The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Wang Ya made up his mind. He would absorb every book from the Outer and Inner Zones.

The analytic power of the Eye of Truth was still insufficient for Wang Ya’s upcoming Wizard Experiments.

The process was far too slow. His goal was to max out two numerical values within a century, but at his current pace, he estimated it would take at least ten years just to advance to a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice.

This didn’t even account for all the Extraordinary Knowledge he had to master and the Wizard Experiments he needed to complete.

The actual time it would take would be even longer.

A single book cost between half a Magic Stone and one full Magic Stone.

Wang Ya possessed over 30,000 Magic Stones.

That was enough for a conservative estimate of 30,000 books—a truly terrifying number.

He would have to see the results for himself to know how much the Eye of Truth’s power would increase.

.....

「One week later.」

Wang Ya took back his Wizard Card from Wizard Slate and, under the man’s astonished gaze, walked out of the Library’s second floor.

After Wang Ya left, Wizard Slate marveled to himself, "Seven days and seven nights... he’s so diligent. Wizard Wang Ya is truly immersed in the ocean of knowledge. Even I can’t begin to compare."

Most of spring had passed. A cool breeze swept up maple leaves, sending them drifting across the skies of the Dark Land.

There were noticeably more Wizards on the streets, though the main reason for this was, of course, the major investigation.

Many Wizards from various Wizard Cities and other locations had been summoned back to Headquarters to be debriefed.

This was just the first wave; many more Wizards would be returning in the time to come.

As for how these Wizards were feeling... one only had to look at the expressions on the faces of those emerging from the Rule Inspection Department.

Their faces were grim, not a single one among them looking pleased. The oppressive atmosphere was so thick that many passing Wizards frowned and quickened their pace.

Clearly, they all knew something.

News of what the Natural Ring Tower Wizards had done to Celestial Wings Wizard City had more or less spread.

The internal investigation was no secret either, and as more and more Wizards returned to Headquarters, it became common knowledge.

Almost none of the Wizards summoned by the Rule Inspection Department were clean. Each had problems to some degree and was punished according to the regulations.

The Wizards at the Dark Land Headquarters were typically either pursuing advanced studies at the academy or were those who constantly took on Wizard Tasks, rushing between the major Wizard Cities to establish themselves.

They looked down on, and were even disgusted by, these problematic Wizards who broke the rules.

All Wizards had to obey the rules of the Dark Land; not even Official Wizards were exempt.

These people weren’t worthy of being called Wizards of the Dark Land at all.

"It’s gone. Everything’s gone. My life, my future, even my family’s hopes for the future... all of it is ruined."

A recalled Wizard muttered blankly, his eyes bloodshot. He had bitten his lip until it bled.

He had been a deputy captain of law enforcement in a Wizard City. There were many types of Law Enforcement Wizards; in a large enough city, they were divided into different squads.

A deputy law enforcement captain held considerable power. For the twenty years he had held the post, he had always strictly followed the rules and lived on his stipend from the Dark Land. But his family needed more Extraordinary Resources to send a relative with Wizard Qualification into the Dark Land.

So, his once-firm resolve began to waver. Not enough resources, not enough Magic Stones... When he first started down the path of breaking the rules, he was apprehensive and worried, but eventually, he grew accustomed to it. This was the process by which his Wizard’s Heart was slowly corroded.

In ten years, he had obtained resources he’d never had before—Magic Stones, even Extraordinary Knowledge. He’d even gotten his family’s descendant into the Dark Land. But now, it was all gone. Everything was lost. His descendant was stripped of their status as a Dark Land Wizard, as was he. On top of that, he now had to repay a massive debt of resources and Magic Stones.

Now a Wild Wizard, how could he possibly repay such an enormous debt?

Even if his entire family signed contracts to become subjects for Wizard Experiments, they could never repay it.

He wasn’t the only one in this situation. Most of the Wizards emerging from the Rule Inspection Department faced a similar fate, and by comparison, his outcome could even be considered lenient.

Many Wizards weren’t even given the chance to return to Headquarters; they were either killed on the spot by dispatched Law Enforcement Wizards, or arrested and sent to the Wizard Prison.

