The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

The jurisdictions that manage the Wizard Cities are named after their respective Wizard Towers.

The Demon Dragon Territory is backed by an Official Wizard. ”Demon Dragon” is his title, not his real name. Only after becoming an Official Wizard does one earn the right to create a title for themself and spread their name across the Wizard Continent.

Other Wizard Influences also collect this kind of information.

Some of the more amicable Wizard Influences even have Official Wizards lead students from their Wizard Academies in exchange programs.

Wang Ya had a fairly clear understanding of the quota task.

A Wizard’s merits were tied to the authority they held as a member of the Dark Land. Once they accumulated enough merits, their authority would increase, granting them more rights and resource support.

The Task Level was only displayed on missions issued by headquarters and was a direct indicator of difficulty. D-Level tasks were generally meant for Level 1 Wizard Apprentices, including freshmen.

The highest-level tasks were supposedly S-Level, and even Official Wizards sometimes took them.

’The Maya Kingdom.’ Wang Ya frowned. The location was indeed a bit far; he would need to use a Teleportation Array to get there.

However, he could take a Teleportation Array from the Dark Land directly to Zhen Dan Wizard City and then proceed to the Maya Kingdom.

The territories managed the Wizard Cities, and the Wizard Cities, in turn, managed hundreds, even thousands, of Mortal Kingdoms.

The region was so vast that even with every member of the Dark Land deployed on a quota task, they could only barely maintain the current delicate balance. Any problem that arose certainly couldn’t be resolved instantly.

Issues had to be reported up the chain of command, eventually becoming a listed task in the Dark Library or directly assigned as another quota task.

He pushed open the door to his study and sat down. On the desk before him lay a piece of scratch paper.

Wang Ya held the feather pen, his fingers tapping lightly, his expression thoughtful.

’D-Level tasks aren’t very difficult. Even if I fail, the Executor rarely runs into serious trouble. At the very least, my life won’t be in danger.’

’Vengeful Spirits are formed when Soul Bodies, filled with negative emotions, mutate due to Particle Energy. They exist in a state between illusion and reality. The more powerful the Vengeful Spirit, the greater its influence.’

’For ordinary people, they are a nightmare, an irresistible existence.’

’In the eyes of a Wizard, however, they’re just a special type of Soul Body, something that can even be used as an Extraordinary Material.’

’The source of Nightmare Powder is most likely Vengeful Spirits filled with fear, refined through some special method.’

But that wasn’t what concerned Wang Ya. He was thinking about the two people he had run into at Hades’ Store.

’In any case, it’s best to make a few more preparations.’

......

Free Zone. The evening twilight cast its glow upon the figures of walking Wizards. Wang Ya turned off a street and into a secluded alley.

At the end was a pitch-black wall. Wang Ya didn’t break his stride. His Spiritual Power surged forth, probing ahead as his body walked directly into the black wall.

Bizarrely, his body sank directly into the black wall.

When he opened his eyes again, his surroundings had transformed. The light was dim and hazy. Vertical black pillars stretched on endlessly, and the ceiling was made of black stone slabs. The height and width were designed to be visually spacious and comfortable.

The walls on either side were craggy rock faces, with hollowed-out entrances appearing at regular intervals.

The entire place resembled an immense, circular corridor with no visible end.

In fact, this place was indeed called the Glowing Corridor.

The information Gray had collected about the freshmen from the Wizard Clans had all come from this place.

For a certain price, a wealth of information would be laid bare, including but not limited to details on every Wizard in the Dark Land: the Witchcraft they’d mastered, the Wizard Tasks they’d accepted, their Power Level, their chosen Wizard Path...

Other types of information were also for sale: intelligence on Secret Realms, resources, unique geographical locations, and even minor events that occurred in some distant place.

Wang Ya even suspected the Glowing Corridor was connected to the information sources for the Wizard Tasks posted in the Dark Library.

Its existence was tacitly approved by the many Wizards of the Dark Land; that much was certain.

From the moment he entered the corridor to when he walked out, only three minutes had passed. A map of the Demon Dragon Territory had been added to Wang Ya’s Wizard Mark, so detailed that it even had an introduction to the Maya Kingdom.

The price was fifty Magic Stones.

A complete map of the entire Dark Land, however, would have been exorbitantly expensive. The three hundred fifty Magic Stones Wang Ya had left were not nearly enough to pay for it.

He also decided against obtaining information on the two people from the store.

Without knowing their exact identities, the price to inquire about details like their Witchcraft and Power was ridiculously expensive.

「The next day!」

With all his preparations complete, Wang Ya walked into the Dark Land’s Teleportation Array. Harak rested on his shoulder, and a True Sight Ball, capable of collecting audio and video, was tucked into his sleeve.

As an Executor on a quota task, his use of the Teleportation Array was free of charge. The True Sight Ball was standard mission equipment, meant to collect relevant information for official review.

His Wizard Mark accessed the authority of the Witch Array Core, and the Teleportation Array slowly began to activate. Particle Energy from the Earth Veins below surged into it.

A brilliant white light reflected in Wang Ya’s pupils as he gradually disappeared from within the Teleportation Array.

Two figures slowly emerged from the other end of the corridor. Watching the Teleportation Array gather energy, Baton Bailin revealed a grim smile.

Eugene Bailin clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking. ”Brother, we finally have our chance.”

”Yes, we’ve waited a long time for this opportunity!”

Baton Bailin subconsciously rubbed his storage Witchcraft Artifact, a ring on his index finger.

Inside were Witchcraft Scrolls, Extraordinary Potions, and the Middle-tier Witchcraft Artifact he had purchased only after selling his other Low-tier Witchcraft Artifacts and taking out a loan: the Nether Spear.

’This was all for his nemesis. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.’

’As his trump card, the Nether Spear was said to be absolutely sharp—the finest quality among all Middle-tier Witchcraft Artifacts.’

’This time, he was one hundred percent certain of success.’

’After all, they had influenced his task assignment, and they had even made arrangements in the Maya Kingdom.’

”The Demon Dragon Territory is practically the home turf of the Wizard Clans. These Dark Points were well spent. I guess Mengta did his part.” Eugene Bailin’s heart bled at the thought of the lost Dark Points. They were the culmination of years of accumulation, originally intended to be exchanged for precious knowledge at the Inheritance Library...

”Alright, let’s head out too and get things ready ahead of time.”

”Brother, I think we’ve prepared more than enough. He’s just a Wizard Freshman.”

Baton Bailin glared at him and said in a low voice, ”Killing a Wizard Freshman is a small matter, but he’s on a quota task. Headquarters will definitely review the True Sight Ball footage and investigate afterward.”

”The rules strictly prohibit apprentices from killing one another. Wang Ya Harak can fail his task. He can be killed by a Vengeful Spirit, by an Extraordinary Creature, or by a Wild Wizard. He just can’t be killed by us.”

Baton Bailin laughed again. ”However, the Face of Residual Dreams can solve that problem. Two Wild Wizards wandering near the Maya Kingdom, hoping to seize some resources, end up killing the freshman who came to complete a task.”

”It’s a perfectly reasonable story, isn’t it? Especially when they’re just Wild Wizards at the Power of a Level 1 Wizard Apprentice. As an elite Wizard from the Dark Land, if you lose to them and die, well, then you’re just dead.”