The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

A Sea Beast, roughly the size of a calf, was tossed onto the deck by Wang Ya. His gray robes were soaked through, clinging uncomfortably to his skin.

A few other Wizard Freshmen, who had gotten lucky and already completed a good portion of their hunting quota, stood to the side, wringing out their clothes. They glanced at Wang Ya, noticed the Sea Beast on the ground, and then looked away.

One by one, other Wizard Freshmen began to return, stepping onto the deck carrying a respectable volume and number of Sea Beasts. For a Wizard Freshman, this task wasn’t particularly difficult.

Wang Ya tossed the Sea Beast into the automated restaurant’s storage bay. A Wizard Technology scanning device mounted on the ceiling immediately recorded his face and the measured weight of the beast.

He was already used to it, but the intrusive, prying sensation of the scan was still somewhat unsettling.

The Wizard World was not as backward as one might imagine. On the contrary, it was constantly advancing. Technology even had its own branch within the Wizard System: the Mechanical Wizards.

They researched a series of subjects including materials, machinery, and Energy. These were the people at the forefront of Wizard Technology. Among them were Mechanical Wizards who pursued different Wizard Paths, such as mechanical ascension and consciousness transference.

The construction of the Wizard Ship had also utilized methods from Wizard Technology.

In this field of application, Wizard Technology was outstanding.

The Dark Atlas recorded many innovations in Wizard Technology within the Wizard World.

Overall, as a relatively new Wizard System, Mechanical Wizards had immense potential, but they had not yet reached the heights of the other major Wizard Systems.

Inside his room, Wang Ya took the Red-Scaled Giant Fish, still brimming with vigorous Vitality, out of his robe pocket.

One had to be careful even when just grabbing its tail. Its small mouth, filled with sharp, shark-like teeth, would not let go once it bit down, and it would inject an Extraordinary Poison troublesome even for a Wizard.

Moving to the far side of the room, Wang Ya approached a small experimental bench he had fashioned from his desk. It held things like dissection knives, measuring instruments, crucibles, and petri dishes.

For him, dissecting a fish was as easy as eating or drinking.

He could clearly discern the fish’s anatomy, its skeleton, the lay of its scales, and even the likely locations of its bones.

The hand holding the Dissection Knife was steady, without a single tremor.

The first cut took the Red-Scaled Giant Fish’s life, followed by the dissection of its head... By the time Wang Ya had completely carved out the poison sac that stored the Extraordinary Poison, only about a minute had passed.

The poison sac was only the size of an eyeball and had an emerald-green color.

According to the Eye of Truth’s analysis, this poison could paralyze the bodily functions of a Low-tier Wizard, disrupt the conduction of Particle Energy, and, to a certain degree, cause the casting of Witchcraft to fail.

[Hint: One dose of Red Scale Poison requires ten poison sacs to be extracted and prepared.]

Producing the desired Effect was undoubtedly a matter of dosage control.

If a Low-tier Wizard had a high Physique value, even eating a single poison sac raw wouldn’t be a major issue. At worst, they would just get an upset stomach.

Only the Extraordinary Poison extracted from ten poison sacs, after undergoing Cultivation and preparation, would have a reasonably high probability of affecting a Low-tier Wizard.

Discovering the Red Scale Poison was an unexpected windfall. Wang Ya felt he could keep it as a trump card, one that might produce surprising results when the time was right.

As for the nine fish he still needed, Harak, now an Extraordinary Creature, possessed flight Speed that far surpassed the Wizard Ship’s cruising speed. Furthermore, its Traits included the ability to withstand immense water pressure, allowing it to easily catch more Red-Scaled Giant Fish on the seabed.

「Nighttime!」

The Endless Sea resembled a thick, viscous pool of ink that refused to dissolve. The only sound was the rise and fall of the crashing waves.

The wind on deck was strong. A bucket sat at Wang Ya’s feet. Dressed in a black robe, he looked as if he had merged with the shadows and the dark.

With the Consciousness Brand for positioning, Harak didn’t have to worry about losing the Wizard Ship’s location in the dark.

The faint glow emanating from the ship’s hull, though weak, was as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the darkness. It often attracted clusters of Sea Beasts.

Usually, this was the time when the automated restaurant would release pheromones to attract Sea Beasts, capture them, and prepare the next day’s meal of Sea Beast Flesh.

It was around eleven o’clock at night. Wang Ya had assumed he wouldn’t run into anyone at this hour, but the sound of approaching footsteps made his brow furrow slightly.

The footsteps were accompanied by the sound of a somewhat heated conversation.

’Are they arguing?’

A figure with fiery red hair came into view. Her long skirt fluttered gently in the sea breeze, making her look like a blazing, swaying rose.

In stark contrast stood the gloomy, hunched figure beside her, draped in a black robe with a hood pulled over his head. The two looked like they belonged to different worlds.

Standing in the darkness, Wang Ya raised an eyebrow. ’It’s those two.’

Arthur and Anna.

The pair didn’t notice Wang Ya’s presence. Swept up in their emotions, their Spiritual Power and its associated Perception Ability were rendered useless, leaving only their heated words and clamorous argument.

”No, Anna, I don’t believe you really think that. You love me, right?”

Arthur stared pleadingly at the red-haired figure, his tone utterly servile and tinged with a sob.

Under the warm lamplight, her fiery hair seemed to ignite. Her fair cheeks were flushed, but her beautiful eyes were utterly cold.

”No, Arthur. You’re thinking too much of it. We’re just friends. There’s no question of love between us.”

Her words were like a sharp knife, plunging cruelly into Arthur’s heart.

”Then why did you accept everything I did for you, all my kindness? You do love me, don’t you? Only people in love would accept such things from each other.”

Arthur said, unable to accept it, his hopeful gaze fixed on Anna’s face.

But her beautiful face did not show the expression Arthur longed to see. Instead, her brow knitted, and she said with a hint of impatience, ”From the very beginning, I’ve only ever seen you as a friend, and that hasn’t changed. I thought it was just friends showing goodwill to each other. There was never any romance involved.”

’Pain! So much pain!!’

Arthur’s mouth fell open. The intense pain made his heart seize, and a suffocating sensation, like that of a drowning man, washed over him. He subconsciously clenched his fists.

’How could this be!’

’It’s really like this!!’

”I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! I love you! I really, truly love you! I’ve done so much for you!”

Arthur’s emotions spiraled further out of control. The rims of his eyes turned red, and he clenched his teeth, his expression one of pained struggle. Because of his disfigured face and torn scalp, he looked especially horrifying and savage.

Anna’s heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively took a step or two back. Arthur’s eyes constricted, and he said miserably, ”Do you think I would hurt you? I love you. How could I ever hurt you?”

Wang Ya witnessed this convoluted, tragic love story, but his own emotions remained completely unmoved.

’Oh, poor Arthur, you’re so pathetic. Your love has left you...’ It was all just a boring sideshow. It would be far more meaningful to focus on studying Wizard knowledge and successfully outlining his second Wizard Rune through Meditation.

”Arthur, that’s enough. The reason we agreed to meet today was to clearly define the relationship between us. Now things are clear. Friends are just friends.”

”Your Spirit State is extremely unstable. You should get some proper rest.”

Anna didn’t want to look at Arthur’s horrifying appearance any longer. After offering that bit of consolation, she turned to leave.

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings became incredibly distinct as Harak returned, clutching a Red-Scaled Giant Fish.

The expressions on both Arthur’s and Anna’s faces changed drastically as their gazes snapped toward the sound.

Wang Ya: ”...”