The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Crimson blood flowed through his veins, starkly visible, a bizarre contrast against his blond hair and pale face.

”Oh, that Wizard I once met... How I look forward to seeing you again.”

”Your rejection didn’t leave me to languish in the mortal world. I, Tucson Futu, am blessed by great fortune! I have received the favor of the God of Gendas, and I now possess a Power greater than any Wizard’s.”

Tucson Futu extended his right hand and clenched it tightly in the sunlight. His eyes blazed, a bloody light glinting within them.

”In this vast, mundane world, if I ever see you again, I will make you understand just how foolish it was to reject Tucson Futu.”

.......

[Target: Wang Ya Harak]

[Power: Level 2 Wizard Apprentice]

[Age: 17]

[Current Spirit Power: 27]

[Particle Energy: 26.8 units]

[Dream Power: 25 units]

[Dream-Recalling Meditation Method: ’Basic Chapter (9/9)’, ’Advanced Chapter (8/12)’]

[Current Active Neurons: 5%]

Inside the Three-Layered Space, Wang Ya wore a white lab coat, his aura now completely ordinary. He had fully absorbed the transformation brought about by the eighth Wizard Rune.

He now possessed even greater Particle Energy, with its value nearly catching up to his Spiritual Power.

The same was true for his Dream Power, proving that his accomplishments on the Dream Wizard Path were growing ever more profound and powerful.

The analysis of the ninth Wizard Rune was also on the agenda.

[Target: Ninth Wizard Rune of the ’Dream-Recalling Meditation Method’]

[Estimated Analysis Time: 40 days]

Analyzing the eighth rune had taken over two months, but the time required for the ninth Wizard Rune was even shorter.

The Eye of Truth had recorded a full thirty thousand books. Although they weren’t works of Extraordinary Knowledge, every little bit helped. Enriching its repository had led to a significant improvement and transformation for the Eye of Truth.

Thinking back on those three days and three nights still gave Wang Ya a bit of a headache.

He had no desire to go through that again.

The number of books in the Core Area was much smaller compared to the Outer Zone, so he could take his time with them.

In truth, Wang Ya hadn’t recorded all the books from the Outer and Inner Zones of the reading room.

He had excluded many types of books that were completely unrelated to his Wizard Path and offered no help.

About a month had passed since he acquired High-tier Extraordinary Knowledge from the Land of Inheritance.

The idea in Wang Ya’s mind had been put into practice, and his modifications to the ’Fury of Hephaestus’ Witchcraft were already showing initial results.

In about another month, Wang Ya would be able to test the Witchcraft’s various parameters in the Witchcraft Testing Ground to identify its weaknesses and flaws, allowing him to make timely adjustments.

Wang Ya had always been strict with himself in this regard.

As for Dream Witchcraft, Wang Ya hadn’t encountered any major difficulties. After all, it was only his third Middle-tier Witchcraft.

Having mastered a great deal of High-tier Extraordinary Knowledge, Wang Ya could apply principles from other fields, even if the knowledge wasn’t directly related to Dream Wizards.

With the help of the newly transformed Eye of Truth, Wang Ya could complete his third Middle-tier Witchcraft within half a month.

......

「Three months later.」

More and more Wizards returned to the headquarters from all over, and the atmosphere grew strangely oppressive.

Many Lower House Wizards had stopped going out altogether. They stocked up on Extraordinary Resources in advance and chose to remain in their Wizard’s Residences to focus on their own Wizard Paths.

It was undoubtedly a wise choice.

Anyone with eyes could see that something was wrong; it felt like the calm before a storm.

The Wizards of the Upper House, however, hadn’t changed much. There weren’t many of them to begin with, split between graduates and current students.

This was even more true for someone like Wang Ya, who held the status of a Heritage Wizard. They spent most of the year away from the academy, as the courses were of little use to them.

As for guidance from the Teaching Wizards... Official Wizards were the best and most optimal Guides.

”Are these people crazy? They’re spamming me with so many messages that I don’t even dare to open my Wizard Mark.”

In the Night Night Night Wizard Tavern, Gray was ranting furiously. If not for the isolating effect of the Witch Array, even passing Wizards outside the tavern would have probably heard him.

The other two people in the room could understand Gray’s frustration, as they were facing the same situation.

They kept their Dark Wizard Marks sealed, afraid to open them.

For this gathering, Gray and Mas had to go to Hades’ Store to speak to the other in person, only managing to meet up here tonight.

The moment they opened their Dark Wizard Marks, they were bombarded by a dense, unending flood of messages from different Wizards, almost none of whom they knew.

There was a function to block senders and refuse messages, but the number of people was just too large; it was impossible to block them all.

”Those bastards... They must be the ones targeting Wang Ya, stirring up a considerable commotion. We’ve probably just gotten caught in the crossfire,” Gray quickly analyzed.

”There are people in the shadows who want to deal with Wang Ya, and they’re trying to use us to pressure him.”

Mas and Mona also understood the cause and effect. They were taking the heat for Wang Ya, suffering an undeserved disaster. No—this was precisely what those people wanted, to use them to influence Wang Ya.

Gray frowned. ”Wang Ya must be in seclusion. There’s been no word from him, and he hasn’t responded to my messages.”

”Then what should we do?!”

”Let them send their messages. Let’s see what tricks they have up their sleeves. Official announcements are pinned to the top, so we’ll see them first anyway. What’s the use of all this name-calling? Wang Ya can ignore it and stay calm, so we can too.”

The other two nodded at Gray’s words. It made sense.

Not being able to check their Dark Wizard Marks was a small problem. The real fear was that someone would tamper with their Wizard Tasks.

They all had a vague idea of who was targeting Wang Ya... That Wizard Task of his had triggered a massive internal investigation throughout the entire Dark Land.

Over the past few months, Wizards had been constantly returning to the headquarters, and an unknown number had been expelled from the Dark Land to become Wandering Wizards.

Furthermore, Wizards who suffered huge losses, were stripped of their positions, or were even executed as punishment were commonplace.

Gray shook his head and said, ”The investigation is at its peak right now. They probably won’t risk breaking the rules again by messing with our Wizard Tasks.”

Anyone capable of doing that would certainly have high status and Power. They’d be too busy trying to stay out of the spotlight during this investigation.

They wouldn’t be so reckless as to be blinded by emotion.

Besides, their enemies’ goal was to use them to get to Wang Ya.

Gray shrugged, a bit resigned. ”Those people probably don’t even know that we can’t contact Wang Ya either. Whenever that kid goes into seclusion, he closes his Dark Wizard Mark, then pops out right at the last minute to complete his quota and Wizard Tasks.”

Mas and Mona shared a knowing smile. In times like these, that habit of his was for the best.

Once the investigation was over, everything would quiet down.

The Illusory Dream Wizard backing Wang Ya was a Shield that could block ninety percent of all pressure and trouble.

...

「Light Projection Meeting.」

Around a massive round table, projections clad in Wizard Robes materialized in their respective seats. This was no ordinary meeting; it had been convened jointly by the top three members.

The other numbered Wizards all knew that the top three held an extremely special status. They had missed the previous meetings because they were urgently handling certain matters related to their positions.

They had to completely eliminate all evidence and anything or anyone that could possibly be linked back to them.

This was an extremely difficult task, and the top three Wizards had expended great effort to accomplish it.

”Members of the Illuminati, the scale, scope, and severity of this internal investigation are unprecedented.”

”I believe we have a problem. Furthermore, the plan you devised to target Wang Ya Harak is utterly foolish!!”