The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Scorching Fire Elemental Particles condensed from the void, rapidly converging.

CRASH!

The door shattered completely, and the Thorny Sea Beast forced its way through the gap. With its immense Power, it toppled the bookcases and desk in its path.

Foul-smelling liquid dripped from its mouth, mixed with the nauseating stench of blood.

The expanding, burning flames reflected in Arthur’s pupils. He roared in excitement, ”Die! This is the true Power of a Wizard! It’s your honor to die by Witchcraft, monster!”

Once torn, the Sheepskin Scroll rapidly burst into flames and disintegrated.

The Elemental Particle Witchcraft—Burning Fire Burst—fully formed and engulfed everything in its path.

The room’s structure, the desk and other objects, and even the Thorny Sea Beast were all within its range.

BOOM!

A violent explosion rang out. Smoke filled the air, and the powerful shockwave shattered the walls, reaching all the way to the corridor.

”This is the Power of a Wizard, and it’s my Power! I’m a genius, a true genius, destined to reach the very peak of the Wizard path.” Leaning against a wall in the room, Arthur surveyed the scorched devastation before him, a wild, triumphant smile on his face.

”You damned monsters might be able to kill the other Wizard Freshmen, but that’s only because they’re foolish and have inferior qualifications. You could never kill me.”

”I am the strongest.”

TSSS!

The smoke grew thicker. It seemed the aftereffect of the Witchcraft had set the cabin’s interior ablaze, and the temperature rose so high that Arthur had to squint.

Arthur was absolutely certain the monster was dead. No living thing could have survived a Witchcraft of that magnitude.

Not even a Wizard.

A relaxed smile touched his lips. But just as he turned to leave the rapidly burning room, a low, guttural ”GAKA” sound echoed from within the smoke.

Arthur looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He stared in terror into the smoke as a massive silhouette slowly rose to its feet.

It was coming right for him.

’This shouldn’t be happening.’

’This was a Particle Energy Witchcraft, something only a Wizard can use! It possessed absolutely devastating power!’

’Why isn’t this monster dead yet!!’

A unique luster shimmered across its black scales, which formed a defensive membrane that insulated it from Particle Energy. While this membrane couldn’t completely block the Particle Energy Witchcraft, it had allowed the Thorny Sea Beast to survive, albeit with heavy injuries.

”GAKA!” The enraged Thorny Sea Beast lunged at Arthur.

”Stay back! Help! Please, have mercy, don’t eat me!”

Arthur screamed in terror, trying to press himself into the wall behind him.

His vision was filled with the ferocious beast, residual flames still burning on its body, growing larger and larger as it closed in.

”NO!!”

A shrill, bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the Wizard Ship.

The cup slipped from Anna’s hand, landing on the floor with a dull thud. She remained completely motionless, even after the brown sugar tea had spilled across the floorboards.

The room was exceptionally quiet.

Her fiery red hair was caked in a large amount of unknown filth, reeking of excrement.

In truth, it was the excrement of a Thorny Sea Beast. To survive and mask her Wizard scent, the girl had fought back her nausea in the corridor and smeared the waste all over her body.

Ordinary methods of masking one’s scent were useless against a Thorny Sea Beast.

Wizard Freshmen possess Particle Energy; to the beasts, they were like shining lighthouses in the dark, detectable from a certain distance.

Unless one declared the territory as already claimed.

Thanks to this maneuver, Anna’s room had been left alone.

’There’s no mistaking that scream. That was Arthur, who went out for food. Did he meet a violent end, too? Then the other two are most likely dead as well.’

A hint of regret flickered in Anna’s eyes. With an asset like Arthur, her journey on the Wizard Ship would have been much more convenient.

She quickly dismissed the thought, silently waiting for the incident to end.

Her way of thinking was rather similar to Wang Ya’s.

No matter how great this sudden crisis was, they still had to get past the Tuta Wizard.

The darkness had come under strange circumstances, caused by Witchcraft. If dawn could break, that would signal the arrival of safety.

She didn’t care whether the others lived or died, not even the sycophantic Arthur. He was just a relatively useful tool, nothing more. Anna was confident she could rely on herself to enter the Dark Wizard Academy and master the Fire Sun Star Witchcraft.

Her top-tier Wizard Qualification was the greatest source of her confidence.

This was despite the fact that the Fire Sun Star Witchcraft was a Middle-tier Witchcraft typically only mastered by a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice.

.......

Wang Ya spent the entire night on high alert. Once he confirmed that Thorn Hearts were effective for nurturing his cultivated creatures, he classified them as a vital Wizard resource.

He repeated his old method: luring the beasts with fresh blood, creating a three-dimensional model with his Eye of Truth, and then coordinating with Harak to hunt down the Thorny Sea Beasts.

When the first rays of the morning sun finally pierced through a crack in the inky darkness outside his window,

the perpetual frown on Wang Ya’s brow finally smoothed out. His gaze fell to the desk in front of him. Foul-smelling fluid dripped down its legs and onto the floor. Piled on the desk were black hearts, some still beating faintly, clearly fresh and only recently removed.

[Resource Log: Thorn Heart x8]

This was the result of Wang Ya’s night-long efforts.

These were all the Thorny Sea Beasts on the Wizard Ship that he had been able to attract.

The Eye of Truth had analyzed that Harak could no longer undergo beneficial mutations by consuming more Thorn Hearts.

Wang Ya figured that even if these Thorn Hearts could be used as a Wizard resource, they were likely a Low-tier resource, something within the scope of a Level 1 Wizard Apprentice.

’But their Trait of defending against Particle Energy Witchcraft isn’t something your average Extraordinary Resource possesses,’ he thought. ’Among Low-tier resources, it should be extremely precious.’

’Whether for experimental research or for the Cultivation of my own creatures, they’re an excellent choice.’

Wang Ya was already imagining selling them for a good price to serve as his startup capital for when he entered the Dark Wizard Academy.

The only trouble was preservation... He had no proper way to carry them with him, and guaranteeing the freshness and activity of the Thorn Hearts was also a major problem.

The Dark Atlas recorded that Witchcraft Artifacts—Extraordinary Items used by Wizards—existed in the Wizard World.

Among them were spatial storage items. Items like the Thorn Hearts, when placed inside, could be kept almost perfectly fresh, as long as they weren’t left for too long.

Wang Ya shook his head. ’Where on this Wizard Ship would I find a Storage Witchcraft Artifact?’

’Once the sun is fully up, I’ll go to the automated cafeteria and get some ice to preserve them.’

A piercing ray of light, like a sharp sword, sliced through the heavy darkness, symbolizing the arrival of dawn.

A focused beam of sunlight struck the pale cheek of the young man standing before the window. His brow was slightly furrowed, his eyes narrowed as he gazed into the light.