blonde woman and soon arrived outside the Library, where he planned to visit a few more places before going to the Registration Center to make his Stonewall membership official.

He already had an ID card, but his registration needed to be activated before he could actually start living as part of this force.

"By the way, Prisiche, if I can't cultivate, I can't use resources, so how can I use these 100,000 stone coins? Is it all just so I can feed myself?" He asked, still not used to this reality.

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