The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Rosy dawn light scattered from the clouds. Moss and plants clinging to the Ancient Castle’s outer walls swayed in the cold wind, shedding a few drops of morning dew.

A dark gray crow flapped its wings, its sharp talons piercing flesh and sinking into the spine of a tiger-like creature. Its seemingly small body erupted with incredible Power, effortlessly carrying its prey over the many skylights of the Cultivation lab.

As it released its talons, the tiger-like creature fell roaring through one of the skylights. The window then sealed shut with a series of mechanical clicks.

The Cultivation lab was monitored by the Wizard Technology core and the Witch Array Core, so no major problems were expected.

The daily routine was simply to replenish the food for the captive Extraordinary Creatures.

Harak greatly enjoyed this work, which allowed it to unleash its wild nature and hunt.

From an ordinary crow, it had developed the Traits of a bird of prey like an eagle, enjoying the hunt and soaring through the heavens.

Wang Ya had watched every step of Harak’s Transformation. In the few days since returning to the Dark Land, he had begun to form some ideas for its future Extraordinary Bloodline development.

The key, however, lay with his transformed Eye of Truth.

Inside his study, Wang Ya stood by the window, gazing down at the forested grounds of his Wizard’s Residence.

The fine flecks of blue light in his pupils gradually grew more subdued, flickering like tiny electrical arcs.

[Hint: Database and algorithms have been updated. Targets can be confirmed with greater accuracy by recording big data. Analysis speed has increased.]

This was a new function. In addition, the number of targets it could analyze simultaneously had increased from one to two.

As long as he fed enough information into the Eye of Truth’s data algorithms, its analytical capabilities would continue to grow stronger.

The second floor of the Dark Library housed a vast number of books. While not directly related to Extraordinary Knowledge, they covered a wide range of topics: records of various customs, Wizard chronicles, strange anecdotes, accounts of experiments conducted by different Wizards, tales of their heroic feats, descriptions of the Wizard World’s peculiar phenomena, and even some introductions to the Inner World and Outer Space. ’If the Eye of Truth records all of this,’ Wang Ya thought, ’I’m confident I’ll be able to immediately identify an Evil God the next time I encounter one.’

He wouldn’t be caught on the back foot again, like what happened in the Maya Kingdom.

’Maybe if I learn enough and read enough books, I could even earn the title of an Ancient One.’

’Of course, it would be even better if I had the chance to enter the second floor of the Upper House Library and access those Inheritance Witch Books—the tomes that record true Extraordinary Knowledge.’

[Hint: Analyzing Advanced Witchcraft Knowledge for ’Inheritance Witchcraft’. Estimated time: 70 days.]

Considering the difficulty and power of Middle-tier Witchcraft, seventy days wasn’t long at all—especially since it was analyzing two different types of Witchcraft simultaneously.

For an ordinary Wizard to comprehend a Middle-tier Witchcraft, they not only had to master the relevant Extraordinary Knowledge and principles, but also endure countless failed attempts and record numerous experiments before they could successfully cast the Witchcraft.

Furthermore, tuning the Particle Energy frequency to suit oneself required constant adjustments and attempts; a process that commonly took two to three years.

This wasn’t long compared to a Wizard’s extended lifespan. As a Level 1 Wizard Apprentice’s Power increased and their body was strengthened by radiation, their life expectancy could reach one hundred fifty to one hundred seventy years.

His opponents in the Secret Realm competition two years from now would be Wizards who had been trained by Wizard Clans since childhood, all with solid foundations. Most of them surely had everything Wang Ya had, and likely much more, with no restrictions on their resources.

’I have to master powerful Witchcraft and establish my own deterrent force.’

All the new students would be thrown into the Secret Realm together. He could already imagine the chaos—the dangers within the realm itself, compounded by the threats and pressure from the other students... Wang Ya shook his head. ’The difficulty will be anything but low.’

[Hint: Analyzing the ninth Wizard Rune of the ’Vast Sea Meditation Method’. Estimated time: 20 days.]

Wang Ya hadn’t neglected his own advancement in Power, either.

Previously, the eighth Wizard Rune had taken over a month to analyze.

Now, after the transformation, this even more difficult Rune required only twenty days.

Wang Ya found himself looking forward to seeing what level the Eye of Truth’s analytical abilities would reach after it absorbed the entire contents of the second floor of the Lower House Library.

He also needed to consider his next Wizard Meditation Method.

That would require Magic Stones to purchase.

The Dark Land Headquarters didn’t grant Extraordinary Knowledge to Wizard Students for free.

Some basic Extraordinary Witch Books were also for sale, and they could all be purchased from the one in charge of new students, Gusai Wizard.

The need for Magic Stones was still a problem. He needed to find a source of income.

His remaining few hundred Magic Stones were constantly being drained by daily living expenses. At best, they would last him another year.

The energy supply for the Wizard’s Residence required Magic Stones, but the residence management office paid it on his behalf. He would have to reimburse them later.

If Wang Ya wanted to purchase any Extraordinary Resources or Extraordinary Items, his Magic Stone deficit would become even larger.

Wang Ya washed up in the bathroom, then walked straight into his lab and changed into a specialized Experimental Wizard Robe.

At his call, Harak flew into the lab and landed on his shoulder. Its pupils settled on a dark gray color as it nuzzled its head against Wang Ya’s pale cheek.

His previous plan for generating income had been to capture Extraordinary Creatures, refine them into Extraordinary Essence, and sell it... Wang Ya eventually abandoned the idea. The ecosystem within his Wizard’s Residence simply couldn’t support it.

Besides, Subordinate Extraordinary Essence didn’t sell for many Magic Stones.

He had made no progress in refining Extraordinary Magic Potions or other such Potions. It had been three or four months since he’d purchased the Alchemy course, but the Teaching Wizard might as well be dead for all the communication he’d received.

At the thought, Wang Ya’s expression soured. He had completely given up on Alchemy by now.

’When I have the time and opportunity in the future, maybe I’ll buy an Extraordinary Witch Book on Alchemy and teach myself.’

’The highest achievement for the Extraordinary Cultivation series of Witchcraft was set by the Thorn Wizard. He relied on Cultivation Witchcraft to fuse a cultivated creature with himself, allowing him to advance to the rank of Official Wizard.’

A flicker of understanding passed through Wang Ya’s eyes. This proved the potential was there, but ordinary Wizards couldn’t replicate the Thorn Wizard’s success. It could even be said that it was a unique inheritance exclusive to the Thorn Lineage.

Since he hadn’t joined the Thorn Lineage, he was destined never to obtain that specific knowledge. He would have to forge his own path.

He’d had many ideas rattling around in his mind, but the appearance of Gundas’ Dog had brought one into sharp focus.

What if he could isolate the Traits of limitless consumption and hyper-regeneration from Gundas’ Dog and the Evil God Flesh and Blood, and then integrate them into Harak’s body?

Could that overcome the shackles of its Extraordinary Bloodline, giving Harak limitless potential as well?

Gundas’ Dog possessed the informational signatures of numerous Extraordinary Creatures.

If Harak could assimilate a vast number of Extraordinary Bloodlines—purging the weaknesses, integrating the strengths, and with no genetic constraints... Wang Ya took a deep breath. Two words surfaced in his mind: ’Perfect creature’.