There were also some fugitive Wizards who had caught wind of the news and fled, but within the Dark Land, how far could they possibly run? In the end, they would just be clapped in irons, and a crime that might not have originally warranted death would become a capital offense.

"I won’t accept this! It shouldn’t be this way! By what right do you take everything from me? I earned all of this! I earned it through my own hard work!"

One Wizard, emerging from the Rule Inspection Department, couldn’t handle the whiplash of gaining everything only to lose it all. His mind completely shattered, and right there at the entrance, he unleashed a blast of Particle Energy and Extraordinary Spiritual Power.

The Wizards who were slightly calmer looked at the man with pity.

FZZT!

In an instant, an even more powerful wave of Extraordinary Spiritual Power crushed down on him.

The Law Enforcement Wizards from the Rule Inspection Department moved swiftly, seizing the Wizard.

The terrifying killing aura made the other Wizards’ hearts skip a beat.

The Law Enforcement Wizards were all battle-hardened veterans who lived by the sword; they were the very beings that rule-breakers like them feared most.

In the history of the Dark Land, there were even recorded cases of Law Enforcement Wizards killing Official Wizards.

"No, I won’t accept this! By what right are you arresting me?! By what right?! I did nothing wrong! Everything I have, I got on my own!"

Even as he was restrained, the Wizard continued to roar, his face a mask of savagery and venomous resentment.

A tall figure in a black Wizard Robe emerged from the Rule Inspection Department. His face was impassive, his gray eyes held an icy chill, and his features were as if carved from stone.

He was the captain of the First Squad of the Headquarters’ Law Enforcement Wizards, a man named Gaiu Bruce.

Gaiu Bruce’s gaze was frigid as his hoarse voice rang out. "You fool. Do you really think you got all that on your own? Without your status as a Dark Land Wizard, without your position in a Wizard City, you wouldn’t even qualify for a stipend. You’d be worse off than a Wild Wizard."

"I don’t believe you! You’re lying! Everything I have is mine! You can’t take it away! You have no idea how much I’ve sacrificed—"

"Take him away!"

"Damn you, Wang Ya Harak! This is all your fault! You started all this! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! You destroyed my life!"

His hysterical screams echoed, drawing glances from many passing Wizards and causing Gaiu Bruce’s expression to darken.

A flash of killing intent appeared in his eyes. His Extraordinary Spiritual Power suddenly engulfed the screaming Wizard and, with a wet SPLAT, the man’s head exploded like a watermelon.

The spatter of red and white sent a bone-deep chill through the other guilty Wizards, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over their hearts.

Gaiu Bruce said coldly, "He broke the rules and showed no remorse, then violated them further. He insulted and threatened a Child of the Dark and resisted a Law Enforcement Wizard. He deserved to die."

He swept his gaze over the other guilty Wizards, then departed with his troop of Law Enforcement Wizards, taking the headless corpse with them.

The remaining crowd of Wizards was left behind, their faces pale and their hearts still pounding with lingering fear.

But one thing the dead Wizard had said resonated deeply with them.

If it weren’t for that Wang Ya Harak, how could they have ended up like this?

Headquarters wouldn’t have bothered to launch a major internal investigation across the entire Dark Land for no reason.

As for Celestial Wings Wizard City, wasn’t it just some minor Wizard City in the borderlands? It wasn’t large, and it was right next to the Natural Ring Tower’s sphere of influence anyway.

It was only natural for a situation like that to arise there.

In the rest of the Dark Land, the Natural Ring Tower’s Wizards would have to be insane to even try infiltrating.

Celestial Wings Wizard City was dispensable, and there were plenty of alternatives to Flying Griffins.

The eyes of many Wizards burned with resentment. As this feeling festered, ideas began to take shape.

As they exchanged messages via Spiritual Power, one Wizard proposed an idea.

"Why should we be so miserable while Wang Ya Harak gets to live so well? So what if he’s a Wizard from an Inheritance Lineage? Of course he has everything he could ever want! He has no idea what it’s like for us at the bottom."

"They even took the only things we ever managed to gain. I can’t accept this. We have to make him feel our pain, too."